Title: Naked Ambition
Author: Califi
Posted here:
Email
Rating: N-17
Category: humour, smut growing romance.
Content: C/A, who else?
Summary: Cordy finds out a little secret of Angel's- and all hell breaks loose
Spoilers: S2 Post Disharmony
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution:
Notes: Scorchy's Challenge that I was roped into by you lot at AO!
Thanks/Dedication:
Feedback: is always appreciated.
In spoiler font. Highlight to read: - "This has just been inspired by all the NakedAngel talk going round in here! We've had fics where Angel spots Cordy posing in a mag but what if she spots him posing naked in a mag?! This happens when he's just fired them all so she's looking for someway to get a little payback for being abandoned, Cordy puts these pictures up in Caritas where Angel sees them." Changed to post Dishamony so lighter tones are a little more 'believable'. There must be a funny reason why he had them taken and smut must ensue!"
Prologue/Teaser
Cordy's eyes skimmed along the magazines on the shelf , a frown making its way between her brows. Where the hell was it?
"It was So much better when I had a subscription!" she grumbled under her breath. Sadly, that had to go- along with a few other things: new clothes, her favorite shampoo- food! When Angel had fired them, money had been even tighter than it had been before. Things were getting better, and she’d regained the good few pounds lost throughout his beigefest, but subscriptions to magazines were still out of her pocket range.
About to give up the hunt, she spied it, tucked in between PlayBoy and GlamDolls. Taking a furtive look around before grabbing the culprit, Cordy yanked it down quickly; her eyes shutting in mortification as several soft porn magazines that had seemingly attached themselves to hers showered down around her.
"Ah, crap! Why would anyone put Cosmo on the top shelf anyway? Someone is definitely out to get me." her face turned crimson when noticing her little accident hadn’t gone unnoticed and she quickly bent down to gather the embarrassing material.
As she shoved them haphazardly onto the shelf, the top one caught her attention “Nooo! It can't be!" Cordy's mouth dropped open in shock as she took a closer look at the mostly-naked male body spread across the front; his 'parts' discreetly covered, by a red circle printed with a written promise of the full whammoo inside "Sealed for the delectation of females everywhere."
Her stunned eyes followed the line of hips flowing into a hard, muscled chest; thick, strong neck, up to a darkly handsome masculine face…coming to rest on hot brown eyes. His body was a nice shade of warm bronze, which was odd for mister I-Don’t-Tan-So-Good-Cuz-Hello,-Vampire!’ but there was no disputing whose face it was.
“Angel! No way!" It seemed her vampire had quite a few more skeletons in that larger than life closet than she originally imagined. The look of shock swiftly turned to an impossibly wide, evil grin.
Gathering every scrap of inner bravado she possessed, Cordy replaced the Cosmo (not enough cash for both, sadly) and walked regally towards the cash desk; easily staring down the spotty little perv who served her, before racing out of the store with the magazine shoved securely under her jacket.
Earlier that week…
"Hey! It's MY body, Mister Prude!" Folding her arms and facing the angry Vampire in defiance, Cordy was the epitome of indignation. Angel abruptly stopped his frantic pacing and got into her face; brown eyes now darkened to pitch.
"And you obviously don't care if half the population leer, and …God knows what, all over it!" he growled. He couldn't believe it! Things were gradually getting back to normal, with his seer actually talking to him as a friend again. The clothes had been accepted with plenty of smile and hugs (the latter truly enjoyable!), and, although when calmer, she’d informed him seriously that although she was happy with the new, and wonderful additions to her previously scant wardrobe, he still had a lot of ground to cover before she fully trusted him again.
Her manner towards him from then on had taken a turn for the good… but strangely, still not enough. Feelings- hot and impossibly wrong feelings, had been slowly creeping to the surface since they'd all got back together. Since that night she'd said they were no longer friends, Angel had marveled at the crushing pain her words had caused; and had belatedly realized just how much he truly valued her friendship.
The new realization that the need for more than 'friendship' from her came seemingly out of nowhere, and hit Angel like a pile driver. Feelings he never thought would ever show their face again rose to the surface and engulfed him!
And it hadn’t helped that she’d looked far from interested in even the friendship, never mind more. The fact that, after his Epiphany, his Soul was now permanent gave him hope, but at the same time made him dread telling her- for obvious reasons. Hey, Cor…Guess what? I banged my Sire, and the PTB gave me my Soul for keeps in case I was DUMB enough to try it again!"That piece of news wouldn’t go down well! So until he came clean- or thought of a little white lie that Cordy might possibly believe, he doubted she would even contemplate something…more.
Then when she had bounced in this morning to crow with delight about the photo shoot she's been offered "aaages ago!" waving a men's magazine around like a trophy, naturally, his possessive 'I-wanna-kill-whoever-took-them-and anyone-who-even-had-the-fucking-nerve-to-look' persona came raging to the fore.
"What's your problem, Huh? It's not like I'm naked or anything! – Or, would it be any of your God-Damn business if I was!" She'd sneered. Yes; SNEERED. So he’d snatched the magazine out of her wildly gesticulating hand, and had a look himself.
"HEY! Give it back, you Dumbass!" Cordy yelled, practically jumping on his back trying to reach round to grab it out of his clutches.
Angel used all of his self-control to ignore the heat and soft weight of her full breasts pressing into his shoulder blades, and had opened the pages to her pictures. He couldn't stop the sigh of relief as his hot eyes took in the fact she wasn’t naked- the reasonably decent bikini she wore covering her assets …narrowing seconds later at how the hot red, slinky material hugged her flesh. NO ONE should have the right to see her like that! –except us! Growled his Demon!
