24/7. 22

Part 22

Cordelia stretched her tired limbs. Between bouts of lovemaking, she’d only managed to get a few hours sleep. She propped her head up to watch her sleeping manpire. He looked so peaceful with a small smile gracing his lips, but she was awake and bored.

A wicked idea came to her. She knew he hated waking up alone and he hadn’t appreciated an elbow to the ribs as a wakeup call either.

She climbed out of bed, careful not to rouse him. After digging under the bed, she pulled out her prize. She silently set her plan in motion. She wriggled her way under the bed and secured the hooks to the solid steel frame Angel had custom made. She pushed the ends in four directions before crawling out.

She quickly ran the length through the metal loops as quietly as possible. Once they were secure, she began clamping the ends into place. An evil smile crossed her features as the last one snapped shut. *I am so very bad.* She slid the crank into place. Mental note thank Fred later. She slowly turned the lever until she was satisfied with the result.

Cordy stepped back and admired her work. Angel was securely chained to the bed. Thanks to the brilliant physicist, she was able to choose exactly how she wanted him positioned. His arms were stretched out wide leaving him little maneuverability while his legs were only a few inches apart.

Her mate was completely at her mercy. She dropped the key on the nightstand and crawled onto the bed. She straddled his legs but didn’t sit down.

Her eyes remained glued to his face as she began dropping kisses on his chest. She gave the small male nipple a few licks, watching it harden and pebble before giving its twin the same loving treatment. He showed no signs of waking. She trailed kisses down his body. Her eyes left his face to admire his semi-flaccid cock. She planted her hands on either side of his hips. Her head dipped and she slowly licked the length of his growing erection.

A smile formed as it twitched and jumped against his stomach, desperately in search of the warm source. Her mouth moved lower lavishing attention to the pouch of flesh. After a few licks, nips and some gentle sucking, his hips began to move. She worked her way back up to lick the weeping tip. It tried to jump into the warm cavern of her mouth but she moved away.

Angel didn’t want to wake up. He was having the most delicious dream but a very alert part of him demanded he regain consciousness immediately. He was surprised that Cordelia’s warm body wasn’t in his arms. Annoyance quickly turned to shock when he couldn’t move his arms. His eyes shot open. He was chained to his bed and something warm was teasing his groin. “Cor?”

She rose upright on her knees. “Yes?”

“What are you doing and why am I in chains?”

“Well I woke up and since you were still sound asleep, it gave me some time to think. It occurred to me. If Donna was so right about this,” her fingers stroked his mark, “then maybe she was right about other things. I felt it was my duty as your mate to explore the possibilities.”

Amusement and raw desire filled his eyes. “Is that so?”

“Yup. You’re totally at my mercy.”

His arms tested the chains. “These are in case I ever lose my soul.”

“True. I must say I’m very pleased with Fred’s design. Thanks to her modifications, I can choose how tight the chains are without decreasing their security. I can make them loose and give you some mobility or they can stretch tight, painfully so should I choose. I think I prefer the in-between. You can’t really move but spread eagle can be rather…invasive. I have to submit to an annual exam involving stirrups. This isn’t about making you feel vulnerable or exposed.”

“What is it about?”

The evil glint in her eyes returned. “Why torture of course. No more talking. Just remember good vampires get rewarded.” She rested on all fours. Her head dipped giving his length slow licks and nips.

Angel struggled in vain. He didn’t care how but he needed to be enveloped in her warmth. Her teasing had him painfully hard before he woke up. His patience was already gone. “Cor please!”

“Bad vampire! No talking.” She bit his hip then soothed the bite with her tongue.

His hips bucked at the pleasurable pain. “Fuck!”

“Bad vampire.” Her mouth moved down his leg.

His neglected cock sent an ache through his entire body. “Please,” came out in a whisper.

“Stupid vampire.” Her kisses moved further south.

He couldn’t stop his whimpering, but he bit his lip to prevent any further begging.

