On his way to have a drink at the only pub in town, Demetri walked past an old graveyard, all the while wondering why his brother loved the area so much. There was just so little to do.

He enjoyed living in big cities where there was always somewhere to go, someone to see … and someone to feed from.

But now he was in the Highlands, where he had been born and raised, and it all felt too familiar. Too many memories from a time he would just as soon forget. That world was long gone and he had no idea, aside from missing Rose, why his brother clung to it. Perhaps now that he had Gabrielle he could let it go. Maybe he would even come to Venice.

As it was, Demetri did not know if he would have a home in Venice any longer. Remont had been acting so strangely of late, and Demetri had been shocked to learn of his liaison. How did he know that had not been one of many?

Shaking away the images of Remont and his two lovers, Demetri crossed the heavily rutted road and opened the door to the warm and inviting pub with its dark-paneled walls and gaudy chandeliers. He lifted a brow. Interesting choice for a pub in the middle of nowhere.

The few patrons stopped what they were doing, looked him over, and then went back to conversing. All but one, a young man with green eyes and blond hair who worked in the pub cleaning tables.

Demetri removed his jacket, set it on the back of the chair, and sat. The boy scarcely blinked.

“What can I get you?” the old man behind the bar asked.

“Madeira please.”

“Don’t have any, but I got a good bottle of wine, or perhaps a nice dark ale?”

Demetri winced. “Wine would be fine, thank you.”

Laughter sounded from upstairs. Demetri looked up to find a young woman and her companion descending the stairs. The lady could not be a day over twenty. Her companion, a man twice her age, leaned in and whispered in her ear.

She laughed aloud as he pressed a coin or two into her hand. Demetri read her thoughts instantly. The two had met here for a liaison. Her companion was a married man with a devoted wife at home and four children, all under the age of eight. And now the man must return to his wife and brood.

The young woman leaned in and bit the lobe of his ear before whispering what she would do to him on his next visit. The man left after pinching the woman’s behind, and the pub’s door closed behind him.

The whore must have sensed his perusal, for she turned, catching Demetri’s gaze. Her lips curved and she sauntered toward him.

He could smell her sex from here. The scent was pungent since she had just been fucked.

She nodded at the other men who watched her walk toward Demetri. She knew they all wanted her, and she reveled in it. At the age of fourteen, she had started whoring to make ends meet, as she was tired of working as a nurse for the privileged. One of those homes happened to be her lover’s, and she had cared for his children—until his wife caught on. They had moved to the country, and the man and the whore had followed behind.

Each night it was the same routine. He would be her first client. He did not mind that she fucked other men, just as long as he was first each evening.

Demetri could hardly wait to bite her. No, he would not drain her, not by half. Nor would he make her a vampire. But he would use her. Perhaps even bed her after she washed. Lord knows Remont had not been in the mood of late.

“How you doin’ tonight, love?”

Her teeth were disappointing, with a large gap between the two bottom ones. Aside from that small imperfection, she had the face of an angel.

“Very well, thank you,” Demetri replied, taking the glass from the young boy, who looked irritated by the whore’s attention.

“Buy me a drink?”

He nodded for the barkeeper to oblige.

“Have a seat?” he asked, and she plopped down beside him.

Her strong perfume nearly gagged him, but she also amused him, and he could certainly use some form of entertainment.

“You new in town?”

“You could say that.”

“Will you stay long?”

“No.”

He could tell the news disappointed her. “You do not like the country?”

“I prefer the city.”

“Do you?” She pouted. “I prefer the country myself.”

Demetri stared at her until she was shifting on her seat, extremely nervous. “He will never leave his wife, you know.”

The smile slipped from her lips. “What?”

“Your lover who just left. He will never leave his wife. He tells you he will, but he never will.”

She lifted her chin, licked her lips. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Demetri watched her closely. “Oh, but I think you do. Your rich lover promises you everything, and yet, all these years later you are exactly where you started.”

“He will marry me one day.”

Forcing himself not to laugh or crack a smile, he shrugged. “He tells you that to keep you from leaving. He could not bear it, for you are the only thing that he cares about.”

She smiled. “How do you know?”

“I can read people’s minds.”

She laughed and hit him playfully, her hand lingering on his arm.

“You have learned what he likes in and out of the bedchamber. You treat him like a king, knowing his wife will never do the things you do.”

She swallowed hard and glanced over her shoulder, but he knew no one paid them any attention, save for the boy.

“You are young and beautiful now, but soon your looks will fade and you will still be here, in this old rundown inn, waiting for your married lover to come visit for his few minutes every day. Yes, he will bring you trinkets, flowers, anything to keep you here. You are like chattel, bought and paid for.”

“Why are you saying this?” she said, her voice cracking, her eyes narrowing. “I do not even know you.” She dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress.

Perhaps she should have taken up acting instead of whoring.

“No, you do not know me, but I know you and your kind. You are in every pub, in every city, and in every country inn like this one.” He drained the glass of mediocre wine and leaned toward her. “Set yourself free from this life while you can. He is nothing to you, and soon he will not even bother coming by. He has never belonged to you and he never will.”