"Well, you may as well be naked!" he practically snarled at his Seer, growling when she finally managed to relieve the magazine from his suddenly nerveless fingers.
"Jeez! What a prude!"…
Back to the present...
"You are SO gonna pay, Big Guy!" Cordelia snickered, now taking her time on the way to the hotel; plans of revenge forming in her mind.
"I wonder if Caritas allow flyers on the walls?"
Part 1
"Well, that's a let down!" Cordy dropped the open magazine onto her desk, mouth drooping in disappointment. And a very big surprise too.
After waiting for the men to go off on a rescue mission, She'd retrieved the unopened magazine from her desk drawer- removing it from its hiding place between her many copies of Cosmo. Taking a deep breath, Cordy had slid a finger under the perforations, and opened the centerfold.
For a minute, she couldn't connect the naked body shown across the page to her own detailed, imagined nakedness of her ex-Boss. Yes, it was a mighty fine body- but his 'package' was a disappointment! Her mouth drooped even lower. Damn!
Cordy had eyed his pant-covered crotch on frequent occasions, and had a completely different idea about what he packed. - After all, she’d reasoned; all women did this little check out thing on men all the time. She wasn't a perv- and definitely not interested.
"Not me. No way, no how, Uh-uh," she muttered, trying, but failing to convince herself that she hadn't looked at Angel with lusty thoughts since way back in SunnyHell; at a time when she had no clue that he was one of the Walking Undead.
"What's his beef with me posing anyway? - Ha! I bet its envy! He wouldn't consider posing with a-a problem like that." Cordy Smirked wickedly- then frowned in confusion. "So why did he pose?" After a moment wondering if maybe he’d had his blood spiked or the like, Cordy Shrugged her shoulders, and pushing off the lingering disappointment, she scooted over to the copier; truly glad at this moment that she'd guilted this color laser baby out of the repentant Vampire.
"At last! A perfect use for it." she sniggered evilly, "I wonder if Lorne is up for a little 'Let's wind up the DumbAss!'?"
***
"No way, uh-huh, nada and nope! You think I have a death wish? – Are you sure that's his- OWW!" Lorne rubbed his ribs, glaring at the brunette's elbow as if he wanted to detach it from her body; his glare softening like a sucker when she flashed him a bright, apologetic smile.
"Pleeease, Lorne, I promise I'll never ask you another favor, or risk your neck again- in fact, you can even say you knew nothing about it!" She wheedled, fluttering her eyelashes seductively.
"Yes, you'll never ask me another favor, cos I won't be here to ask!" Lorne folded his arms and attempted stubborn refusal, but those lashes continued to flutter and the demon could feel his defenses crumbling. Awwe, gee; how could he resist the little sugar muffin?
Yep! He was a true Sucker. He lasted all of five seconds.
"Okaaay - BUT if 'anyone' asks, I missed the sneaky, [I]underhand[/I] postings. Deal?" The dig hitting the spot, as he’d hoped; watching the soft rose color of discomfort creep into her cheeks with a modicum of satisfaction. Gods Help me for being so weak! Gulping down his drink, Lorne made a hasty retreat, leaving Cordelia to do the dirty deed alone.
He shuddered, imagining the Big Vamp's reaction to seeing his naked assets- or should I say 'shortfall'! pasted around the Club. With a serious lackitude like that, he'd have been royally pissed- even without having someone broadcast it visually to the entire Demon population. What was it with those two little DeNile’s? Would they ever learn to put that fire to good use? He seriously doubted it, then shuddered again when the image of the raging, furious vampire came to mind yet again.
"I definitely don't want to be around when he finds out who was behind it." Lorne mixed himself a generous shot of SeaBreeze with shaking hands…
***
Angel glanced around the lobby, now empty and silent, with a deep sigh. He headed for the stairs, feet dragging.
Almost soon as he, Wes and Gunn had returned, Cordy checked them out hurriedly for injuries, and then made her hasty goodbyes. He'd frowned in total confusion at her seeming inability to look him in the eye all through her rushed and rather clumsy patching up of his newly acquired shoulder wound.
Racking his brains, he recalled the entire day, wondering if he'd missed something, said something he shouldn't have. "that wouldn't have been hard, Jerkulus!" Angelus snickered in his head. If He'd had his way, His Seer wouldn't have even been able to look straight by the time he'd finished! Angel shook his head roughly, pushing the images out before they had a chance to attract the interest of Angel Junior.
Too late. Growling deep in his chest, he changed direction, and headed out of the hotel; locking the door behind him.
A stiff drink was called for, and he knew just the place to get one.
Part 2
Angel kept glancing down at his pants all the way to the bar. What was everyone looking at? His flies were secure, and he couldn't see any Demon goo- or anything that would be causing the sniggers from nearly every Demon he passed. Glaring around, he snarled, a flicker of gold showing warningly. That shut them up- mostly; although there was always one, wasn't there, who had more Dutch courage than brain cells.
"No wonder he has such a bad attitude! - Hell, I would if I had his pathetic problem." An orange scaly Demon whispered to his companion, as the Dark-faced Vampire passed them; choking on his drink when the said Vamp whirled on him.
And what 'pathetic problem' would that be?" Angel had had enough! He'd never had this effect in his entire Unlife, and he didn't like it. One. Little. Bit. Leaning over the now-cowering puddle of cowardice, he flashed a little fang for good measure.
"No need to take it out on me, my g-good vamp. I didn't post you all over the place!" he was sure the wet sensation around his lower regions couldn't just be sweat, and he visibly drooped in relief when Angel finally drew back, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Post…?" Looking round automatically, his eyes caught something on the wall behind the Demon's table.
