39, 23, 59

by Sunscorched

And he thought he knew eternity.

13. Chapter 13

Title: 39, 23, 59: 13
Author: Scorch
Email:
Rating: NC-17
Category: Humour/Smut.
Summary: And he thought he knew eternity.
Disclaimer: I own nixies.
Distribution: AO, FSB, the places of Cal and Lea. Anyplace else, just ask.
Notes: As always, enjoy!

Day 29...

It was strange, she decided. Waking up with a man she'd only known for eleven days. Stranger still was not feeling strange waking up with a man she'd known for eleven days, and even stranger still was waking up with a vampire she'd known for eleven days. She sat there, her eyes never leaving his face, and she watched as ridges flickered on and off while he dreamt.

She had to force her mouth into a thin, tight line to not laugh when his forehead wrinkled, straightened, and wrinkled again, and his nose did this funny little wiggling thing, reminding her of Bewitched. As amusing as it was, it was also incredibly cute. Who'd have thought evil personified would enjoy a simple lie in?

A quick glance to her clock told her that no, one thirty in the afternoon couldn't be classed as a lie in, but what the hell. After last night's dinner and dancing, he deserved a little treat. A quiet snort escaped as she thought about last night. What made him do that? More importantly, why would he do that? It couldn't be just because of her or because he could. Why should the reasons bother her? After all, she did get something out of it.

More than something. She got the chance to show Xander Harris just what it was he lost and she'd be damned if it wasn't done with taste. Knowing Angelus was to thank for that made the guilt on her shoulder multiply by a thousand. She shouldn't have been so horrible to him when she discovered he'd planned it all. Not that she'd been completely horrible, but she had been standoffish, and that was enough to warrant an apology.

Although, an apology wouldn't go a long way to say she didn't mind. How could she mind when he'd ignored his violent instinct to get creative? Easy. She couldn't.

Cordelia smiled to herself when his nose yet again wiggled, making his skin appear to slide over the brow ridges. Unsurely, she reached out and combed her fingers through the spikes, feeling the softness tickle her palm. She kept going and followed his features down to where his jaw curved into his chin. Her thumb brushed over his lips. They were oddly warm. Huh.

Carefully so she didn't wake him, she kept up the exploration, and swept her digits across his mouth as a whole, noting his lower lip was slightly fuller than the top. He had a small Cupid's bow and the corners of his mouth seemed permanently quirked upward. His jaw was well defined, with good lines that led into sculpted cheeks and an overhanging forehead. Then there was his body.

Broad shoulders, muscled arms, toned abdomen that rippled with underlying, unnatural strength. She didn't have see him move or fight to know what lay hidden inside him. He had a presence that commanded attention and more than once she had to resist the urge to cower from it. What good would running do? He'd catch her before she took the first step. Plus, a shy retiring creature would probably bore the life out of him.

There was no doubting it. He was a beautiful man and it wasn't hard to see why he was given the name Angel.

As quietly as possible, she got out of bed, and headed for the place that housed her camcorder. She grinned wickedly as she pressed record and went back to the bed, zooming in on his face all the while wondering if vampires showed on film. Obviously they did since his face was on the screen. She knelt on the mattress, trying to cause as little disruption as possible, and pointed the lense directly on him.

Cordelia bit her tongue so she didn't laugh and wake him. With her position and the zoom, she could see his nostrils flaring and lips flickering. Giggling quietly, she lay on her side and using a free finger, lightly poked his nose. A half growl half snore escaped and it was so damn amusing, she did it again and this time, she got a full on snarl and snapping jaws no more than an inch from her digit.

She shrieked in shock and snatched her hand back, only barely avoiding his fangs. "Damnit, Angel!" She snapped, clutching her finger as though he really had bitten it. "You scared the crap outta me."

Angelus laughed, not hiding the fact he took great amounts of pleasure in her fright. "Serves you right."

"I wasn't doing anything bad!"

