The Vampire, the Witch and the Curse

Author:  Lisa

e-mail:  tolisakelley@hotmail.com

Pairing: W/A

Rating:  NC-17

Disclaimer:  No rights belong to me.

Feedback:  Please. I’ve never written anything before, so input would help a lot.

Spoilers:  Early season 5/Buffy, early season 2/Angel

Summary:  Angel has some inconvenient problems, Willow has some news, and
everybody has a really nasty demon to deal with.

Notes:  Tara’s very sweet, but in this case, an inconvenient woman, therefore
she doesn’t exist.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
 

~Part: 1~

Angel came so hard he woke himself up. Groaning inwardly, he couldn’t remember the last time he woke up and the sheets weren’t sticky. He rubbed his face vigorously to clear his head and sighed. Better get up and put the sheets in the washer. He got up, wiped himself off with the sheet,  slipped into his pants, stripped the bed and began what had become a daily chore since he’d started having intensely erotic dreams about Willow every time he went to sleep. "For chrissake! I’ve been around for two and half centuries and one demure little redhead somehow has turned me into a wet dream having teenager. It’s fucking ridiculous!" He had no clue what to blame the onset of this attraction on, it just started out of the blue. His thoughts were focused now on the lovely Willow……"God, she’s everything……brilliant, funny, sweet, loyal….that tight little body and beautiful ass, but pure and wholesome, with skin so perfect…in his dream her flawless skin had glowed in the moonlight as she writhed and moaned underneath him in ecstasy…screaming his name as she came…..UGHHH. Better put these pants in the laundry too. Shit."

Once Angel showered and changed, he gathered up the laundry basket and headed toward the basement. He was halfway across the lobby when Cordelia called out her evening greeting. "Hey Angel, glad you’re up, hope you slept well. You sure do a lot of laundry lately, are you going for the Good Housekeeping Vampire of the year award or what? Geez."

Angel glanced in her direction, said "hey Cordy", ignored her remark and continued toward the laundry room.

Returning to the lobby, Angel schooled his features to nonchalance….he hoped. Nobody knew what was going on with him, so there was no reason to feel self-conscious. He snorted to himself as he wondered when self-consciousness ever required reason. As he re-entered the lobby Cordelia waved him over. "Angel, Willow’s coming to visit us!"

“Willow! Oh. Huh? Where? Here? When? Oh. Why?”

"God, Angel, coherent much? Well, Willow called today and I told her about the problems we’re having working out the bugs in the new computer system. She said she needs to see you anyway, so she’s going to come right away for a short visit and fix us right up, no problem. Great or what?! I’ll enjoy having another girl around for awhile. You know, not counting Wesley, that is.

Angel vacillated between looks of panic and confusion.  He frantically thought, “how am I going to manage behaving normally around the woman I’m having lusty fantasies about when I’m awake, and hot, sweaty, monkey sex with when I’m asleep?  Shit.  I’m getting a hard-on just thinking about how not to get one!  He was grateful to be leaning against the counter.  Think kittens…or nuns.  Christ!  Not nuns.”
He willed himself into control.  Finally, he asked, “Why does Willow want to see me?”

"How should I know? It’s not like it’s any of my beeswax! Oh, and since you have this big hotel all to yourself, I invited her to stay here with you."

Angel thought maybe he was elated, but was too nervous to know for sure. Willow, here. Beautiful, sexy Willow, staying here. This was a lot to take in. "When will she arrive?"

Cordelia glanced at her watch and said, "any time now, I’d guess."

Angel looked toward the door, back to Cordelia, then at what he was wearing. "I should change. Should I change? I should change. How do I look? Do I look okay?"

Cordelia’s eyebrow went up and with a knowing look, she nodded and said, "Aha! Angel, you’ve got a thing for Willow! You’re even sounding like her, with all the babbling. When did this come about?"

Angel knew at this moment exactly what a deer with its eyes caught in headlights must feel like.

**************

Willow was nervous and excited about her upcoming visit, as she drove toward L.A.  She knew she’d feel better once she confessed her burden to Angel, it had been weighing on her heavily since she discovered it yesterday.   Getting away from her usual routine and friends would be good for her. She thought, "I’m an adult now, time to have experiences outside the confinement of my Sunnydale roles in life. Cordelia seems so much nicer and more grounded when I talk to her on the phone or in e-mails." Cordelia and Willow had been in touch off and on for a while now. It was handy to have access to another group that shared a similar mission. Willow looked forward to getting to know the ‘new and improved, vision having’ Cordelia better. Wesley had become a better person as well from what Willow had gathered. Willow asked herself "has a new life in L.A. changed Angel, too?"

Angel. It seemed to Willow, any female who had met Angel would have thoughts of him. His quiet intensity, strength, intelligence, kindness……broad shoulders, soulful eyes, sexy mouth. "No, no, no! Can’t think of Angel lustfully, she chided herself. If I sit here and fantasize about him, how can I look him in the eye without blushes giving me away when I see him? Not to mention looking Buffy in the eye when I get home. Angel had the starring role in Willow’s sex dreams fairly regularly, ever since she’d first started having them in high school. This had caused lots of awkward moments….luckily, in this case, those weren’t unusual for her, therefore not a dead giveaway. Many times through the years she had averted her eyes and stammered in Angel’s presence, Buffy’s presence, and especially, the presence of them together, due to guilt from nasty things she and Angel had done together in her dreams. "Nope, self, no thinking of the ‘Angel fuckability factor’! Think of frogs, instead. Oh! No! Too scary. Think of Xander and Anya together. Yes! Now that’s the car trip equivalent of a cold shower."

"Time to start looking for my freeway turn-off anyway, there’s a good distraction. Not paying attention here is a good way to get lost." Lost in L.A. sounded a lot scarier than vamps, demons, and otherworldly beasties….at least to a Sunnydale girl like Willow. She passed the rest of the trip carefully following Cordelia’s directions to the Hyperion. Once she parked in front of the hotel, she checked her appearance as best she could in the rearview mirror, “not too bad for after a car trip.”   Emerging from the car she stretched and said confidently to herself "okay, I’m going to make the most of this time to reacquaint myself with the A.I. gang and help out where I can." She shuddered slightly remembering her original purpose here and thought, "I hope like hell Angel doesn’t hate me for not discovering the whole truth about the Gypsy curse sooner."

***************

Angel stood at the front desk of the Hyperion fidgeting under Cordelia’s scrutiny, trying to ignore her smug and amused smirk. He opened his mouth several times to respond, but nothing came out. Angel grumbled to himself, "how in the hell is she so intuitive and insightful about these things anyway, you’d think her self absorption would make that impossible." Angel’s humiliating ‘sleep-time emissions’ made him too uncomfortable to even think about confessing the related attraction to Willow.

A "hi guys" from the doorway saved Angel from having to respond to Cordelia. Angel and Cordelia turned to see Willow smiling cheerily.  Cordelia ran across the lobby to greet her friend.

Willow grunted from the impact of Cordelia’s enthusiastic hug and grinned at the other girl’s happy squeal. "Willow, we’re so glad to see you, you look great! How was the drive? Are you tired? Can I get you something to drink? Eat?"

Willow never thought she’d see the day Queen C would welcome her so…. buoyantly. "Thanks Cordy, but I’m fine, the drive was fine and your directions were easy to follow. Just happy to be out of the car and finally here. This place is awesome…..and huge, I love it." She spotted Angel off to the side, smiling sweetly.

"It’s so nice to see you, Willow, and thank you, I‘m glad you like the hotel", the vampire said shyly. He was unnerved by the changes in her. She looked as lovely as ever, but more mature and confident. Her clothes were distracting, some sort of black leotard, cut low enough to rivet his attention on her firm, high breasts and a skirt that was all soft and flowy and really flattering. With great self-control he forced his eyes to remain on her face.

The little witch was pretty unnerved herself; Angel’s presence always had an electric effect on her. She never became immune. She gathered enough presence of mind to approach Angel and give him an affectionate hug and kiss on the cheek, "thanks Angel, it’s nice to see you too. L.A. seems to agree with you."

