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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 18, 2016 17:52:49 GMT -5
Diana had moved her belongings into Christian's house just before their trip to Barbados, but as their trip lasted the entire weekend, she had only really been staying in the house for a few days. He made no pretense of having her stay in the guestroom, but upon her arrival he reminded her that this was his home and it required no “feminine touches”. Diana laughed and made an off-color joke about Christian enjoying her feminine touches.
He left that morning, telling Diana he was handling business matters that had been put off due to their trip. This was perfectly true, but Diana was still ignorant of what his business entailed or that she was the subject matter of his meeting today. Christian often held his business meetings at the Hollow Tree Inn, where he had rekindled his affair with Diana over two weeks ago. Any business that was more intimate was conducted from his home office, which he kept securely locked and enchanted to ensure Diana not poke her nose into anything she shouldn’t. Copperbottom was special though, and he met the man in Hogsmeade in order to minimize being seen.
As he shut the front door behind him, Christian called to Diana in a mocking tone. "Honey, I'm home." |
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 18, 2016 20:03:51 GMT -5
Diana was barely awake when Christian told her he was leaving, so it was some surprise when she woke up alone. She was still getting used to a full night's sleep and usually slept in segments, but with Christian she found herself more at ease, particularly after their weekend. She let herself escape into the debauchery Christian usually inspired, and for the first time in two years she relaxed.
But that didn't mean the trip was particularly restful, quite the opposite, so the first night back Diana slept. She slept long and hard, and was startled by the loneliness his absence caused her. She tried not to overthink it however and began her own day.
She had laughed when he mentioned no feminine touches, his house with all his masculine flair was more warm and welcoming than anything Diana had lived in for the past two years, she'd feel out of place at her own grand estates, Christian's sizable yet intimate flat was homey and perfect. Though she tried not to think too much about that either.
She had just enough time to wake, slip on one of his shirts, and make herself something to eat when he walked in the door. She smiled at his words, "Tea's on, and I saved you a plate." she told him unaware of the domestic picture she made as she ate and looked over the newspaper.
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 18, 2016 23:25:36 GMT -5
Christian walked through the foyer and into the kitchen at the back of the house where Diana sat at the breakfast table. She was wearing one of his shirts and Christian raised his eyebrows at her. "Making ourselves comfortable, are we?" he teased, tugging at the sleeve of the shirt she wore as he sat across from her. He leaned to the side and glanced at her bare legs under the table. "Very comfortable," he added with an enticing chuckle.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 18, 2016 23:33:38 GMT -5
She didn't apologize, she didn't have to. She had worn his shirts all during their time in Barbados, when they wore clothing, and she had become quite fond of them.
She purposefully crossed and uncrossed her legs slowly to tease him. "How was business?"
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 18, 2016 23:45:32 GMT -5
He smirked as Diana taunted him seductively. "Tedious," he answered shortly, before changing the subject. "What time is Burke stopping by?" He reached for the economy section of the paper that was laying on the table near Diana.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 18, 2016 23:51:55 GMT -5
"That will only depress you." she said as he took the economy section, not taking her eyes off of the article she was currently reading.
"Derek said he'd owl beforehand." she muttered before the tea kettle began to whistle. She used magic to turn off the flame.
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 0:02:05 GMT -5
"It's called 'brooding' when you're this handsome," he quipped, looking over the articles. He hadn't had chance to read much more than the headlines when Diana informed him that Burke would be owling them, instead of scheduling a proper meeting time. He put the paper on the table and glared at her.
"Does he expect us to wait around all day for him? I've got a business to run, Diana. Can't your errand boy schedule a meeting like a normal man." It wasn't really a question, more an indictment of Derek's lack of business acumen. He had never been overly fond of Derek, in truth the two had rarely spoken outside of Death Eater functions. Before two weeks ago, Christian had no opinion whatsoever regarding Derek Burke. But after their last meeting at the nightclub it was clear that Derek harbored feelings for Diana. Christian didn't need to use legilimency to see that. And Christian now found that he disliked the man.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 0:10:36 GMT -5
Diana put her paper down at Christian's tone, and raised a brow at his words. "First of all, you don't have to wait, go run your business. He's my errand boy, as you put it, and I have no problem with him arriving when it is convenient for him, which is usually right after he meets with his contacts or finishes working on something for me. For free."