"And recording me while I slept was what?" He asked with an arching eyebrow.

A blush slowly crept up to stain her cheeks a deep red as she realised that yes, she was recording him while he slept. "I-I..." What kind of pervert was she?

"You what? Wanted to see if a vampire showed on film?" Angelus knew why she was recording him and it had nothing to do with scientific experiments, but he couldn't bring himself to let her off so easily. Not when it was so much fun to give her a sound guilt trip. "Or were you just wanting something to humiliate me with?"

"No!" Cordelia yelled and hid the camcorder behind her back. "I don't have an ulterior motive in mind. Honest. I just wanted too..." What the hell did she want to do with the stupid camcorder? "Never mind. I'll turn it off. Sorry." Why she was saying sorry she didn't know, but what the hell.

She could be so damn easy when she wanted to be. "Cor, I'm not really angry. Show me what you got."

Cordelia pulled away from him and made the agonising mistake of stretching a little too much. A sharp, tearing sensation shot up her left thigh as the muscle twitched and flexed painfully, making her grasp her leg in time to feel the cramp tighten into a nasty knot. She dug her fingers into her skin in an effort to ease the burning pain as it shot up and down her leg.

"Damnit," she hissed and began to work out the cramp with gentle stretching that didn't work.

"That's what you get for playing the contortionist." Angelus replaced her hands with his, trapping her knee between large palms, the motions made the sheets slide down his body. Unfortunately she couldn't care less at this particular moment in time. "Keep your foot as straight as you can."

She nodded and it was only the fact of not wanting to look like an idiot that kept her from crying. Small, slow circles were used to relax the muscle, and he kept it up until he felt the tension gradually decrease, then he increased the pressure, sliding his fingers high up her thigh and down past her knee. Her skin was so soft, so supple, it was hard to believe how toned her muscles actually were. Not surprising when he took her dancing into consideration.

He watched as both her legs and body responded to the sensations, her head rolling back with closed eyes, weight on her elbows, a little moan of relief and pleasure sounding out.

"Magic," Cordelia sighed, unaware of the direction his thoughts were going. "Magic fingers."

Angelus smirked. "Of course they're magic fingers. They're mine." He pushed her pajama shorts a little further and exposed more of her thigh to his gaze, and he stared down. The skin there was far too flawless for his liking. God, he wanted to bite her, and it didn't take much to imagine his face between her legs, his fangs slowly slicing into her femoral and his mouth filling with her blood.

Hunger rolled through him and his fingers squeezed harder, his balls tightened at the sound of pleasured pain as her back arched. He couldn't stop going higher if he tried. The heat pouring off her burned his knuckles as they skimmed the velvety edge of her, the tips of his fingers brushing down and sending a wisp of air over her cotton covered clit. Far too close to temptation, so he pulled back, lightly stroking newly manicured nails to her knee, his gaze never once leaving her face.

Cordelia gripped the sheets and bit her lip as the last of the painful cramp was eased out by his Royal Wonderfulness. She held still for a moment or two, not wanting to move in case it happened again. Although, it might worth it if she got another massage.

Angelus took her foot and began to rotate it clockwise at first, then anticlockwise, ensuring any and all tension was gone before he moved it up and down. "Better?"

"Uh-huh." One hazel eye cranked open to stare at him. "Who said you could stop?" She wiggled her toes invitingly, stopping when he didn't bother to resume his delightful pampering. "Spoil sport."

"Do I look like a slave to you?"

She grinned. "Yep. A big evil slave made just for me and my wicked ways."

Didn't she have any idea how deliciously possessive she sounded? One look at the impish, cheeky expression was answer enough. "That humour of yours doesn't amuse, Cordelia."

"So you always smile when you're not amused?"

Angelus immediately wiped the smile from his face and glared at her with as much hatred as he could muster. After two hundred and fifty years of practice, was quite a lot, yet his effort earned him fluttery lashes and a snort of laughter.