At his silence, she began kissing and licking her way back to his very angry, straining flesh. Still she refused to take him fully into her mouth. She nipped the sensitive spot beneath the tip. His cock made another desperate attempt to jump into the warm cavern.

Angel clenched his hands into fists. It took all his strength not to plead with her.

She smiled at his continued silence. “Good vampires get rewarded.” Her hand wrapped around him to support the base. She gently sucked on the tip before swallowing him to the root.

“Yes!” If he could move, he would have hit himself in the head.

She released him with a soft pop. “You’re a very bad vampire. I guess you don’t want to be rewarded.”

He bit his bottom lip so hard he drew blood.

Cordelia noticed his bloody lip and his trembling form. She crawled up his body. Her tongue traced the injured lip, tasting the coppery tang of his blood. She lowered her hips to tease his length, moaning at the way the friction made the bundle of nerves tingle. She devoured his mouth echoing his groan with one of her own.

He whimpered as she rose up on all fours again but he didn’t speak. He didn’t scream and he didn’t cry though he wanted to do all three.

She watched his tortured expression and decided to take pity on him. Her hand wrapped around him as she hovered above him. In one fluid motion, her hips crashed down taking him in to the hilt.

“Christ!” Tears of frustration pricked his eyes. “Please baby. I can’t take any more.”

“Shh. It’s okay.” She didn’t want to make her sweet manpire cry and truth be told her need was too great to stop. She began to move knowing they were both so close already.

Angel wanted to shout for joy when she didn’t leave him but he was too afraid to press his luck. He did his best to thrust his hips. He couldn’t believe she’d managed to chain him up without waking him. The fluttering of the hot sheath surrounding him snapped his mind out of its reverie. He groaned at the sight of the beautiful brunette riding him with wild abandon. *God I love her.*

She quickened her pace and began to stroke her clit. His eyes hungrily followed her ministrations. She smiled at his strained expression seconds before she threw her head back and screamed her release.

Her body clenched around him, pushing him over the edge, milking him. He howled her name as he came hard. The intensity of his orgasm left him panting for air his body had no use for.

Cordelia collapsed on his chest. Her muscles had turned to mush.

“You could give Angelus lessons on torture.”

Her giggling vibrated through his body. “I didn’t realize how easy you’d be to break. I think Angelus is just a big cuddly carebear with fangs.”

“You broke me a long time ago and you have a new wardrobe to show for it.” He couldn’t stop a smile from forming. “Do you think you could unchain me now?”

“That depends on whether or not you’re planning on seeking revenge.” She watched him try to force a lie past his lips.

He sighed. “There will be revenge but not right now. It’ll be when you least expect it.”

She reluctantly rolled off him and grabbed the key. Instead of unlocking him, she sat down on his stomach. “Am I a total freak for doing that?”

“No.” His expression grew serious. “There was nothing wrong or depraved about this.” He smiled. “It was however pretty cruel.”

She returned his smile. “You make me feel like I can do anything, be anything and try anything. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. You’re the only one for me, Cor. You are my best friend, my lover and my true love all rolled into one incredibly beautiful package. I’m so happy it’s almost scary. I keep expecting to wake up from this dream only to discover you don’t really want to be with me.”

“That’s never going to happen. I’m yours.” Her fingers traced his mark. “You’re stuck with me.”

“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. You know I didn’t mean what you overheard me say to the conduit, right? I would have said anything, done anything, or sold anything to save you.”

“I know. I think I was on information overload at the time. I was so confused and then Skip showed me my greatest fear.”

“You were always more important to me than the visions. You still are.”

“I know that now. You know what else?”

“What?”

“Donna really is a genius.”

Angel’s chest rumbled with a deep laugh. “I have to agree but don’t think you’re off the hook.”

***

“It’s been 24 hours, kittens. Has anyone called to check on them?”