A tear ran down her face and she brushed it away. “It is so hard to leave.”

“This is all you have known, but trust me when I say that there is so much more opportunity out there. Do not waste the rest of your life here. You are too young and beautiful to waste away in such a hovel.”

She nodded, even though he knew she would never leave her lover.

She licked her lips. “Do you want to come upstairs?”

“Certainly,” he said, already standing, surprised she would want to bed him after his tirade.

They climbed the stairs to her room, and the patrons let out whistles and crude remarks. Demetri ignored them as she opened the door to her room.

“Just give me a moment,” she said, taking the soiled sheets from the bed and rolling them into a ball while she straightened her coverlet. “Shut the door, love.”

Doing as she asked, Demetri shut the door behind him.

A washbasin of rose water and soft towels sat nearby, assuring him that she at least washed between partners. Or he at least hoped that was the case.

She began undressing, exposing her slender, well-toned body. He could tell she enjoyed doing this by the way she watched his face intently. Expecting his reaction—perhaps even his gratitude.

Taking a moment, she cleaned herself, stepping behind the screen set up for such purposes.

Finishing her toilette, she appeared a moment later and walked toward him, her curvaceous hips swaying. Straddling him in the chair, she pressed her bare mons against his still-soft cock.

Despite the fact she had cleaned herself, he could still smell her musky scent from her previous lover.

“What do you want?”

She pressed her full breasts against his chest, rolled her hips, and arched her back. “I’ll do anything you desire.”

“Truly?”

“Of course,” she said, placing a hand on his cock, molding the material of his pants around its length. “Nothing is forbidden.” She bit into her bottom lip. “Mmm, and you are a big one to be sure.”

He brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck.

“Mmm, that feels positively delightful.”

“Does it,” he whispered, noting the hair on her neck stood on end.

He held her in place, bracing one hand on her hip. Then he bit down hard.

She cried out in pain, but only for a moment. To his surprise she moaned, rocking her hips against him, rubbing her sex against his cock over and over again.

He pinched a nipple and she gasped, her sex throbbing against him as she climaxed hard. He drank from her more than he should have, but he had been deprived for too long.

“I want you inside me,” she said, her eyes dark, her hips arching against his cock as she rubbed herself against him over and over again.

How tempted he was, but for some reason he could not get Remont out of his mind.

He drank a little more, until her eyes rolled back in her head. A second later she sagged against him. Lifting her, he laid her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

He left a fistful of coins on the table. She would sleep for an entire day and forget everything that happened after her lover had left.

Demetri left the inn by way of a window. Wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve, he looked up the road toward Darius’s manor and then glanced in the opposite direction, which led back to London. Perhaps he should return to Venice. Back to life as he had known it. But a life without Remont.

Damn it!

With stubborn determination he jumped to the manor, hoping to find his master and long-time lover.

The sound of a piano filled the manor, and Demetri followed. Remont had always been a skilled musician, and he played now for Darius and Gabrielle, who sat hand-in-hand listening, the very picture of marital bliss.

Darius motioned for Demetri to join them, but instead he stood at the doorway, watching.

The music ended and both Darius and Gabrielle clapped loudly. Demetri clapped as well, and Remont turned, obviously surprised to find him standing there.

“That was wonderful,” Gabrielle said with a wide smile.

“Indeed,” Darius agreed. “I look forward to hearing more, but first I must tend to business matters.”

His brother never could lie well.

“Gabrielle, you are welcome to stay,” Remont said, his voice almost pleading.

Gabrielle smiled at Remont and squeezed his shoulder as she walked past. “Actually, I am going to rest before dinner.”

Without another word, the two left the room, leaving just Demetri and Remont.

“We must talk, Remont.”

Remont lifted a tawny brow. “I thought we already had. In fact, were you not leaving the manor?”

“I did, but I chose to return.”

Remont rounded the piano and sat down in the nearest chair, his long legs sprawled out in front of him in a very uncharacteristic way.

Demetri took the chair nearest him. “Tell me what you are thinking.”

“I am tired.”

“Of me?”

“Yes.”

He had not even blinked. For God’s sake, he could have at least lied. “What have I done to change your heart?”

“You have always held my heart, Demetri, and well you know it.”

“So what has changed?”

“Nothing.” Remont stood. “Everything.”

“That makes no sense.”

“As confusing as it may seem, I only know I cannot live this way another day. My stomach is constantly in knots, and my heart aches. I just want it to end, Demetri, and the only way I know to make it end is to leave you.”

Demetri felt like he had received a blow to the gut. “You wish to leave me?”

He nodded and looked into the fire. “I believe it is the only way either one of us will ever have peace.”

“Why do you suddenly feel this way? What has changed your heart?”

Remont took a deep breath, and slowly released it. “It started in London. The night when Darius asked us to attend the soirée to find information about Sutherland and Gabrielle’s uncle.”

“And we did find that information.”

“Yes, but instead of going straight to your brother with the news that he was in grave danger, you instead chose to meet up with a woman, knowing full well I would run back and tell your brother the news.”

