Beauty Mara Duport has always dreamed of home, a place where she belongs. She knows that she has one, but ever since she was a kid, her dad's been keeping the secret of her origin locked away, refusing to give her any information. Dad's been keeping more than one secret. He's in debt - a lot of debt - and the ruthless pirates he borrowed the money from are coming to collect. The pirate captain is renowned the galaxy over for his brutishness and cruelty - but when Mara sees his stoic face, her heart races, her mouth goes dry... and she offers herself as payment. Space Beast Torak of Basniel has a fierce, uncaring, ruthless reputation to live up to. So when a beautiful, innocent woman offers herself up to him on a platter, Torak doesn't think twice. What does he care about stealing away this man's precious daughter? But Torak gets a more than he's bargained for. Mara's more than just innocent - she's also intelligent, skilled, beautiful - and she can see right through him, past the thorny exterior, down to the heart he thought died long ago. Being vulnerable was never part of the plan. Love was never part of the plan. Torak knows he's an irredeemable monster, but with Mara he feels different. He sees the opportunity to be more than what's always been expected. Mara knows that there's something beautiful and redeemable inside Torak, and she won't leave him until he finds it. Not until she can tame the beast.