While it amused the hell out of her to watch these two be oblivious to the fact that their attraction was mutual, Cordelia thought it was time to move past their social discomfort. Their cluelessness was endearing since it sprang from the modest, unassuming qualities they both possessed, but she could only stand so much. "Come on Willow, I’ll show you to your room. You can freshen up and unpack. When you feel settled in, we can have a take-out feast here in the lobby and the four of us can catch up. Wesley should be here by then."

Willow smiled in Angel’s direction as she followed Cordelia up the stairs. Angel smiled back and thought, with relief, "that went well, I’m pretty sure I didn’t make a complete ass of myself. Mostly thanks to Cordelia, I hate to admit it, but she ushered Willow out of here just in time. Given more time, I surely would’ve said something moronic out of nervousness and ruined the moment." He also gave mental thanks to Willow, her timely entrance saved him from a Cordy sized inquisition into his infatuation for Willow. The stunning redhead’s arrival made him realize something. His attraction wasn’t just sexual, he loved Willow.

**************

The members of Angel Investigations enjoyed their evening of food, fun and catching up with Willow. It was a nice diversion to have someone new around, since they saw only each other day in and day out…a new face was good. Her insights and input into the supernatural things they all dealt with were enlightening, too. A night off from fighting evil was good for them all, it seemed the world of baddies were taking the night off and giving them a well deserved break.

Wesley got up from the couch and said he was heading home. "Willow, it’s a great pleasure having you here, I look forward to working with you during your visit. See everyone tomorrow!"

"Bye, Wesley" the remaining three said in unison.

Since being left alone with Cordelia would mean the third degree and being left alone with Willow flustered him, Angel felt pressure to be the next to say goodnight. "See you ladies tomorrow, thanks for such a nice evening," with that, he headed off to his room.

  Cordelia smiled at Willow and said "it really is great seeing you, I feel lucky that we’ve become friends and put the past behind us. Thank you for being the forgiving type."

"Cordelia, you’ve changed, it’s not hard to turn over a new leaf with you, I feel lucky to be friends too. Now, I’ve got to get to bed before I drop. Tomorrow’s a big day." Willow hugged Cordelia, said goodnight and went upstairs.

With everyone else gone, Cordelia turned out the lights, locked the door and left for home. Willow was more right than she knew when she said tomorrow would be a big day. Cordelia wasn’t sure what to think of all the implications of the things she’d learned today.  She thought to herself, “Angel has it bad for Willow, that’s for sure, and any fool can see Willow’s attracted to him too. I have high hopes for those two.  Naturally, I don’t want anything to threaten Angel’s soul (been there, done that, hated it!!), but he’s such a pro at keeping a tight lid on happiness.  If anyone could let romance into their life, while maintaining a balance, it was Angel.  And while I’m on the subject of things that are none of my damned business;  what’s the big, mysterious thing Willow needs to talk to Angel about, anyway?  She’s so tight lipped about it, you’d think it a was state secret or something.  Whew, it’s gonna be like freakin’ Melrose Place around here for a while!"

~Part: 2~

Willow couldn’t get ready for bed without talking to Angel. It couldn’t be put off, the sooner she got it over with, the better. While working up some nerve, she gazed around the room from the cozy wingback chair she was sitting in. The hotel was gorgeous, she loved the art deco design. Her bathroom had pink and black tile everywhere, which reminded her of the fifties. She had no idea what era the bedroom furniture was from, but it was elegant and intricate and made out of Cherry wood. This whole place suited Angel to a tee. Styles and designs from different eras combined to form a tasteful whole.

"Okay, enough lollygagging, time to face the music." Willow walked across the corridor to the room Cordelia had pointed out earlier as Angel’s. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she knocked.

Angel was sitting in his room brooding about his feelings for Willow and trying to assimilate the new ones. He was jarred out of his reverie when he heard the knock. Knowing by scent who it was, he wished like hell he had a reflection. A quick brush to clear wrinkles out of his slacks would have to do. He crossed to the door and opened it for Willow with a smile of greeting.

"Um, hi Angel, I’m really sorry….um, to bother you. You know, with the vamp thing, I figured you’d still be up. I can go, this can…..

Angel interrupted her, anxious to put her at ease "It’s no bother at all, Willow, please come in." He had no idea what brought her to his room, but he sure liked her presence in it. "Sit anywhere, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you, I’m fine" she replied as she looked around the room for a chair, choosing one similar to the one she’d found so comfy in her own room. "Angel, this whole place is so tasteful and beautiful, yet cozy and inviting, it fits you like a glove."  She tried not to think about the fact that she was alone in the room with Angel and a bed.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me coming from you," he said as he seated himself across from her. "I feel very at home here."  He tried not to think about the fact that he was alone in the room with Willow and a bed.

Willow smiled and looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. Fighting down nerves, she looked up at the handsome vampire. "Angel, I have something to tell you and I’m scared to death you’re going to be furious with me, so I’m just going to spit it out."

Angel leaned toward her, giving her a look of deep affection and reassurance and said "Willow, you have the kindest heart of anyone I know…..have ever known. Whatever it is, just tell me, I could never be angry with you."

In spite of his kind words, she was still agitated. "Okay. Well….um, thanks for saying those nice things, but, well, okay. This is the thing. Remember when I returned your soul? Oh, man, stupid question, of course you do. Anyway, I didn’t understand the words I was speaking….. I wasn’t even speaking, the spell just took me over. Recently I thought it would be a good idea to translate it, so if it were needed again it would be um…you know, user friendly. Yeah. So, it’s kind of tricky because the Romany have lots of dialects to begin with, and Miss Calender’s family seems to have had their very own. I mean, like, lots of phrases and words look the same, but can mean something entirely different, depending on the way they’re said. Which isn’t even relevant since my version didn’t even have a curse…. just the soul restoration spell. So. Angel, your soul is permanent and can’t be budged no matter how happy you get. I’m so, so, so sorry I just found this out….all these years you could have been happy…..it’s like I stole something that should have been yours a long time ago. Yours and Buffy’s." With all that said in practically one breath, Willow burst into tears.

Angel was overwhelmed with more emotions than he could register; joy at what he’d just been told, love for Willow that he could now express and experience to it’s fullest without dangerous repercussions, anguish at the guilt and pain Willow had carried from the time she had made the discovery, until she’d told him of it. He couldn’t name all the emotions, but Willow’s sobs were breaking his heart, so comforting her was his foremost priority.

Kneeling in front of her, taking her hands in his, he said, "darling Willow, please don’t cry. You’ve always been so generous and kind to me, such a perfect example of love and selflessness. Shhhh, love, please don’t cry." Angel stood, pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket. He put the handkerchief in her lap and picked her up, sitting himself in her chair, with her in his lap. Holding her close, he buried his face in her hair and softly spoke directly into her ear, "you’ve given me more since I’ve known you than I can ever repay. Please don’t think I’m angry with you, I couldn’t bear it. Look at me, sweetheart." Willow looked up and into Angel’s warm, brown eyes, which were full of love and concern. "Do you understand that you’ve done nothing wrong?"

"I..I…I…hic.."

  Angel smiled kindly, looking into her lovely green eyes, shiny with tears. He put the handkerchief into Willow’s hand. "Here, blow your nose and wipe your tears. We’ll just sit here and I’ll hold you until you feel calmer and better, we don’t have to talk until you’re able. Just take your time, and catch your breath." He rested his cheek on the top of her head while she tended to her wet face and gently rocked her. Pretty soon her breathing evened out. Willow was asleep. Angel cuddled her close. Poor thing had had such a long day, the crying just used up what energy she had left. Holding Willow close and knowing his soul was permanently fixed made Angel more content than he’d ever felt in all his years. The possibilities for the future ran unchecked through his mind. ‘Happy’ felt pretty damned good.

