Cassie fought the urge to go to him as she stared at Devon's rigid back. Her hands itched to touch him to ease the self-loathing he radiated. But if she went to him now he would stop talking, and there would be no other chance for her to learn about him.

Though he may not like to remember these things, he had to talk about them, and he had to be forgiven for them afterward. He needed her forgiveness, and although she didn't know what was still to come, she knew he would receive it. This man before her was not the monster that had done these things.

This man was the one who cherished and loved her. With all the women in his past, and she was certain there were far more than these three, it was her he loved.

"I was born in Devonshire England, hence the name. I was the second son of a Duke. I was wealthy, spoiled, and without the added burden of being the first born that my brother Robert carried." Cassie frowned as bitterness crept into his tone at his brother's name. "Robert was serious, studious, smart, the apple of my father's eye, his one true son. I was a cast off, the one who would only count if something happened to Robert. I prayed everyday nothing ever did happen to him, for I wanted nothing to do with my father, or any of his responsibilities. I despised the man for his indifference, and hated him more for his cruelty."

He kept his gaze focused out the window, unwilling to turn back to her. His shoulders were stiff as anguish poured from him. Though she had asked for the truth, it wasn't worth this. These memories were destroying him. "Devon you don't have to do this, you…"

"Yes I do," he interrupted harshly. "You have to know. You have a right to know."

Cassie's mouth snapped shut, her stomach clenched as she slid onto the bed. "My father had what you would call anger issues. I cried out once and my mother came to my defense, she was punished for her insolence so I learned to take every beating in silence.

"When I turned eighteen I was eager to escape, desperate to be free, even if it was only to the university. Once free, I took refuge in the local taverns, drinking heavily, gambling, and… other things," he mumbled. His shoulders slouched as his head bowed. Cassie didn't have to hear what those other things were to know they were women. "I stopped going to school. I lost myself in every form of drudgery I could find, just hoping it would get back to my father. I didn't care if he disowned me, I’d discovered I had a talent with cards, and I was doing well supporting myself.

"Then I met Elizabeth. She was in one of the gaming halls I often visited. It was amazing to see her there, women weren't allowed into the clubs unless they were working them. Elizabeth was definitely not working this club, or at least she wasn't working it as one of the escorts. No one there seemed to know her, but they all fought to get closer to her, and no one asked her to leave.

"What none of us knew was that Elizabeth had discovered the men's gaming halls were a perfect way to make a lot of money. She could take it from anyone at anytime, and of course there was plenty of food for her there."

He rested his arm against the top of the window and leaned forward as he focused on the night. Though the tense quiet was killing her, Cassie remained silent. Devon was no longer with her, but trapped in a past he couldn't escape.

"I lusted after Elizabeth, but I wasn't like the other men, I didn't chase her around. I didn't throw money and jewels at her; I didn’t even buy her a drink. It aggravated her; she simply didn't understand how I was able to resist her. I still don't know how I did. For, although she was a vampire, I didn't feel the lure to her as strongly as other humans did.

"That factor, and that I wasn't a good human being to begin with, made her decide to change me. She enjoyed watching my antics, my drunken brawls, my inane lack of caring or respect for the human race. I was selfish and I was fascinating to her, and she thought I would make a spectacular addition to her race."

His arm dropped away from the sill. "She was right; I was a fine addition to the species. The transition was painful, but once complete I took to my new identity like a fish to water. Elizabeth showed me the way, teaching me to hunt wisely, not to get caught, and how to survive. I loved the death, the blood, the torture, and I relished in the power."

He became silent again. "What happened to her?" Cassie prodded when it appeared he wasn't going to say more.

Devon's back was straight as a rod. "She was killed in Prague by a group of Hunters about a hundred years later." Though he answered her, she sensed something more behind his words, but he was distressed enough without her picking at any more scabs. Elizabeth was dead, that part of his past wouldn't be showing up on her doorstep like Isla had.

Biting on her lower lip, her gaze shifted to the night beyond him. He talked about a couple hundred years as if it were nothing. To her, a couple of years were huge. To her, two years was almost a lifetime, never mind a hundred of them. Cassie shivered at the stark reminder of just how different their worlds were, and always would be, if she decided not to join him.

"I stayed alone for years, enjoying my solitude, and my life. When I met Julian I recognized the same kind of cruelty and depravity in him that resided in me. We got along well, destroyed so very many lives, and relished in inflicting as much cruelty as possible. We were always together until I met Annabelle."

