Author Note: Here it is. One of those chapters where one goes "WTF". Well, I'm out on that limb now. I hope I can climb back without it breaking. Hope you like. This chapter is dedicated to my computer partner, my keyboard tapper, Samantha, who was my cat. She passed away on Sunday. I am already too lonely without her purrs. On with the story.
Chapter Eleven – No Regrets
Wesley's whole body trembled before her, like he was battling within himself for control. She truly wanted to help him, but he was beyond her help. He had died already, way before she could have done any good. Now all she could do was complete what Angel had told her she must do. The dagger weighed heavily against her side.
"You died," she whispered, loud enough that he could hear her proclamation.
"I didn't know about her. You never told me."
"I couldn't. You, it never seemed like the right time. The one time I tried calling, they said that something had happened to you. That Fred had died."
"She died because of me. It's all my fault," he gasped as if in pain.
"What did you do at Wolfram and Hart to deserve this? This is so wrong."
Wesley arose from his knee, holding his head like it would fall off. She didn't want to get any closer to him, but she had to, to be able to carry out her mission. She just wished she wasn't holding the baby to do it.
"She's beautiful," Wesley declared.
"Her name's Arianna. She looks a lot like you. She's sweet and smart. She's such a good baby."
Wesley looked at her longingly. He would never be able to see his daughter grow up. Did she take that away from him, by not telling him as soon as she found out she was pregnant? Or would he have shucked his responsibility of helping her out? Probably wouldn't, since he felt guilty about the whole fucking world.
"Why are you here, like this?" she asked again, wanting to know why he was chasing Angel.
"I tried to save her. I couldn't save her. This was the only way, they said. Now she will be at peace."
"Fred? You sold your soul for Fred?"
He sold his soul for another woman. That hurt her. Now she knew the depth of feelings he had for the Texan. Something that she never could have with him.
"Illyria destroyed her soul. I brought it back. She'll be at peace now."
"You fucking moron. How can you believe them?"
"Because I saw her," he said, with a look of contentment on his face, "on my way to hell."
"No. You're not going to hell. They are. Those Senior Partner jackasses. You can't kill Angel. He'll make them pay for what they did to you. Do you hear me?"
"It's too late. They're coming. It's too late."
A car screeched to a halt before them, headlights blinding Faith momentarily. Three figures raced out of the car, holding up when they saw that Wesley was with her. Angel, Spike, and someone who looked an awful lot like Fred approached them cautiously.
"He's not gone yet," Angel announced as the three circled them.
"I can't do it," she told him, knowing that she would have to soon.
"Faith, it's not him. Just kill whatever that is," Spike shouted at her.
"You're not alive, Spike. You went up with Sunnydale," Faith said, astonished that Spike was back in the land of the living. He won't. Just do it."
The chick with the blue hair that looked like Fred had tears in her eyes. Spike looked haggard, like he just didn't want to exist anymore. Angel hadn't told her any of this. Only that Wolfram and Hart had a standard in perpetuity clause for Wesley, making him theirs until she freed him from that slavery in his afterlife. She figured only she could do it by what Angel had told her.
"Could we help him? Maybe?" she asked, grasping at straws.
"No. You have to do it."
"Why?"
"Why? You're asking them why?" Wesley yelled at her, scaring Arianna.
The baby sniffled a little, and then buried her head in Faith's shoulder. She had tried keeping a nice, comfortable environment for her child, no swearing, no violence, nothing to upset the baby. Now she knew why she had done it. She'd give her life to protect her child. Just as Wesley had given his soul to protect the one that he loved.
"He killed the only other person who could have completed the ritual, Faith," Spike answered for him.
"I did not do that. Don't you ever say that I did that," Wesley spit out fiercely.
"Your mother's dead, mate. Sounds to me like you did it."
Wesley lunged for Spike now, trying to take him down. But Spike jumped aside, tossing him to the ground.
"It's already started, Wes. Just let her do it. You'll be at peace," Angel told him in soothing tones.
"Peace? When did you ever give me peace, Angel?" Wesley started angrily. "After all these years, you never gave me peace. Heartache, yes. Wounds enough to kill an ordinary man, definitely. But peace? You wouldn't know the name of it. You just wish that it was you stabbing me in the gut."
