PART 4
A FEW DAYS EARLIER…
Lorne kept his warmly sympathetic red eyes on the brunette currently trying to pace off her agitation and wearing a hole in the rug on his floor.
“Cordelia-sweetness, if you want to be able to influence Angel then you need to reach his demon. It’s as simple and as complicated as that”. Emphasis on the complicated he thought wryly but kept that between his teeth.
“Who said anything about influence? – Just gimme a stake” she snapped back over one slim shoulder accompanied by a thunderous scowl.
Lorne stayed diplomatically silent, just raised a brow and levelled a knowing look at her face on her return trip. Cordelia saw it and sighed gustily before admitting with great reluctance. “Okay- geeze I’m exaggerating – but my God he is so damned aggravating at times it drives me …nuts- urggh”.
Flopping down on the easy chair opposite the gowned and slippered demon she tossed him a confused look. “So what was that about reaching his demon? Presuming I want to, that is,” she added with only a fraction of her previous bite.
“Well… and this is the thing, you need to get him to reveal it first and I’m not just talking about that deliciously growley face he lets out occasionally”…
WHERE WE LEFT OFF…
“No, Angel. I’m not”. The whole club went heart-poundingly quiet, waiting in tense expectation of something…
The words were hardly out of her mouth before she felt his hands tighten reflexively on her. Then he shifted slightly causing a dart of heat to shot out from her loins at the friction when his swollen sex brushed against her pelvis, hard and strangely hot even through the not so thin material of the black dress.
Cordelia felt a shiver run through her body as the heat of unwilling sexual arousal grew in her belly and between her thighs, incited by the insistently throbbing length being pressed into her. Oh no you don’t- he gets a hard on and you melt around him like some kinda desperate vamp groupie, I don’t think so
Unnerved by the strength of her reaction and frightened by the melting need to give into it she pushed against his chest in a silent demand for release. He didn’t take the hint other than to lean even closer- so close she braced herself to be devoured all over again. Then blushed when he didn’t and realised she’d all but hung her tongue out ready for him.
“Don’t tell me no” he growled low, his lips hovering over hers again. “You are coming home, back where you belong” he waited a beat and then lowered his voice to little more than a threatening undertone “even if I have to carry you there”. Topaz striations mingled with the dark brown, and then expanded to cover the whole iris when the brunette stubbornly shook her head.
“The hotel is your home, not mine” she shot back and then added for good measure, “and you can stick your job up your ass- I have a new one now”. She pulled her head back and raised her chin and their eyes clashed with furious intensity.
She knew it was harsh but the heat of her blush was still tingeing her cheeks and egging her on. Anyway she refused to let him think she was such a pushover that all he had to do was snap his fingers or any other part of his body to have her come running back. No matter how much she might want to. Shut up Cor, homesickness is for wusses. She missed the guys, her apartment and Dennis so much she shocked herself- something else to blame Angel for.
There were a few groans tossed around the room at her answer and the forgotten microphone gave off a constant low hum having been abandoned in mid flow. Over the disquiet, Cordelia could almost hear his teeth grinding under that locked rock-hard jaw. Good she thought and felt a spurt of satisfaction, it was his turn to feel helpless about something and it was about damn time too in her opinion.
Cordelia knew he had feelings for her and in an ‘up’ mood, she believed he loved her. But believing isn’t knowing and she was damn well determined to get him to admit it; especially after that confrontation in the basement when he’d treated her like she was nothing to him. She was going to make sure he never did that ever again; or her name wasn’t Cordelia Chase.
“Let me go” she insisted in a hard voice, pushing against his chest with one firmly planted palm. “Angel, I mean it… don’t make me hate you”. She warned darkly and refused to relent or soften her expression even when the topaz momentarily subsided back to hurt chocolate brown pools of male confusion.
Angel wanted to ignore her threat and even started to lift her up, then stopped and his arms trembled under the strain of the mixed signals coming from his brain. One side demanding he just toss her over his shoulder and take her somewhere private and do whatever he had to do to get her to drop this ridiculous idea; while the other side was terrified of going too far and losing her completely.
The darker, possessive side of his nature won. Lose her? Not gonna happen, narrowed dark eyes blackened with emotion bored intently into hers. “Wrong answer, Sweetheart”.
