He didn't know how long he had been standing there, it's not like the view of the sunset was of any appeal to him. Not much was these days, nothing could be. As he sipped on the whiskey again, he felt the pulse of pain on his lip, amongst other places on his body. Looking down at his watch, he saw the time, just about time for his keeper to come and give him words of wisdom, or whatever he thought he was doing. Right on cue, Justin walked into his office, he did that more often now.

"You need to stop this."

"How many times have you said that to me now? Are you keeping count, cause I'm not?"

"Bill, at least try to tone down on the training, you're hurting yourself"

"No. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Can I at least take you to see…"

"I'll head there once I'm done here. You have anything for me to sign?"

"Nah, not at this moment. But she's here and she wants to see you."

His hand curled reflexively into a fist, a sharp breath leaving him.

"If you don't want…"

"It's okay, send her in." It was time anyway.

Justin gave him another lengthy look, "Take it easy on her," only leaving once he got a nod in return.

As he opened the door, her scent travelled the air, seeping into him, slightly calming the beast, even if it didn't do the same for him. She walked over to him, pausing a breath away from him. He had to hold himself in place, the urge to take her into his arms so strong he had to fight against it.

"Bill, what happened," the worry in her voice was as welcome as it wasn't.

"I'm okay," he still hadn't looked at her. Didn't know if he could without…

She placed her hand on his cheek, the pain in his body chased away by the heat of her touch, barely, turning his face.

"I haven't seen you in weeks. Where'd you go."

"Australia, touching base there."

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving. You said it was different this time."

He snorted, rage running through him, bringing the glass to take another heavy gulp.

"I trust Wyatt kept on top of things. Have only heard good things from him."

"Stop deflecting. You said it was different."

"It is…was," he backed up away from her, until he was standing several steps away from her, he couldn't stop the images in his head.

Gripping the glass till he heard it start to crack, he forced his eyes to look at her, "I wanted so much to give you everything, the whole world if I could. I thought you knew that."

"Those are empty promises for a married man," she bit back, pain etching itself on her face

An empty laughter escaped him then,

"Yeah, well," he raised his hand to show her the truth staring her in the face

"Wait…" she gasped

"Didn't know that I left Katie yet? She must be keeping it quiet then. Not that it matters, does it Steffy?" he growled out, looking at her, seeing the confusion begin to show in her eyes.

"When did you…"

"You didn't have faith in me, not that I can blame you, our track record isn't something to speak of. So that's okay, not having faith. It's even okay to take a step back to protect yourself, I understand that. I can't blame you for it really. I can't even imagine the pain I caused you when I left. So it's okay."

"Bill…"

"I am an unrepentant man Steffy, and I go after what I want, damn the consequences, and God knows I wanted you, even now, being in the same room as you, it's all I can do to not touch you."

She took a step towards him, but he held out his hand, stopping her.

"No. Just stay over there, where I can see you, far enough that if I reach out I won't ." The confusion on her face grew even more, and he could tell she wanted to defy him, but she saw something in his expression that made her stop.

"I really missed your face," he breathed out, "I never thought I'd miss it this much."

"Bill I'm right here,"

"I know, I know. But you and me, yeah,", he roughly ran his hand across his lips, breathing out harshly, "I don't think that's going to happen anymore."

"What?"

"You see…," he took a step towards her, "When I saw you again, this lock I kept chained around what I felt for you broke, and I was going to hold you tight, never let you go, because I couldn't imagine another night without you. Another night going to her, when where I wanted to be was with you," another step towards her, "And even though you weren't picking up your phone, just wanting to feel you in the same space as me, to tell you I was going to put you first, I came to your place," another step, Steffy took one back.

"You came to my place?" she whispered the question.

"I did call Justin first, knowing he would be with Genevieve, asked her if she saw you, she said you had already left to head home. So yeah, I drove to your place."

A strangled sound left her, but he wouldn't stop…

"You know I hate those cliché moments right; I've told you that before. You get to the door, it's open. You get inside, call out her name, to no response," a sheen of tears appeared in her eyes, "so hear I find myself already hating this feeling the beast inside me can sense, and he's growling, banging at the bars of the cage."

"Bill, stop…...wait…"

"No, no, no we're just getting to the best part. So there I am, walking into your living room," he stood one inch away from her now, leaning his face down to her, "I mean, at least you did seem like you were enjoying yourself. I did always like to hear you moan."

She tried to take a step back, her hand against her forehead, "Just let me explain…"

"There's no need for explanations Steffy," he said in a strong whisper as he moved with her, placing his fingers on her cheeks, "it's okay. I know you weren't mine, I've thought about it a lot, I know that. But still, knowing how I felt for you, that I felt for you again, in amounts even greater than when I first let you in, you let him touch you," he ran his fingers down her cheek, "kiss you, feel you," he leaned away from her slightly, "I did see you neck arching back, you seemed really invested in it"

"No…"

"Hmm yes," he leaned his forehead against hers, "At least now I know why my beast got hackled when I saw Andre near you. So cliché moment over, I felt like I was intruding, so I left, went back home, left Katie."

His hands left her face, arching reflexively to go back to touch her, but he resisted. Taking a step back, he took a deep breath, reigning the rage and pain in, picked up his glass downing the rest of his drink.

"And here we are now."

"No wait."

He didn't listen, walking towards the door. He felt her stumble, heard the cry that left her, stopping him in his tracks. He cracked his neck, her pain calling to him. That's why she hadn't seen him. Trying to sort out these foreign emotions had resulted in nothing. None of the others had meant to him what Steffy meant to him now. Katie had opened his heart, sure, but Steffy…

Being close to her again, she had tattooed herself on him. Maybe that's why it had hurt as much as it did.

The second cry had him turning around. Seeing her tears, how they broke him, he was helpless to stop from walking to her, and pulling her into his arms, peace invading him amongst all that turmoil that still raged from knowing another man had touched her.

She whispered apologies in his ears, holding him close, but he didn't want them, even if he did crave her. He didn't know how long they stayed, her in his arms, tears soaking his shirt, the wetness on his chest battering on the rage, one hands running through her hair as the other held her tightly to him. Finally, she stopped, and he felt the shards of pain they caused start to recede. Walking her over to the sofa, he couldn't help but pull her into his arms, she came so willingly. It was uncanny how perfectly they fit, as he felt her breath on his neck, her scent seeping into him. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he heard her breath, felt another piece slide in between them, bonding them even as reality drew them apart.