Epilogue
It was, quite possibly, the longest walk of Cordelia’s life. The dank sewers echoed with eerie drips and gushing noises, and the sound of her heels clacked loudly as she followed Angel through the city’s underground maze.
He held her hand tightly in his, and every once in a while she felt his hand stroke her fingers softly, as if checking to make sure he really held her hand in the waking hours, and not in the depth of his dreams. They both stared straight ahead, and walked quickly, like-minded in their quest.
Eventually, Angel helped her up the ladder and climbed up after her, reaching up past her to shove the manhole cover aside so they could climb out, Cordelia first. Not a word was spoken, and hadn’t been since they had broken apart breathlessly from a kiss that was so hot it teetered on the edge of insanity.
Angel had pulled back and Cordy had moaned in protest till he had stroked her face with his gentle fingers and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
She shivered as she remembered. “Cordelia. I want this. I want you. But not here, in…..damn. Not in the sewer.” She had looked up at him, still reeling from the heat of his kiss, and he had sighed. “Home, Cordy. We’ll talk more at home.”
Cordelia had stared at him a moment and grinned a little, letting him know she was ok. “Yeah. You’ll talk. I’ll tell you…”
“Shut up.” He finished for her. “Yeah. Have a feeling I’m going to be hearing that a lot.” They had stared at each other for a long moment, leaning in…lips parting slightly….before Angel shook himself and straightened back up, grabbing at her hand and turning to march through the sewers, a determined scowl on his face.
So here they were, entering the basement of the Hyperion. Cordelia had assumed home meant her apartment, but it somehow felt right to be climbing these stairs after Angel said he was taking her home.
Home was here. She was beginning to think home might be wherever Angel was. Because in his eyes she had seen more than lust. Ok, there was definitely lust, not a bad thing, but there was more than just that.
He didn’t want the girl in the red bikini. He wanted Cordelia. She knew the difference. And she knew that Angel didn’t want lightly.
She climbed the stairs ahead of him wordlessly and opened the basement door to the lobby. She tugged Angel’s black coat tighter around her as they looked around for Wesley and Gunn. Angel turned to her after surveying the silent lobby and motioned to the stairs.
“Go on up. I’ll be up in a minute after I check in with Wesley. I want to…..” He seemed to falter. “I want to make sure we have privacy.” She nodded calmly and walked upstairs, lifting the coat as she climbed so she wouldn’t trip over it. He watched her a moment and walked into the office, snatching up the phone and stabbing at the numbers.
“Wes? Yeah. No, it’s all good. No. No. NO….I did not kill her. Jeeze.” Angel looked around impatiently. “No, she’s not dead. No, she’s not undead. Nice trust ya got going there, Wes. If I had a heart, it would be warmed by your……yeah, I know. No, kinda tired. Why don’t we call it a weekend? ‘Kay. See you Monday morning.” He paused a bit, listening.
“Yeah, I know she’s special. Funny thing is….she’s been special all along, Wes. I just…..I think I just saw it now. No, I do not need…..Damn, Wes. What are you, her father? Right. Fine. Whatever.” And he hung up.
How had that happened? Wesley, going all Father Knows Best on him. It was intrusive. It was annoying. It was…..nice. It was what friends did. Hell, it’s what families did. He let the unfamiliar feelings of contentment at his life pour through him. Wesely was family. So was Gunn. So was….
Cordelia. Up the stairs and down the hall and through the door was Cordelia. Waiting. For him. Waiting for him wearing the world’s smallest bikini. And it was red. And she was…..and he was….he was running up the stairs, two at a time. He paused at the door, knocking gently and waiting for her to answer. He had to get this right, because this wasn’t wanting some touchy feely of the flesh for a quick moment; this was a whole new part of his life. He had to get this right.
“Angel?” Her voice sounded confused as she opened the door.
“Expecting someone else?” He looked down at her. She still had his coat wrapped tightly around her body, and those red stiletto heels peeked out from the long length of black leather.
“Um…no. Just the knocking thing…this is your place.”
“I know. I want to know I’m invited in.”
“You don’t have to be invited into your own…”
“No.” His voice was gentle, but firm. “I want to know this is what you want. This isn’t about me, Cordelia. It’s about us. If you want us, invite me in.”
Cordelia stared up at him, all serious eyes and firm chin. He knew that expression well. It was usually followed by her talking him into something. Usually, something he didn’t want. But this time….this time he wanted. She leaned up and kissed his jaw softly and whispered, “come on in, Angel.”
He stepped in and closed the door behind him, watching her the whole while. He slowly walked to her, his eyes never leaving hers. He leaned back against the closed door, trying to maintain some semblance of control. He lowered his head for a moment and then raised it, his jaw clenched.
“O.K. Let me see it.”
Cordelia looked at him, her expression neutral. “What?”
“The swimsuit, Cordelia. Let me see it.”
“Oh.” She tilted her head a bit and wrinkled her brow. “Hmmm. Thought you didn’t like the swimsuit.”
“Honey, I liked it fine. I didn’t like other men…..” A fine red haze seemed to filter his gaze as he remembered all the eyes that had glued to her body as she walked through that restaurant. “I just didn’t like other people seeing it, that’s all.”
“Oh.” She spoke as if reasoning it out. “So……no one else can see it, but you liked it just fine.”
He remained still, leaning back against the door. His voice was a growl. “Cordelia.”
“Because, you know, if I had known that yes, indeed, you enjoyed seeing the little red suit….” She tugged his coat tighter around her. “…I wouldn’t have taken it off.”
He stared at her a moment, his mind gripped by just one thought. “So…under that coat….under my coat….you’re….”
