PART 10
CORDY’S APARTMENT(A CHAIR!)
She slowed down the kiss after a few seconds, wanting to enjoy the taste and feel of him. She licked his lips and sucked gently on that full yet masculine bottom lip, kissed the corner of his mouth. She made little forays inside then to stroke along his tongue but retreated when he wanted to go deeper. Teasing him by not giving him another of those deep possessing kisses.
She could feel his hands tighten on her and then relax as he let her lead and it excited her. An idea sprang to mind and she gave a little shiver and smiled as part of her shied away from it. A pulse still throbbed slow and deep between her legs from before only now it became stronger and deeper as her loins pooled with heat again.
She had Angel, her best friend, ex-boss, vampire with a soul and brooding hero at her mercy could she honestly deny an urge to test all that control again. Last night had been mind blowing, but she still wasn’t convinced he’d hadn’t been influenced by the spell. Should she try and find out or was she taking too big a risk.
She slid off him and looked up into his face, she saw his nostrils flare a little and knew he could smell her arousal and felt herself moisten even more. His eyes were hooded and he watched her with an intensity that made her mouth go dry. His mouth, rosy from their kissing was unsmiling now and she didn’t need to be empathic to know he was almost vibrating with a frustrated and hungry passion.
Her eyes dropped to his shirt as she started to undo the buttons, slipping them free and revealing his broad, muscular chest in the widening vee. When she had all the buttons undone, she pushed the material aside so that she could admire him. Her hands with fingers spread wide explored each dip and curve of his deep chest, marvelling at the smooth skin over hard muscle.
Cordy pulled him up to lean forward, so that she could push the shirt of magnificent shoulders that were wide enough to make her feel small and vulnerable kneeling before him. They looked at each other with hungry eyes, both anticipating what she would do next. She dipped her head and licked along his right collarbone and up his neck to nip at the sensitive point where his jaw joined.
His head turned to her so that there lips were only a fraction apart, his expression demanding until she gave in and her lips travelled back to his and finally gave him the wild and hungry kiss he’d been after.
Her hands roamed over his chest restlessly, finding his nipples and rubbing her palms over them, feeling them harden into stabbing points, begging for further attention, which she was happy to oblige. Her head lowered again as she pushed him back down, lathing each nipple with twirling licks, followed by little sucks with soft slips.
He groaned and grasped her by her sides, pushing her down onto his lower body while he pushed up with his hips, desperate to feel her weight on him. She went to slide out from his hands and after only a moments indecision he let go and watched as she leant back to smile at him, an almost feral look of satisfaction on her face.
He groaned again and gritted his teeth as another surge of lust went straight to his head and further tightened his already hardened sex. She looked wild and sensual, her dark glossy hair was a little curly and dishevelled now, framing a face of startling beauty, her hazel eyes sparkled with lust and pure joy, lips always full were now red and slightly swollen.
She was seduction incarnate and it was killing him. He wanted to strip the rest of her clothes off, tuck her small frame underneath his and penetrate her and then watch as she arched up, taking him deeper and deeper. He wanted to do everything he could think of to that gorgeous body and hear her scream his name. But he couldn’t this was Cordy’s time now and he had to just grit his teeth and bear it, he had to.
She found the zipper of his trousers and pulled it slowly down, delighting in the evident bulge underneath, when the zipper was all the down she grasped the waistband and tugged downwards. Once he was naked she sat back on heels to admire her handiwork.
Wow, if she’d known what he’d been hiding under all that black all these years she’d have jumped him years ago, she thought to herself. Not realising she was wearing a very definite ‘cat got the cream’ look on her face like a neon sign but it only aroused him more.
She couldn’t help but go straight to it, her fingers wrapping around the hard and pulsing length and he lifted his hips in an instinctive little thrust. He started to groan and shake his head when he saw the way she licked her lips and slowly bent down to him take him in her mouth.
It was too much, the wet heat of her mouth around him, her tongue flicking and swirling around the already damp head. He felt helpless to do anything but take it; she was enjoying it and god, so was he.