"You're right," Cordelia said through a grin. "Your humour has mine eating dust."

He sneered and she was just so damned pleased with herself that fantasies of snapping her neck ran through his head, but if he did that then who would he have to play with on these warm, warm nights? His gaze roamed from her pretty eyes to her feet and back again. She looked so innocent sitting there with her foot in his lap, her figure hidden by soft grey cotton and a coquettish smile on her face. Killing her would be a serious waste of a good lay and decent blood. Instinct had his attention going straight to her throat, where watched and listened to her heart pulsing blood round her body, and took an involuntary breath.

His tongue trailed slowly over fangs, felt them slide deep into that delicious skin, tasted the rich spicy flavour as he drank her down. His fingers would find that sweet spot inside and he'd make her come over and over before fucking her into oblivion. It hadn't been a fortnight since he'd known the touch of a woman, but it felt like an eternity, especially when there was one ready and willing right in front of him. God, he hated Spike.

Something in his expression must have changed because her laughter turned into a sharp gasp and her posture tensed, her eyes widened and a hand went up her throat, her own instinct being that of protection. Cordelia's breath hitched and thighs locked together, blunt teeth bit down on her lower lip and drew blood. Gripping the sheets with her free hand, she turned away from him, the intensity in those obsidian eyes of his a bit too much.

Angelus reached out and made her look at him, and damning the bet, he leaned forward and stole a taste. It was supposed to be just that. A taste. It didn't stop there and he practically devoured her. Pushing his tongue past her lips, strong fingers grabbing a fistful of hair, tugging her head back and to the side, he dominated the kiss. It was over as quickly as it begun, leaving her little to no time to appreciate his skill, and he left her mouth bruised, reddened, swollen and silently begging for more.

"Cordy," she heard him moan.

"Huh?" Cordelia blinked away the haze and touched her lips. She wasn't bleeding, her hair wasn't tangled in his fingers, and most importantly, he wasn't kissing her.

He was staring at her in amused confusion. "See any little green men on your trip to outer space?"

She did the only thing an embarrassed woman could do and kicked his leg, but a nasty throb in her toe clued her to the fact that kicking a vampire with an amazingly bony shin was not a good idea. Ow. "What?"

"I said are you gonna show me the tape or not?" A wicked glint appeared in those hateful eyes of his. "What were you thinking?"

The brilliant red blush rapidly covering her entire face was answer enough and his lips split into a large grin that showed all his pearly whites. "Nothing," Cordelia lied while trying not to look at him. "Nothing at all." She half threw the camcorder at him in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "Here, see for yourself. Press the red button to stop recording, then the square one next to it for playback."

Genuine curiosity filled Angelus as he retrieved the gadget and did as instructed, watching it intently. How long had it been since he'd seen his reflection? Too long if he couldn't correctly calculate the years. His sleeping self was on the screen and an odd, quiet growling sound came from the speakers. He blinked. Snoring? That could not be him snoring, surely.

Brown eyes filled with abject horror met her hazel ones. "It's impossible," he said in disgust. "I do not snore." He was dead. He didn't breathe and therefore did not snore.

Cordelia gave him a sympathetic pat. "Yep. It's kinda cute in a weird, loud and clear way."

Angelus was once more thrown into the land where his hands were throttling the life out of her and he was laughing merrily. Cute? "Souless vampire, Cor."

"Yeah, but you're a cute soulless vampire who snores like an overworked freight train."

"At least I don't cling."

Oh no? "I beg to differ."

He glared at her. "Keep yapping and you'll be begging." Yes, begging for her tongue and vocal chords to remain intact, not to mention retain the right to live.

The warning on his face mirrored his tone, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect on her because she simply smiled. "Oh please," Cordelia said, purposely turning the word please into a plea. "Can't you come up with a better threat? I mean really. I thought you were the Big Bad, or was that all talk?" So questioning his evilness may not be such a good idea, but she just couldn't help herself.

