Cordelia provides some TLC to Angel after he is rescued from enforced gladiator status.

• WRITING TEAM: C/Aphrodisiac (Califi & Lysa)
• CATEGORY: Post-Episode Fic – ‘The Ring’ – Ep016 (1.16)
• RATING: NC17
• LENGTH: Short Story / 11,000 words
• STATUS: Completed
• FICPIC CREDIT: Califi
• WARNINGS: Explicit Sexual Content

Freedom’s Prize

Freedom accompanied the scent of electrified flesh, sweat and blood. The screaming patrons of Club XXI fled the underground Beechwood Canyon gladiator ring with a speed equaled only by those previously held within its walls. Their captivity ended thanks to the timely arrival of Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and Cordelia Chase bearing a horsehair key designed to open the mystic silver bracelets binding them within the arena.

Fighting in the ring, Angel had battled Trepkos, an enslaved demon determined to win his freedom by achieving his twenty-first kill. The acrobatic fight combined dexterity and brute strength, the demon more than an equal match for the vampire. With the quick strike of a sharp wooden staff, Trepkos hit it off Angel’s left thigh, gashing deep from front to back. Taking back the offensive, ripping the staff away from his own flesh, Angel downed his opponent and held the deadly shard to his throat.

Through a moment of mercy or simply unwillingness to take the demon’s life in a fight that was designed for sick amusement, Angel nearly lost the battle. Chaos raged around them, the chanting of the club patrons shouting, “Killing blow, killing blow,” sounded in his ears. Through it, one voice lifted above them all: Cordelia, shouting his name.

Doubled-over, Angel’s eyes lifted toward the sound, knowing that Trepkos now stood above him, fist at the ready. The blow never came. Mercy now returned to the one who had given it. The infuriated club owner, Darin McNamara, pulled a gun on them only to tumble down into the pit seconds later, sent there by Cordelia who knocked him over the head with a metal stand.

Now free, the demons poured from their cages into the arena itself. McNamara paid for his crimes against them with his life as those he held captive took back theirs.

“Angel, you don’t look so good,” Cordelia’s eyes swept over the vampire from head to toe as Wesley supported him on the way out of the club. Ignoring the possibility of damaging the delicate white Chinese silk of her evening dress and shawl, she wrapped her arm around his back.

Damned relieved that he was there at all, Angel limped beside them as they moved toward their car. The dark pools of his eyes met hers, but he said nothing, merely accepting her help by slipping his arm over her shoulder.

With her free hand on his abdomen, Cordelia noted the angry gash in his thigh now congealed with dried blood and sticking to the ripped threads of his pants. Gulping down her initial reaction, she forced a smile onto her face. “Well, it’s a good thing you heal fast.”

“Yeah,” Angel answered stepping through the stabbing pain shooting through his leg every time he moved it. Much better than it was five minutes ago. Only hurt when he walked. “It’s a good thing you found me in time.”

Cordelia’s smile was genuine this time. “We weren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

Her relief at the fact that Angel was still with them was echoed by Wesley who added his wholehearted agreement, “No.”

“Well,” Cordelia added, “I mean, beyond the slavery and the severe beatings and stuff. Wesley came up with the key!”

Feeling his skin flush at the credit she gave him, Wesley humbly pointed out, “But Cordelia came up with the key to the key! In a clinch moment.”

The remainder of their conversation on the way home centered around the fact that while they all agreed they’d done a good thing by shutting down McNamara’s club and setting the captives free, they had actually freed a bunch of demons.

Wesley drove them back to the AI Offices, Cordelia in the front, but looking back at Angel who was stretched out on the back seat. He held a hand against his leg as if he was still in pain. Though he’d heal, she knew he needed to get some blood in him and to have that wound cleaned out. There might be little wood particles caught in the wound.

Arriving at Angel Investigations, they helped him down to his apartment, though it appeared to Wesley that the vampire was already moving along much better and barely needed support. “Now that everything appears to be getting back to normal, I think I’ll pop on home. Cordelia, would you like a ride?”

“I’m not leaving yet,” she gave Wes a look that said it should be obvious. “Injured vampire, here.”

“I’ll be fine,” Angel answered automatically.

Cordelia tossed her silk wrap down on the arm of a chair. “Well, you will be when I’m finished with you, buddy.”

Stifling a yawn, Wesley decided to head home. He had his motorcycle parked outside and Cordelia could always borrow the Plymouth if necessary. “Good night, then.”

“Good night,” Angel nodded at the Englishman, his eyes conveying his thanks one last time.

Then his attention turned to the woman impatiently tapping pearlescent fingertips against the kitchen countertop. He stared longer than necessary at the way her strapless gown clung to the curves of her breasts and her waist before falling to her ankles. His lips twitched slightly as he noted the matching polished toenails peeking from her sandals.

Only Cordelia would take such care prior to coming to his rescue. When he pointed that out, she squared her shoulders and commented, “Duh! You think they would have let me in if I’d dressed as a bag lady?”

Angel chuckled, the sound changing to a grunt of pain as he took a step toward the refrigerator intending to pour himself a mug of fresh blood. Warding him off, Cordelia gave him a stern look. “You. Bedroom. Now. I’ll handle the vamp juice.”

Waiting for Angel’s blood to warm up, Cordelia realized her evening gown was not exactly the thing to be wearing for tonight’s Florence Nightingale session. The nasty wound might bleed and she didn’t want to completely ruin the chances of returning the gown to the store in the morning. Grabbing the mug of heated blood, Cordelia turned to join the vampire in his bedroom.

Falling back onto the bed, Angel groaned, quite content to not move for the next century, but the little terror that was Cordelia Chase put that idea into the ground as soon as she entered his room.

“Here we are, big guy, up ya go.” Her bare arm slid beneath his shoulders and he sighed heavily as he eased himself upright, taking most of his weight from her. Reaching up, Angel grabbed the mug and drained it quickly before handing it over and flopping back onto the pillows.

Cordelia set the mug on the nightstand and placing her hands on her hips, looked him over from head to toe critically, again taking in the spread of half-dried blood that had crept up from between his legs. Then she loomed over him.

“I need you to sit up a minute, Angel; think you can do that?” They stared into each other’s eyes for several seconds before he finally levered himself up as she grabbed the edges of his vest. One arm at a time was lifted to remove the soiled and bloody fabric, and it was with a sigh of relief when he finally sank back onto the bed.

The bone weariness melted away at the warm and gentle touch of her fingers against his cool skin. For the last month or two, it seemed no matter how wounded or out of it he was, Angel could never get enough of her touch. Fires stoked each and every time.

The hands disappeared and he couldn’t help but moan in disappointment, and then those fingers were stripping him of his boots and socks before gripping the cuffs of his pants.

“Do you think you can unzip and lift?” Cordelia gave a little tug to show him what she wanted.

