***
“Where have you been?” Xander asked as Cordelia crept into the library to find everyone gathered around the table still discussing strategy. “Did you decide to go home for that shower?”
“No. I just felt— extra icky after practice,” Cordelia lied.
She had eked out every second in the locker room completely drying and styling her hair and putting on her makeup. When there was nothing else to be done, Cordelia decided it was time to face the music. Not that any confessing was going to take place. Omigod, no! She was just going to look both vampires and Buffy in the eye without feeling a shred of guilt.
Angelus took a short stroll around her, pausing long enough to drink in her scent. “Delicious. You must’ve enjoyed the shower, Cor.”
Glancing nervously toward Angel, she wondered just what the vampires’ senses were picking up. She hoped it was just shampoo and body wash considering the amount she’d scrubbed. “So what if I did.”
Smirking, Angelus added, “Maybe next time I’ll volunteer to wash your back.”
“Leave Cordelia alone,” warned Angel as he walked over to pull her to his other side.
Buffy missed the slightly distracted look on her boyfriend’s face as Cordelia passed in front of him. She was focused on the mission and bringing the cheerleader up to speed. “Well, you can tell Mr. DeMille that you’re ready for your close-up. If he isn’t impressed, the demons we’re fighting tonight certainly will be.”
Maybe she’d gone a little overboard. Cordelia lifted her gaze to meet the Slayer’s finding that she did not shy away from the other girl’s direct stare. Her trampled confidence was renewing itself at a fast pace as she remembered that she took crap from no one— even herself. “I’m the bait again, right?”
“Right,” everyone answered simultaneously.
***
The demon battle went off without a hitch. The group was organized in battle and the two vampires actually worked well together. Angelus cut a bloody swath and enjoyed every second of time spent in the heated fray. Finally, the threat was over. The prophesy that portended the rise of a master demon was forestalled and once again Sunnydale would exist in relative peace at least until the following sunset.
Buffy and Angel were in a close clutch after the battle ended. As Cordelia looked on with interest, the Slayer could barely keep her hands off of her boyfriend. That was what was supposed to happen, she lectured herself. The Fates themselves had done their thing with Angel just so they could be together. So why did that leave her with an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach?
“We’re going to do a quick patrol of the cemeteries on the way home,” Buffy called out to the group and darted away before anyone could volunteer to help.
Angel took the hand that she stretched out to him and they walked hand in hand into the still darkness of the night. The rest of them were left to clean up.
“Did I always leave you with the mess?” Angelus asked as he disposed of severed demon parts in a nearby dumpster.
“Yes,” Cordelia commented wryly. “Buffy always drags Angel off on patrol, but I guess you know that part.”
“Patrol? Is that what you think?” Angelus chuckled.
Cordelia finished wiping off the sword that he had used and placed it back in its scabbard before putting it into the trunk of Giles’ car. She preferred weapons clean up rather than demon duty. That was just— eew!
“It’s what I prefer to think.”
Willow ran around afterward passing out hand wipes. When Angelus tossed his used wipe on the ground, she protested, “No littering.”
Grabbing it, he threw it in the dumpster, but only after sending her a dark glare that gave her the willies. It looked like Angelus might prefer to toss her in with the demon remains.
Finally finished, Giles pulled out his car keys and asked the group, “Who’s riding back with me?”
Cordelia waited as she had her own Corvette. Xander and Willow both raised their hands and walked over to Giles’ car. Then she realized that Angelus had said nothing. “Are you walking back to the mansion?”
“I thought you’d give me a ride,” Angelus shrugged. “It’s on your way.”
That would leave her alone in the car with him. “Xander, why don’t you drive with us so I can tell you about tomorrow’s game.”
“Nah! I live too close to Willow. You’d have to double back.” He opened the back door to Giles’s car and was about to climb in when Cordelia whined loudly.
“Why do I have to have the evil vampire?”
Angelus had thought she was getting used to him. Now she was whining about being alone with him? What the hell was that about? He’d done something to frighten her again, because he could see her shivering in her shoes at the thought.
