***
Even dawn couldn’t break the festivities completely and the club was still humming with conversation and throbbing with music, sprinkled with the odd shattering of glass as vicious fights broke out all over the single storey and cavernous building. Business as usual for what once an expensive dance-club for the young, and desperately trendy, now turned demon free-for-all with a nightly banquet that lasted for hours before the sobs and screams died away- literally.
Lenka was beautiful; once a proud and sought after Afro-American model she was now the ebony queen of the club, a cunning vampire with a stunning head of elaborate cornrows and long braids with the added impact of being tipped with human teeth instead of the more usual beads.
Dressed head to toe in skin-tight russet coloured leather she slid through the throngs of demons with sinuous grace, an innate skill that in no way reflected her mood. Reaching her destination with swift strides, a long delicate hand swept aside the tankers of blood covering the round table of the booth, “Raja, I’m in a shitty mood and its *all* your fault, baby.”
Raja was a huge Kihitte demon, which with the single exception of walking upright on two legs resembled humans not at all. The most striking feature of his kind was a thick elongated skull shaped like a bullet and almost entirely red.
Blinking its triple lids Raja stood to tower over the smaller, infuriated figure who didn’t cower despite the difference in their sizes. “They eluded us by not returning to the entrance they arrived from. It is not my failure but yours for not telling us the souled vampire had a seer with him.” The perfectly accented English coming from him, the less human of the two, seemed eerie.
It only ignited her temper further and she goggled at him, “Wha… you trippin, damn, I aughta bounce you outta here, dumb shit. Don’t you be layin this on me. Who got you this gig, dumb fucker?”
Eyes blazing gold Lenka reared back to see the demon better. “I got some serious shit goin’ down tonight that I can’t put off and what I got to say when this O G gets here, huh? Nuthin’ that’s what.”
The booth cleared as they faced off, “Tell him the truth.” Raga suggested grimly.
“Are you not hearin’ me? I said we got trouble comin’. I know you ain’t suggesting I blow this wacko off, cos otherwise I’d say you been smokin’.” Hand on one richly coloured hip, Lenka sneered revealing gleaming pearlescent fangs.
“Hardly, I leave the drugs to humans and you vampires,” he indicted the immediate area around them with one fiery red hand, its double jointed fingers long and deceptively thin for a such a large creature.
In one corner a male vampire had a female pinned to the wall, her legs around his pumping hips as they fed from each other, blood seeping from the vicious wounds. They stood out simply because they were standing directly beneath a fluorescent light but similar scenes of feral carnality were echoed around the club.
Truly worried Lenka shook off the insult, who gives a fuck? “You owe me, Raja, for real and when this-“
A hand curved around her ass from behind, sliding between the cracks to lightly finger her. Infuriated, Lenka whipped her head around fast enough to send the braids swinging only to halt the tirade and grin slyly when she saw the buff half naked male vampire waiting for her. Glaring at Raja she turned back laying a palm on smooth copper skin, “Momma, won’t be long, baby, now be a sweet boy and wait for me in the office, okay?”
Wanting to send him off happy and make sure none of the other bitches here thought to trespass she grabbed his balls in her hand, squeezing roughly through black rubber and then bringing them flush slid her tongue between his fangs, aiming deep and purring when he bit her hard enough to draw blood. Aroused she shoved him away, “Go… and I find any other hookas cream on that dick, I’m gonna bite it off, ya hear?” Grinning he saluted once and melted away into the heaving crowd.
Watching him go her expression turned frosty, “Raja, go fetch me a time machine or when this goes down you are in for some serious hurtin’, ya feeling that?”
***
“Are you sure that’s what the oracles said, the cure is within your grasp?” Wesley asked for the third time in as many minutes.
“Yes, Wesley, that is *exactly* what she said to me,” impatient, Angel paced. He remembered clearly her expression when she’d said it too, as if she’d known he would need it soon. Pity he hadn’t realised the significance at the time.