Although he could feel his energy level rising with the help of the blood, Angel was still a little disoriented as he fumbled with the button and zip, and it wasn’t until the cool air brushed against his skin that he remembered one not so little thing wrong with her plan. “Cor…”

The pants were yanked off and for a second a blanket of silence hit the room. After a moment, Angel lifted his head and looked towards his feet not that surprised to find an empty space where Cordelia used to be. His mouth twisting wryly, he wondered if the brunette had run for the proverbial hills. At least she hadn’t screamed, or worse, eww’d!
Cordelia Chase had found out the vampire’s preference of going commando, and didn’t she feel red–faced! She fanned her cheeks before grabbing a hand towel, preparing herself for another glimpse of Angel’s parts-that-won’t-be-mentioned-again.

Fair enough, she wasn’t exactly innocent. Well, not after that incident with Wilson. Not that that particular night was anything to write home about; and he definitely couldn’t match the vampire in the groin department, but it was still a shock.

“Oh, boy,” she muttered softly, “and that’s when he’s at ease!” Her mind boggled. With another deep, calming breath she returned to the bedroom to find him the way she left him, exposed to her rather shy, but impressed eyes.

Angel had made no attempt to cover up and she wasn’t sure if that was because he was too tired to realize he was buck nekkid, or he just didn’t really care what she saw. Straightening her spine, she walked over draping the towel carefully over his hips, refusing to look higher than his broad chest.

Angel was built. Dear God was he! Maybe she should have asked Wes to stay and do this instead. But even as that thought crossed her mind, she rejected it. Nope. If her vampire was hurt, she wanted to be there.

Her vampire…now didn’t that sound all-proprietary! Who was she kidding? Cordelia had secretly thought of Angel as hers for a couple of months now, and he starred in her fantasies and dreams on a frequent basis. Now she’d had an eyeful, she just knew those fantasies were gonna get raunchier by the second.

Making sure the towel also draped between his legs, Cordelia left again to collect the first aid kit. Angel had remained silent all through, but she could have sworn she’d seen a slight quirk of amusement on his chiseled mouth when she’d dared to glance up, at her discreet covering of his parts.

“Angel, I need you t—to open your legs more. Can you manage that?” Even as she spoke, her hands rested uncertainly on the tops of his heavy muscular thighs. After a slight pause, Angel spread his legs, stifling a small groan as he did so.

Cordelia let out a breath of relief when the towel still remained safely intact. The vampire was naked except for that and he was a very enjoyable sight. Turning to the open first aid box, she gathered up cotton wool and liquid antiseptic.

Angel watched her through his thick lashes. Her whole posture screamed embarrassment, even as the faint scent of arousal wafted the air; rich, warm and intoxicating.

He cursed the slow stirring of his sex, but was unable to prevent it, and when the brunette turned back towards him he didn’t miss the instant stiffening of her body, which made him grin a little, as it seemed they both had that problem right now, going by her peaked nipples under the thin satin of her dress.

Taking a deep breath, Cordelia attempted to ignore the slow movement under the towel, praying that the covering wouldn’t shift; even though a small part of her wanted to see him in his full erect glory.

“Sorry about that,” Angel’s slightly husky voice lifted her face to his, and realizing what he meant, she blushed a rosy hue.

“S’okay, it’s just a natural reaction. I know I could be anyone, and this isn’t exactly an every day thing is it?” ducking her head, she tentatively reached down to cleanse the gaping wound, so glad it wasn’t set too high up his thigh.

“You’re wrong,” he muttered, loud enough for her to hear. Confused hazel eyes meeting his amber tinged orbs, “Not anyone else, Cor.” His quiet words sunk in and the blush intensified.

Did he mean what she thought he meant? Cordelia shook her head slightly, putting it down to wishful thinking on her part and his to mere rambling due to loss of blood and exhaustion. Angel caught the action and a corner of his mouth lifted. She just didn’t get it.

The past month or two, his body had reacted to her every time she got within touching distance, but usually, his black, slightly loose pants mostly hid the evidence. He debated whether or not to push it, and then decided he wasn’t in any fit state to go chasing after her if she ran. Better to lie back and wait for his moment. He had time. Hiding in the dark was not an option any more.

Now that the curse had no loopholes, thanks to Wes and his endless search for a ‘cure’ he was free to pursue that path, and the vampire was more than ready. Denial didn’t keep you warm at night, and he yearned for Cordelia’s special brand of heat.

Only she could quench that particular fire. He corrected himself; he doubted that fire would ever be quenched in her, as she was the one that had him burning in the first place.

As the towel gradually tented, Cordelia became more fidgety, her thighs unconsciously rubbing together, the vampire’s nostrils flaring as the scent of her arousal intensified. He became rock hard in an instant, throbbing painfully on also noting her subtle sensual movements.

Cordelia let out a slight sound of irritation as she attempted to tend to the wound. It wasn’t in the best of places, and ended at the crease of his ass. Unless she split him like a wishbone, there was no way she could reach it properly. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth worrying it as she tried to figure out how to get round it.

“Straddle me,” the two words snapped her head up in shock as he posed a simple solution.

“What?” the abused lip popped free as her soft mouth gaped a little. Angel shifted uncomfortably on seeing that moist, reddened flesh.

“The only way you’re gonna get to it is by straddling me,” he elucidated softly. “Would that be a problem for you?” he added a healthy dose of daring as the words tumbled from his mouth. Instantly her shoulders tensed.

Cordelia Chase was no coward, and if it meant straddling her hot, hunky boss then that is what she’d have t— Crap! Words were so much easier than actions; and then there was the sheath of a dress she wore. Not exactly the perfect item to wear for bedroom gymnastics, even those with medicinal intent.

Pfft! Who was she kidding? She groaned inwardly as scorching scenarios flashed through her head.

“Cordelia?” Angel interrupted her kaleidoscopic thoughts. Glancing from his hips to her dress, and then to his face, which was practically blank, she was sure she saw a flicker of a living flame in those dark, dark eyes.

“Look, just leave it, I’ll do it myself,” he added, half groaning as he attempted to sit up; the sound of pain exaggerated shamelessly. Instantly a small hot hand pressed on his chest and urged him back down.

“You have no chance of doing it by yourself, so lie back and take it like a man…pire.” She again bit her lip as she inwardly repeated her own words. Flicking anxious eyes over his face, she was glad to find it still pretty expressionless.

Cordelia looked down at her ankle length dress and figured no way, no straddling in that tight sheath. Not unless she wanted it turning into an expensive but bulky belt. “I’m gonna need to borrow a shirt,” she murmured, missing the sudden lift of his brows as she surprised him with her acquiescence.

Without waiting for a reply, she opened his closet and routed through it until satisfied, she pulled out a navy blue dress shirt. “Won’t be a minute,” she spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone, but Angel easily picked up on the edge of nerves she attempted to hide from him. He watched her retreat to the bathroom with brooding eyes, a spill of thoughts racing frantically through his mind.

