Part 5
Wide hazel eyes were glazed with liquid fire and held his gaze with horrified guilt. Then her lips parted and a broken puff of air was liberated in a gasp. Still no words were spoken.
With nostrils flaring at the maddening scent of arousal and blood, with the telltale trace of panicked fear grazing the edge of his conscious, Angel stood at cliff’s edge of his own control.
The frenzied rise and fall of her chest was enticing against the low neck of her sweater. The sheen of sweat on her neck was golden in the veiled light of the afternoon and that was when he noticed her hand was still between her thighs while she sat there.
And demon or no demon, the vampire couldn’t suppress the sharp intake of infuriated breath. In the instant it took for Angel to cross the distance of a few footfalls, Cordelia concluded with sickening realization that Angelus had done exactly what he’d been promising to do since he was unwelcomingly put into her head.
She’d woken up in the throes of an Angelus induced erotic dream.
But of all the lurid, lewd details Angelus had been whispering, she wasn’t prepared for the biting grip with which Angel caught her wrist and yanked it out from between the sheets and her trembling thighs.
It was the initial shock from his vampiric speed and the cold clench of his hand that kicked her vocal cords into action. “Angel?”
If the breathy moan was supposed to cease the spiral of heat starting from where his fingers gripped the pulse in her wrist, or if she thought anything besides her glistening fingers could catch his attention, Angel figured the damned woman was mad.
Cordelia watched his tongue slide out of his mouth and glide across his bottom lip and his usually concerned brown eyes morphed into a dusky hunger.
And then her eyes slid back into her head just as her thumb slid into the cold moistness of his mouth.
Between Cordelia’s whimper of longing and Angel’s growl of contentment, neither bothered to conceal either reaction. She was suddenly surrounded by the soft cavern of his mouth and the sensual slip and slide of his tongue.
Angel was intoxicated with the essence of sunshine, cinnamon and a taste that was branded on his tongue that he would always know was pure Cordelia.
Sitting there in Angel’s tangled sheets; she didn’t have enough cognition or mental control to even try and pull her hand out of the rapt vampire’s grip or his mouth. She was lost. As lost as he was to her flavor. Lost to the sensation of his lips dragging across her thumb before letting it pop out of his mouth to greet cooler air.
And she didn’t hear her screaming heartbeat increase a notch when the next digit on her hand was enveloped by the vampire’s mouth. Then the other. And another. Until the fire in her belly started with her explicit dream, was stroked, and suckled into a dampened wave of unadorned bliss by the time her last finger slid out of his mouth.
Then they were right back where they started: eyes meeting wide and scared, only this time laced with something new. Desire.
And neither knew what do with Cordelia’s hand.
“Fuck.”
Angel nearly fell on his ass, when the brunette’s eyes slammed shut and she finally spoke. The shock was enough to keep him from replying with ‘hell yeah’. “What?”
“FUCK! Vision! Oh Fuck! Oh god Angel, hold me!”
And in that single sick twist of fate, Angel had to ignore the raging heat rushing to his groin and crawl over the sheets to hold the convulsing girl in his arms while the stream of profanities flowed from her lips.
He willed his erection to go away as her nails dug almost painfully into his arms. He was such a dirty old man for getting excited while his best friend was in obvious pain. He should have stayed in hell.
“Holy shit! Make this friggin’ stop you prickass!” She wailed, the heel of her hand pressing against her temples, her eyes squeezed shut with the effort to ward off the pain.
Angel frowned irritably down at his demon’s screeching. “Oh just suck it up Angelus!”
“Goddamn you! You don’t know, they fucking HURT!”
The vampire ducked his head when Cordelia’s elbow almost took out his eye. “I KNOW they do! Now hold still and stop being such a damned wuss!” He couldn’t help snap while the woman struggled in his lap which was difficult to maneuver considering his previous state of arousal.
And then just like it had started, the young woman relaxed in his arms, the wailing diminishing down to painful whimpers and Cordelia opened her eyes. “Oh yuck! Oh gross much! Eyow!”
Running one hand over her brow he pushed the damp hair off her face as he cradled her against his chest murmuring soothingly. “You okay Cordy?”
“No she’s not fucking OKAY!”
She sighed slightly. “I’m okay.”
“She’s LYING!”
~Will you just shut up! Let me do this!~
~Does he know just HOW fucking painful they are?~
~No. But we can talk about this AFTER we save the nice girl.~
~She looked hot though, with the blood sliding down her…~
~ANGELUS!~
“Cordy?”
Sitting up she rubbed her palms gently over her face. “Yeah. I’m fine Angel, besides the side splitting headache which won’t go away until we do PTB bidding and Angelus’ pansy whining.”
~Hey!~
His arms felt empty. “What did you see?” Angel resisted the urge to wrap them around his seer again. Knowing a line had been crossed today and there were repercussions that needed sorting out.
The line was crossed when she got my demon, but this was new dammit! I’ve tasted Cordelia Chase!
