This part has a strong R rating :)



Part 21

A lone dark figure stood gazing out toward the sea; his mind lost deep in thought, as the troubles of the world pressed firmly down on his broad shoulders. In dark trousers and a loose black silk shirt, which flapped freely in the soft sea breeze, the tall form was almost cloaked by the blanket of night. Almost - but not quite.

Watching the endless shoreline blend into the distance with no sign of another human being in sight, Buffy stopped for a moment to get her bearings. She turned her face towards the water's edge and let the salty breeze spray up over her face.

From all indications there was a real storm rolling in from the ocean. On the horizon large black rain clouds merged over the silky waters, ready to do battle with each other all night and if she wasn't careful, Buffy knew she would be in for one hell of soaking. Even if she turned back now she doubted she would make it in time.

On that thought, she glanced one last time at what she believed was a deserted beach and as her eyes swept the vast nothingness, the moon chose that precise moment to slip out from beneath a blanket of cloud. A soft moonbeam of light swept down on the sand casting an almost ghostly white glow on the hidden figure.

"Angel...."

*****

Even though he hadn't seen a soul in over an hour, Liam had the strangest sensation of being watched.

The sensation grew.

"Hey!" She tried for the casual approach but the tone was a little strained.

Liam made no attempt to turn around, he just kept his gaze fixed on the dark waves dancing in the distance and focused on their anger instead of his own pain.

"How did you find me?"

Buffy sighed, she still wasn't really sure herself. In the end she just told him the truth.

"I have no idea. I just closed my eyes and followed my heart"

Still refusing to turn around and face her, Liam's eyes fixed firmly on the ocean in frustration.

"Your heart told you I was here?"

Buffy nodded.

"I don't understand how, but it's as if i could feel you. I just knew you would be here." She watched his broad shoulders waiting for some kind of reaction, when there was none, she continued in a low whisper.

" Angel.. My head might have forgotten you but my heart remembers"

As the words slipped into his head, Liam slowly turned around and met her eyes. Buffy watched as the anger drained from his tired face, leaving his dark haunted gaze full of pain and sadness.

"My heart remembers as well and that's what's killing me Buffy. I don't know when it all fell apart and I don't know how to make it right"

The sadness in his voice cut her deeply. Until now they had been going around in circles but it was time to stop dancing with each other and face their problems head on.

"I've seen William" she started quietly but didn't get very far before Liam interrupted.

"Me too" At the sound of the other man's name, he smirked bitterly and unconsciously rubbed his bruised knuckles. The back of his right hand was swollen and already turning a painful shade of blue. For a second his mind flickered back to the earlier confrontation with Pennington and his anger intensified.

Buffy watched as a rapid play of emotion flashed across his face.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you? "She asked with concern but she could already see for her self that his face was unmarked.

Liam snorted with disgust. The very thought of Pennington hurting him physically was ridiculous. But even as he thought it, he knew it wasn't quite true. Pennington had hurt him, as much as Liam hated to admit it, the arrogant bastard had almost destroyed him with a few smug words.

"He told me the two of you were having an affair behind my back" Liam couldn't stop himself, he knew it was bullshit but the words tumbled over his lips before he could stop them

Buffy fell silent for a moment carefully choosing her next words; the last thing she wanted was to send her husband running off after William again. She needed to tell him the truth but maybe she should hold back on some of the more sordid details.

"He was lying."

Liam lifted his head, noticing immediately the turmoil on her face.

"Was he? And how do you know that. I thought you couldn't remember him?" For a second the anger returned and flashed brightly in his chocolate orbs.

Buffy swallowed hard but refused to feel intimidated. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"He told me the same thing that he told you and because I was hurt and confused I believed him. How could I ask you? I didn't have anybody I could turn too. I didn't have anybody..."

Liam started to move forward but on seeing the distress on her face he stopped.

Buffy fought back the tears that burned the back of her throat and held her head high.

"He was very convincing. He was sweet and kind and he could see how lost I was and he used it to his advantage."

"And you just fell for it?"

" I might have amnesia but dammit I'm not stupid, It took a while but I saw through his lies and tonight I called his bluff.

" Did he touch you?" Liam asked, his jaw tight with frustration.

Wanting the violence to end Buffy shook her head

"In his own crazy way I think he really does loves me, but it was all in his head. I don't love him. I don't feel anything for him at all..."

A look of doubt shadowed Liam's eyes and for the longest time it lingered there.

