After seven hundred years of life, Marguerite Argeneau finally has a career. Well, the start of one, anyway. She`s training to be a private investigator, and her first assignment is to find an immortal`s mother. It seemed simple enough, until Marguerite wakes up one evening to find herself at the wrong end of a sword. Now she realizes she`s in way over her head. Julius Notte wants to protect Marguerite, and not because someone just tried to take her head off. She doesn`t know it yet, but she`s his lifemate and he`s determined to woo her. It`s been over five hundred years since he last courted a woman, but surely the techniques haven`t changed. Now if only he can keep her alive—so to speak—so they can have that happily-ever-after.