Spoils of War — Carolyn Faulkner

The Civil War had been hard on everyone, but Celia Weston felt as if she personally had taken the brunt of it. Left alone on what had once been her family's beautiful estate, she had to scrimp and scrape just to survive, reduced to living like an animal while she tried to take care of her beloved mother, whose mind had been crippled by her great losses. Trey Oaks had been occupied by all sorts during those long years, but the worst was its last occupier ââ,¬â€œ Aaron Denehy, who thought that possession was a lot more than nine tenths of the law, and that Celia's body and soul came with the land he claimed as his own.Celia found herself subjugated by Aaron, treated no better than a lady of easy virtue, barely better than the slaves the war had freed. He spanked, belted or paddled her at the least sign of resistance, but brought her to the heights of ecstasy that she hadn't known existed before his touch. And there was nowhere for Celia to escape to. It was her home, but he was the Master.