As Willow continued to sleep soundly, Angel’s mind zeroed in on what she had said about Buffy.  “I plan to try to win Willow’s heart,” he thought. “She needs disabused of the idea of Buffy and me before I can even stand a chance.”  As he considered ways to clear up Willow’s misconceptions, she nestled her face deeper into his neck and her bottom more firmly on his lap.  He moaned and fought the urge to grind into her enticing bottom.  Forcing his thoughts away from the temptation pressed against him was a struggle.  At some point he drifted off to sleep

Angel woke up mid-day, loving the soft, warm feeling of Willow in his arms.  How ironic.  He had slept without erotic dreams of Willow for the first time in ages, and the object of his desires was right here tempting his willpower beyond reason.  The dreams he’d just had hadn’t had sex, but they had Willow.  Lots of lovely Willow.

He was undecided as to whether he should tuck Willow into her bed or just stay right here holding her.  She was exhausted from the stress of worrying about his reaction to her discovery, the long drive from Sunnydale, and being up most of the night.  Finally he decided to tuck her into his bed.  She continued to sleep soundly.  He admired the sight of Willow in his bed.  A sight he had dreamed of repeatedly.  Tearing his eyes away from the beautiful woman in his bed, he went to take a shower and get dressed.

************

“Good afternoon Cordy, Wesley,” Angel said cheerfully as he descended the stairs into the lobby.

“Hello Angel, you are very chipper indeed today, I see”, Wesley responded.

“Wow, no laundry today Angel?”  Cordelia replied acerbically.

Angel went directly to the fridge to get some blood, “yes Wes, I’m feeling very chipper today”, as he put the blood in the microwave, “and no, Cordelia, there will be no laundering for me today.”  The microwave beeped and he took his mug to a desk to enjoy it, “so, what do we have going on?’

“A couple of things, but I’m wondering where our guest is,” Wesley replied.

Angel glanced at Wesley and said “Willow is very tired, I’m sure she’ll be up and about soon.”

With a thoughtful expression, Cordelia watched Angel, “hmm. a ‘chipper’ Angel, and a tired Willow.  This is interesting,” she mused.

Wesley put two books and some papers on the counter and proceeded to update Angel.  “First off, there is quite a lot of vampire activity on the grounds of  Griffith Observatory.  That should be a very straightforward problem to solve.  Secondly, and more difficult to deal with, are the recent sightings of a Pordkai demon.  He’s been seen all over the L.A. area and there have been multiple attacks…resulting in death.”

    Angel couldn’t think of any reference he knew of to a..... “what kind of demon is it?”

    “Pordkai”

    Still didn’t ring any bells for the vampire, “never heard of it, what do we know about it?”

The former watcher was in his element quoting from huge, musty books.  Clearing his throat, he said “the information on this demon is in Tynac, an obscure demon language, but I can give you a fairly accurate translation:  The Pordkai demon is roughly the height of a tall human male, has leathery skin with a bluish cast, relatively small hands with thick, long claws, large yellow eyes, no nose, a small round mouth with a large amount of very sharp teeth and oversized furry ears.  Their diet consists of human hearts.  They spew a black liquid when agitated that is very dangerous, the only known effect of the liquid is death, as no one has ever survived it.  No known anecdote.  The Pordkai is rarely seen in this dimension.  They’re immortal and can only be killed by submerging their head in water…..whether attached or not.  Once the head is submerged, both it and the body disintegrate.

“Ewwww, you’d think a girl would get used to it, but, no, still grossed out here,” Cordelia said with disgust.  “Still, a demon that’s water soluble is a good thing, right?  Well, the heart eating demon part is bad, but ‘dissolves in water’, I like.  All yucky things should be that thoughtful.  I’ve always thought it was considerate of vamps to turn to dust when they’re killed.  No muss, no fuss.  At most you might need a broom or dust buster.”

Angel smiled at Cordelia’s commentary and asked, “any other references in the books or computer?”

Wesley shook his head, “that’s the sum total of information on them, I’m afraid.”

***********

Willow woke feeling rested and basked in luxurious comfort.  She turned her face into the pillow and thought, “mmmm, Downey fresh, they must’ve just washed the sheets.    She opened her eyes and was very surprised to find herself in Angel’s bed.  She had a pretty good idea how she had gotten there.  Waking in Angel’s bed should’ve been a dream come true.  Instead, she was horrified at the memory of last nights events.  “Gods, he was the one who just found out he could’ve been blissfully happy with his soul mate all of this time….this wasted time.  He should’ve been the one getting comforted….or getting the opportunity to berate me for being an idiot.  But no, I start bawling like a baby, and being the kind, wonderful guy he is, he does all he can to make me feel better.  Angel is really extraordinary.  I feel like such a jerk!  Well, I’m going to do anything I can to make up for it.  Starting right now.  With great resolve, Willow got up and marched to the bathroom to get ready for her day.

Meanwhile downstairs Cordelia was paging Gunn so they could all put there heads together and come up with a game plan.  “Done!  We should hear from him soon.”

Wesley was quite put out, “I don’t see why we need him, we’ve killed countless demons and vampires by ourselves and have a remarkable track record…if I do say so myself.”

“Wes, if you weren’t such a weenie, you wouldn’t feel so threatened by an extra pair of hands around here,” Cordelia said as she leaned over to answer the phone.  “Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless.  Hi Gunn!  Yep, that’s it.  This time we have the usual multi vamps with the added joy of a deadly, juice spewing, heart eating demon.  Great, see you then.”  She hung up the phone and said, “he’ll be here within the hour, ready to wield an ax or stake or whatever it takes.”

Angel, who had been watching Wesley pout and thinking of Willow’s glorious red hair spread out over his pillow said “snap out of it Wes, he’s a great guy to have around and we’re lucky he’s even willing help us.”

Now feeling threatened and chastened Wesley muttered, “I’m just saying.”

Angel looked up and saw Willow coming down the stairs.  Standing up and smiling besottedly, he said,  “Willow!  Did you sleep well?  Did you have everything you needed?  Is there anything I can get you?  You look rested.”  She looked radiant, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  How best to pursue her had been on his mind constantly since he received the good news the night before.  Not exactly constantly, interspersed with thoughts of their making passionate love, fucking like bunnies, finding creative uses for all manner of furniture.  He sat down abruptly as his pants changed shape.

“I slept like a baby and didn’t need a thing, thank you for asking though.  You’ve all been great hosts and this place is very comfortable and inviting,” Willow said all this looking everywhere except at Angel, she wasn’t quite able to make eye contact with him yet.  She had a lot to make up to him, but first she had to get her libidinous thoughts under control.

Scoffing, Cordelia said, “if you had been here before we killed the Thesulac demon who wreaked havoc here for 70 or so years you wouldn’t have thought it was so ‘comfortable and inviting’.  He thrived on paranoia, it was god awful.  But he’s dead now,” Cordy grinned “and I’m glad you like it here with us.”

Willow grinned back “you’d think a paranoia eater would live in a high school, you know, the insecurity capitols of the world.”  Thinking about that statement for second, she said, “well, for the rest of us…not for the mighty May Queen.”

“Ha, ha.”  Cordelia was very interested to see that while Angel couldn’t stop looking at Willow and was even now moving to hover  near her, Willow’s eyes were wherever Angel wasn’t.  At this rate,  nothing was going to happen quickly with these two.  It takes two to tango….vertically or horizontally.

“Armed and ready for mayhem, folks!  Hey, who’s this pretty thing?”  Charles Gunn said as he strolled across the room.

Nobody heard the low growl that came from Angel as Cordelia made the introductions, but Cordelia saw the thunderous expression on the vampires face and smothered a chuckle.  “Maybe things will move faster than I thought,” she murmured to herself.

“Willow, it’s nice to meet you.  From what I’ve heard of Sunnydale, you must be an expert on the things we hunt,” Gunn said as he shook the pretty redhead’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too, and I’m no expert, but I get a lot of practice.  Sunnydale offers a ‘higher education program’ on all things supernatural.  Wish I had a dime for every demon or prophecy we’ve researched,” Willow smiled.

