Go TeamC/A
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Title: Wishing On A Star
Author: Scorchy
Posted:
Rating: NC-17 in parts
Category: Humour/Adventure/Romance/Time travel
Content: C/L, C/Aus, C/A eventually
Summary: Cordy wishes on the wrong star!
Spoilers:
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: AO & Cal's place
Notes: I've cast all angst, all heartbreak and all unhappiness away so please take this as the fun fic it's meant to be!
Thanks/Dedication:To Impress for two reasons, 1) Because I sucked on Hand of God and 2) Coming up with this challenge which has been the sheer highlight of my day! Impress, I hope you enjoy this because it's a serious joy to do.
Feedback:
Part 1 - Wishes Do Come TrueMost of the sky was crystal clear with only the horizon painted with light, misty clouds; a few little stars twinkling like tiny diamonds. The moon's soft, hazy glow shone down on the lazy waves, the nightlight beaming mythically off the water. Cordelia sighed, cupping her chin gloomily in one palm while her other palm held a now cold Styrofoam cup of bitter coffee. Her full, lower lip popping out in a pout while she thought about the sorry state her love life was in.
“Why doesn't he ever notice me?” she asked the ocean and her reply was the lapping sound of the waves against the shore. “Am I not good enough? Pfft” Cordelia waved that away instantly! There was no one she wasn't good enough for. Shoulders slumping slightly and her long hair trickling down her forearm with the defeated movement. “I know he loves me but only as a friend and co-worker” she tried to find the good points in currant relationship with Angel, vampire with a soul. Or lack of relationship rather.
“I love him, I mean really love him” she stated to the ocean and night sky, “Each and every part of him, granted loving that not-so-loving demon of his isn't really the kind of thing I should be bragging about but I love him. The demon is a part of Angel so I have to love him right? If I didn't then I wouldn't be able to accept him for who he was completely right?”
Again, all she got was the voiceless answer of the waves lapping the shore.
“Urgh!” Cordelia scoffed at her silly babble and her expecting an answer when she knew she wasn't going to get one. “I hate this, I hate him not noticing me and I hate that damn demon for not forcing the soul to notice me. That's it! It's Angelus' fault, he's to blame for me not being noticed”
The diamond-like stars looked down in sympathy at her plight.
“Oh who the hell am I kidding” it wasn't a question that came out in a defeated, puff of breath; “No part of Angel notices me, if I was to wear my birthday suit to work there isn't a part of that manpire that would notice me”
Through her eyelashes, Cordelia looked back at the diamonds and the brightest one caught her eyes. A little giggle escaped her glossy lips as she seriously contemplated wishing on it, looking around to make sure there were no demons near her she turned her sceptical gaze back to the shiny, bright star.
“Star light, star bright first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I make tonight” Cordelia became entranced as the star seemed to draw her in, hypnotising her with the twinkling which seemed to get brighter. “I wish” she began “I wish every part of Angel would love me the way I love him”.***
Holly, Molly and Polly all looked at each other, coming to a simultaneous decision about the young woman's wish.
“We'll get in trouble” Holly, the youngest sister whispered out.
“Look at her, poor little creature” Molly, the middle one poured out in utter despair for Cordelia.
“Oh come on you two” Polly, the oldest and the bad influence of the three, urged. “We haven't granted a wish in eons, and I always did love playing matchmaker to humans”
“Polly, the last time you played matchmaker to a human, you caused a certain bloody vampire to be created” Holly pointed out.
“Like you never wanted him to be with that whacked out lunatic, they were such a hot couple. Even you said so” Molly, ever the peace-keeper, pointed back at Holly. “But I also agree we should leave this one alone, let things work out the way they should”
“The way those two go on, hell will become a ski resort before they ever get it on” Polly stated. “This'll be the last wish, I promise. Cross my none-existing heart and stick a needle in someone else's eye”
“Molly, what do you think?” Holly turned her attention to the middle sister.
Looking back and forth between Polly and Holly, Molly nudged her head from side to side in exasperation, why did they always give her the deciding vote? If she went with Polly, Holly would be in a huff with her for eternity and if she went with Holly, Polly would make her life a misery so that left her.
Taking charge for the first time in her existence, Molly raised a cunning eyebrow at her sisters. “If you'll excuse me, I'm taking this thank you”
All three sisters looked back down to Earth, watching as Cordelia Chase fell mysteriously asleep to the concrete ground. Molly quickly thought and performed her mojo on the now sleeping girl.
“Wind shall blow, water shall flow
Cordelia's eye fluttered slowly open, sunlight and weariness caused her vision to blur; her hand gripped the Earth below, feeling dewy, damp grass running through her fingers as she eased herself off the ground. Blinking away the fog clogging her brain, she raised her free hand to shield her eyes from morning sun.
On Earth below the birds shall crow
Time shall turn, hearts shall burn
Love is the lesson he must learn
Gone from now she will be
In the past he will see
One half warm, one half cold
Once whole, magic shall fold”
“What the hell did I get up to last night?” she asked herself, surely that nice coffee selling lady wouldn't have spiked her coffee with alcohol would she? Shaking her head a little, the seer tried to shift the blocking haze from her mind as she focused on her unfamiliar surroundings.
She was sitting in a luscious green meadow filled with buttercups and daisies, trees lining the boundaries in the near distance. The sky was unsually cloudy with only a few, sharp and bright rays of the sun streaming through the cracks in the clouds. Cordelia turned her attention in the opposite direction and saw just the same, green grass spotted with yellow and white natural flowers.
Rising unsteadily and most definitely confused, she looked down at her clothing and frowned at the knee-length blue skirt, strappy pearly sandals and a cream top with elbow-length sleeves. How the hell was she supposed to go for hike in this?!
