Chapter 17: Frustration
With his usual quiet moves, Angel entered the mansion closing the door behind him. He was almost relieved to be home after an evening of patrolling with Buffy through the cemeteries of Sunnydale.
Their plans for the rest of the night had gone up in smoke and Angel was returning to the mansion physically frustrated.
Though it was a state he had often been in before and habitually tempered through his meditative training, over two months had passed since Angel was in the position to need those skills. Between his bound soul and Buffy’s almost predatory sexual urges, Angel was now used to that physical release on a frequent if not daily basis.
“Sorry, Angel. Mom came home a day early from her business trip. Looks like we can’t stay here tonight after all,” Buffy had a legitimate excuse.
“Come back to the mansion,” he suggested a solution. “I’ll wait for you.”
Buffy shook her head, “Can’t. Mom will expect to see me.”
The vampire didn’t verbalize his irritation by saying that he didn’t care what her mother wanted. Tonight, he expected to get laid. Buffy had withheld sex for nearly a week, ever since the movie theater business and his attempts at romancing her with candy and flowers. Now, after arousing him with her usual post-patrol teasing, Buffy was reneging on their plans.
Earlier tonight there was a moment where Buffy was practically shining with the rosy glow of mindless arousal. Angel figured he could convince her to try something a little different tonight. She’d told him that an abandoned cemetery was far different from a movie theater, so maybe she wouldn’t be opposed to doing it right there.
“Eew!” Buffy had immediately come out of her lusty haze at the suggestion. “I’m not getting naked in a cemetery. What happens if some demon strolls along?”
Holding onto her hips, Angel pressed her against him, letting her feel the proof of his arousal. “You’ve got me so wound up, Buffy. I don’t want to wait until we go back to the mansion.”
“We could go to my house,” Buffy suggested quickly. Anything to get them out of the cemetery before something happened. “It’s closer and my mom is out of town until tomorrow afternoon.”
The suggestion fell flat on Angel’s ears. It only meant a further delay in getting what he wanted. It seemed far too long since he’d listened to his own needs and desires, since he was even in the position to do so. Angel figured he would have to come right out and say it because Buffy wasn’t getting the hint. “That’s still too far. If you want to wait to come, that’s fine by me. I don’t.”
She let out a gasp of surprise at his demanding tone and felt his strong hands move from her hips to her shoulders pushing her down to her knees. “Angel!”
“Your choice, Buffy. Use your mouth or your hand. Just give me some relief before you force me to walk for miles just to give you pleasure.” Angel’s eyes glinted in the moonlight like stars in an ebony sky. Eternity echoed in their depths welling up with lust and determination.
“Forget it,” the Slayer went down on her knees to no one, especially a vampire who suddenly got it in his head to issue orders. “Gross much? You know I don’t like that. It’s…messy.”
He found himself growling in response, staring down at her in a way that made Buffy realize she had just consciously thought of Angel as a vampire. Now she threw off his hands from her shoulders and rose to her feet, facing him angrily. “I won’t do that.”
Buffy’s facial expression was one of complete disgust and irritation.
She was about to tell her vampire boyfriend he could head back to the mansion on his own. Except that a new wave of lust hit her as Angel’s mouth covered hers in a series of wild kisses. He was never like this with her— forceful and demanding— and somehow her body was reacting.
Leaping into his strong embrace, Buffy wrapped her arms and legs around his waist. She breathed hot air into his ear pleading, “Take me home, Angel. I want you inside me. Beneath me.”
Peeling her torso away just enough to meet her gaze, Angel agreed to do so, but he made it clear that once they got there Buffy wasn’t going to be the one in charge. As she always seemed to need to be. “I’ll take you home to your frilly bed, Buffy, but I have no intention of laying there and taking it like a good little vamp.”
Sliding down his hard frame, Buffy found her feet unsteady as she gazed at Angel’s back. He was already headed in the direction of Revello Drive. Stunned by his words and demeanor, Buffy found herself shuddering in lustful anticipation. The things he said…Buffy had never heard him speak that way to her. It sounded like something Angelus would say, not Angel.