Soon Cordelia Chase would be straddling his body, her long limbs embracing him. In one of his shirts and little else, he imagined. With a dress like that, a bra was a total impossibility and the satin fine enough to need the most delicate of panties. The heated thoughts spiraled down to his turgid shaft and he stifled a deep groan.

Having her wear something of his next to that delectable bare satiny skin…. if he’d had a pulse it would be hammering away now, but then again the throb of his shaft more than made up for that lack.

Faster than he’d thought possible Cordelia returned, and from the look on her face, it seemed a case of do it now or freak out and run for the door. Damn, that shirt looked a hell of a lot better on her than it did on him. The golden length of her legs beckoned to his hands and mouth and when she slipped off her sandals and tentatively approached the bed, his whole body tensed.

He seriously hoped his self-control was strong enough to stop at just a touch; if she were lucky, that was all he would do.

Placing the first aid kit on the far side of the bed near his knee, Cordelia again assessed her next move. She avoided his dark gaze and attempted to regulate her breathing.

Kneeling on the edge of the bed, Cordelia eased a thigh over, and carefully placed her knee on the bed. Settling just below his ribs, she was glad she was faced towards his feet. She jumped a little when he shifted and a powerful leg lifted, bending at the knee, supposedly giving her better access.

Careful not to disturb the covered flagpole inches from her belly, Cordelia leaned over and, reaching for some more cotton wool, began the task of cleaning out the rest of the wound. Tiny wooden shrapnel had kept the wound from closing properly and she could see an immediate improvement as the torn flesh was cleared of the obstruction.

Angel didn’t know whether he was in heaven or hell. Completely distracted by Cordelia herself, he barely noted the sharp sting of the peroxide. Her hot breath whispered against his inner thigh, and as she leaned forward, his shirt shifted, the tail pulling to the side, giving him a bird’s eye view of a perfect golden ass only covered by a thin strip of white silk between her cheeks. A thong…he should have guessed, but swallowed hard at the reality. Thankfully, or not, her core nestled against his flesh, so his head wasn’t ready to explode…yet.

His sex twitched and brushed against her belly, and he held an unneeded breath when her hand froze for a second. Then she shimmied back an inch.

Hell, yeah, he had amazing, iron control, but there was only so much a vampire with a soul could take, and without his permission, his large hands lifted from his sides and slid along her warm satiny thighs. God, she felt like heaven as his own skin rasped roughly against hers.

When Cordelia didn’t react with much more than a tense of feminine muscles, he became bolder, hands creeping up to her hips and deliberately pushing the irritating shirt higher until it scrunched in his hands around her small waist. He wrapped the folds in one hand, resting it against her belly to free the other.

The exposure of the bottom part of her tattoo drew his fingers, and as he traced the pattern, Cordelia sat up abruptly. “Angel…” she paused, not quite sure what she was about to say. She glanced over one shoulder and he swallowed thickly at the mixed shyness, uncertainty and need that filled her melting caramel gaze; her pupils gradually dilating until the brightest honey ringed them.

“Do you want me to stop?” his voice a husky whisper, a trace of a growl lacing his tone. Their eyes remained connected as her mouth worked silently.

What DID she want? Well, duh! His irises flared with amber as he read her mute reply. “Touch me,” his rough whisper, half demand and half plea, ran over every inch of flesh; his hands rounded her hips smoothing over the skin of her ass.

Almost instantly, Cordelia dropped the cotton wool and stared at his covered sex. Not like she hadn’t touched one before…okay, maybe Xander’s once or twice down the front of his pants, and Wilson’s… but this was Angel. Contemplation was drowned by curiosity, her hands creeping forward of their own accord, and as one pulled away the towel, and the other curled hesitantly around his rigid shaft.

She felt his deep groan vibrate from his gut to her core, the soft flutter of a thousand butterflies swarming low in her belly. Open wide, her eyes caressed every smooth inch of his erection, marveling in the way it felt in her hand as her fingers closed around its thick girth. God, he was even bigger fully engorged! The thought of thatfilling her and stretching her beyond her limits had a flush of wet heat soaking the tiny triangle of silk between her legs. Her breath caught in her throat as his flesh warmed beneath her touch and she experimentally moved her hand along its length.

Angel moaned gutturally as he felt the moist heat dampen his cool flesh. He had to see more.

Caught up in her own explorations, Cordelia trembled at the molten reaction inside her at the feel of him and the soft, erotic sound that left his lips. Then Angel’s hand slid round working deftly on the buttons of the shirt she’d borrowed. The soft material slipped from her shoulders, but Cordelia couldn’t bring herself to release his marble-hard flesh. Her free arm slid out of the sleeve with his help and she quickly swapped hands to enable him to completely remove the shirt. As soon as it hit the floor, she felt his stomach muscles bunch and flex as he sat upright, his chest brushing her bare back.

As he rose up, her hips slid forward until she almost sat on her own hand. Her soft yelp of surprise intensified on finding herself suddenly held high in the air and swiveled around before she could blink.

In her new position, his chest brushed hers and his sex throbbed, trapped between them. Before she could push back for a little space her loose hair was wrapped around a large hand and her spine arched until her bared breasts were on full display to the vampire. The sound that left his throat sent bolts of desire straight to her core.

“So, so beautiful,” he whispered throatily, his burning eyes raking her tender flesh hungrily before dipping his dark head and engulfing a turgid nipple deep into his mouth.

A trembling gasp left her parting mouth as he sucked hard, the rasp of his cool tongue causing her eyes to roll into the back of her head. Unconsciously, Cordelia undulated in his lap, grinding her hips against his. A moan sounded in the back of his throat, this one not entirely of pleasure, setting off an alarm bell in her head reminding her of his injury.

On a gasp, she froze in place, her body crying its denial as she thought of bringing this to a stop. “You’re still hurt. In pain.” He released her nipple with a pop, lifting his dark head to meet her eyes.

“There’d be more pain if you left me, Cordelia,” he splayed his large hands along her back mapping out its curves only to make the slow upward journey again. “All I feel is you.”

Palming his handsome face, Cordelia stared into those earnest eyes needing to hear from him that this meant half as much to him as it did to her. “Is this just a moment, Angel; a one-time free-for-all that we’re just supposed to forget in the morning? Cos, I really don’t do those.”

A dark light flashed in his gaze like a glimpse of a wounded animal raging inside him. “You think that’s what this is? Cordy, my eyes have followed your every move for weeks. Haven’t you felt it; sensed me wanting you?”

Cordelia dropped a hand to his broad shoulder while the other slipped into the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Even questioning, she still had to touch while talking. “So…you want me. Is that it?”

For an instant, Angel wondered if it was possible for his beautiful, bold and brassy seer to possess such a thing as a thread of insecurity. The tone of her words came so close to the thoughts that passed through his head over the past few weeks. He’d noticed her body’s reaction to his occasional intentional crowding and had been too focused on thinking about what he shouldn’t have to follow his instincts.

