Moonlight streamed across the foyer from the open front door. Angel wondered if he was going to have to deal with an attack or less innocuous intruders. Was this just another daring group of teens planning to spend a night at the ‘haunted’ mansion? Stealthily, he moved amid the shadows.
From the dark corridor on the landing above Angel noted that the heavy circular table normally located at the center of the room now had a spot in the corner. Trash bags and rolled up sleeping bags were piled up inside the door indicating this was not the sign of a demon attack. Now he had to add one more theory to his list, this one far more likely.
Angel executed a leap over the balustrade landing with catlike ease on his feet. More annoying than regular intruders, he realized just who he was dealing with, recognizing the muffled voices emanating from outside. Killing them was out of the question— though their timing might merit a broken neck or two. Getting rid of them was less likely than making bloodstains disappear.
The sound of a car idling and the sound of the trunk being closed alerted him to their means of arrival. They had taken the Plymouth. From the looks of things, they had not only brought Cordelia’s belongings, but were planning to move in, too.
The engine turned off. Footsteps shuffled around on the cobblestones. “Whose car is that?” Buffy asked as she spotted the Desoto that Angel had left up front.
“Ooh!” Xander was there, of course, “I dunno,” a vein of interest sounding while Willow honed in on a more specific query.
“Angel has a car?” She made it sound like they expected him to get around town by camel. Not that he had bothered to keep a car of his own in a very long time, but that was beside the point. They had never seen him with a car had they?
Small town Sunnydale had made one seem unnecessary. Though it was nice to drive the convertible around town when taking Cordelia from place to place, he realized.
Now Buffy sounded doubtful, “I dunno. There’s a lot I don’t know, lately,” Angel caught her mumble.
A wave of guilt rolled over him again. Now there was even more she did not know. Though he felt the need to warn them of the potential dangers, Angel knew Cordy would have his hide if he hinted at the fact that they had had sex. Buffy’s presence might actually put a damper on any random blissful thoughts running around in his head, so he decided to rethink chasing the gang off.
Xander walked straight past him as he stood in the shadows. He carried in a trash bag and dumped it on top of the pile. “Angel has a cool car and lives in a bonafide mansion. Something is seriously wrong with my karma. What’s he got, huh?”
“A refrigerator full of blood,” Willow quipped as she strolled in behind him.
“And fangs,” Xander nodded apparently no longer feeling quite so jealous. “Let’s not forget those.”
They still had not noticed him when Buffy entered immediately making eye contact as he lurked nearby. “Hi Angel, we brought Cordelia’s stuff.”
Xander and Willow turned, gaping. Managing only an “Eep!” and an “Uhh!” they waited as Angel and Buffy moved in their direction.
“Sleeping bags?” Angel asked as he glanced down at the pile.
Buffy stole a glance at the other two. “Those are for us. I—we figured we could help out with the guard duty. The mansion is so big and open and all.”
“The grounds are unsecured,” Willow pointed out. “The gate is wide open and there are big ol’ gaps in the fire-damaged areas.”
Conceding that it actually sounded reasonable, Angel put up no argument. He originally thought it best that the others wait until the morning in order to give Cordy time to rest and adjust. Security was still an issue. While Angel doubted that Angelus was going to make an appearance, it certainly did not hurt to have a Slayer around just in case.
Willow was right, too. The place was not exactly easily defended. The mansion’s north wing was a burned out husk with easy access to the habitable sections.
“You can stay,” Angel told them gruffly. Before anyone could ask, he added, “You can handle things down here.” Instructing Buffy to take the first patrol outside on the perimeter of the mansion, he told Xander and Willow to set up their supplies there in the foyer where they could keep an eye on the front entrance.
He fended off questions about Cordelia answering briefly that she was sleeping. It had been a long night, he explained and they needed to keep things quiet. They were solemn, commenting on Bev’s death and mentioning that Giles and the new guy were going to the police station to see Faith.
Angel considered going back upstairs, but decided to head down the hall to his study for a while. Still confused about the curse not kicking in, he had a lot to think about regarding his relationship with Cordelia. Was it worth risking her life knowing that he had little control when it came to wanting her? Maybe it was better to end it now.
Cordelia awakened with a start. Jerking into a sitting position she stared into the shadows completely disoriented for the first few seconds. In bed and naked she flashed back to the factory for an instant before recalling that Angel had already rescued her from Drusilla’s wacky tea party.
This was post-amazing sex nakedness. Reaching across the bed, she realized he was not there. “Angel?” she queried the shadows, but got no answer. He was not lurking in a corner somewhere.