Angelus eyes narrowed, a glimmer of danger lashing out at her. "How 'bout I punch a hole through your heart? Or maybe I should just rip out your organs, one by one, in alphabetical order. Sound fun to you?"

Okay, so questioning his evilness really wasn't a good idea. She blinked and digested the offers. "Can you really do that? Punch a hole through a heart with your bare hands?" First off, totally gross. Why anyone would wanna stick their hand into blood and guts was beyond her. Secondly, were vampires honestly that strong? She knew Buffy had a bunch of enhancements, but to be capable of doing something like that was, well, she couldn't comprehend having so much strength at her disposal.

He nodded, a smile lighting his insulted expression and faked a punch to her chest, stopping when his knuckles applied the slightest pressure to her heart. "Got boring when the novelty wore off, but yeah. I can do that. I'll show you sometime." He wondered what she'd make of getting a heart for Valentine's Day. Heh. He made a mental note to find out.

"I know this isn't something I should be interested in, what with me being a human and all, but being able to do that?" Cordelia shook her head. "I can't imagine it. On the plus side, moving furniture must be a cinch. As for proving it. I'm quite happy to take your word for it."

Was it her or did he look disappointed? "If you're sure."

"Very sure." Her shudder went from head to toe as horrid images invaded her, traumatising her poor brain. "Anyway, speaking of brutal workings. I need to work this cramp out. Not to mention the unholy amount of badness I've ingested the last few days. God," Cordelia grimaced and a hand went to her face, rubbing up and down her cheek. "I can feel the calories clogging my pores as we speak."

Angelus disappointment was rapidly replaced with intrigue, the male gene in him automatically drawing up blueprints for the many positions her body could get into. His head involuntarily cocked to one side and his lips curled up into a filthy smirk, his gaze focusing in on her breasts and his mind filled in the blanks. It was all too easy to conjure up pretty pictures of her doing all sorts of things. Bending, stretching, splitting, arching, bouncing, and dancing. Dancing while bending, stretching, splitting, bouncing, and arching.

"Lead the way, baby."

Whatever he was expecting was not what he got. Instead of an arousing show that put his wettest dream to shame, he got something that would make the Sugar Plum Fairy run screaming. Yes, there was stretching and bending and arching, but by all things hellish, it was disgusting. That was without taking her choice of music into consideration. What the hell was that noise anyway?

It was a God awful dancy thing with a high-pitched, squeaky voice which sounded like the Chipmunks on crack.

He watched her arms rise above her head and slowly go back down in perfect sync with her breathing. Sure, the rise and fall of her breasts was quite a nice view, it didn't detract from what she called a workout. The tight lycra outfit was a nice touch, but not nice enough to sway him from the... Thing she was doing. For God's sake, she was using the tiniest hand weights known to man. A tin of baked beans was heavier. Then the stretching was over and done with, leaving him horrifically watching while she marched on the spot, a happy little smile on her face.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the whole damned family. What the fuck was she doing? Did she even know?

Angelus continued to stare, his jaw on the floor, as Cordelia went from marching to the small step in front of her. She stood on it, then off, then on and off. He counted ten repititions before she switched rhythm. Her left foot followed her right, which then went down to the other side of the step, her left foot yet again following.

"Oh yeah!" She shot him a larger than large smile as she yet again did ten reps. "I'm feelin the burn."

Burn? The burn of what? Boredom? Uselessness? Stupidity?

He was finally able to speak when he caught sight of a fine sheen of sweat on her brow. How on Earth could that bring her out in a sweat? She did nothing bar march on the spot and walk a mile without getting anywhere. "What," he tried, hearing his voice come out slower than a snail. "What exactly are you doing?"

She stopped. "What do you mean? I'm working out."

Angelus giggled hysterically. "Is that what you call it?"

A frown appeared on her sweating face. "What's wrong with it? It gets the job done."