“You yourself had a liaison that night, too.”

“Only because you were with another. Yes, I went to Darius’s right after the soirée, but he was behind closed doors with Gabrielle, so I did not disturb them. I was not tired so I went for a walk, and that is when I saw the French couple. I knew you were with Whitcomb’s mistress, and something within me yearned for revenge. That is why I did it, and for no other reason. Just to hurt you.”

The news shocked him to the core. Remont had not slept with the two out of desire, but rather because he wanted revenge. “I forgive you, Remont.”

“You forgive me?” Remont’s false laughter filled the room. “I am unfaithful one time in countless years and you forgive me.” He shook his head. “I cannot bear to be with you any longer, Demetri. We must end this, and it must end now.”

Demetri’s stomach churned, and he stood. “You cannot mean it.”

“But I do, Demetri. We need to spend time apart.”

“For how long?”

He shook his head. “I am not sure. A week. Maybe two. A month. Perhaps forever.”

Demetri ran a hand through his hair, fighting the urge to cry. “What will time apart do for us?”

“I am not sure, but I do know I no longer want to feel the way I do now. The way I have felt from some time now.”

Demetri walked toward Remont, whose eyes narrowed at his approach. He grabbed him by the back of the neck, his fingers weaving into the soft, blond locks, their lips inches from each other. “I want you. I have always wanted you.”

Remont swallowed hard. “But it is not enough.”

Demetri’s eyes searched his. He loved him so much his heart ached. Everything about him, from his incredible eyes, the fine bone structure, to the soft, full lips. They had spent every day together for five centuries. Life without him was unthinkable.

Unable to help himself, Demetri kissed Remont.

Though he was unresponsive, Demetri kept at it, kissing him softly, his tongue running along the seam of his lips. He captured his face between his hands and kissed him harder, demanding a response.

Remont opened just a little, whether to say something or to accept the kiss, Demetri would never know because he wouldn’t give him a chance. His tongue slipped in, tracing the recesses of Remont’s.

Remont tried to push against Demetri’s chest, but he stood firm.

“I want you,” Demetri said against his lips. “I have always wanted you. From the moment I saw you in that old pub.”

Remont pulled away long enough to look at him.

“Yes, I knew you were there. Had seen you sitting there, so out of place with your fancy clothes, and your hair worn back from your face. I had never seen anyone so beautiful, and god, how I wanted you. How graceful you were, from the way you lifted the glass to your lips, to just the way you sat. Like the most beautiful statue had come to life. Everything about you intrigued me.” His gaze shifted lower. “Most of all your gorgeous mouth.”

Remont’s brows furrowed, his look of surprise telling Demetri he heard every word. “You are as beautiful now as you were then.”

“Why do you wait until now to tell me this?”

“Because I have never been close to losing you,” Demetri said, brushing a thumb along his cheekbone. “I do not want to lose you, Remont.” Demetri kissed him again, and this time Remont responded.

Relief such as Demetri had never before known washed over him. “I love you.”

Remont straightened.

“I have always loved you, Remont. From the first time you kissed me. From the first moment I tasted your lips. It has always been you and only you.”

“No, it has not been, my sweet Demetri. Perhaps you do love me in your own way, but if you truly loved me, you would not have to venture out each night to have sex with someone else.”

“But it is only sex.”

“To you it might only be sex, and just another night, but it is not that way for me. I had sex with another, and I still cannot forgive myself for it. I feel guilty, and I keep asking myself what for, especially since you fuck whoever you choose and it doesn’t bother you in the least. In fact, you can come home and give me each and every detail. If I were to do the same, you would come out of your skin.”

Demetri opened his mouth to deny it, but then realized he could not. It was true. His recent behavior proved as much.

Remont ran a trembling hand down his face. “We have been living a lie for far too many years, Demetri. I want you. I have always wanted you. No one makes my blood burn the way you do, but no one hurts me the way you hurt me, and I am getting too old.”

Demetri’s blood stirred in his veins as Remont’s gaze slipped from his, over his chest and down his belly to his cock. His gaze shot back to his. “I need to be with someone who is mine and mine alone. A person who wants me and only me.”

Demetri opened his mouth, ready to defend himself and tell Remont that he would be faithful to him.

But could he?

He had always had lovers and thought nothing of it. But here Remont had been unfaithful once and Demetri wanted to kill the couple. He did not want anyone sharing his lover’s bed but him.

The sides of Remont’s lips curved in a smile that did not reach his eyes. “And even now, Demetri, when faced with the truth, you still cannot tell me, even lie to me, and say that you will be true. And that is why I am leaving you … once I am assured Gabrielle is out of harm’s way.”

Demetri swiped a vase from a table in his fury, dashing it into a thousand bits against the wall. The sound of footsteps sounded, and a servant bounded in a moment later, looking from Remont to Demetri, and then the broken glass. She left as quietly as she had entered.

“If you do not want me, then get the hell out of my brother’s home!” Demetri said, his voice full of rage. “Or I shall be forced to leave.”