“Are you kidding me Lorne? Which one of us do you think is stupid enough to interrupt whatever is goin’ on up there?”

“Come on muffin. I came here for the gossip. I can’t get any if none you big strong heroes call up there.”

“We did write we would call, Gunn.”

“Go right ahead, English. I don’t have a death wish. I haven’t heard any bad screaming or breaking of furniture so either they’re gettin’ their freak on or one of them is already dead or dust. I don’t want to vacuum any dust or dispose of any body and I’d like to live with all my appendages attached. The phone works both ways. They’ll call if they need something.”

“I suppose you are right. I’m not terribly eager to speak to Cordelia. Even if this plan should prove helpful, I doubt she’ll be too pleased with us.”

“How is the translation coming?”

“I’m almost done. I will need your assistance with the math. There is a formula that predicts the date of this particular apocalypse. I will give you the information once I’ve double checked the translation of the frame of reference. It won’t work correctly if you use the wrong starting date.”

“Speak American, English.”

Wesley pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not like you start counting from zero or even one. First you must plug in a specific date which in this case I believe is 130 days into the year of 1320 AD. It coincides with…”

“Stop. Forget I asked.”

“Well I’m not scared at all. I know we’ll stop this apocalypse. Cordy told me Angel has stopped these things before. She mentioned something about the girl with the funny name too but he has us now so he doesn’t need her.”

“Her name is Buffy and did Cordelia happen to mention the time Angel was the one trying to end the world?”

“Oh pooh. That doesn’t count. He was Angelus and Angelus is gone now. Well not gone gone ‘cause the potion only lasts for a year. How will Angel and Cordelia buy more? A million dollars is a lot of money. We’re gonna need more paying clients. I bet Angel won’t get mad when Cordy insists on going after our clients that can afford to pay but don’t. I wonder if he’ll start doing that too. I bet a vampire would make an effective collection man. He could even work for the mob. Only that would be illegal and kinda bad too. Cordy wouldn’t approve. Definitely not. Maybe they could win the lottery. I could come up with a formula to pick the right numbers. I always won the guess how many jellybeans are in the jar contest back home. It was just a matter of calculating the dimensions of the…”

“Pixie cat, I will steal you a million dollars if you don’t finish that story. Not that it wasn’t fascinating; I just can’t talk numbers without a Seabreeze in my hand.”

“That’s alright. I probably shouldn’t tell that story anyway ‘cause the last time I won, I ate the whole jar in one sitting. I got so sick. Mama said it was wrong to be a glutton. I told her I wasn’t tryin’ to be a glutton. Mary Sue dared me to eat the whole jar and I couldn’t turn down a dare. Mama said that was a silly reason to make myself sick. I got so sick that I haven’t had another jellybean since. Thinking back, Mary Sue was probably just jealous ‘cause she came in second.”

“So no jellybeans for my girl. How about I go get you some tacos instead?”

“Oh Charles, you’re the best.”

“It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.”

“You know, Pixie cat, I must say that your rambling has gotten a lot more linear.”

A huge smile spread across Fred’s face. “Really?”
***

Cordelia glanced at the phone. “I can’t believe they haven’t called to check in. Wesley’s letter said they would.”

“They probably value their personal safety too much.”

“Hmmph. Aren’t they even a little curious about what’s happened up here?”

“They know we’re in love and there’s no way we could have avoided each other since we’re locked in. They want us to be happy and we are.”

“You’re right.” She snuggled deeper in his embrace.

“I satisfy you, don’t I?”

“Pfft! Are you kidding? Most of LA probably heard how much you satisfy me. Why the sudden insecurity?”

He shrugged. “My body isn’t warm like yours.”

“Angel, you may lack body heat but you most definitely spread fire with your touch. You’re an amazing lover.” He looked at her with a goofy grin. “Dork.” She lifted her head off his shoulder again. “Do I satisfy you?”

“Satisfy is way too tame of a word to describe you.”