"The only job that's getting done is making you look like Tinkerbell on fast foward. That is not a workout. That's something you'd see on the Teletubbies!" As if that wasn't insult enough, "And you're sweating. You've done nothing and you're sweating, Cordelia. Sweating!"

She fully got down from the step and glared at him. "Of course I'm sweating. I've been busting my ass for the better part of half an hour."

He couldn't help it. Laughter bubbled up, filling the room with the deep, rich tone which came complete with aching chest and ribs. He clutched his stomach as he doubled over, tears leaking from the corner of tightly shut eyes. Busting her ass. He gradually stopped, but giggled the instant he looked at her damp face.

"What's so funny?"

"Busting your ass," Angelus managed, laughter interrupting every other word. "I beg to differ, honey. You have absolutely no idea what ass busting is." He wiped his eyes free of tears and looked at her with a mirthful gaze. Cordelia stood there, the perfect image of outraged female with her hands on her hips, megawatt death glare, and tapping foot. Ah hell, she was too damn sweet for her own good. Even if she knew less than nothing about working out.

She gasped at his audacity. "I'd like to see you do this."

"And I'd like to see you do a real workout."

A shaped brow arched and hazel eyes challenged him. "You do mine, I do yours?"

"You can do mine anytime you want, princess."

Cordelia shook her head and rolled her eyes. She was to used to his unique way with words to blush. "So what does one of your workouts consist of? Decapitating, blood sucking, or petty squabling with the Bleached One? All three?"

"Depends on my mood. Seriously Cor," Angelus said with a huge smirk. "If you think Elle got a body like that by marching on the spot, you are sadly mistaken."

She simply said, "Show me what ya got, Vampire," and paused long enough for something to pop into her head. Her smile went from insulted to a large, beaming, and heartily amused grin. "What do you get if you cross a vampire with a snowman?"

Angelus stepped up to the challenge and stood in front of the step. This oughta warm him up for a real workout. "I have no idea." He was just about to get with the programme when he heard the answer.

"Frostbite."

His foot hovered an inch above the step and turned a set of deeply unimpressed brown eyes her way. "That doesn't dignity a response of any kind." Her mind was, he decided, a strange place and he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to play games with it. Who knew if it was contagious.

"Oh come on, Angel," Cordelia's grin didn't falter. "It was funny. Admit it."

Frostbite indeed. "It was funny alright, but for the very wrong reason." His foot finally hit the step and the other quickly followed, only to land back on the floor, again followed by the other. Angelus repeated the move over and over and over, looking more and more bored with each repition. She watched it all, simultaneously amused and irritated that it was clearly doing nothing for him. "Yeah, Elle really got a body like hers doing this."

He glanced at her, feeling an overwhelming sense of victory at her pouting expression. So overwhelming he was hard pressed not to giggle merrily in her face. Guess the May Queen didn't like to be proved wrong, which was too damn bad since he loved to be right. Just so she knew exactly how pathetic her ideas of working out were, he began to show off by increasing his speed and changing the rhythm.

Cordelia crossed her arms as her grin fell, her eyes watching the blur that was his feet as he moved on and off the step with alarming alacrity. It got to the point where he seemed to be stepping, skipping, and jumping. "Okay," she yelled, half in disgust and half petulantly. "Okay, I get it. You don't have to be so mean about it."

"The words you want are," Angelus jumped down and all but levelled her with a devastating smile. "You're right, Angel, my workouts are useless."

Still determined not look like a total idiot, "They're not useless."

A dark eyebrow rose. "So what benefits do you get out of this?"

"A toner butt, firmer thighs, and stronger calves."

He snorted. Stronger calves? Yeah and he was the king of Siam. Angelus shook his head and flipped the step with a swift kick, easily catching it with one hand. "You want stronger leg muscles and a tighter ass? C'mere." She followed him to where he placed the step close to the nearest wall, gesturing to it with a small nod. "Place your toes on the edge and use your hands to balance on the wall."

Cordelia did as instructed, but not before she shot him an exaggerated sneer. "Rest and balance. Got it."