Wincing at the sharp retort Wesley puffed out a breath, leaning a hip against the wooden foot board and crossing his arms, forehead furrowed in thought. “Okay, let’s think about this logically. We have a problem, which is Cordelia in some sort of coma apparently damaged from the visions… and- according to ancient seers; you have the cure within… you.”
Oh my Lord, “It can’t be… can it?” Blue eyes wide and blinking Wesley returned Angel’s horrified stare.
Shaking his head, Angel paced ever faster a blur of agitated movement in the too small room. “They can’t have meant that. It makes no sense.”
Only it did, Angel stopped pacing, “Do you think it’s possible?”
“That by giving Cordelia some of your blood she would be healed by its demonic properties without being affected since she is still alive and-“
“Yeah, Wes, I get the picture. Do you think it’ll work?”
“Well, at this point in time I see no harm in trying.” Solemnly the two tall and dark haired men turned to glance at the tucked-in figure on the bed. “If we make it a small amount then if she should… then, well it won’t be enough to, um,” Faltering Wesley stopped rather than say it aloud.
“Not going to happen. This is going to work. So, how do we do it, just cut me and then her?”
Pondering, Wesley considered the issue for a moment before his expression brightened, “Wait, I have a better idea. I’m sure I have a syringe somewhere, neater all round I’d say.”
***
Good ole Wes, huh, and who knew Angel was a walking bottle of tonic for vision melt down? All seems a bit too easy to me but then I wasn’t exactly compos enough to vote, ya know. Anyway, it doesn’t matter; at least I didn’t grow a pair of fangs. One set of those around the office is enough if you get my meaning?
Not that there wasn’t a quirky little side-effect but we’ll get to that later, don’t want to get ahead of myself. Where was I? Oh yeah, so there I am lying on Angel’s bed looking all sweet and innocent while my nearest and dearest set about infecting me with some demon goodness. Not that I have a problem with that what with the alternative being a premature young and good-looking corpse.
In the end it didn’t take long and of course I didn’t feel a thing, too busy doing the whole vegetable thing. At least until that quirky little side-effect kicked; coma notwithstanding. Some sorta freaky vamp mojo where out of the blue I started to hallucinate, or later thought I had.
Gotta love those PTB’s getting in one last dig. One minute I was floating peacefully and the next I was catapulted out of the fog, sucked in and tossed around, flailing like a stranded fish and wondering what the hell was happening to me now…
The room was spacious with a set of double glass doors leading through to a big bed. I’m not sure but I think it’s a hotel room. But the crowning touch was the lamps lit and dotted here and there. Uh huh, when did the power come back? Either I was in some kinda alternate universe or this was a vision. I can’t concentrate though and that thought slips away. Somehow I know I shouldn’t be in there and I’m afraid, nervous of somebody coming in through the door from the corridor outside. Best guess; I don’t have permission to be there.
Oh God, this is really bad. I hate fear. It makes you all sweaty and dumb looking with the huge bambi wide eyes and don’t even mention the shakes. My heart is beating like a drum, deafening and just what you don’t need when you’re trying to be stealthy and hear an approach. I snort, covering my mouth to stifle a laugh that has nothing whatsoever to do with humour. As if you can hear a vampire approach unless he wants you to.
My mouth drops open, that’s it! That’s what I’m afraid of… Angel. Before I can even begin to digest that fact the door behind me crashes open. I let out an involuntary and high-pitched yelp at the noise and whirl on my bare feet. Bare feet? My gaze drops to see pink toes then shoots back up skittering along the carpet to stop, staring at a pair of ominous black boots planted aggressively apart.
Ever watch a movie where the camera takes forever to pan up to the guys face, leaving you sitting there tossing up your hands and cynically certain that of course if it was you, you’d jerk your head right up and save the damned suspense. Doesn’t happen that way though. My eyes crawl slowly up dark pants over lean lips and up to a pair of crossed arms covered in thin black knit.
