That’s your last trip down memory lane, Hallie scolded herself as she stepped out of the porcelain claw-foot tub and began toweling her body dry. Remembering the past always just hurt anyway, and none more so than the day of Helios and MJ’s wedding. It had been the first time Andreus had given her a taste of his cruelty, and unfortunately it hadn’t been the last either.

Although they had managed to patch things up that same night, nothing had ever been the same again, and as time passed, Andreus’ penchant for throwing her love back at her face had only resurfaced more and more. Sometimes, she would forget herself and wear her heart on her sleeve, and whenever she did, he would make a point of crushing her heart to pieces just so she would remember that there was one line she wasn’t ever to cross.

He would catch her looking at him with helpless adoration, and he would ignore her for the entire night. He would walk into her talking about him lovingly, and he would retaliate by talking about the woman he had last fucked. Out loud.

Just little things really, but when they happened day after day, it was like having a thousand needles prick her over and over – until one day she realized she was all bled out, and she had just…snapped.

They had been at the beach, and Andreus at that time had been Kalli’s designated babysitter of sorts. The two of them had been arguing while building sandcastles, and Hallie had been about to join them and play her usual role of mediator when she had heard Andreus bellow words that pounded the final nail on her coffin.

How many times do I have to tell you I don’t love Hallie Athanas?

He had hurt her so many times before that, but none of them had hurt as much as hearing him reject her love so explicitly, and the words had spelled the beginning of their end. He had apologized for it of course, like he always did, and she had forgiven him, like she always had.

But unlike with past hurts, his apology was no longer enough. She had waited, had even foolishly prayed and hoped the pain would die like it usually did, but with each day that went by, the pain had only grown worse and worse until Hallie had known there was only one thing to do.

She had left – and Andreus had let her go without a fight.

The sudden ringing of the intercom had Hallie hurtling back to the present, and she hurriedly wrapped a towel around her body as she padded back into her bedroom to answer the call. “Hello?”

“We’re having dinner in five,” Yuri told her. “Do you feel up to it or would you rather rest?”

Dinner meant she could see Andreus again, and her hopeless heart skipped a beat. “I’ll join you guys.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but her excitement must’ve still shown if her brother’s next words were anything to go by.

“What’s going on, Hallie?”

“Nothing.”

Yuri frowned. It wasn’t like her at all to play with fire like this, and he had to make a serious effort to resist lecturing her about the way she was handling this whole Andreus business. Like it or not, Hallie was no longer a girl, and he had no right to dictate her actions.

“I’ll see you downstairs then,” he said finally.

Kalli glanced up just as Yuri put the intercom down, and her brows furrowed when she saw the heaviness that darkened her husband’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering her, Yuri bent down to look at the sketches she was working on. “How’s it going?” His wife had recently signed a book deal with Willow Manolos, which he felt proud of – and nervous about. Kalli had a tendency to take things a little too literally, the kind that saw nothing wrong about adding hotdogs in her bentos just to symbolize his cock. And since her upcoming bento book was also being marketed as a woman’s “edible love letter” to the love of her life, Yuri couldn’t help but feel slightly worried about how much of their lives she would end up revealing.

“It’s going very well,” Kalli answered dutifully, “but I don’t want to talk about my work. I want to talk about you---” Her gaze turned reproachful. “And this time, please don’t lie?”

“I’m sorry.” He was instantly and sincerely repentant, knowing how Kalli felt about any kind of dishonesty. “I’m just worried about Hallie and Andreus.”

“I understand.” She reached up to brush a few stray locks from his face, the gesture innocently tender and infinitely comforting in the way only Kalli could be for him. “I worry, too.”

Yuri was genuinely surprised. “You are?”

“I am.”

As this was the first time she had ever admitted to worrying about anything, he found her admission a little too ominous for his peace of mind. “Did Hallie tell you anything?”

“No.”

“Then why do you worry---” He stopped when Kalli started shaking her head.

“You’re being silly.” His wife’s patient voice made him feel like a five year old. “There is no reason for me to worry about your sister. She’s a very strong woman---”

“Are you saying you’re worried about Andreus?” he asked in surprise.

Kalli gave him a look that seemed to question his current level of intelligence. “Who else?”

A hundred possible answers to that instantly came to mind – Andreus was older, tougher, and more experienced – but Yuri spoke none of them in the end. This was Kalli, after all, and if there was one thing he had learned to appreciate about her, it was how so easily she could see through another person’s heart.