What the FUCK!
"Oh, shit! Missed that one, Sugarplum." A pink-clad arm reached past him to pull the color print off the wall. Angel whirled round, snatching the now crumpled paper from the green demon's trembling hand. Smoothing it out, Angel glared at the image of the nude figure reclining on a chaise lounge. This couldn't be happening! He didn't-
"That's not me!" Lorne backed up rapidly away from the stunned and furious Vampire- as did everyone else.
He hardly noticed the silent retreat of most of the clientele, edging towards the exit as quickly as Inhumanly possible. Watching the rage build in their worst nightmare helped along with the unanimous decision to never mention it again- well; not where he could overhear them anyway!
"Hate to burst your little denial bubble, AngelCakes, but that is your face, isn't it?" The Host backed away even further at the feral snarl that escaped his friend's fanged mouth. “And, to be fair, I did take them down- accept I missed that one. Sorry?" Raising his hands in defense as the enraged Vamp took a threatening step closer. For a frozen moment in time, Lorne saw his life flash before him, sagging when Angel finally deflated.
"Great manipulation by the way!" the smile of admiration tugging his scarlet mouth dropped as quickly as it formed. Not really the time for light-hearted conversation.
"You know it's not me, right?" Angel glanced down distastefully at the crumpled picture, still torn between numb disbelief and howling rage. Lorne snickered.
"Hell, I'm not one for covert checking out, Sugar! Not like some brune- err some people I could mention!" Oh crappity crap! Now he'd done it. Maybe his friend hadn't noticed his little slip? No such luck.
"Brunette? Lorne?" Angel lifted his eyes from the picture and advanced, crowding the demon against a nearby table. His mind was doing cartwheels, whilst Angelus danced around his head in fury!
His Demon didn't really give a fuck who saw him naked; he was proud of the body he possessed. - But whoever had cut and pasted that photo were gonna die long and horribly! - And it looked like the 'who' had just been confirmed.
"Ahh, jeez! Don't ask me- please! Free drinks for Unlife? - Awww,not the suit, Angel!" Lorne didn't know what he was upset at the most. The enraged Demon half lifting him off the floor, or the fact that his silk suit was being crushed in those large brutal hands.
"Cordelia!" The flat, cold statement dripped out of Angel's mouth like venomous acid.
"Now, Bub! She had NO idea it was a fake…" Double- nope; make that TRIPLE shit!
Angel's eyes widened. Cordy thought he actually had that…that…excuse for a package? Could things get any worse? "-All she did was post the… fancy a drink? O Pos on the house?" Now, peeps, you know why they wouldn't except me in the Secret Service. Angel ignored his make-it-all-better-with-a-bribe distraction and he was dropped unceremoniously, and just about managed to stay on his feet.
Watching the Frighteningly silent Vampire stride to the exit, Lorne threw up a prayer to the Gods- and a silent plea for forgiveness to a certain Seer. Turning slowly, to survey the now empty club, Lorne picked up his earlier discarded drink; nearly choking on it when he again heard the deathly quiet tones of his Ensouled [thank God!] friend right behind him.
"A question: How did you know it wasn't me?" As far as Angel could remember, The green Demon had never seen him buck nekkid. Lorne wiped his chin with a silk hankie before grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's just say, The Furies wouldn't be all orgasmic over you, if you were packed like an orphans lunch!" He winked saucily…
***
Angel decided he was a forgiving man- usually! 'Yeah, right! As forgiving as my bloodlust is non-existent. Pull the other one.'
As he was saying, until he was so rudely interrupted by his antsy demon. He was a forgiving man… BUT. A forgiving man had his limits. Limits had to be set where forgiving things- or people were involved. And His willful, bitchy, heartless Seer had gone WAY beyond those limits. Putting the car into gear roughly, Angel pulled away from the curb, ready to break the speed limit and charge right over to her apartment with all guns and fangs blazing.
The list grew in his head:
One: Finding, and having the nerve to post that picture all over Caritas!
Two: The entire L.A. Demon population now thinking his dick was three inches long!
Three: Setting off Angelus, who hadn't let him hear the end of it since he found that picture.
Four: Cordelia thinking his dick was only three inches long!
And Five: Cordelia thinking his dick was three inches long, and laughing dementedly about it as she shared it with the entire demon population.
Grinding his teeth, Angel put his foot down; the Plymouth protesting at such disrespectful treatment! That smug little bitch was gonna pay sooo bad for this! An evil smile curled his lips as he thought of all the ways he was going to torture her. The first thing he was going to do was let her measure it- and, by God, no rulers were in any way going to be part of that educational scenario!.
The closer he got to Cordelia's the calmer Angel became. By the time he'd pulled up in front of her apartment block, his grin was completely feral. For long minutes, he stared hard at the building, not moving a muscle.
'Get your fucking ass in there now, Soul Boy!' Angelus goaded him angrily, using the nickname he most hated, but Angel restarted the car, and pulled out.
"No, not yet- I have a much better plan!." Eyes glowing yellow, he took one last fulminating look at her darkened windows before driving quietly away…
Part 3
After a restless night of alternating giggles of smug glee and crushing remorse, Cordy felt like a well wrung out dishcloth. The sadistic pleasure she'd felt hours before had finally left a seriously bad taste of guilt. Yes, she'd crossed the standard Pranking line, and ploughed deeply into spiteful vindictiveness.
Prank? Hell, it was outright cruel revenge! Her street cred in the Demon world had probably gone from zero to 'She's the Woman!' in one short night! "I so do not need to feel like this right now- Angel deserved it! –And not just for his remarks about my little bit of fame," she grumbled to herself, unconvincingly.