"We don't have to worry about him anymore. William's promised to leave me alone, he's not going to cause us any more problems"

Angel snorted again. William Pennington had made it very clear that night that their problems had only just started. **For a start there would be assault charges**

Whilst caught up in his own thoughts he failed to notice the expression on Buffy's face as her eyes started to move around the beach.

"Angel.. I..." She bit into her bottom lip as her eyes took in the dark rocks that towered up behind them. "This place is so familiar. Have we been here before"

The question jolted Liam back to the present.

"Do you remember?"

"Just for a second there was something... It's gone now but I have been here before, right?"

**Tell her the truth**

" Yes.. We used to come here to swim. Before we were married we would come down here to get away from Dawn and... " The sadness in his voice returned but it wasn't swimming in the sea that Buffy remembered

"No, there's something else" She struggled desperately to retain the memory. This time the feelings were so strong that she could almost touch them. Tiny echoes whispered deep inside her head as the void, that was holding back her past, started to break down.

Shaking her head she frowned not able to make any sense of the feelings she was receiving.

"Why does this place seem so important to me?"

Liam sighed deeply. From now on there was no more secrets, if she asked a question he would tell her what she needed to know. No matter how much it hurt.

"Because this is where I asked you to marry me. I got down on one knee right there in the sand and I got soaked to the skin for my trouble."

Buffy closed her eyes and searched deep for the memory, surely something that important couldn't stay hidden forever.

"Did we ever make love here?"

Before he could make it stop a flash of tangled limbs and gentle moans rose up from of his memory and once again tormented his eyes.

Liam just nodded his reply as he fought to wipe the visions way. It simply hurt too much knowing that Buffy no longer shared these memories with him.

Everything hurt too much these days.

Feeling his chest start to ache, Liam realised that for Buffy those memories could possibly be lost forever.

Buffy shivered as the sea breeze increased and she wrapped her arms around slender frame. In the sky overhead the clouds were continuing to gather, growing thicker with their promise of rain.

"I think I was happy here"

"You were"

A single clap of thunder brought the conversation to an abrupt end...

It was no surprise when it began to rain, the first few drops turning quickly into a downpour.
"Quick.. This way" Angel grabbed his wife's hand and turning away from the water's edge, he pulled her towards the nearest shelter

*****

"You're soaking wet"

"So are you"

Buffy blushed feeling her wet dress cling to her curves like a second skin.

Using incredible willpower, Liam dragged his hungry eyes away from his wife's trembling body. The shower had made the material of her light dress almost transparent and the sight of her slender frame so close and yet so far away, was driving him almost insane.

Scrambling from the storm, Buffy thought the small cave carved out at the foot of the rocks had been a miracle find. Liam remained quiet; he didn't have the heart to tell her that they had been there before.

Trying to take his mind off the thoughts he knew would hurt like hell, he turned his head and glanced back outside, hoping for a break in the weather. Outside the moon had temporarily escaped the grey mass of cloud, but the heavens over Sunnydale continued to pour down on them.

Turning his back on the rain, and keeping his eyes away from Buffy's curves, he knew their only option was to sit tight and wait for the storm to blow its self out.

It was going to be a very long night.

Almost soaked to the skin, Buffy shivered and pushed her wet hair away from her eyes.

Illuminated by only the soft glow of the moon, she looked so heartbreakingly young and beautiful that Liam felt his body stir with a speed that shocked him. Memories of them making love late at night in the cool sand, just a few months earlier, rose up and washed over his frustrated body and he had to fight back an overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they were both senseless.

The wind chose that precise moment to howl through the cave and to Liam's relief, thoughts of kissing disappeared.

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep the chill away but it didn't work.

"Buffy, you're cold" Liam reached up and gently brushed the rain away from her face with his fingertips.

Buffy shivered again and knew it was more from his touch than the cold.

"A little" Her voice shook and the small hairs on her arm stood on end.

Liam lifted her hand and started to gently rub the cool flesh beneath his fingertips. As his feather light caresses slid across her skin Buffy's stomach flipped.

"I know it's not going to be easy, with the amnesia and all, but we need to talk, Buffy. About Pennington and everything else that's coming between us" Liam took a slow breath, fighting to keep his tone level but it was a waste of effort. How could he speak calmly when his heart was doing somersaults inside his chest?

As his long fingers continued to dance lightly across her skin, setting every nerve and fibre alight with their touch, Buffy fought with the very same needs. His touch was so warm and familiar that it was leaving her breathless.

Feeling her mouth go dry she slid her tongue nervously across her lower lip, never once taking her eyes from Liam's face.

