I want to thank the following reviewers: VWH luv them all, Randomness-Is-My-Middle-Name, DreamWings-Kitty Kon, ChaR17, and Harlequin-Istic!

Sorry for not updating sooner. Blame the recent heat wave! Thank the recent rain!

Chapter 11

Two Weeks Later

- - - Diana was avoiding her room. She knew that if she walked inside, the urge to lay down would win. Then Dedrick would show up and she would only end up laying beside him. They would contemplate on nothing important and then watch a movie. It had become a routine. A routine that she needed to put a stop to. For now, she was walking up and down the aisles of the mansion.

She was also waiting for Neola's call. They had talked yesterday night and told her everything that had been going since her last visit. What did she get? A loud, unexpected giggle. Diana had expected a screech or even curses but not a happy aunt.

Her ear twitched. She got her cell phone from her pocket and answered it. "Diana, what are you doing now?"

"What I said I was going to do" answered Diana making a turn

Diana could hear her humming. "I was thinking deeply about this"

"What where your findings doctor?" asked Diana going along with this

"Ha ha" said Neola "I think you should give him a chance"

Diana tripped on her own two feet and fell to the floor. The grip on her cell phone had tightened and heard it crack. She cursed. "I…I think my phone isn't working. What did you say?"

"I think you should give the relationship a try" said Neola slowly

"W-why would y-you say that?" asked Diana not understanding her best friend

"From what you told me, he deeply cares for you. Plus he said that if in the end it didn't work out, he would let you go. You have nothing to lose, so give it a shot." Said Neola like if it where all obvious and Diana was just plainly stupid for not seeing it.

It was exactly how she was feeling right now but her own fears couldn't let her see past that. "What if he doesn't let me go Neola?"

"You don't know that or are you a seer?" asked Neola "There are different endings to this, choose the one that you feel is right. Don't let fear get in the way."

"Fear usually prevents us from doing something stupid or endangering our lives" stated Diana as if it were law

"Yeah and sometimes fear prevents us from something great" said Neola like she won their little debate

Diana sighed and moved to have her back against the wall. "I don't want to end up like my mother. Cheated on and double crossed."

"Then talk to him. Tell him what you want of the relationship and what you don't" said Neola "It won't kill you and if he doesn't accept your terms then there's no relationship."

"Easy for you to say" said Diana "…Why am I even worrying about this?"

Neola giggled. "Because deep down you care about him"

Do I? Diana asked herself. Did she care about Dedrick? She gave another sigh. "I can hear some one coming. I'll call you soon. Stay out of trouble."

"Get in trouble for me then" giggled Neola before hanging up

Diana put her cell phone away. There was no one coming. She just wanted to end the conversation, having nothing more to say or defend her case. She walked around some more. Even though she didn't know where she was, she should have known. She should have had this entire place known like if it were the back of her hand. These past two days of walking had done her no good since she was not paying attention. She felt like banging her head on the walls.

There was just one question she needed to ask herself and answer. Did she or did she not like Dedrick? She leaned her head on her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't even grasp her head around the damn question. She felt like yelling her lungs out in frustration.

"Um, dear are you alright?"

Diana groaned. "Yeah, I'm just trying to think too hard"

She got up and looked at Lady Claudia. Then it dawned on her that she was her half-aunt. Great, just great a vampire aunt. Can't get any better than this. "What's got you like this? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Diana looked at her and got an idea. "I just have a question"

"How did I find you?" said Lady Claudia guessing

"No but that would have been my second question" said Diana "I want to know how you came to accept Dominick. I can't grasp how you came to live as a Bride to your half brother and have a son that is also your nephew"

"You've put a lot of thought into this" thought Claudia "I was troubled at first. My meeting with Dominick was planned out by him. I was not living here when I was young, I was with my mother. Dominick made it all seem as though it was all just a coincidence. I fell in love with him without knowing he was my half-brother. I was pissed off when I found out. I ran off and hid from him."

Diana looked at her with a surprised look. "You actually ran from him and hid? I never expected that from you."