"Yeah, put the blame back on Angel where it belongs. After all, HE was the one who started this," Cordy reminded herself; so why did she feel like such a complete and utter bitch?
Cordy seriously considered not going in to work. But she couldn't think of a good enough reason to get out of probably the worst confrontation of her life. Visualizing herself picking up the phone, cordy ran through a few scenarios:
"Hey, Wes! Sorry I can't come in today. Ya see, I woke up this morning and found that my legs had detached themselves from my body in the night!” that would go down well! - The three of them would be here in a flash.
" Wes! How are you this fine and perky morning? Somehow I found myself in Alaska- must have sleepwalked. Should be back in a few decades if I start walking back now …" Yeah, Could just hear Wes now: "Good Lord, Cordelia! Did you have a vision? Did you hit your head? - We'll be right over!" She threw her pillow across the room in annoyance.
"Hey, Wes! I played a really realllly dumb and nasty trick on our resident 'Grr Guy' so I won't be back for, like- ever! Ahhh, crap!"
It was no good; she'd have to face him at some point. After all, she was Cordelia Chase, and could face almost everything… even if it was her enraged ex-boss with the three-inch weeny- and the ability to crush her with one large hand!
Taking a deep breath, Cordy flung back the bedcovers and made her way into the bathroom. Today had to be the worst day of her life.
***
Angel opened his eyes abruptly; surprised he'd actually slept.
For hours he'd lain there, tossing and turning; his fevered brain going over all the things he'd wanted to do to that-that Evil woman, with Angelus' voice in his head goading him on, and giving him suggestions that sounded so tempting.
The small part of his brain that wasn't enraged, humiliated or filled with thoughts of lustful revenge still reacted in surprise that Cordelia would betray him with such a blatant public display. So what if his own behavior had been less than exemplary? Angel reconsidered that thought quickly. 'Brutal' and 'out of order' was more like it - but then so was her response. He just knew it had to do with his overreaction to her photo spread earlier in the week, but plastering that dickless centerfold with his face on it was beyond redemption. It seemed totally out of character for the woman he…was so fond of.
WAS. Fond of! - Was!
Formerly fond; as in past feelings of friendship that had been so viciously trampled upon in favor of a prank / an act of revenge / stabbing him in the back / staking him in the heart- all those things, with this visual form of vengeance.
Right now Angel wanted to make her scream, long and hard. -And not in the 'Ouch, that scalpel/whip/cigarette hurts real bad either. But in a way that had nothing to do with pain, and everything to do with torturing her with every pleasure his body could deliver; until her body was sensitized to the point of sensual agony, and her voice hoarse with screaming his name!
"You've been waiting for an excuse to get into her frillies! - And I bet she wears silk! Hell! I'm with you alllll the way! …Just let me out to play... just a little?" Angelus purred softly in his head. He could teach that luscious little traitor a thing or two! She wouldn't be able to walk for a week after he'd finished with her.
"Fuck the hell off, and yes she does! I don't need your perverted support- and No way are you playing!" Angel wanted that extended pleasure all to himself!
"Forgetting something, Soul Boy?" That dark voice sneered,
One second in that hot, lush body, and I'll be 'playing' for a looooong time!"
"And you're forgetting the unlife sentence, asswipe!" Angel grinned sadistically.
Angelus had conveniently forgotten about that. – Too busy thinking with his Not-three-inch-dick was making him lose his hold on reality. His Soul wasn't something he could lose anymore -even for not so pure revenge. According to Angelus, that was just so wrong on many levels. But it warmed the cockles of Angel's heart to think he could have his cake and eat her too! And although he knew he'd be taking a dangerous gamble with his Seers future affections, Angel just couldn't let go of his need to make the pert little Brunette pay.
"Okay, Angelus - as this effects the both of us, I'll let you play too…" The Vampire was suddenly feeling very generous, and wanted to share in the fun – besides, his Demon had much more experience at this sort of thing…
Finally, with his plan worked out in fine detail- with his Demon's naturally toned down demands agreed on, Angel had fallen asleep, a smug, wicked smile firmly plastered on his mouth, and if any of the others had seen him, they would have wondered how far below the surface his demon actually was…
Back to the present
Launching himself out of bed, Angel made his way to the bathroom, quelling the small twinge of guilt that accompanied him like a breath of rancid air.
No - today was going to be the best day of his Unlife – and his conscience wasn't gonna spoil it.
***
Taking a deep, cleansing and calming breath, breath, Cordy let herself into the Hotel, sighing with relief on only seeing Wes and Gunn present. Her wide eyes flicked around the lobby to double-check, her muscles unclenching slightly at seeing no sign of the Vampire. But the fear lingered. This was only the beginning of a potentially looong and nerve-wracking day.
"Hey, Guys!" Throwing a smile at the two men, Cordy click-clacked over to her desk.
"Morning, Cordy." She couldn't stop the squeal of alarm at the sound of the deep quiet voice sounding in her ear. Spinning round, Cordy came face to face with her ex-boss.
"Angel! God!" clutching her chest in reaction to his stealthy approach. Folding his arms, Angel rose a dark brow; a slight apologetic smile touching his firm mouth as he surveyed the trembling brunette standing in front of him.
"Sorry. Are you okay? You look a little…peaky." Gentle concern lit his brown eyes. Scouring his face for any kind of hint that something really terrible was about to happen- to her, Cordy was surprised to see nothing even remotely angry, offended or bloodthirsty in his expression. She blinked in total confusion.