His vision started to swim and he knew he was going to come if she didn’t stop, finally he couldn’t take it and pulled her up by her arms lifting her higher and higher until her hips where level with his. Then he slipped off the chair so that he was sitting with his back to it.
Still holding her up but now by the curve of her hips he buried his face in her damp curls and flicked his tongue along the sensitive crevice, she started to a little thrusting motion gently in rhythm with the darting pleasure. He stopped and she moaned out a protest only to gasp in pleasure when he sank her down and impaled her on his rigid shaft.
She didn’t need to be coaxed but he held her hips in a firm grasp to lift and lower her on him, her back arched and her hair hung down her back in a glossy curtain. He wrapped it in his hand and grasped her neck, keeping her arched so that her breasts brushed against his chest.
His other hand came up to cup her full breast as she rode him, fingers brushing and then pulling at the hard little peak before he brought it to his mouth to suckle so strongly that she cried out at the hot licks of fire that arrowed down to that other hot and wet place.
He released her hair and kissed her deeply, forcing her mouth to part and make way for a thrusting all consuming kiss that literally stole her breath. She lost it then and couldn’t do anything other than feel so he carried on for her, thrusting high and so deep he touched her womb and she came apart in an explosive orgasm that had him joining her, utterly done in by the milking pressure of her inner muscles on his sex. He arched his back as he came, driving her further up his body and their lips fused again as he strained upwards to catch from her a final soul stealing kiss.
EVE’S APARTMENT
There was a knock at the door, she went to answer it then stopped with her hand about to unlock it, frozen; what if it was him, come to kill her after all. Then a voice called out through the wooden panels.
“Eve, open the door it’s me”.
She pulled it open before she thought whether it was wise, what if this was a summons by the Senior Partners. He eyes were huge in her pale and still bruised face; streaks of old tears covered her cheeks. Her visitor took one look and laughed.
“God you are so pathetic Eve, I can’t believe they replaced me with you”
“Lilah” said Eve, her eyes darting around to see if she was alone.
“Yes I’m alone” sighed Lilah, put out by not being invited in yet. She pushed the door open and barged in much like Cordelia had done.
She took in the state of the rooms and shuddered “Have you got no pride?” She walked back to Eve still smiling and then slapped the blonde women hard across the face.
Eve held a hand to the reddened spot, blue eyes wide and new tears formed, Lilah saw them and snapped “you deserved that and more for ruining a perfectly well laid plan, you stupid little fool”.
“What’s going to happen to me” Asked Eve, terror making her knees weak so she had to sit down.
“You’re going to die and then live in eternal torment of course” mocked Lilah, not inclined to try and soothe the terror-filled woman.
“What the hell happened, did you go insane?” asked Lilah, who apart from the anger was genuinely curious.
“It’s not my fault” wailed Eve “It was Cordelia Chase; he was so wrapped up in her when she came back round I had to do something”.
“You should have stuck with the plan, at least then you wouldn’t be were you are now. Maybe we did miscalculate the slayer’s importance to him after all these years. But what with last year and all and then the kiss at Sunnydale, we decided emulating the slayer was the best way” said Lilah, stalking around the apartment.
“You were wrong and I knew it, I had to improvise” whined Eve, clutching at Lilah’s sleeve as she walked past her. Lilah yanked herself free and looked down with scorn at a quivering Eve.
“‘Improvised’ is that what you call it now? You were supposed to be all sweetness and light and accessible to him, like the slayer was. We did enough research for god’s sake” Lilah placed her hands on her hips, glaring at her, before resuming the pacing.
“But no, you had to throw it all away because you were convinced you knew better”
“But I thought I could be like both of them and it would be a win-win situation”
“So you pranced around trying to give him orders like the slayer and arguing with him like Cordelia. Well that worked a treat. You are so stupid it takes my breath away, well it would if I had any”
“I don’t know what to do” said Eve in a whisper, lost.
“Well I do, we have a new player in town, well actually it’s an old one. A vampire called Drusilla has decided to pay us another visit and I think we should be hospitable, don’t you”.
Lilah didn’t wait for answer but continued, “I have arranged a meeting between the two of you. I trust I can leave the details to you”.
