A/N- IMPORTANT!!!! Okay, so this chapter has a rating of M, for some very mature content. Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys this next one! And thanks for all the great reviews on the last one!
Chapter 21- Confession
D stared calmly at Lilah, not even blinking. Lilah, for her part, was quite unnerved. D entered into the manor fully, shutting the door behind him.
"D!" she said, taking a step towards him.
He said nothing, waiting for what must have looked like an oncoming, destructive storm. Lilah took several deep breaths, reminding herself that D was not deaf. She was only a foot or so away from him. She didn't need to yell. Then, she remembered that she was angry with him and really didn't care.
"What did you tell that Prophet, D, to have him heal me?" she demanded.
Now D looked wary. He stepped past her, but she moved right in front of him once more.
"It is unimportant," he said, and not without a hint of annoyance.
"There you're wrong. I was just attacked over whatever the hell it was you told that damn Prophet!"
"Who attacked you?"
He was trying to deflect the subject. Well, he wasn't going to get off that easily.
"Now that is the very definition of unimportant! D, I'm not going to tell you who the attacker was, but what I will tell you is that he could have killed me. And he could have killed me over this one damn thing that I don't know about. Now, I don't know how you would feel about this, but it pisses me off to think that I might not have even known why I had died. Tell me what the hell you told him, dhampire!"
"No," D said, firmly.
He moved to walk past her once more. This time, Lilah didn't move to get in front of him. Instead, she ducked and swept her feet around, knocking the unsuspecting dhampire to the floor. He looked up at her, a strange light in his eyes. She stood over him, placing a foot on one of his shoulders.
"I don't want it to be like this, D. Just tell me! What could be so horrible that you can't just give me this one little piece of mind?"
D's response was to grab Lilah by her offending ankle and throw her from him. She landed on the stone floor hard with a groan. She lost no time, rolling over and jumping to her feet.
"Stop this," D said, his voice guttural.
But Lilah was lost in her anger. She dove at him, raining blow after blow, kick after kick, on him. Some connected and some he dodged. Finally, he whirled her about, holding her arms behind her back. His breathing was raspy, harsh. Hers wasn't much better. She groaned against the grip he had on her. He was not going easy on her, and if he tightened his hands any more she was sure her wrists would break. She struggled, but he was not letting go until he was sure that she was going to stop fighting. Finally, she stopped. He relaxed his grip a fraction…but it was enough.
Lilah hooked one of her legs in between his and pulled, knocking him flat on his back. She got her wrist free, coming down to straddle him. She held his arms above his head, pressing them hard on the floor.
"Just…tell…me!" she hissed into his face.
Never, in her entire life of being either human or dhampire, had she ever felt such anger coursing through her. It made her strong and somewhere deep inside, it scared her. But she would not stop until she had her answer.
"You must know? So badly that you would attack me…how far would you go to get this answer?" D growled.
She huffed, indignant. "Do you think that I want to be this angry at you? I just want to know what you told that Prophet about me that was so damn important that your…that I would be attacked! I have a right to know!"
D was looked straight into her eyes, the light in his eyes fading. He looked sad…but then again, he always looked sad. This was different, Lilah noted. This sadness was hurting him. He looked away from her suddenly.
"I had to tell the Prophet an absolute truth," he said.
"I know that, D. What was it?" she asked, a good deal more calmly than before.
"It had to be a truth he couldn't dispute. I told him…"
Lilah let go of his arms, sitting back on him. "What? What was it?"
He was still not looking at her. And now, he closed his eyes.
"I told him that…I loved you."
Lilah's heart had finally, completely stopped. She was almost sure of it. Except of the fact that she was still alive, in a sense.
"Oh," she gasped out.
D had still not turned to look at her. Lilah stared down at him, lost in her own thoughts. Somewhere in all of them, she realized that she was still straddling him.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, sliding off to the floor.
D stood so fast that even Lilah did not catch the movement. His back was to her, and she stared up at him.
"I…" he began, letting himself trail off.
She blinked a few times. Finally, she shook her head.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Because it cannot be."
And that was D's final word on the subject. He strode off, disappearing up the staircase. Lilah listened as his footsteps carried him upward to the manor's third level. She was frozen as she heard a door on that level open and close. All the while she simply sat there, too stunned to move.
…………………
It was several hours later, and Lilah had made a choice. She stood, nervous, outside of the door she knew to be D's bedroom. She had let her blonde hair out of its braid, causing it to cascade in waves to her hips. She knew that D was more than aware of her presence outside the door, just as she knew that he was still within the room. She sighed, putting her hand on the doorknob. Without a knock, without invitation, she entered D's bedroom.
There was a momentary shock for Lilah before she closed the door behind her, which would take away all light but that of the moon's within the room. She had always envisioned D's bedroom as this huge, grand palace of a bedroom. But it was quite average. The furnishings were few and not decorative. There were no mirrors in the room, of course. The moonlight came from a tiny window along the far wall of the room, at the far end of the room. The bed was large, but not obscenely so. More than comfortable enough for two. And upon the bed sat D, upright with his back against the headboard.
His eyes were closed, but Lilah knew that he was not sleeping. She shut the door, casting the two dhampires in shadows. But their eyesight being that of the night, it made little difference. She stepped towards the right side of the bed, the side closest to her. D sat in the very middle of the bed and made no motion to indicate that he was even aware of her presence.
"D?" she asked.
His eyes opened slowly, but he did not turn them upon her, nor did he answer. She continued.
"D…I've been thinking about what you said…about how it could never be…and I think you're wrong," she said.
His eyes closed again, and he sighed. "Lilah…"
"No," she said. "No, hear me out. I think…that something happened or something that made you think that you didn't deserve to be loved. But I know that you've been with women before…you've told me as much. And you might have even loved some of them. I don't know what happened. But I don't care. That's not why I'm up here."