"Um…yeah, fine- a little tired that's all." Her mouth twisted into a fake bright smile; but her eyes still watched him suspiciously. What the Hell was going on? Why wasn't he beating his manly chest and tearing her limb from limb? Had she walked into an alternative, fluffy Vampire reality?
Maybe Lorne had removed the pictures before opening? She nodded to herself. Yup!. That must have been what had happened. There was NO way anyone could hide the fury Cordy knew she would have felt if someone had done such a rotten, underhand, and totally evil thing to her! Her wide hazel eyes raked over his face again - still seeing nothing but friendly concern.
It took his years of self-control to keep the smirk of triumph off his face as he watched a whole gamut of emotions cross her slightly flushed face. Confusion warred with wariness, disbelief- a touch of fear …and finally wholehearted relief. Exactly what he wanted.
"remember, Jerkulus; you promised I could come out to play- real soon." Angelus' voice vibrated with wicked excitement.
"Yeah, I did- but no maiming or killing, or the offer is defunct." Angel shoved his Demon down - for the time being. Cordy's whole body instinctively flinched when Angel reached out a large hand, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment when he merely patted her shoulder as he passed her.
She stood staring after him awkwardly, as he wandered off to the kitchen – was he whistling? She shook her head groggily; now she was hallucinating. Angel never whistled. Now his back was turned, Angel let a smug and satisfied smile slide onto his face.
He was truly proud of himself.
Part 4
The morning passed lazily along, with Cordy frequently eyeing Angel suspiciously, but the Vampire seemed relaxed; discussing ongoing cases quietly with Wes, asking her for certain files in his normal nice-but detached manner-then spent an hour or two sorting and cleaning weapons with Gunn, exchanging light banter with him, talking defense and attack moves.
Hey, Cordy! Wanna be our Demon of the day? I'm in the mood to try this out for real." She gave him an icy glare that would have frozen any other guy; Gunn just laughed, swinging his axe with ease.
"Just saying – wasn't it you who was whining in my shell-like about wanting to kick Demon booty too?" Cordy rolled her eyes, and turned her back on the smirking black man, and concentrated on her computer, missing the sudden grin on Angel's face, that disappeared just as quickly.
"Since when? Can't imagine our Seer wanting to ruin those manicures she cons me out of." Angel ducked, laughing, to avoid the paperback aimed at his head. Inwardly, his earlier plans were feverishly reforming as a new and exciting element crept in to his mind.
Angel was mildly surprised that Cordelia had even considered the possibilities of joining in a more physical aspect. Personally, he thought she did enough already. He'd have to be blind not to realize how hard the Visions were on her.
"Don't you start with the pity party, Fucked-Brain. - A deal's a deal." Angelus growled. No way was he being denied payback- NO WAY!
Angel reassured his Demon that no, he wasn't changing his mind. The possibilities of that confrontation were burnt into his already steaming mind; and he had no intention of denying himself the pleasure of revenge. He pulled his attention back to the present as he realized Cordy had again turned to face them.
"And what's wrong with wanting to be able to defend myself? I can't expect you guys to have eyes in the backs of your head! How many times in the past have one, or the other of you been unnecessarily hurt because of me being attacked and distracting you in mid fight? It just makes sense, is all." Cordy huffed, glaring at them both, folding her arms across her ample chest; inadvertently drawing the Vampire's hot gaze.
Shaking his head imperceptibly, Angel mimicked her action, folding his arms to hide his now-twitching hands. He could almost feel her soft, firm naked flesh between his fingers.
"If you feel so strongly about it, then you should learn properly…I suppose I could fit in some training." His was voice casual as he shrugged his broad shoulders lightly. Cordy darted him a sharp, suspicious look – nope: not a flicker of anything in those clear brown eyes.
"Why you? Gunn – or even Wes could train me." The thought of training with her ex-boss sent shivers down her spine. Wouldn't that mean…close contact - touching? She didn't think she could handle that.
Especially now she knew he wouldn't be able to see it through…. though, with a three inch dick, what would be the point any way? She bit back the snigger, with difficulty, and shoved the disappointment that followed it's heels deep into the recesses of her mind.
"You wouldn't have to hold back with me." Angel noted the look, and wondered angrily what had brought it on. Was the thought of training with him such an amusing idea?
Angelus raged inside him- and this time, The Soul was right there with him!
I'll show her just how amusing it'll be!
***
The arrival of a new client around lunchtime pushed all lingering thoughts of possible revenge scenarios out of Cordy's mind. After their discussion on Training, She'd grudgingly agreed to Angel's casual offer. Seeing no hint of retribution in those dark eyes made it easier to accept.
After another hour of research, which uncovered the Demon the new client was having problems with, and which turned out to be easily removed by the Human part of AI, Wes and Gunn decided to see to it themselves. It was still early afternoon, Wes pointed out- and as the Demon was situated in the grounds of their client, Angel wouldn't have been much help.
"Unless you want to compost the garden for him, with your dusty remains?" Cordy quipped; ignoring Angel's pissed expression – missing the evil smirk when her eyes dropped back to her screen.
Tidying up the books after the duo exited the hotel, Cordy glanced up to see Angel descending the staircase, wearing old sweats and a white muscle shirt. "Put those eyes back in their sockets now, girl." she muttered to herself as she placed the last but one book on the shelf under the check-in desk.
"So you want your first lesson?" Nearly jumping out of her skin, Cordy spun round to face the stealthy Vampire. She hadn't heard him walk up behind her.
"God, Angel! Do you have to give me these daily heart attacks?" stepping back slightly, suddenly feeling hemmed in by his large frame. Apologizing automatically, He also moved back, handing the last book to her as he did so. "Anyway; I can't exactly train in these." indicating her short skirt and high heeled sandals. Angel silently thought the skirt, especially, would be perfect for the kind of 'training' he had in mind.