“Guts being spilled and normally I’d be turned on but goddammit that hurt!”
Angel nearly growled when her perfect forehead creased with a frown. “Will you please let her talk!”
Cordelia took a deep breath before looking up into Angel’s eyes “A stray is about to wander into a vampire nest.”
Both his eyebrows shot up. “A stray what?”
Her eyes were deadpan. “A stray kitten you poof faced ignoramus! What the hell do we eat? Human! Fresh, leggy blonde with a great pair of tits by the way.”
Cordelia winced before pushing the sheets away from her body and swing her legs off the side of the bed. “It’s down by the waterfront warehouse. A fairly new pack.”
Her eyes caught the sketchpad on the side table and her eyes widened. There in firm black lines was her sleeping on Angel’s pillow with an innocence Cordelia didn’t know she still had.
Not really having the courage to face the possibilities, she grabbed her boots pretending to not have noticed the sketch or the care with which he’d drawn each eyelash.
Angel climbed off his bed as she zipped up her boots. Picking up the discarded sketchpad, he opened the drawer and slid it inside wondering if she’d seen it. But judging by the lack of disgust on the brunette’s face he figured she didn’t know about him obsessing over each fine bone in her face.
So he watched her stretch to her full height as she straightened her clothes. “How many?”
“About Six.” Reaching beside him, her shoulder almost brushed his arm as she picked up her bag from his chair where she’d dropped it and looked up. The tingles were ignored on both their parts. For now.
“First some aspirin. Then some butt-kicking. Followed by a shower.” She forced a confident smile as her vampire boss, who’d just minutes before had her fingers in his mouth, watched her with an amused half smile.
“The aspirin for you. The butt-kicking for me and the shower for?”
Her confident smile wavered with the color in her cheeks.
Okay so Broody does not need psycho demon boy to flirt. But since when did Angel flirt? And with her?
~Since his tongue was eating away all that delicious Cordelia-nectar from her own fingers I’m guessing.~
~Clam up you crude bastard.~
~Oh I just love it when you whisper sweet nothing’s to me Hazel.~
“The butt-kicking is for all of us. You’re going to need help. I’m going with you.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am.”
“No you’re not Cordy.”
“Yes I am Angel.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No way!”
“YES way!”
“Cor-de-lia.”
“An-gel.”
“Oh for the love of Hades lets just fucking skip the foreplay and get off the damned frustration! You both fucking need it!”
Cordelia and Angel both blinked in surprise.
“I mean the vampire ass-kicking you daft imbeciles! This headache is killing me!”
Angel’s mouth quirked in a smirk and Cordelia bit the inside of her cheek as they walked out of his room to get Wesley.
“You’re such a baby Angelus.”
“You should be talking soulprick, savior of kittens!”
Cordelia sighed and wished she was anywhere but here.
~I hear New Zealand’s very nice this time of the year. ~
~ARGH!!!!~
***
It was almost sundown by the time Angel’s Plymouth stopped outside the steel gates of the huge warehouse. The sound of the ocean wasn’t as pronounced as it should have been and the odd calm in the air unsettled him.
The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon and his fingers tapped gently over his steering wheel waiting for the few seconds it took to remove the last of the sun’s rays from the sky. Turning his head to his right he watched Wesley load and tighten his bow.
Then with a somnolent sigh he turned to the grumbling in the backseat. “Did the last time not teach you anything?”
Flashing hazel eyes glared back at him before the mouth twisted into a thin line. “Maybe just maybe someone will bonk you on the head Angel and get this depraved doofball out of my head.”
He wisely held back the scowl and instead threw his door open before stepping out.
Doofball.
Why did that sound so damned endearing suddenly? The blood sucking psycho was suddenly doofball?
The longer Angelus stayed in her head the more accustomed to his presence she became and it just bothered the shit out of him. It was no longer a secret that Angel found this woman sexy as hell and enticing as blood.
In the past twenty-four hours, Angelus had made sure everyone became painfully aware of the importance this woman had in their lives. Ever since the dreaded neck-licking incident, Wesley had been hiding behind his books. Their resident freelancer, Gunn had been warned out of the hotel because he seemed to like Cordelia uninhibited.
Angel made sure he was the first to go. But there was still himself.
And every time Angel looked at the leggy brunette with the fire his demon lighted in her eyes, Angel had this inane need to either fuck or kill something. And killing was his job.
He heard the sound of two car-doors snapping shut and tightened his fist. “Be careful.”
“You watch your pansy ass Angelboy, and leave the butt kicking to me.”
Wesley cleared his throat, watching the nerve work in their vampire boss’s temple. “Please recall you are in Cordelia’s body Angelus.”
“It’s okay Wesley, I’m a little curious to see what he can do.” There was little doubt that the saucy curiosity was all Cordelia.
And the fire was lit under Angel’s ass.
Before either of his comrades could wait for a signal, Angel’s booted heel connected with the steel door of the warehouse and it sprang open on the inside.