“Great just great” Cordelia groaned loudly, dusting her clothes of the loose blades of grass and running a hand through her hair, sending the tresses bouncing around her shoulders. “Okay, if I was L.A which direction would I be?”
Pointing a finger in one direction, she began to decide which way she should go. “Inney meeny miney mo, catch a spider by the toe, if it sque... Oh forget it!” Cordelia snapped at herself. “I know I'm not in L.A. Hell, by the looks of it I'm not even in Kansas” glaring up at the sky she spread her arms wide. “Why me? Do you enjoy having a laugh at my expense? I'm not a bad person am I? So why do you insist on making my life a living hell?!”
She got no answer as always, instead the clouds seemed to drift to let the sunshine mock her, bathing her in the warm, calming heat which did anything but calm her!
“AARRGGHH! I hate my life! I hate you! I hate myself!” Cordelia screamed at the top of her lungs. “What have I ever done to deserve being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no idea of how I got here and no idea how to get back?”
“AARRGGHH!” she screamed once more before giving up in defeat and letting her arms drop down by her sides. Her lower lip came out in a pout, her chin began to wobble and her eyes became filled with tears. “I wanna go home, be in my bed, order some Thai food”
The tears glazing her eyes never fell as the young woman turned to East and began looking for any sign of life.***
Now carrying her shoes in her hands, Cordelia trudged tiredly along a cobbled road; the stones cold on the soles of her feet and no doubt would cause blisters. Someone was going to pay for this! Her skirt was clinging to her perspiring, aching legs and her calf muscles were feeling the burn of the long walk.
The sun had waltzed across the clearer sky, pausing for a nap when it hit the high point of the day, making her guess it was around 12 noon or something. Cordelia wiped her forehead with the back of her shoe-carrying hand before dropping her sandals to the cobbles below.
“I've walked all day and nothing” she sighed and followed her shoes trip to the ground where she sat and placed her elbows on her knees. “Maybe I should have gone the other way, I might have found something other than cobbles. Hey, I might have found a bath or shower or even a nice, cosy restaurant”
Cordelia tucked her chin on both palms, staring gloomily at the path she was hunched on. “I hope Angel finds me before some unspeakable evil finds and eats me. I can't be eaten, what will Angel do without my visions? What will he do without me? Apart from brood eternally and wallow in self-pity for the rest of his unnatural lifespan”
“I miss Angel” she mumbled through her pouting.
Clickitty-clack-clickitty-clack
The sound of hooves connecting with the cobbled path alerted Cordelia immediately, her mood instantly going from miserable to hope-fuelled joy in a split second. Jumping up off the floor, the brunette waved her arms like a crazy woman, hoping to get some help and attention from the person with the horse.
“Hey Highway Guy, I have nothing for you to steal but I could sure use your help!” she yelled loudly and started to bounce up and down in the middle of the path. “HHEELLPP! Damsel In Distress here, if you value your life then you won't ignore me!”
The young man on the bay gelding saw the female jumping around and heard her loud screaming and yelling. He urged the horse to reach her faster, if she was in such a state then she must need a lot of help and he wasn't in the habit of letting a young woman be in distress of any kind!
Cordelia breathed a sigh of sheer relief as the man on the beautiful horse slowed down when he was close enough to approach her. “Oh thank God, I thought for a minute there I was lost in the back of the beyond or in an episode of the Outer Limits or something. Thanks for stopping by the way, you're not some kind of cute girl eating demon are you?”
His face shadowed as he easily and gracefully dismounted his horse, keeping a firm hold on the reigns the young man turned to face the talking woman. Wickedly tempting brown eyes widened as he took in her state of undress and bare feet, her hair was all over the place and she was still talking about demons.
The skirt swished around her thighs as she made exaggerated movements to demonstrate her plight, the cream top she wore tightened around the swell of her breasts and her lips looked full and highly kissable. Despite her obvious profession, Liam's mind swirled with ideas and ulterior motives!
“Excue me buster, are you even listening to a single word I'm saying or are you just content to stare at my breasts?” Cordelia snapped, making Liam look quickly at her face. Heart-shaped and well-defined, skin that shimmered under the sun and cute, little beautymark on her cheek.
“Pardon me miss, are you in need of some help?” he asked, coming out of the shadow created by the horse and sunlight. Cordelia looked up at his face, voice and sight recognition immediately clicked. “EEEE!” she squealed in undiluted delight before anything else kicked in.
“Angel!” she ran and dove into his arms at full speed, throwing her arms and locking them around his neck. “I never doubted you'd find me. Is Wesley here too? Never mind, let's get the hell out of here now”
Shock with a mix of his usual wayward, horny feelings, Liam hugged her back before asking who this Angel was because he was certainly no Angel!
Cordelia hugged tightly, almost sqeezing the life out of the man when reality started to creep in. If this was Angel, how come he was in the sunshine? How come he dressed like they did in the days before soap? And why was he copping a feel of her ass?!
Pulling away from whoever she had thrown herself onto, she turned her eyes up to lock onto familiar, heated rich bronze eyes.
“What the hell?!”
Part 2 - Memories of YouLiam looked at the brunette now splayed out on the ground in a dead faint, of course he was human, why wouldn't he be?! She seemed okay until he told her his name then she just collapsed in front of him. Her arms, well refined and beautifully shaded, lay in ungraceful positions and her legs, long and also beautifully shaded, lay slightly parted.
Her small feet, the tips of her toes decorated in the same colour blue as the pretty slip she wore. He looked at the tips of her slender fingers to see if there was blue on them, sure enough her nails were painted too! The young man looked from the girl back to his horse, expression showing deep thought about what was to do.
“Eh” he shrugged, he couldn't leave her laying on the path in the middle of Galway and Dublin could he? Not dressed like that anyway, she'd be taken as some scoundrel's wench quickly looking like that! He wondered which tavern she worked in, pretty sure he'd remember her if he'd ever seen her before.