"You're not like him," she whispered.

His head swiveled deliberately on his shoulders, his emerald eyes burned with intensity as they finally met hers. "Don't kid yourself Cassie; I was exactly like him. No, I was worse. I’m still capable of extreme acts of violence, especially when it involves keeping you safe," he grated.

Her heart kicked over, her eyes closed as pain swept through her. Worse? She tried to deny it, but she knew it was true. He'd been the epitome of a monster, there was no changing that and he still could be, she'd witnessed his brutality tonight. Goosebumps broke out on her arms as she shuddered again. "And Isla?" she choked out. She didn't really want to know, she was simply looking to change the subject.

"I met Isla in Rome, and I knew I had to have her. Isla enjoyed toying with men and wrapping them around her little finger before cutting them loose again. She thought she could play with me, but she had a rude awakening instead. As a human she was ruthless, manipulative, and beautiful. As a vampire she was a sight to behold. I changed her, I created her, because I wanted to see the amount of cruelty and death she could bestow upon the world. She was outstanding at it, exciting, fascinating."

Cassie was finding it damn near impossible to breathe as his lip curled and the gleam in his became vicious. He was trying to push her away, she realized with a start. He didn't feel as if he deserved her, and the more he relived his past, the more he hated himself. He was trying to push her away before she could take no more, and left him. That was not going to happen.

"Isla began to fancy herself in love with me, I didn't return the sentiment, but I did enjoy her company. Often."

Cassie winced, her nails dug into her skin at the bluntness of his words. She bit into her bottom lip in an attempt to keep from crying. "Stop," she whispered.

"Stop what? The truth?" he practically snarled.

Cassie was unable to stop the tremors wracking through her. "No, stop trying to push me away. Please Devon, I can take almost anything, but not that. Please."

"Cassie…"

"I understand about your past, I do," she interrupted. "But please just stop."

She never heard him move, didn't know he had until he was kneeling before her, his beautiful eyes lost and bleak. "I'm sorry Cassie, forgive me. Forgive me for everything."

Tears slid down her cheeks as she cupped his face and ran her thumb over the perfect contours she knew and loved. Pain had etched lines into his face that weren't normally there. He desperately needed her forgiveness, the desire for it burned in his eyes. But she wasn't the one who could give it to him.

"I cannot forgive you," she whispered. "You have done nothing to me to warrant my forgiveness. You are not a monster anymore Devon, you haven't been for years…"

"The women."

Cassie winced involuntarily. That was something she would have to work on in her own time, and in her own way. Her confidence had been rattled, her fears confirmed, but everything he was telling her, happened back then. And now… Now he was hers, and she was not going to let him go. "Devon I knew there were other women, I'm not a fool. You've been around for a while."

She managed a wry smile she didn't feel, but he needed her reassurance, and he needed her love. For him, she could do anything. "It's you who has to forgive yourself," she whispered.

His eyes were troubled and yet so very hopeful as he searched her face. "I don't deserve you."

"Yes, you do."

He seized hold of her hand and kissed it tenderly. Urgency radiated from him as love poured from his soul. Her breath was stolen from her as the influx of his desire beat against her. Tugging her toward him, he wrapped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her mouth to his.

His intensity overwhelmed her as his tongue swept in to take possession of her mouth. Reasonable thought fled as he invaded all of her senses and shattered her self-doubt and concerns. He rose up over her, pushing her back onto the bed, his firm body came down on top of hers. Cassie's heart hammered, her body tingled with excitement as his hands slid over her, and brought her body to electrified life. She'd never felt anything like this, never knew such exquisite pleasure could exist.

Her fingers dug into his hair as she pulled him more firmly against her. This was right, this was where she belonged, where she would always belong. Since the moment she'd met him, he'd owned her heart, body, and soul. He was her other half, the only one who could ever make her whole.

His kiss became almost painful in his desperation and need. His hands slid her baggy sweatshirt up to stroke over her skin. He caressed her tenderly as his fingers slid down to the waistband of her workout pants. Though she was swept away in a rising wave of passion and pleasure, a bolt of trepidation tore through her. She loved him, she truly did, but she wasn't ready for this. Not after this night, and not when she was still so rattled and shaken.

"Stop, Devon, wait," she managed to wheeze out. She tore her mouth from his, if she didn't stop this now, she never would. His body stilled against hers as his eyes became questioning. "I can't, I'm not ready." She shook her head, unable to meet his gaze again as humiliation burned through her. She was sure Isla had never told him no. Cassie shuddered at the thought. She was acting like a silly child, but she simply wasn't ready for this. "I'm sorry."