Cordelia’s eyebrow shot up. “Subtle.”
“Shut up!” She stared in awe as the vampire stalked inside the warehouse with a sudden air of brutal authority that just gave her the willies while she and Wesley walked behind him.
The pack of vampire were frozen in their spot, golden eyes gleaming out of the semi darkness as the woman held between them let out a frightened scream.
There was the distinct sound of a stake sliding into each of Angel’s hands as he tilted his head to the side to count them. “Didn’t your sire tell you one can’t feed six?”
~Wow. I look fucking cool when I’m like that.~
~Amen.~
~You have it so bad Hazel.~
~I’m not the one staring at his own ass weirdo.~
~You just let me handle this cheerleader and think limber baby.~
Cordelia could barely suppress the smile. ~Be gentle.~
~Fuck no.~
~With my legs dork!~
~Oh.~
When Angel regarded the troupe with a cocky half smile Cordelia wondered just how much of Angelus was actually Angel before he spoke. “So are you going to just hand her over or am I going to have to make you?”
Six pairs of fangs glittered in the dark as the girl was shoved behind the row of vampire who stood up before them. The taller vampire who’d been holding the girl down stepped forward slightly before he smirked and hissed his reply. “Make me.”
And then it was all a matter of mechanics. Wesley fired the first shot before he was tackled. And Cordelia let the demon’s instinct guide her muscle and bone. But it was Angel that worked like clockwork and it was a little later that Cordelia wished she’d just sat back and seen her vampire at work.
The first vampire ran past Angel and came at Cordelia, claws and fangs drawn. And if Angel had been watching, her smirk would have been familiar along with the technique as she spun around in a reaping circle kick. It caught the younger fledge by surprise and he bent over in pain and obvious surprise before the stake hit home.
Cordelia’s mouth spread into a wide grin. “I did it! I DID IT! I SO rock!”
“Cordelia!” Angel grabbed the wrist of the first vampire that charged him and his leg snapped forward over his head then smashed him back into the dirt before the stake ripped through his heart. “Fight now! Gloat later!”
The second one caught Cordelia a lot quicker than she expected. Her foot struck Cordelia in the abdomen flinging her back a few paces. “AWO!”
~Fucking relax Cor, before you get us eaten!~
Her eyes widened; the female vamp tried to ram her foot in her chest. “WHOA!” Cordelia rolled and flipped on her hands. In one quick motion her ankles caught the hissing vampire by the neck and rolled back to her feet hurling her into the dust. The stake met flesh before she exploded into dust.
And then Cordelia was back to whooping happily and jumping around. “Did you see that! Guys! Did you see what I did!”
~You are SUCH glory hound.~
Angel had barely enough time to roll his eyes before the larger of the vampires circled around him and his boot landed in the middle of Angel’s back. Angel cried out more in rage than in pain.
Spinning around with a growl and his game face he grabbed the vampire’s arm, twisted around before throwing him over his head and the blonde’s shoulder snapped as he hit the ground howling in pain.
The ripples of his growl almost seemed to still time for an instant before it resumed.
And it was then that the seer took time to watch her champion at work, unable to resist the animalistic urge to appreciate every twist and stretch of muscle.
Angel at his best. Pissed and in full vamp mode.
He grabbed his last opponent’s wrist as his leg hooked into the crook of the vampire’s shoulder. Then with a feral smirk, he pulled, his booted foot smashing forward into his neck before the dust landed at his feet. She couldn’t restrain the muted ‘whoa’ of appreciation as he stood there growling and dust free.
~How the hell does he do that?~
~The sad sap was probably Scotch-guarded at birth.~
“Cordelia, look out!”
The awed woman spun around still smiling and met a mouthful of dust as Wesley caught the last one of them with an arrow through his chest.
Coughing and hacking, she batted her hand in front of her face and groaned. “Oh eyow! Gross! Wesley!”
“Would you rather he had eaten you Cordelia?”
“But my new sweater!”
Angel ground his teeth before catching the last of the remaining vampires. With his shoulder dislocated he could barely escape before Angel had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
“You know where you’re supposed to be?” He snarled, the gold in his eyes flashing with pointed emphasis.
“Not here. I get it. Not here.” The trembling vampire could barely get the words out.
“Get out of my city,” Angel grated out before throwing him towards the door and he watched with satisfaction as the shaking half broken vampire fled the warehouse.
Then he turned, his eyes landing on his seer, the borrowed blood still pumping in his veins and the need to claim and take still simmering under his skin.
But her wide hazel eyes were blurred by the weeping girl, who threw her arms around Angel, sobbing gratefully. “Oh god, thank you!”
As Angel watched, the irate fire in Cordelia’s eyes turned cold.
And while he stood there in that choking hold, he realized why he’d been so keen on showing off and dusting the pathetic vampires like a machine while his demon whispered in her head.
Fuck. I am jealous of Angelus.