Now a vampire, Cordelia explores her new existence with the guidance of her sire, Angelus.

• CONTENTS:   VampCordy/Angelus & VampCordy/Angel in BtVS
• RATING:    NC17
• LENGTH:   Novel / 78,000 words
• STATUS:   Completed
• PREQUEL:   ‘Open Invitation‘ (Short Story)
• FICPIC CREDIT:   Lysa
• WARNINGS/SPOILERS:   Explicit Sexual Content / Character Deaths

The best Vamp Cordy fic I’ve read yet. Sexy and dark.

– Anne – / Stranger Things

Promise of the Night: Darkness

Chapter 1

Even in death, Cordelia Chase looked stunning.

Only the utter stillness within the silk-lined open casket spoiled the illusion of sleep. An artificial blush bloomed softly across her cheeks hiding the stark pallor of normally sun-kissed skin, her lips glossy. Surrounded by fresh flowers, dark tresses cascaded across the pillow in a wave over her shoulders leaving no visible trace of the deep wounds marring her throat.

Staring down at the once vibrant girl, Buffy’s thoughts were grim. The past few days had been nightmarish. Nothing was ever simple in the life of a Slayer, especially one whose boyfriend was a vampire cursed with a slippery soul. If only she had known Angel would turn into a homicidal maniac things might have been different.

Cordelia wouldn’t be dead.

“It’s been three days, Giles,” Buffy stressed the inexplicable delay. She’d been patrolling the morgue and the funeral home for the last two nights, but there was no sign of Cordelia rising from the dead.

This morning, Cordelia’s parents had returned from their overseas trip suddenly sweeping in to finalize the funeral arrangements. There was also a memorial service at school, but Buffy did not go. She felt responsible.

It happened on the same night Angelus vowed to leave a trail of her friends’ dead bodies on her front porch. Though he left no note claiming responsibility for taking Cordelia’s life, she knew Angelus did it.

Buffy had seriously underestimated his hatred of everything she represented. Instead, she had arrogantly believed that he could not possibly get to anyone she cared about without dealing with her. Still in shock over the way Angel had lost his soul and just grateful that she had Willow, Xander and Giles where she could keep an eye on them, it hadn’t even occurred to her that he would go after Cordelia of all people.

Lamenting, Buffy wished she hadn’t been so distracted by the big blue demon guy. There was no fixing this, no way to turn back the clock to warn Cordelia. It was too late to save her. Worse, there was still a chance this wasn’t over.

The gentle pressure of Giles’ hand squeezed her shoulder. She dragged her gaze away from Cordelia’s placid features to look up at him. Trying to provide some reassurance, Giles suggested, “He may not have turned her. Perhaps Angel’s only intention was to kill.

“Don’t call him that,” Buffy snapped, looking pained at the use of her boyfriend’s name. “It’s not him. Not without his soul. Angelus did this.”

Xander stood next to Buffy with one hand on the coffin, his expression a mix of sorrow, hatred and dark intent. Muttering, “That vamp is dust.”

“Angelus seemed to turn his other victims into minions as soon as he got the chance,” Willow pointed out that the vampire was trying to increase the numbers of his clan. “Why stop with Cordelia?”

Giles scrubbed a hand over his face, lifting his glasses to press thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. He was tired. They were all tired. Of waiting, of not knowing if the worst imaginable fate had befallen one of them. “I am not certain that he did.”

“It’s been three days,” stressed Buffy. “I’ve never known a vampire to take so long to rise. I hope for her sake she’s just dead, but I’ve got this nasty vibe telling me that she’s not.”

Frowning, Giles removed his glasses and tapped his mouth with the tip of the ear piece. “There is one possibility that we should not ignore.” Especially in light of the ‘vibes’ she was sensing.

“What’s that?”

“According to what we—the Council— know, vampires drain their victims to the point of death then feed them their own,” Giles reminded them. What they probably did not know was, “Very little of the sire’s blood is required to turn the victim. A fledgling will normally rise by the next sunset. This vampire is completely subservient to its creator. However, in addition to minions, master vampires have the ability to create more powerful progeny.”

Buffy felt a little sick. “Like children?”

“The master refers to them as ‘childe’ or ‘childer’ in the plural,” Giles explained. “Some Watchers find it too distasteful to liken vampire progeny to human offspring, and simply avoid the term altogether.”