She leaned in slightly and whispered, “Nekkid. Bare. Naked as a….well, a naked woman. Completely unclothed. Totally…” She stopped as he straightened up and stalked over to her, slowly circling her. She thought a moment, feeling the heat of his gaze on her as he walked behind her, almost as if he could see right under the layer of black leather. “So……at the suntan lotion shoot, it was really about…..”
“About others seeing what belongs to me.” His voice in her ear was a dark whisper. “About other men having thoughts about this flesh.” A shiver ran down her spine at the words. He was still and silent for a moment. “Give me my coat.”
Cordelia held the coat in a death grip as she slowly turned to face Angel. Her lips slightly parted as she looked into his eyes for a bit, as if looking for something. He held perfectly still, meeting her gaze impassively.
“Is this right now?” She whispered. He smiled a little.
“Wanna find out?” His voice whispered back. She watched him a moment longer and then slowly raised her hands to the lapel of the coat, parting it wide open and shrugging it off, letting it drop to the floor.
Angel felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. She was all sleek lines and soft curves and firm flesh, and a light flush covered her from head to toe. His gaze swept down her body as she stood still before him. Her legs….damn. Her legs seemed to go on forever without shoes on. But in those red screw-me stilettos, her legs were gently muscled and made a man think of just how they’d feel wrapped tight around his waist.
A feral growl sounded as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, leaning down to crush her mouth in a frenzy of wet heat. His tongue licked at hers, and stroked at the sweet lines of her lips. She moaned softly as she felt the rigidness of his arousal pressed to her, firm and thick even through layers of clothing.
He spun her around and pushed her onto the bed, groaning as she fell onto the surface on all fours. His eyes were drawn to the finely etched tattoo on the small of her back that flexed gently as she rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed, facing him as he undressed. She watched, her eyes never leaving his hands, as he pulled his shirt off over his head and then reached for the buckle of his pants. Absently, she reached down to unbuckle her shoes. He stopped, and his voice was like the crack of a whip.
“Leave them on.” There was a tone in his voice that made her sit up quickly, and her eyes narrowed as she watched him. His face softened and he let a small smile escape as he tugged his trousers off, kicking them aside. “Good girl.”
Cordelia rose in a huff and faced him, feeling a familiar tingle grip her. “Hey, you just can’t…” her voice was muffled as he swooped in and kissed her again, gently this time. This time, he wooed her with his mouth. His hands gently traced over her shoulders and down her sides. He felt her soften and raised his head.
“Cordelia…shut up.”
“OK.” Her eyes were wide as he pushed her back down onto the bed. He fell down beside her and raised up on one elbow, looking down into her eyes as his hand slowly cupped her face. She looked back up, and there was trust and wonder in her expression, and he felt his body grow even harder, realizing that he shared that wonder with her. His hands trailed down her body, cupping and stroking and caressing her skin with the softest of touches. Over the soft curve of her stomach, down over her hips. His hand stroked at the vee of her legs and smiled against her mouth as her legs parted at his insistence.
Cordelia felt her body arc into Angel’s, his fingers stroking at her wet core. Groaning, he raised his head and looked down into her face, her lips all swollen and rosy from his kisses. “God, Cordelia. You’re…” His fingers stroked through the wet folds again till he found her clit, hard and wet. He circled it gently. “You’re so ready for me…..you want this…”
“Well, yeah.” Cordy panted. “Kinda the thought behind taking the suit off, big guy.”
“Cordy” His voice was ragged. “I just want…..ohgod….” He broke off as she pushed her hand down between them and gently circled his erection with her fingers. He pushed his hips up and down, letting her fist his cock. He looked down into her eyes and she smiled, leaning up to kiss his mouth.
He was so close……he grabbed her hand from around him and grabbed at her other hand, anchoring on the bed on either side of her head. She panted as she watched him, her eyes almost challenging. Angel settled his body between her thighs and gently parted her legs even wider with a nudge of his knee. Slowly, he pushed into her body with his….the blunt tip of his cock a welcome pressure to her. Her legs rose and locked around his hips as he drove into her with one firm push, smiling at the “whoosh” that left her throat.
He held still and looked down at her, both bodies locked together. Taking a breath, Cordy slowly rocked her hips, sighing as he slid out and back in with her movements. Angel held still, letting her rock a bit, before his body began to rock with hers, meeting her thrusts with harder thrusts of his own. Their bodies grew damp, and flesh slid against flesh with a sweet friction that both felt down to their souls.
Faster and faster….a sob was torn from Cordelia as her movements became more frantic…his hips bucking in a frenzy. Just as she felt the licks of fire begin to race through her mind, Angel’s body stiffened, a guttural moan sounding from his throat as he came, pouring into her all he had. She held, suspended, as she came, clenching around him and under him and all over.
She felt weightless as her mind floated back to earth. Angel still lay on her, his face buried in the crook of her throat. His body was damp and glistening, and they both lay still and silent before Angel laughed softly into her ear. “Breathe, baby.”
Cordelia giggled weakly, and sucked in a breath, feeling her heart thundering in her chest as she gulped in air. Angel rose up and rested his weight on his elbows, looking down at her.
“Yeah, Cordy, this is right now.”
Cordelia grinned, and he grinned back, brushing damp tendrils of hair off her brow. “Is this us?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s us. I think its been us for a while now. We’re going on from here. You know that.”
She nodded. “I couldn’t do this…..I don’t do this….you know….casually.”
“Nothing casual about you, Cordelia.” She grinned up at him and yanked his face down to hers.
“Shut up.” And she kissed him.
The REAL End!