Tonight, within seconds of a blow that might have meant his death, Cordelia’s voice had reached him and awakened something that would no longer remain dormant. Why this was different than any other night, or any other fight to the death with countless foes? He could not say. Right now, the whys didn’t matter.

“Much, much more than just ‘want’,” Angel’s body knew the meaning of want, but this exceeded that. Closing in, his mouth nipped her earlobe before speaking into the shell of her ear. “It’s more than just needing you. Do you want me to spell it out?”

The tenderness in his darkening eyes fought with the raging lust and she shook her head. Sometimes words were unneeded. A tiny tremor passed under Cordelia’s soft skin, her body reminding her that wanting and needing weren’t mutually exclusive to what remained unspoken between them. Her hips shifted across his thighs, the move accentuating her inner ache rather than easing it.

Too soon, a thought sparked in her mind. She couldn’t handle hearing him say it, not now, right this second. Because the idea of it felt like an explosion of light, the proverbial bulb flashing a glaring neon hue in her head. It made her heart pound fast and her body leap with those wants and needs that only he could sate.

“Later,” Cordelia told him; her only other answer a bold kiss. Chest to breast, he pulled her flush against him, his moist mouth retaking hers in a deep ravenous embrace. His cool tongue plunged in and conquered hers before retreating and nipping at her lips.

Wriggling a hand between them, Cordelia pressed his erection against the surface of her belly rubbing her hand up its solid length. Bucking in reaction, Angel put a little space between them, though his mouth and hands continued their magic. As her hand caught him, trying out that tentative action that brought the rumbling purr to his chest, Angel slowed up to the same pace.

Cordelia’s tentative touch drove him wild. Even if he hadn’t already known her relative innocence, due to the Wilson incident, her explorative touches screamed the fact, making him harden to an impossible degree at the thought of what he could teach her eager body and hot little hands. His demon practically purred with triumph knowing she was his.

That hot spark of knowledge drove him to command she say it, even as his firm male mouth pressed a series of short kisses along her tingling lips, “Later then. For now, just say you’re mine.”

“You’re mine,” Cordelia smiled against his roving lips, purposefully repeating his words instead of answering that fervent demand. The hot hand locked around him gave him pause to note the sound of a claim in her honeyed voice.

One long, hot kiss followed until Angel broke away to respond rawly, “Always.”

Transfixed upon hearing it, Cordelia’s wanton gaze held a lock on those deep, eternal eyes. Hot licks of pleasure curled up inside her as that word resonated in her head.

“Now say it,” he demanded hotly, his voice a purr that vibrated throughout her whole body.

The truth came out as clear as crystal, simple, unfettered by doubt or a moment of hesitation, “I’m yours.” No need to argue with herself about it. Not when every fiber of her being seemed to shout in recognition of that fact.

Capturing her tongue into his mouth he suckled it sensually, mimicking the movement of her hand, his large hands sweeping along her spine and pausing momentarily to palm the firm globes of her bottom. Angel lifted her, shifting their bodies again, gently setting Cordelia down on the pillows.

Their eyes held intently as Angel knelt beside her, the embodiment of pure male arousal, all muscular angles, jutting flesh and steely strength. Though it was with the gentlest of touches that his fingers skimmed the curve of her cheek and his thumb brushed across her lush lips. Hand turning, Angel trailed the back of his fingers down the soft curve of Cordelia’s throat.

At an infinitesimal pace, he brushed past her breasts, widening the span of his fingers just enough to tease them. Moving on to the flat plain of her belly, his hand flipped again, this time to ring her navel in a circle with his fingertips before dipping down to the elastic edge of her panties.

She licked her lips, suddenly nervous again, her hands now sliding along her ribs as she waited, half expecting Angel to simply give in to the lust that smoldered in his potent gaze and rip them from her. Cordelia’s hips squirmed against the bed in anticipation as she caught her lower lip between her teeth to hold back the stream of urgent pleas about to pour forth.

Angel’s left hand curled around her right thigh, bending her leg at the knee and pulling it into him. She felt his hardness brush against her, but he appeared to ignore that in favor of letting his right hand skim over her silk-covered mound. Just a fleeting touch across the surface of her panties before circling back up to the now tingling flesh of her lower belly.

Then two fingers curled under the elastic edge of her thong combing through the soft curls and stopping when his knuckles hit the barrier. An electric shock zinged through her body causing Cordelia to jerk in reaction and the ache between her thighs increased as though he’d plugged her into an amplifier. Those wandering digits slipped back up.

When his hand curled around her hip, Cordelia thought for certain the panties would be gone. Her hands moved a little lower trying to ease the ache, but knowing it was Angel who had the cure…just out of her reach. The elastic band of the thong stretched with the tug of one finger, but Angel only let it snap back in place leaving a little sting and evoking a feminine moan that had more to do with arousal than irritation.

Any second now, Cordelia felt certain she was just gonna tell him to rip them off. Or maybe do it herself. Only her mouth already seemed to be occupied. Sounds filtered through and she barely recognized her own voice as it dripped in honeyed tones to plea for his touch. Those teasing fingers continued their explorations, now sliding along damp silk and turning again against the hot skin of her inner thigh allowing his thumb to skim below the elastic barrier.

Touching her, his thumb circled rhythmically. Cordelia rocked her hips against him and his name fell from her lips, “Angel,” followed by a low feminine groan. His sensual touch continued until he could taste the scent of her slick arousal on the back of his tongue as he breathed in deep.

Both hands moved to her hips, fingers dipping under the elastic, but only to pull the tiny piece of silk with a gentle tug. Cordelia held his gaze until his dark eyes dropped down to watch her feminine curls come into view as he slipped her thong panties over her hips. She shivered as they slid along her thighs and watched as Angel pulled them over her knees and down to her ankles.

Holding up her feet, Cordelia let him remove the panties and watched as Angel suddenly twirled them on his finger, giving her a darkly mischievous smirk. “Nice to see them on you, Cordy, but taking them off was even better.”

A laugh bubbled up until it lit her whole face. Cordelia reached up and snatched her panties out of Angel’s hand, stuffing them under the pillows behind her. He dove for the bed, landing next to her in a side-lying position, and reaching out to curve his hand over her hip. Wanting to be in his arms, Cordelia leaned into his touch, grasped his rock-hard shoulder and sighed with contentment as her body contacted his.

Angel’s hand slipped downward from her hip, the gentle pressure leading her to shift her leg over his sinewy thigh. The center of her heat pressed into him and they both let out an audible response, Angel’s hand tightening and pulling her that much closer. His mouth was on her face, her lips, her throat and Cordelia arched against him. As her calf wound around him instinctively locking him in place, his hold loosened stroking upward to palm the generous curve of her breast, thumb circling across the satiny mound and teasing its dusky peak.