Maybe she worked in a proper cathouse, she looked above the usual wenches who worked in the local taverns! Liam leaned over, picking her up with care and slung her over his horse before climbing onto the saddle just behind her lax body.
His head tilted to the side slightly, examining the girl's buttocks and noticing she wore something under the slip. “Pretty!” Liam sniggered in appreciation of the silk covering her femininity. Nudging the horse into moving, he started the trek back to Galway and wondered if the strange girl would need a job. He was sure Mary at the local would love to have this one working there, she'd definitely bring in the punters.
Himself included!***
A cold, wet rag being pressed against her forehead roused Cordelia from her shock-induced faint. Hazel irises fluttering open for the second time that day, she wet her parched lips with her tongue and wondered what the hell was going on!
What did Angel think he was playing at? Did he really think this was funny? When did he suddenly decide being a vampire wasn't enough for him? And why had he been dressed in those God awful clothes? Sure, she'd only been close friends with him for just over a year but surely at least some of her fashion sense had rubbed off on him, right?
That white, frilly shirt would forever haunt her nightmares and those pants, urgh! What was he thinking?! It was a good thing she never got to see his shoes or else she might just have had a coronary, no shoes thank God the shirt was enough.
“It's about time you woke up” an abrupt but warm female voice pierced the heavy question-filled fog floating around Cordelia, causing her to force her eyes wide open and land on the speaking woman.
“You've been out for a good few hours, now that you're awake an look healthy, you can start tonight!” the woman told her briskly. “You'll be needed in the tap room lass, a fine young thing like you will sharp draw the men in for a brew!”
“Excuse me miss” Cordelia sat up, keeping her voice as polite as she could manage and keeping her hands from bunching up into fists soas not to sock the woman in her mouth! “Hi, I'm Cordelia Chase and all I need to know is where the hell that unfunny, jackass went so I can kill him dead before we get home”
The woman chuckled, she was talking about Liam Brannaghan; she might not have understood the young woman's way of speaking but she knew anger at a man when it was spoken! “Ahh! You mean young Liam, do you?”
“Liam Schmiam!” Cordelia barked, shutting the other woman quickly, “I mean Angel, tall dark and soon-to-be-dead handsome stranger. Not Liam. Liam doesnt exist anymore. Liam went out with flares!”
“The lad you speak ok, this Angel, is he your betrothed? Though the description does sound like our Liam” the woman replied with a little laugh. “I'm Mary, what did you say your name was lass?”
“Cordelia Chase” came the faint answer as Cordelia studied Mary's dress, it was heavy, bulky and totally inhumane! The woman had striking auburn hair that fell in a tight mass of ringlets around her freckled face, the rich autumn colour setting off her emerald green eyes and the brunette couldn't help but be a little jealous.
“Well then Cordelia, that's not an Irish name and you don't speak as though you're from Ireland” Mary observed as she put the rag into the dish of cold water. The young woman had a nice set of lips, fiery hazel eyes, full breasts and a bundle of rich, thick chestnut hair. Mary rolled her eyes, if only she was that young again, the girl wouldn't have a patch on her! This one would fetch the customers in droves, Mary could tell just by the sparks shooting from her eyes that she'd go down well!
“No, I'm not from Ireland. I'm from America, the Land of the Free and innocent until proven guilty” Cordelia shot at the woman who was looking at her as though she was some kind of statue. “Okay, you said something about Ireland, where exactly am I? What year is this? Where can I catch the first Concord out of here?” may as well cut the small talk and get stright to business.
“America eh? That would be the colonies across the water?” Mary asked, continuing to look Cordelia up and down, Liam had been right she was certainly above taverns, so she must work in an upmarket brothel. Not waiting for the brunette to answer, she plowed on. “Where do you work?”
“Angel Investigations” Cordelia replied quickly, “It's a de...”
“I can only imagine what you girls investigate!” Mary giggled and continued to potter about the small bedroom, tidying up some of the clutter around the place.
“What's that's supposed to mean exactly?”
“Angel's not a name I'd choose to call my cathouse, far to heavenly for the likes of what goes on in there methinks!”
Cordelia went numb. Cathouse?! This-this woman thought she worked in a cathouse? Is that where Liam had brought her? To a cathouse?
Suddenly, all thoughts about going home vanished as she realised just exactly what the older woman had been talking about. Taproom. Customers. Men. Mary thought she was a whore! Liam thought she was whore!
Liam was so very, very dead.
How dare he?!
Her mouth opened and closed a few dozen times as her body remained numb of all feeling apart from that feeling of complete and utter shock! She just stared right at Mary, seeing through the big frizz bomb that passed as a hair style and her gaze burned a hole through the wall.
She'd get home alright but not before she made a certain Liam Brannaghan suffer the Ten Plagues of Egypt.***
“Anything?” Angel barked as Wesley burst through the doors of the hotel, she had been gone for a full day. A full day for God's sake! And he was out of his mind with worry. Cordelia had gone for a walk after their case last night and he had let her, he should have known better than to let her wander off on her own at night.
Anything could have happened to her!
“Nothing I'm afraid” the equally panicked Engishman answered as he joined Angel at the large counter in the lobby. Coming up with ways to placate the frantic vampire, Wesley tried his hand at comfort talk. “I'm sure she's fine Angel” he spoke, ignoring the deadly glare now in his direction. “She's probably just taking the day off and having a nice, long hot bubble bath. She did seem rather gloomy last night”
“You knew she was upset?” Angel growled, starting to stalk menacingly towards the backing off ex-watcher. The vampire's large hands curled into fists at his sides as he envisioned wrapping them around the man's throat and throttling him! “She was upset and you let me let her go for a walk?!”
