France, 1732

There was a girl in the river.

Ludovic froze. He was almost at the foot of the hill, where the evening shadows stretched like ink; the girl didn't seem to have noticed him.

When he'd retreated from the world years ago, after killing the monk who'd tried to help him, he'd sworn that he would never have contact with humans again, unable to trust his vampire side. But he'd quickly learned that he couldn't survive forever on animal blood. Unless he wanted to risk succumbing to savage desperation again and killing another innocent person, he had to drink human blood. He did it as little as often, venturing out of the hills where he'd been living rough all these years and visiting the nearby villages like a ghost in the night, and took as little blood as he possibly could, and every time he did, it awakened a pit of black fear inside him. He would dream of Maurice and the monk, and their deaths at his hands, and he'd wake up, clutching wildly at the air, sure that his hands were wet with blood again.

Other than drinking from the villagers, he'd had no interaction with human beings, and he shouldn't start now. But he couldn't seem to move.

He'd never seen anyone so beautiful.

Clad only in a thin chemise, the girl's hair was thick and red, wild around her shoulders, and freckles dotted her skin like grains of sand.

Ludovic couldn't look away from her.

She looked up.

Water had splashed the front of her chemise, making it cling to her curving hips and waist, the softness of her breasts, but she didn't shy away or cover herself. There was a challenge in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ludovic blurted out. "I didn't mean to . . ."

"To watch me? I think you did," she said.

"No, I just . . ."

She waited.

Ludovic had no idea what to say. He'd watched her because he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her, but it seemed foolish to say that.

"Who are you, anyway?" the girl said. "What are you doing out here?"

"I live here," Ludovic said, and then had no idea why he'd just told her that.

It was safer for him, and everyone else, if no one knew he was here.

"Where?" She looked around at the obvious lack of any buildings.

Ludovic made a vague gesture to the hills behind him.

"What's your name?" she said, climbing out of the river.

"Ludovic."

"I'm Elise." She tilted her head, scrutinising him intently.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he said, after a few moments passed.

"I'm just wondering why your eyes are red."

Time seemed to stand still.

Ludovic's hand flew to his face, but it was too late to shield his vampire eyes. Why were they red? It was hours since he'd had anything to drink.

Elise drew closer.

Ludovic wanted to back away, but his feet were rooted to the ground. Desire flared inside him, like nothing he'd ever felt before.

He'd been with women before, but his past experiences had been when his old friends, the gang of thieves that Jehanne had slaughtered, visited brothels. He'd never been physical with someone he genuinely cared about. The sight of Elise, more beautiful than anyone he had seen, exposed in that damp chemise, her eyes gleaming with curiosity, affected him in a way that he'd almost forgotten he could be affected.

"What are you?" she whispered, and touched his face. Her fingertips were cold from the river.

"I'm nothing, no one," he whispered back, but he didn't move away.

Elise's eyes were deep grey, and her nose was slightly snub above a full mouth. Her freckles were tiny constellations. Her heart thumped steadily in her chest, and that more than anything broke the spell.

Ludovic couldn't be around her.

He stepped back, and her hand fell to her side.

"Tell me what you are," she said.

"I can't."

She smiled, quick and fierce. "You will."

Ludovic started walking away.

"Until next time," she called after him.

"There won't be a next time."

She laughed. "Oh, yes, there will."

Ludovic didn't think he'd ever see her again.

But a day later, she was back, waiting at the river. Ludovic hid in the shadows and watched. Elise waited until night fell, and then she left, and he thought that was the end of it, but the next day she was back again. And the day after and the day after and the day after.

He could have left the area, but after so many years in near total isolation, fearful and hating himself, Elise was a fascinating ray of light slicing through the shadows. Very quickly she became the only thing he looked forward to each day, even though he hid in the clusters of trees that blanketed the hill and never let her know he was there.

She talked to him anyway, telling him about her simple village life, and her family, and the pigs that they kept, who were so affectionate she considered them part of the family, and as her voice carried through the trees, Ludovic found himself creeping a little closer each day.

After a week, Elise put her hands on her hips and glared up the hill. "I know you're out there so you might as well stop hiding."

Ludovic wondered why she never pursued him further than the river. Maybe it was already too dark for her human eyes. Or maybe she was giving him some privacy.

Not anymore though.

He stepped out of the shadows.

Elise's face brightened. "There you are."

"How long would you have waited?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you still here?" Ludovic stopped a few feet away from her.

"Because a few days ago I met a strange man that I don't believe is human, and now my whole world feels different." Elise closed the gap between them a little more, slowly, carefully, like Ludovic was a skittish animal. "I can't stop thinking about you."

Ludovic couldn't stop thinking about her either, but he was terrified to say it. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to live alone, where he wouldn't be a threat to anyone.

But every time he closed his eyes, he saw Elise's sweet, freckled face, her cloud of red hair, those grey eyes. He imagined how her lips would taste, what her body would feel like beneath his hands.

He'd felt attraction before, but never anything like this.

"You shouldn't be here. I'm dangerous," he said.

"You don't look dangerous to me."

Ludovic laughed bitterly. "You might think differently if you saw what I'm capable of."

Elise sat down, looking expectantly at him. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Because . . ."

"Sit with me," Elise said.

Ludovic sat, still trying to keep some distance between them. His head raged at him, telling him that he needed to leave, that he was putting her at risk just by being here, but for the first time in a long time, his heart had a voice too, and it wanted to stay.

Elise leaned forward. She smelled of grass and herbs, and her eyes sparkled like river-water. "Now," she said, "tell me what you are."

In the end, Ludovic did.