Gunn smiled back and said “I hear that.  Speaking of which…”

  “Right,”  Angel was happy to get into the conversation and move Gunn’s attention away from Willow.  He sat on the computer desk and said, “let’s start with Wes’ information on the Pordkai demon.  Willow, come sit here by me so you’re near the computer.  Go ahead Wes.”

Everyone gathered around the desks and Willow took a seat at the computer trying not to think about Angel’s proximity.  Wesley  filled Willow and Gunn in on everything there was to know about the Pordkai demon and latest vamp infestation.

 Willow had never heard of this demon and asked, “has the Pordkai shown any patterns?  Types of people or places…or anything?”

“Not that we’ve been able to ascertain.”

“Let me try the internet, my databases have lots of obscure demons that I’ve been unable to find any where else.”  Willow got to work, tapping away at the keyboard.

“While Willow looks for information, I can learn sources she has that we don’t, so we have them next time.  Also she can show me sites with pictures, that would be really helpful when I have visions.”

“Good.  Willow, Cordy, you stay here and do that.  Wesley, Gunn, you’re with me.  Until we have more information on the demon, we can keep busy getting rid of the vamps terrorizing the observatory.

“Okay, bye guys,” Cordelia said distractedly as she tried to follow what Willow was doing on the computer.

~Part: 3~

The guys hadn’t returned yet and Cordelia had gone home exhausted.  Willow was finishing up book marking sites, especially ones that would be specifically helpful to the seer.  She’d had no luck with the Pordkai demon search.

Willow was mystified.  There had been no sign that Angel had mentioned his newly discovered soul status to anyone.  “What’s up with that,” Willow wondered.  “I’d think he’d be shouting it from the rooftops…..or speeding off to Sunnydale to fuck Buffy’s brains out.”  That last thought depressed the hell out of her.  She sighed.  “I can’t help it.  At least to myself I have to admit I’m crazy about Angel.  Thinking he’s just ‘hot dream fodder’ is just kidding myself.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!  How did I let this happen?   My best friend totally owns his heart.  I’m such a bad person.  My feelings for Angel make me disloyal to my friendships for both of them.”

“The endearments Angel used while comforting me last night,” she mulled sullenly, “did me in. ‘Darling Willow, love, sweetheart.’  To top it off he reverted to an Irish brogue from the time I started crying.  I’ve never heard him do that before.  Stupid vampire.  Doesn’t he know you can’t look like he does and just throw around endearments and brogues?  For the love of the goddess, I’m not made of stone!  And then!  And then he holds me on his lap, cuddles me, murmurs in my ear…all the while saying the sweetest things ever.  It’s all his fault.  His fault I’m such a traitor.  Up till then I just lusted for him in my fantasies.  Now…now, what?”  The realization hit her.  “Perfect.  This is just totally, fucking, unbelievably perfect.  I’m in love with him.”

Stunned at this unfortunate development, she continued her inner rantings, “what the hell am I supposed to do now?  I’m stuck here at least until Cordy’s computer problems are worked out…..while I pine away for my best friend’s one true love.  I suck.  Self flagellation is the order of the day.”

*************

While Willow was giving herself a mental ass whuppin’, the guys were killing the last of the vampires that had been terrorizing Griffith Observatory and it’s grounds.  They were filthy and exhausted.

As Angel staked what appeared to be the last one, Gunn asked, “that’s it, we’re done?”

“Appears to be,” Angel answered, looking around to make sure.  “There must’ve been fifty of them or more.  Are you two all right?”

Wesley, attempting to look manly and less fatigued than Gunn, said, “Yes, quite fine.  All in a nights work.”

Gunn rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah man, I’m good.  Nothing a shower and bed won’t fix.  Lucky thing we found their nest.  Now we can rest easy knowing folks just wantin’ to gaze at the stars, without getting sucked dry, are safe and sound.

“Good job guys, you really kicked ass.  Let’s head back to the hotel,” Angel said as he began the long hike to the car, swinging an ax over his shoulder in an easy motion.

Wesley, basking in Angel’s praise, asked, “my motorcycle’s in the shop, would you mind driving me home?”

“No problem, we’ll drop you off on the way.”

************

Walking in the front door of the Hyperion, Angel and Gunn appeared dirty, but very pleased with themselves.

Willow looked up from the computer monitor and said, “Welcome back.  You two seem a little worse for the wear, but I’m guessing by your expressions that you triumphed over evil.”

“That’s right, sweet Willow, we went, we saw, we took care of business…. pretty impressively too, I must say,” Gunn said, smiling.  “Are you impressed with our great prowess?”

“Mmmhmmm, sublime warriors, I stand in awe,” she replied smilingly, responding to Gunn’s flirting, enjoying a diversion from demon websites and beating up on herself.

Fuming silently, Angel thought, “I’ll show him fucking warrior prowess!  Flirting with Willow won’t come so easy when his jaw is wired shut and he’s in a full body cast.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Rosenberg.  Now I’ll be leaving you and our noble vampire.  Exercising great prowess in the field of battle sure takes it out of a man.  I’m taking off for home.  Goodnight people.”  Gunn walked out the door never knowing Angel was plotting Angelus type torture scenarios for him.

Willow and Angel both started to speak at the same time.  The slightly battered, ax toting vampire walked over, took a seat on the couch and said, “ladies first.”

Willow moved from her position at the computer to lean over the counter, “I need to talk to you, but it can wait.  You’ve had a busy night.  Tomorrow’s good,” Willow said, not sure if she welcomed a reprieve or not.

“I’m fine, just really dirty,” Angel told her, heartened by the fact that they both wanted to talk things over.  “We do need to talk.  Let me grab a quick shower, then I’ll be as good as new.  Be back in a few.”  Replacing the ax in the case, making a mental note to clean it later, he went upstairs to quickly bathe.

Left alone to wait, Willow resigned herself to facing things tonight.  “This is good,” she thought “discussing things tonight is good.  No time like the present, that’s what I always say.  I’m absolutely not thinking of wet, studly Angel, naked in the shower just up those stairs.  Nope, not thinking about that at all.  Man.  Really wet panties are very uncomfortable.”

Just up those stairs, wet, naked Angel was showering quickly, but…… Willow’s ass looked remarkable in the jeans she was wearing today and her green tee shirt made her skin luminous, flattered the soft red hair framing her face…..and made her breasts look really….fucking…. sexy, Angel thought as he relieved the immediate need thinking about those things had caused.  Grunting and shuddering in release, he muttered, “soap is so multi purpose.  Oh, yeah. Coming in the shower definitely saves clean-up time….and you don’t get any grief from nosy seers who think it’s their business how much laundry a guy does in his own home.”

All dried off, hair properly doused and mussed with product, Angel went to his closet.  Scanning the contents, his eyes strayed to leather pants.  “Cordy said ‘Angelus was totally fucking hot in those sexy leather pants’” he recalled.  “We share a body, right?  Doesn’t it follow that I should have the same effect dressed in them?  Definitely worth the shot.”

Angel, now dressed in the leather pants and a maroon button down shirt that Angelus also favored, sallied forth towards the object of his affection and lust, armed with the confidence of his demon’s ensemble.

Willow squirmed in her chair, it felt like years since she had taken advantage of the detachable shower head earlier today.  She got up and moved over to the couch lecturing herself, “this is no time to be imagining Angel naked, you traitorous perv.”   Guilt and lust warring in her head were taking their toll…she’d have a fantasy about Angel then immediately scold herself for thinking that way about someone she had  wronged.  “Geez, schizo-city Willow, get a grip” she told herself.  She spotted Angel on the staircase and her head spun.  She  thought,  “oh, my,” and swallowed. “Ohhh.”

Willow could hardly breathe.   Right along with the head spinning, her heart was pounding….she was in a state.  Angel in leather pants was not conducive to coherent thought for her.  “Ohhh.  Nice.”  She asked herself frantically, “did I just say that out loud?”

“What did you say, Willow?”  Angel asked as he walked towards her with a predatory grace that seemed to come with Angelus’ outfit, and sat down next to her.

