Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel or any of the characters mentioned in either cannon.

Author's Note: Sorry about not updating sooner. Been kind of off my game lately. ): Special thanks to frosty600 for being my Beta for this fan-fiction. (: Warning: I rated the story as high as I could for the smut scenes. I'm warning you now that they might be more NC-17 - NC-21. I'm not sure which rating is more fitting so I'd rather be safe and give you all a proper warning. Please review. It encourages me to write more.

Chapter Four

Jerking free of Angelus's grasp, Buffy glared at him heatedly. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Since when did you get a mouth on you like that?" Quirking a brow, he looked at Buffy disgustedly. Old fashion, Angelus didn't favor women that talked like that. Making a tsking sound with his mouth, he stole a glance at her.

A little caught off guard by his question, Buffy remained silent, unable to find an answer. It just kind of happened and when you really listened, it just didn't sound right coming out of her mouth. Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm going home." The announcement was short-lived when Angelus growled at her in warning.

"Do you really think you can protect every one of them from me ..." The question was more of rhetorical than anything else.

Trying to figure out a way to defeat him, get her family back, and not hurt Angel more than she already had proved to be difficult and seemed like it was completely impossible. "Do you really need to remind me how 'threatening' you are? You don't scare me." But he did, and he always had.

Quirking a brow, Angelus remained quiet, which was quite unusual for him. Smiling finally to himself, he stopped walking, only to laugh when the Slayer did as well. "Stalking me now Slayer?"

Turning to face him, having only been a few steps ahead, Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but instead found herself swallowing a mouth full of blood as she tried to regain her footing. Taking advantage of her surprise, Angelus threw another punch to her face and then another. Well out of practice, Buffy went into Mommy mode as the need to stay alive to protect her daughter went through her thoughts. The two of them fought in the middle of the street with no one around and absolutely no traffic. Angelus silently thanked Buffy for moving out of California despite it making her that much harder to find. Then again, he always did love the chase.

The two went round and round, Angelus having the upper hand from Angel spending the last five years still fighting despite gaining his redemption. Chuckling to himself, he threw a punch purposely, knowing Buffy would block it, so that he'd get her confidence up with the intention of using it against her. Within seconds, he had her feet knocked out beneath her. The sickening sound of her head meeting the asphalt almost made him worry. He didn't want to kill her, he wanted to claim her. Growling he stalked over to check on her. She always had to fuck up his plans somehow. Noticing her struggling to get up, he put much of his strength behind the hit that laid her out before him. Oddly enough, Angel had remained silent.

Bending down, Angelus picked Buffy up, noting the way she still fit perfectly in his arms and how her feet dangled over his arms as he carried her. It needed to be done. It's what he told himself and what he told Angel, but yet he received no response. Angelus took Angel's lack of response for agreement with him. Whistling, Angelus carried Buffy to the car and placed her inside. Knowing he wouldn't have much time to work, he decided to come back later to finish what needed to be done. With one glance at Buffy, he started the ignition and drove to the house Angel had rented on the outskirts of town when he had learned of Buffy's whereabouts.

As he carried Buffy into the house, Angelus wondered if it was more work than what it was worth. He pictured Buffy crying, begging, and bleeding. Pausing, he closed his eyes and imagined the sweet scent of her blood and that's when it hit him. The image of Buffy's face contorted in a mixture of pleasure and pain as he fucked her made his dick twitch in anticipation. It was definitely worth it.

The steps were taken to the master bedroom where Angelus undressed Buffy and then placed the chains on both her arms and legs. Magically bound, he knew they were unbreakable. He had tested them out prior to using them on her. Knowing she'd be cold, but not understanding why he cared, Angelus covered her with the comforter, before walking out of the room. He left her to question his whereabouts and panic about what he could be doing.

An idea forming in his head, he chuckled. Life really was great. Great to end anyways. Grabbing the keys he had previously tossed onto the table, Angelus made his way back to Buffy's home. He didn't mind spending the day there. Everything needed to be handled so he could get back to Buffy. She needed to learn her lesson, needed to be broken in again. She had found her freedom, and he enjoyed being the one to snatch it away from her.

Bound by the chains, Buffy remained asleep, unaware of her real surrounds, a victim of her own mind, imprisoned by her dream.

There was a chill in the air from the wind that scattered the fallen petals from flowers having blossomed beneath the warmth of the sun. As she bent down to pick up a rose petal from the ground, her hands left her arms from where they had been trying to warm the chilled skin. The sweet fragrance had yet to fade from the flower that had yet to begin to wilt. The silk of the petal was felt as her finger smoothed across the vibrant red. Closing her hand around the petal, she stood back up and continued to her destination. The petal was slipped into her pocket, but not forgotten. It was a reminder of a time when more than just flowers blossomed in her life. Eyes tearing, she easily blamed the wind and denied the control memories still had over her emotions. Feet leading her to the swing she carefully sat upon in and found herself encircled with beauty only nature had to offer her.

Her body swayed back and forth in a motion that pacified and lullabied not only her, but the baby growing within her womb. The water rushing in the creek put her mind at ease as she watched butterflies soaring high above her until she lost sight of them. Smiling sadly, she gripped the swing's ropes tightly as she rested her head against one side. She could still see him with his hands in the soil as he planted the flowers that now grew wildly all around her. Pushing herself out of the swing, she journeyed to the warm blanket beneath the sun and lowered herself to it. Everything had changed and there was not a damn thing she could do about it except to move forward and just … forget.

Jerking awake, Buffy felt a numbness in her arms and legs, but a searing pain in her head. Reaching to touch it, she felt the restraints. Tears already on her face, she realized Angelus had no intentions on ever letting her forget, not him, not Angel, not anything…

Author's Note: I'll be updating Petals of Blood next. Maybe by then, I'll be back in happy mode and can update Wild Irish Rose. Love you guys.