Part 11
Day 31…
“Well?” She asked, smiling as she twirled a twirl that had her skirt flirting round her thighs. The skirt was dark blue with white daisies embroidered around the hem, and was a pretty compliment to her white short sleeved blouse that came complete with dark blue daisies embroidered on the edges. Her outfit looked nice, beautiful even, but seemed wrong somehow, almost childish in comparison to her personality.
“Looks great,” Angelus commented. “If you were about to compete in an Olympic tennis match.” He paused. “Well, apart from the pink rollers in your hair and fluffy slippers on your tootsies.” Tootsies. God. She was such a girl.
Her happy smile faded and she glared at him, wholly unimpressed with his statement. “Okay,” Cordelia said as one hand became planted on a hip. “First I looked like a walking bruise, then a humanised yellow submarine, and now a Wimbledon wannabe. Tell me, oh Swami of Donna Karen, what should I wear?”
He sighed in relief. “I thought you’d never ask.”
She watched him enthusiastically get up from where he was lounging on her bed, enthusiastically push her out of her own closet, and more enthusiastically go through her wardrobe. Her eyebrows reached unprecedented heights as he began to mutter to himself, his hands busily throwing various garments over his shoulder, accompanying his actions were occasional hums of approval or disgust.
Two piles began to form behind him with the one on the left growing higher than the one on the right. It took a few seconds for her to realise the left pile was what he disapproved of.
“These?” Amgelus held up a tailored pair of pinstripe pants and matching jacket. He shook his head. “Nice, but not for our date.” The pants landed on the right. “Dresses are nice…” An emerald green dress made of silk was next up for inspection, but no. Apparently that was too, “Formal. A sweet, sexy little number, but formal.”
Cordelia’s jaw hit the floor as the one-off Valentino went sailing through the air. What the hell was he doing? Didn’t he know how much that cost? “Hey!”
He heard her complaint and didn’t give a damn. A pale yellow top came up with a pair of red leather pants. Since his back was to her, she never saw his eyes turn to bronze. “Take these and put em to one side. You’ll wear them for me later.” The outfit landed next to the right pile.
“If I wore them tonight, this problem would be solved.” She snatched the outfit out of his hands, carefully laying them out on her bed until she could get a clothes hanger from her closet.
“True,” Angelus agreed and shot her a look over his shoulder before turning back to the task of picking out what she was going to wear. “Then my opinion would be pointless, dontcha think?”
She made a choking motion with her hands, only stopping when suspicious eyes came her way. “I think you should hurry up and pick something for me to wear cus I’m not getting any younger.” God, he was so infuriating.
He shook his head. “Patience is a virtue.”
“One I really don’t have or ever plan to have. I wanna go out, Angel,” Cordelia half whined. “We haven’t been out in forever and I’m bored.”
This time, it was him making the choking motions, but unlike her, he didn’t hide his frustration. He faced her with no expression whatsoever. “Ever thought about buying less clothes?”
She stared at him like he was insane, wondering if he was serious. A second passed and she started to laugh. “That was a good one, Angel. Really. The best one I’ve heard all day.” Less clothes. Ha!
Angelus expressionless facade didn’t falter, not that she cared of course. “Next thing you’ll be telling me is I need a smaller closet.”
He glanced around at the closet in question and turned back to her with an arched eyebrow. “Well…”
Cordelia swiped his shoulder. “Oh you!” She sighed through her chuckles. “Where was this humour when you had the soul?”
“The blonde flushed it down the toilet.”
“By blonde, I assume you mean Buffy. She certainly has a knack for it.” Her voice came out with a little more snap than she intended.
“You can say that again.”
“She certainly has a knack for it.”
Brown eyes met hazel ones and grinned identically. “Anyway,” Cordelia took another dress off the railing, holding it up for his inspection. “What about this one? It’s both stylish and practical, made of a soft cotton blend so it’s keeps you warm and cool at the same time.”
Angelus critically eyed the garment. It was pretty, he had to admit. the colour was pale, not blue or grey, but somewhere in between, and it reminded him of an English spring morning. He mentally put the dress on her and licked his lips at the delicious picture she posed. He could imagine matching hair clips holding her dark curls off her face, allowing him to admire her throat whenever he chose, and her mouth would shine with a flavoured gloss while long, dark lashes fluttered coquettishly at him.
She followed his tongue as he traced fangs and bit his lower lip, bringing a spec of blood to the surface that he lapped up without hesitation. She clutched the hanger, swallowing as she pictured him lapping up her blood in just the same way. It got a little hard to breathe as he took a step towards her, then another and another, only stopping when her back was right against the far wall in the closet, the hanger encased in a white knuckle grip.