Yep, definitely said it out loud.  Blushing profusely, she cleared her throat, “I said ‘oh, you look nice.’  Your clothes.  Nice.”  Speaking was hard.  Seeing him look so ‘Angelus-like’ reminded her of that night in the high school so long ago when Angelus had held her against him.  She never told anyone, but he’d had an erection at the time that pushed against her bottom, she was too ashamed of the her body’s reaction to it to ever admit it to anyone.  Any sane girl would remember it with more fear and less drool.  She’d certainly never forgotten it.

Angel was very pleased to note that Willow was flustered.  A lot flustered.  He’d have to thank Cordy, she was always right about clothes.  He was flustered too…..and really glad he had taken ‘matters in hand’ in the shower.  He’d smelled Willow’s arousal as soon as his foot hit the first step on his way down the stairs.  The scent muddled his mind and stimulated his….senses.  He forced himself to focus.  “Thank you.” he smiled at her and continued, “Willow, what I wanted to talk….”

She interrupted him.  “Wait Angel.  First let me apologize for acting like such an ass last night,” she said “I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt, finding out you and Buffy could’ve been together and happy all this time.  Then I go and start crying, and you’re so compassionate, you put your feelings aside to take care of me.”

“No!  Willow, no.”  Sliding around on the couch better to face her better, he grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. “You don’t owe me apologies.  You’re wonderful…never an ass.  As soon as you found out my soul was secure, you took the time to come here yourself and tell me in person.   That’s the kind of sweet, thoughtful, woman you are.  Buffy and Riley…”

“But, Riley isn’t…”

“Shhh. Wait.  Please.  When she started seeing him, it was devastating.  Then, gradually, I realized my feelings had changed.  They’d become just warm regard and fond memories from the past.  Riley isn’t even relevant.  She’s not meant to be with me.  I’m not meant to be with her.”

“But…”

“I love you, Willow.  I’ve fallen in love with you.”  It just popped out.

She was speechless and just stared at him in amazement, her mouth ajar.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to tell you like that.  It’s just that hearing the person that matters to me most in the world, the woman that I love, say that I should be with someone else….well.”

“You, you love me?”

“Yes.”  Still holding her hand and giving it a squeeze, Angel leaned closer, captured her eyes, so she could see the truth in his and tried to smile.  “You’re all I think about.  Awake or asleep.  For so long I’ve fought it and contained it because of the curse.  When you walked in the door yesterday, I knew the battle was lost.  The hope of being with you has consumed me since you told me about my soul status last night.  I’ve never wanted anything so much.”

Willow was stunned.  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She asked herself, “am I even awake?  Is this just some fantasy sequence in a dream?”

“Please say something.  I’ve spilled my guts here and need you to say something.  Wanting her to speak, but afraid of what she might say, he didn’t give her an chance to respond and  hurried on to say,  “I’m not used to putting my feelings out there like this, it’s terrifying.  Is there any possibility…could you even consider giving someone like me a chance?  I don’t deserve you.  I know that.  The things I’ve done…”

“Angel!  Now you, shush.”  Willow put the fingers of her free hand over his mouth briefly.  She couldn’t stand hearing him condemn himself like that.  I do love you.  I couldn’t help it.  I’ve tried not to.  Then last night you….you….with the brogue…calling me ‘sweetheart’ and ‘love’……and your lap….and....all gorgeous and perfect….and and…the brogue...not stone you know.”  Just talking about those things was not good for her clarity of speech, but she thought she got her point across.  There!  Let him absorb a little shock now.

Angel was quiet for a few moments while her unexpected words sunk in.  Willow loves me.  Already.  Those words had a surreal quality.  It was hard to believe she had actually said them.  He had never imagined it would be this easy.  Her adorable babbling was so telling; she had been affected by him last night, like he had been by her.  “That’s not….I’m caught off guard.  I had a million scenarios in my head of how I could win you over.  Not needing to….is really a shocker, frankly.  My brain is scrambling to get a handle on it.”  He brought her hand he was holding to his lips and kissed the knuckles as he tried to compose his thoughts a little better and started again.  “Of course it’s wonderful…..really wonderful….I’m amazed and grateful and just blown away.  One of the things that made me fall in love with you is how surprising you can be.  You don’t fit in a tidy box.  You are…..infinite paradoxes.”  He grinned as he remembered something else she had just said and how she had said it, “and I’m glad you like my accent so much, I’ll keep that in mind.   Sometimes, when I’m deeply moved, it creeps in.  If I had known what your reaction to it would be, I would have used it from the second you arrived here from Sunnydale.”  He knew he was kind of babbling himself now, but he was too fucking ecstatic to care much.  Beautiful, sexy, brilliant, generous, kind, magical Willow loved him!  Broody, taciturn,  vampire with a past that he was.  How great was that?

  Moved by love, and all the heartwarming things he’d said, Willow reached up tentatively to touch Angel’s cheek.  He turned his face into her hand and she gained confidence, then outlined his lips with the fingers of her other hand.  Angel let out a low growl and pulled her gently towards him by her shoulders.  Rubbing his cheek against hers he said, “God Willow, I love you so much.”  He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes, then kissed her reverently, his hands sliding to her waist then the small of her back.  Willow deepened the kiss, pulling him closer by putting her arms around his neck.  The kiss continued for a long time and became increasingly heated, Willow breathing heavily.

Drawing back somewhat he said, “I’ve dreamed about this for so long.  Now that you’re here in my arms, I’m afraid to push you too fast and scare you with my…enthusiasm.”

Willow took his face in her hands, “I’m not scared.  I want you so badly it hurts.”  Every ounce of her knew what she wanted.  Needed.  “Please make love to me.  Now”

Her words broke the tenuous hold he still had on his self control. “God….Willow,” his mouth descended on hers, kissing her fervently.  Wasting no time, he picked her up, never breaking the kiss and carried her to his bedroom.  He put her down on the floor near the bed.  They stood staring into each others eyes, both awed by the love and desire they saw.  Willow began to slowly unbutton his shirt, her eyes following each one .  Once the shirt was completely open, she ran her hands from his stomach to his shoulders, his muscles quivering beneath her hands.  His reaction to her touch made her feel sexy and bold.  She pushed the shirt completely off and admired the view.

“Angel, you are so beautiful.”

He was completely undone by her admiration and desire.  Huskily, he said, “thank you.  I wish you knew what you do to me.”  Trying hard to just stand there and let her look at him.

She skimmed her fingers across his nipples causing him to moan as they tightened at her touch, and whispered, “show me.”

Complying gladly, he took her neck in his hands, softly sliding them across her collarbone to her shoulders, pushing down her bra straps.  He gently nuzzled where the left strap had been and kissed his way to her neck, softly sucking the delicate skin, groaning in ecstasy and agony as his erection throbbed, painfully confined in tight leather.

His hands were tracing patterns on her back in feathery motions.  Angel’s ministrations were driving her mad, she made a keening sound and begged; “Angel…..please…please…nnnhhh.”  Throwing her head back, her hands found their way to his leather clad ass, grasping it, pulling him towards her and grinding into him, desperate for the friction.  With a lengthy growl he moved his mouth to the pulse point at the other side of her neck and sucked the skin fiercely.  He reached between them and undid her jeans, sliding his hands inside them and around to squeeze her bottom as they ground into each other.

Willow gasped for breath, pulled his face to hers and kissed him with all the erotic intensity that had built in her….which was a lot, she had never been this turned on in her entire life.  Angel pushed her jeans and panties as far down as he could from this position.  Putting one hand behind her head to deepen the kiss and one hand between her legs, he ran his thumb across her clit to her wet slit, sliding it forward and backward, his hand becoming slick quickly.  Willow felt like she was going to die from the duel sensations of his kiss and his hand.  Then the hand behind her head lowered to unhook her bra, allowing it to fall enough to give his mouth access to a nipple.  He sucked the nipple into his mouth, nibbling with blunt teeth.  She couldn’t even make intelligible sounds in order to beg….just animalistic whimpers and cries.  It was torture, she would try to push her clit down on his thumb, but he was being elusive.  Occasionally he would penetrate her with the thumb briefly, but not enough.  She couldn’t believe the human body could be this close to an orgasm for this long.  He increased her distress by switching to her other nipple, but with sharper teeth, since he had morphed into his demon features.