"I'm sure you have some stuff upstairs. You usually do." Folding his arms and leaning casually against the counter; instinctively drawing her eyes to the bulging, rippling muscles of his biceps. Blinking hard, Cordy shook her head to clear it of all lusty thoughts.
"I used to- until some slime ball started giving them away." She held up a hand to halt the flow of defensive, guilty words about to erupt from him. "But that was then, right?" Like she had a right to make him feel bad right now. At his short nod, Cordy flushed guiltily as she walked towards the stairs. "As it happens, I left some pants and sneakers here after our last encounter with a Goo-ey Demon."
"Gwai- it was a Gwai Demon; not 'goo-ey'." at her frown of puzzlement.
"I knew what I meant- and it was 'goo-ey!" Angel watched her until she disappeared around the corner, a slow smile spreading over his face.
" Muwahahahah... let the torture begin." His dark chuckle echoed Angelus' as he made his way to the basement door….
Part 5
Before she'd even opened the Basement door, Cordelia could hear the sound of flesh and bone hitting leather in a fast and regular rhythm. As she descended the steps, Angel came into view.
The muscle shirt had disappeared, and she watched with a suddenly dry mouth the play of rippling muscles along his back as they bunched and relaxed with each pullback and blow his fists meted out.
God, he was beautiful! Like a Greek statue come alive... in more ways than one - Cordy couldn't help the frown of major disappointment at the remembered lunch boxes of the afore-mentioned statues. "God, what a frikken waste!"- Oops! Did she just say that out loud? Judging by how quickly he spun around; in mid punch, and the stunned wideness of those yellow tinged eyes, she figured she must have done.
Clearing her throat and determined NOT to flush an agonizing red, Cordy folded her arms casually.
"I hope you don't intend to pound me like that, Big Guy? - cos that bag is fit to bursting it's seams." fixing her gaze eyes towards the crazily swinging punch bag - and completely missing the rapid sweltering heat of those dark and sinfully wicked eyes; not to mention the brief sensual curve of his mouth when he replied.
"Not right away - have to soften you up a little first." Turning back to the bag, he let loose one more powerful swing, which caused the stitching to rip apart at the impact.
"But I promise not to pound you, or pull you apart with my bare hands." I'll leave that for my not so three fucking inch dick, sweetheart. He added silently, his grin widening evilly out of sight of her still wary gaze.
Finally turning to face her, he flicked dark eyes over her body, taking in the form fitting stretch pants and soft cream sneakers. She still wore the soft red sleeveless top of earlier; the tiny row of buttons down the front screaming "Open me!" Indicating that she'd move onto the training mat, Cordy did so, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously- immediately drawing his gaze to her lightly jiggling breasts. Obviously the thin scrap of silk she wore under the top was just as inadequately satisfying.
"We'll start with a warm up – not that you always get a chance to do that, but you're not as supple as you used to be since your cheerleading days" he stifled the grin at her instant look of outrage.
"I'm totally supple, Buster, just cos I haven't joined the LA squad doesn't mean I don't keep fit." Jerk! She'd show him. so intent on her inner grumbling she hadn't seen him move and nearly jumped out of her skin when a pair of large, cool hands practically encircled her waist.
"If you don't loosen up, you're gonna pull some muscles; relax." Angel squeezed her flesh briefly, before sliding his hands up her sides and hooking them under her arms, following the length of them until he grasped her wrists lightly, holding them up. "Now I want you to drop your arms slowly –like this" he stretched her arms apart and down, not releasing them until his hands rested against her thighs; at the same time spreading her feet with one of his. Cordy stumbled at the suddenness of the action, and gasped when his hands curled around her upper thighs. Leaning his head on her shoulder, he sighed heavily, his cool breath tickling her ear, causing a shudder to slide down her spine.
"And balance is another thing. You'll be on you're ass so quick you won't have time to defend yourself." He stepped back, releasing her abruptly before returning to his original stance facing her – only a lot closer.
"How was I to know you were gonna do that?" Cordy scowled at him, ignoring the echo of his touch on her upper thighs. This was definitely a bad idea.
"Yeah – and some big, fuckoff Demon is going to warn you in advance what he's gonna do, Cor; get real! If you're serious about this, less chat and more sweat." He growled impatiently. Her eyes widened at his words and tone. Since when did he get so crude – to her, of all people? She figured it must have been around the time he fired them all and became PsychoVamp – well, she was no Darla slut, and wouldn't stand for it.
"Talk about potty mouth, Angel!. Who rattled your cage – and sweat? –Eww." She copied his movements as she spoke, raising her arms and following the slow sweep down he made. He moved with a quiet, controlled grace, and Cordy found herself admiring the wide sweep of his shoulders, his softly rippling pecs and relaxed drop of his heavy arms.
For the next hour, Angel went through a series of warm up moves, occasionally stepping forward to place her limbs in certain poses – always somehow managing to brush against her ribs, stomach and ass. By the time he decided that she was loose enough, she was a quivering wreck.
"Now to basics: staking a Vampire." Angel walked over to retrieve a stake from the top of a filing cabinet.
"You know, I've sorta got that down pat, thanks very much – can't we do something a little more original?" Cordy rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.
"Like what, premeditation? Somehow I don't think you need my help to do that." Angel twirled the stake in his hand, ignoring the sharp look aimed his way. What did he mean by that? not seeing anything accusatory in his expression, she shrugged. Listening to him drone on. "I know you're pretty good at sneaking up and staking Vamps in the back – but now you'll learn how to do it while they're facing you; think you can handle that that or isn't that as much fun?" He kept his face neutral, but his gut roiled in anger as the words poured out. Judging by her face, Cordy was getting a little suspicious, and he hadn't got to the punch line yet!