“Don't blame me Angel” Wesley yelped, stumbling over his feet a little as he kept walking backwards. “You know what she's like when she has her mind set on something”
“No I don't” the vampire spoke lowly, his growl slowly turning into a dangerous snarl. “But you obviously do” this jealousy thing was getting old. “When did you get to know her so well Wes?” the Englishman's name rolled off his tongue in a harsh caress that said if the wrong answer was spoken, blood would be split!
“I-we-Cordelia and I that is, well, we go back a long way” came the reply.
“And Cordy and I don't? Is that what you're trying to say? That I don't know her as well as you do?”
“N-no! That isn't what I'm saying at all Angel” Wesley quickly assured the stalking vampire, he was sure Angel didn't know he was stalking him predatorily with heavy, measured footsteps and a low, warning voice that chilled Wesley to the bone.
“Then what are you saying Wes?” demanding now, Angel watched the other man's face go from slightly afraid to sudden defence as he prepared to stand up for himself.
“For God's sake man, get a hold of yourself” Wesley finally snapped and yanked his glasses off! “This is Cordelia Chase we're talking about here, she probably just a few hours to herself nothing more. Give the poor girl a break will you?”
Give her a break? “I'll give that girl a break alright” Angel growled “All she has to do is pick up the phone to tell me she's okay and she'll be right in after she's finished at the cathouse...!”
“Cathou... I do beg your pardon Angel but I seriously doubt Cordelia works in a brothel!” Wesley countered quickly and in an unsure voice. You never could tell with that girl!
Memories flooded Angel's brain, memories of a fainting girl in the middle of nowhere, memories of him taking the girl to the local tavern and memories of that girl being very familiar. The long, dark hair, the large vixen-like hazel eyes swimming with rage and promised vengeance and the delectable body that had caused him to still in awe.
No way could that have been Cordelia, no way at all. For one thing, she wasn't even a twinkle in her mother's eye and for another... Well, there wasn't another. The main fact being no way could that girl have been his Cordelia Chase.
No way on Earth.
Part 3Sitting numbly on an uncomfortable, old and hard wooden chair; Cordelia stared down at the clothing she was expected to put on. It was a horrible, itchy and bulky dress in a disgusting shade of brown that would do absolutely nothing for her complexion! It would take a force bigger and stronger than Mary to make her wear that!
She had decided the best course of action to take was to get money then buy her way back to L.A without that girl-selling he-bitch Angel or Liam. He could stay in this hell dimension for all she cared, how dare he assume she was a-a cat?! And in order to make money, she needed a job and thanks to that bastard, she had one. Yes, she had wonderful new job and she owed it all to Liam-dead-man-walking-Brannaghan, her job was to wait on people, men to be exact, and cater to their every whim.
Her, Cordelia Chase, was nothing more than a skivvy!
“I hate you” Cordelia hissed in unadulterated hatred at the ceiling, willing Angel to hear her every word and willing him to hear the sworn vengeance in her voice. Her lower lip popped out in a pout as her posture sagged the more she thought about Angel, Wesley and L.A. She missed them and wanted to go home where she didn't have to work as a hussy or a waitress. She wanted to go home and be pampered by her ghost, she wanted to argue with Wesley and she just wanted to be with Angel full stop.
“Lass” Mary's voice brought the brunette out of her reverie as she walked into the room she had allocated to Cordelia. Getting the girl's undivided attention, the auburn haired woman came to give her new waitress starting orders. “The bar shall be open in five minutes no less” she looked the girl's outfit over a few times. “If you insist on keeping those under garments on, you'll definitely bring the men in!”
“They're not undergarments” Cordelia shot back and stood, “They're Jane Norman thank you very much and I am not wearing that thing. You couldn't pay me enough to wear that thing”
“You'll certainly get paid a pretty penny if you go out looking like that” Mary commented wryly with a grin at the thought of her percentage. “Come on lass, we don't want to lose custom by opening late”
“I hate you” Cordelia once again hissed to Angel, praying for a miracle that he would rescue her before opening time.***
Within an hour of the tavern opening, the bar room was full of beer swilling, drunken males and poor waitress getting groped! Smoke from pipes and cigars filled the non-recycled air with smoky clouds that made Cordelia's face curl up in disgust. Boisterous, male laughter bellowed throughout the entire room from a group of young men in one of the corners and that laughter turned to catcalls and wolf-whistling when she stomped past them.
“Men, stupid overweight rats” Cordelia muttered to herself as she battled her way through a small crowd of older men. Trying hard not to spill the two tankards of ale she held, she asked for them move out of her way. “Excuse me but can you please get out of my way?” her voice getting drowned out by loud males.
“I'd rather get in your way darlin'“ one man retorted suggestively as he turned to face her, his eyes widening when her clothing registered. A tiny slip of a blue undergarment totally visible, a cream top which held little to his imagination and her shoes were strange but he liked them! “Give'us a twirl wench!”
“I am not a wench!” Cordelia yelped in horror almost dropping the tankards of ale in shock at the shameless way he had just spoke. “I am Cordelia Chase and if you don't keep your eyes and comments to yourself, you'll be spitting your balls out of your mouth for a week”
“Oy fellas!” the man hollered to his friends, drawing their attention to the brunette vixen in front of him. “We got us a new un ere,” the man turned back to her, openly leering drunkenly at her. “How much darlin'?”
“I am not for sale, just get out of my way you dirty old man!” Cordelia screeched and tried to push past him without dropping either tankard. “Move or I'm gonna kick your ass all the way from here to hell”
“You're a one of those eh? A proper lady of the night, you'll be expecting to get paid well I guess!” he stated to her in between a large gulp of his drink. “No doubt when we get through, you'll giving it to me on the house!”
Stunned out of speech for the first time in her life, Cordelia's jaw hit the floor like a ton of bricks, opening and closing for a few dozen times. Her grip loosened on the ale in her hands and her heart stopped momentarily; if he thought she was going there with him he had another thing coming. She forced herself to overcome the shock and forced a reply out of her mouth!