"I did. I was sick with myself and wanted to rid myself of all of the feelings I had for him" said Claudia "Dominick eventually found me and when he held me in his arms I knew that I could never rid myself of the love I held for him. Every time I had doubts, Dominick would push them away. I rarely think of the tittles. Our blood is pure of disease and anything else."

"Yeah but I doubt it means let's get it on with the family." Then like a light bulb flickering above her head, she turned back to Claudia. "Weren't you upset that Dominick had another woman who he was sleeping with and had a child with?"

Claudia looked surprised. Diana had guessed that no one had ever asked this question up front. If they were in a different situation, then maybe she would have felt bad about mentioning this. But this included her mother and her. She had a right to know. Even if it meant hurting another.

"I knew from the beginning that the day would come and I prefer this stays between us but I still felt betrayed. I never told Dominick and it was all for our son." Claudia palmed her forehead. "My pain would only recede every time Dominick came home to me but my own mother went through what your mother went through and I felt horrible for letting it happen. There should have been another way."

"I agree there should be another way." Sighed Diana patting Claudia's shoulder. "Everything is in the past and nothing can be done. All we can do is look towards the future and walk forward."

Claudia smiled. "Who told you such wise words?"

"My aunt Sophia" smiled Diana

There was a high electricity charge in the air. Seconds later, Dominick appeared in front of them. He took a step towards Claudia but paused when his eyes caught Diana. He looked shocked and Diana had the urge to wave a hand in front of his face. Claudia smiled. "Uh, what is going on?"

"I don't know, what do you think?" smirked Diana tilting her head

Dominick turned to his Bride. The only response he got from her was a shrug of her shoulders. "What were the two of you talking about?"

"Girl stuff, it was nice talking to you Claudia" said Diana turning away and walking off. She could hear Dominick wine to his wife but not receiving the answer he wanted. Diana smirked as she made a turn. She walked for another half an hour before stumbling into nice carved double doors.

She could tell that they didn't open normally but were the sliding type. She pressed her ear against it and heard nothing but the shuffling of papers. She was sure this was not Dominick's office. The door had different carved design. She shrugged and opened the doors up. She found none other than Dedrick himself. He looked up from his papers. His body was ready to attack if it were an intruder. He looked a bit confused seeing her there but motioned for her to come in.

"I didn't know you had an office of your own?" said Diana sitting herself in one of the chairs in front of his desk

"I do" said Dedrick going back to his paper work

Diana looked around his office. The colors reminded her of his room. Rich amber curtains and anything that would compliment the color. "What's with all the paper work? I thought you were all about the fighting"

"These are financial documents. I am making sure everything is all right and that we are doing well" said Dedrick looking up at her

Diana raised an eyebrow. "You mean, making sure you are still loaded"

"You can call it that too" smirked Dedrick

Diana took her time admiring Dedrick. She wanted to find something about him that she didn't like. Tilting her head from one side to the other, she glared at him without thinking. There was nothing wrong with him. His back hair made his rust colored eyes shine out. His skin was pale. While he had a strong chin, she knew that his skin was as soft as it looked. If she wasn't so conflicted, she would have said trait out that he was wildly handsome.

"Are you okay Diana?" asked Dedrick putting down his papers

Diana blinked and sat back. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" asked Dedrick worryingly, expecting the worse

"Nothing important" Diana smirked and got off from the chair "I'm bored and since you're working…I'll see what I can do to entertain myself"

Dedrick appeared behind her and placed his chin on her shoulder. "What do you want to do?"

She looked up at him and grinned. "I don't know, want to surprise me?"

"I would but I can't think of anything. Enlighten me if you would please" said Dedrick slowly wrapping his arms around her waist

Diana leaned back on his chest but didn't look at him. "I always wanted to dance a waltz. Do you know how?"