"Now, rise up on your tip toes."

"Ow!" She yelped when a burning sensation went from heel to the backs of her knees and thighs, and she glared at him. "What are you trying to do to me?" That freaking hurt!

His smile was so damned smug, she wanted to wipe it off with her sneakers. "Lower."

"No!"

Angelus shrugged. "Stay like that if you want. I'll just be over here, enjoying the show of you torturing yourself."

God, she really hated him sometimes. "Fine, fine," Cordelia grumbled. "I'll lower."

"Do it slowly." He watched critically and intervened the second he saw her back arching. Placing his hand at the base of her spine, he pushed until her posture straightened, and her feet were flat, her leg muscles shaking a little as they took all her weight. "Repeat."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to prepare herself, and once again rose up on tip toes. Christ, she could actually feel her calves working, could feel the muscles moving and responding under her skin, albeit painfully. Her nails slightly dug into the wall as she lowered, careful to keep her back straight and shoulders squared, but relaxed.

"Good," he said. "Eight more and this time, hold for five before lowering." He wanted to see exactly what her limits were for the simple fact he was sure she was capable of so much more than this lightweight excercise. Taking his hand off her spine, Angelus stood back a bit to see everything, and it was a far better show than what she was previously doing.

He could now see how her pants clung to her legs, could see the toned feminine muscles rippling seductively as she worked them up, could see that same muscle moving when she brought them down. Her ass was another matter altogether. Two firm cheeks were nice and round, looking like a perfect fit for his hands and his hands alone. Cordelia and tight ass called to the nastier side of him, and he was unable to stop himself from taking a little teasing treat.

Angelus closed the tiny distance between them and put both hands on the wall, using his body to effectively cage her in. She had such small hands compared to him, soft and delicate with a little gold ring on the fourth finger of her right hand. Didn't take much to get him imagining those small, soft hands wrapping tight around his cock.

Then there was her scent. Sweet and sour, a little tart at the back of his throat, but so very pleasent. He made a show of inhaling deeply, exhaling directly on her neck, causing her to falter slightly. "Five more, Cordelia," he whispered, his nose not quite touching her flesh. God, she smelled so good. Of him and her and sweat.

Cordelia rose up and motion made her ass brush ever so slightly against him, her eyes snapped shut and nails dug harder into the wall, hissing when a different set of muscles clenched tight. She lowered, yet again feeling him behind her. He was harder, bigger, than the first time.

"Four more." The intensifying scent of arousal taunted him, enticed him into sampling more than this weak excuse for sex. He moved a bit closer, placing his hands so his fingers brushed hers. "Good," he purposely groaned in her ear, "Good girl."

She moaned, partly in pain and mostly in need. "I'm hurting, Angel." She wanted to stop, wanted the aching to stop. Wanted him to make the aching stop.

"Where, princess?" He asked, his voice no more than a wicked whisper. "Where are you hurting?" He knew where, but wanted to hear it fall from her mouth. "Don't stop," he hissed. "Three more, Cordelia. Finish it."

Oh God, oh God. It wasn't just her leg muscles he meant, but that other place. The place that ached and burned and felt full of two weeks' worth of sexual tension made worse with every touch of his cock. Cordelia rose, feeling that place crunch down on emptiness, and held until a bad, heavy throb started deep. She lowered and glazed irises watched his fingers push hard on the wall. So it wasn't just her. Good.

"Good?" She croaked.

"Very good," Angelus breathed. "Good girl. Two more."

One was completed, but the last was postponed by the scraping of two dangerous fangs on her throat. Her lungs ceased to work and she froze, naturally fearing something much bigger than she, but helpless to prevent the tilting of her head which exposed every damn thing to him and whatever he wanted to do to her. It was a ticklish sensation, but not the kind of tickle that made a person laugh and pull away, it was the kind of sensation that made a person hum and tingle with pleasure, and this time he wasn't yelling at her for it.