“Childer,” Xander rolled the word around on his tongue, his already gloomy expression darkening even more. His grip on the coffin tightened until his knuckles were white.

“Drusilla is Angelus’ childe,” Buffy nodded her understanding of the relationship. “He made her, but she’s more powerful than the regular vamps.”

Giles murmured, “Yes. Drusilla later created Spike. Vampire hierarchy dictates that Angelus is the sire of their line now that both Darla and her maker are dust. They are the master vampires of the Order of Aurelius while the others are simply their minions.”

While that information was soaking into Buffy’s head, Giles explained his theory. “It’s very likely that Angelus intends for Cordelia to join the Order as one of his childer.”

A little confused, Buffy shrugged, “What’s that got to do with the three days?”

“More blood is shared by the sire,” Giles frown over the idea. Having convinced himself he was right about this, he tried to maintain a matter-of-fact tone, but he felt far too culpable for that. “The conversion process takes longer, but the result is a more powerful vampire.”

“Oh.” Buffy gazed back into the coffin again at the serene beauty of her dead friend. “So Cordelia would be part of Angel’s family? Like a— daughter?”

Giles squirmed a bit and started to clean his glasses. “Vampire relations are a bit more complex than that. More likely, she would be his mate as long as Angelus remains interested.”

Wide-eyed, Buffy looked toward Willow as if expecting her to say she heard wrong. The rest of the commentary was drowned out by white noise.

“There is still a bit of a dependent bond in the beginning when the newly risen vampire is learning to hunt and feed.” Giles shared a few details from his extensive study of the subject, “A need for continued supplementation of the sire’s blood is built into the bond during the first few days until the new vampire attains full strength.”

The thought of Cordelia being Angel’s mate, no matter how irrational caused a flash of jealousy that spread out like wildfire. “What the hell was she doing with Angelus in the first place?”

Willow reminded her that the brunette had not been present when Angelus arrived at the school and announced his identity. She had gone out the other exit closer to her car. “He probably tricked her into thinking he was Angel.”

Upon hearing about Cordelia’s death, Willow had a guilt-trip of her own. She’d been an idiot for reacting the way she did at finding Cordelia and Xander kissing in the library. If she hadn’t run away, Cor might not have left the library so quickly. She might not have run into Angelus in the school parking lot. She might still be alive.

“That vamp is dust,” Xander parroted his new mantra as if it was the only thought in his head.

“What now?” Willow asked through a yawn. They hadn’t gotten much sleep during the past couple of nights. “Do we keep up the vampire vigil or come back for the funeral in the morning?”

Giles hated to suggest this, but there was one way to ensure Cordelia did not rise as a vampire. “We could decapitate her.”

Wide-eyed Willow managed only a squeak, “Eep!”

“What?!” Buffy sounded horrified. “Giles!”

“Dust,” muttered Xander still focused on Cordelia’s face.

Holding up his hands, Giles retracted the suggestion. “Forget I even mentioned it.”

“I’ve done enough already,” Buffy sighed. “If I have to stake her, then I’ll deal. Until I know she’s a vampire I’m assuming she’s just dead.”

The group exiting the building was more dry-eyed than the funeral director might expect, but he had no clue that their tears were held in reserve for the final news about the fate of their friend. They were the last visitors of the day and he had allowed them their privacy.
Outside, Buffy suggested that the others go home for the night. “I’m sticking around for a while.”

“I hope things are— peaceful,” Giles nodded his understanding.

With a little wave, Willow followed after the Watcher. “Goodnight, Buffy.”

Xander barely noticed that the other two were leaving. He kept staring back at the funeral home door. “It’s my fault, Buffy. I sent her off to get ready for my stupid plan to raid the Army Depot. I left her alone.”

Placing a hand on Xander’s shoulder, Buffy reminded him, “It wasn’t a stupid plan. It did work. The Judge is a pile of charcoal. This isn’t your fault.”

She was hugging him close trying to make him understand that if it was anyone’s fault, the blame belonged to her. Xander pulled back. He didn’t want to be comforted, but saw the pain on Buffy’s face. He pressed a kiss on her forehead before turning to leave. Over his shoulder he vowed, “Angelus will pay for this.”