With him directly in front her and blocking most of the light, Cordelia saw how pale he really was. Incredibly odd, if she said so herself. One moment he didn’t seem so pale and the next he put Casper to shame. His eyes were almost as black as his hair and the contrast to his skin was unnatural yet natural. Then there was his features. Sculpted cheeks and jaw went well with his mouth, despite an uneven lip line, slightly large nose, and his forehead. His ears weren’t too small or too large, and there were no signs of him ever having them pierced.
Angelus arched an eyebrow when her head tilted to one side, hazel irises adorably studying what seemed to be every inch of his face. “I am a handsome fella, aren’t I?” His mouth curled up wickedly as a rosy blush crept up her cheeks.
“Meh,” she said airily, fully realising he could murder her for this, but there was no fun in playing safely. “Seen better, seen worse.” There. See how he liked that. She had the urge to stick out her tongue.
His jaw dropped a tad in disbelief. She wanted to see worse? Fine. He’d show her worse.
Angelus took great pleasure in watching her jump when he snatched the dress out of her hands and shoved it onto the railing, leaving Cordelia with no barrier between her and worse. His palms slammed heavily off the wall behind her, not caring about the plaster flaking onto the floor or the prints that would be left. “How’s this for handsome?”
She was afraid and wasn’t ashamed to admit it, but that didn’t stop her from squaring up to the vampire, and she did so admirably, all the while watching in fascination as his humanity slowly turned demonic. Ridges of bone and cartilege made his jaw prominent, and forced blunt teeth into two rows of lethally sharp fangs, while obsidian orbs spun with gold and caramel. She’d seen him up and close before, but never this personal, and to say it was an experience was an understatement.
Determined to be intimidated as little as possible, Cordelia coolly smirked and rose up on tip toes so she could whisper in his ear. “Definitely an improvement.”
Then she had the opportunity to see a vampire resemble a guppy and the urge to laugh in his face almost irrisitable. Almost, that is, but she managed. Barely.
Her words were a good, hard blow to his ego, and he couldn’t stop from gaping at her as he struggled for a reply that would send her to her ass. He had to give the cheeky witch kudos for her nerve. “You… You…” He spluttered.
“Wench?” Cordelia offered helpfully.
Kiss or kill, Angelus tried to decide which punishment she deserved. Kiss or kill, kiss or kill. God, he’d never been so confused. Maybe he should toss a coin and be done with it. “Minx,” he breathed on a growl, but got no further.
Since she was still on tippy toes, she was able to trace the outline without the trouble of stretching, and she did. Going from one temple to the other, then to the middle of his forehead and down his nose, only stopping the exploration when she reached his Cupid’s bow. “Can you have fangs without the bumpies?” She asked quizzically.
Huh? Okay, first she wasn’t screaming for her life or begging for mercy. Sure she was afraid, which was expected, but she was more concerned on taking him down a peg or two. Secondly, she was poking his face left and right and asking questions. Never in his existance had a human been so unaffected. One look at her face told him that no, she wasn’t unaffected, but she wasn’t running away.
It amazed him into silence and unable to do anything bar let her have her way with him.
“Well?” Cordelia demanded. “Can you have one without the other?”
Angelus blinked himself out of the daze she put him in. “Never tried.” A finger to his right cheekbone told him to do that very thing. He focused on retracting his fangs while keeping the rest, and it was pretty damn difficult, so he tried pulling back the ridges on his upper face while keeping his fangs. The answer to how it looked was written on her amusing expression. “That weird?”
“Yeah,” she said with a grin that quickly became a wince as she prodded his forehead.
“What?”
“Just thinking how a painful a headbutt from you would be.” She paused, visualising those boned ridges smashing some poor schmuck’s nose wide open. “Ouch.”
He chuckled. “Happened to me once,” he told her. “Not by another vampire, but a demon by the name of Boone.”
“Really?” Cordelia’s eyes went wide with a thirst for knowledge. “Tell me everything and don’t leave anything out.”
Angelus took the dress back off the railing and grabbed her hand, taking the opportunity to accidentally rub his thumb over the flimsy flesh hiding her pulse. Mmm. Tasty. “Juarez,” he led her out of the closet, fully aware she was hanging off his every word. “Back in the twenties,” he began. “Got into a fight with a demon named Boone over a pretty little bag containing a lot of money.”
His voice turned reminscent as memories of the good old days ran through his head. “His kind has steel hard coils that come down to curl around their hands when in a fight.”
“Wait a minute,” Cordelia tugged on his hand to get his attention. “You got into fistycuffs with a steel-handed demon over money?”