Christ, all he'd have to do was apply the slightest pressure and he'd be inside, feeling all that hot rich blood coating his tongue and filling his veins with sex and sweetness. The little whore wanted it, he knew, wanted him to give in and do it. Ahh, what the hell. Since she couldn't see, Angelus smirked and bit down just enough that she'd feel tiny pinpricks, and let go.

So shocked she was at the feel of him biting her that she lost her footing, quite effectively setting them both off balance. Cordelia only just managed to push away from the wall so her head was okay, but on doing that, she went the other way entirely and landed on the floor with a loud shriek. Angelus dodged her and saved his ribcage, and grinned when he found himself staring down at a very dazed, very star shaped brunette.

He arched an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest, "Now that's busting ass."

The response he got was a rather impressive growl.

This time, the astonishment was all hers and none of it was horror. Cordelia stared in awe around the mansion basement. Basement. Ha. That was a laugh, if ever there was one. Wall to wall weapons, ranging from daggers and swords to dual bladed axes and throwing knives.

"Wow." She turned in a circle, her eyes going up to the centre of the ceiling where a punching bag hung, and then she looked at the wooden dummy sitting in the far right corner. The weights closely resembled truck tyres while a odd metal contraptiony thingy reminded her of those old stretching machines used in the days of yore. If he thought she was gonna be using anything in here, then he was in for a quake sized shock.

"It must've taken years to collect all this," she said in a voice filled with amazement.

"I've had the time." Angelus walked over to join her where she stood by his prized piece. He picked up the smaller samurai from the top and slid it out of the scabbard, watching how her eyes went wide at the sound of the razor sharp blade slicing through the air. "Got this set for free after I did a guy a favour. See the hilt?"

"Hilt?" Off his look, she shrugged and confessed. "I know less than nothing about weapons."

"The handle," he graciously informed her. "It's made of onyx. Hand made and designed specifically for me. Beautiful, don't you think?"

Honestly? "The weapon thing? Not really getting to me. Sorry."

He grinned. "Can't change a tyre, no interest in weapons... You're such a girl, Cordelia."

"And not ashamed of it. Can I hold it?" Maybe it was stupid to ask a vampire like him to give her a weapon and maybe it was stupid be around this stuff with him, but she couldn't help herself. There was a certain appeal to being her with him, seeing more to what she figured she already knew.

"Careful, it's sharp."

The blade swished as he handed it to her, hilt first. "No kidding," she murmured as she held it up to get a better look. Cordelia's breath hitched as she felt the weight bear down on her wrist and had to use her other hand to steady the sword. Though it was the smallest one, it still managed to make her fingers look tiny and the pure black shade made them appear ghost white.

"Easy there." Angelus was quick to stop her from dropping it when her wrist gave way under the weight. Hell if she didn't feel damn good to him. Her skin was as soft as the other day, more so in fact, and his entire palm wrapped right round the fragile joint. It took everything he had not to take the opportunity to have a good feel. "Let me."

Cordelia froze as he got behind her, his free hand guiding her to safe distance from the rest of the set. The hand went from waist to her left wrist and he closed both round the hilt, his voice calm and deep and soothing in her ear. "Follow my lead."

His eyes snapped shut for a second when her felt her body inch back a bit, bringing her ass close to his cock. He heard the slow, exhaled breath and the almost inaudiable oh. Bringing her here had been a bad, bad idea.

Angelus moved carefully and at a tempo right for her. He was pleased to see she effortlessly followed his motions, her hands went in perfect time to his, her shoulders went into line with his, and even her hips managed to go with the flow. He used his body's natural sway to ease her round, then followed with a low swoop, and he grinned when she flinched at the slashed air.

"Good," he praised. "Keep going."

He copied and again, she went with him until it got too much and she was out of breath. "Now that," Cordelia's grin was huge, "Was cool." Her palms were sweaty, she was shaking, and her arms felt like jello. She'd hardly done anything and it seemed like she'd just run a marathon.

