He told me I was done running.

Then he put me over his lap, bared my skin, and taught me what happens to girls who hide from him.

Matteo Duarte was supposed to be safe.
My father's old friend. The serious man from my past. The last-resort number I called when my car broke down, my money ran out, and I had nowhere warm to sleep.

I only wanted a job.

Instead, he gave me shelter, rules, protection, and consequences.

Matteo is older, colder, richer, and far more dangerous than I remembered. He does not ask if I need him. He decides. He feeds me when I forget to eat, watches me when I try to disappear, and punishes me when I pretend I can survive alone.

I ran from a rich fiancé and the polished family who thought they owned me.

But Matteo does not rescue gently.
He takes control.

Now I sleep in his house, answer when he calls, obey when he gives an order, and tremble every time his voice drops low enough to make my thighs press together.

He calls me his good girl.
He makes me earn it.

And the longer he keeps me under his roof, under his rules, and under his hands, the harder it is to remember why I ever wanted freedom.

Because this isn't rescue.
It's surrender.

And Daddy has rules.

Author's Note: Rules of Surrender is a slow-burn stand-alone Daddy Dom romance with spanking, punishment, praise, possessive protection, and intense power exchange.