Angel ignored his rants and faced Faith. "Faith, they're coming. You have to do it, now. So they can't track us. Without him, it'll be a lot more difficult."
Faith watched all the drama with amazement. She really didn't know the levels to which Angel's relationship with Wesley had gone. She knew that Wes would have risked quite a bit for Angel, to the point of dying for him. But right then she didn't know whether Angel would do the same. He had taken on Wolfram and Hart, and lost almost everything. Did Angel figure out that maybe he was wrong in taking such a risk? But Wesley would have gone along with whatever plan that Angel had, willingly. Just as she would have. Fight the good fight, and die trying.
"Slayer, you must complete what has been started," the blue girl said, finally breaking her silence.
"Illyria, don't talk to her, you bitch," Wesley shouted.
This was not the Wesley she knew. This was just some shell that Wolfram and Hart were using to capture and/or kill Angel and what was left of his gang.
"Wes, just wait. I have to do it. You know I do."
"Not you," he sneered out.
That puzzled Faith, enough to make her stop from drawing out the dagger. She could feel it hum in her hand as she touched it in her pocket. Was there something that Angel hadn't told her?
But before she could carry out her task, figures in black combat gear surrounded them, melting out of the background like they had already been there. There must have been at least thirty bodies standing around the roadway, making sure that all exits were cut off for them. How was she going to protect Arianna from this?
"Spike, baby," Angel yelled while punching out the first figure to reach him.
The fight started, and Faith didn't know where to go. She kicked out her legs several times to keep the human-like figures at bay. But the odds were not in her favor, with a child in her arms. Spike rushed over, tackling two who had tried to get to Faith. She heard bones crunch as he broke both of their necks in succession. Then he stood in front of her.
"Give her to me. Angel needs help."
She couldn't believe that Spike wanted her child. "What?"
"He didn't tell you?"
Spike elbowed another figure and lashed out at one behind him with a swift swinging kick of his leg.
"No. What is going on?"
"I can stand more abuse. I'll protect her. Don't worry. Please trust me Faith. I'll protect her with my life."
She could see that what Spike was saying was true. He would protect her child with his life. She did trust him. And she'd keep her eyes on him, stay near him until the fight was over.
The blue being that Wes had called Illyria was mowing the black clad figures down quicker than any of them could. By the time they got down to the last few, Faith had only taken out a few. As some of their masks fell away, she could see that they didn't have faces, but faceplates. At least they weren't human. When she looked around, Wes was also fighting, on their side. Now why would he do that, she thought?
Faith started to draw the dagger, hoping against hope that she didn't have to finish whatever ritual Angel had started. As the last figure fell, Angel grabbed her arm to stay her.
"It's now or never, Faith."
"But he helped us," she begged.
"I know. But it's too late. Please. He would want this."
Faith knew Angel was right. Wes would never have signed his soul away if he were of sound mind. Fred dying must have pushed him over the edge. She had been to that edge once, and had almost jumped off of it before Angel pulled her back by her fingertips. There was no going back now.
Spike came forward with Arianna. "Faith, you, you . . . ," he couldn't finish.
"You must hold the child. It is the only way," Illyria finished for him.
"What? Angel, what is she talking about?"
Wesley walked around the carnage like he was seeing it for the first time, even though he caused some of it.
"The ritual requires that a female of the family perform the last part."
Faith gasped, pulling Arianna away from Spike. It wasn't Faith that Angel wanted, it was her daughter. Wesley's daughter. That's why someone had killed his mother.
"Faith, please. This isn't fair to him," Spike softly told her.
Faith grabbed onto the dagger and pulled it out of its hiding place. Wesley now stood still in the middle of all the bodies, just shaking his head back and forth.
"Faith, what do I do?" he asked her with a confused look on his face as she approached.
Luckily Arianna was holding tight to Faith's neck and hadn't faced forward. She didn't want her daughter to see what was going to happen, even though she would be too young to remember any of it.
"You'll be at peace. You'll be with Fred."
"I will not be with Fred. What I told you before, about going to hell? What I said was true. Fred was good, pure, innocent. Not me, never me."