“That’s a good non-answer.”

“Cor, you are an incredible lover. I can’t imagine a more perfect mate.”

“You do bring out a wild streak I never even knew existed. In fact, it may prove to be just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Ooh I like the sound of that. I’m at your disposal.”

“You’re the one with the vast experience. How about you inspire me?”

“I can do that.” He quickly rolled on top of her.

“Aww dammit! Not now. You totally freaking suck!”

Angel pulled away, hurt. “Sorry. I thought you wanted…”

“Stupid vampires. Can’t you wait? You’re timing really sucks.”

“Vampires? As in plural? Cordy, what…”

“I’m on vacation. Why can’t they respect that?” She blinked and focused on her very confused lover. “Vision. There’s a gang of vamps that decided tonight is a lovely night to crash a beach party.”

“A vision? That’s…in the future, do you think you could, oh I don’t know, give me a signal so I know you’re not talking to me?”

“Huh?”

“I quote, “Aww dammit! Not now. You totally freaking suck,” end quote.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Tell me more about the vision. How many vamps?”

She closed her eyes. “It looks like there are ten. We better all go. We have a few hours before we need to leave. You go start the shower while I call the gang.”

“OK”

She admired his bare butt as he left. “Stupid vampires. They couldn’t just wait a few days to be dusted.” She dialed the office’s main line.

“Angel Investigations, we help…”

“Hey Wes.”

“Cordelia. Is everything all right?”

“No. I just had a vision. 10 vampires are going to crash a beach party in a few hours. Angel and I are going to shower and dress. Take down the barrier spell. We’ll be downstairs soon.”

“Of course. Have you…have the two of you talked?”

“Actually we figured out the whole we’re in love thing at the Center.”

“You did? You didn’t seem…you were arguing.”

“So? Have you met us? Did you really think an admission of love would mean we wouldn’t argue anymore? I thought you were supposed to be the brains of the operation.”

“Well, I…”

“There’s a hot shower and a really hot manpire waiting for me. Gotta go.” She hung up the phone and headed into the bathroom.

***

Wesley stared at the phone for a moment before hanging it up. “Lorne, can you please remove the barrier spell?”

“Is there something wrong, muffin? She didn’t stake him, did she?”

“No. She had a vision.”

“Should I call Charles?”

“No. The Mexican restaurant is only ten minutes away. We have a few hours. It’s a gang of vampires so there’s no need for research. In the mean time, I’ve double checked the frame of reference.”

Fred glanced over the paper he’d handed her. “I can do this no problem. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Great. I’ve almost finished translating the where. I’ll leave the when in your capable hands.”

“Wes, I know it’s only been a day but did they have enough time to really talk?”

“Apparently they had the talk during the retreat.”

“That’s wonderful. I knew they…oh. Was Cordy mad?”

“Don’t worry Fred. She’s happily in love. I’m sure she’s not angry, especially not at you.”

***

Cordelia smacked his hands away from her shirt. “We have to go downstairs.”

“We have lots of time. It’ll only take ten minutes to grab some weapons on our way to the car.” His hand slipped under her shirt.

She slapped his hand again. “I’m going downstairs. You can stay up here if you want.”

“What happened to the word no being prohibited?”

She gave him her patented innocent face. “I never said no.”

“Smacking my hands is the same thing as saying no.”

“Don’t pout. After we dust these vamps, we can come back here and I’ll say yes as much as you want.”

Angel smiled a goofy grin. “OK”

“I need you to make me a promise.”

“I promise not to say no too.”

“Not that, like there’s a danger of that happening.”

“Hey!”

“I need you to promise not to hurt Wesley.”

“What?”

“No matter what gets said, I need you to promise not to hurt Wesley.”

“Why would I hurt Wes?”

A devious smile crossed her face. “Just promise me.”

“OK. I promise.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

***

“I worked the math again. My numbers are correct.”

