Emma V. Leech

She’s the only woman he trusts. He’s the only man she can’t let go. Darkness wants them both.
A darkly tender Victorian romance from Best Selling Author Emma V Leech
Miss Evie Knight has never thought of herself as daring. Plump, sweet‑natured, and far too inclined to blush, she is the last woman anyone would expect to befriend the most beautiful man in Europe. Yet for years, Evie has been the confidante of Louis César de Montluc, Comte de Villen — the one woman unmoved by his devastating charm, the one friend he trusts without reservation.

And now, impossibly, Louis seems to be in love with her.

It would be a dream come true… if her father hadn’t forbidden her from ever seeing him again.

Louis César has survived horrors that would have broken lesser men. As a child, he learned to wield his beauty like a weapon, using charm and seduction to shield himself from a world that wished him harm. But Evie Knight has never been fooled by his perfect face. She sees the man beneath — flawed, frightened, fiercely loyal — and without meaning to, she has captured his heart completely.

When the shadows of Louis’s past rise again, threatening everything he holds dear, he knows he must act. To protect Evie, he must tell her the truth — every sordid detail, every scar, every sin. She deserves nothing less. And Evie, stubborn and tender‑hearted, refuses to accept anything less.

But the danger stalking Louis is far darker than either of them imagined.

To stand beside him, Evie must face a world of violence, vengeance, and secrets buried too deep to name. To keep her safe, Louis must confront the devil he once was — and the enemy determined to destroy him.

Love has always been the light between them.
Now they must dare the darkness together.