Dedrick chuckled and turned her around. She looked mad. She thought he was laughing at her. He kissed her temple. "I never expected that from you but it would be my pleasure"

She watched him go to the stereo that was behind him and turn it on. Putting in a cd and pressing play, he came back to her. Dedrick mover her left hand on his right shoulder and took her right hand on his as he moved his other hand around her waist. Pressing them together, Dedrick caught her gaze. "Follow my lead"

Diana nodded. She looked up at his face but could keep her gaze on his for too long. Instead she looked ahead at his chest. She felt him take a step back and he took a step forward. Moving to the side, Dedrick to a step forward and she quickly took a step back. They were at a slow pace but Dedrick increased their speed little by little. He gave her a spin and took a step forward as did Diana which resulted on her foot being stepped on by his. Dedrick felt her flinch and stepped back before lifting her up. "Are you okay Diana? Is your foot fractured? Broken?"

Shaking her head, she patted his hands. "I'm okay, let's keep going"

Placing her back down, she moved her hands back where they had been. Diana grinned at him and motioned for him to hurry it up. He smirked at her impatience and moved his hand back around her waist before moving to the music. What they didn't know was that a couple of maids were peeking in as they tried to hold in a sighs and their giggles. A warrior or two were peeking as well only because the maids dragged them to the doors.

Their dancing was going from fast to slow. Dedrick earned a couple of smiles from her as well as laughs which left him dumbfounded. It got Diana to slam or trip against him. They would start from the beginning and would only stop when the same actions repeated again.

Laughing again, Diana moved her feet over his. "How about like this?"

Dedrick smiled and moved around the room. They spun faster and faster around the room. He got her to giggle. It reminded him of the giggles she would have made if they had grown up together here. It was a giggle a child would make, maybe the child they would one day make. He caught her gaze. She stared up at him with a smile on her face. They slowed and came to a stop. He felt her tense on his arms and he teleported to his room. Dedrick lifted her up and kissed her.

Diana knew that it was going to happen but she didn't expect for it to be amazing. It was masterful but intense. His tongue teased hers and searched inside her. Diana didn't know if she should wrap her arms around him and signal him to keep going or push him away. Dedrick made the decision for her. He backed away enough to rest his forehead against the wall as she rested hers on his chest. Their breathing evened out and it was quiet. It seemed like Dedrick was avoiding saying anything.

She looked up. "Dedrick?"

He looked down at her and seemed surprised. She raised her eyebrow at him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing her close, he whispered. "Don't leave"

"I'm not" she whispered back, allowing her own arms to embrace him "I want to try"

Dedrick pulled her back. His eyes stared back at her own. "What game do you play?"

"None" Diana answered "I want to give 'us' a chance"

He could not seem to decide if this was a dream or this was some way to torture him for kissing her. Perhaps they were not talking about same thing. He must have confused himself but he could not let this go by without some explanation. He would go along with the conversation. "Why now? What changed your mind?"

"I know that I have nothing to lose. You would never hurt and have done everything to make sure I am content here. You've put up with me and became my crying shoulder." Diana walked over to him and took his hand in both of hers. "You held me when I was hurting"

Dedrick looked down at her and tenably wrapped his arms around her, as though she was the most delicate of flowers. She leaned into him and moved her arms around him, giving him a light squeeze. He did not know what to make of this. There were a million things she wanted to do with her and to her but did not know what to do first.

"You have made me the…I have been waiting for this for far too long" Whispered Dedrick holding her face in between his big hands.

Diana palmed his hands with her own and smiled up at him. "I know and this is a big step for me. I am not ready to take the jump…if you know what I mean"

It took Dedrick a minute to understand that Diana was talking about sex. He gave a chuckle and pressed his forehead to hers. "If I waited this long for you to give me a chance, I am willing to wait a little more"

She smirked. "A little more?"

"Every minute of every hour of every night, you are going to desire being with me" smirked Dedrick kissing her "You'll come to crave me just as I came to crave you"

They stared at each other. Their gazes locked together. He asked for a taste of her lips without words and she gave him her approval. He cupped the back of her neck and leaned down. Unconsciously, Diana moved to stand on her tip toes to reach him. Smirking, Dedrick took her lips.

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