“At least we have a few weeks to prepare. When really isn’t the problem.”

Gunn did his best to talk with a mouth full of taco. “So what’s the problem, besides the ending of the world?”

Wesley rolled his eyes. “It seems…”

“So what’s going on?”

“Hey girl. Wes was just…”

“It’s nothing that can’t wait.” He closed the folder and nervously hid it behind his back. “You two seem happy.”

Cordelia squeezed Angel’s hand. “We’re very happy.”

“I understand the barrier spell was unnecessary. I hope there are no hard feelings. We had the best of intentions.” Wesley addressed Angel but he was really talking to Cordelia.

“I should have known it wouldn’t be needed. You can only fight kyerumption and moira for so long.”

Cordy returned Fred’s smile. “The truth spell came in handy. We talked during the retreat but we could talk more freely in Angel’s suite. And as Wes has pointed out in the past, Angel and I have had our share of problems with secrets. I know how much Wes values honesty.”

“Well I do think honesty is important in love and friendship.”

“Angel and I agreed not to keep any more secrets. In fact, thanks to the truth spell, I was able to put one secret to rest. I finally managed to convince Angel he has no reason to be jealous of our history.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“Your email message about our passionate encounter in LA had Angel…curious about us.”

“But I…”

“And in your later message, you referred to our relationship. It kinda opened up a can of worms I think we both wanted to keep closed.”

“But I…”

“Don’t worry Wes. I explained the whole thing. There were a few tense moments. The truth spell meant I had to tell him everything. I had to tell him about all the strolls in the park to get coffee when we were still in the old office, the private meetings we had when Angel began acting weird, all the times you showed up at my place late at night and we can’t forget about the occasional sleepover.”

She gave Angel’s hand another squeeze, hoping he’d keep his promise. “He wasn’t too happy but I assured him it was just us being good friends. I knew it was only your friendship I was after. I couldn’t speak for you but I was able to tell him you never gave me the impression you were interested in more. Well there was that one time when you, Gunn and I got really drunk together. You accompanied me back to my place and…”

“WHAT?”

Cordelia turned to her enraged vampire still holding her hand. “I left that one out, didn’t I? Sorry. To be honest, I don’t remember much about that night. Wes, maybe you could tell Angel about that one, since you’re so into honesty and no secrets.”

Wesley stood there opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

“Damn dawg! I remember that night. Cordy hailed a cab and you jumped in claiming she was too drunk to go home alone.”

“I…I…”

Cordelia placed a restraining hand on Angel’s chest when he began to stalk towards the stuttering Englishman. “Relax. Don’t forget your promise.”

“You never said…”

“Calm down. I was only teasing. Wes passed out on my couch about five seconds after we walked through the door. He would never try to take advantage of me.” Her eyes narrowed as she glared at her shaky friend. “You knew Angel was in love with me and you never said anything.”

Wesley finally regained his power of speech. “I couldn’t betray Angel’s confidence. I did try to encourage you both to be honest in your feelings.”

“So nothing happened between you and Wes?”

“Duh. I told you I planned to torture him.”

“Yes but you didn’t say anything about giving me a heart attack.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. I just wanted to make Wes squirm.” She rose up on her toes and planted a quick kiss on Angel’s lips.

Wesley stood tall. “You haven’t asked about the apocalypse.”

“Huh?”

“The apocalypse is quite real or it will be if we don’t stop it. We have a few weeks to prepare.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

“I’m sure you’re right. We’ll have plenty of help.”

“What do you mean?”

Wesley looked directly into Cordelia’s eyes, a smirk firmly set on his face. “It’s in Sunnydale. This should prove quite a treat for you. You haven’t been back since you graduated. Are you alright? You look a little pale.”

Cordelia sank onto the red couch. “Sunnydale? You’re sure?”

“Yes”

She scowled at Wesley’s smiling face. “You suck.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Does this mean we’re all going to Sunnydale?”

