Arezue; Desire

Chapter Sixteen: Pure Love and Law Firms

Arezue stood in front of the Hyperion lobby, leaning against the desk. For some reason, the idea of sitting down made her uncomfortable. She wore the yellow sundress and yellow wedges that Cordelia had 'thoughtfully' lent her ("Honestly! Everyone knows that the shoes make the outfit!"). She hated it. It was yellow, way too girly for her tastes and made her seem – harmless; but she had to wear it. Angel had made it clear that she would not "prance around" in clothes that looked as if they had been literally molded on. As Arezue didn't want to anger him when he held her future in his hands, she'd gone along with it.

The AI team was busily discussing some demon that Cordelia had seen in her "vision". Arezue didn't like the fact that Cordelia had visions. Her premonitions had always given her the edge in her father's life and she didn't like the fact that this woman (who, Arezue grudgingly admitted, did have incredible taste in shoes) could so easily take it from her.

"Arezue!" Cordelia's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Will you please stop lurking and sit down?" The brunette demanded angrily and Arezue winced.

"I don't really –" She started but was cut off by the smirking seer.

"Ooops! I forgot – you got spanked and can't sit down because it's much too painful!" Cordelia shrugged off Arezue's angry glare. "Next time, you might want to try being a little quieter. The noise scared away several potential customers." Rolling her eyes at the brunette's snarkiness. Arezue stomped over to Wesley, who was pouring over – the yellow book?

'Odd people have odd fetishes.' Arezue thought, plopping herself down next to him on the couch.

"So, whatchya doin'?" Arezue asked coyly, crossing one leg over the other so that he could have an unobstructed view of her long legs. The way Wesley's eyes shamelessly traveled first to her chest then to her face made her smirk.

"Guests." He said softly, seemingly enraptured with her face. "I'm mailing out – " He broke off, as if realizing that this was not something he should be telling her. "Something for Angel." He slammed the book close abruptly as if not wanting her to see something. "It's nothing of importance." Arezue smiled, running her tongue over her lips sensually. The pain is her butt-cheeks as she sat there was truly worth the well-concealed look of desire that the ex-watcher shot her.

"Cool." She stated monosyllabically. "The big lunk tell you where he was going?" She asked and Wesley had to fight the smile rising to his face at her chosen words. Arezue ran her fingers through her hair, waiting impatiently for an answer. She wanted to leave the hotel before Angel came back and changed his mind about letting her go out.

'He's like a fuckin' jailor!' She thought angrily.

"He went out to get the – er – "Arezue frowned, eyes narrowing as Wesley struggled to come up with at the spur of the moment. There was definitely something going on that nobody had bothered to fill her in on. "see a friend."

Arezue nodded, accepting the answer but not really putting any faith into it. She contemplated pulling the truth out of the man by flipping up her skirt but then decided against it. It was doubtful that the Englishman would be bothered at all.

How had he gotten that wicked scar across his neck? Arezue wondered but didn't voice. It was awfully sexy…

"Whatever!" She surmised to him, quickly giving him a small peck on the lips. His hardened eyes seemed to become a little softer but not by much.

"Angel has said that you are allowed to go out after sunset as long as you take your brother with you." Wesley Wyndam-Pryce told her coolly, not batting an eye at the kiss – the opposite of what Arezue had hoped for.

What, Arezue wanted to know, had hurt the incredibly sweet man staring back at her to harden him to the world?

She considered reading him again but then quickly changed her mind. Last time she'd read him, she'd been much too overwhelmed by how much love he felt towards the person he loved. If he still loved the woman, and she was certain he did, her reading would show nothing but that love. She desperately wished she could have gotten a closer read the first time, than she would've been able to belittle the woman in Wesley's eyes so that he could set her first.

If only his love wasn't so pure, so real…

'Oh well,' Arezue thought as she, smirking, waved goodbye to Wesley and walked off to find Connor. 'Like any woman in her right mind would turn down such a – hunk!' The eighty's lingo made her giggle and Arezue smiled.

She was sure Wesley would get his happy ending. Someone who could truly love deserved all the happiness in the world.

For once, Arezue was glad she had a soul. Is she didn't, she would've probably tortured the ex-watcher for being able to love in such a way that she could only dream of. And she didn't want that. She would probably develop a guilt-complex to rival her father's if she ever did such a thing.

Arezue had a reason for being so agreeable after being punished and being condemned to a life of servitude towards Dracula.

She had found a way out. She'd overheard Cordelia and Fred talking about some law firm called Wolfram and Hart that specialized in demonic cases. According to Cordelia, Angel hated them and they hated Angel.

She just hoped that the credit cards she'd swiped from her father's wallet would cover the cost.