Buffy wasn’t certain she was ready to let Xander stake him. She knew she wasn’t ready to do it herself. There had to be another way. Please God, let there be another way, a way to save him. Maybe Angelus was pure demon, an evil, soulless creature of the night who had started victimizing her friends. He’d lost the soul the Kalderash gypsies had cursed him with and she could only hope that there was a way to get it back again.

Jenny Calendar promised to search for the curse. Buffy had been pissed to learn that Ms. Calendar was really planted at the school to spy on her relationship with Angel. One of the descendants of the gypsy clan that cursed him, she might have a slim chance of doing some good if she could locate the means of re-ensouling the vampire.

Patrolling around the building, Buffy noticed the funeral director lock the doors and leave for the evening. He had worked late hours preparing everything for Cordelia’s parents. They wanted the best and had probably paid for it.

As Buffy took a seat on the front steps, she leaned back to stare up at the moon. It was huge and bright overhead. The sunset had left the sky with a tinge of red that now faded to black. Waiting for any sign of trouble or a twinge of her Slayer senses revealing that trouble lurked nearby, Buffy started counting stars to pass the time.

Desperate need gnawed within her as Cordelia awakened. There was a thirst so great she felt desert dry. Thirst and a hunger that was more than just the need for fluid, but blood, the sustenance provided by the one liquid that was mother’s milk to a newborn vampire. Thick & coppery, warm and rich: she craved it.

Thirst, hunger— and want. Yes, there was something more that she wanted, needed it even more than the blood itself. Instinctively, she knew exactly what that was and her thoughts raced with the thrill of it.

Sire.

He was close— the one who made her. Angelus. The want that filled her was more than mere desire though the memories that filled Cordelia’s head proved that existed before her turning. It was a basic, primal and demonic need driving her to awaken and seek him out.

Climbing out of the coffin, Cordelia took in her surroundings. There was no doubt in her mind what she was just as there was no confusion about who she used to be. The fact that Angelus had turned her against her will was overshadowed by the fact that he had given her this existence, that he was her sire and she belonged by his side.

“Geez, what’s this?” Cordelia noticed the sedate jacket she was wearing. Not recognizing it, she figured her mother chose it for the occasion. “Frumpy funeral wear.”

Beneath was a simple one-piece dress with a halter-type top that left her back bare. Since she did not own very many black dresses, the jacket was apparently an attempt to make the slinky dress more appropriate for a funeral. Sheer nude stockings covered her long legs and her feet were thankfully strapped into a pair of designer sandals.

She removed the jacket, tossing it back on the edge of the open coffin. “Much better,” she sighed, shaking her lose hair over her shoulders. Just the whisper of hair moving across her bare skin left tingles of pleasure behind. Experimentally, Cordelia let her fingertips trail across the silk of her dress, enjoying the heightened sensations as her fingers roved up her thigh to her belly to the swell of her breasts.

Mmm, that felt so good, but she knew it was nothing next to what her sire could do for her. He could take away the cold, empty ache inside her.

Sire.

Pausing at the front door with her hand already on the lock, Cordelia sensed something she had never felt before. So many sensations were new, but this one was unpleasant. Not at all like the thoughts connected to her sire. This was like a bad case of goosebumps.

Unlocking the door, Cordelia discovered the reason for her disagreeable feelings. Buffy Summers stood at the bottom of the steps with an impatient, determined look on her face. “I was hoping you were dead for good, because now I’ll have to stake you.”

“Hello, Slayer,” Cordelia let the door close behind her as a little sarcasm crept into her voice, “I missed you too.”

Buffy was trying to come up with a quip that would keep things impersonal, reminding herself that this was no longer the Cordelia Chase she knew. Her soul was gone and her body inhabited by a demon who possessed her personality and memories. Knowing that was one thing; coming face to face with it was another.

Had Buffy acted quickly, there was opportunity enough to stake the vampire, but she was so caught up in staring at the fact that Cordelia was the most beautiful vampire she’d ever seen. The demonic face with its slightly ridged brow, deep golden eyes and pearly fangs seemed to enhance rather than hide her features.

Trying to pull it together, Buffy noted, “You changed.”

“That’s what happens when girls grow up to be vampires,” Cordelia propped her hands on her hips as she stared down at Buffy from the top step.

“I meant your clothes.”

Rolling her eyes, the vampiress explained, “I left the jacket in my coffin. After all, I can’t meet Angelus looking like a reject from last year’s funeral.”