And so he asked simply, “Why are you worried about him?”

His wife gave him a sad smile. “Because he’s almost at the end of his tether.”

The southeast wing of Claymore Plantation, which was Andreus’ private share of the property, enjoyed the best view of the heart-shaped hedge maze at the back of the house. It was a gift of love from one of the former masters of Claymore Plantation to his English bride, whom he had originally married for her noble blood but had ended up falling head over heels for.

Stupid love story, Andreus thought to himself as he downed a shot of whiskey, his violent dark gaze focused on what locals considered one of the town’s most iconic attractions. Whipping away from the offending view his second-floor balcony offered in expansive splendor, he walked back inside to pour himself another shot. The liquid burned his throat, but unfortunately, it had no effect whatsoever on his mind.

He reached for his iPhone and bit back a curse when he saw the screen empty of any messages or missed calls from the FBI. It could mean a thousand and one problems, but it could also mean nothing at all, and in the end he deliberately shoved all burgeoning concerns out of his mind. Worrying over the lack of updates on his case was pointless, and he had better ways to make use of his time – such as figuring out what Hallie’s new game was.

I’m still in love with you.

The only reason they had been able to stay together all these years was because she had been willing to play by his rules. She was going to keep her feelings to herself, and he would do the same with his. It was the only way, would always be the only way they could have snatched moments of perfection between them.

I’m tired of keeping my feelings a secret. I’m tired of doing things your way. I’m just tired.

Remembering the immeasurable pain that had threaded through her voice made Andreus’ fingers curl dangerously hard around his shot glass.

Did she think it wasn’t the same for him, he thought savagely.

He might never have said the words, but she would have to be an idiot not to know she was the only one for him.

Since the very first time they met, he had fallen for her like a ton of bricks, and he had seen no one else.

He only always saw her. Just her. Always her.

Faint footsteps coming up the sweeping staircase made Andreus stiffen in his seat, and when the silence persisted, the hairs at the back of his neck stood.

Hallie.

And almost as if she had heard him call her name, her soft voice followed. “Andreus?”

He wanted to close his eyes, wanted to laugh and weep like a madman at the very sound of her voice. Damn her. The alcohol in his system might have failed to defeat his lucidity, but what it did achieve was destroying Andreus’ usually impregnable hold on his emotions.

Hallie gasped and literally jumped back a step when Andreus leapt off the bar stool with astonishing speed. All of a sudden he was standing right in front of her, looming over her, his dark face livid with anger and barely suppressed aggression emanating from his powerful body.

And yet, she thought helplessly, she still wasn’t afraid of him. The violence in his gaze made her nervous, yes, but it also sent a dangerous little thrill down her spine. She might still be a virgin, but her mind was far from innocent. She had never fantasized about sex until she met Andreus, and ever since she had met him, she had not stopped dreaming about it.

Even with all the countless “eligibles” both family and friends had introduced to her over the years, none of them had managed to compare to him. They were all boys while Andreus was all man: unapologetically raw in his masculinity, excitingly earthy in his sexuality, and oh so impossibly perfect. He was hard where he was supposed to be hard, big where he was supposed to big, and if even a fraction of the snatches of conversations she overhead from the club’s groupies was real, then his stamina was what it was supposed to be, too.

I’ve been with so many men, but only Andreus has made me beg. My body literally couldn’t survive that much fucking in one night.

He lasts so long he’s made me lose consciousness more than once.

I thought everyone was joking when they said a woman could run out of cum with Andreus.

Remembering all those things made Hallie fidget and wet her lip unconsciously; while the other women’s sexual testimonials certainly made her body feel hot and bothered, those same words also made her heart ache.

It had always been like that where Andreus was concerned: loving him was both joy and sorrow –

But not anymore, she thought determinedly. She had promised herself she was done pretending, and this time, this one last time, she was going to see everything to the end.

Hallie slowly lifted her gaze and almost jumped back when she saw intense emotion blazing from Andreus’ dark gaze. Was that anger or something else?

Swallowing hard, she ventured uncertainly, “We, umm, missed you at dinner.” She had asked Kalli about him, knowing it was only her sister-in-law who’d tell her the truth, and the younger woman had confirmed Hallie’s suspicions. Andreus usually had his meals with the others at the Great Hall whenever he was home.

And so when Andreus said dismissively, “I wasn't in the mood to eat.”

She knew he was lying.

“Are you mad at me?” It was the only thing that could explain his absence – and the way he was looking at her now.