“Oh, he can’t do anything to you,” Xander reminded her that Angelus could no longer harm humans. “He’s impotent— fangless.”
Grinding his teeth, Angelus held back the urge to accidentally crush Xander between the open door and the car. He would love to show that boy exactly what pain was, except that he couldn’t. Instead, he might have to show him a few things he could do to Cordelia Chase without ever making her cry out in pain. Wonder if that would set of the Fates’ warning signal?
“Fangless and impotent. Yeah, right,” Cordelia muttered as she got into the front seat of her car.
Angelus was standing outside having not budged. Pressing the button to lower the front window, Cordelia asked him, “Are you going to get in anytime soon?”
“Just waiting for an invitation.”
“Do you really need one for my car?”
“Not unless you’re living in it,” countered Angelus. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured to drive me back to the mansion.”
Seeing that the vampire was still not in the car, Giles called out, “Is everything settled?”
Cordelia answered, “Yes, Giles. Goodnight!”
“Goodnight!” he called back adding a wave.
Willow waved at them both from the safety of Giles’ front seat glad that she wasn’t with Cordelia. Before climbing into the back seat, Xander also gave a wave, “G’night Cor. G’night Mighty Mouse.”
Cordelia snickered as she heard Xander giving the big bad Angelus his nickname of the day. “Where did he get that one?”
Climbing into the passenger seat of the Corvette, Angelus growled, “If he keeps that up, he’ll discover that I can be mighty pissed off for a mouse.”
Cordelia put the car in motion and tried to control her mirth as she drove them back toward Crawford Street. It was essentially on the opposite side of the cemetery that connected with this little demon den. If Angelus’ suggestion was correct, then Buffy and Angel had headed directly there using the cemetery as a short cut.
Arriving at their destination, Cordelia put the car into park and waited for Angelus to leave. He paused reaching for the door handle. “You’ve never seen the mansion, have you?”
“What’s this? You’re inviting me up to see your etchings?” Cordelia responded drolly.
Angelus laughed. “Those are actually Angel’s etchings. You can see them if you want, but I was thinking of something along the lines of trying to get you to stop quivering every time I come within five feet of you.”
Flashing a wary-eyed glare, Cordelia questioned, “And how did you intend to do that?”
“Not by dragging you to my bedroom, if that was your concern. I thought you might be thirsty after our little workout back there at the demon-gathering. Angel keeps some stuff for the Slayer in the refrigerator.”
She sat staring at him for ten seconds, thinking that this was a bit surreal. Angelus— evil vampire extraordinaire— was trying to be nice to her? There had to be a catch. Cordelia reasoned that she would not walk into the home of any other psychopathic killers. So, why was this offer intriguing her?
Curiosity, dammit. Her stupid curiosity that always got her into trouble. “Okay, but just for a few minutes. I do have a game in the morning.”
Angelus was surprised that Cordelia had agreed to come inside. He could scent the fear rising from her in waves. What was driving her to follow him if she was so frightened of him? “I’ll show you around the ground floor after we hit the kitchen. I could do with a snack myself.”
“Eew!”
“It’s a bag of O-positive not a chained captive, so relax,” Angelus opened the front door and let her walk in ahead of him.
“I repeat— eew!” Cordelia shuddered.
Only part of the mansion which was actually habitable. Parts of the place were still boarded off from the fire that had gutted the entire east wing. Fortunately, the kitchen was still in working order. Cordelia watched with horrified interest as Angelus prepared a mug of blood and placed it in the microwave. She opted for a glass of ice water.
“You did well tonight,” Angelus told her from across the kitchen island. “I only had to save you the one time. Otherwise, you kicked a little demon ass.”
Cordelia propped herself up on the stool facing him. She flashed him a huge grin which had the vampire frozen at its megawatt power. “I kick ass with the best of them.”
“Seriously,” he added, “you actually got in a couple of moves before you resorted to screaming.”
“Giles said the demons were susceptible to high-pitched noises,” Cordelia revealed one of the Watcher’s research finds. “I was just testing out the theory.”