Cordelia choked on a gasp just as she found herself literally tossed over one wide shoulder. She opened her mouth to scream and turned her head to find Lorne. Only he wasn’t there- no one was. Oh crap- they were already on the stairs leading out from the club. Damn Vampire speed.
Uh huh and what the hell happened to the tables and people in between. Still struggling to adjust, Cordelia blinked and found her face next to a car door- a black one. For chrissake was he on drugs or something?
“Put me down” came Cordelia’s muffled voice from somewhere behind his large frame. Stylish black shoes with killer heels kicked in the air and led the eyes up long sheer black covered legs. She lifted her head, “dammit, Angel, my ass is showing” she growled, filled with outrage and acute embarrassment.
Angel dropped her back down to her feet but kept a tight hold of her waist, then without even looking at her face, shackled her hands with one of his and opening the car door- went to push her into the seat. Cordelia seeing her choices narrowing down to nothing grabbed onto his shirtfront with both hands in a death grip.
“Hey, will you just stop and think for a minute” she sucked in a breath and glared at him.
“I don’t need to think. Just get in the damn car” he growled back and started to herd her inside the car simply by moving in closer.
Meanwhile Cordelia, not realising she was giving away the direction of her thoughts looked down at his groin. “Don’t even think about it Cor, you won’t like what happens if you try it”. He was deadly serious; he was about one baby step away from vamping out as it was.
“Don’t threaten me,” she snapped at him, annoyed at being found out so easily.
“Then don’t push me” he replied warningly still standing far too close for comfort.
They faced off for several more tense seconds while Cordelia’s mind whirled, but short of the National Guard she couldn’t see she had any other choice. So with a last fulminating glare she reluctantly sat down and once he’d freed her hands, swung her legs into the car.
Expecting him to go around the car to get in himself; she gaped when he placed one boot on the now closed car door and simply vaulted over her to the drivers side. “Are you crazy”? She yelped sliding down in the seat and ducking her head.
Angel didn’t answer her. If she’d have seen him two days ago she wouldn’t have to ask and that was before he’d found out about her ‘career change’. The demon should have retreated back into its little hole inside him by now. But after the trick she’d pulled, it might as well have taken up a ringside seat the way he felt.
It was riding him hard even now and he knew he had a problem on his hands, mostly to do with getting her to co-operate without setting it off again. As things stood he was too unstable for this but there was no way he was waiting until he was calmer- calmer would only happen when she was back where she belonged and this whole stupid business was behind them.
“Where are you staying”? He asked abruptly turning to face her with one hand on the wheel and the other draped over the car seat; a deceptively relaxed pose to anyone who didn’t know him better.
He waited tensely for her answer. One way or another she was going to tell him where she’d spent the last few days. Not knowing where she was or who with had been driving him insane. If she had a bolthole he didn’t know about- he was damn well going to know about it for the future. If he ever let her out of his sight again that is.
Cordelia looked at him quizzically, trying to make sense of the aloof expression on his handsome face, compared to the wrathful vibes coming off him in simmering waves. He was faking the calm, he had to be; no one and least of all him with his notorious tendency to over-react, got rid of all that pent-up emotion so quickly.
“Why”? She asked him suspiciously then watched in fascination as the knuckles of the hand on the steering wheel turned white. Oh yeah- so much for calm!
“Just answer the damn question, Cordelia,” he rasped out while his whole body stiffened, the already deep timbre of his voice made harsher with struggle to keep it remotely human sounding.
Uh oh, time for some co-operation before he blows a gasket, thought Cordelia and sat up from the slouch she’d gotten into when ducking. Puffing out a breath in vexation she gave him the name of a nearby motel. Angel knew it and immediately started the engine with a roar. They took off so fast that Cordelia had to grab onto the dashboard to steady herself as the car shot away from the kerb.
“What the hell are you doing paying for a motel when you have an apartment already”? He demanded to know, shooting her a dark look full of frustrated rage, an echo from the last few days of fruitless waiting and searching.
Dumb question, “I knew you would find me there” she answered simply and felt him stiffen beside her. She did too and covered the nervous reaction by brushing the blowing strands of her hair off her face. That’s gotta sting, she winced internally, but stuck to her guns. If he wanted her back then he had to be pushed into giving her what she wanted and forget just being ‘friends’. Wesley and Gunn were her friends; Angel was just…hers. An asshole at times, yes – but still hers.