“You don’t think I have any right to be?” A sardonic smile twisted over his lips at the confusion in her gaze. “I’m disappointed, princess. Has Tokyo turned you into an idiot that you’re only figuring things out now?”

Hallie could only shake her head. “I don’t get it.” Since he only called her ‘princess’ when he was pissed, it meant he truly was furious with her – and she had no idea why. “Why are you mad at me?”

Two years she had refused to call him, two years she had refused to take the first step like she usually did, two years she had forced him to live without the sound of her voice – didn’t she know how much it meant to him to hear her goddamn voice? Didn’t she goddamn know how much she meant –

Ah, fuck.

Andreus belatedly noticed her widened eyes and slack-jawed look.

FUCK.

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” Hallie whispered dazedly.

“I have to be,” Andreus muttered, “if I just said all the things I think I said.”

“You did.”

Fuck.

Hallie still had a hard time believing what she had just heard, but she knew it could only be true. It was why Andreus strove never to be around her when he drank. In vino veritas – it had always been that way with him, and she had always known that, too. But never ever had she thought he could be hiding this much from her, never ever had she hoped he could ever be this truthful…just because he was plastered.

Unease stirred inside of Andreus at the way Hallie was gazing at him.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This was not how things were supposed to go between them.

“I think I’ve had too much to drink,” he said abruptly.

“I think…not.” Hallie then took a step forward, and she had to swallow back a giggle when Andreus automatically took a step back. “If I had known you’d be this fun---”

Ignoring her words, he said, “I think you should go.”

She ignored his words right back, arguing, “I think I should stay.”

He saw her take another step towards him and cursed under his breath even as it forced him to move another step back. “Hallie.” His voice contained a threat.

“Andreus.” Her voice promised sweet temptation.

And then she started running towards him.

Goddammit.

Hallie almost threw her head back with a laugh at the hunted expression that fell over Andreus’ gorgeous face, and the way his gaze desperately snapped from one side to another in an attempt to look for a possible way to dodge her.

Luckily for her, he had accidentally positioned himself between a rock and a hard place, with the wall on one side, a display cabinet bearing his priceless collection of first-edition rifles on the other, and the bar’s counter at his back.

Andreus grunted as Hallie suddenly launched herself at him, and his eyes automatically closed as her arms went around his neck and every inch of her softness rubbed tantalizingly against his body.

GODDAMMIT.

Years of pent-up longing struck him all at once, and his self-restraint threatened to buckle under the weight of all the memories they shared.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, and his arms snapped around her, his hands delving deep to cup the sweet cheeks of her ass.

Andreus closed his eyes, but memories went on to invade his mind, forcing himself to relive stolen moments of perfection between them.

The times he would let himself savor the love in her eyes, the brush of her fingers as she traced his lips, the moments when he wanted her so damn much he just had to feel her –

He remembered that one time they had been alone in the elevator, and he had her up against the wall, his cock throbbing insistently against her sweet belly, and the musky scent of their mutual arousal making both of them shudder and pant.

That one time had been the closest he had been to succumbing to his desire for her, and if not for Kellion and Aria finding them together, Andreus might not have been able to control himself at all.

“Andreus?”

Unfortunately for him, there were no Kellion and Aria to stop him from losing control this time, and tendrils of seduction wrapped tightly around his body at the shy note of yearning in Hallie’s voice.

He felt Hallie’s fingers move across the side of his neck before reaching up to cup his face, and it was as arousing as it was poignant. Her touch was just like no other, and even though he knew both of them would be better off if he forced her off him and threw him out of his house –

Andreus was tired, too.

He felt her fingers tremble against the hard panes of his cheeks as their gazes met.

So damn tired.

“One night,” she pled tremulously. “Just this one night, can’t you be the one to pretend? Can’t you tell yourself you’re drunk and just…touch me? No strings attached, no morning-after recriminations, no fine print.”

Did she think he was an idiot?

All these years of holding back, and she wanted him to let everything go down the drain for one night’s worth of fucking?

Hell no.

The way they felt about each other, a single taste would ruin them completely, and he would never be able to let her go.

And yet when she said his name again…

Andreus.

Even knowing he would be damning them to even more pain –

(He was just so fucking tired.)

Andreus’ mouth crashed over her slightly parted lips in a deep, branding, no-turning-back kiss, and her gasp disappeared into the bold thrust of his tongue.

He would give her what she wanted.

One night in which he could pretend…he had every right to love her.