While she did not exactly want to wake up with Angel hovering over her like a crazed stalker, he had promised not to leave her alone.
Cordelia stepped out of bed dragging the top sheet along with her. Wrapping it loosely around her nude body, she stood next to the bed, cheeks flushed as she remembered what they’d done there. Yup, that was definitely not a dream.
Kinda hard not to think about Angel, Angel’s kisses, Angel’s touches, Angel’s—hooboy! Definitely hard not to think about that. He’d been so patient with her, so gentle in a way she doubted a vampire could be capable. Cordelia knew he’d held back so much of himself and his own desires for her sake. There at the end was different, though.
The memory of him calling out her name, voice hoarse, his body taut as he drove deep inside her again and again made her tingle. Catching her bottom lip with her teeth, she nibbled softly at the plump flesh. Her body felt deliciously sore. Though she’d heard and read that virgins rarely enjoyed their first time, Cordelia was glad to be the exception.
If that had anything to do with Angel having oodles of experience, Cordelia wasn’t going to dwell on it. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like when they did it again. That is if there even was a next time.
“Or even lots of next times,” Cordelia felt a rush of anticipation at the prospect of being with Angel again.
Sounding out a soft squee, Cordelia padded toward the closet, the sheet flapping loosely. Standing before the open closet as she perused the contents, she let the sheet pool to the floor at her feet. Her fingers trailed across the shirts stopping at one made of black silk. She slipped it over her head, humming off-key while she rolled up the sleeves.
It was not until she reached the bedroom door that Cordelia considered Angel had left for a reason. Maybe it was something she’d said. After all, she had admitted that she loved him. Maybe he did not really feel the same way. Her heart sank a little at the prospect before she considered Angel said a lot without ever saying a word. It was not that he did not feel the same way.
Then again, he was not here by her side, was he? Cordelia knew without a doubt that he was off brooding somewhere about making love to her.
He had been protecting her tonight. They were caught up in a whirlwind of events that neither of them could have avoided or planned. Cordelia’s euphoria quickly vanished. He had felt sorry for her after Bev’s death and now he felt guilty about it. Well, if it was just comfort sex, Angel would be in need of some after she kicked his ass.
Cordelia turned the knob, jerked open the door and started down the hall. The hell if she was going to let Angel get away with feeling broody about having sex. Grabbing onto the banister, she quickly went downstairs only to come to a dead stop as she heard the noises coming from the center of the foyer. Rattling snores emanated from a large lump on the floor.
Recognizing the copper mop of hair poking out of the other sleeping bag, Cordelia guessed the noisy one to be Xander. They were surrounded by duffel bags, an ice chest and several large trash bags.
“Weird,” Cordelia mouthed as she stared down at them. It was not exactly difficult to guess why they were here. That reason started with a B and ended in a why-can’t-she-mind-her-own-business.
Maybe Angel was not off brooding about comfort sex. There was a third sleeping bag spread out on the floor and a light shining from the end of the hall where Angel’s study was located. Cordelia wondered if they were in there together. It did not take a big leap of the imagination that Buffy would try to corner him there.
Though she did not really think he was the kiss and tell kind of guy, Cordelia didn’t like the idea of having Angel’s ex in the house tonight. She didn’t feel up to giving Buffy an explanation for her presence in Angel’s bed or her current apparel— not that showing up in Drusilla’s gown wouldn’t have been a conversation sparker.
She was 90-percent sure that the three Musketeers were here to protect her from the bad guys, trying to be helpful and condoling with her over Bev’s death. It was the 10-percent none-of-the-above category that made her irritable. Was it too much to ask for a night alone with her boyfriend away from the insanity that was the Scoobies?
With a sigh, she left the sleeping watchdogs behind heading down the hall toward the study. It was eerily quiet. There were no voices coming from within. And the door was slightly ajar so she would have heard if Buffy and Angel were in there talking.
Cordelia was not certain if the quiet was a good thing. Licking at her lips, she took in a deep breath and pushed at the door with her fingertips. It creaked lightly as it opened.
Angel was sitting on the couch, a closed book in his hand as he stared into the small fire burning in the hearth. He looked up at the noise from the door meeting her gaze with a soft smile that melted her worries away. Up out of his seat in a smooth motion, he walked over to meet her raising his hand to her cheek, eyes dropping down to her lips.
She turned her face toward his kiss, but it did not come. Angel rubbed his thumb softly across her mouth and then dropped his hand away. “Close the door, Cordy. Come in.”