“Well, that and the pretty little green eyed senorita holding it.” He caught her eye roll and grinned. “I used to be a cocky son of a bitch…”
“Used to be?”
He threw the dress on her bed and graced her with a vicious glare. “Do you wanna hear this or not?”
The wench merely plopped her ass down, thoroughly entertained by her insult. “I’m alllllll ears.”
Angelus narrowed his eyes in suspicion before continuing. “So there I was, bowing to the masses and ready to take the maiden’s hand, add in the gloating a victor should rightfully do, and you got yourself an easy target. I had time enough to shoot Green Eyes a smile before one of those steel coils came smashing into my face.” He let out a low whistle. “I gotta tell ya Cor, it fuckin hurt. A lot.”
Cordelia could well imagine.
“I went down. Head off cobbled stones, blood flowing, and aching like a bitch. It was his turn to gloat and gloat he did. Right over me. Offered to give me a gracious death with a quick kill.”
“Nice of him. So what happened next? Did you get up and kick his ass, or did you say night-night?”
“Boone may have some handy talent in battle, but even he can’t take a swift kick to the nuts.” She giggled. “He got one of my size twelves right in there, and that was enough to startle him into giving me time to shake off the stars and get up. He got a fist to his jaw, I got one to my gut. He got a nice introduction to a wall and I said hello to a table. We fought for three and a half hours.”
“Then what happened?”
“The sun came up.”
She waited for more, but it never came, and this time it was Cordelia resembling a fish. “And that’s it? The sun came up? No I won he lost, or I drove a shiny sharp object straight into his heart and laughed while he choked on his own blood?” He smiled and shook his head. “Exciting,” Cordelia muttered sarcastically.
Angelus glared once more. “It was exciting.”
“Lemme guess, you shook hands and lived happily ever after. Yeah. Real exciting.”
“It was exciting!”
“You think that if it makes you feel better.”
When no reply came, she glanced up through eyelashes to see him stood with one hand on his hip and shaking a finger in her direction. The silence lasted until he found the words he was clearly searching for. How dare she question him? “I’ve done exciting things. I have.”
Cordelia simply couldn’t help herself. “What did ya do? Dream them all?”
Angelus found himself back at his earlier dilemma. Kiss or kill, and right now, he was leaning towards kill. “Alright, I’ll make you a deal. I win tonight, you take it back and say, loudly, that I am the most exciting person you’ve ever met. You win, you still loudly say I’m the most exciting person you’ve ever met.”
There was a pause lasting a split second before humorous laughter bounced off her bedroom walls, the vibrations made her bed shake and gasped breaths had her belly aching. Her arms wrapped round her sides as if to stop herself from coming apart at the seams while hot tears leaked from tightly shut eyes. He had no choice but to stand and watch and wait until she regained control.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Cordelia’s chuckles faded into hiccups and sniffles accompanying the occasional sigh. “You may not be the most exciting man I’ve ever met, but you’re certainly the funniest. Unless you were being serious about those stakes…?” One look at his face was answer enough. “Which you obviously were.”
“No, really?” Acidic acid fell from his tongue as he tried not to find her hysterics at his expense attractive, but he just couldn’t seem to hold onto even feigned irritation. Slowly, his unimpressed expression melted into his own personal smile. “I was being serious. Although I could be persuaded to change my mind…”
“And how could I get you to do that?”
Wasn’t that a loaded question?
Angelus thought for a moment. “I’ll think of something.”
She smirked. “I have no doubt. Now, my dress and I are going to get acquainted while you keep your snooping paws out of my stuff.”
“You’re only saying that cus I found your first journal,” he pointed out smugly. “David Hasslehoff, Cordelia?” He clacked his tongue in dismay. “And here I thought you had taste.”
He barely managed to dodge the slipper being thrown his way, a move that only served to enhance his good humour, and his chuckles accompanied her into the bathroom. She wasn’t in there for more than five seconds when he made the decision to offer his help and it took a few silent steps for him to reach the bathroom, where he carefully laid his hand on the door handle, easing it round in a way that made absolutely no noise whatsoever.
Angelus pressed his ear to the smooth grey wood, listening as outfit number three hit the floor. He couldn’t remember her putting any underwear on before her little floor show and that meant in one more moment, she’d be naked as the day she was born. Sweet. Yep. There went her top.
Grinning, he shoved the door wide open and found her resting against the sink, inspecting her nails and completely dressed. His gaze dropped down and discovered a set of small towels on the floor, obviously what she dropped on purpose. When his attention made it back to her face, he found a set of hazel eyes blinking oh so innocently.
“Is there something you wanted?”
Kill, he decided, definitely kill.
