Title: Hand-To-Hand…
Author: Scorch
Posted:
Email
Rating: PG-13
Category: Major Fluff
Content: C/A
Summary: Sequel to Eye-To-Eye (2). Tentative beginnings.
Spoilers:
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: AO, Cal, Lil, Lio n Sara’s place.
Notes: 3rd in the Eye To Eye… vignette set. I was so determined NOT to do another sequel but, damnit, I couldn’t stop this from popping out. Written 10 minutes ago and unbeta’d. Enjoy!!
Thanks/Dedication:
Feedback:Is the sky blue? [or grey if you’re in England right now, grrr!]
Sneaking a glance at the vampire now sitting next to her at the library table, Cordelia nibbled the edge of her lower lip as she reluctantly turned her eyes back to the book he was now helping her with. It took everything she had to keep breathing in somewhat a normal, regular pattern without alerting him to the fact his presence so close to her was more distracting than it was helpful.
Blowing out a deep sigh of oxygen, the brunette pursed her lips inwards as she forced a shy smile from forming when Angel leaned closer. He wasn’t wearing any cologne, the only scent on him was a natural rich musky scent that was completely male. Shifting back in her chair, Cordelia held her breath as the dark haired vampire cross-referenced a word with a translating dictionary Giles had provided.
“This word means dark” Angel pointed out quietly, drawing her attention away from his scent as he shot her a faint, barely there smile. His pale lips quirking up at the corners when Cordelia immediately snapped her doe eyes to where he was indicating.
Every time she exhaled, hot breath brushed across his cool skin like a warm breeze. Fresh and minty, Angel caught the faded hue of toothpaste as it mingled with the softened scent of strawberries from her perfume. Up close with her, he truly noticed how classically beautiful her facial features were.
Eyebrows were carefully and expertly shaped, thinning towards the outer corners of her eyes to frame the almond shape. Long eyelashes were lightly coated in black mascara to enhance the colour and length while the hazel was perfectly set-off by a small line underneath her lower lids. Her cheeks held a faint, light bronze that accentuated the apples that appeared whenever she smiled.
Her chin was defiantly set, drifting off into a small rounded point that dimpled a little with each expression she pulled. Her burgundy shaded mouth held a fuller lower lip, perked in a natural pout that appeared so soft. The upper lip was a little thinner, holding a rounded Cupid’s bow highlighted by a slightly darker line than the lipstick.
A beauty mark sat alone on her right cheek, the only flaw on her face and it just added to the simple perfection that was her outer beauty. Her nose was a cute button shape, a little pointed but none the less kissable for it.
“That looks more Greek than Latin” Cordelia’s quiet statement drew his admiring gaze from her face to the word meaning dark, his distraction allowing her to look at him in return.
Angel was handsome, an old fashioned kind of handsome with the air of a true Old World gentleman that didn’t exist anymore. His forehead was overhanging, making her wonder if his vampire face was the cause of it or if it was natural. He had slim lips that rarely curled up in a smile but that didn’t make them any less than smiling ones.
His nose was a little big but given the amount of times it had probably been broken, it was understandable. His skin was pale, a fact due to him being dead but it just fit with his personality. The vampire was a contrast in every way she could think of and she found it enticing.
“A lot of the Greek language stems from Latin” Angel explained, his voice a husky whisper as her scent rolled around his senses in an intoxicating mist of feminine sensuality. Clearing his throat, the vampire elaborated. “If you think of the symbols used to depict Latin, you’ll find a lot are the same”
“Like Egyptian heiroglyphics?” Cordelia questioned in genuine interest, “Where they used birds and stuff?”