"Wes, don't say that," Faith spoke softly as she came within arm's length of him.
"It's true. You have to understand."
"I do understand. I understand that you did what you thought was right."
The other three beings approached Faith. She didn't want them to interfere with this.
"As I always do. But Faith? I would have done it for you too."
Faith shook her head no, knowing that what he was saying wasn't true. It was a nice sentiment, saying that he'd sacrifice everything for her, his very soul for her, but it wasn't true.
"No, you wouldn't. But thank you for saying it."
Faith thrust the dagger into his middle because that's where the dagger wanted to travel. She was just the instrument. A flash of light escaped from Wesley and traveled up her arm to stop on Arianna. She glowed softly until it dissipated, not hurting the child one bit. Looking down, Wesley slid to the ground, a smile on his face. His eyes returned to their normal, striking blue.
He mumbled something as his body hit the ground. It sounded like he told her that he loved her, but she couldn't believe it. He may have been her friend, her confidant, her watcher, but never did he actually love her. She had been the only one to fall in love with him, not the other way around.
"Thank you," he whispered as his eyes closed.
"You were a good man," Faith cried out, wanting him to know what she thought.
Spike bent over, making sure that she had succeeded in her mission. He dragged his hands through his blonde hair, sighing as if defeated.
"He's gone. We won this round," Spike said as he stood, but with no glee in his voice.
"He was a good man, Angel," Faith repeated for him, choking on the words.
"I know he was. Rest in peace, Wes."
Angel pulled the dagger out and placed it in his pocket. As Angel, Spike and Illyria slowly walked away, he called back to her.
"Go Faith. Get out of here before the authorities arrive. We'll take care of this."
"You're just leaving?" she shouted as they started to climb into their car.
"We have to. Wolfram and Hart won't stop until we're dead. Now at least we have a fighting chance. Don't hide anymore, Faith. You're a slayer. Go be what you're supposed to be."
Faith knew there was no going back to what she was for those few months. There were people that needed help and only she, along with a couple hundred other girls, could do that job. Arianna would be just as safe in that environment as she was before, but at least she would have a true family, people that cared about her. Darcy cared about her, but didn't know the true Faith.
"I can't just leave him?" Faith cried, watching as the three drove away into the night. "I won't leave you, OK, Wes? I'll see that you get home."
November 2003
"Yeah, Vegas baby," Faith said as they saw the glow of the Strip.
Wesley just rolled his eyes at her excitement. Las Vegas was a town that never slept. Something that they had done finally in that motel room last night. They had both slept like babies, not stirring until mid-morning. By then, whatever aftereffects of the spell that the demon had performed had worn off. He was glad that he wouldn't shock Faith anymore and vice versa. He was also glad that they had finally figured out why someone was gunning for them, although the reasons were quite lame in his opinion. The demon spent too much time and energy just to avenge a relative. And in the end, it was someone close to him who had caused it.
"Come on, let's max out that Wolfram and Hart credit card? What'll ya say?" Faith asked him.
"Faith. That would not be the appropriate thing to do. Besides, the firm has a suite in one of the hotels. We can just stay there and not have to pay for a room."
"Hey, same as getting a room, dumbass. You're just usin' a corporate perk."
He guessed she was right. But he had already called and booked the reservation from the motel before they had left. He really wanted a nice, hot, long shower and nice, clean sheets to sleep on. He was sure that Faith probably would like that also. None of the motels that they had stayed in had much in the way of comfort. He could at least offer that to her for one night.
"Yes, I guess you are right. So we'll check in, then grab some dinner."
He could see Faith grin even in the darkening shadows of the car.
"Then what? Hey, we could go dancing?"
Wesley groaned out loud at her idea. She must know by now that he was a terrible dancer, while she could probably get any dance partner she wanted. That would not be an option. He shook his head no.
"Party pooper."
"Let's just get to the dinner part."
"Well, the only part we'll be dressed for are those buffets for three ninety-nine. Unless the firm keeps spare clothes in that luxury suite of theirs."
"I doubt that very much."
Wesley hadn't thought about their small, serviceable attire one bit. Sure, it was durable, but not very good for actually going out to dinner. He would have to rectify that as soon as they arrived.