****
At first, Angelus had been quite content to walk beside her, his attention on the different games machines and listening to Cordelia describe how to play them. Then the contentment disappeared when his attention began to notice men, of all ages, looking at her in a way that really didn’t sit well with him. His hand slid down and into hers, and he tugged her a little closer to him, sending each male a promise of death.
Holding her hand didn’t last long purely for the reason when men looked at her, they followed her arm down to where his claim was evident and kept going until her legs were the main attraction. Angelus bit back his fangs and removed his arm, much to her confusion, and placed it around her waist. One guy dared to ignore it and he had the fucking gall to smile at her, but a flash of gold quickly sorted that out.
Of course it didn’t matter if it had sorted it out as the guy’s face was already commited to memory and the death warrant already signed. Still, that didn’t stop Angelus from tugging her closer into his side. A good move, he decided happily. Not only was the message loud and so very clear, but he also earned himself beautifully blushing cheeks and a huge smile. Yep, it was a damned good day to be him.
“I still can’t believe we got all dressed up to go bowling,” she was saying and he tore his intense gaze off a man old enough to be her grandfather. “I feel more ready for a five star restaurant.”
“I like my women to look pretty for me.”
Cordelia arched an eyebrow at him, inching further into him so her shoulder brushed against his. “Women?”
She got an irritating smirk in response. “What’s that game over there? The one surrounded by a million kids.”
“Oh, Mz. Pacman. Start playing, you’ll still be here this time next year. My mom spent thirty dollars on it when we came here for a birthday party. Daddy had to threaten the existance of her credit cards to make her stop.” Cordelia’s sentence was cut off as she longingly stared at the teddy bear machines and ten cent slot machines, and felt the urge rise. No. She must be strong. She would not cave. She could and would stay far, far away from them.
Angelus nudged her while following her line of sight, sighing when he saw the stuffed toys. “Please don’t tell me your one of those girls.”
“What do you mean? Those girls?”
“Ya know. The ones who force their boyfriends into winning them a bear.”
“No, but like I said. I’m not adverse to the occasional show of romance, and if said show of romance involves the winning of a cute, cuddly kitten with black spots, far be it from me to turn it down.” She turned away so he didn’t see her amusement. A soulless vampire on a date with a girl who liked stuffed kittens. Poor thing. “Don’t worry your little head, Angel. Your street cred is perfectly safe.”
“Oh, thanks.”
He received a pat to his arm. “You’re welcome. Okay, the lanes are this way. Let’s go beat you.”
“I think you mean let’s go beat you.”
Cordelia gave an unladylike snort. “No, no. I got it right the first time.”
“Riiight.” Angelus drawled, going between memorising faces and inventing new torture methods. Sure, some of the old stuff was definitely good, but times change. One couldn’t always live in the past. Plus, there was only so many times the Chinese water torture could be done before one got bored.
She let him dwell in denial and dropped her left hand down to cover the one resting peacefully on her belly, and simply relaxed into him to enjoy the leisurely stroll towards the lane she’d booked before leaving the house. This was nice, really nice. Sharing the odd smile with her date and swapping the occasional witty remark all the while leaning her head on his right shoulder.
They reached the desk that gave out the shoes, and when Cordelia went to pay, Angelus curled his fingers around her wrist. “Me.” He looked to the sales girl by way of an order not to take the offered money. “I’m paying.”
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the macho display. “I said my treat and it does exactly what it says on the tin. My treat. Though you may wanna rethink the hiring of shoes. God knows how many people have fungal infecions.”
“Either way, you’re not paying. I was born in the age where men took care of their women. I want to pay, or should I say I will pay. No arguments.”
She stood there, letting his gaze bore heavily into hers, and hearing only one word out of all that. Not the one that stated she was his woman or the word that stated he’d take care of her, but the last word of his second sentence. “Women?”
He knew he’d won when she relented and put her purse away. “There’s my good girl,” he praised, rewarding her good sense with an affectionate smile and condescending pat on the head, to which she replied by batting his hand away.
“You’ll ruin all your hard work.” Angelus was definitely not like other men. He’d fixed her hair, helped out on what to wear, and merrily took part in a hearty discussion over what made better sheets. Satin, silk, or hundred count cotton. He even confessed to owning an Italian leather duvet, but wouldn’t tell her how much it cost. He didn’t need to, she was quite able to guess.
A noise of disgust came from Cordelia’s right side and they both looked over at a girl with dark blonde hair dressed up in a khaki skirt, clashing pink top, and sparkling winkle picker shoes. “It’s girls like you who give the rest of us a bad name.”
