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It didn’t shock him to hear it. Roth’s blood bond with Claire would have betrayed her to him. But the little tremor of fear in her voice made Reichen’s own blood seethe. “What happened? Did he do something to you?”

“Last night, while we were making love, he let me know that he was aware of my infidelity to him. I don’t know what he might have done, but his message of pain came through loud and clear to me.”

“You didn’t tell me.” Reichen drew her away from him and stared hard into her eyes. “Why did you keep that from me?”

“Because there is nothing to be done about it, Andre.”

“Like hell there isn’t,” he gritted. “As soon as I know where that bastard is hiding, I will damned well do something about him.”

Claire winced, slowly shook her head. “I’m afraid of what he will do to you. He will kill you if he can. You have to know that. It’s no stretch to assume that it was him who tried to kill you back in Hamburg all those years ago. He was there at the Darkhaven after you and I argued. I was crying when I went inside. I told him what happened, how I wished more than anything that you wanted me for your mate. I told him everything, Andre. And the next thing I knew, you had disappeared. I didn’t think about the fact that I went to him about you then, but now…”

Reichen pulled her close and placed a kiss to the top of her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve felt all along that the assault on me was too personal and violent to be random. It might not even be centered entirely on us being together. But whether or not Roth had a hand in it doesn’t matter, because the end result—the change that came over me in that field—is the thing that drove me away from you. It’s the only thing that could have kept me away.”

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything he’s done to you. Your family your female friend in Berlin that he turned Minion… Oh, God, Andre. I’m so very sorry for all the pain you’ve endured.”

Reichen hushed her, holding her close. “This is between Roth and me. None of the blame rests with you. What happened to me is insignificant. But my family deserves justice. So does Helene.”

Claire was silent for a long moment, then she asked gently, “Did you love her very much?”

He thought about Helene and the strong bond of trust and understanding they’d shared. She was a remarkable woman who had been something more than just another of his long line of casual, noncommittal dalliances. It had nearly killed him to see her drained of her humanity, but no more than it had devastated him to have to be the one to finish her after Roth had left her an empty shell, her mind enslaved to carry out his evil bidding.

“I cared for Helene deeply,” he admitted. “I loved her as best as I was capable. But I wasn’t able to give her my heart, because it was already lost to another.”

Claire drew out of his arms then and gazed up at him.

“It’s always been you, you know.” He cupped her face in his palms. “I have been in love with you all along.”

She closed her eyes for a long moment. When she opened them again, they were welling with tears. “Oh, Andreas. I still love you. I never stopped.”

With a growl he could not contain, Reichen captured her mouth in a possessive kiss. When they were both panting with desire, he pushed the piano bench back and stood her up in front of him. The keys let out a burst of discordant noise as Claire leaned against them. He threw her long skirt up over her thighs.

“Ah, Jesus,” he hissed through his huge fangs. “You’re not wearing panties.”

She gave him a saucy smile. “Surprise.”

If he’d known that, they never would have made it out of the house in the first place. Ravenous for the taste of her, he buried his head between her legs and plundered her sweetness. She held on to him, fingers twisting in his hair. He kissed her ruthlessly, needing to feel her come apart against his mouth. When she was writhing, moaning and sighing with the rush of a ferocious orgasm,