"I don't know about this, Angel – what if I hurt you by accident?" She took the stake he handed her reluctantly. Angel backed off a few steps before replying. Each time he opened his mouth it felt like a personal dig at her – or maybe it was just guilt that made her feel like he was being a little too personal and tetchy?
"It's not a real stake – don't you know the difference between what's fake and what's not? It's plastic – now show me what you've got." The sarcasm was lost on his Seer – figures- but he was more than willing to open her eyes – a lot!
Eying him carefully, Cordy readied herself. The Vampire's stance was loose and almost arrogant, and she desperately wanted to wipe the sneer off that perfect mouth. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself at him, stake held high – and felt her wrist caught in a firm grip and her arm was twisted behind her back. Before she could attempt to struggle, he released her, pushing her back a little too firmly, and for a moment she struggled to keep her balance.
"Come on, Cordy – you can do better than that. You must have some sly little moves hidden in that devious little mind of yours – Well, you are a woman." at her growl of annoyance; that quickly turned into a snarl at his snide comment. "sexist pig!" Cordy muttered angrily - she'd show him.
Snaking out a foot, she hooked it around his ankle and pulled – at the same time pushing forward, they both went crashing to the mat. Her yell of triumph quickly turned to dismay as, in less than a heartbeat, he'd turned tables and rolled her under him. Thankful that she still had possession of the stake, Cordy whipped her arm up, and struggled to reach his broad chest. Angel lazily blocked her and turned it so it was inches from her face. Her head jerked back as it brushed her lips.
"Angel! I nearly swallowed that – clumsy much? Dumbass!" He just grinned, his brown eyes shimmering like melted chocolate. Flicking the stake over her head with a snap of his wrist, Angel settled more comfortably against her. Something hard nudged her hip and she shifted uncomfortably. Angel hissed when her hipbone hit his rapidly growing erection, and was tempted to shove right back. Instead he rose to his feet gracefully, latching on to her wrist and pulling her up.
"If I'd wanted to shove my…stake in your mouth, there would have been no 'nearly' about it." He replied rather casually for such an obvious threat and this time she didn't miss the evil glint in those eyes. What was his problem? He obviously didn't want to train her, so why was he bothering? All these petty little comments weren't helping at all -this was far worse than she'd originally envisioned. If he got so annoyed teaching a friend to train, what would he be like if he knew what she'd done? It didn't bear thinking about, so she didn't – much.
"You don't have to do this, Angel – I didn't ask you to." She grumbled, brushing down her top and pants.
"Don't get all hurt feelings on me – you expect me to go easy on you? I'm doing this because I care, and don't want you to be hurt, Cordy." With just the right amount of tenderness in his tone, Angel gazed at her with warmth – suppressing the savage smile at her sudden expression of guilt. That's right, sweetheart, suck it up!
"Hey, dickless wonder, when do we get to the good stuff? Right now, you're all mouth – and that's not the plan here!" Angelus was all for emotional torture, but this was getting ridiculous! – If you wanted a job done properly, don't ask a fucking Soul to do it, he thought in disgust.
"Patience – we don't want to show all our cards yet."
"Well, one of 'em wouldn't hurt, would it? I wanna play 'snap' and fuck the bitch – hard! – Not Solitaire; had enough of that game." Angel ignored his Demon's complaints, and stepped forward to come to a halt inches form his Seer.
It took all of Cordy's willpower not to step back. His nearness was starting to get to her, and she prayed frantically that he wouldn't scent just how much. The mixture of guilt and arousal wasn't a comfortable feeling, and his last gentle words made her feel like the lowest form of life on the planet. She was so glad Lorne had taken down those pictures before opening Caritas – it was bad enough that she'd put them up; God knows how she would have felt if anyone had seen them!
"I know, Big guy – it's just…a lot harder than I thought, that's all." if only she knew just how hard it was gonna get! – by the end of this training session, there'd be no doubt about it! And talking of getting to the end of their session… "You're not doing too bad, Cordy – that last move was unexpected, never knew you had it in you." And he honestly didn't – bitch!
Time to get out the big guns – or 'Gun', he decided, getting impatient now. He was so hard now he was surprised she hadn't noticed the literal coat hanger that tented his sweats! "Now we'll see how you do at getting out of a Demon's clutches." Before she could open her mouth, Angel had whipped her round and wrapped an arm around her neck, pinning her body to his, making sure the length of his erection was pressed firmly against her ass.
He knew she didn't have a chance of being able to get out of it, but he really wanted to feel her struggle to do so. All those accidental touches had been driving him mad with lust, and he had to rub his erection against her- even if it was only her ass – for now. Standing behind her seemed like a good Start. Cordy grabbed his forearm with both hands and pulled hard: not a twitch! Then she wriggled in earnest, but that only caused him to pull her tighter against him. She tried to jerk forward when she finally registered something hard and unyielding poking into her back. That was the second time that had happened, and she dismissed it as being a part of his big body – she did, after all know different.
"Angel! If you're gonna get me in a head lock, can you make sure you don't pack a stake in your pocket? - It's hurting my back." Cordy wriggled uncomfortably, stilling when the Vampire growled heatedly.
"You think I'm stupid enough to carry wood in my pants? - Now concentrate Cordy, and see if you can get out of this." the arm around her hips pulled her even tighter against him, and his mouth curled into an evil smirk as he felt her whole body freeze.