Catching up to him, Buffy tried to regain a little control. “I don’t want the details, Angel. Just do it.”
“Oh, I will,” he promised darkly.
As they walked along at a brisk pace with only three more blocks to go, Buffy asked,
“Are you mad at me? For not…you know.”
Without missing a step, Angel made a sound of displeasure. “It has only been two months since we’ve been able to safely be together again, but we’ve already fallen into a rut.”
“No pun intended?” Buffy quipped with an attempt at lightening his mood.
Responding scornfully, Angel told her, “No, rut is precisely what I meant. That’s all we’ve been doing. Rutting. Fucking. You don’t let me make love to you, Buffy. It has been weeks since we’ve done something new.”
Flaming red, Buffy thought back to the moment that Angelus told her she still had a lot to learn about men.
Angel went on, reminding her that she had shunned his attempts at romance. Now he was just willing to settle for something a little different. “I’ve attempted to bring a little variety into it, but you keep shying away, refusing to let anything happen that’s out of your control.”
“I do not,” Buffy returned hotly.
“Yes, you do.” Then he stopped suddenly, taking her arm and turning her to face him. “I’m beginning to wonder if you need me there at all when a stiff dildo would provide you with the same ride.”
Buffy reeled back her free arm, curling her hand into a fist and slugged him. The vampire’s head snapped back, but Angel remained stock still looking almost dangerously calm. When he dropped her arm, saying nothing in response, Buffy curled that hand into a fist and tried it again.
Angel grasped her hand within his larger one, enveloping it and holding her at bay. The fact that he could do so proved she wasn’t giving it her all. “Save it for the bedroom, Buffy. We both know that’s where you really want it.”
Wresting her hand away, Buffy glared angrily at Angel. “Why does it have to be different? I liked it before when you were kind and only wanted to please me and didn’t bother with the stupid flowers. Why can’t we go back to the way it was before Angelus came back again?”
“We didn’t get to have sex before Angelus came back,” Angel reminded pointedly. “Is that what you want?”
“Oh.” Twisting her lips into a pout, Buffy muttered, “No, I didn’t mean that part.”
“Didn’t think so,” he responded with a confident smirk.
“Angelus isn’t the only egomaniac in the family,” Buffy huffed, turned on her heel and strode toward home.
Watching her, Angel moved at a slower pace knowing that his blond girlfriend had no intention of forgoing his presence in her bed tonight. Only they were both in for a shocking disappointment upon arriving at Buffy’s house. Joyce Summers was in the process of removing her suitcase from the trunk of her car as they stepped up to the sidewalk.
There was no time to turn around and head to the mansion, for Joyce observantly saw them both and waved. She was still wary of Angel, but greeted her daughter with a hug and a smile.
“Finished with patrol for the evening?” Joyce queried with motherly interest in her daughter’s work while at the same time eyeing her for injuries. “I’m glad you’re home. I could use some help unpacking. I have a box of artifacts for the studio I’d like to catalog before going to bed.”
“I’ll get that,” Angel offered.
“Thank you, Angel.” Joyce watched as the vampire picked up the heavy box from her trunk with one hand and grabbed her suitcase with the other. “My goodness. It looks like vampires are good for something. All that strength.”
Joyce was talking to Buffy and speaking softly, but the Slayer reacted with a protest, “Mom! Angel can hear you.”
“He’s all the way to the house,” Joyce commented doubtfully as she closed the trunk.
Buffy felt herself turn red. She stressed, “Vampire hearing.”
“So that’s not the only thing they’re good for,” Joyce shrugged. At Buffy’s continued embarrassment, she asked, “What did I say now?”
There were more intimate things on Buffy’s mind and Angel was certainly good for all of them. Except, apparently not tonight. “Nothing, Mom.”
Angel was waiting by the front door for one of them to open it. Joyce already had her keys out and thanked him again as Angel brought her things into the house. “Just set them down by the stairs. We’ll take them from there.”