“Excuse me?” Cordelia demanded, taken aback by the hostility in the stranger’s voice.
“Allowing a…a man to pay for you,” the blonde looked down her nose at the couple and sneered. “You probably get him to open doors and pull out chairs.”
“What if I do?”
“I don’t fight for equality for girls like you to mess it up.”
Angelus chuckled, garnering the attention of both females. “See how she cleverly averted the use of the word screw? I imagine such an implication of phallus shaped activities being banned from her limited vocab.”
“And see how I’m not caring?” Cordelia grinned.
“Tell me,” he asked the intruder. “What’s your opinion on cucumbers?”
The sales girl choked on her own saliva when she heard the man’s question and she couldn’t stop from looking at the blonde girl. Free bowling, free cheesy fries from Ben, the cute guy who worked in the Food Court, and conversations like the one in front of her. Plus, it was good money for the least amount of responsibility. God, she loved her job.
Angelus was still chuckling as Cordelia dragged him towards their lane, not stopping until they were where the balls were kept. “Let the games begin.”
****
Intense concentration filled hazel eyes as the ball came up to mouth level. A breath was inhaled then slowly exhaled and her fingers prepared to let go at the perfect time. She took a step back, bringing her right foot into position, her hand swung back and was held for a second before the ball began it’s journey down the lane. Anticipation had her watching as it rapidly raced towards the intended target, her joyful jumping and shrieking accompanied the demolishing of nine whole pins.
“Yeah!” Cordelia’s fist hit the air and she flexibly spun in a circle, facing an unimpressed vampire. “Let’s see you beat that.”
Angelus crossed his arms over his chest. “Difficult, I’ll grant you, but not impossible.”
She waved the words off with a flourish. “All talk, that’s what you are, pal. Allllll talk and no action.”
“I’ll give you action, little girl.”
“Then step right up and do your worst.” She sniggered happily, moving aside so he could stalk past her without knocking her shoulder out of joint with his petty behaviour.
He was getting so damned sick of her smug jeering and her glorious smirking and sneering. It was clear the wench so needed to be taken down a peg or three and it was clearer still he just the vampire to do it. Angelus snatched up the heaviest ball like it was a feather, shooting her a death glare as he approached the lane. “Let the master show you how it’s done,” was all he said, and made a show of getting a strike with one single look at the pins.
Cordelia’s smugness disappeared into an open mouth as the entire bunch of pins went crashing to the ground. “No fair,” she accused, but was ignored.
Angelus plucked his second ball and repeated his prior actions, except this time his attention was heartily focused on the enraged brunette. “I believe that beats your nineteen. Or would floor wiping be a more accurate description?”
She snarled as she breezed past him, anger and humiliation seeping out of her every pore.
Ah. There really wasn’t much better than a spitting hellcat. Well, not in his world anyway. “C’mon, Cor,” came his happy-happy voice. “It’s just a game. It’s not the winning that…” Eyes pelted him with hazel fire and dared him to finish that sentence. “No, no. Winning definitely matters.”
“I hate you.” Cordelia hissed and snatched up a ball so hard, her fingernail cracked. “Damnit! Look what you made me do!” She held up her wound for the world to see. “You owe me an OPI manicure.”
Two large hands clutched a dead heart. “Aw.”
“You know what you are?”
Crikey, she was hot when she was furious. “What am I?” He asked with a smile of appreciation.
“A jerk,” Cordelia seethed. “A big, giant evil jerk.”
Angelus made a show of scuffing his shoe on the floor and painting the picture of blushing boy with his first Playboy. “Aw shucks, and I thought you hated me.”
“Argh!” She grabbed handfuls of her perfectly styled hair, yanking it up and looking half mad. “The only reason why I’m not pummeling you into the ground is because you’re bigger than me! Besides, who’s to say your prowess isn’t simply beginners luck?”
“Beginners luck?” He questioned with a smirk. “In other words you’re a sore loser.”
“I am no sore loser! You’re a…” Cordelia’s hands flapped around. “Sore cheater. Yeah. Sore cheater. A big, giant cheating evil jerk.” Because cheating was so obviously what he did. He used his vampire thing to get those strikes and that was cheating. In fact no, that wasn’t cheating. It was beyond cheating.
“Any more compliments and I’ll start to blush.”
Angelus wondered if she was going to throw the ball at him. “I’ll make you blush alright. With humiliation.” Her heels made a horrendously loud clacking noise that went right through him as she stalked past, purposely brushing his shoulder with hers.
She could barely see through the red haze of rage and only just managed to throw the ball in a straight line, where she watched it roll down the aisle and crash dead centre. She watched, as did a few other people, the middle pin teeter momentarily before going down and taking with it the other nine. She blinked, unsure of whether or not she got an actual strike, but the small sound of applause confirmed it.