As they checked in, the desk clerk kept eyeing them up and down, making a phone call that was probably to verify his employment. Wesley couldn't give a damn about what the man thought. He wanted his hot shower and he wanted it right then.
"Is there a problem?" he finally asked.
"No, not at all Mr. Pryce," the clerk answered.
"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce if you please. Now the keys to the room?"
The clerk finally handed over two of those cardkeys that would gain them access to their room. The bellhop moved to carry their two small bags, but Wesley waved him off just so they could get to it faster.
Faith had started shifting from foot to foot, Wesley noticed, which must have meant that this all was making her a little uncomfortable. He finally decided to say something to her while they rode up in the elevator.
"If this is too much for you, we'll find another place to stay," he told her.
"Oh, ohhhhhhhh. No, not too much. I just need to go so badly. And it was makin' the clerk so freaked, so I decided to keep it up. Damn, will this elevator hurry?"
Faith practically ran down the corridor to the room, punching in the card quickly, gaining access to the room. Wesley caught the door as it tried to close on him. Faith was already moving towards the facilities as he took in the enormity of the room. It was bigger than his apartment in LA and then some. The views were spectacular as he looked out from the balcony doors to the twinkling lights below. Nothing but the best for Wolfram and Hart.
"Can you fucking believe this room? This is so wicked cool. You oughta see the size of the bathroom? Man, you could go swimmin' in the tub," she went on as she came back out.
"Why don't you do that?"
"What? Go swimming in that tub? It's a thought. But I wanted you to be in there with me," she purred as she came closer to him.
He did want to be in there with her, but he had other plans while she cleaned up.
"I was going to procure us some clothing. I don't think they'd want a naked slayer running around, now would they?"
"Hey, with the clothes some of those showgirls wear, I'm not so sure anyone would notice."
"I would," Wesley admitted as he pulled her into his arms.
He was afraid that what he was doing was presumptuous, but in for a penny, in for a pound as the saying went.
"I'll bet you would," she said as she yanked his head down for a kiss.
She took her time to explore his mouth with her tongue, gently teasing him until he finally decided to break contact to take a breath.
"I should, um, go, if we want to have clothing, as such," Wesley stammered.
"Yeah. You do that. Don't take long, though."
Faith grabbed an apple off of one of the tables in the room. As she tossed it in the air, she winked at him. Throwing off her jacket and stepping out of her shoes, she pulled her top over her head, all the while eyeing him. If Wesley didn't get out of there right that instant, they definitely wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. As Faith shimmied out of her jeans, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see that last temptation. Hearing the crunch of that apple made him wonder why he was leaving. He finally opened them again as she sashayed her way totally naked into the bathroom and closed the door. Hurrying back was the best course of action, he thought.
Faith hadn't taken a bubble bath in quite a while. It felt totally great to be able to rest in a tub as big as a king-sized bed and not have some girl pounding at the door to get in. Having a bunch of slayers around really did suck sometimes. So Faith only took baths when all the slayers were asleep, which meant at four o'clock in the morning.
She liked teasing Wesley as he left to find them more clothes. Man, he sure did blush a pretty shade of pink every time she embarrassed him, or was that every time she turned him on. Didn't matter to her. Maybe she'd get him into this enormous tub later on that night. It was only six in the evening, plenty of time for dinner and whatever else might come up. At least, that's what she hoped for.
The night before they had both slept like the dead, which thank God they hadn't become in the first place. That shark demon thingy really was creepy. She just hoped that she never ran into the thing again, or she'd have to chop it up into little pieces or something. She was just glad that she and Wes got away without too many problems.
As she soaked and washed, she contemplated what her next move would be. Should she seduce him or wait and see what he had planned? She never could wait for anything, but she would be curious to see if she could drive him crazy without touching him. The man looked like he was ready to pop out there in the room. Not that she wasn't feeling the effects too.
Faith never was a primper, always getting her makeup and hair done as quickly as she could. But tonight, she shaved and moisturized and did all those things that girls did when they wanted to impress a man. Luckily, the suite had most of the things that she needed, including a hair dryer. Now she wouldn't have to freeze her butt off with damp hair. The hair took forever to dry that morning because she didn't want to wait to dry it. And Wes was waiting for his turn at the bathroom. Now she took that time.