AN ALLEY
Night had fallen and the sky was turning a deep indigo above the surrounding rooftops. Eve shivered despite the warmth that remained from the heat of the day she’d been standing here for only a few minutes, waiting as instructed in this alley at this time.
“All that blood and you’re feeling cold?” asked a voice from behind. “Would you like me to warm you up”? The voice was strangely old fashioned, from a different era.
Eve turned sharply with an indrawn breath, to find a tall dark haired woman standing directly in front of her with arms held out as if waiting to gather her into an embrace. Eve jumped back unable to stifle an instinctive screech of pure fear. The forgotten little girl inside screaming at the sight of a monster.
The woman scrunched up her face as if about to burst into tears, her arms retracted back to hug her body, moaning pitifully at the cruel rejection. Then she vamped out and snapping and snarling, shoved her face into Eve’s horrified one before darting towards her neck.
“Lilah sent me” Eve’s voice quavered.
Drusilla moved back a fraction but did not release the brutal hold of her upper arms. “Angel needs to suffer” whispered Eve, eyes wide with terror and waited to see if it was enough to save her life.
Drusilla smiled and kissed her neck, but didn’t bite. “How are we going to do that then, my sweet”, she could feel the lifeblood of a warm living thing and felt a sudden overwhelming need to hold it closer, to bite and drain it all away. No No No, she told herself, mustn’t spoil it.
Drusilla released Eve and smiled coyly at her “Come on now and tell Drusilla. I’m waiting and I hate to wait, it makes me sad”, her bottom lip quivered.
Eve stared at her, shocked by the sudden mood swings, from smiling to pathetic misery in a heartbeat, this thing was as mad as she’d been warned.
We erm, uh” she gulped and tried again. “He’s a vampire still even with the soul; we must attack him through the heart. Not with a stake but with the things he loves most in the world”.
“Ooooh yesss Angel loves to love, not like Daddy who loves to hurt” Drusilla’s mad eyes turned dreamy with the memories of pain and sick torment.
“So my sweet, my dark dove with hair like gold, tell me who is the light of his darkness, what awful deed would cripple him the most”. Malice dripped from every word uttered from lips with pointed and glistening fangs.
“Cordelia Chase first. We vamp her and she goes after the others. When they are all gone, dead or dusted by him, then he’ll be all alone again”. Eve’s heart was pounding still but with excitement now, just looking at this creature, seeing it she believed what it was capable of and knew that here was her salvation.
“You’re so evil” hissed Drusilla, feigning horror and covering her gleaming eyes with both hands as if to hide from something more horrible than herself.
Then she laughed hysterically and swept an unwilling Eve into a manic dance, the music was all in her head and she finally had a new dancing partner.
CORDY’S APARTMENT
Cordy was daydreaming, her hands cupping her chin as she gazed off at something, a blush staining her curved cheeks. She closed her hazel eyes as if remembering something and then snapped them open.
“I need to buy some handcuffs” she said decisively.
“You what”? Asked Cathy standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen, an expression of dumbfounded amazement on her face.
Cordy’s blush spread all over her body when she realised she’d said it out loud, she’d been doing it again, thinking about the other night when she’d last seen Angel, right in this room and on this chair, which was now a firm favourite, even over the couch.
“Sorry, my mind was on other things”? She smiled a sweet smile and hoped Cathy wouldn’t ask what things.
“I bet”. Who needed to ask, pretty damn obvious really, she hid a delighted smile and left Cordy to get over her embarrassment while she finished making the coffee.
“So he just gave it back to you, no questions asked” She called after a minute or two had passed.
“Yup, he had other things on his mind too” Cordy smirked, she couldn’t help it and laughed when Cathy snorted and coughed out coffee which she’d swallowed the wrong way trying to smother a giggle.
“Don’t worry, it’s safe and sound in my jacket”. Cordy smiled her thanks at Cathy as she came over with a mug for her.
“Stop with the worry lines OK? He didn’t notice anything odd and even if he did I wouldn’t tell him anything that would get you in trouble or anything”. She said to reassure the nervous woman.