Cordelia’s shriek of glee echoed through his ears and her jumping up and down nigh on registered on the Richter scale. She clapped her hands as she spun to face Angelus, her face full of sheer joy. “Did you see what I did?”
“I did.”
“My first strike of the day! Whoohoo!” She half bounced, half skipped up to him, her arms going round his neck and he guessed he was expected to return the gesture. Not much of a hardship when he thought about it and wasted no time in picking her up by the waist, arms squeezing the right side of painful, and he swung her round. He must have done something good when Cordelia planted a sloppy smooch to his cheek.
“I got a strike! I got a strike! Go me!”
He got a hard on. Go him. “That you did,” Angelus put set her back on the floor, watching as she flounced to the balls, his gaze entirely focused on how her dress moved around her form, enhancing the firm ass and toned thighs. Sweet.
“You a master?” She scoffed lightly. “Puhlease.” Unfortunately the excited happiness drove away not only her rage at his cheating techniques, but also her concentration, and her ball missed by a mile. “Damnit!”
Before Angelus had a chance to resume gloating, a strange voice came from behind him. “Well, well, well. Team Chase is in the place and losing,” a dark haired man stated with a smirk. “Wonders will never cease.”
The only thing stopping the vampire from snapping the intruder’s neck for insulting his girl’s bowling skills was Cordelia’s cool reply. “Mr. Nevis,” all traces of excitement and anger replaced by a wall of nothing. Angelus was severely impressed.
She walked up to Nevis, her steps calm and measured, and arms crossed over her chest. “Angel, this is Mr. Bryan Nevis. He plays for my father’s rival firm. Mr. Nevis, this is Angel, my…”
“Boyfriend,” he finished for her just so the message got across that she was unavailable.
Nevis glanced between Chase’s daughter and her escort with an arched eyebrow. “Your dad know this?” He wouldn’t be surprised if not. Will Chase wasn’t exactly the most easy going person when it came to his offspring.
Angelus came up to Cordelia’s side. “Will represents my club.”
He did? Cordelia blinked at not only the free use of her father’s name, but also the whopping white lie that fell with ease from the vampire’s lips. Desperate to stop any interraction that would lead to either Nevis losing his head or her downfall through embarrassing childhood stories, “Great seeing you, Mr. Nevis. I’ll be sure to give your regards to my dad…”
Nevis broke into a genuine smile, and Angelus had the pleasure of seeing his lady blush and turn into mush. The man was handsome. Greying streaks contrasted with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Plus, he did resemble Will Chase, and knowing Cordelia was a daddy’s girl at heart, gave way to the fact he was looking at her first ever crush.
Oh, she was going to get so much grief over this, he’d probably have to run a mile from her wrath. How fun.
“Tell him I’ll gonna clean up at the next tourney,” Nevis said, then made the bad mistake of ruffling her hair.
Cordelia’s mushy feelings disappeared in the blink of an eye and Angelus waited for the bloodshed. “I’ll tell him you’re looking forward to having your ass kicked.”
Nevis laughed a laugh that shook off all genuity. “You’re dad’s about as good as you.”
“Excuse me?” The spitting vixen was back in full force. “That’s it. You and me? We’re on. Team Chase versus Pig Pushers. Oops. Did I say Pig? I meant Pig.”
The man’s gaze went between her and her boyfriend. “You two against us?” He gestured to the guys behind him, who were obviously the rest of Pin Pushers.
“Damn straight and We,” Cordelia’s broken fingernail pointed to first herself, then to Angelus. “Are going. To wipe. The floor. With you.” Each word punctuated with menacing steps that had her right in Nevis’ face.
“I wouldn’t wanna make a little girl cry.”
“Little girl? Cry?” Cordelia pretty much had steam coming out of her ears. “I’ll show you cry. Angel, scrap our game and set up a new one. We got a game to win.” She followed the vampire so she could whisper out a strategy. “You know how cheating is wrong?”
He nodded, a grin forming. “Yes.”
“You use whatever vampire thingies you have and cheat. Cheat your little dead heart out. I want them to hurt. I want to crush them into itty, bitty pieces. I want this game to be legendary. Understand?”
“Just to be clear on this. You want me to cheat?”
“Exactly.”
Angelus chuckled and drew her attention to the fact she was now in his face, her hands gripping his shirt collar and slightly shaking him. He glanced to where Pin Pushers were working on their own strategy, hearing every word they were saying. “Okay. That Graham guy is up first, with Derek second. Since Graham looks like a wimp, you can take him.”