D turned to look at her. She had untied her top to reveal some of her cleavage. She was breathing so that her chest heaved. Lilah felt bad for that…she honestly wasn't meaning to.
"I'm here to let you that whatever happened…doesn't matter. Each love brings with it its own experiences. I don't think it's fair that you've started denying yourself this. So…" she said.
From the belt at her waist, she unsheathed the tiny dagger that she owned. Moving quickly so D did not have time to protest, she straddled him, holding herself up so that her chest was even with his face.
"Lilah…What…?" he said, staring at her.
She brought the dagger across her chest, just above one of her breasts, a crimson line following it. D gasped and pressed his back harder up against the backboard. She could already feel the change in him, and see it as well. His muscles were tense, fighting what the scent of her blood was doing to him. His eyes were glowing crimson now, and his fangs were beginning to slide down from their hiding spots.
"Do it," she whispered. "I know you won't harm me…it's safe with me, D. I'm a dhampire…like you. Hurry…I may not heal as fast as you, but I will still heal quickly. Drink, D. Do it."
She had discarded the dagger to the floor now. She slipped one of her hands behind his head, gently pulling him forward, using her other hand for balance. He resisted, but the closer she got him, the more it faded. Finally, he was so close that the scent was too much for him. He latched on to the cut, sucking at it.
She moaned, arching her back into him. One of his arms slipped around her waist while the other pressed into her back, holding her against him. Just as Lilah began to get dizzy, he broke away, falling back against the headboard, his breath coming in huffs.
She looked at him, not quite knowing what he would do next. She knew what she wanted him to do, but she also allowed for the possibility that he would be angry with her for making him drink. She looked at him as he rested his head against the board. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be savoring the taste of her.
Suddenly, they flashed open, the crimson light brighter than she had ever seen it. She gasped as he moved her, more quickly than she could follow, beneath him. There was a moment where he stopped, hovering over her, with his hand stroking her face. He let it trail downwards and back up several times, looking at her as if he had never seen her before. Then, with a growl escaping his lips, his hands moved down and tore at her tunic top, leaving it in shreds. She had removed her underthings before deciding to come to him, first for the purpose of taking a shower. However, as she made the decision that she would come and offer herself to D, she had hastily thrown on some clothes. With the top gone, her top half lay exposed. And it wasn't long before her bottom half was as well. Somewhere, at the very, very, very far back of her mind, she giggled at the thought that the outfit she had had on was now completely ruined. But she didn't get a chance to dwell on that for too long.
Her hands were exploring him now. She had removed much of his clothing, needing his help with some of it, and now they both lay exposed to one another. She trailed her hands over his chest, relishing the feel of his smooth, cool-to-the-touch skin. After a few moments, she allowed her hands to drop below his waist, to touch something else, and he gasped.
He was kissing her now. All over, pressing hard on her lips and sliding down her breasts and…lower. He stayed out of her eyesight for a little while, and she felt his teeth and tongue against her. To her own shock, she could feel her own fangs sliding slowly down. She gasped and arched. He placed a hand on her abdomen, holding her gently down. Finally, a tingly heat, starting at her nether region and spreading out, engulfed her, and she cried out, both moaning and murmuring his name.
He brought himself back to her, pressing again his lips to hers, exploring her as she tried to kiss back. Her hands wrapped about his neck and ran up and down his back, scratching as well as just touching. He groaned and growled, clearly enjoying it.
Finally, he positioned himself at her, ready to find his own pleasure within her. He paused, looking down at her. His eyes seemed to ask her if she was ready.
In truth, she was nervous. She was not a virgin, but none of the few guys she had been with had been quite D's…well, in D's league. He was quite endowed. But she pushed that aside. He moved to enter her, but she stopped him. Had they not been in the middle of the sex act, the look he gave her then would have made her laugh, it was almost so pitiful.
"Do you love me?" she whispered to him with a smile.
He blinked. Then, he smiled a small, genuine smile.
"Say it for me."
D moaned, and the sound sent a thrill of electricity down Lilah's spine. He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly and deeply on the mouth. When he pulled back and repositioned himself, he smiled at her.
"I love you," he said as he entered.
She gasped and was instantly lost in the motion. She felt herself rising to the golden moment again, more than aware that his proclamation of love to her had given her a head start. The heat spread through her again as she moaned, grasping onto him. She was still tingling when D gasped, moving himself deeper than he had been, finding his own pleasure. He moaned and all but fell on top of her. After only a moment, he rolled to her right, kissing her as he went.
She smiled, still lost in the tingly aftereffects. Then, suddenly, they became stronger, rocking her body. She gasped and moaned, unable to control it…and the love-making had stopped. Suddenly, she recognized and named the desire within her. Lilah, the part of her still thinking clearly, despaired, thinking, "Oh no, not again!"
But suddenly, D lay over her. She looked up at him, pleading with him. He pressed his wrist to her mouth. She protested, not wanting to hurt him.
"Drink. It will drive you insane if you don't…" he said.
Unable to resist with such permission being given, Lilah felt her fangs extend and she bit into D's wrist. He groaned, leaning into her. She drank, holding his wrist to her mouth, until finally clarity returned to her thoughts. She gasped, breaking free, and fell back against her pillows. She looked at D, who seemed unhurt by her feeding. She could feel his free hand stroking the top of her head. Before she could even protest, sleep took her.
End Notes: Okay, I promise, if this seemed like a divergence from the storyline, then we'll return next chapter. Also, this will probably be the only chapter with the higher rating, for the heads up. Well, I hope you liked this chapter. Please review!
Next Chapter: Onward
Fun Fact: The single song I listened to through this entire chapter was Hinder's "Get Stoned." If you don't know it, please, please go listen…you'll crack up!