Faith couldn't tell how long she took to do all that, so as she entered the outer room, she looked around for Wes. Not seeing him, she traveled towards the huge bed. On it was a box with a note.
"A present?"
She opened the note to read. It just said her name and his initials, which meant that Wesley had been back, but was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard another shower going somewhere. Silently as she could, she opened another door, realizing that the room they were in was a true suite. The other door revealed a living area. She tiptoed to the other door, pushing it open to find another bedroom. Wesley's bag sat askew on the bed. So he had been back, she thought. She'd love to go and join him in that shower, but had just gotten her hair the way she wanted it. Well, she'd let him mess it up later, after dinner. Her stomach gave a loud growl, telling her that she needed food in a fat hurry.
Making her way back into the other bedroom, she decided to go ahead and open that box on the bed. Pulling the top off, she first found undergarments.
"Whoa," she exclaimed as she saw that there wasn't much to them. "Horny bastard," she said out loud. "But with good taste." The silk in her fingers felt like heaven.
Then she pealed away another layer of tissue paper to find a dress of some sort. Shaking it out, she found an elegant black evening gown. It looked to be backless, which explained the configuration of the bra. Damn it, she hated those things.
Slipping her towel off, she shimmied the dress over her head, just to try it on. She'd take it off to put on the sexy underwear next. She just wanted to feel what the dress was like, and to also see if it fit.
The front was a halter-top kind of deal, with the middle cut almost down to her navel. If she weren't careful, she'd spill out of the thing. But as she clasped the thing around her waist, she figured that she wouldn't because of how it was made. She just wouldn't bend over at all. The skirt part was slightly pleated, which gave her enough room to maybe dance in and not be too constricting. It reached her ankles, but had a slit all the way up one side to the middle part of her thigh.
The black, silky material felt so good on her skin. Too bad he'd probably rip it off of her later that night. Maybe she'd take it off to be more proactive. Sliding the skimpy underwear on, she decided to go sans the bra and give old Wes a shock at dinner. It might be fun to see him flustered in a public place. Oh, she knew she'd pay for it once they were back in the room, but she didn't care. It would be fun.
Going back into the bathroom, she finished her makeup, tidied her hair and made her way back out into the room to wait for him. Only he had made it back before she had. He stood in the middle, holding a pair of high-heeled pumps, grinning at her from ear to ear.
He had shaved, was the first thought through her brain. That didn't take away from his dark sex appeal one bit. He looked at her with one eyebrow arched up high.
"You like?" Faith asked as she posed for him.
He just stood still to look her over, his blue eyes smoldering. And she looked him over too. His dark suit, dark tie, and white shirt made him look a little dangerous. Why hadn't he looked that way in Sunnydale with all those tailored suits he wore? Must have been because of the expression. He never had that I'll devour you in one big bite look like he did now. And if he didn't stop looking at her in that way, they'd never make it to dinner.
"I approve," he finally said, holding out the shoes to her.
"You expect me to wear those? What, are you fucking crazy?"
"Can't exactly wear your boots with that?"
Then he almost choked, she saw. She had worn her boots with that ugly, yellow dress not too long ago. Should she challenge him and wear the boots, or be a good girl and wear the fucking heels?
"I could," she drawled out. "But I won't. For you. You obviously have some kind of shoe fetish or something."
"Or something."
As she slipped them on, she leaned over so that he would get a good look at what she was wearing, or not wearing as the case was. The small intake of breath said it all. He could see quite clearly that she only had the dress on. Maybe she should take the underwear off too?
"Shall we?" he said as she stood up straight.
Offering his arm, she walked over to him, glad that his arm was there and she wouldn't fall on her face walking in the heels. How did Buffy wear these things ever?
"If I break my fucking ankle, you'll pay, smartass."
"I guess that means you'll have to hold onto me then?"
"Yeah, I guess it does," she told him as they made their way out of the room for a night on the town.