Shaking his head, Angel gave his answer. “Not quite” his gaze caught hers for a split second, the hazel seemed to draw him in as the colour turned to the same spun gold as before and he had to force himself to look away. “Egyptians used pictorials of things around them to state their language, ancient Greeks used letter symbols like this…”
She watched as the vampire unsurely looked around the table for a stray pen and piece of paper. It was no surprise he would be incredibly book smart, what with having lived so long. He had to do something during the day time when he couldn’t go out, why not read up things useful? It was better than doing something completely useless like having your nails shaped or walking through a mall. None of that would be of any use later in life would it?
Seeing a pad of paper laying next to the large book Giles was currently looking through, Angel cleared his throat in a subtle attempt to get the Watcher’s attention without having to speak to him. “Giles” he spoke abruptly when the clearing of the throat never worked, “Could I?” he indicated to the notepad with a nudge of his head.
“Have you found something of use?” the mild-mannered Englishman questioned as he passed the notepad over to the vampire he held a distrust for.
“No” Cordelia spoke up when Angel became obviously uncomfortable with the amount of attention on him, “He’s showing me the differences between Egyptian heiroglyphs and ancient Grecian symbols.”
Now, all gazes were turned her way but she refused to show any nervousness at the suspicious stares now focused entirely on her. Turning her head to face her ex-boyfriend, she regally raised an eyebrow at the dark haired young man. “Problem?” there was enough ice in her voice to freeze an ocean as she locked onto green eyes that rolled before turning away.
“Is there a reference to the Grecian language?” Giles enquired, as he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose with a studious glance at both the young brunette and vampire. They were sitting awfully close to one another, he observed offhandedly, and he flicked his intelligant eyes to his slayer who was watching the interraction through blue eyes that told nothing.
“Not that I know of” Angel replied as he slid the notepade across the table and sat back in the small chair meant for people a lot younger and smaller than him. His fingers clutched the edges of the small book when he felt the cheerleader’s hot gaze sweep his hand, sending a million and one thoughts of what she was thinking through his head.
He couldn’t help but want to know if his hand would completely cover hers, wanted to feel how silky her skin would be in comparison to his own. His fingertips would glide smoothly across the golden, dewy flesh of her slender back as he pulled her closer. Under his palm, she would burn and he would feel the toned, feminine muscles ripple and her skin would become taut as he mapped every inch of her.
Cordelia saw the size of his large hand as he pressed his palm flat to the table. The silver and ruby signet ring sat proudly on the fourth finger of his right hand and the red jewel contrasted amazingly with his pale flesh. She wondered where Angel had gotten it or if it held a story to it, like it had been a present from an old lover or maybe it was a symbol of what he was, what family he belonged.
There was so many things she suddenly wanted to know about Angel. Not superficial things like his favourite movie or his favourite colour but everything else in between. What would a touch from him feel like? Would he be cold? Would he hold the touch of a human male or would he have a vampire’s touch?
From what she’d learned and been told, vampires were fond of pain and pleasure, was that how Angel would touch? Or would his soul give him a sense of gentility? Would she react to his hand as he held hers or would she pull away? Would he?
Catching the vampire looking at her through dark, searing orbs Cordelia blinked away the foggy haze of growing want as Willow’s voice permeated the unspoken conversation between them.
“Then why are you talking about Greece?” Willow asked in confusion, her large green eyes went from the brunette to the vampire and back again. What did Greece have to do with an Oxyclav demon who skinned their victims alive before eating them whole?
“We’re not talking about Greece, we’re talking about the language similiarities between the Grecian symbols and the Latin” Cordelia enlightened the red head, showing she wasn’t wasting time by talking about something nonessential to the matter at hand.
“Oh” the practicing witch wasn’t stupid and knew when she was interrupting something. Shaking off the uneasy feeling, she went back to her computer and resumed her own research, all the while casting glances over her shoulder at both Cordelia and Angel, then Buffy.
Once the sudden influx of commotion had settled and silence reigned in the library, the brunette spoke quietly in an effort to get Angel back to their previous topic. Languages were one of her secret passions, she loved learning how to say little phrases in French or Spanish. Little things came in helpful if you were vacationing there and you needed directions or something.