"You okay?" Her whole body was trembling.

"Uh-huh."

Her cheeks were all rosy and puffed out with the size of her smile, her eyes were shining and she looked completely irrisitable. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to bring her here after all.

"I'll put this away. Feel free to have a look around." Angelus turned away to do two things. One, put the samurai back, and two to wish he could bash his head off the wall without raising suspicion. He set about wiping the fingerprints off the hilt and blade with his shirt, all the while tuning his hearing into her pulse and heart beat, allowing him to have some form of pleasure.

"Hey, you have crossbows." Him having crossbows didn't sit right with her, not when it was what she used to dust vampires.

"Got stakes somewhere in here."

"Ooh," Cordelia picked up one of the crossbows and studied it with a relatively untrained eye. Was it possible for a crossbow to be cute? Cus this one was. "This one is ten times smaller than the ones Giles lets me use." Jokingly pointing it at him, "Stick em up."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, too concerned with making sure the hilt was sparkling to know her hands were as untrained as her eyes.

She fingered various parts of the crossbow, touching the tip of the arrow and what she assumed to be the safety catch, then watched and listened in horror as it clicked, sending the arrow out of the bow and into him. Oh God, oh God. Blood started to run and it was staining his shirt and she was too stunned to do anything to help.

Angelus snarled and vamped as every nerve he had burned, agony shot through his back and chest when his legs gave way under the pain of being impaled. All his weight bore down on bent knees, his fingers and nails scraped off the floor, and his snarls faded into heavy gasps that showed just how much pain he was in. "Pull. It. Out."

Cordelia's numb hands instantly dropped the crossbow, numb feet took her to him, numb lips yelled for Spike, and numb eyes glistened with unshed tears. She tried, really she did, to remove the arrow, but more blood escaped and she just couldn't do it. This time, she screamed for Spike, but there was no answer.

She gave one final tug, feeling her stomach and heart jump at the sound it made when it came free. She threw it to one side and helped Angelus to ease onto his side, her palm pressing down on the wound she did and more tears fell when cool, red liquid seeped between her fingers. "So, so sorry. God Angel, I'm sorry. Didn't mean too hurt you." Didn't mean to shoot you.

Despite his circumstance, he managed to choke out a laugh that forced blood from his mouth, horrifying her just that bit more. There was no time to react before he brought her head down and bit into her throat, not hesitating to take what he needed to heal. Cordelia's scream was music, her hands fumbled with his shoulders and body shook, the knowledge she was being bitten increased the fear coarsing through her.

Christ, she was terrified, honest to God terrified both of and for him. Pain, suffering, guilt, excitement, fear. He tasted it all, but there was something else, something so much sweeter than those wicked emotions and it got stronger the deeper he bit. Angelus smirked against the supple throat, even through the hell he was in, and slowed his lips down, making the sucking almost gentle.

No longer was his bite desperate, no longer was the pain in her throat, instead all she felt was a kiss. A gentle kiss that left her dizzy and weak, a kiss that could very well mean her death, but she didn't particularly care. All Cordelia cared about were the lips enticing her blood from her to him, the arms now holding her steady, and low purrs vibrating right through her.

It was almost as though he was a part of her, like him drinking her in was something strange and lethal and good. God, it felt incredible and that was before his tongue licked a line of fire up her jugular. Her breathing changed from sharp and harsh to soft, subtle puffs that warmed his cheek and made him wonder if that would be how she'd sound when she climaxed.

Angelus slowly, reluctantly, pulled his lips and teeth from her neck, using his tongue to capture each and every last drop until a final kiss sealed the two tiny little holes. His eyes went from gold to brown and ridges straightened, and though his senses were on a fucking hellish rollercoaster, he was grounded enough to see the rapture on her beautiful face.

"Delicious," he murmured, pushing her damp hair to one side and away from his bite mark. "You are fucking delicious."

Angelus leaned closer to her. "I want more."