They didn't have to go far to eat, since the hotel had several nice restaurants to choose from. And then they wouldn't have to have coats on. Wesley wanted to see Faith in her new dress. It looked quite lovely on her. He had chosen it well for her shape. Guessing on her size, he had them wrap it up with the accompanying undergarments. Unfortunately, or fortunate for him, she had chosen to not wear the bra. He just hoped she didn't bend over for anyone else. The cut of it made it quite easy to see the smooth, round sides of her full breasts. And if he didn't stop thinking about those, they wouldn't make it through dinner.
Arriving at the restaurant, several men turned her way as she walked in. It did make him a tad bit jealous, but she was with him that night. He didn't think that it would matter to him that other men noticed her. But it did. And if she bent down, she'd be giving them a free show.
"No bending over," he whispered in her ear as they made their way to the table.
"Maybe later," she quipped back.
Well, he had set himself up for that one. He couldn't blame her for taking advantage of it.
"Yes, I do believe we could do that also."
She giggled a little as they sat down at their booth at the back of the restaurant. Their backs were to the wall. One could never be too careful. He was sure that Faith would appreciate it also. Sliding in, they sat close together, but not touching. He figured that Faith would be trying to drive him insane, but she didn't touch him. Now what had she planned?
The waiter handed them menus. He asked them if they would like drinks before ordering.
"Give me one of those martini things," she said as she looked over the menu.
"Scotch on the rocks, please," he told the waiter.
"Eww. How can you like that? Kinda gross."
"And a martini isn't?"
"I don't know. I just wanted to try it. I've never had one."
Then Wesley realized that Faith was really so much younger and inexperienced than he was. She hadn't traveled as much of the world as he had, hadn't experienced it as much as he had. Sure, she had saved the world from unspeakable evil a few times. But she hadn't gotten to be a normal person. Never a normal girl.
"Hey, I'm old enough," she chided him.
"I know exactly how old you are, Faith. I was just surprised is all."
"What? I've drunk plenty. Just never anything fancy. Beer, whiskey, stuff like that. Kind of looked like you had the whiskey part down the last time I saw your place."
And she had good observation skills. He really hadn't cleaned his apartment fully in quite a while before she stayed there that one time. There had been several empty whiskey bottles lying around.
"Yes, my drinking phase. Not a pretty sight."
"At least I wasn't around when you were banging that lawyer bitch."
Faith winced as the statement came out. She put her hand over her mouth to stop any more from coming out.
"Faith. It's in the past. And I'm glad you weren't around to see that. Lilah and I had a complicated, um, whatever it might have been."
Faith looked him in the eyes now, realizing that she had said something terribly wrong to him. He didn't flinch one bit from it. No, he was over Lilah.
"Did you love her?"
Wesley couldn't believe that Faith had asked him that. Did he love Lilah? Whatever they had couldn't be love, he had told himself over and over. He had come to care for her in some way and he was sure she had also to the extent she could care for any other human being. But did that equal love? Honestly, he couldn't say that it did.
"No, Faith. I did not. I did care for her in some fashion."
"Oh, good," Faith stammered. "You at least did care for her. It just wasn't for the sex."
Oh, so that's what she was getting at, he thought. She wanted to know what her status was with him. He didn't have the first clue. Yes, he did care for her, maybe even deeply. But did he love her? Did he know how to love someone? He thought he did, with Fred. But she had spurned his advances.
"No, it was mostly for the sex. That's the only way we could communicate to a certain degree. Not anything like you and I."
Faith glanced away from him, not wanting to see his eyes. Could she read him that easily? Would her eyes give away any secrets?
"Faith, if this is about us, I'm not sure what is going on between us. I just want to enjoy the time we have together."
Faith let out that breath she was holding, like that was the answer she was looking for from him. He hoped that was the answer she wanted.
"We will enjoy it."
The waiter sat their drinks down, Faith sipping hers quietly next to him. They ordered their food quickly. The woman beside him shut down then. She didn't say much as they drank. Now that worried him.
He could smell her shampooed hair that was mere inches from his head. If he looked just so he could see somewhat down her dress, just like she had hoped he would. But what he wanted to look at were her big, dark eyes. And she still hadn't turned to look at him. Either she was mad at him, or had nothing to say to him. He didn't believe the latter. Then it definitely must be the former.