Over stimulated and under satisfied, on the verge of insanity from the frustration, she’d had enough of his dominant control of the situation. Willow shoved Angel away from her as hard as she could, shaking her bra off in the process, tossing it to the floor.  He growled loudly and reached for her.  “Oh no, vampire,” she said “you’re not in charge here,” and got a firm hold on his pants before he could get too close and roughly unfastened them.  “Take off your pants.  Now!,” Angel about tipped over, he was in such a hurry to obey her commands, hopping on one foot, then the other to get the shoes too.  As Angel was doing her bidding, she wriggled the rest of the way out of her jeans and panties, kicking them and her shoes off to the side.

Now that she was standing there gloriously naked and self-assured, Angel who was already awestruck by her taking control so ferociously, said, “oh Willow, you look….”

“Save it,” she said and pushed him back onto the bed.  Accommodatingly,  Angel slid himself up until he was centered with his head on the pillow and waited to see what this ‘take charge tigress’ planned next.  This was the most erotic experience of his life or unlife and he hadn’t even gotten any yet.  Willow stood there looking at him.  If the throbbing between her legs could have possibly increased, it would have.  He had an unbelievable body…..and she hadn’t known dicks came in that size…..the kind without batteries, that is.

Time for a change of tactics. Willow got on the bed and crawled over to Angel and straddled him, making damn sure his erection felt her oozing wetness.  He moaned in need, but understood the rules of this game well enough to stay still.  Willow looked down at him, letting her eyes travel over every inch she could see from this vantage point, the scrutiny causing Angel’s cock to twitch….she stifled the whimper the twitch caused by it’s pressure to her engorged clit.  She swiftly swooped down on his right nipple, sucked it into her mouth and bit until it bled, licking the blood off.  Angel’s hips inadvertently thrust up so hard, Willow almost got bucked off.  If he could sweat, it would’ve been pouring off of him, he was so close to coming.  He was shaking, his need almost unbearable.  Willow felt confident the scales had been balanced and the demon aspect of Angel learned that Willow was not to be fucked with…..especially when she was crazy with sexual frustration.  She had intuitively known who was responsible for her torment and how to deal with it.  Leaning down, her hands on either side of his head and kissing him softly, she said, “if I let you back in charge will you play nice and let me come?”  Since Angel was afraid there would only be ‘cock remnants’ left from a pressure explosion if he didn’t get into Willow soon, all he could do was nod.  “Thank you.  Please fuck me now.”  He hesitated briefly…she was a little scary, after all, so she bellowed, “NOW!”

That did it, Angel was spurred into action.  Before Willow even perceived movement, Angel grabbed her wrists, flipped her over, spread her legs with his knee and entered her hard.  He pounded into her so hard and fast, she had barely registered what had happened before she came.  Her entire body bowed, only her feet and head touched the bed as she screamed.  The orgasm was so violent, when her body landed back on the bed it just vibrated, the aftershocks went on and on, Angel continuing to drive into her the whole time.  His admirable control had reached its limit though, holding her hips and changing his angle, he assured she’d come again… after sex like that it would be a crime not to have a simultaneous orgasm.  “UUUUHHHhhhhhhhnnnnnnnm,” came out of Willow’s mouth and Angel let go.  He came and came and came, he was pretty sure his balls were inside out, if he just had the energy to look.  He collapsed on Willow.  “Jesus Christ, Willow.”  He could barely get the words out.

“I know,” she gasped.

He slid off of her slightly, so she didn’t have to take all of his weight.  He was too drained to do more than that.  He said, “Willow.  Never.  Wow.”

“I know”

“That’s not what I intended for our first time.”  His voice muffled by her neck and hair.

“I know”

“But, goddamn, it was a hell of a ride.”

“I know,” she said drowsily.  Angel moved his arm beneath her head so he could hold her as he still laid half on top of her and placed a soft kiss on her temple.  “Love you,” she slurred as she fell fast asleep.

“I love you too, baby.  So much.”  He rubbed his face in her hair.  “Goodnight sweet Willow.”  Part of him was sorry he hadn’t made their first time romantic and gentle like he’d  had every intention of doing, but what they had experienced was so mind-blowing, he couldn’t have any regrets.  Angel was falling asleep too, vampire stamina was one thing…that kind of intensity was another.  Demure, delectable Willow instinctively knew how to manage a vampire and his demon.  Who knew?  She was beyond amazing, one of a kind. The best part was, she was his.  He thought, “our life together is never going to be boring….she’s way too unpredictable for that.  For damned sure.  God, what a start.”  Purring with satisfaction, the bushed vampire fell asleep.

~Part: 4~

The day was not getting off to a good start at Angel Investigations.  Wesley and Cordelia had come in early to catch up on work and research the Pordkai demon.  The phone was ringing off the hook.  None of the calls were work related and all completely tedious….you know the kind:  Wrong numbers.  Promises of better interest rates on your mortgage.  Dipshits who swear to have a better deal for your long distance service.  And finally, the pushy bastard that just won’t let sleeping vampires lie.

“The property management company insists on talking to Angel directly.  Wanker,” Wesley grumbled, standing in the doorway to Angel’s office.  “Mr. Fredericks,” he said derisively, “won’t deal with me, he will only speak with Angel  and demands I ‘fetch him to the phone immediately’…..like I’m some slack jawed lackey.”

“I’ll get him,” Cordelia told him exasperatedly, heading for the fridge, planning to nuke a cup of ‘vamp style peace offering’.  She was aggravated with the guy from the management company, not Wesley.  It was probably just some minor problem with the Hyperion lease, not anything earth shattering, anyway.

Cordelia lightly knocked on Angel’s door, bearing a mug filled with nummy, body temperature blood.  He had informed her testily in the past that regular knocking, sounds like banging to vampiric hearing and it doesn’t make for a happy vamp to be woken that way.  No answer.  “Weird.”  She quietly opened the door to peek her head in.  So surprised by what she saw, it took a few seconds to grasp; naked Angel and Willow on the bed sleeping like the dead (no pun intended) in a tangle of parts.  Huge, purple, gnarly looking hickeys the size of silver dollars on either side of Willow’s neck and, eww, boob. Her eyes went to the floor and what she saw there sent her into hysteria…..leather pants strung out on the floor!!!

Cordelia slammed the door and screamed, dropping the mug to the floor in her fright.  Madly chanting, “oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god,” she ran like her ass was on fire down the corridor and staircase towards Wesley.  Once in the lobby, she yelled at a confused and bewildered looking Wesley, “get stakes, get holy water, get a cross bow…oh, god!”  She took gulp a of air, “Wes, Angelus is back!  Willow screwed him into a ‘happy’ and we’re all dead ducks,” she wailed.  “Oh!  Or worse yet, maybe sex was post-soul-lossage.  If that was the case, there’s no telling what he might’ve done to her.  And what if he turned her?  Oh, god!”

Not remotely pleased, but still hanging on to a modicum of decorum, Wesley stated the obvious (at least to him), “what about Willow?  She’s up there and may very well be alive and need our help.”

That totally set Cordelia back on her heels, miserable at the possible consequences of her actions for her friend.  She shut her eyes, which had tears running out of them.   “Oh, Wes.  I so killed her in that case.”

“What?”

“I mean by screaming.  When I saw them, they were twisted up in a big, naked knot in the bed.  I panicked and screamed.  I’m sure he woke up.  If he hasn’t killed her, but intends to, she doesn’t stand a chance!”