Though her words were polite, Angel saw them for what they were: an invitation to leave. “It’s late. See me to the door, Buffy?”
It was two steps away, but Buffy took it as an excuse to walk out to the porch with him closing the door behind them. “This isn’t gonna happen tonight. Sorry, Angel. Mom came home a day early from her business trip. Looks like we can’t stay here tonight after all.”
Buffy had a legitimate excuse, but Angel knew she could find a way around it if she wanted too. “Come back to the mansion. I’ll wait for you.”
Shaking her head, Buffy explained, “Can’t. Mom will expect to see me.”
“Fine.” Angel ground out between his teeth. Frustration ate away at him. “I’ll just go home and meditate.”
“Does that work?”
“It will if it’s accompanied by some other more physical remedies,” Angel answered meaningfully drawing Buffy’s mouth into a circle of surprise, now finding a miniscule measure of amusement despite his frustration.
“Oh.” Buffy’s skin flamed red in the porch light and Angel heard the fast tempo of her heart when she caught his meaning. “Guess I’ll be needing a few remedies myself.”
Palming her face with both hands, Angel leaned down to kiss her gently. “Get some rest. Tomorrow is the big day.”
“What day?”
“Your choice of activities, remember?”
Buffy looked like she had forgotten for a second or two, but realized he meant the movie marathon. Since Cordelia handed over the double dating decision duties to her, Buffy had decided to make it more of a group activity. Everyone was invited and there would be no possibility of public embarrassment. A day of video rentals and movie watching at the mansion sounded safe enough.
“Can’t wait,” Buffy tried to sound enthusiastic. She added a smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
Sensing her lack of excitement at the idea, Angel had to admit, “I’m feeling the same way.”
Now back at the mansion, Angel shut the door behind him only to note that the foyer floor was strewn with Cordelia’s belongings. Not again, he thought, what rotten timing. This was especially a bad night to have to put up with the aftereffects of Angelus’ sexcapades with Cordelia.
Out of habit, Angel started to pick up the discarded things intending to leave them at the bottom of the third floor steps. If he had actually given Angelus an allowance, Angel figured he would have to withhold it for acting as their live-in-maid. After the first few items it seemed like he was following a trail of breadcrumbs. Except that he quickly realized that this trail wasn’t leading to the stairs, but to the living room.
Angel snatched one pom-pom from the floor. A few steps later, he picked up the other one. Then there was a shoe, the standard white athletic kind the cheerleaders wore. Further down the hall was the other one. Both burgundy socks lay in a little heap close to the living room door.
Instantly, it came to him that Cordelia promised his brother a dance upon returning from the football game. Was that what had happened? Considering the strewn pom-poms, shoes and socks, it looked to be a striptease. No wonder they hadn’t made it to the third floor…again.
Angel found it all too easy to picture Cordelia’s sexy dance, except he was the lucky recipient rather than Angelus. He’d be sitting in that large leather chair as she started to move; the only music needed was the steady beat of her heart. Her bare legs would seem even longer under than tiny skirt, its burgundy and gold pleats alternately hiding and hinting as she danced for him.
In his mind’s eye, her gold top with the burgundy trim was suddenly gone. Angel didn’t know how it had come off, but frankly he didn’t care. Even in her silky bra, Cordelia would be color-coordinated; the silk and lace wrapped around her firm breasts would be burgundy as well. As Cordelia braced herself on the arms of the chair, leaning over to kiss him, Angel reached up to remove that barrier.
Soft strands of her wavy hair fell in long tendrils around her shoulders teasing at the edges of those mouth-watering curves. How many ways had he pictured himself teasing and torturing that one part of Cordelia’s sensuous anatomy? Too many ways.
They came to him in one rush of images that left him leaning against the wall outside the living room door. Caressing, tickling, licking, sucking, nipping, fucking, biting, and a number of combinations danced their way through his sexually-charged brain.