So he held up his glass for a toast. "Here's to tonight," he spoke softly.
She finally turned her head to look at him, to clink their glasses together. Still too far away, he leaned in to get closer. The fire in her eyes was unmistakable. But she still didn't touch him. So it was the driving him insane approach, he thought. She wouldn't touch him. Begging would be in order very soon.
Leaning over, he came close to her ear to whisper. "Let the games begin."
He could see the shiver down her arm as his coat brushed up against it slightly. Taking her drink up again, she practically saluted him to do his best.
The first course of their meal arrived in short order, making conversation moot at that point. Wesley still looked at her as he ate, thinking that his staring would cause her to crack at one point. It didn't, until they were almost done with the main course.
"You're staring," she finally told him.
"Am I?"
"You know you are. What gives?"
"I can't look at a beautiful woman?"
Faith snorted a little at his comment. "Yeah, I guess. Where is she?"
"Right here in front of me," he said as his mouth closed over hers gently.
He was tired of waiting for her to move. She sighed as she sank into the kiss. Pulling away, he went back to eating his entrée. Faith just sat and stared at him then. Turnabout was fair play, he realized. Now she could stare at him.
"Are you done eating?" he asked as the waiter came around to take their plates.
"For now," she growled a little.
"Dessert?"
"Not if you want to be able to walk in the morning."
That had him chuckling. He wondered that if he touched her under the table that she would go off like a rocket and scream. Instead he trailed a finger gently down her arm, raising goose bumps in its wake.
"I take it that means you're ready to go?"
"Won't take much. On your mark. Get set. Go."
She grinned at him as her hand hit his thigh. Her nails raked up and down lightly.
"Would you like to dance?"
Faith's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought there was no dancing tonight."
Wesley pointed to a small dance floor that had a few couples swaying to a slow beat.
"Sure," she agreed, scooting out of the booth, making damn sure he got another view of her front.
Wesley quickly wrote their room number down on the check and left an enormous tip, not wanting to take the time to count out the bills. Faith led him over to the floor.
The two stood in front of each other, Wesley holding her hand, but no other parts touching. Looking down at her, he saw the merriment in her eyes, like she was challenging him to make the first move. Pulling her hand up to his lips, he placed a light kiss on the top of it.
"May I have this dance?" he whispered as he leaned into her.
She just grinned back and shook her head yes, knowing that she was having a devastating effect on him. Grasping her around the waist, he slowly pulled her to him, clasping her tightly until good portions of each of their anatomies were touching. If she didn't know how much he wanted her then, she did now. Her eyes said it all. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, even before the dance. Her arms came up around his neck to hold him tighter, binding him to her completely.
He could feel the heat of her naked back as his hands came around her waist fully. His fingers touched her soft back as they barely moved to the music that was playing. Faith's hands tangled in the back of his hair, fingers twirling around, making him shiver slightly at her ministrations.
"You do look quite lovely tonight," he said as he brought her mouth closer to her ear.
"You're lookin' pretty handsome yourself. And you shaved. Just for me?"
"Yes, just for you. Considering what I have planned for you, I thought it might be wise."
Faith couldn't resist any longer and pulled his mouth to hers. When they finally came up for air, he looked around to realize that they had been making out in front of several dozen people, many of them very envious right at that moment.
"Time to go?" he asked.
"Ready as ever. How about you?"
"Oh God, yes," he honestly told her as he grasped her hand in his, leading her out of the restaurant and to the elevator.
Faith slipped her shoes off as the elevator moved to their floor.
"Too bad there's cameras," Faith barely whispered, but enough for Wesley to hear.
He was hard just thinking about taking her right then. As soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, they both were down the hall just as quickly as their legs could take them with no running. Wesley whipped out his keycard, pushed it in too fast and couldn't open the door the first time. He rolled his eyes as his shaking hand tried again, succeeding in getting the door unlocked. Faith immediately pushed it open for him, throwing her shoes to the ground. As soon as the door shut, she slammed him against it and ground her lips to his.
"You're drivin' me crazy," she gasped as she tore her mouth away to place bites on his neck.
"Slow down, love. We have all night."