Oh shit on a stick, “I shouldn’t be here, right?” I ask smiling nervously as I back up.
Angel’s face doesn’t change and my eyes drop to escape that dark impenetrable stare. Questions choke my mind. Why are we like this, why am I so afraid and why is Angel staring at me like *that*?
Maybe it was the fear rising as unstoppable as the tide but everything went dizzy, blurring out of focus and the whirlwind picked me and tossed me through the air. A big part of me is relieved, hoping the next place I drop into actually makes some frickin’ sense; I was wrong.
Next thing I know I’m lying on that bed, whatever I was wearing torn open down the middle and a bare-chested Angel on top of me, kissing me as if he was never going to stop, or let me up for air. My head starts to spin, reeling in shock at that rough, rhythmic invasion while I twist my hands manacled over my head by one of his.
Now in a world that makes sense this is the part where I’d bite that tongue, start kicking and then scream like a banshee when I managed to get some air in my lungs. Only it didn’t happen that way. While the real me is watching helplessly this other me starts to kiss him back, arching up into that hurtful duel.
I guess I’m not the only one surprised. Angel freezes for an instant but doesn’t let me go, instead the kiss changes, becoming gentler as if knowing I wasn’t going to fight him made all the difference. The tempo and mood did a one-eighty leaving me gasping and aching for more. That’s when my heads starts spinning for real only in a good way.
The thing with fear is it sensitizes you and when it transformed into relief it left me quivering and able to feel the infinitesimal scrape of whiskers against my chin and cheeks, a sharp contrast to the cool slide of his tongue along my lips. That drawing sensation came back as if trying to drag me away and only Angel’s heavy weight kept me down, satisfying some primal need as the hard planes of his chest shifted possessively over me, his hewn arms a passionate cage.
It was pure madness and I was lost to it. Free now to roam, my hands speared into the thick mass of his hair, nails scraping through the thick dark brown strands and down to his neck making him shiver and crush me closer, mouth open and suckling my neck; bringing the blood racing to the surface as I clutched his back with desperate fingers. At the back of my mind was the certainty that if he could, he’d meld us both together.
Reality shifted and then moved on without permission, losing minutes I could only guess at before catapulting me back into the storm only to find myself writhing and holding on for dear life; riding a wave of sensation like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. He was naked now having shucked his pants sometime during the minutes I’d been spinning away and I could feel the hard rasp of hair roughened thighs slide determinedly between mine.
Another shift making my belly drop with disappointment. Then I’m back and by now the air is thick with choppy heavy breaths, deafening along with the pulse drumming frantically in my ears. A moan escapes and his lips lunge catching the sound. Oh God, he won’t let me speak, every time I try he covers my lips with either his mouth or strong fingers. Angel was still on top, only there was another huge difference. I’m full to stretching down there and his smooth muscled back heaved and flexed under the pads of my fingers as I hung on for dear life.
Nuzzling into my neck his voice whispers to me, pleading and filled with dark demand, “Come for me…”
I was literally humming with cresting pleasure. Oh god, nearly there… nearly reaching that peak…
***
Cordelia didn’t just wake up and open her eyes. She bolted upright, face flushed, while panicked eyes jerkily searched the room. When she caught sight of Angel they widened even further and she let out a shriek. That wasn’t the end of it either, before the dumbstruck gazes of both Angel and Wesley she launched herself backwards, legs kicking out to frantically scrabble away, going so far that she fell off the other side in a tangle of sheets and mussed clothes.
Baffled Angel and Wesley shared a look and then leapt to help her. “Don’t come anywhere near me,” an enraged female voice growled. Righting herself with a yank of the sheet Cordelia’s dark head appeared over the other side of the rumpled bed, her glower screaming of fury and bright red humiliation.
Into the stunned silence she hotly accused, “What did you do to me, you big…fat… pervert?”
Pervert? Taken aback Angel halted and even retreated a little distance under the accusing glare directed straight at him.