"Cassie, look at me. Look at me," he ordered again when she kept her gaze firmly planted on her bureau. Trying to keep her shaking under control, she met his gaze again. "I don't want to do anything you're not ready for. I've waited over seven hundred years for you, and I'll wait for you forever. When you are ready, I will be here Cassie. For you, I can do anything."

Muted sobs wracked through her as relief and love filled her. Rolling off of her, he pulled her against him and cradled her. She didn't doubt his words; she simply hoped she would be enough for him when the time came. That he wouldn't be disappointed in her. That he wouldn’t compare her to them, and find her lacking. She also wished her doubts about changing for him weren't back, but she was frightened of his world, wary of the cruelty and deprivation filling it.

She rested her hand on his chest and curled her head into the hollow of his shoulder. She frowned when he seized hold of her hand and moved it to the other side of his chest. This was what he did every time she rested her hand over the spot where his heart should be beating, she realized. It was one of the reasons she'd never noticed his lack of a heartbeat before. Well, that and she'd been too infatuated with him to notice much of anything else.

But now, she noticed.

Tugging her hand free, she rested it back over his deadened heart. It was a little disturbing not to feel a heartbeat, but she loved him too much to care. "No," she whispered when he grasped for her hand again.

"Cassie," he groaned. "You shouldn't be constantly reminded of what I am."

She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "You're the person I love Devon, and I want to be reminded of that every second of the day."

His hand clenched around hers and pressed it against his silent chest. Cassie smiled as she bent to kiss him. She lost herself to the bliss he offered her.

* * *

Despite the awful events of the night, Cassie awoke in a surprisingly good mood. Devon's arm was draped over her; his face was slack and innocent as he slept. She dropped a kiss on his brow, and scooted carefully out of the bed so as not to wake him. Padding toward the bathroom, she pulled her bandages carefully off, glad to find the cuts were healing well.

She took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a Red Sox shirt, opting for comfy rather than stylish. It was Sunday after all. Her grandmother would already be making pancakes and sausages for them, and an egg white omelet for Melissa. Cassie was pulling out more bandages and antiseptic when a faint knock sounded on the door.

She pulled it open and smiled at the sight of Devon's tussled hair, and sleepy half smile. His green eyes perused her as an eyebrow quirked. "Adorable," he muttered.

Cassie felt her cheeks flush as she ducked her head. Noting the supplies on the sink, he came toward her and tenderly pulled her shirt up. His forehead furrowed, his eyes darkened as he studied the deep scratches on her side. "Almost completely healed," he mumbled, more to himself.

"Why do you sound so upset about? Shouldn't you be happy they're healing well?"

He glanced up at her. "Of course I'm happy, it's just surprising."

She wasn't fooled. His smile didn't make it to his eyes, nor did it ease the lines marring his brow. "I told you I heal fast."

"I know." He kissed her forehead gently. "Let me help you."

Taking hold of the peroxide, he began to work on the gashes. His touch was so wispy she barely felt it. Smoothing the bandages into place, he rose beside her. "How are the ribs?"

Cassie shrugged and prodded at the bruises already fading from her ribcage. The cracks were already healed, but the bone was still bruised, though not badly. "Much better," she assured him.

His eyes were still dark as his hands wrapped around her waist. "I have to go, but I'll be back in a little bit."

Cassie swallowed heavily; she hated to see him leave. "Be safe," she whispered.

"Always," he vowed and kissed her tenderly.

She watched as he slipped out the window and disappeared over the sill. She hummed to herself as she made her way downstairs, practically skipping down the last set of steps. Chris was still lying on the couch with his arm tossed over his eyes in an attempt to block out the sunlight filtering through the windows.

"Good morning," she greeted cheerfully.

Lowering his arm, he stared skeptically at her. "Ugh," he grunted.

Cassie laughed happily and turned toward the kitchen. "Get up lazy butt!" she called over her shoulder.

The ring of the doorbell stopped her before she made it to the kitchen. She hurried to the door, surprised that Melissa and Luther had rung it, they usually just walked in. Shrugging, Cassie grasped hold of the handle as Chris bolted upright. He leapt to his feet and cleared the back of the couch in one fluid motion.

"Cassie no!" he barked.

But it was too late. She already had the door open, and what was standing on the other side was something far worse than she ever could have imagined.