Chapter 7: Courtship and Ritual
Twirling the combination lock left and then right and left again, Cordelia opened it and started to place her purse into her locker. She paused upon spotting an envelope propped up against her schoolbooks. Her name was written on it in calligraphy-style ink. The strange thing was that the envelope was too big to fit through the small vented slits in the front of the locker so whoever put it there either found her combination or had a way to figure it out.
“What’s that?” Harmony asked interestedly gazing around Cordelia’s shoulder.
Snatching it out of the locker, Cordelia was uncertain she wanted to share this surprise with her blond friend. Not wanting to wait, she made the decision to open the envelope. There was a card inside, but not of the store-bought variety. This was a hand-drawn artsy creation that had both girls gaping at its beauty.
“Wow!” Gasping, Harmony commented, “Who’s it from, Cor?”
The class bell rang out in the hall and Cordelia took the opportunity to shove the card in between the covers of one of her books. “We need to get to class. See you later.”
Cordelia knew that Harmony would bug her about it until she told her the truth, but she suddenly felt like she didn’t want to share the first glimpse inside. If it had been just any card, there were a number of guys she might guess at playing secret admirer. This was no simple card and she had to add two names to her list simply because she knew that the artistic ability was there. Considering recent events, this had to be Angelus’ work. Angel was too tied up in Buffy and had never been inclined to send her cards on the spur of the moment.
Sitting at her desk in class, Cordelia tried to ignore the fact that the card was there, but it was almost like the book kept flashing at her with a neon sign. Trying not to look obvious about it, she opened her textbook to the place she had stuck the card. She glanced from left to right ensuring that her classmates’ attention were otherwise occupied before taking a look inside the card.
On the left side of the card was a small portrait of herself. Geez, it was really good. He had her down to the tiniest detail and all from memory. Cordelia stared at it for some time before the teacher called out her name for the second time to get her attention. Slamming her book closed, Cordelia lifted her head and gave him an attentive smile.
Twenty minutes later, Cordelia found another opportunity to check out the other part of the card where smaller script was written out. It was a poem by Lord Byron:
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Reading it, Cordelia was simultaneously pleased and irritated. Who wouldn’t love the card? The sentiment actually erased some of the negative feelings about herself that had crept in after last night. What aggravated her was the fact that Angelus had the nerve to pretend to be romantic. The vampire was not the flowers, poetry and candy type. C’mon! He was the bloody hearts, curses and corpses on your doorstep demon. This was all an effort to get her to forgive him for what he’d said to her a year ago. To make her eat her words.
Hah! Well, Cordelia Chase was no easy prey. It would take more than a unique, artistic and romantic handcrafted card to make her believe Angelus had turned over a new leaf. He had a long way to go in proving himself to her. A loooonnnng way! Thought she was a pushover did he? Thought she was serenely calm and eloquent did he? Pfft!
Still, it was a nice start, the thought popped into her head. Cordelia found herself smiling.
There was a Scooby meeting after class and Cordelia knew a confrontation would be due. She wondered if Angelus had gone through with his threat and informed Angel about the incident last night. If so, the confrontation was likely to include both vampires. Now that she thought about it, the two shmucks from the band were not in school today. They had one class with her, but Cordelia barely took notice of them on a routine basis. It was too early for the vampires to have tracked them down, so Angelus’ scare tactics had probably done the trick.
Early that evening, Angelus awaited Cordelia’s appearance at the Scooby Gang meeting. Angel also paced the floor anxious to ensure that she was okay. His twin had informed him of the rape attempt and it had taken the sunrise to prevent him from going to confirm her welfare with his own eyes. “If I see a single bruise, those little bastards are in for a world of hurt.”
“I was hoping you’d feel that way,” Angelus grinned. Since the Scoobies were not yet present and Giles was holed up in his office, they could talk freely. “Only we’ll have to hold off on the dead part. I promised Cordelia.”
Surprised, Angel questioned him, “Then what do you have in mind?”
“Complete humiliation.”
“For teenagers, they might prefer to be dead over that,” Angel agreed. “I hear the others coming, so we’ll talk about this later.”
Buffy entered the room accompanied by Willow and Oz. While the redheads called out greetings, the blond Slayer stopped short as she caught sight of the two vampires. She hated it when they were standing together like that. It never gave her a chance to figure out who was who. Then the vampire on the left asked her, “Where is Cordelia?”
“Still in the hallway, Angelus,” she answered figuring that he would have to be the one asking about the cheerleader.
A chuckle sounded from the vampire on the right and a simultaneous scowl from the one she was talking too. Oops! Looks like she had guessed wrong. Blushing, “Angel?”