Cathy almost always looked nervous, unless she was mad and when she got mad, boy did she get MAD. But now she was extra spooked and not without reason. Cordy tried to imagine how Angel would react if he found out one of her closest friends was another freakishly old immortal being with incredible psychic powers. Unfortunately after recent history she could imagine his reaction all too easily.
Thinking about it from his point of view she could understand why he would react badly, if things hadn’t happened the way they had, she would have too. But she trusted Cathy and knew without a doubt that it was not a case of being controlled. Cathy was more of a victim than any of them had ever been. When she thought about it or when something else came out, about the bad things, she would wonder how her friend had managed to carry on but then she would remember that the other woman had no choice.
Cordy sighed and turned her attention back to the laptop she had booted up half an hour ago and then forgotten about. She checked her emails and found only the one, it was from an address she didn’t recognise and the title was blank, she checked it anyway, it’s not like she got overloaded with them.
“That’s weird” she said, not turning away from the screen until Cathy was standing next to her. “This is from an old friend, well I met him a few times and he was really sweet his name is David Nabbitt and he’s filthy rich. He says he wants to meet to discuss a case”.
“What’s weird about that” replied Cathy reading the email over Cordy’s shoulder.
“Well nothing I suppose, but why come to me and not Angel?”, then she shrugged. “Never mind, we need the work to build a rep, so whatever it is we’ll take it”. She smiled pleased at the thought of David’s money coming in her bank account and not Wolfram & Hart’s coffers; wait till I tell Angel she thought.
“He wants to meet me tonight at a meatpacking plant downtown, there’s a factory there that he wants me to see” Cordy’s face screwed up in a grimace at the less than glamorous location but then she mentally shrugged and it smoothed out.
“It’s got to be something pretty dangerous if he says you mustn’t phone him at all costs, in case it alerts the ‘wrong people’, do you think it’s safe for you to go” Asked Cathy.
“Of course it is and anyway aren’t you coming with me” replied Cordy, standing up to go and get a refill on the coffee, she needed the caffeine.
“You know I will if you want me to”. She thought of asking if Cordy would mind if she checked it out first, but Cordy didn’t like that unless it was necessary or there was a definite danger and anyway most of the time the future wasn’t shown, except for the immediate future which wouldn’t help them now.
“It’s a plan then” said Cordy with a smile, resisting the urge to jump for joy at the prospect of another job.
MEAT PACKING PLANT
A few hours later Cordy and Cathy parked up outside the dark factory and looked at it. Cordy’s enthusiasm took a dive when she thought of them having to enter the forbiddingly looking building. All of a sudden she wished she’d spoken to David personally first.
Shaking off the trepidation she got out of the car and waited for Cathy to join her and then both women walked cautiously towards a small door to the left of a fire escape ladder leading to the roof. The big shuttered heavy double doors looked unlikely as a way in.
The door was unlocked and Cordy opened it going in first with Cathy right behind her, both of them staring into the darkness of the factory, straining to see more than a few feet in front. Cathy bumped into something that clanked and swung and she only just managed to avoid the back swing of the big meat hook.
“Great, get yourself skewered why don’t you” she muttered angrily to herself.
“You OK?”, asked Cordy who had jumped a mile into the air in fright, her nerves were strung that tight.
“Yeah, sorry watch where you step yourself OK” replied Cathy in a whisper.
At least now they could see a bit better, their eyes having adjusted to the darkness. “Where is this friend of yours then” asked Cathy, still whispering.
They both heard movement up ahead of them, deeper inside the factory. The sound was that of more clanking metal, it carried on longer that it should have and moved closer towards them as if someone were walking down the walkway, hands trailing and pushing at the cold curved metal spikes.
Cathy stiffened in horror as the stench came to her then, she grabbed Cordy’s arm and tried to lead her away but the noxious odour that assaulted her nostrils made her want to gag and it took a few seconds before she could gasp out.
“Run now, I’ll distract it” she tried to push Cordy, but Cordy wasn’t budging.
“Oh no you don’t, we’re not going through that again. You are not bait and I’m not running away” Hissed Cordy but backing away all the same.
