From New York Times bestselling author Deidre Knight, writing as Cooper Davis. Simple, qualified transaction, legally binding on both parties. Damning words written by one widowed king seeking a male concubine for his royal bedroom.When King Arend Tollemach contracted Julian's services from the elite Temple Sapphor, he made one thing patently clear: as the realm's ruler, his life held no room for love or attachment. Yet two weeks into their arrangement, Arend's heart proves an unruly subject, surrendering at a maddening pace-even though his growing affection may well put his entire kingdom in jeopardy.Julian of Sapphor spent ten years training at a discreet establishment known for grooming aristocratic bed slaves, and in all that time, he longed for only one thing: love in the arms of a nobleman who would ultimately claim him as husband. Therefore, when he is made King Arend's concubine, his decade-long dreams appear near fruition-until he learns that his new master long ago swore off love. As a young man, Arend's father forced him to break an engagement to a foreign prince-his one true love-and instead marry a female.Despite his past, Arend finds himself surrendering to his concubine, a dangerous freefall that Julian answers by determining to fight for a lasting place in Arend's life and heart. But when the royal Lords Council insists that Arend once again marry a female in order to sire more heirs, Julian must war against far more than one king's shuttered heart.