“Yes, Buffy,” sighed Angel, “it’s me.”
“Sorry!” Buffy snuggled up against him. “Can’t you make him wear a name tag?”
“Not likely,” Angelus replied as he headed out the library door in search of Cordelia.
He found her standing next to her open locker staring inside. Completely oblivious of his approach, Cordelia was focused on the card she had propped up against the books again. It was beautiful and it made her heart flutter a bit just thinking about the sentiment, but it was sent by Angelus.
She had done a lot of thinking today about both vampires and the explanation that Angel had given to her about the splitting of their being. Vampires were basically equal parts human and demon. The split meant that Angelus leaned more toward the demonic side of their nature while Angel the more human side. In theory, they continued to carry traits of both in addition to their physical aspects remaining the same.
Did that mean it was possible for Angelus to change as he claimed? Could he consciously choose to ignore pull of his demonic side in order to win her trust? This flirtation with the card was something else altogether. It had nothing to do with trust and everything to do with the vampire trying to seduce her. Cordelia wasn’t ignorant of the games men played. She was an expert at fending off their advances. But Angelus wasn’t a man nor was he in any way ignorant of what women wanted.
What she wanted.
A tingle zipped down her spine at the thought. Bad thought! That didn’t belong there. She wasn’t supposed to envision Angelus giving her anything she wanted. It was hard enough not thinking about her little shower fantasy. Now she had to contend with Angelus in the form of the Dark Avenger crashing into her life and sweeping her into his bed. Yum! The idea was a temptation, but one that Cordelia was determined to ignore.
Hello— vampire!
Closing her locker, Cordelia turned to head in the direction of the library only to find the vampire occupying her thoughts leaning against the row of metal lockers. “Angelus!”
“Cordelia,” he greeted her softly. “I couldn’t wait with the others. I wanted to see you first.”
“They’ve seen me all day,” Cordelia pointed out shifting her weight from one leg to the other.
Confessing, “I meant Angel.”
“Oh.” A little frown appeared on her face as he realized, “You told him.”
Angelus told her, “Yes. I know you won’t say anything to your little Scooby pals or the Cordettes so Angel is going to be my backup plan.”
“Backup plan for what?”
“Another set of eyes watching you,” Angelus claimed. “Just in case I’m not around the next time some bastard tries to touch you.”
“This is you being possessive manpire guy,” Cordelia stood with her hands on her hips. “Does your rule apply only to potential creeps or anyone I try to date?”
Angelus wasn’t certain she wanted to hear the truth. “There’s a difference?”
Walking around him, Cordelia headed for the library. She stopped and turned as he called out, “Cor? Did you like the card?”
Cordelia waited until Angelus crossed the distance between them. Meeting his curiously bright gaze, she faked a surprised gasp, “That was from you? There wasn’t a signature.”
“You know who sent it,” Angelus’ expression drooped into a frown.
“For all I know, it was Angel,” Cordelia shrugged. “He’s kind of artsy. And you did say that those were his etchings at the mansion. Then there are one or two guys I know who have pretty decent drawing skills.”
“It was from me,” he confirmed while pointing at his broad chest.
Letting out a laugh, Cordelia was amused by the vampire’s sullen expression. It bothered him to think that she was potentially thinking about someone else when handling the card he had no doubt spent hours working on last night. Her laughter deepened his frown and it became apparent that the vampire thought she didn’t believe him.
“I did narrow it down to you and Angel,” she told him. “High school guys aren’t known for poetry, but I’m not so sure about vampires. Angel might be the type since he’s so dark and broody.”
Angelus roared, “I sent you the fucking card.”
“Well that was a really romantic statement,” Cordelia rolled her eyes at the vampire. “No wonder you had to resort to using Lord Byron. Couldn’t come up with any lines of your own?”
Moving forward until there was little room left between them, Angelus forced Cordelia to back away until she felt her shoulders press into the lockers behind her. His arms created a barrier on either side of her allowing no escape causing Angelus’ voice to come out in surround sound penetrating her with its sensual tones.
“Shall I tell you why I’ll be your lover?”
There was a hitch in her breath as Cordelia waited for the answer. The vampire seemed so certain that it was going to be a reality. While that naughty little voice in her head said things to tempt her, Cordelia kept reminding herself that this was all a game to him. That this was just him pretending to be sexy and romantic and good.
So he wasn’t pretending about the sexy part, Cordelia stared up into the heated depths of his dark chocolate gaze.
“Because I read it in your eyes,” Angelus told her. “Those bright hazel jewels give away more than you know. Your eyes are so expressive even when you’re trying not to give your thoughts away. Then there is the automated response as your pupils dilate with your arousal.”