“What is it, what’s the problem” She asked and stared into the gloom trying to pierce it and see what was coming.
“The smell, it’s bad and it knows we’re here” replied Cathy in the lowest whisper she could manage and still be heard.
Cordy nearly groaned, but didn’t doubt what she was being told. Whatever was in here with them was either not human or the kind of human being that makes demons look like boy scouts. Cathy could smell souls like other people did perfume or body odour.
She once told Cordy that each individual soul had a unique smell, but there was always one common pattern, the soulless or just plain evil souls stank like the worst kind of shit imaginable.
Then Cordy remembered she’d stuck a penlight in her jacket, it was so much easier to carry that the other bigger one, not to mention less powerful, but it was better than nothing.
She switched it on by twisting the cap and trained it down the walkway where they had heard something approaching. The noise had stopped when Cathy had first spoken as if whatever it was had come to a standstill and was maybe just watching them.
It must have been pure luck but the first thing she picked out was a pale face, framed by dark hair, a familiar face and still filled with madness. “Drusilla” she whispered and her heart clutched and seemed to stop in her chest, before resuming with a fast and furious beat.
Drusilla smiled and then disappeared, desperately Cordy flashed the light around, trying to locate the vampire again, but she came up with nothing.
“Drusilla” she yelled, answer me damn you.
“Don’t be frightened kittens; I’m not going to hurt you, yet.” Drusilla’s voice drifted down from up above them and Cordy swung the light and saw that the female vampire was crouching perched on top of the metals hanging hooks, peering with glee down at their frightened faces.
“Then why set this up?” Asked Cordy, her voice strong despite the fear that wanted to freeze her throat.
“So you will know that I want to play” Answered Drusilla
“Play with what” Asked Cordy, afraid she knew the answer, why else were they here.
“Why with Angel’s pets of course, starting with you”, Drusilla sounded pleased at the prospect.
“Hey not a pet or a cow just human, got it” snapped Cordy with a flash of rage that dulled the fear. “Anyway why me, why not just go and fight Angel and get yourself staked”.
“So confident in your demon lover are you”? Snickered Drusilla, “But Angel won’t know about it until it’s too late”.
“Do you think, Not! Angel will get to know within a few minutes. Then he’s gonna hunt you down and put you down like the animal you are”. Cordy waited for the obvious you’re going to die right now speech and loosened her arms preparing to fight.
“You won’t tell him” replied Dru, unconcerned with the thought of facing her sire.
“Are you mental?” snapped Cordy backing away and pulling a silent Cathy with her by the hand.
Cathy gripped back and froze for a moment, she said nothing but she relaxed against Cordy’s hold, she leaned over and pushed hard at the closest hooks to mask her voice as she whispered to Cordy.
“She has no intention of killing us now, this IS just a warning of what’s to come”, given the circumstances Cordy really liked the sound of that, she’d worry about the rest later. She just had to get them out of here.
“You won’t tell Angel because you don’t want him to suffer and he will if he kills me, the guilt will eat at him all over again. I was a good girl once, before he did terrible, nasty things to me”. Drusilla stopped and gave a belly laugh, shaking with it before jumping down in front of them again.
She ran her hands over her arms like a lovers caress and shimmied her hips “Delicious things, would you like me to tell you what they were”? She looked wide eyed and expectant at a revolted Cordelia.
“No, spare me the details” replied Cordy, I mean really, spare me, she shuddered.
“Even if you did tell Daddy, I would not let him find me, but I would go and find a nice house with an innocent little family like the one you killed. I would knock gently and ask to be let in, using a sweet beseeching voice just like you did and then” Drusilla paused for dramatic effect.
“Then I would kill them all, slaughtering them and the little children and all in your name, because of YOU” Drusilla approached a stricken and silent Cordelia.
“So will you tell Angel about our little game” she looked deep into Cordelia’s eyes, satisfied at the pain she saw there.
“No” whispered Cordelia, unable to say anything else, hardly registering that Drusilla had backed away with an evil smile and disappeared and that Cathy was tugging at her to get her moving.