Not that she was hiding so much as making herself less accessible, according to Lorne. She frowned with that thought, she was going to have to have a talk with her green friend about that useless frickin’ sanctuary spell. Who knew tossing her over his shoulder and carting her off wasn’t ‘violence’; it certainly felt like abuse to her and now the plan she and Lorne had cooked up was shot to hell, unless…
Cordelia went silent while she mentally sorted through the maze of consequences. Typical Angel always reacting and doing stuff that no one could plan for. Of course, maybe they could go from the whole, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder part’ or in their case- demon angrier, straight to the… .
Her heart started to beat a rapid tattoo in her chest as her thoughts followed that path to the logical conclusion. Lorne had warned what would happen and had then gone into great detail, for him, on the reason why it had to happen and while a part of her wanted it- another big part was major scared.
For Angel, that flat matter of fact statement brought a vicious stab of pain into his gut and set off a mini explosion of rage in his head, tearing at reason and making the effort of remaining civilised that much more difficult. So she’d been hiding from him, refusing to let him even talk to her.
“And that would have been so bad? I’m not even allowed to talk to you now”? The pain was hidden but the anger wasn’t as he shot out the questions along with a quick snarling look thrown in her direction while negotiating the suddenly heavy traffic.
Cordelia’s jaw dropped, was he for real? “That’s rich coming from you- double standards much! Tell me, why should I listen to you after you chased me out of the basement the other night”? She crossed her arms and waited for his reply. Not that she expected him to get it. Unless it was in big neon lights in front of his face he never did- big dork!
“That was totally different”, he refuted quick to defend himself.
“How- how was it different”? She asked incredulously. Okay so she’d been expecting him to deny it but still it rankled like crazy and her blood pressure shot up along with her temper.
“I had something I had to do. I’m sorry you didn’t approve of my methods but I had no choice- it was the only way”. Angel tried a more reasonable tone. At least they were talking and maybe- if he could stay calm enough, he could get her to see his point of view.
“Daniel wasn’t just any ordinary vamp and it was just to dangerous for me to risk you guys”. Especially as he was a part of Angel’s past; that made it personal he thought, but had more sense than to say it to her.
“Says you- who knows? We may have been able to think up something that… oh I don’t know- involved the whole team”. Sarcasm dripped from her full lips in a tone that could give vinegar a run for its money for tartness.
So much for his point of view, Angel knew her well enough to know she wasn’t going to give him an inch. “It was my business,” he muttered using the excuse of watching the road to not look at her.
“Come again” said Cordelia carefully, playing dumb while seething inside. Did he just say…?
“I said it was my business; mine and no-one else’s”. Angel repeated forcefully and gave her a piercing look out of glittering midnight dark eyes before turning his attention back to the junction he was in the middle of navigating to turn into the motel parking lot.
“Yeah well- this is my business so just back off”. Cordelia finally got out after a stunned minute. Anger flared hot and strong and that combined with the awful wretched sinking feeling in her belly made for an uncomfortable mix that brought the sting of tears to her eyes. Damn him.
In frigid silence she watched him turn off the engine. Then unable to hold it in any longer, gave in to the burning anger and boiling frustration, not caring if she was giving herself away.
“Do you really expect me to just accept that you…. Big dumb A-hole urghhh” She stopped; momentarily speechless, unable to think of an insult bad enough to suit her mood right then.
Trying for calm and reason, Cordelia pressed a hand palm to her forehead and closed her eyes before settling narrowed hazel eyes on his face. “Listen to me carefully Angel- Okay?”
She let the hard edge of determination creep into her voice, refusing to believe she was wrong about them, because dammit- she didn’t have time left for doubts. But if she was wrong, then she was no worse off being away from him. In fact she’d be much better off alone because she’d seen enough of his pathetic pining to know it wasn’t for her.
“I want- and believe me this is non-negotiable; more than you’re willing to give and until you change your mind. We are finished, through and kaput- comprende”? She meant every word and the plan could go to hell, it was more at Lorne’s insistence anyway. She preferred a more direct approach and right now that involved a heavy blunt object landing on a certain thick head.
Rant over; the angry brunette slammed the car door shut, and stalked over to the motel door; not looking back even once. As soon as she was inside the door she slammed that shut behind her too with a forceful finality that could’ve frozen a desert.
***