The anticipation alone was starting to make Cordelia antsy, her body throbbing in response to his and expecting him at any moment to fit their bodies together and take her on a one-way road to ecstasy. There was no doubt in her mind Angel knew how to pleasure a woman and she was a tangle of excitement just thinking about it.

There he was staring into her eyes as if trying to memorize every fleck of gold in her caramel orbs and while the look on Angel’s handsome face left her melting at its intensity, Cordelia couldn’t take it another second. Kiss me. Now. Touch me. Now. Stare much? Want you now. Make love to me. Nownownownownow.

Her mouth ached for him to take hers in another of those drugging kisses. Those large, masculine hands…she wanted them everywhere. Most of all, Cordelia felt that empty throb deep in her belly and the hard length of him pressing against her hot skin, wanting everything all at once; needing completion.

“Please,” the soft plea tripped from her parted lips as she inched closer on their shared pillow.

Cordelia’s eyes popped open a little wider at the sound of her own voice. Oops! Didn’t mean to beg, but what’s a girl to do faced with all this naked hunk of very yummy manpire?

A smile tugged at Angel’s chiseled lips. Cordelia wasn’t schooled in purposefully delaying passion, letting anticipation build or withholding that final merging of bodies until passion and pleasure catapulted to unimagined peaks.

She had no damn idea how badly he wanted to skip the preliminaries and just claim her beautiful body, but this was their one and only first time. He wanted to make it last, to wallow in Cordelia’s scent and her taste and just the sight of her; to worship that golden skin with his hands and his mouth.

Then, only then, would he take her.

But he wanted so much and the tight grip of lust held him close to breaking those plans. Angel restrained the instinctive voice in his head demanding release, to let loose, to do it now and take what was his and only his. All of her. He wanted to answer the eager needs of her luscious body, follow the siren call of her blood, and let her know exactly what it meant to be his.

While his body screamed its agreement not to delay the claiming of those desires, Angel wrestled inwardly for a tighter grip on his own sense of control. The pull of his demon was close to the surface, demanding its darker desires with as much passion as his soul churned with intensely tender emotions.

Angel combed his fingers through the silky waves of her hair, fingers sensually slipping along her scalp before threading through her dark tresses. The soft sigh barely sounded louder than a breath, Cordelia relaxing for an instant, and then tightening up again as her limbs shifted. The hand on his shoulder slipped up to the nape of his neck; the leg locked around his sliding up and down in instinctive anticipation.

When Cordelia’s pink tongue swept across her parted lips, her eyes focused on his and yet her forward movement stopping still inches away, Angel decided he wanted no hesitation on her part. “You know you want a kiss, Cordelia, so come get it.”

The urge to plunder her mouth pulled hard against his restraint, but Angel waited the few milliseconds it took for Cordelia to respond to his sensual dare. Plush lips pressed softly against his firm mouth, sliding tentatively at first only to repeat the move again. Her fingertips splayed along the edge of his jaw, her mouth opening just enough to let the tip of her tongue slide wetly across the part of his lips.

A rumbled response vibrated Angel’s chest, the sound and sensation of it igniting another fire within her. Cordelia kissed him passionately, lips roving, nibbling and gently sucking at his. He held himself back, freely letting her explore his mouth with her own, responding to her eager kisses until it was too much even for him.

Gentle response turned to hungry demand, Angel’s mouth closing over hers and claiming control. His hand circled between her shoulder blades and dipped along the curve of her spine as their hips rocked slowly against each other, his hard sex sliding across her slick surface. Cordelia moaned deep into his mouth, her tongue darting against his as her lower body increased the friction between them.

She could live off those kisses alone. Her mouth was perfectly happy under his, but then those knowing lips moved on to whisper words of passion as he kissed her cheek, the corner of her eye, the tip of her nose and the soft skin just below her ear. Then his tender, moist kisses explored her throat and Cordelia felt her body leap in response.

Angel’s mouth felt so good there. He knew just where to touch, to caress, to let his lips slide across her skin so softly as to set off her senses. Just how Angel knew came from instinct as much as experience, the thought crossed her mind as a hot flush crept up from her chest all the way up her neck and her pulse sang to the tune he was creating against her skin.

Vampire, that one little reminder popped into her head with her curiosity far overpowering any innate sense of fear. Being with Angel meant accepting that he was more than just a man. That she wanted him, all of him.

Arching against him, Cordelia sounded out her question on a moan, “Will you bite me?”

The roving lips froze above her heated pulse point, feeling her throb against him in a rapid staccato. Lifting his dark head, Angel gazed down, eyes rimmed with just a hint of amber. Deep inside, his demon roared at the thought. His fangs shifted in their bony housing at the roof of his mouth, face rippling for an instant before it settled back into its human features.

“Are you asking or just curious?” Angel licked at his lips trying to stay focused on her eyes and not drop his gaze back down to the tempting cord of her neck.

Her fingers toyed with the hair at his nape as she said, “Curious?”

Angel could see it in her eyes. No instant eew or adamant refusal, just automatic acceptance that he might want that, need that and facing the possibility that it was going to happen. Unable to form a verbal response, he simply fought the urge to do it now. To sink his fangs into the butter-soft flesh and taste that part of her he craved beyond his ability to consciously deny.

His body shuddered in need, sex swelling against her more rigidly than before. Just the thought of biting her aroused him, made him think back to the days where that was all about causing pain and reveling in his own pleasure and dealing in death. This would be different. So different, and just imagining the way he could turn an instant of pain into shuddering pleasure for them both had him licking his lips again in anticipation.

“Umm…” Cordelia could see the struggle in his eyes and the physical response that the thought itself created, admitting softly, “I’m not sure what to expect.”

Pulling himself together, Angel pressed his forehead to hers; closing his eyes for a moment before shifting to rub his mouth against hers in a needy plea, “Trust me.”

Cordelia flashed a smile that conveyed only confidence. “Always,” she answered.

“Then relax,” he whispered into her ear as he sucked the lobe into his mouth and gave it a little tug with his teeth. Hearing her ‘pfft’ in response, Angel chuckled, his eyes flecked with hints of amber despite their teasing glint.

Cordelia was far too wound up for that and he knew it. A feral smile curled his lip; looked like he’d just have to wind her up a little more because he was far from finished exploring. “You may feel more than just my fangs,” Angel purred again just before his rounded teeth clamped down on the cord of her neck, holding on, and gauging her response.

She stilled in his arms, heartbeat aflutter, breath held in anticipation of what might be coming next. There was a twinge of fear in the air, and the hands on his arms held him just a little tighter than before. Cordelia’s lashes brushed her cheeks as her eyes closed, turning her head just a fraction to let him do what he wanted.

Instead of the sting of his fangs, Cordelia felt the gentle release followed up by a kiss against her reddened flesh. Opening her eyes, she met Angel’s wondrous gaze. Apparently he’d never experienced a human willingly exposing her throat to him, and especially one already caught beneath him. Her name tumbled from his mouth, “Cordy,” as he realized the extent of his good fortune tonight.

