"I don't want to scare you," he said, "but if you want, I can prove it." She stuck her chin out, straightened her shoulders.

"I'm not afraid," she said. "Prove it."

1980s, London

Val has spent decades carefully controlling his desires – the desire for blood, and for human connection. The past has taught him that indulging in one will lead to losing control over the other, and he can't let himself hurt anyone else. So he stays in the shadows, the world slipping by as he watches – until the day Margot strikes up a conversation with him. He becomes attached to her before he can stop himself, and in a moment of weakness he invokes magic that binds them together – the supposedly eternal, unbreakable kind of bond.

Finding a way to release Margot from the bond means reestablishing ties with vampire society that he'd long ago severed and risking the solitude he's come to see as his salvation – not to mention trying to explain all of this to a human who thought she was just engaging in a little flirtatious banter. But Val won't let his own foolishness ruin Margot's life, even if that means he has to do the one thing he fears the most – letting someone else into his world.

Sign up now to get the most out of Books2Read

Discover something great at Books2Read.

Thanks for signing up for Books2Read notifications!