Off her look, “Not saying you’re a wimp, of course.”
Cordelia suspiciously narrowed her eyes. “Riiight. Okay, good plan, but Nevis is mine.”
“You wish,” he said with a smirk and got himself a snappy little punch to his arm. “You have got to stop flirting with me, Cor.”
She grabbed a ball, growling with frustration as she went to walk away from him, but paused. “If that’s flirting, what would you make of this ball saying hello to yours?”
“I always said I’d marry someone I respected.” His words were clean, cut, and so dry, they left his mouth arid.
She was unable to anything bar blink. “You’re weird, Angel. I like it.”
“Ninety three percent. Now stop distracting me and get ass kicking.”
*~*~*~*~*~*
He stood over her, his eyes taking in every minute detail right from flickering eyelids and crinkling nose, down to the way she tucked one hand under her chin and the other on the pillow he’d been using. Her fingers stroked the soft cotton and head snuggled further into it while her body seemed to curl around it. A tiny little hum escaped her parted lips, and he could almost feel her breath as it warmed his cheek.
Angelus glanced toward the window, a frown on his face as hunger increased. He needed to eat and soon or else he’d be munching down on the pretty thing sleeping in front of him. Not that he’d mind having a taste of course, far from it in fact, but it’d be much more fun to fuck her first. Besides, it was kind of interesting to see if she’d willingly let him bite her. Probably not, at least not at first anyway, but it sure would be fun to try.
He stifled a chuckle. Her inane curiosity definitely gave him the advantage, especially if he put a romantic spin on it, and made it sound oh so good. He could make it completely painless for her, but where was the fun in that? Painless just wasn’t his style and he figured she knew that by now, hell she’d more or less said it herself. Oh well. As much as he’d love to stay and stare, he needed food. Lots of tasty, rich, hot young blood.
He was seconds from using the front door as promised when a tired voice came from the bed. “Angel? Where are you going? It’s almost three am.”
Angelus slowly turned round to see Cordelia rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ll be back soon,” he said. “That is if you want me to come back…” He purposely let the sentence drift off, giving her time to think on her answer.
“Why wouldn’t I? Where did you say you were going again?”
“I didn’t, but nice try. Just got some things to take care of,” and some pretty brunettes to sate my appetite. God, he got hungrier the more he looked at her. The scent of her blood wasn’t as strong now, yet it was enough to have him zeroing in on all the places he could bite. Throat, wrist, thigh, breast. They all looked so damned delicious, so inviting, he was hard pressed to ignore it, but ignore it he did.
Too much, too soon, and all that. He needed to play her just right or she’d have his guts for garters… And wasn’t that an interesting thought?
“What things? Want me to come?”
Did he ever. Angelus massaged the nape of his neck and sighed, deciding honesty was the best policy in situations like these then he’d get the added bonus of watching her realise exactly who it was she’d opened up her home too. “I’m hungry, Cordelia,” he said, his voice coming out on a husky growl. “I want blood. Need blood.”
Half asleep or not, she wasn’t stupid. He was going to hunt, feed, drink, whatever he called it. He was going to kill somebody. What could she say to that apart from nothing?
“I’m not Angel,” he said and intently watched her face for something, anything, that would tell him she thought otherwise, but found nothing. “I won’t live off pigs.”
Momentarily distracted, “You drank pigs’ blood?”
Angelus had to smile at the disgust in her voice. “Used to eat rats,” then he out and out grinned when he saw her cheeks turn slightly green.
Cordelia comically shuddered, unable to stop herself from asking. “Didn’t you get hairballs? No, don’t answer. Don’t really wanna know.” She took a deep breath. “It’s three in the morning, the sun will be up soon, and I don’t want your ashes on my doorstep.” Or anywhere else. Like in an urn on Buffy’s mantal.
“Why? The clean-up crew on vacation?” His grin disappared when he saw genuine worry in her eyes.
“Just… Be careful, okay?”
Angelus walked back to the bedside and gently pushed on her shoulder, signalling for her to lie down. When she complied, he tugged the sheets up under her chin, watching as she snuggled down under them. She made the bed look so warm, so damned inviting, he was tempted to get in there with her. “Go to sleep, Cor. I won’t be long.”
Cordelia gave a small nod. “Promise?”
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes purely because she was truly worried. “Promise.”
****
For once, Sunnydale was quiet, and Angelus found himself searching high and flipping low for a good meal. All his hard work paid off when he came across an intoxicated couple fraternising in the park close to Restfield. Their giggles didn’t last and were fast replaced with screams that were music to his ears. To make it so much better for him, the little lady was a pretty brunette, and though the height, the eye colour, the figure, the scent were all wrong, he made do.