One hand took hold of hers, his thumb rubbing the center of her palm before he brought it to his mouth. He pressed a kiss there and brought her hand to his chest silently encouraging her touch. Cordelia smoothed her hand over the firm muscles, letting out a soft gasp as his fingers dropped down again to skirt across the outer curve of her breast and listened to his own grunt of pleasure as she toyed with the circle of flesh around his small male nipple.

Eyebrow arching at the response, Cordelia wondered how he’d react to having her mouth there. Would it be anything like what she’d felt with his on her? Slipping down a fraction, she pressed her lips to his chest, parting them and flicking her tongue across the tightly beaded surface. Applying soft suction, she suckled at the tiny nub of flesh and upon feeling the rumbling purr vibrating his chest, tugged at it with her teeth.

His body tensed at the unexpected sensation, then he rolled onto his back pulling her with him so that Cordelia sprawled half across his torso and half on the bed. “Do that again.”

Peeking up at him, an impish smile tugging at her lips, Cordelia let her hands roam across his broad shoulders and smooth chest before following suit with the other side. Wanting to play a little more, her confidence in her actions growing by leaps and bounds, Cordelia started to swing her leg over his hips.

Angel held her off, “Keep those luscious legs on the bed. We’re just having a little fun here, Cor, not trying to drive me insane.”

A little growl of discontent sounded almost too low for his keen hearing, but Angel caught the determined stare and the return of that smile that told him he might be in trouble. Cordelia’s loose hair tickled across his chest as she leaned closer to his mouth to tell him, “That’s the point.”

Before he could argue, Cordelia returned to her exploration of his chest, letting her soft mouth drop silky kisses across the surface of his skin. His hands played along the soft curves of her shoulders, slipping further down as she moved up to trail more kisses across his neck.

Turnabout is fair play Mister Broody Pants, Cordelia felt a little thrill at the idea of letting Angel take a turn at being teased a little. After all, the way he made her suffer those hot, endless kisses and the skillful touch of his hands, never once giving in to the raging need that obviously kept him aroused as much as she was… yes, he deserved what he was about to get.

“Tell me, Angel,” she kissed her way along his collarbone. “Just,” smooching him, “how,” adding a soft peck, “many,” licking at the base of his throat, “erogenous zones,” she quirked he eyebrows upward, “can I find on my little scavenger hunt?”

“Cordelia,” he growled a little warning as her mouth started to explore cords of his throat. Her hands palmed his head letting him know where she wanted him, but it was all he could do to lie there and let her suckle and nibble while controlling his reaction at the same time.

His hands wandered down the delicate curve of her spine to curve around her lush bottom, pulling her on top of him despite his earlier intent. While squeezing the firm globes and massaging with his fingers, he ground his erection against the soft skin of her belly. Cordelia moaned against his throat at the sensation of his hard shaft pressing so close to where her body craved attention.

When Angel made no move to bring them together, managing to content himself with the teasing sensation of body contact alone, Cordelia realized that he had no intention of going that extra mile yet.

Whatever happened to Wham-Bam-Thank-You-Ma’am? Then again, Cordelia considered that she wasn’t dealing with an ordinary guy, certainly not one quite as self-centered as that. Not that she wanted that attitude either, eew, no! But as she quickly discovered, she did have wants, and she did have needs and she both wanted and needed Angel… now.

Frustration blossomed in her belly as Cordelia shifted her hips against him. Then an idea popped into her devious head, urgency driving her to a wanton, perhaps even dangerous method of getting Angel’s full attention. He was content to play, was he? To let her have a turn. Fair enough. She’d take it.

Cordelia smiled with Cheshire-Cat brilliance, hiding her sudden grin under the silken waterfall of her hair. On the pretext of opening her mouth to suckle over the place where his pulse point would be, she sank her teeth into him, just stopping short of drawing blood.

A feral growl replaced that purr and Cordelia suddenly found herself flat on her back with the vampire looming above her, knees on the bed, shoulders back and his body rippling with the effects. Falling into a ballerina pose against the pillow, with her arms arced above her head, Cordelia felt her jaw drop as she watched Angel’s human features shift away leaving the prominent ridges of bone, cartilage and heavily sinewed flesh in its place.

Recovering from her momentary surprise, she tucked her legs beneath her, rising up on her knees to match Angel’s position. Hot caramel eyes slid up his hard body from the spot where his knees dug into the mattress to the intense amber eyes staring at her with such potent desire.

“What’s a matter?” a saucy grin played across her mouth. “Can’t take what you dish out?”

Cordelia didn’t wait for his response, she just reached out to touch all the places his body appeared different than before. Starting with his brow, her fingertips took a feathery-soft path across the prominent ridges, following the line of his nose and then dropping down to his chest. His whole torso felt denser than before. Then she nibbled at her bottom lip as her hands kept moving lower.

Before Cordelia could make that final bold move, wanting to feel all the differences she could see, even those… especially those subtle changes to the surface of his sex, Angel snatched her hands from his skin. “You do like to play with fire, don’t you, Cordelia? You just don’t seem to know what side of that Do-Not-Cross line you’re supposed to be on.”

Though his words scolded, Angel’s eyes contained amusement mixed with lust. Oh, she’d gotten his attention alright. Though he doubted her little strategy was going to work out the way she’d planned. He’d almost forgotten his own idea to map out every inch of her gorgeous flesh before taking her.

If she thought he was dragging out their pleasure, delaying it with games and his teasing caresses, now she’d really understand this wasn’t a game at all. Taking one of her captured hands, he gave it a gentle twist, holding it behind her back before bringing her body closer. The pain-free hold merely restrained Cordelia from roving her fingers over his sensitive spots, which she appeared to have an unerring knack for finding.

Considering the fact that Cordelia hadn’t complained loudly or suddenly accused him of manhandling her, Angel figured she realized he wasn’t planning to hurt her no matter that his vampire physiognomy was on display. He certainly didn’t want to stifle her natural curiosity or the eager enthusiasm that lit her eyes when she touched him. Angel just needed to maintain a certain level of control or else was going to lose it completely.

When Cordelia attempted to shake her other hand loose, Angel released it. She put it on his hip, her eyes still on his trying to decide if this was allowable or if he’d try to stop her. Not like he hadn’t encouraged it earlier. “Go ahead, Cor. You know you want to,” he saw the defiant spark flash in her eyes quickly eclipsed by the return of the curious vixen.

Angel felt her hand curl around him, her fingers sliding over him in an explorative manner, reaching down to cup him in her palm before moving along his length. It was all he could do not to explode right then and there. Clamping down with rigid control, he decided and heard the guttural tension breaking into his voice, “That’s enough. Time’s up.”

“Now?” Cordelia asked overeagerly thinking playtime was over. Then she had to know if he intended to stay this way, all vamped out and hard and ribbed in ways that might make friction fun. “Like this?”