“You're right” Cordelia replied haughtily, “I'm very expensive, so expensive the likes of you would never be able to afford me and I would so never give you the pleasure of kissing me let alone getting me into bed. Now for the last time MOVE YOUR OVERWEIGHT FAT ASS AND GET OUT OF MY WAY!”
Just as she screamed that, the singing stopped and all eyes turned in her direction, causing Cordelia to gulp at the sudden and intense attention she was now receiving. “Please?” she added in a quiet, meek voice and gripped the damn tankards more firmly.
“I think you better do as the lady says” a familiar voice from behind her said, and for a single moment she thought it was Angel. Cordelia spun round, happiness written all over her face as she prepared for him to say he was here to take her home or maybe to confess his love for her.
But as always, her hopes were shot down when she looked at Liam; his mouth curled up in a smile full of mirth and amusement, the brown eyes she loved so much were dancing in a way she had never seen before. The rich brown seemed to glow like tigers' eyes, shoulders, broad and well defined, relaxed and shaking slightly; one hand on his hip and the other holding a glass of ale.
“You!“ she hissed, her claws mentally sharpening to give him a piece of her very strong mind. He was going to regret the day he was born, he was going to be wearing those undropped balls of his as earrings. Right after she stopped drooling!
“You look well lass, very well if I may say so” Liam commented in a lazy drawl before turning his attention to the now silent man behind her. He raised an eyebrow when he recognised the man as his father's friend, married with children and yet he was in here using his version of seduction on the beautiful wench. “I believe the lady wants to be past Iain” though he was younger than the other man, Liam's voice held authority and a calm warning.
The little growl in Liam's tone made it difficult for Cordelia to believe he wasn't Angel, made it difficult for her not to throw herself into his arms and give herself over to him completely. As it happens, she had a score to settle with the human version of her champion.
“Excuse me An, uh, Liam” she said, getting the young man's attention back to her. “Yeah hi, you remember me, Cordelia” she spoke calmly and sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at him accordingly. “I'm the girl you rescued from the middle of nowhere yesterday and brought me here”
“I always remember a pretty face lass” Liam commented before taking a swig of his ale and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Licking his lips, he let his gaze openly roam her body still caged in the undergarments she wore yesterday; she must be looking for trouble if she wore that in here. If she was looking for it, he was more than willing to give it!
“Oh you'll be remembering my pretty face alright” Cordelia replied with a smirk as her care for the ale started to disappear right along with her drooling as a plan started to work it's way round her brain. She needed money, Liam was in here so he must have money. He thought she was a wench, wenches got paid. Put the two together; add a little revenge and BOOM! She had a plan.
“Why is that lass?” he leered, the smirk worked every time!
“Well,” Cordelia purred, making sure her walk was filled with feline grace and wetting her lips with her tongue in a slow, sweeping movement that left her mouth in a glossy, tempting pout. Her breathing was measured and deep, breasts rising with inhalation and catching Liam's lusty gaze. Gold-flecked hazel eyes shone up at him through thick, dark eyelashes that held adoration and praise for her hero.
“Since you rescued me yesterday and saved me from that awful man, I think you deserve a special reward for being my hero” the purring lilt in her voice and her little show had more than attracted Liam. Though women came onto him a lot; very few had her grace, poise and very few had a spark that burned with a glance.
When it became apparent there was going to be no fighting just yet, the room had lost interest when they saw Liam warm up to his usual tricks with the new wench. After all, the young man romanced a wench pretty much every other day.
“Your hero hmm? I have to say I like the sound of that, lass” Liam purred in a low tone that throbbed with passion and desire. “An what would my reward be for being such a hero?”
Could he get any cheesier?!
“That depends” Cordelia continued to purr deeply, lowering her voice an octave to give a very sultry husk to her tone.
“Depends on what, lass?” oh yeah, she was one hell of a tease and she was really getting him going. He would pay anything to get this girl into bed and if she moved like that when she walked then she was sure to give a good ride in bed!
“On what you want” Cordelia licked her lips again, hissing lightly when she bit her lower lip, the ale in her hands was starting to feel heavy and all she wanted to do was pour the damn liquid over his unthinking head. “I know what I want Liam, but what do you want?” she wasn't stupid or naïve, all she had to do was turn her gaze to the visible answer in his pants!
Oh, the things she could do to that man's body!
Liam noticed where her gaze had travelled to, he'd never known a girl to be so open about her desires but he liked it. He could see the outline of the hardening peeks of her nipples, the dewy pink flush that swept over her face and neck, the dilation of her pupils and the biting of her lip. She was well up for a tumble and so was he for that matter!
“Lass how about I show you what I want?” he purred right back, getting into her seductive game and not having the slightest clue he what he was in for. “How much?”
It took every ounce of willpower she possessed for her not to smack him stupid. If he hadn't asked that and ruined this, Cordelia might have forgiven him the misunderstanding and simply pounced on him. But as usual, he was a clueless dumbass and had just stuck the final nail in his coffin so to speak!
Putting the ale on a table near her, Cordelia turned back to Liam, her eyes blazing and hands itching to wrap around his neck. Those delicate, smooth hands trailed up his hard abdomen, nails lightly scoring his skin through his flimsy shirt and her body began to throb because of the close proximity to his. When he placed his large, male hands on her arms she felt the heat of humanity within him, so different to the cool demonic touch she knew. Creating sparks of fire where he touched her arms, fire that was getting hotter with every touch, fire that was wild and untamed.
For a single second, a look of sheer heart wrenching sorrow passed through her at the thought of what life would bring to this young, passionate man. That passion would turn to pain and anger; the heat would be extinguished only to be replaced with a chilling coldness that would freeze hell. Cordelia turned her teary eyes to lock with his, her hand caressed his cheek softly, stroking gently and she swept her thumb across his lips feeling his hot, human breath on her skin.