"Nuh uh. I want you, now."
"I guess I could accommodate you this one time," he jokingly told her.
She grabbed his crotch, making him pull her to the bed. Landing with a thud, Faith worked her way out from underneath him to crawl onto the bed more fully. He decided to shuck the jacket and tie before climbing on more to meet her. Her underwear went flying over his head. She propped the leg on the side that had the slit up, exposing it all the way to her hipbone. Kicking off his shoes and wrenching off his socks, he crawled up until he was directly over her. As he placed a light kiss on her knee, he could see her shiver a little at the contact.
He was finally going to do this right. Not some groping in the car or some fumbling after one or both of them was ill. This he would remember for quite some time. Faith trusted him, fully. Wishing it had been sooner, he realized that like Lilah, there were only certain levels that this relationship could ever go. He and Faith could only relate on a few levels. Or was it that he didn't want to relate to her, didn't want to get to know the real her?
"Wes, stop thinking and start doin' or I'm takin' over."
She was handing over control to him. He didn't know whether to be satisfied or scared.
"So lovely," he whispered as his mouth descended to her exposed leg again. By the time he reached her toes, she was already panting and he had only touched the one leg.
"I need you, now, Wes."
Faith pulled his head back to her lips, crushing hers to his almost violently. Her hands went for his zipper, working him out inthose talented hands quickly. As he pulled out a small foil packet, she laughed a little.
"Don't be such a Boy Scout. Not happenin' in this lifetime. You think that knife didn't do any damage to me in Sunny D, well the rest of my life has made it impossible for any little Faiths to run around this screwed up world."
"I'm sorry," he told her as he kissed her cheek, wanting her to know that it wasn't fair.
"No big. Live fast, die young. Which means, get a move on or I'm tackling you."
Throwing the packet over his shoulder, he yanked her skirt up and found her ready and willing to go. They hadn't even had the chance to take the rest of their clothes off before they joined together. He hadn't realized the effects of Faith's not touching him at dinner would do to him. He almost embarrassed himself by finishing before she did. Luckily she arched beneath him a few seconds after, making him feel somewhat better. That wasn't exactly the smoothest seduction that he had done in his life.
Wesley rolled off of her as she pushed him slightly. Pulling the dress over her head, she scooted off and walked into the bathroom. And he just lay there stunned. It was over in a few minutes time.
"Get your ass in here," Faith yelled.
Maybe it wasn't over yet, he thought. By the time the night was through, they had christened most of the rooms in the suite. Curling up on the bed finally, they both drifted off to sleep, intertwined after a wonderful night together.
TBC
Next: The funeral. And back to Los Angeles the two go.
Author notes version 2: I just didn't do that. I killed him for good. Can you believe I did that? Wow. That really hurt. Some of you guessed vampire, but no. Some of you didn't guess, but probably meant you already sort of knew. What I did was I tied in the scene that Wes had with Lilah, trying to save her from that damn piece of paper that she signed. He did the same thing in order to save Fred's soul. In his mind, it was the only way. He knew eventually that he would die, but what he didn't know were the consequences, W&H having that much control over him. I just made up the thing about the female of the family breaking the clause. Did it work? And yes, there will be an NC-17 version of this up shortly. E-mail me with site info if you want to read.
Thanks go out to: I do have to say that after reading all the reviews, I really did almost cry. I've had a crappy week and weekend because of my cat, but reading them on Sunday night made me feel a little joy. So thanks to all who have reviewed or just said hi. Thanks to tp96, Allen Pitt, pari106, mandie, psychotic chaos, Wav, Steph, and everyone else. You've made me push on this.
Answers to questions:
Tp96—don't worry, I know you're out there somewhere.
Allen Pitt—Nope, sorry. But the controlled part is correct.
Pari106—Yes, I am a drama queen.
Mandie—Did I catch you by surprise? Don't think that you're ever dumb.
Psychotic chaos—nope, no vamp in this fic.
Wav—A little PWP? Just a tad. Not my scene to write, but it was fun to try. Site down—really bad. Yeah, Steph was so right! Faith is always a work in progress for me.
Steph—Thank you, oh thank you. Lots of help from your e-mail.