Christian was being surly and there was no reason for it as far as Diana could see, "Where is this hostility coming from anyway? His intel on Hadelman was good. Very good actually. And while he didn't locate two of the board members in one week, he's managed to help me take out seven of them, getting us closer to Alyx. So really what's your problem with him?"
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 0:23:04 GMT -5
"It's my f*cking house, Diana. I am not about to have people traipsing about when I'm not here. And before you say it," he held up a finger and gave her a hard look, "it's not safe for you to be out at clubs discussing these things at the moment. If you do recall, we've just murdered one of the men who are after you. It's safe to say if anyone sees you it'd get more than a little messy."
Christian couldn't argue about Derek's intel regarding Hadelman. It was far too easy to get the job done. But Christian knew Derek wasn't helping Diana simply out of the goodness of his heart. It was an organ much lower than that which drove Burke to assist Diana. That was precisely the reason why Christian wanted to have their rendezvous at his home, to make a point that Diana was with Christian, not Derek.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 0:29:22 GMT -5
Her eyes narrowed, "I've been doing this a long time Christian, and if your house is the problem now then I can meet Derek elsewhere, like his flat. I'd hate to ruin your precious time table, important business, or your f*cking house!"
She stood then, and her immediate desire was to leave, but she was stuck. Derek was meeting her at Christian's house, which surprised Diana initially. Then again Christian hadn't been in hiding for the past two years and wasn't used to keeping his address strictly confidential.
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 0:48:09 GMT -5
"Yes, Diana. You have been doing this a long time. But there are some things about this business that perhaps you are not an expert in. Some of us do this more regularly than you. It's taken you two years to track and kill seven men. I managed to find two in as many weeks. It seems to me that perhaps you should be considering a different method as your's is currently sh*t."
He picked up the paper again and straightened it with sharp snap in the air. "Sit the bloody hell down," he said to her without looking up.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 1:14:32 GMT -5
They hadn't had a good fight in a while, almost a whole weekend, of course they had been too busy doing other things, but now Christian was spoiling for a big one.
Her eyes widened at his comment, luckily for him there was no alcohol to throw, though her fingers itched to throw something, and preferably towards his head.
"Seven men." she laughed, "Try seventy." she revealed, "In two years. Don't forget the ten professional killers after me, nine of which currently roasting in the same hell as the other Board members. Sorry if my timeline isn't as efficient as yours seems to be what with men to do all your looking for you. Must be nice to not have to watch your ass anytime you take a breath. Or worry about whether or not the person you got information from is going to leave a trail to you for one of those professional killers. It must be nice to have men sit on your target's tail while you relax and plan your next move. And while you are very skilled against Hadelman and his pathetic excuse for a security detail, running into the same situation alone with twenty guards, and no exit strategy because it's your only shot at finishing the job is just a tad bit more difficult. I never claimed to be an expert in this business. But F*ck you for thinking that surviving for the past two years was s**t. You have no idea what I've gone through. You've never asked. Or why it's taken me so long. And that's fine. But don't you ever f*cking dare criticize me or my efforts again."
She turned on her heel then and left the room, muttering something about "never should have come here."
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 1:30:42 GMT -5
Christian had many things to say as Diana went on her diatribe. She wouldn't have had to kill so many men if she were smart about it. She worried about the bit players too much and judging by the way she wanted to rush off after the three located board members over the weekend, she likely had some plans that she didn't think all the way through. And yes, it was easier to have men in his employment to do things for him. That was the reward for doing his job well, that he had skilled wizards working for him. It made things much easier.
But Christian didn't have the opportunity to say any of these thoughts, as Diana stormed out of the kitchen. Christian scowled at the doorway she'd just gone through. Don't slam the bloody door, he thought angrily just before he heard a door slam in the distance. He considered marching after her and telling her off, but knew that would likely lead to sex and he wanted to punish her. Fighting was their foreplay.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 1:36:13 GMT -5
She had slammed the door, took two steps before she realized she was only dressed in his shirt, evidenced by the rush of cool air on her bare legs. She wanted to scream, but wouldn't be so undignified. Instead she turned opened the door(slamming it again and breaking a glass pane), and went up stairs to get dressed.
Meanwhile downstairs an owl was pecking at the window carrying a message from Derek stating that he was on his way.
Perhaps Christian was better at this. While Diana didn't know, couldn't know, he'd been doing this much longer than she had, though she had come a long way in two years from who she had been when she started.