“It didn’t do my hearing any good,” Angelus joked.
After the microwave beeped and he took out the mug containing his snack, Angelus led her into the dining room where they both took a seat at the table. Almost immediately, Cordelia noticed something strange about the chandelier overhead. It started to move. The hundreds of crystal pieces tinkled as they dinged together.
“What is that?”
Angelus glanced upward reasoning the cause within seconds. “Two guesses.”
“An earthquake?” She didn’t see anything else shaking.
“Guess again.”
The look on his face told her everything. Not that she couldn’t have guessed. Buffy and Angel were in the mansion and ensconced in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Either the floors and ceilings in this place were really thin or they were definitely going at it with a gusto that would normally be back-breaking.
Cordelia gulped down the remainder of her water. Then she gave Angelus a naive stare. “It’s really a herd of wild elephants trumping around upstairs?”
“Try my soulful alter ego and his blond bedmate… the Slayer.”
“I really didn’t want to know that.”
“Then why ask?”
He got no response, but realized, “You knew all along. Cordelia, you’re in denial. Why are you so afraid to admit that thoughts of sex and vampires aren’t exactly the turn offs you pretend them to be?”
“What?”
“Don’t shy away from the question,” Angelus demanded her response. “Tell me why you followed me in here tonight, Cordelia.”
“I was curious about the mansion.”
“You mean you were curious about me.”
Curious about Angelus? God, yes. After everything Harmony had told her who wouldn’t be curious. Not that she had come here with that in mind, precisely. Hell, she didn’t know why she had come in except that her feet just moved to follow him. Maybe she was also a little curious about Buffy and Angel, but it was all too apparent how that was going. Now she was left with facing Angel’s evil alter-ego and wondering how it was possible to be attracted to someone who frightened you.
“I-I thought you were supposed to be trying to make me less afraid of you,” Cordelia was getting antsy and kept looking up at the ceiling where the chandelier kept tinkling and shaking madly. “If this is your technique, it isn’t working.”
Rising out of his chair, Angelus set his empty mug on the table. “If it’s my technique you’re interested in, Cordelia, then come over here and you’ll forget all about being scared of me. I promise you that.”
Her heart was pounding in her ears. The chandelier suddenly stopped its rhythmic sway and the only sound in the room was her heaving breath as she panted out her confusion.
“I— I have to go. This was a mistake.”
As Angelus approached her, Cordelia leapt out of her chair. She looked like a frightened deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. “Come here,” he repeated his words this time as a command as he stopped only two feet away.
“No,” Cordelia responded defiantly while standing her ground. “That isn’t why I’m here.”
The vampire closed the space between them in a second standing directly in front of her, but not grabbing her as she expected. Cordelia let out a frightened gasp as his eyes turned a dark amber. None of his other vampiric features appeared; just the color change which she had learned was a sign of losing control.
“You think I can’t tell when you’re aroused?” Angelus let out a rumble from his chest that sent shivers down her spine. “The fear is there too, but it can’t overshadow the fact that you want me.”
“No! Stay away from me.” Cordelia tried to take a step back, but was trapped by the chair.
Lifting a hand, “You’re beautiful,” he reached up to reverently touch her face.
“W-What do you want from me, Angelus?”
Stroking her skin with his fingertips, he gave her a sensual smile. “You already know the answer to that, baby. I told you what I want from you in vivid detail. Except now it has to be different. I want more.”
The sound of his voice nearly had Cordelia leaning into him. Her entire body was focused on Angelus and she knew that he sensed it. From her flushed skin and the obvious perky betrayal of her nipples to the scent of her arousal. There he was with his handsome Angel face and his hard body promising pleasure as easily as he offered her something to drink.
Reaching behind her, Cordelia moved the chair aside and took two steps back. “I told you to stay away from me, Angelus. Maybe you confuse me, but I still remember the fact that you tried to kill me.”
Turning, Cordelia fled the mansion never once glancing over her shoulder. Only when she reached the door and slammed it shut behind her did she realize that Angelus was not going to follow her.
