One taste of passion and play isn't enough ... Richard Black owes the owner of Violet House a favor, so he agrees to stay at the oceanfront bed and breakfast for three weeks while his friends vacation in the Bahamas. He never imagined the new cook he's forced to hire at the last minute would quicken his pulse and stir his darkest desires. Tessa's the hardest temptation he's tried to resist, so young and so innocent, but their mutual attraction soon explodes into several nights of passion and exploration as he teaches her to submit. Tessa Field will take almost any job, as long as room and board is included. She's desperate to escape her cruel stepfather and stepbrother after the death of her mother, and the temporary position as a cook and maid at Violet House seems like the perfect stepping stone in her quest for independence. She finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Mr. Black, and it isn't long before he masters her sexually and dominates her every waking thought. But when she's offered a job interview at a nearby business, reality beckons. Knowing her time at Violet House is limited and fearing Mr. Black isn't interested in a permanent relationship, she sneaks off for the interview. Apparently, their happiness isn't meant to last . . . or is it? Richard's not the kind of man to take no for an answer, and he has a few tricks up his sleeve.