“Yes Fred. Sunnyhell here we come.” She rested her head against Angel’s shoulder when he sat next to her.

“Don’t pack your bags yet. We still have some time. I’ll call Giles in the morning.” He watched his friends cuddle on the couch and smiled. His smile faded. “Bloody hell! You didn’t. Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is. You couldn’t have possibly been so rash as to complete the mating ritual already.”

“They’re two consenting adults, Wes. It ain’t that big a deal as long as they don’t share any details.”

“Not that kind of mating, Gunn. What were you thinking? I can’t believe…”

Cordelia jumped off the couch and grabbed Wesley by the arm, dragging him into the office. Angel followed behind until the door closed in his face.

“Cordelia, I can’t believe you did this. Tell me he only bit you. Angel didn’t actually…”

“Recite the poem? Yes he did. We talked and we made the decision. Together.”

“Do you have any idea of the severity of your decision?”

“We’re married in a vamp kinda way.”

“It’s so much more than that.”

“Huh?”

“In marriage, divorce is an option. With vampires, until death do you part is written in stone.”

“Are you suggesting Angel might kill me?”

“Of course not. I’m…you’re a young, vibrant woman. You have your whole life ahead of you. You may want to have a family someday. You may decide you want to be with someone you can grow old with. You’ve just given up those options. And what happens in a year from now when the potion wears off? A million dollars a year is a lot of money. How will you afford that kind of expense or have you decided to give up intimacy as well?”

“Look Wes. Maybe I don’t have all the answers right now but Angel and I will find a way to make it work. So vampires can’t have children, you’ll loan me a cup of your swimmers.”

“Be serious.”

“I don’t even know if I want children. Our lives are dangerous but if I do decide I want to, we’ll find a way. Being the only one to age may be hard but being sixty with a hot young stud on my arm could be fun. The money is going to be a problem but I have confidence in Angel. Given the motivation, he will get the money. Maybe we can embezzle it from Wolfram and Hart? I still have my crown from Pylea. We can sell it. Or maybe we’ll find a way to get it for less. The specialist might be willing to negotiate for something other than money.” She clutched Wesley’s hand. “I may have more questions than answers but there is one thing I know without a doubt.”

“And that is?”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with Angel. Now be a good friend and tell me how happy you are for me.”

He caved under her pleading eyes. “I am happy for you and I will do whatever I can to support you. However my sperm is completely off limits. Angel was a second away from decapitating me because we might have shared an affair in the past. I shudder to think what he might do if you were carrying my child.”

“No kidding. I told the dumbass I was planning on torturing you.”

“That was rather unkind of you.”

“You didn’t tell me Angel loved me, you locked me in a room and you put a truth spell on it. If you ask me, you got off easy.”

“I wasn’t the only responsible party.”

“Yeah but Gunn and Lorne just went along for the ride I’m sure and who could get mad at sweet Fred? Plus, watching you squirm is always fun.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“Were you really serious about Sunnydale?”

“I’m afraid so. Don’t worry. Buffy poses no threat to you. Angel would never have gone through with the claim if he had any reservations.”

“I know but we’re going there to save the world, not start World War III.”

“I see your point. Would you like me to tell Giles? He could tell Buffy before we arrive.”

“I’ll let Angel decide that. He may want to be the one to tell her.”

“Of course.”

“Are we okay?”

“It is your life, Cordelia. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

“Then we’re okay.”

Cordelia enveloped him in a tight hug. “Next to Angel, you’re my best friend.”

“As are you mine.” He wiped his eye. “Come on. We better get out there before Angel gets the wrong idea. I’m rather fond of my head. I prefer to keep it right where it is.”

“He promised me he wouldn’t hurt you but we better not test him any further. Do you know that dumbass didn’t read the info on the potion?”

“What? I told him to read the entire file.”

“Well my anal retentive manpire decided to skip that part.”

“Has he become more aggressive?”