As Buffy mulled over the fact that she was discussing funeral fashions with a vampire that used to be her friend, Cordelia was gazing at the Slayer’s throat. She could sense the blood flowing within her and see the almost imperceptible flutter of her pulse against her delicate throat. The steady thump of the blonde’s heartbeat called to her with its almost hypnotic lub dub, lub dub, lub dub. One thing was missing: the scent of fear.

Cordelia marveled at her new senses, even this sense of smell which the human Cordelia had thought a little too personal for vampires to possess. Now she knew how wrong she had been. Oh, the many scents she could detect just from Buffy much less those coming from the surrounding area.

Feminine scents like vanilla perfume and Ivory soap instantly imprinted on her brain to combine with the unique pattern that identified her as Buffy. Curiously, Cordelia filtered through the many scents picking out those familiar to her. A citrus scent suggested that she’d eaten something fruity, an orange.

There was another all-too familiar scent; one she realized was noticeable to her only now with her enhanced senses: Xander. His scent was clinging to Buffy’s clothes. Before Cordelia could call her on it, Buffy seemed to be psyching herself up for the kill.

“This isn’t you, Cor,” Buffy shook her head sadly. “It’s just a demon wearing your skin.”

Looking for an escape route, Cordelia moved slowly down the funeral home steps. “I like my skin intact. Y’know, minus the holes from stakes or other sharp objects.”

Buffy snapped, “You should have thought of that before letting Angelus bite you,” and Cordelia knew that the thought rubbed a raw nerve.

Her throat tingled at the site of Angelus’ bite, itching for the sensation of her sire’s sharp fangs sliding into her skin. Almost subconsciously, Cordelia’s fingertips skirted the edge of the mark on her throat, now only a white scar bearing her master’s scent. “Like I had a choice?”

Forgetting her this-isn’t-Cordelia speech, Buffy’s curiosity won out as she queried, “So how did it happen? I think I deserve to know.”

Recognizing the jealous gleam in those green eyes, Cordelia sensed that distraction would give her the time she needed. Edging down the sidewalk, she told Buffy, “I invited Angel in, but it wasn’t Angel at all.”

“What was he doing there?” demanded Buffy.

Cordelia shrugged casually. “He told me he planned to help us out against the Judge, but that was a lie. Guess I missed the ‘Angel is evil now’ memo. Lucky for me,” she added with a purr, “because we had the most incredible sex.”

Buffy’s eyes were huge with shock. “You had sex?”

Sire. Closer now. So close.

“Angelus wanted me,” Cordelia enjoyed Buffy’s pained response. The look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes was so delicious. Want you now, Sire. “He took me, loved me gently and gave me everything I wanted.”

A thick fog seemed to cloud her senses as Buffy listened to Cordelia’s words. Not once had she imagined that Angelus had done that. Bit her, yes, obviously, drained her dry and left her for dead. When they’d found her body, Cordelia was sitting in the passenger seat of her car which was parked right in front of Buffy’s house. Not precisely her front porch, but close enough that she’d gotten the message loud and clear.

“Then he showed me who he truly was,” excitement filled Cordelia’s voice, her golden eyes alight, “Angelus. I was so scared, so hot for him.”

Buffy’s face twisted into a scowl.

“I didn’t want to die.” Cordelia offered up a sad pout and a sigh, pausing for effect. She could see the emotions flitting across the Slayer’s face. Garnering sympathy would be the smart thing to do, but it was so hard to focus on survival when hunger for food and a taste of revenge urged her on.

“You shouldn’t have been with him in the first place,” Buffy’s anger showed through the unshed tears in her eyes. “Angel was my boyfriend.”

Cordelia arched a brow which appeared even more exaggerated in her vampire visage. “I told you it wasn’t Angel. Your Angel is gone, Slayer. What is left is all mine.”

The possessive words didn’t bother Buffy so much as the details Cordelia started to share.

“Angelus is a magnificent beast, isn’t he? Strong. Beautiful. Hung like a stallion. Experienced. He knows all about pleasure. It’s a real rush having all that raw male power clamped between your thighs.”

“You’re telling the truth.” The things Cordelia said were no exaggeration, but the realization that Angel had been with someone else left her head spinning, her heart hurting. Another betrayal layered over the rest.

“I wouldn’t lie to you about Angelus. He made love to me, made me come in the most incredible way.”

