**THIS BOOK IS A STANDALONE WITHIN THE SERIES. READING THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES IS NOT NECESSARY BEFORE READING THIS NOVEL.** I was a Master. To understand me, you must understand my past. My father was a Master. My mother his Courtesan. I was raised in a business that trained women to become whores for the men that owned them. I was taught to train with a strict hand...but to seduce with a kind heart. Although my mother was one of those golden whores, the women broken and rebuilt to become everything their owner could desire, my mother - in her wisdom and beauty - trapped the heart of her Master. Through her perseverance, she never let the man go. Naturally, I followed in his footsteps, not once finding love, but almost gaining a son. My heart was destroyed on a clear summer day when my child was stripped from my hands. Redemption for my crimes was lost, and loneliness like a man should never know was gained. Until I found Seraphina... She thought she could deny me. She thought she could choose her fate or determine the course her life would run. She thought she would never love another because she couldn't love herself. With a shattered heart and rebellious mind, she believed her life was broken. She chose death as an avenue to escape the life she was given, and she believed there was nobody who could stand in her way. As her Master, it was my duty to show her... ...that all her beliefs were wrong.