Well, if it wasn't a stake, what the hell – Cordy gasped aloud as the 'wood' nudged even harder into her spine. Closing her eyes briefly, she worked out exactly where it started and ended. – Pressing from the crease of her butt to just below where her ribs ended. Holy shit! her elbow jerked back in response to the hard length of him pushing even closer, wedging between her butt cheeks.
"Ooph!" Angel's grip loosened at the impact of her sharp elbow connecting with his gut. In a flash, Cordy was heading towards the stairs – screaming in surprise when she was caught and lifted high into the air, before being deposited to her feet back on the mat. Her eyes automatically dropped to his groin as he released her.
Oh, Boy! No WAY was that three inches – what the hell was going on? Her brain feverishly recalled the image in the magazine as she compared visually what she'd felt…and could see right now – Dear God, no frikken way!
Realizing she was staring like a woman possessed at his straining pants, Cordy glanced away fidgeting uncomfortably, becoming very interested in a cobweb in the far recesses of the basement. Something was definitely wrong with this scenario. "Maybe it was flaccid in the photo – nope, that little weenie stood proud; well, as proud as a three inch dick could manage!" Her thoughts bounced around her reeling brain like a frenzied tennis ball.
"What's with the running? I thought you wanted to stop doing that – decided you're not up to it; or is it just me you can't take?" Angel practically purred the challenge, and it killed him to keep his expression neutral.
He hadn't missed her stunned look; he could still feel the heat of that shocked gaze all along the hard, throbbing length of him. He decided it was time to up the ante. Reaching forward too fast for her register, his foot hooked behind her ankle, pulling her off balance. She fell back, her arms wind milling before latching onto him - breathing a sigh of relief when his arm wrapped around her hips before she could hit the floor.
Oh, crap! Cordy wished now that he'd have let her fall when she took in their intimate position: her knees were now hugging the sides of his hips, whilst her hands gripped the front of his shirt. Angel was bent over her, supporting her weight completely…and his 'stake' was now firmly wedged in the crook of her legs, the broad tip nudging hard against her rapidly heating core.
For a long tense moment, neither moved; both staring into each others eyes – hers wide and stunned, his dark and smoldering. His firm mouth was pulled tight and his cheekbones were slightly flushed. Cordy stared at the unusual sight of color in his normally pale complexion and this jerked her into action. She tried to pull back as she attempted a grin, which came out more of a grimace.
"Okay, you win, Grrr Guy; I definitely have a lot to learn – now let me loose." Her eyes widened even more when he merely shook his head – a gasp of mixed outrage and pleasure as the grip on her hips tightened as he pulled her even further into the cradle of his hip.
That throbbing tip now pushed against her pants, and if it hadn't been for their clothes she was in no doubt that that part of his anatomy would be well and truly inserted and crushed against her cervix. Her hips twitched in instinctive response to the near invasion, and her eyes slammed shut for a second as she felt wet heat flood her sex.
"Come on, Cordy – I'm sure you could get out of this if you really wanted to; after all, you've never been short of brilliant ideas, have you?" The feral snarl couldn't be suppressed as much as he tried; he couldn't ignore the overpowering scent of her arousal, and fought with himself to control his urge to rip away her clothes and take her hard. Instead he let a small innocent smile touch his mouth as he stared guilelessly into hazel eyes that had shot open before narrowing – then widening again when he deliberately rocked his hips into her.
Oh, God, oh, God! The friction was driving her crazy, and she helplessly returned the action - if he didn't put her down soon, that twitching and throbbing that was going on down below was gonna make her come in her pants. The hands wrapped in the material of his shirt twisted convulsively and her breath caught in her throat in short pants as she watched those partly open lips descend slowly…
"Angel, Cordy? – You down there? Yo!" the basement door was pulled open. Angel released Cordy so quickly, she would have fallen if not for his hands latching onto her upper arms. His low growl echoed her frustrated moan as he reluctantly settled her feet on the mat, moving away a few steps.
They both turned towards Gunn as he descended the stairs two at a time.
"Yeah, we're done for now, aren't we, Cor? We'll continue with the next lesson tonight; handling heavy weapons," Angel flicked her a burning glance, then swiveled on his heel to approach the stairs, not waiting for her reply. "How did it go –any problems?" He asked as both men disappeared up the steps and out of sight.
Cordy's knees buckled, and she plonked down onto the mat, shaking her head hazily. The dark promise in those eyes a minute earlier haunted her. Something was seriously wrong about this whole scenario. Cordelia Chase may not have had much experience with a man's anatomy, but there was no mistaking the 'bulging' evidence she felt and saw. Not even his loose sweats had hidden that fact that the Vampire packed more than a sandwich – more like a three course meal!
She'd obviously made a big mistake, and the only conclusion was that the picture she'd found was an almost perfect fake – but why would anyone have bothered pasting Angel's head on such an inadequate body? What she'd seen and felt would have pushed the sales of that magazine through the roof. Then another thought crossed her mind: if those pictures hadn't have been removed by Lorne, and he'd seen them, the fact that it wasn't him below the neck would have made him think she'd somehow manipulated the photo.
Cordy gulped sickly at the images that passed through her mind – that would have been a fun confrontation – not! Thank God it hadn't happened how she'd hoped it would in her moment of madness.
Staring nervously up the stairs leading to the lobby, she thought again at his promise of another training session later. She wasn't sure she could cope with such a traumatic episode – not without jumping his bones, anyway; and with the threat of Angelus hanging like a black cloud over their heads, it could only lead to imminent death of them all.
So that left her with one problem: how the hell was she gonna get out of it?
Oh, Boy – was she in trouble!
TBC...
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