Intro. Dominic receives a new purpose - to oversee the order in the region, including the nobility mansions. • Eloise sees him for the first time at the ball - "a rude animal among porcelain predators". • He is like a mockery of her world. She is a mockery of his dirty reality. • They face for the first time when he roughly arrests her distant relative for treason. She opens against him - boldly, with poison. • He pronounces the phrase: "You are so beautiful that it almost prevents the desire to break you."
`• Her family is suspicious. To maintain a reputation, she has to conclude a secret deal with Dominic. • He requires her information about the internal policy of the nobility - in exchange for protection. • Their meetings are held in the secret room of the library. • He presses, humiliates, checks its boundaries. She is silent. • And then begins to speak. And lie. And smile as he did not expect. They become lovers - without kisses. Only skin, breathing, power. • He strangles her, but does not kill her. She scratches him.`