They were gathering weapons during the entire interaction.  Wesley considered the dilemma and decided, “I’m going up.  Otherwise we’ll never know what could’ve been done for Willow.”

~~~*~~~

Meanwhile, as drama ensued and preparations were hurriedly being made downstairs, Angel and Willow were being robbed of a blissful ‘morning after’.

Naturally, Cordelia’s scream woke the dead….and living occupants of Angel’s bed.  Having been startled awake so rudely, it took Willow and Angel both a couple of beats to realize where they were…..and who with.  Recalling last nights events, they looked at each other and smiled shyly.  Willow said, “my guess is, Cordy saw us and thinks the worst.”

“Yep,” he sighed, “I’d say that’s a safe guess.   This is my third ‘first’ with you that hasn’t gone as planned.  A guy could get discouraged,” he lamented.  This moment was so special and unique and could never be revisited.  His arm was around her, her head resting on his shoulder and she was gazing up at him, “I’m sorry, Willow.”

Snuggling into his neck and entwining her fingers with his, she asked, “what was the plan?”

“Well,” murmuring sexily,  Angel lazily ran his fingertips up her thigh, across her tummy to her nipple and circled it.  “Sweet, slow, passionate lovemaking that lasted for hours, moans of ecstasy….”  The whole time he spoke he repeated the motions with his fingertips, traveling back down, then back up.

The sensations from his feather light caresses and alluring words were erotically hypnotic.  Shutting her eyes and quietly emitting a long moan, she pushed her bottom into his growing hardness.  In a pleading tone she begged, “can I have a rain check?”  Rolling on top of him, she gave him a soft kiss and said “I need to go tell Cordy everything is all right.  Otherwise, you’ll get staked on site.  She’s probably gathering reinforcements as we speak, preparing to storm the castle.”

“That would kill the mood,” he said with a deadpan expression at the understatement.  He lifted his hand and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eye.

With one last kiss, she ran her hands down his arms and foot up his calf, causing him to press his hips into hers.  “Mmmmmnnnnn,” came from somewhere deep in both of them. Whether she wanted to or not, it had to be done….she had to put the fire out downstairs before they could even think of starting one up here.  Resigned, Willow pushed herself away from him and slid off the bed.  “I’m going to hurry, take care of Cordy, then we are soooo going to pick up where we left off.”

Reclining on a pillow, folding his arms behind his head, Angel smiled dotingly.  Unlife was good.   He enjoyed the view as the enticing witch walked over to his discarded maroon shirt from the night before and bent over to retrieve it.  “Miss Rosenberg, you have a luscious ass.”

Willow turned to face him as she put on the shirt, and smiled coyly.  “Thank you.  I’ll get it back to you as soon as humanly possible.”  She threw him a kiss and scooted out the door.

Hotfooting it to the lobby, in a hurry to assure Cordy everything was right as rain, but in even more of a hurry to get back to Angel….and his delicious plans.  She was on her way down the stairs as Wesley was just  getting ready to start up.  He was armed to the gills, and thunderstruck.  “Willow!  I’m so relieved!  Are you all right?” glancing at the marks on her throat as he asked the last part.  We were so afraid of what had happened to you…..or what might yet happen when we discovered Angelus’ return.”

Cordy came running the second she saw the redhead, looking disheveled, but in what otherwise appeared to be excellent condition.  Before she got a chance to speak, Willow put up her hand to stop her, anxious to relieve their obvious anxiety.

“Wes, Cordy, please.  I’m fine.  No Angelus….Angel’s fine,” Willow assured them.  She put a hand on each of their arms to led them to the couch.  “Here, Wes, put your weapons down,” she helped him free himself up enough to have a seat.  Cordelia just stood in front of the couch, mouth agape.  Willow gave her a gentle shove, forcing her to sit.

“Willow, what the hell is going on around here?   You scared us half to death!”  Cordelia had moved past her shock and alarm enough to be pissed.

Willow was frustrated, explanations were not what she’d like to be doing right now, but they had been genuinely concerned about her safety.  “Look, I’m sorry you had such a scare.  Angelus’ return would certainly be a legitimate catastrophe.  But everything is fine.  Angel’s soul isn’t going anywhere.  It’s been securely attached to him ever since I did the restoration spell.  I mean, I didn’t know it then, but it was.  Recently I was translating the spell and made the discovery.”

Things started clicking into place for Cordelia.  “So that’s why it was so urgent for you to come down here and see Angel!  Why didn’t you tell me?   I certainly gave you enough chances….and it would’ve saved Wes and me a major freak out.”

“Well, it was Angel’s news to share.  It’s a big deal and changes his whole life….uh….unlife, I guess I mean.  It wasn’t my place to tell anyone else, especially before I told him.  Then things got….”  Her previous composure was evaporating in the face of embarassment.  She was at a loss for words.  She was saved from having to finish her sentence by Angel coming down the stairs, but her composure was depleted further by the sight.  He had on last nights black leather pants and nothing else….completely discombobulating her.  All eyes followed Willow’s, to stare at Angel, who appeared very ‘soul-full’, but with an angry looking right nipple that all parties chose to ignore politely.

“See?  Not evil,” he said coming to stand by his little redhead and putting his arm around her possessively. “What Willow was trying to say is, neither of us anticipated last night turning out the way it did.  We discovered the feelings we had for each other were mutual and….things just took their course.  Someone barging into my bedroom uninvited was also unanticipated.”  He said the last part while looking sternly at Cordelia.

The seer had the good grace to look abashed and quietly said, “I’m sorry.”

Wesley took pity.  “It’s my fault.  You see the…Oh!  He’s still on hold.   Wait a tic!”  He dashed to the phone, picked up the receiver and said, “Mr. Fredericks?  Sorry to have kept you waiting.  Angel seems to have been called out on an emergency.”  Wes rolled his eyes, listening to the response, “Yes, well, be that as it may, he’s unavailable and I will have him call you at the earliest possible opportunity.  Right then,” slamming the receiver back on the hook.  Looking over at the curious vampire, he said, “Angel, call Mr. Fredericks at Anderson Properties when you can, he says it’s urgent.”

“Fine.  Willow and I didn’t get to bed till near dawn, we’re very tired.  We’re going back upstairs.  Anything else?”

“Well, yeah.”  Cordelia stood up and put her hand on Angel’s arm.  “Congratulations.  On your soul, I mean.”  Adding that last part after receiving odd looks from the other three.

“Yes!  Angel, that’s wonderful.  I’m very happy for you,” Wesley added.

Angel smiled.  “Thanks guys,” and took Willow’s hand to lead her upstairs.

Willow scurried to keep up, “goodnight….or whatever.  You know what I mean,” she called over her shoulder.

Watching the retreating lovers, Cordelia and Wesley met each others eyes, then quickly looked away.  Angel had two sets of four scratch marks extending from his shoulders and disappearing into his pants.

“I’m telling you, it was the pants.  He seduced her with the pants.  I know about these things,” Cordelia stated smugly.  “Way to go, Angel.  Cunning use of pants.”

~~~*~~~

Pulling Willow along the corridor, Angel let out a deep, unneeded breath.  “Now, that issue is all squared away.”  He drew her into his room, closing the door and pinning her to it with his body, “it’s time to get back to the business at hand.  This hand, I think.”  He snaked his right hand under Willow’s borrowed shirt and caressed her bottom, squeezing one of the cheeks.

“Mmm.  Yes.  My…uuhhhhnn.”  Now he was kissing her neck and kneading a breast through her shirt as well, scattering her thoughts.  “I love the business your hands are proposing.”  She put her arms around his neck and a leg around one of his, pulling him tighter to her.  She was rewarded with a deep, wet kiss that turned her world upside down.

Dragging his lips away from a dazed, weak kneed Willow, he picked her up.  “Let’s adjourn this meeting to the bed.”  Laying her down, he smirked as she carefully watched him.  With painstaking slowness he unbuttoned, unzipped and removed his pants, making his every movement as suggestive as possible.  Her eyes followed every action and the smell of her increasing arousal permeated the room, making him rock hard.  “Your turn,” he sat next to her and ran both hands up her inner thighs, around to her hips and up her ribs removing the shirt as he went along.  She was so enraptured, it was a second before she thought to lift up slightly, so he could get the shirt all the way off.