France, 1734

Elise threw a pebble into the river, watching the ripples spread across the water. Ludovic sat beside her, wanting to hug her, but very aware of the waves of annoyance coming from her. After two years together – albeit in secret – he'd come to know her moods as well as his own.

"I need you to understand," he said. "I can't publicly court you or declare my intentions to your family, and you've always known that. I'm not human and I can't do things the way humans can."

"I do understand that, but there's something I need to know. What would your intentions be, if you were human?" Elise said.

Ludovic took her hand. "I would ask you to marry me."

Tears sparked in those grey eyes. "And I would say yes."

"But it's impossible."

"Is it?"

Ludovic frowned. "You know it is."

"What I know is that you can never be part of my life as it currently is. But we could start a new life together, away from this."

"Away from what?"

"Everything. Why not?"

"I can't ask you to give up everything for me."

Elise gave him a hard look. "Maybe you didn't notice but you're not asking. I'm offering, and it's my choice."

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

Elise smiled, bright and dazzling. "Elope with me."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Ludovic gaped at her.

"You want to marry me, I want to marry you, so let's do it. I don't care where we go as long as we're together."

"Elise, you don't know what you're saying."

Her eyes darkened.

"It's just . . . I don't know if you understand the reality of living with a vampire. I don't know if you understand how hard it can be."

"It'll be worth it to be with you." Her hand was soft as she stroked his cheek, his jaw, and he leaned into her touch. "We can be happy together, Ludovic. We can have a future. I love you."

When he had become a vampire, he'd thought that he would be alone forever. But then this beautiful, passionate woman had walked into his life, and tangled herself up with him, and he loved her too much to let her go.

"Alright," he whispered.

Her smile was like the sun.

"Then I believe there's only one thing left to do." She stood up looked expectantly at him.

Ludovic waited, unsure.

"Isn't there a question you need to ask me?" she said.

"What – oh."

He gazed up at her, at the soft blush suffusing her cheeks, the eager gleam in her eyes, the way her chest rose and fell with every breath.

"Elise," he said, and shifted position, so he was down on one knee. Her heartbeat kicked up. "Elise, will you marry me?"

"It's all I've ever wanted."

They married shortly after and moved to Chartres in the Loire Valley, ready to start a completely new life together.

For years they were happy, and Elise understood that, as much as she loved their life here, they'd eventually have to move on. She never complained about the restrictions of having a vampire husband, and she got used to not being able to go out in daylight with Ludovic.

Ludovic was happy – really, truly happy. His fears about his vampire side faded, and he no longer woke up gasping with horror at the memory of the blood on his hands. Elise soothed all the dark places inside him.

But some things still scared him.

He never told Elise, but he couldn't shake the fear that one day she would regret her decision. Ludovic couldn't give her children. He couldn't grow old with her. How hard would it be for her to keep moving around once she started getting too old? What happened if she was struck by a human sickness?

Ludovic had never turned anyone, and before Elise it would never have occurred to him. Now it was all he could think about.

If he turned her, she could be with him forever.

He would never do such a thing without her consent, but . . . Ludovic had never been entirely honest with her about what being a vampire meant – or at least what it meant to him. He'd told her about accidentally killing the monk, and she'd understood that, but he'd never told her about the brutal maiming he'd inflicted on the gang a few days previously, and he never told her about Maurice. When he was with her, it was almost as if those things hadn't happened.

He also hadn't told her how he'd spent years living in fear of himself. He hadn't told her about the dark days when he thought himself a monster.

Elise was fascinated by his strength, his speed, the red gleam of his eyes, and when she finally begged him to bite her, she became fascinated by the sweet pleasure that bite could bring. And Ludovic found himself playing on that. Once he'd wanted to hide all the negative feelings he had about being a vampire because he didn't want to scare Elise away. Now he hid them because he wanted her to think that being a vampire was a good thing. Maybe then she'd want to be one too.

Maybe this was for himself as well. If he told himself that being a vampire wasn't so bad then he would start to believe it, and he would continue to push all the nightmares down in some deep, dark place where they couldn't reach him.

Two years after their wedding, Elise expressed interest in the possibility of becoming a vampire, and Ludovic didn't discourage her.

When a little voice in his head warned him that he hadn't always been honest with her about exactly what being a vampire entailed, he ignored it, because he finally had a good life, something he hadn't had since he was a child, and he was terrified of losing it.

But the day finally came that Elise asked him to turn her, and he couldn't ignore a twinge of unease. How much of her desire to be turned was due to his subtle encouraging, and how much was what she really wanted?

"You realise there's no coming back from this. Once you've turned, you can never be human again," he told her.

"I don't want to be," Elise said.

"There's a lot you will never be able to do again."

"I know."

"You'll only be able to drink blood for the rest of your life. You won't be able to go outside during the day. All the things that you're used to will change."

"Ludovic," she said firmly, climbing onto their bed. "I've made up my mind. I want you to turn me."

"I've never done it before," he admitted.

"Good. I want this to be something special that you give only to me."

She pulled him onto the bed next to her, and lay down, holding both his hands.

"Make me a vampire, Ludovic," she said, her eyes shining, her breath coming quick and fast, making her chest heave.

One thing Ludovic had learned over the course of their married life was that he was powerless to deny her anything when she looked at him like that. He disengaged one hand from hers and ran his fingers along the column of her throat, where her veins formed delicate rivers beneath the skin.

Elise let out a breathy sigh and arched her head back, offering up her throat to him. The vampire reacted, fangs sliding down.

"This will hurt," he said.

"I don't care."

Ludovic kissed her throat, where her skin was soft and smooth, bringing a gentle moan from her lips. Then he bit down and started to drink.

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