“Angel”
Liam was enchanted, he had his hands on her arms and his tigers' eyes bore down into hers, it felt like he could see right through her. Her simple caress so genuine and heart felt, the sorrow on her beautiful face made him bleed inside. His hand covered the back of hers, turning her palm to press against his lips down in a kiss full of uncharacteristic gentility.
The moment was shattered when one of his mates interrupted them.
“Liam ain't no angel lass,” the young, loud man spoke, causing Liam's eyes to roll and the spell to be broken.
“Daniel, go away” he told his friend and let Cordelia's hand go to pick up his ale for a drink.
“Introduce me to pretty wench!” Daniel insisted with a leery look at the once again seething brunette. Daniel was shorter than Liam but still handsome in a very boyish way, you could just tell he was a major flirt and possibly a male version of Harmony!
“Cordelia nice to meet you” Cordelia said in a rush before turning her attention back to Liam, inducing the seductive gaze once more. She had to get him to a bedroom to carry out her plan. “Liam, didn't you have something to show me?!”
It was probably the first time he really heard her name, Cordelia; it wasn't a common name and nor was it Irish but it was pretty and seemed like a lady's name. Actually, the more he looked at her the more he became unsure about her profession. It was the way she carried herself with elegant grace that was almost regal and it was the little details that were now beginning to stand out to him.
Nails well kept, hair clean and soft, skin smooth and flawless, her body was exceptional; firm, full and pert breasts, flat and slender waist with a slight curve where her hips gave her an hour-glass shape. Legs, also well refined, were long and slender; every inch of her was achingly feminine.
Oh he had something to show her alright, he was so God damned hard he was hurting!
Giving Daniel his ale and pushing him out of the way, Liam grabbed a tight hold of Cordelia's wrist and began to lead her to a bedroom upstairs. His mouth set in a firm, tight line as he moved through the throng of punters and wenches, dragging her directly behind him and ignoring her yelps of outrage at being manhandled!
It didn't long for him to get where he wanted to be, the old wooden door slammed shut and lock slid into place with a resounding click that made Cordelia gulp. Okay, now she was panicking, though she'd swiftly dealt with horny men before so why was this particular horny man so frightening? It couldn't be that hard to take back control of the situation that was getting rapidly out of hand.
Okay, here goes nothing, Cordelia took another deep and breath, and dove right in hoping to distract Liam from his obvious desire. She knew of only one way to solve her little crisis.
She silently asked forgiveness from whoever was listening and threw her morals out of the window. Liam was looking at her thoughtfully as though he was planning his line of attack and Cordelia knew she had to act quickly or things would get inserted!
“Now that you've finished dragging me back to your cave Liam” she purred and began a slow, sleek saunter over to him and away from the bed. “I think you should get your reward now”
“I like the way you think lass, or should I call you Cordelia?” her name rolled off his tongue like his hot touch and Cordelia had to force herself not to throw her plan out the window!
“You can call me anytime!” Cordelia replied in her sexiest voice as she placed her hands on his broad chest, nails scratching gently. “I'm sure I'll be calling you God” the way to a man's heart was through his ego!
“Screamin more like!” Liam promised with a teasingly wicked smirk that curled his lips, his large hands were brought so he could thread his fingers through her hair, admiring how the tresses kissed his skin in a silk caress. Suddenly those hands slipped down her back to yank her hips directly into his, his hardened state connecting sharply with the V of her thighs.
Okay now it really was getting out of control. Cordelia couldn't stop the squeak of surprise that popped out of her parted mouth at the intimate contact. She felt just how serious he was taking this and for a second, she had doubts about whether she would get out of this little incident unscathed!
When his hands turned more adventurous and slipped round to hold her inner thighs, Cordelia came out of her shock and reacted, going with the first thing that entered her mind. “Wait! Huhuh!” a strange giggle sounded from her throat “I'm supposed to be rewarding you” she quickly stated, swallowing her panic and forcing a smile to grace her face. “Now why don't you go lay down while I slip into something more comfortable”
Extracting herself from his grip, Cordelia turned away so he couldn't see a grin so evil it would have scared Satan cross her face.
Revenge would be hers!
Part 4“Has she done anything yet?” Polly asked excitedly as she came rushing back with the heavenly version of popcorn. Her sister's charge had certainly spiced up seventeenth century Ireland that's for sure, Cordelia Chase had half the men in Galway talking about her clothes and profession. Maybe when this was finished, she would transport another girl to the seventeenth century just for kicks.
Shaking her head, her younger sister Holly reached for a handful of the popcorn “Not yet, but she's just about to. This is so much fun, who'd have thought Molly's idea would be so entertaining?”
“I take offence to that” Molly spoke up insulted, “I do have the occasional exciting idea you know? It's not like I'm boring or dull” she flicked her hand through her blonde curls and gave her sisters arrogant glances that were entirely out of her character.
“No, you're just the dependable one” Polly replied easily, “And stop letting this one good idea go to your head. It still doesn't compare to my matching, they were the hottest couple of both centuries”
“Don't you mean the bloodiest?” Holly asked pointedly, “I still say that this was a bad idea, we could get in trouble again and I don't want another long lecture. That last one went for a whole decade”
“We won't get into trouble” Molly assured the youngest sibling firmly, at least she thought they wouldn't anyway. Turning her liquid aqua eyes to Polly, “I say that my couple will be hotter than yours”
Straightening up her form, Polly placed her hands on her hips and tossed her red curls over her shoulder with a quick flick of her head. “Care to bet on that?”
The black eyes of Holly widened as she senses just what was coming up between her sisters. “You can't make a bet, that's wrong” she spoke up insistently, desperate to stop another apocalypse-type chaos. After the atrocious mess of their last bet, Slayers had to be created to stop vampires from taking over. “Remember what happened the last time?” Polly had bet that she could make the perfect man and look what had happened?
