Seduction

"You're evil."

He gave an open, cheerful smile that never reached his cold eyes. She shivered.

"That's kind of relative, isn't it?"

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the lithe pacing figure in the shadows. It was hard to believe that this wasn't Angel. He had Angel's face, Angel's eyes, Angel's body...

She realized that he was laughing. Laughing at her. "What?"

"Oh, are three syllable words too much for you, Buff?"

"Screw you."

He clutched his chest dramatically. "That cut me deep!"
"You'll recover."

"As opposed to Angel?" He grinned as she shivered from the sound of his name, coming from those lips. "That doesn't say much. I mean, the man was depressed for decades. They've got pills for that now, don't they?" He leaned against the brick walls of the basement and looked at her with marginal interest. That hurt more than any of his words. At least the last time Angelus had returned, he had only been thinking of her. Now, she seemed to be a secondary concern. Just as she had been to Angel.

"Angel was twice the man you'll ever be."

"Oh, you like your men to mope? Me, I was always more for a grope." On "grope," he suddenly appeared before her, leaning against her with his hands on the wall behind her. She struggled with the manacles.

"Screw you."

"Got to say, Buff, not impressed by your wit and style. But then, I don't think Angel was ever interested in your personality. Not when he could get a piece of those long legs, blonde hair, impressive—" His hand slid down from her face to go down slowly from her cheek to her blond curls, then even further down, his eyes alight with emotions she couldn't read.

"Shut up!"

"Aw, and I was just getting to the good part." He withdrew her hand and she sighed. In relief, she told herself. Relief.

"You're disgusting."

"Yes, but I'm not the one in chains, am I, lover?" His voice lingered on the word, making her shiver.

"Don't call me that."

"Lover? What would you prefer? Honeypot, sweetums...or maybe I can just call you sex bunny?" He gave a low chuckle that seemed to hang like a fog in the room. She closed her eyes tightly, tried not to hear that dark, seductive laugh that was so full of promises.

"I told you to shut your mouth!"

The laugh stopped as quickly as it had started, and the room was eerily quiet.

"Buff, I want to make something clear to you. See, last time I came around, I was a little...sentimental. Really, I'm ashamed of myself. I'll blame it on the fact that I had just taken your virginity. But this time..." he gave another dark, cruel smile that made her struggle with the chains "...this time, I'm in control." He gave her a quick up-and-down glance that made her want to cover herself up, even though she was in more than adequate clothing. "Really, Buff, I don't know what I saw in you. Maybe the blush of youth has faded or some crap, but right now...right now, I'm thinking Faith is looking like a better lay than you." His eyebrows wrinkled in mock consideration. "And that, lover, is the best idea I've heard all night."

He leaned forward, as though he was going to kiss her. Buffy looked at him, at his beautiful face, and tilted her head up for his lips. She closed her eyes, suddenly not afraid of him at all...

The moment was shattered by another low, cruel chuckle. Her eyes snapped open to see him cocking an eyebrow at her, his eyes just as cold as ever.

"Buffy," he said, in that richly seductive voice, "the only thing I can say right now is...well..." his smile faded, and his eyes met hers for a long moment "...as if."

The words seemed to echo in the room, long after she heard the heavy door slam behind him.