Angel had awoken and gently moved out of the bed to take a shower
before Willow got up. When he stepped out of the bathroom, clad only in
dark pants, she was sitting on the sofa with her legs tucked under her,
looking worthy of a good ravishing. His shirt moulded around her tiny
body and ended mid-thigh. One strand of thick, red hair had traveled
inside the lapels to lie between the mounds of her breasts.

She looked up from the newspaper she'd been perusing and smiled at him.
He mentally shook himself and willed away the erotic images his brain
was toying with. He sat down beside her and pulled her legs over his
lap and began massaging her feet. She moaned contentedly.

"That's wonderful," she murmured.

"So are you," he replied.

She grinned, "I'm ready. Where do we start?"

It took a moment for Angel to realize she was talking about the
remnant. He slid her legs gently off him and scooted close to her.

"We'll go slow. Tell me if you want to stop at anytime," he said.

"I will," she nodded.

He took her hand and folded it around his, "We start by remembering.
Remember what you were, who you were, before you were turned."

"I don't like her much," she warned him.

"That's the demon," he told her. "Think back. Remember her? Remember
the way she laughed? Remember her hopes and fears, her friends? That
Willow was selfless and giving and compassionate to a fault."

"She let people use her," Willow's eyes flickered with an amber glow.

Angel's voice was calm and soothing, "She loved those people.
Everything she did for them she did out of love. She wanted to be there
for them, to help them."

"They took advantage of her," Willow spoke.

Angel clasped his fingers around hers and rubbed his thumb along the
back of her hand. Spike had done an admirable job. Her demon was strong
and contemptuous.

"Willow, look at me," he said.

He caught the brief flash of fear that danced through her eyes as they
met his. Willow, his Willow.

"Trust me," he whispered. "They can't hurt you anymore. They were your
friends; you cared about them, remember?"

"I don't anymore," she stated.

"Yes, you do. Part of you does, and that part of you hates what you did
to did to them. Xander has nightmares. Did you know that? It'll take a
long time for him to get over losing Kirsten."

"He deserved it!" she jerked away from him. "He deserved to feel what I
felt."

"Your loss wasn't permanent," he stepped carefully around her sire's
name. "Xander's was. He loved her; she's gone forever. Even after he's
moved past it, the memories won't die. You loved him from childhood.
You took the one thing he loved most as a man."

Pain, white and searing, burned across her eyes, and she jumped up and
backed away from him.

"I don't want to go there," she snarled. "I won't feel this. I won't."

"Willow," he stood and reached for her, pulling her against him. "It's
all right."

"No," she shook her head. "I won't be sorry. I can't."

Her body trembled against his. He clutched her to him and whispered,
"You can, Willow. Don't shut off those feelings. You can't change what
happened, but you can make it better."

"It's too late," she said softly.

"It isn't. I promise it isn't."

"I'm scared, Angel," she whimpered. "I can't do this."

He tilted her chin and looked into her eyes, "Don't be afraid. I'm
here. I'll help you, anyway you need me to."

He brought his mouth to hers and kissed her softly. Willow put her arms
around his neck and leaned into him, desperately, silently, seeking his
reassurance. Her lips parted and his tongue met hers. Angel's hands
slipped under the hem of her shirt and cupped her ass, pulling her
tighter against him. He lifted her and carried her across the room to
the bed.

Willow moaned as his hard body covered hers. His fingers worked the
buttons on her shirt and drew it aside. Angel's lips brushed across her
nipple, teasing it gently, before drawing it into his mouth and rolling
his tongue across the hardening bud. His fingers moved down to the
curls below her belly. Her legs parted as he began a slow, delicious,
rhythmic pressure against her clitoris.

Willow pulled his mouth back to hers in a deep, hungry kiss. Her hips
rocked against his hand as he coaxed the first tremblings of her orgasm
from her body. Her soft cry was swallowed by Angel's mouth as he drove
her over the edge, sending her into spasms of ecstasy. She writhed
against him as he drew out her climax.

Willow's hand moved to his ass and around his hip. She unfastened his
pants and released his hard cock from its confinement. She pushed him
aside, and her mouth traveled down his body. She nipped gently at his
twitching shaft and drew its full length into her mouth. She teased it
with long, cold strokes from her tongue, and Angel buried a hand in her
hair, holding her against him. His eyes closed and his head fell back
as he spilled his cold seed into her mouth. She swallowed and placed
delicate kisses along his softening shaft before returning to his
mouth.

Angel pulled her down on top of him and kissed her, tasting himself on
her lips. He moved her over beside him and held her close against him.
His hands moved in comforting strokes along her back as she nuzzled
against him and placed a kiss on his throat.

He lay quietly beside her, drinking in her closeness and refusing to
contemplate the possible consequences of what had just happened.

End.

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