“I don't know what you're talking about” Polly quipped with a harsh glare, if their Guardian heard her; he'd trap their energy in a Petri dish. Lowering her voice to a harmonious whisper, “Besides, you two both panted at the thought of a super-strong man with enthralling, hot and wild capabilities?”
“We didn't mean for you to create vampires where that enthralling, hot and wild streak had the ability to cancel out the humanity of the soul” Molly whispered back. “Now let's not talk about that shall we? After all, we have no idea how that happened right?!”
“Agreed” Holly and Polly stated before turning their attention back to Molly's charges. “But wasn't Dracula incredibly hot?”
“So hot he thought others should be like him” Holly shot back before the glares from both her siblings shut her up.***
Though her eyes were full of delighted revenge, her smile remained as angelic as it had been when she was a child. Cordelia sent a seductive wink to Liam over her shoulder, licking her lips for good measure; oh yeah her game was having the desired effect on the unsuspecting man. He was practically panting over the simple show she was putting on for him, in her world this was nothing but in his women were very reserved and conservative.
Liam's eyes sparked with male lust, his smirk could have put Casanova to shame and his posture was relaxed and tense at the same time. When the wench licked her lips slowly, his erection instantly fired up with boiling blood rushing through his lean body. He dropped lazily onto the bed, tigers' eyes lighting up with anticipation of a good bit of rough n tumble!
Cordelia prayed for forgiveness at her discarded morals and stripped her top off with a fluid movement, leaving her torso encased in nothing but her silk bra. She could feel his hot gaze tracing her skin inch by inch, it didn't take supernatural extras for her to hear the low appreciative purr being released from his throat. Crossing her fingers, she prayed she could pull this off and get away with it.
Swiftly turning round, the brunette pulled a pose she had seen in a men's magazine once; her legs crossed secretively at her thighs and her hands trickled down her hips. Her skirt was pulled tight across her thighs and clung to the soft curve of her ass. He eyed the silk undergarment intensely, sweeping a heavy lidded gaze over the full cleavage her bra created. Her skin was bronzed all over, making him think she must lay in the sun with no clothes on and that thought sparked more blood to course to his hardened groin. “Well? Do you like what you see A…Liam?” she cursed her almost slip of the tongue.
Clacking his tongue off the roof of his watering mouth, Liam gave her another once over before giving his opinion of what was revealed of her body so far. “You've a nice heaving bosom lass, full and tasty looking”
Struggling not to laugh hysterically, Cordelia allowed a flash of girlish delight at his appraisal. No wonder Angel never spoke about his human days with anyone, he was probably humiliated at the thought of his pathetic 'womanising' ways. It had to have been Angelus that made him seem oh so hot, Liam was just a dork! An adorable, very cute and very male dork nonetheless but still a dork.
“A bit skinny”
She clamped her jaw tight shut and forced her seductive smile to stay firmly in place as his appraisal turned to honest criticism.
“You need filling up lass!” Liam told her suggestively, making a come hither sign with his finger. His tongue dipped out of his mouth, wetting his lips and making them glisten softly in the dim light. “Why don'tcha come over here?”
Inwardly cringing for Angel when he turned his criticism into a lewd and suggestive sexual comment, Cordelia finally released a beaming grin that showed her high delight at being given this opportunity. Her lips curled upwards, tiny dimples crinkled at the corners of her mouth and her tongue curved up over her teeth cheekily.
Liam felt a returning smile form on his face, a contagious and devilish smile that reached his eyes; she had a beautiful smile and she seemed to brighten up the room they were in. The warmed toffee irises positively glowed with an inner beauty that captured him while her body and smile seduced him; it was the radiant light that warmed him. The young man felt his body react to her; he wanted to hold and protect her, wrap her up and keep her safe and away from every other man alive.
It took all her willpower to not throw away her revenge plan and say the hell with going home, when he smiled at her right then he'd melted something she hadn't even known was frozen. Cordelia was warm all over, inside and out, she hadn't had this much fun with a man ever and that included Angel! “Why don't you take those clothes off and lemme see if I like you” she purred, thoroughly enjoying using herself to get what she wanted from him.
“I'm sure you will lass” Liam winked saucily at her with another contagious and devilish grin.
While he began the task of removing his clothes, Cordelia watched with glee that he hadn't once suspected her of planning anything other than a night of hot sex. His braces, Lord would she ever forget those, were unfastened and pulled away from his shoulders first. Then he began unbuttoning his white, frilly shirt suggestively and slowly, adding to her joy.
His skin was gently tanned from long hours working with his three horses; pectoral muscles that would be solid in the future were already well-toned. The material was pushed aside by strong, masculine hands to reveal broad shoulders and his neck. Hard curves outlined the physical prowess of his upper body, powerfully built arms thickened with biceps she knew could hold the world in a safe embrace were made visible to her hungered eyes.
Humanity escaped him in the form of hot breath and a deeply rising chest that hid a beating heart. Hazel orbs were instantly drawn to that point on his torso, thinking if she looked closely enough she could see the vibrations his pulse made. Tracking the live portrait of Angel, Cordelia's smile softened as her eyes reach the top of the soft hair that decorated his abdomen.
“Well lass, like what you see?” Liam's throaty voice startled her out of the examination of his body, he'd seen the way she looked at him and he could honestly say he'd never seen a woman look so longingly or lovingly before. The feminine irises shone with an array of colourful emotion that was seemingly for him, though he couldn't figure out why.
“You know I do” Cordelia retaliated honestly with an appreciative smirk as she cast all heart breaking thoughts about his future aside. There was nothing she could do to prevent it, after all without the man in front of her there would be no Angelus and subsequently no Angel for her to go home too. “You're an Angel to look at!” she sniggered inwardly but spoke outwardly.