Knowing the way her nipples poked up hard against her clothes, Angel could easily picture curling his tongue around them laving them one at a time. Now his erection pressed uncomfortably into the zipper of his pants and Angel was glad that his arms were full of pom-poms, shoes and socks because the temptation to wrap his hand around his tumescent penis seemed almost irresistible.
Cordelia turned her back to him, in that colorful display that was his mind’s eye, and with the stark sound of her zipper coming undone he watched as she let her skirt and panties fall to the floor. Rather than enjoying the view of her pert bottom, Angel found that he was staring at the mark of her blazing sun tattoo. It taunted him even in his own imagination.
At the movie theater, Angel had gotten more than enough of a glimpse at the small of her back now colored permanently with a distinct sign of the Order of Aurelius. Thinking about it now, with his mind caught up in this lustful side-trip, Angel realized that Angelus had made a mistake in choosing to claim Cordelia with such a mark. It might have been the only way he could do it, but marking a human with a sign from the Order technically wiped out their agreement. Nullifying it completely, this placed Cordelia under the purview of the Order’s master.
While Angelus might think of himself that way, Angel had news for him. The deal with the Fates laid out a few guidelines prior to their separation. Since Angel was the primary being existing before the split, Angelus would be linked to him in a way that would allow the souled vampire to oversee his darker half. That put Angel in charge of his double and as far as he was concerned also put him in charge of the Order of Aurelius. Anything that belonged to the vampires of the Order also belonged to the master. Meaning, that Cordelia also belonged to him.
Angel suddenly realized he could enter that room and claim Cordelia in the only way a vampire’s mate should be claimed. He felt his face shift and fangs extend at the mere thought of it. His tongue rasped across the sharp edges sending a wave of pleasure straight to his loins.
At that point Angel didn’t care what he found when entering the room. He had every right to go in there and lay claim to what he wanted. To take Cordelia into his arms, bare her neck and sink his fangs into her salty flesh to get at the sweet blood inside.
Turning his body so that it rolled against the doorframe, Angel prepared to stride into the room only to stop short at the sight in front of him. Only now that he saw them did Angel realize his detailed fantasy had caused him to ignore his senses. The air was not permeated with the scent of arousal as one would expect. Cordelia’s heartbeat was steady, her breathing rhythmic. There was another sound, a low rumble imperceptible to anyone without a vampire’s sensitive hearing, this coming from Angelus himself.
Cordelia lay across Angelus’ lap, sleeping peacefully in the safe harbor of his arms. One hand resting on his chest, her head snuggled into the crook of his shoulder. With the exception of Cordelia’s discarded shoes and socks, both were fully dressed. Angelus was simply watching her sleep, his arms wrapped around her tiny waist and gazing down at her beautiful face, purring quietly.
A sharp sting of envy blazed through Angel as he looked at them, his expression set in stone. All irrational thoughts of claiming Cordelia vanished as he looked at them replaced by stabbing guilt. He longed for such simplicity in his own relationship and knew that he was transferring his frustration and envy to Cordelia.
Knowing didn’t make him want her any less. A small sound of longing escaped his throat, causing Angelus to snap his attention to his twin.
The soulless vampire didn’t care if it was Angel standing there, as far as he was concerned it was the same as any other vampire intruding on this moment. Angelus eyes flashed a very real, very serious warning, his contented purr turning into a low growl.
Sharing memories of the other vampire for so long, Angel knew exactly what Angelus would and could do if he stepped any further into the room. He knew that right now, in this moment, he was intruding on a very intimate moment and Angelus saw him only as a threat, especially as Angel had appeared around the corner in full game face.
When the growl got a little louder, Cordelia stirred and looked through sleepy eyes at Angelus. “Hmm?” she mumbled.
“Nothing baby, just go back to sleep” Angelus whispered, watching Angel back out of the room.
Angel’s presence hadn’t even registered to Cordelia who only had eyes for her lover. “Okay,” she murmured contentedly, “no arguments from me.”.