Easing her down on the bed, Angel lowered himself onto his elbows. Without any verbal response, he marked her shoulder as the new starting point of what would become a trail of countless kisses. Angel’s hands worked their flesh magic, drawing out every tiny tingle into a wave of pleasure; his mouth constantly moving along the same path and taking care not pierce her skin with his fangs.

Cordelia knew her breasts were sensitive. It wasn’t like they’d never been touched before, mostly by groping football players, Xander at his fumbling best or Wilson with his more experienced attempts at arousing her. This eclipsed anything those guys had ever managed and the quadruple stimulation of hands, lips, tongue and fangs had her head reeling and her body writhing in response.

The soft rasp of his tongue drove her wild and Cordelia finally wriggled her legs out from under him to curl around his hips, her feet wandering up and down his legs in a rhythm that unconsciously set him grinding his own hips into the mattress. As he released her breasts, Angel kissed his way across the smooth plain of her belly to pause at the concave indenture of her navel.

Cordelia’s sexual naivety only went as far as actual experience, giving her a strong suspicion just where Angel was taking his torturous path of pleasing kisses. Even the thought of his mouth and fingers against the center of her slick heat was more than enough to hurdle her straight back to that tiny thread of insecurity. Not that she doubted he knew what he was doing.

On the contrary, Cordelia figured that part out the moment ‘salty goodness’ walked through the doors of the Bronze. Angel just oozed with sexual appeal without even trying. That is, when he wasn’t being evil, broody or a dork. Even then Cordelia had to admit Angel always managed sexy.

She’d bet anything he owned that he was about to make her an extremely satisfied woman. Her body hummed in anticipation even as her mouth trembled under the weight of his intimate stare. Oh, geez! Glad I waxed my bikini line yesterday.

Open to him, Cordelia watched in fascinated arousal as Angel looked his fill, seeing the raw lust glittering in his eyes as he glanced up. A rumble welled deep from the vampire’s chest. Her eyes clamped shut as Angel’s head descended, body tensing almost imperceptibly. Not because she didn’t want to watch, but she just couldn’t find the courage to lift the lids.

Cordelia shuddered as the purely vampiric sound made her flesh tingle in wanton response. Sounds like the Big Bad Wolf coming to eat up Little Red Riding Hood. Or lick her to death. Cor, Cor, Cor, what are you thinking? This is Angel. Shut up, sit back and think of Tiffany’s!

“I can almost hear those nervous jitters,” Angel told her as his mouth lowered to her dark curly mound, pressing a kiss at the center of the trim triangle.

Cordelia’s eyes snapped open, flashing a dark stare of denial. “Jittery? Who me? Nope, not at all,” she claimed defiantly flexing her thighs a fraction wider.

Sensing she was nervous about this and guessing that she’d never experienced a man’s mouth on her before, Angel made a little detour to the supple contours of her golden thighs, though he took a moment’s pause to delight in the fact that he would be the first to taste her. His kisses there were so close to her throbbing heat that Cordelia’s hips squirmed in subconscious response to bring him into contact.

Then his fingers slid into action, exploring her with soft strokes and a gentle gliding rhythm that sped up and slowed down whenever Cordelia climbed too close to the brink he wanted to take her to. All thoughts of waxing, fairy tales and Tiffany’s left her head the moment Angel touched her.

Cordelia arched and writhed at the pleasure he dealt out with those knowing hands and the skilled tongue that danced over her flesh. His mouth caressed her, sucked softly against her silken folds. The only thoughts Cordelia was even capable of at the time went along the lines of, Oh, geez, yes! Where have you been all of my womanly life?

Later, she’d totally deny saying that aloud…not that she ever did.

Close, so close.

Her every tiny reaction kept Angel aroused and intent. His own body throbbed with the need to take her, promising himself that time would come soon. Pressing hard into the mattress, he stemmed off the constant ache and returned his focus to her.

Angel’s hand curled around her thigh again, kisses wandering while his fingers kept up their sensual dance. His lips pressed down on the rhythmic throb of Cordelia’s femoral artery, which had been pulsating close to his ear. That sound combined with her scent and taste to drive him just a little wild with wanting everything she had to give. The fact that he’d already let his demon nature slip to the surface made it impossible to resist.

Just a little taste, the thought was no sooner formed than Angel’s sharp fangs slid like a hot knife through butter.

Even as the first droplets of blood welled to the surface, Cordelia’s surprised cry left her throat, her eyes darting down to see what she knew was happening. The rough surface of Angel’s cool tongue lapped softly at her skin, the shallow bite intentionally not deep enough to pool the blood. His thumb continued to circle the slick nub of her sex as his fingers rocked within her continuously finding a spot that made her body hum.

Then it just snuck up on her while Angel had her distracted, a mind-blowing, body-wracking orgasm that caused her to scream his name. Bucking up against his face, she actually pressed her punctured flesh against Angel’s open mouth causing those sharp fangs to go deeper than he intended. Her blood, sweet and intoxicating, ripe with her arousal, and teeming with life, spurt against his tongue.

A shocked grunt sounded, followed instantly by Angel immobilizing Cordelia’s thigh against the bed. Just two succulent swallows of that rich human blood left a heady sensation behind, his body streaking with primal urges. Knowing that it was hers made it taste better going down, because it was more than just sustenance, but the precious liquid life of the woman who meant everything to him.

Cordelia writhed against his fingers, still in the throws of her orgasm, hands tightly clasping the pillow under her head. Oh, geez! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes.

Though Angel hadn’t planned to officially stake his vampiric claim right here and now, contemplation was the furthest thing from his mind. The only thought that filtered through his lust-addled brain was that his mark would be there whenever he looked at those tempting curls that veiled the tight core of her body, territory that most definitely belonged to him.

Angel’s fangs pulled against Cordelia’s flesh, acting instinctively, lapping up the rich red blood and then retracting to seal the wounds with the gentle ministrations of his tongue, permeating them with his scent. Then slipping his drenched fingers from within her, Angel closed his mouth around them, his eyes fluttering shut at the combined tastes swirling on his tongue. He wanted to bury his face in the cradle of her thighs and drink down every drop of liquid pleasure, but as his eyes opened again they were filled with doubt.

Though he’d earlier suggested it would happen by not denying he would bite her, Angel hadn’t planned to do this the first time they made love, wanting to ease her into the idea of the most basic of a vampire’s sexual needs. But he hadn’t counted on Cordelia teasing him into letting his demon come out to play.

Morphing back to his human features, Angel shifted up the length of her body to settle between her trembling thighs. God, he had to kiss her, to reassure her, to make certain that he hadn’t blown this entire experience.

“What’s with the broody face?” she asked with a lazy smile. Mmm, she felt so good and yummy right now, especially as his heavy male body settled into hers.