“I doubt you'll think of me as an Angel later lass” Liam countered, moving so he could take off his pants, he'd been desperate to get them off since he got into the bedroom! Standing up, he instantly dropped the covering clothing to the floor shamelessly and stood there completely naked and erect in front of his future seer.***
“Angel?” Wesley asked in a gently worried tone, the vampire had been still for quite some time now and he was getting more than a little concerned about the state of his mind. Since Cordelia had gone missing, Angel had been acting so very strange with his behaviour rapidly changing from self-humiliation to disbelief to vengeful anger.
Right now, the vampire was dealing with colourful images of a tavern wench stood half naked in front of him while he literally flashed her. That move hadn't been unusual for him when he'd been Liam but it was the wench that was unusual. She was reminding him more and more of his missing seer; the shade of her hair was uniquely chestnut, the colour of her eyes were the same bright hazelnut as Cordelia's and her clothing was something he was sure he had seen her wear before.
As the images got clearer of the tavern wench human him had vowed to keep, Angel's suspicion, and humiliation, grew into large proportions. What if something had happened to Cordelia and she'd somehow ended up in his past? A sudden cascading wave of shame, humiliation and self-degradation washed through the vampire, his face scrunching up in a cringing expression and hiding behind his hands.
“Wes, I think I know where Cordy is” came his muffled voice from behind his face-covering hands.***
It took a few seconds for Cordelia to recover from the shock at seeing Liam simply drop his pants to the floor, now he was stood there stark naked and obviously waiting for her to make some kind of move. “Haha!” came her suddenly nervous little laugh as she tried not to look at the apex of his powerful thighs but it was a little hard not to look at something that was staring you in the face like that was!
Pulling herself together, the brunette forced away the final vestiges of her morality and decency and got on with what she needed to do to get out of the tavern and back home. “My my, aren't you a stud?” she truly hated herself right then! Sauntering over to the side of the bed where his braces lay scattered on the floor, Cordelia bent at her knees winking wickedly at Liam.
“An you're the devil!” his words came out on an ocean of aroused male purring that made her skin come up in goose pimples. As his position involved him laying flat on his back, Liam didn't see her picking up his braces and getting them ready to tie him up.
“Mmm!” Cordelia purred, her eyes flashing with erotically naughty promises as she threw her legs over his waist, straddling him. She refused to think about the rather hard thing she was effectively sitting on and who that hard thing belonged too. “The things I could do to you Liam just makes me…!” she shivered deliciously, causing the hard thing to respond to the slight rocking of her hips.
Liam raised his hands with the intent of touching her delectable breasts when he found his arms stretched above his head. Confusion flickered within the depths of his tigers' eyes as he looked up at the brunette sitting on top of him. When she started tying his hands to the wooden headboard, an amused but highly pleased smile crossed his face. “You're definitely the devil lass, but I like it!”
Making sure his braces were tight around both his wrists and head board, Cordelia sat back up and admired her handiwork in pride. “Okay pal” the eroticism in her voice swiftly left as determination set in
“Wha…?!” Liam blinked in rapid succession, the hazy fog of lust began to grow misty thin as he realised that sex was the last thing on her mind. “What game are you playing?” he demanded in a low growl, tugging on his braces, “Untie me wench!”
“I'm thinking… No” she told him, pleased when his erection began to soften under her, now she could continue to think straight. “After you practically telling the whole town I'm a-a wench! I plan to go out there and tell everyone that you're hung like a mouse and couldn't keep up!”
Was she questioning his sexuality?!
“You wouldn't!” Liam gasped in genuine horror, “A lady wouldn't do such a thing”
“I'm not a lady, I'm Cordelia Chase and if you don't shut up and listen to me then you're gonna find out just who and what a Cordelia Chase is capable of” Cordelia retaliated swiftly. Her chestnut hair got flicked over her shoulder, falling gently down her back until the ends softly tickled his stomach. “Do you know the hell I've been through this past hour because of you?” she demanded hotly.
Tugging helplessly on his bonds, he stared up at her in both anger and frustration, “I was trying to help you lass” Liam countered, anything to keep her from going out there and ruining his reputation! His eyes never left her vengeful hazel ones as he silently tried to get her to untie him and let him up. “I could have just left you halfway between Galway and Dublin”
Okay, so he had a point there but that still didn't excuse the fact he had made her into a tavern wench. Settling back to sit on his stomach, Cordelia kept a watchful eye on his hands, making sure he didn't try escaping. “You could have done but instead you turned me into a 'ho! I will never forgive you for that Liam whateverthehellyourlastnameis and I will never forget the favour you're about to do me either”
“What? If you think I'm going to help an ungrateful wench like yourself again, you're very much mistaken lass!” Liam snapped at her, his tigers' eyes flashing with warning as he began to tug harder on his bonds. God help him if he wasn't enjoying this as much as he was hating it! “Untie me”
“Umm…No! As soon as I untie you, the first thing you'll do is to tie me up for revenge and then you'll continue to use my body for your own sexual needs and that is so not gonna happen” Cordelia wisely countered with a knowing smirk. “I know you Liam and I know just how you're mind works and that is why I'm tying you up so you can't stop me from getting what I want”
If it wasn't a tumble she wanted then what was it? His anger gave a little as questioning confusion coloured the irises staring up at her and his hands stopped the incessant tugging. “If not sex, then what is it you want from me lass?” he asked.
She was half tempted to say she wanted it all from him, a quirky smile flirted at her lips as she returned his stare with one that held the same raw emotion he had seen earlier. Why did she keep looking at him like he was the only one in the world and why did he want her to keep looking at him like that? “I want your help so I can get home to my family” Cordelia replied, her lower lip popped out in a shaky little pout and her eyes glazed over with salty tears that threatened to fall. “I just want to go home to Angel”
TBC...
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