“Fear,” Cordelia countered in a whispered voice. “Fight or flight.”
“There is no fear. I would sense it,” he told her smugly. Not to mention the fact that she was neither putting up a fight nor running like hell from him. Angelus noted that Cordelia awaiting the rest of his response wanting to hear more.
“I’ll be your lover because I see it on your mouth. The way your lips soften and swell in anticipation of my kiss.” Angelus hovered over her mouth while speaking those words causing precisely that reaction. Her lips tingled and parted slightly of their own accord while her tongue darted out to moisten them.
Angelus lifted his dark gaze from her lips back to Cordelia’s eyes which were fixed on his mouth, her expression one of growing hunger with his lips the only thing that could sate that need. Even to his own ears, his voice sounded heavy with growing desire as he spoke her name, calling her attention back to his eyes.
“Cordelia.”
A tiny startled moan sounded at the back of her throat questioning his interruption of the path her thoughts were taking.
“I can hear it in your voice,” Angelus told her. “It’s what you don’t say that tells me we’ll be lovers. That little moan. The way your breath catches in your throat. Imperceptible to a human, but I hear it.”
Vampire senses, thought Cordelia with irritation at her body’s little betrayals. She should not be listening to this, but the fact that she wasn’t moving away had nothing to do with Angelus blocking her path. Her whole body seemed to be focused on his voice. Still, she had to deny his words, “You’re imagining it.”
“Am I? Is it my imagination that your heartbeat quickens?” Angelus heard it even now as her heart thudded in her chest. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub in an ever fastening thrill that sent blood coursing through her veins. If there was ever a turn-on for a vampire it was that combined with the knowledge that fear wasn’t the cause. “I know the sound, know the rate of your pulse, know its rhythms and could recognize them in the dark.”
“Vampire,” Cordelia sounded out the accusation.
“It’s a fact that won’t change,” he reminded her needlessly. “It doesn’t stop your body from reacting to mine without a shred of the fear you pretend still exists. I see the flush of your sun-kissed skin. The way your breasts swell begging for the touch of my hands and the way your nipples harden. I see your body recognizing its desires. Wanting my hands and mouth giving you pleasure.”
Traitorous boobs. Begging for his touch? For his mouth? Cordelia couldn’t will away her automatic reaction to the sensual timber of Angelus’ voice nor the words that heightened her arousal. Supposing that it wouldn’t fit with her argument to crush her breasts against the hard muscles of his chest and just rub against him, Cordelia pressed her back into the lockers.
Angelus leaned in again, this time scenting her skin. “You smell so fragrant. Clean and perfumed and hot with need.”
Cordelia’s body jerked slightly at the description. She didn’t need him pointing that out. A deep ache centered in her loins and her panties were getting damp. Her eyes were so heavy-lidded it would be simple just to close them and imagine herself back home in bed. There it would be okay. All she would have to do was reach down and—
As her fingers spread out across her lower abdomen at the wanton thought, Angelus was quick to notice the subconscious move. With interest, he queried, his voice like thick molasses, “Do you want to touch yourself? Want me to touch you?”
She couldn’t answer those questions. Wouldn’t answer them. All Cordelia could do was let out a hot huff of air that seemed to be caught in her throat. All the while, Angelus was still braced against the lockers with his hands on either side of her.
“Yes,” Angelus answered for her. “You’re ripe with wanting, my Cordelia. Your body is stirring with need and craving my touch. It already recognizes that I’m your lover.”
Cordelia tried to stop her body from melting into a hot bubbly pool, but Angelus certainly had a way with words when it came to proving his point. “So maybe you don’t need to depend on Lord Byron to come up with a good line,” she gave him that.
“The only poetry we need to discuss is the way we react to each other,” Angelus smiled sensually. “It works both ways. Do I need to tell you how my body comes alive each time you’re near? The rush of desire that fills my chest with unnatural warmth and centers down in my loins?”
Shaking her head, Cordelia did not want to hear any more. It was too much. Her head was spinning with fantasy images and her body felt close to exploding. Whispering a plea, she begged him to stop, fearful of the fact that she was starting to believe what he said. “No.”
“No, you don’t believe me?” Angelus questioned almost patiently knowing he had done well to get this far without a major protest. It was just one more proof that Cordelia Chase wanted him otherwise she would have been screaming her head off and throwing more of her accusations in his face. “Want to feel the proof? I assure you that it’s not easy to miss. Do you have any idea how much I want your hands on me?”
