prologue

It was possible that all things that looked untainted and innocent were possibly... not so innocent and very much tainted.

It was that, and the way the librarian had handed him that books-due slip, her hair up in that silly bun, her eyes determinedly ignorant, that had him wonder what it'd be like to date that kind of woman.

"You have to date every single one of them, don't you?" his mother's voice rang in his ears. "That's disturbing, love, and it scares me to death when I think of how you've never even bothered making friends with any one of them."

Going against all the signs was stupid, and since he knew she was a book worm, he also knew that she wasn't going to be easy.

That was probably what made him do what he did next.