When Ava Reilly inherits the brooding Hawthorne Manor on Cape Cod from her enigmatic great-aunt Evelyn, she expects dusty antiques and seaside solitude—not a hidden, luxurious BDSM dungeon in the basement. The discovery comes with its master: Liam Hawthorne, the commanding, silver-templed billionaire who has quietly guarded the estate—and its secrets—for years. Older, powerful, and dangerously magnetic, Liam once trained under Evelyn herself. Now, his piercing gray eyes are fixed on Ava. From the moment scarlet silk rope binds her wrists, Ava is drawn into a world of exquisite surrender. Liam demands total submission; Ava, restless and curious, gives it willingly. Each scene—suspension, impact, pleasure edged with pain—deepens their contract, turning inheritance into possession and curiosity into craving. In the shadowed halls of Hawthorne Manor, a new legacy begins: one written in crimson rope, whispered safe words, and the intoxicating power exchange between Dominant and submissive. But some doors, once opened, can never be closed.