Once the shirt was out of the way, he used both hands to massage her tenderly….shoulders, breasts, tummy and reaching her hips he shifted to lay between her legs.  “My lady doesn’t like to wait for her pleasure…I’ve taken her lessons in that to heart.”  Dipping his head he slid his tongue out to flick her clit and continued along her delicate folds.  It felt so good, Willow’s feet skimmed up his sides and came to rest on his shoulder blades of their own volition.  He continued to suck and lick skillfully and she was unable to do anything but moan and writhe.  “God!  You taste so good,” he purred.  He’d worked her into such delirium, she was startled by the orgasm that seized her when he abruptly thrust two fingers into her core, tapping her g-spot and sucking her clit into the tight vacuum of his mouth.  He didn’t stop as her entire pelvis spasmed, just laid a hand on her tummy to keep from being bumped away from his endeavor.  Pressing his aching member into the bed, giving it much needed pressure, to hold him over.

Her whole body continued to tremble as she came down from her euphoria.  “Aaaannngggellll.  Ohhh,” came from her in a weak, strained voice, it was all she could manage.  His mouth moved to her thigh and lightly nipped and sucked, tugging at her skin.  Encouraged my her continued writhing, his face transformed and he switched to her other thigh.  “Mmm, ahh, Angel…you can bite and…drink if ….”  That was enough invitation, as carefully as possible he sunk his fangs into her before she was done speaking.  Willow’s back arched sharply and she came again…in cascades, crying out loudly.  This was her first multiple orgasm ever, it was incredible.  Her response and the intoxicating taste of her blood caused Angel to join her, his entire body was overcome.  As he recovered, he licked her wounds then laid his head to the side at the junction of her upper thigh.  In his native accent he told her, “ahhhh, Willow love, you’ve no idea how many times these linens have been washed on your account.”

Intrigued, Willow wanted a further explanation of that statement, but was still too lost in a fog to ask.  All she could do was smile up at the ceiling, endorphins or ceratonin or……..something, swirling around in her creating feelings of perfect well being.

Looking up at her, Angel smiled proudly, knowing he was singularly responsible for her current state of bliss.  He began to crawl up her body, “darlin’, don’t zone out on me now.  We…are….just….getting…started,”  He said as he kissed his way up her body.

~Part: 5~

Willow slept soundly.  Angel, laying next to her, head propped on his hand, watched her intently.  Here, in the quiet of the moment, in the aftermath of their lovemaking, he thought he’d never seen or known anything more perfect.  This was new territory for him.

He had lived a long time and his experience with the opposite sex was vast.  Alive or dead, he’d always been a highly sexual creature.  Before he was changed there had been countless girls, easy conquests, that meant nothing to him.  It wouldn’t even have occurred to him to think twice about them.  Getting drunk and getting off had been his primary pursuits as a young man.  Plenty of willing lasses to help him with the latter.

After the change, more of the same…except, he’d almost always kill them when he was finished using their bodies.  Horrible death was added to his repertoire of lechery.  And, of course, there had been Darla; unimaginable sex and blood for 150 years.  She had been his teacher, playmate and partner in evil.  A perfect match for his depraved excesses.

The past century, after the curse, he’d lived a vagabond life, mostly.  Occasional one-night stands; just two lonely people, strangers, desperate for connection.  Anonymous sex to alleviate his sexual hunger when the need became intolerable.  Diminishing both parties in the process.  Bleak.  Pathetic.  Perfectly in tune with his self-destructive lifestyle.

And then, Buffy.  His doomed foray into romantic love.  She glowed with life, like the sun.  She was irresistible to him at the time.  An ensouled vampire, paying penance, what more could he have asked for?  The punishment inflicted on the beast that raged inside him was a bonus.  The slayer and the sun.  She was two of a vampire’s worst enemies in one pretty, blond package.  Of course it had made him happy…perfectly happy, as it had turned out.  There were many reasons he’d loved her, it had been a complex relationship.  He wouldn’t invalidate her or the feelings they’d had for each other.

It’s a lot easier to see the truth after time has passed.  The truth about what drew him to Buffy wasn’t the only thing clearer in retrospect.

The newly learned information about the curse unlocked the place he’d been burying feelings for Willow for years, hidden beneath layers of melancholy.  He could now admit they went back to when he’d first met her.  Pursuing her wasn’t even a consideration.  She simply didn’t have the built-in ‘self flagellation’ rewards the other offered, which he’d needed back then.  His self-hatred demanded it, in fact.

Willow was goodness and purity personified.  Over time, every single thing he learned about her insinuated her more deeply in his heart and mind.  His love for her now ran so deeply, as he lay here, he was just beginning to comprehend its magnitude.

Just look at her…my, god.  He ran a knuckle along her cheek.  And the sex was…unparalleled in his considerable experience.  Together they were electrifying.  It was sublime.  Evidently, that’s what the result was when all the components were present.  It took him two and a half centuries to evolve into someone capable of holding up his end of such a union.  Phenomenal Willow, barely more than a child, was more than capable.  He would never, never take this great gift for granted.

While he examined all of this he thought, “I think too much.  A hundred years of brooding reflection has that effect, makes it second nature.”

He sent silent pleas for his love to wake up.  Not wanting to disturb her sleep, but wanting her badly.  Cordy’s abrupt wake up call earlier, then his further wearing her out immediately afterwards, had deprived her of much needed rest.

Long term celibacy and previously unappeased desire for Willow had him itching for more.  Stroking himself as he reviewed what sexual heights had already passed between them, the magic and fire her blood was infused with, her innate understanding that blood and pain were inextricably tied to vampire sexuality...oh yeah, he needed her to wake up soon.  The hand stroking his cock increased tempo, and maintained it, until he came.  Ahhhhhhh!  That should tide him over.  He reached for the, now, ever present 'fuck towel’.  His lover’s human need for rest shouldn’t tax him so sorely for a bit.

Human.  The word sent his ruminations in a new direction.  A very disturbing one.  Willow would eventually die.  Existence without her seemed impossible now.  Would she consent to becoming a vampire?  She had translated the curse, making it ‘user friendly’ she’d said.  The gypsies would roll over in their graves.  What had once been his curse could become his ultimate blessing; eternity with Willow, her soul intact.  He could never ask this of her.  It would have to be her choice.  If she chose to remain human, then so be it.  He would love her unrelentingly until the day she died.  And probably not last long beyond it.  Whatever she was willing to give him, he would take gratefully and be satisfied.  After she had time to adjust to their new relationship, he would broach the subject.  He would not push her too quickly into more than she was able to deal with.

In the meantime, he would revel in what they’d found together and savor every precious moment.

As he continued his vigil, his eyes roamed Willow’s body.  Exquisite.  Firm, supple breasts with small, perfect, dusky pink nipples…one marred by his teeth last night.  He wanted to feel regret about the marks he’d left on her…but marking what was his appealed to his vampiric nature too much.  Other than the marks he’d made, her alabaster skin was flawless and so beautiful.  Her stomach was flat and had such a pretty little belly button.  Just as his eyes continued on to her red curls, she moaned in her sleep and her hips made a small swivel, then she ground her ass into the bed, grabbing a fistful of sheets and called out, “ohhhhhh, Angel, yes!”

That sure sounded like an invitation to him.  He leaned his head over and took a nipple into his mouth, softly swirling his tongue around it.  She remained asleep, but moaned again, more urgently.  Still teasing the nipple, he slid his hand between her legs and with one fingertip lightly stroked her clit until it became a hard little nub, then ran the finger along her entrance until she lifted her hips.  No shortage of lubricant here.  Applying pressure to her clit with his thumb, he inserted two fingers and moved them the way that he had already learned she liked best.  As her hip movements became more demanding, so did his fingers.  Willow finally woke up as she felt a rush, like rolling bolt of thunder, spinning her head around and taking her body under.  Angel chuckled, completely pleased with himself.

Once her heart slowed down a bit, she smiled up at him sleepily.  “Will you be waking me up like this all the time?  Because I’m a firm believer that a person should begin as they mean to go on.”

He smiled broadly and lifted her hand to kiss the palm, looking into her eyes.  “Certainly beloved.  I would love to start your every day with a bang.”

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