"I know " she whispered and took a small step closer. Looking deeply into his dark eyes, she was amazed at the emotion shining back at her.

After everything that had happened between the two of them, he still loved her. He still wanted her.

Raising her free hand she trailed one finger gently down his cheek.

"I know in my heart that there's a chance that my memory might never return. I also know that people like William can take advantage of that if I let them. So, I'm not letting anyone take advantage of me ever again. I'll call the doctor in the morning and I'll get some help if I can, but I can't worry about the past any more. If it's gone then I'll have to accept that and move on. " Buffy heartbeat increased and she felt a rush of adrenaline pump through her veins, giving her the courage she needed to continue.

Taking a deep breath she spoke straight from her heart.

"I want a future, Angel.... I want a future with you.. Only you"

Outside, the rain thundered down on the sand and the waves crashed up against the shore, but inside the small cave the air between the two ex-lovers grew very still.

After what seemed like eternity, Liam brought his lips to her forehead and gently brushed them across her wet skin. He then moved his hand to her tiny waist and before Buffy could even think about changing her mind, he crushed her into his chest with a deep sigh of relief

When he finally spoke his voice was husky and raw, ringing with a conviction that tore at her soul.

"I want you too"

*****

Buffy trembled but she was no longer shivering from the cold. Pressed firmly up against Angel's muscular chest, her flesh was now burning with a very different kind of heat. She moaned gently as he wrapped his fingers in her hair and settled his mouth over her lips.

Liam's lips were cool from the sea breeze and yet, beneath the chill, there was a fire that heated her blood. As his lips devoured her mouth, Buffy's body began to ache in all the most delicious places. She wrapped her arms around his lean waist and kissed him back with all the forgotten passion that she had buried deep inside her heart.

Lost in the bliss of his mouth, her thoughts twisted through her head like ivy. The memories from her past were so close to the surface that they fought each other to break into her head.

Breaking away from the heaven of her lips, Liam kissed her eyes, her cheeks, and then her neck. When his warm tongue found and traced the small bones in her throat Buffy through her head back and moaned out loud.

" You are so beautiful" Liam broke away and looked deep into his wife's hazel eyes. Panting to catch her breath, she stared up at him through the darkness of the cave and the smile that she offered him melted his heart.

"You're not so hard on the eyes yourself "

If the first smile she gave him melted his lonely heart, the second one turned Liam's whole body into molten liquid.

"God! I missed you so much"

For a split second Buffy heard a hint of pain return to his velvet voice but it was pushed aside as his hungry lips once again claimed her mouth.

Feeling Buffy respond to his kiss, Liam's hands slid over the folds of her wet dress and followed the soft curves of her body. When Buffy mewled deep in her throat his breath caught on a wave of desire so strong, it caused a shudder to pass through his whole body. His heart leapt as he felt her small fingers on the front of his damp shirt, pulling away at the buttons. Finally free, the shirt slipped down his arms and disappeared, forgotten onto the dark floor.

Buffy blushed, a warm colour highlighting her pale cheeks. Swallowing deeply, she reached out her hand and ran her nervous fingers over the taut muscles of her husband's smooth tanned chest, exploding the man she had married and yet cruelly forgotten. When her nails grazed across a tight dark nipple he sucked in a short breath.

Liam then lifted own his hand and covered her small fingers.

"My turn" He stared at her with such intensity, such hot-blooded desire, that Buffy felt a sudden need to dive back outside into the raging storm just so she could cool off her burning skin.

She didn't get a chance.

A flash of white-hot fire shot through her bloodstream as his hands slowly drifted down her back, lowering the zip of her dress. Before she could find her lost breath, the wet garment was pooling at her feet, leaving her standing almost naked in the dim moonlight.

As the cool night air wafted over her skin, Buffy felt her nipples harden into tiny buds, desperate to be touched. Almost as if he could read her mind, Liam pulled her back into his arms; he lowered his dark head and kissed his way down her throat, brushing his mouth over the soft lace of her bra.

Undoing the front clasp, Liam released her small breasts and held them lovingly in his hands. Buffy sighed, feeling her nipples puckering in the cool evening breeze.

She then threw her head back with a soft moan as her skin was licked, nibbled and kissed almost to the point of insanity. Her blood ran first hot and then ice cold with each wet caress of his soft tongue. When her husband finally tore his eyes from her wet breasts, Buffy forgot how to breathe. Meeting his dark gaze she saw Liam's eyes were almost black with passion

With a groan he pulled her into his arms again, pulling her hips up against him so hard that she could feel the hardness of his desire pressed firmly against her abdomen.