Figuring that should be obvious, Angel pressed a tasty, passionate kiss across her lips and they blossomed beneath him, opening up like a flower to the sun. Deep, juicy kisses kept Cordelia distracted until Angel’s arousal unerringly ground against her sensitive flesh. “Please tell me we don’t have to wait any more. I want you so much, Angel.”

“You’re not angry?” his dark eyes flashed uncertainty.

Cordelia paused, for a moment having no idea what he meant. Then it hit her. The bite, that’s what her dumbass vampire was trying to get at. “Duh! No. Told you I only wanted to know if you would do it. You think I don’t want all of you? I’m in love with you, Grr Guy.”

Tagging on that soft admission, Cordelia lifted her hand to his face, her eyes full of life and sparkling with the truth of her confession. A smile graced her lips and her gorgeous face appeared to him more beautiful than he’d ever seen it, even with a light sheen across her nose and her cheeks flushed.

“So I take it that it’s okay to use those three little words, now,” Angel’s chiseled mouth curled up at one corner into that trademark smirk. Just knowing Cordelia accepted him, all of him, was enough to make his chest ache and his sex throb.

Cordelia already knew how he felt. He’d shown her with every kiss and caress. That didn’t mean the idea of hearing him say it didn’t cause a starburst of excitement to go off in her head because, boy howdy, did it ever.

“Tonight makes you mine, Cordelia,” Angel brushed the backs of his fingers along her temple, slowly combing through the soft hair spread across the pillow. “Mine in ways no human lover could ever claim. Wanting you, needing you… that’s only a part of what makes you essential in my life. I’ve never known anyone like you.”

“That’s because I am Cordelia Chase,” she quipped with a grin.

Angel kissed the tip of her nose. “Incorrigible, beautiful, and truly, Cordy, you have become the most caring person I’ve ever known. There are days when I don’t know who I’d be if it wasn’t for you.”

Aww, geez, Cordelia’s eyes sparkled even brighter as the words tugged hard at her already full heart.

“I love you, Cordelia,” he told her and felt the potent results of his own words leave him shaking with need.

The words were barely out of his mouth before Cordelia wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close, the sound of her joyous laughter resounding in the room and into his ear. Their lips met in a fervent kiss, passion escalating between them. Angel joined their bodies together with a slow, determined thrust, allowing Cordelia to adjust to the sensation. His control was fast slipping. She held him as if her body never wanted to let him go, clutching him from within.

Angel reigned in the urge to pound deep, wanting to learn the secrets of Cordelia’s sensual arousal. To explore what gave her pleasure. To feel it himself whether that be achingly slow or at a rhythm designed to blow the tops off their heads. Tonight was all for her, whatever she wanted. For Angel felt certain that he’d be more than satisfied just being inside her.

“Do you like that?” Angel murmured the question as he nibbled at Cordelia’s neck.

Too caught up in sensations, Cordelia barely noticed the question. “Mmm. Tickles.”

“It tickles?” Then he realized she thought he was talking about her neck. His hand traversed down to her hip as he maintained a slow, shallow rhythm. “Cor, I meant this.”

Arching her body against him, Cordelia moved her hands along his skin, enjoying the simple fact that she held him in her arms even as his body was ever so slowly leading her back toward paradise. Her legs shifted along his hips. “Oh, this. I like. Definitely.”

Continuing at that languorous pace for a short while, Angel sensed Cordelia was starting to lose patience with it. His little vixen wasn’t very content with taking it slow. “How about this?” Testing out her responses, he experimented with moving deeper, harder and faster than before.

“Oh, geez!” Cordelia cried out at the new feeling, her body responding to his in an answering rhythm, awkward at first and then just as enthusiastically. “That, that! I like that too.”

Angel growled and chuckled all at the same time, his back arching, muscles flexing as brought them together again and again and again. “Seems you like everything, Cordy.”

“As long as it’s with you,” she kissed him feverishly when his mouth closed over hers. Then coming up for air, gasping with panty breaths, she added, “Angel… so good, don’t ever stop.”

Having no intention of stopping anytime soon, Angel indulgently set up a complex rhythm combining the different sensations, his own body tensing and reveling in the build-up in his loins. Cordelia was so responsive, just as he’d imagined her to be, laying aside all traces of initial uncertainty. He made love to her slowly, deeply, passionately until the world faded around them and nothing existed except the two of them and the feelings between them.

Ecstasy also came in audible form, a cry sounding from Cordelia’s lips with Angel’s deep roar of pleasure following in its wake. They moved together, bodies thrusting close with the slide of sweat-slicked skin, limbs trembling, muscles clenching upon reaching the peak of passion. Cordelia felt his body’s release, her own pleasure heightened as she watched his face.

For a moment, Angel’s heavy weight collapsed on top of her and Cordelia moaned at the way it felt to be blanketed by him. Her hands traced over his damp skin, her motions soothing and instinctive. Angel pressed his lips to her throat, the bounding pulse a temptation he could not resist and though Cordelia automatically turned her head, it was only kisses he placed there.

Then, almost reluctant to move, but not wanting to crush her, Angel shifted back onto his knees carrying her with him. Cordelia gasped in surprised delight at the new position, fully aware of his length still inside her. A naughty smile lit her face as she looped an arm around Angel’s neck, using her free hand to trace the angles of his handsome face, “We did it.”

The sound of her delight gripped Angel right in the heart, but he had to laugh at the amazement that trickled from her voice because he felt the same way. A little shocked that it had actually happened. Now he just wanted to spend the rest of the night proving to himself that this wasn’t just another dream.

Remaining in that upright hold, still reeling from the results of their lovemaking, they came down from those lofty heights together. Soft, deep kisses followed; the stroke of his strong hands down her back; a gentle rub along the nape of his neck. Angel savored the texture of Cordelia’s lips beneath his own, their feminine curves sliding under his, opening up to the gentle pressure he applied. A moan sounding from her throat as Angel’s tongue slipped inside to taste her.

Cordelia wriggled in his lap feeling the delicious throb of her body as it held his so intimately, climactic aftershocks still fluttering and zinging deep inside. She could feel him getting hard again and the thought just set off a wave of excitement as Cordelia realized she was too fired up to be tired.

“Guess that wound didn’t bother you much,” Cordelia realized as she caught sight of the pile of cotton balls and the bottle of hydrogen peroxide at the bottom of the bed. There was a hopeful tone to her voice as if she was concerned its existence might prevent them doing it again.

With a quick kiss, Angel commented, “Nope. How about yours?” he asked, referring to his mark.

“Oh, that, pfft!” Cordelia rolled her eyes. Kinda sore, but it tingled only adding to the rapidly-forming ache inside her. Almost anxiously, she asked, “Are we doing it again?”

Angel smiled against her mouth, promising, “Oh, definitely.”

The End.

What are your thoughts about ‘Freedom’s Prize‘?
Writing Team: C/Aprodisiac (Califi & Lysa)
Kudos and Critiques are Appreciated.

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