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 1:51:49 GMT -5
He heard the glass shattering and threw the newspaper onto the table as he stood up and marched angrily out into the foyer. The pane on the door had shattered. "Don't worry, it's only a f*cking antique!" he shouted up the stairs.
Christian was about to draw his wand to fix the glass when he heard the pecking at the sitting room window. The little owl had a letter in its beak. Christian walked into the sitting room and opened the window. The bird flew in, dropped the letter on the coffee table, and flew back out. Christian scowled as he read the contents. Burke was on his way.
He made his way up the stairs then down the hallway to the bedroom. Diana was getting dressed in a huff. He dropped the letter on the bed in front of her. "Burke will be here shortly. So glad he scheduled a meeting so knew to expect him..." he commented sarcastically. Diana was barely clothed but even in his anger he couldn't help but look at her with lust in his eyes.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 2:06:15 GMT -5
Diana hadn't cooled down. Unlike her outburst in Barbados, the current fight wasn't diminishing with time apart. Then again it was a roll of the dice as to what would set Diana off. At the moment it was her own insecurity.
Diana didn't care about Derek setting an appointment or not setting an appointment, and news that her friend would be by soon didn't tame her either.
She looked at Christian with lust in his eyes and wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt her, but she didn't have the words. But she did have a hot spot now as she threw something heavy and shatterable at his head.
Even she wasn't consciously aware of what demons were driving her to the intensity that burned in her eyes. Perhaps it was all of Christian. His confidence - well earned apparently - his abilities, his results. Each thing was a slap in the face, but it wasn't until he called her out on her methods that it actually felt like a slap in the face. As if he were spitting on everything she had been through, no matter how hard or painful the sacrifices had been. He could have done it better. If all that was true as he seemed to say with his snide comment it meant that everything she had been through was avoidable if only she had been better, faster, stronger. If only she had been him.
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 2:16:58 GMT -5
It didn't take long for Diana to find the glass dish sitting on the dresser and hurl it at his head. He barely managed to cover his face with his arm before the glass shattered, leaving tiny cuts across his forearm. "What the f*ck, Diana!" He stormed over to her and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "Calm the f*ck down and stop destroying my home!" He pushed her onto the bed, thin trails of blood beginning to make their way down his arm.
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 2:26:55 GMT -5
"F*ck you!" she yelled landing on the bed next to the open bag she had grabbed clothing from.
She struggled to get back to her feet again, "F*ck your home!" her eyes scanned the room for something else to destroy, but settled for grabbing her one dress that she had unpacked and throwing it in her bag.
"I'll be out of your home, just as soon as I'm done with Derek."
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Post by Christian Ward on Oct 19, 2016 2:37:37 GMT -5
Christian wrestled with her, grabbing her by the wrists and forcing her as still as possible as she fought against him. He had seen Diana plenty angry before, but his jabs at her efficiency had pushed her beyond anything he'd witnessed. "What the f*ck is wrong with you?" It was not a rhetorical question, he sincerely wanted to know. Perhaps cursing and yelling weren't the best way to get his sincerity across but he was also rather upset at the moment.
"Diana, stop!" he said forcefully. "You're not going anywhere!" She continued to fight against him in an effort to get things packed, so Christian released her hands and swiftly grabbed the bag from the bed and threw it across the room where it skidded along the floor and stopped only when it hit the chair near the window. "What the bloody hell is going on?"
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Post by Diana Ward on Oct 19, 2016 2:52:27 GMT -5
Ordinarily she would have thoroughly enjoyed wrestling with him, but his strength and ability to overpower her was just another indication that he was indeed stronger than her.
When he let her go she stilled, then pushed at him, "I did the best I could!" she yelled, tears lodged in her throat, though she wasn't crying. She refused to cry. She hit his shoulder for good measure though there wasn't any heat behind it.
"It's taken me two years to get through seven of them, but I did the best I could." she hung her head. She was honestly ashamed of what she had accomplished. Christian made it seem so easy, but it wasn't easy for Diana. The sacrifices alone were enough to cripple her. In the time it took her to get through the first two board members she had already gone through hell, but Christian was able to get to two of them in just two weeks.
"You weren't there." she whispered still looking down, "I did...I did the best I could..."she fell silent, her best wasn't good enough.
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