Tethered by Vows

Prologue

"I wasn't spoiled; I was starved for freedom. And I’d rather burn the cage than live perfectly inside it."~Blair Kensington

Inherited wealth and beauty—dark, rebellious hair, eyes that burn with stubborn indignation. Expensive clothes, but she wears them carelessly, always slightly disheveled, a silent protest against perfection. 

Feisty, Empathetic, Sharp. She uses biting sarcasm as her primary defense mechanism. She’s suffocated by her father’s control and despises privilege, despite being surrounded by it. She has a hidden desire to be seen for her own merit, not her family name. 

"Feelings are a weakness. Duty is a shield. And I am here to execute a contract, not a conversation."~ Rhys Croft

Tall, muscled, and brutally attractive—like something carved from granite. Sharp features, dark, clean-cut hair, and those cold, piercing slate-gray eyes. His demeanor is always controlled; his clothing is impeccable, masking the weapons and training beneath.
 
Stoic, Arrogant, Highly Trained. He is a professional weapon focused solely on the mission. He trusts no one and is emotionally inaccessible. His perceived arrogance is actually a deeply ingrained sense of superiority and a necessary defense mechanism for his undercover work. 

"She is a threat to the mission—reckless, distracting, and naive". He despises her privilege and sees her as the spoiled product of the corruption he is trying to expose. He views her defiance as childish. 

~"You mistake my tolerance for patience, Kensington. You’re a liability I am paid to manage. Don't push your luck."
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"He is the embodiment of her gilded cage."He's a bought tool, a handsome tyrant who makes her feel judged and small. She views him as a challenge to be broken. 

~ "You’re a beautiful, expensive mistake, Croft. And I intend to collect a full refund."
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"A story of duty and defiance, where the lines between protection and possession blur until they break."

BLAIR KENSINGTON is fire trapped in a cage of gold. She is the defiant heiress who uses rebellion as oxygen, determined to escape the suffocating control of her father.

RHYS CROFT is the weapon sent to guard her. A man carved from granite and discipline, he views his volatile client as nothing more than a liability to his true, deadly mission: bringing the Kensington empire down.
Their clashes are electric, their contempt mutual.

Blair: “You’re just another cage my father paid for, Croft. Nothing more.”

Rhys: “You mistake my tolerance for patience, Kensington. You are a liability I am paid to manage. Don't push your luck.”

But when Rhys is brutally injured saving Blair's life, the hatred shatters. She tends to his wounds, and her kindness becomes the most dangerous threat to his protocol. Rhys maintains his cold facade, using cruel words to push her away, convinced he must protect her from the mission's inevitable heartbreak.

Rhys: “Stop pretending you care. It’s exhausting. I don't need your charity, Vance.”

Yet, in the stolen moments, duty loses to a primal, undeniable desire.

Blair: “I hate you so much, Rhys... I can't breathe when you're near me.”

Rhys: (Whispered) “Good. Then stay away.”

He may be duty-bound to betray her, but "pyaar k age achhe achho ki haar ho jati hai."

The evidence is secure. The mission is complete. Rhys races to the airport, knowing walking away is the only way to save her—but his love refuses to be bound by his Master's rules.

Rhys: “I break the rules for no one, except her.”

He chooses the love that makes him a target. Now, Blair and Rhys face the true enemy: the powerful Master who will stop at nothing to ruin them both.
Will he board the flight and choose his mission, or will he choose the dangerous, passionate love that sets his entire world on fire?

The rules were simple. Their love was not......