The guy faired worse since he was the one about to stick it to the girl. Sure, she may not have been Cordelia, but that was what he saw.
Cordelia spreading herself wide for someone not him and God, it made him so fucking furious. Angelus wondered if she knew where they were heading. Probably. She wasn’t stupid was his Cor, she wasn’t naiive either. She had to know that they were going to end up in his bed with her begging for whatever he decided to give her.
He felt his cock flex as he imagined holding her down, her thighs legs open, her mouth saying that delicious little word. Please. Please, Angel, she’d say with tears in her eyes, I’ll do anything you want.
Anything, he’d reply. Get on your knees and beg. Say you’re sorry, Cordelia. Sorry for the hell you’ve put me through, sorry for the tight little dresses and sweet perfume. Sorry for making me hard and giving nothing, sorry for…
“What do we have here, then?”
Startled, Angelus spun on the intruder with growl, his hand going straight for throat. Squeezing the windpipe nicely and not realising who he was doing it to, he threw whoever it was into the trunk of the nearest tree, feeling satisfaction at the sound of crunching bone. It was only after the fog cleared from his head that he saw Spike laying in a heap.
Angelus smiled oh so happily. It couldn’t happen to a better vampire. “You’re out past your bedtime.”
Spike grunted as he picked himself up and dusted himself down. “Getting a bit ansty in your old age. Not got the bit?”
“No, and it’s none of your business where she is.”
Black tipped hands were held up in surrender. “Just curious is all, mate.”
“Don’t be.”
Spike chuckled, watching the direction his grandsire was going in. “Wouldn’t ruin her beauty sleep to go hunting, eh? Can’t say as I blame her. It is a bit of a blood sport, ain’t it?”
Angelus stopped and rolled his eyes heavenward. Why him? “Did you not hear me when I said it’s none of your business?”
“Come on, mate. What happened to the days of old where we’d knock back a few after a good kill?”
Cordelia wasn’t the only intelligant one in the relationship. Spike didn’t see the knowing smirk curling up his grandsire’s face and nor did he see the gleam burning in tigers’ eyes. Angelus wiped away all expression before turning to the blonde. “What do you really want, Wimple?”
“A bit chit-chat is all, nothing untoward where your girl Friday is concerned.” He slipped his cigarettes out of his pocket, flipping the packet open and closed before taking out his lighter. “You’re covered in her, mate. If I didn’t know any better…”
“Don’t worry your ugly little head, mate. I’ve been a good boy.”
Spike’s snort of disbelief had anger rising up in his grandsire’s gut. “Course you have. That’s why the brunette population of Sunnydale is depleting. Cassie Laycroft, five foot three, takes a size five shoe. Head cheerleader for Palmdale. Jennifer Stiles, five-two with a size four. Head cheerleader for Palmdale after Cassie’s life got cut tragically short. That’s only two of them.”
“Whaddya want? Guilt?”
“You’re getting obsessed.” There was a pause as blue eyes studied Angelus. “No, not obsessed. You’re cracking,” Spike exclaimed with victory in his voice. “You’re getting what you want. Sating that appetite with paltry pickings. You could forfeit, you know?”
This was starting to sound like the conversation that started the whole thing. “You still think I can’t do it, don’t you?” Angelus laughed a hearty laugh that echoed through the park. “You always were an idiot, Spike. Forty days was the deal and I’m sticking to it. If only to see you as the loser you are.”
“No need for name calling, mate,” Spike said. “Only got your best interests at heart.”
Sure he did and Angelus was the queen mum. “I’m touched. Now if you’re done boring me…” He didn’t wait for an answer before walking off, leaving the younger vampire staring after him with a smug smirk on his face.
Angelus ground his teeth together as Spike’s words went round and round his head, the truth of them hitting harder than he’d admit. A kiss was all it’d take from her and he’d be done for, he knew it and Spike knew it. No. He wasn’t weak. He could go the distance.
He would either win this dumb ass bet or he’d die trying.
****
Angelus got back to Cordelia’s place and found the lady herself in the kitchen, a steaming mug in her hand and nails tapping loudly against the table while her eyes blazed with growing anger. The robe she wore tied tightly around her waist, her legs were crossed, and the left fuzzy slipper moved up and down. He knew that look. He was in trouble and he figured they were about to have a talk about his feeding habits.
Shoulders squared, he braced himself for the oncoming storm. Honestly? He couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say about it. Probably something along the lines of you horrible monster, how could you kill a human? Or we’re over, I can’t stand you because you’re evil?
“What time do you call this?” She asked, arching an eyebrow in silent demand.