Buffy found herself shivering again but this time it was from anticipation.

She wanted him, she needed him but more than that, she loved him with every fibre of her body.

Liam lips then found hers again, when his tongue flicked the roof of her mouth naked heat pooled in the pit of Buffy's stomach and she almost melted there and then. So lost in the heat of Buffy's mouth Liam almost missed her small fingers work between their tight bodies and slip the button on his fly. He felt his damp trousers slide over his hips and as they fell at his feet he kicked them free.

A clap of thunder high above them broke the lovers apart. Within a second the lightning strike followed.

Buffy stood as still as marble, her large hazel eyes never once leaving Liam's face.

"Buffy, are you sure you want this?" Liam brushed a loose strand of hair away from his wife's face and marvelled at how much he still loved her. He knew at that moment that he couldn't bear it if he ever lost her again. He would do what ever she wanted, take it as fast or as slow as she needed.

Buffy answered the question with her eyes long before she found her voice.

"Yes."

Lowering her gently to the floor, Buffy found her back being pressed into the cool damp sand.

The storm outside was then quickly forgotten as Liam's eyes drank in the sight before him. His heartbeat quickened until it's pounding blocked out every other noise.

Reaching out, he softly traced the contours of Buffy's face, before tangling his fingers in the silk of her blonde hair.

"I love you"

The vulnerable expression in his dark eyes was so sincere that it reached right into Buffy's heart and touched her soul.

With the declaration ringing in her heart, Buffy's reached out her hand, cupping the back of his neck and pulled him down into her body.

Liam smiled softly as his hands gripped her hips and gently rested between her open thighs. Lifting his head he looked deep into his wife's eyes

"Do you still love me?" He asked the question so quietly that it was almost lost on the breeze.

Buffy's heart stopped for a second as the air between them grew still. It was a question she had asked herself a million times over the last few days. Closing her eyes for a second she finally let her heart answer for her.

"I love you " her reply was barely above a whisper but it was all Liam needed to hear.

With those three words all the hatred and bitterness he had felt over the last few months seeped away. All that mattered now was that Buffy was back in his life and she still loved him. Only him.

Tomorrow they would talk but not tonight...Tonight they would heal other wounds

Feeling Liam's mouth once more descend on her lips, Buffy hands slid down and came to rest on his firm buttocks, she gasped as she felt his full weight push into her small body, but instinctively she wrapped her legs around his hips. As Liam started to move deep inside of her, stretching and filling her to perfection, Buffy dug her fingers into the taut muscles of his backside, encouraging him on with her hands and her eyes.

Moaning softly, their mouths locked in a bruising kiss. Their hands joined. Fingers locking together, both desperate never to let go of the other again. As he moved, Liam's hard chest rubbed against Buffy's breasts. Slow and hard. The friction causing her nipples to harden even more.

Buffy gasped, as the pleasure she was feeling became almost unbearable.

Swallowing her cries of passion, Liam moved his hips faster, but his lover easily matched his pace. She might not remember making love with this man but her body responded with a memory of its own.

Thrusting her hips up to match his rhythm; Buffy let all her fears for the future blow away with the howling wind. In Liam's arms she knew without question that she was safe and that she was loved. Liam was where her heart should be. The past no longer mattered, if it did someday return she would accept it as a bonus and they would deal with it.

Feeling her muscles tighten around him, Buffy threw her head back and screamed out as a burst of coloured stars erupted before her eyes. With that final thrust, she gave her husband back her body, her heart and her soul.

She was home.


*****

Outside in the pouring rain, a lone blonde figure, soaked to the skin stood quietly unobserved by the sated lovers. Darla Penn wasn't worried about the storm raging high in the sky above Sunnydale; she had her own storm brewing deep inside her soul. A deep bitter hatred was burning out of all control, and after witnessing Buffy and Liam's little reunion, that hatred had sent her completely over the edge.

Darla's plans changed that night. Knowing that she had once again failed to break the lovers apart she decided a more drastic option was needed. William wouldn't like it but there was no other choice.

**Never send a boy to do a woman's job** she thought bitterly at her brother's failure. No, this time she would do the job herself.

As soon as the sun rose Darla was going to put an end to the thorn in her side once and for all.

As the plan took shape in her demented head the tormented woman smiled.

There was only way to keep Buffy away from Liam.

She was going to have to kill her-

TBC...