Cordelia’s hands moved up to his chest even though her own body ached as she lifted her hand away from her abdomen. She couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought to tell him to back off. That’s what she needed— for him to back off. Yet her hands had a mind of their own as she pressed her palms flat over the muscles of his chest slowly moving them up and down. Angelus let out a sharp hiss as Cordelia grazed his small male nipples over the fabric of his shirt.
His reaction startled Cordelia and she dropped both hands to the taut muscles of his waist, her fingers curling so that her knuckles moved over the cloth of his shirt. Still braced with his palms flat on the lockers, Angelus encouraged her to move her hands, “Lower.”
Her own heartbeat was thudding in her ears as Cordelia realized with a sudden shock that she was actually considering following his directive. Angelus was standing so close now that she could feel the hard proof of his arousal through his pants.
Then he was nuzzling up against her cheek as his mouth whispered into her ear asking for her permission, “Let me touch you.”
Angelus felt a burning sensation stinging his arm and an angry male voice yelling, “Get your hands off Cordelia, vampire.”
Reeling back, Angelus vamped out in reaction to the sudden pain. There was a small hole burnt through the arm of his shirt leaving a scorched mark on his exposed skin. “Harris! Get that cross out of my face.”
“Omigod!” Cordelia was mortified that Xander had caught her like this with Angelus. He was her former boyfriend, but it still seemed strange for him to see her pressed up against Angelus practically groping the vampire. The evil vampire, she added.
“What do you think you’re doing, Angelus?” Xander looked pissed. “The Fates didn’t leave you a loophole for threatening Cordelia. Just because you can’t bite and kill humans anymore doesn’t mean you can go around trying out your old threats on your new friends.”
Angelus glanced at Cordelia to see how she was going to react. Finally, she admitted to Xander, “He wasn’t threatening me.”
“Then—,” Xander gasped as his imagination filled in the gaps. “No! This is Angelus.”
“I know that, dammit!” Cordelia pushed away from the lockers and started to pace back and forth between the two males. Then stopping in front of Xander, she gave him a weak smile, “Thanks for coming to my defense.”
“You’re welcome,” Xander blinked at the unexpected gratitude. “I-I think I’ll head into the meeting. We’re late.”
“Don’t say anything,” she pleaded softly. “Not even to Willow. ‘Kay?”
Xander frowned, but gave her a nod of consent.
Both Cordelia and Angelus watched him disappear down the hall and into the library. An uneasy silence had settle between them until finally Angelus asked, “Why does he get the thanks with a smile after ‘saving’ you and I didn’t?”
“Are we still reviewing the One Hundred and One Reasons Not to Trust an Evil Vampire notes I’ve made for my future memoirs?” Cordelia asked snippily.
“No,” Angelus answered darkly. “We’re cutting through the bull and laying it on the line. I want you, Cordelia, under me, on top of me, beside me, surrounding me. Anyway and anywhere you can imagine it. Baby, you won’t regret it for a second because I promise to make your body sing.”
Cordelia almost felt like singing now.
“If it takes fighting the Good Fight alongside the Slayer then it looks like the Fates will get their way. Just stop pretending that you don’t want me as your lover.” Angelus was gazing down at her with a determined expression. “Just tell me what you want. Let me find a way to give it to you.”
“It’s not that easy, Angelus,” she responded with a shaky tone. “What do I want? If I said someone human what would you do? Pay another visit to the Fates?”
That wasn’t an option. This was a one-time deal. “I could check in with the Furies. Not certain that they could pull it off.”
“Pfft! As if you would,” Cordelia huffed loudly. “You like being a vampire. You like to play demon when the fighting gets good.”
“That’s right,” he agreed. “I do. I already told you this is the one thing that isn’t going to change. You know that and it hasn’t made a shred of difference in the way you want me.”
Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance as she revealed, “I want someone real in my life. Not a stalking, obsessive maniac. If that’s how you’re going to play this game then you might as well quit now.”
“It’s not a game,” Angelus countered. He stressed again, “Tell me what you want.”
Cordelia walked up to him, “I want someone who knows how to please me. I want the damn poetry and flowers and candy.”
“Flowers and candy?” The vampire hadn’t thought of those.
“What do I want? Someone who’ll treat me as more than just daddy’s little rich girl with the pretty face. Someone who wants me for who I am and wants me because I’m the only one he needs. Wants me— just wants me.”
It took all of Angelus’ restraint to hold back. He was tired of talking about it. The urge to lift her up against the lockers and fuck her until she came screaming his name was getting hard to resist. Flowers and candy? What the hell was a demon to do? Angelus decided if that was what Cordelia wanted, he would ensure that she got it.
She was obviously tired of high school boys and their socially inept manners. Not to mention the fact that most of them didn’t even know how to make a woman come.