“A little but nothing scary. He’s pretty possessive.”

“That’s hardly new. Some of us noticed that particular trait quite some time ago.”

“Don’t start. How was I supposed to figure it out? I’m not even blond.”

Wes rolled his eyes as they exited the office.

Cordelia approached her sulking love. She planted herself on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What’s the matter with you?”

“You did it again.”

“Did what? I wasn’t even in the room to do anything.”

“That’s my point. You shut me out. Again.”

“Wes and I needed to talk.”

“You were talking about us. I should have been in there too.”

“I wasn’t going to allow Wesley to make you feel guilty or to second guess yourself. Wes was concerned and he needed to be reassured.”

“He doesn’t want you to settle for a life with me.”

“He was concerned for my happiness so I assured him that only a life with you can make me happy. You know he loves you. He’s just too logical for his own good.”

“He made some excellent points.”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you eavesdropping is bad?”

“What else was I supposed to do? You slammed the door in my face.”

“I did not slam it in your face.” She cradled his face in her hands. “Listen to me. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Our life together may not be easy but I’d take the tough times with you over the best of times without you. OK?”

“OK.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and dragged her to his lips.

Cordelia moaned as the kiss deepened. She swung her leg around so she straddled his lap. His hands cupped her butt and pulled her flush against him. She pressed into his hardening form. They were oblivious to their audience.

“Greetings defenders of the world.” David Nabbit blushed at the sight of the couple locked in a passionate embrace. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s quite alright. It saves me the trouble of getting out the fire hose. What can we do for you?”

“I just wanted to thank you again. Jason and Jennifer are extremely grateful.”

“We were happy to help.”

“I believe in rewarding good work. I decided to drop off your bonus in person.”

“That’s really not…”

“Shut up Wes. You were saying, David?” Cordelia quickly crossed the room to join the conversation.

He handed the eager brunette an envelope.

She tore it open. “This doesn’t look like a check.”

“It’s not. I bought the formula…recipe…spell…whatever for the potion Angel needs. I figured he wouldn’t be able to afford more.”

“Oh my god!” Cordelia squealed before planting a kiss on the shocked millionaire’s lips. “You’re the best.”

Everyone braced themselves, unsure if Angel would react to the kiss or the bonus.

To their relief, Angel kissed David’s forehead then proceeded to ravage Cordelia’s mouth.

Wesley tried his best to ignore his friends’ passionate display. “That was very generous of you, Mr. Nabbit. It is much appreciated but I imagine you’ve already come to that conclusion on your own.”

“Good work should be rewarded. Well I have to go. We’re having an emergency D&D meeting tonight in honor of Jason’s return.”

“Have a lovely time.”

“Tell them I said goodbye whenever they come up for air.”

“I shall. Good night.”

“Bye.”

Wes and Gunn started gathering weapons while Fred and Lorne smiled at the affectionate couple.

“Oh for heaven’s sake! Can you two control yourselves long enough to stake a few vampires?”

Cordelia gasped for air. “Huh?”

“Vision, vampires, beach party, any of this ringing any bells?”

“Just let me go put this in the safe before we go.”

“We’ll be in the car.”

“Except me. You can tell me all about the battle tomorrow. If I didn’t have a club to run I…still wouldn’t go with you.” Lorne blew them a kiss as he practically skipped out of the hotel.

Angel followed Cordelia into the office. “Now I won’t have to rob any banks. It might have hurt my redemption.”

“Ya think?”

His hands slid down her curves. “It would have been worth it.” He smiled. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

“You’re damn right we are. Now get your sexy undead ass moving. The sooner we dust these vamps, the sooner we get back.”

Angel tossed her over his shoulder. “Let’s go. It’s already been far too long since we made love.”

She smacked his butt from her high perch. “You’re insatiable.”

“And you love me for it.”

“Can’t argue with that. We really are meant for each other.”

“Was there ever any doubt?”

The End

Dock