“Okay, you were gonna show me stuff” Cordelia urged, keeping the volume of her voice to a minimised whisper as she leaned closer to Angel so he could hear her. Keeping her gaze fixed on both the notepad and demonology book, she inhaled and exhaled calmly while he moved so his right hand was close enough to brush the back of her left. “You need a pen, hold on”
Angel watched as she pulled a tin pencil case coated in humourous stickers from her bag laying on the floor. Her movement, drawing his gaze to the small of her back, seeing the gentle, firm sloping where her back curved into the swell of her hips. The skin there was just as golden, looked just as soft as it did on her face and he wanted to graze his fingertips down the well-formed spine to curl his hand around her waist.
Wanted to show everyone who she belonged too.
Inwardly cursing himself, the vampire ripped his heated orbs from the intimate part of her body and waited for her to pass him a pen. She didn’t belong to him, she wasn’t something to be owned. She was something to be treasured, cherished, something to hold on to. Not degraded by a petty ownership stamp.
Sitting back upright, Cordelia hoped the pink staining her cheeks had gone. She’d felt his gaze on her, had felt it in the way her temperature elevated and felt it in the way he caused an ache to form between her thighs. Her slender fingers were wrapped tightly around her pen as she passed it to Angel, seeing him take it with his right hand. “Right handed”
Taking a small hold of the pen, Cordelia sucked in a sharp breath of air as her hand touched his for a moment longer than it should have. Blinking slowly she let go to brace her palm on the table edge. Angel felt the soft caress of her fingertips and a shot of fire ran through him, causing his still blood to simmer in his veins.
“Yeah” Angel affirmed after swallowing. She was trying to hide the response, keeping her breathing regulated and even but her heart was throbbing so hard he swore he could feel the vibrations running through him. Trying to keep his hand from shaking, he resisted the urge to touch her in some way. “Like I said, Latin and ancient Greeks used letter symbols…”
His chest began to rise and fall rhythmically, allowing the vampire to indulge in the unsweetened scent of female arousal emanating from the young lady next to him. It was all Angel could do not to take her here and now.
On most girls these days, that was something that would be enjoyed. Not so with Cordelia Chase. Angel had a feeling that with her, a man had to take a different approach to get her affection. He had so often seen her dismiss both boys and young men with a simple glance, stating she was not a toy for them to play with.
She was classy, everything about her commanded respect. If you had no respect for her then she wouldn’t give the time of day.
“Well?” Cordelia graced the vampire with an impatient expression that had him holding back a smile. She could hide her emotions better than anyone he knew. She was right next to the man who had her pulse thumping, body heated and arousal making her slick and yet her face showed only annoyance at having been kept waiting.
Angel wondered what other emotions she hid behind the cool exterior. All he saw was young lady, a strong passion sizzling at her heart and if he hadn’t had his extra senses, he would never have seen past that expression facade.
“Sorry” he mumbled quietly, “I was distracted”
“So was I”
There was a cheeky and none-too-innocent lilt to the short reply that made Angel look directly into those spun gold eyes, trying to see if she had meant to say it. The vampire glanced up only to see the apple of her cheek puffing up as she used her hair to hide a smile.
Soft skin brushed across the back of his hard knuckles, making him direct his attention to her hand. Hers was a lot smaller than his, Angel noticed straight away, her nails were shaped into a neat rounded curve and painted a pretty wine colour.
There were no wrinkles in her skin, a sign she took good care of herself and also a sure sign Cordelia hadn’t experienced a day of hard work in her life. He felt another smile quirk at his mouth with the image of the brunette being waited on hand and foot by servents.
It was something he could see happening every night when she got home, but then again if she hid her emotions and herself from people who knew her then Angel wasn’t sure how she would take to strangers fawning over her.
Her fingers nudged his, causing the vampire to raise his gaze to hers as he returned the slight caress…
~*~