Staring at the angry girl still crouched defensively on the other side of his bed Angel frowned both brows creasing to form a vexed vee, “I didn’t do… what are you… pervert?” he shook his head at the last and his face spoke volumes about offended confusion.
“Cordelia, I assure you nothing untoward happened while you were unconscious.” Wesley added in defence of the vampire, instinctively stepping forward to break the irrationally accusing stare she was still levelling at a silent but rapidly angering Angel.
Tossing dark strands of clinging hair aside, Cordelia narrowed her eyes, “Yeah right, then how come I…” a glimmer of understanding halted the hot words before she made the biggest mistake of her life. Dragging her gaze off him she blinked seeing the familiar bedroom she’d slept in peacefully many a time before.
No lamps, no glass doors, no naked Angel. A quick glance down assured her she was still dressed in the summery clothes she’d put on after the shower to cheer herself up. It didn’t take a genius to guess it had been a dream. Great, way to go to look like a retard, Cor. Oh shut-up.
Crossing his arms and already wanting to throttle her within two minutes of praying she’d wake up, Angel waited for an explanation. “How come you what?” he prodded shortly. Marvelling anew how no-one in all his two and half centuries had ever been as skilled at raising his temper. So much for staying by her side to watch her wake; then be on hand to offer comfort and a welcome back hug.
Dammit, she’d called him a pervert. Which was pretty ironic considering this time it wasn’t true and yet so many times in his evil vampire past the charge would have been justified.
She was wrong and analysing what, why and how to make sure it never happened again would have to wait until later. Knowing she couldn’t just claim a moment’s insanity and dive for the shower Cordelia gave the room a desperate glance, searching for an out.
She found one and latched onto the syringe laid carefully on a plate innocently perched atop the bedside table opposite. Whoa, had they drugged her, cos that would certainly explain a few things? “You did something to me and don’t say you didn’t cos I can feel it,” she lied then lifted her chin, “what was it, some kind of drug?”
There was a silence which Wesley reluctantly broke, “Angel’s blood actually.”
Uh huh, she definitely hadn’t heard that right, “Come again?”
Angel shrugged, uncomfortable but hiding it, “You were in a coma. We had to do something.”
Oh my God, she couldn’t believe she was hearing this. “So, what, you thought I’d be better undead than just dead?” Her voice was a lash of incredulity. Standing up Cordelia forgot about keeping her distance and stalked around the bed to stand toe to toe with him. Okay, so maybe not that close but it was enough.
Wesley winced knowing what she was thinking, “No, Cordelia, please calm down. Of course not.” He interjected desperately more than a little stunned at how quickly these two could strike sparks of one another. In fact on that topic he was still in the dark about how this argument had even begun.
“We were extremely careful not to give you too much; I promise you are in no danger of becoming a vampire.”
Cordelia didn’t buy it. “C’mon, Wesley, I lived in a hell-mouth for nearly all my life. You drink, you turn- and that’s simply how it is?”
He was confident in refuting her tart claim, “Not true, the council commissioned extensive experiments and there is a certain amount required before the demon can assert itself even in a nearly dead human.”
Large hands grasped her shoulders and squeezed gently to gain her attention, “Do you really think I’d put you at risk like that?” Angel asked quietly and succinctly.
Caught by the searing gaze and the soft voice, Cordelia opened her mouth and then closed it while a slight feeling of shame crept in. Thanks to that porno dream of hers she’d wigged out the instant she’d woken up and then used him both as a distraction and a whipping post. Temper deflated instantly with that realisation.
Nice little reality check, Angel. “No, of course you wouldn’t, the guilt alone would kill you.” Huffing out a deep breath she raised one unsteady hand to grab and drag the hair out of her face again, wishing irrationally that she could get a haircut, “I’m sorry, okay? It’s been a bad day- in fact veto that and make it *year* so far.”
Okay, time to concentrate on the bright side, “So, does this mean I’m all healed and being vision-girl’s gonna be a breeze from now on?”