The words shocked Buffy who’d never heard Cordelia talk that way, not even during the rare occasions when they’d shared a little Girl Talk. She knew a lot thanks to magazines like Cosmopolitan, but her actual experience was something of a mystery. School rumors tended to weigh heavily on the fact that she’d done it with select members of the Varsity Football Team. As a former cheerleader herself, Buffy knew those types of rumors were common and usually wrong.

Considering what she knew about Xander’s relationship with Cordelia, she was almost certain that the rumors were way off. Vampires weren’t exactly worried about ethics and morals, so combining with Cordelia’s natural lack of tact, a few naughty words shouldn’t have surprised her.

Despite the pain it caused her to hear it, Buffy wanted details. It made her angry and right now anger was a good thing. Feeling sorry for Cordelia wasn’t going to make staking her any easier. She was so close now that it wouldn’t take much to plunge the stake into her heart.

She shifted her grip on the weapon and was about to make a move when Cordelia added, “But you know how it feels. Angelus told me—”

“Told you what?” Buffy demanded her to finish that sentence. She couldn’t believe that Angel would tell Cordelia anything, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Angelus might.

“Sheesh! Don’t have kittens, Buffy. He didn’t tell me everything,” the vampiress rolled her eyes. “He hinted, but didn’t kiss and tell if that’s what you’re so worried about.”

Narrowing her gaze, Buffy relaxed a little. She didn’t know why she was letting Cordelia wind her up this way. It was just happening and she seemed so damned smug about it. A smile bared her fangs reminding Buffy that it was long past time to dust her.

“I’m not talking to you about it,” Buffy gripped her stake.

Cordelia shrugged. “I’ll just ask my sire for the details. He’ll tell me all about it. It’ll be worth a good laugh.”

“Too bad you won’t be around to ask,” Buffy countered snidely as she twirled her stake in her hand with a show of prowess. It should have left the newly risen vampiress shaking in her high-heeled shoes, but Cordelia seemed to find it amusing.

Practically spitting with fury, Buffy didn’t even notice the subtle signs of approaching danger. Two large hands reached out from behind, gripping Buffy’s arms and pulling her back against a hard torso. She instantly recognized who it was and shuddered with both longing and disgust.

“Hello, lover,” Angelus pressed a cool kiss behind her ear where her neck met her jaw. “I see you’ve met my newest creation. Scrumptious, isn’t she?”

“Haven’t tasted the goods like you have,” Buffy elbowed Angelus in the stomach and powerfully kicked back with one leg, “bastard.”

As soon as Angelus released her, Buffy rolled to the ground and was back on her feet in seconds. He wasn’t alone, she realized, quickly counting five other vampires. “You knew that I’d be here.”

“I’ve come for Cordelia,” Angelus told her. “Give me what I want and you’re free to go.”

“Not a chance.”

Cordelia’s head was spinning with bloodlust. The Slayer was so close. Her heart was pumping much faster now with Angelus present. There was more here than puppy love denied, she thought. Then Cordelia recalled what Angelus told her human self about the big break up the night after Buffy’s birthday.

Smirking, Cordelia wondered if her sire had taken the girl’s virginity before or after he lost his soul. Initially amusing, the thought of Buffy Summers being intimate with her sire was completely unacceptable. No matter that it happened before Angelus claimed her, Buffy was a threat and not just because she hunted down vampires as her calling.

Lunging at Buffy who was positioned between herself and Angelus, Cordelia leapt onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck and trying to claw at her face. Though startled, Buffy made a swift move that left the vampiress flat on the ground. Buffy was poised above her with her stake raised in the air.

“Back off!” Angelus’ furious growl rumbled through the air as he backhanded the Slayer tossing her several feet in the air. Pulling his childe to her feet, he placed Cordelia safely behind him. “No one touches what’s mine.”

Buffy had never seen Angel look more threatening. She lay on the grass propped on her elbows gazing into the dark amber of his eyes. This was one more proof that he didn’t want her. He’d said as much the night they made love and again at the school. Oh, she knew he didn’t have a soul then, but Buffy couldn’t understand why its loss would leave such hatred behind.

The other vampires were maneuvering around the perimeter. She had no time to ponder the reasons. No time to wonder why Angelus was so possessive of Cordelia. Even now he had turned away to face his childe who was clinging to him in such a way that it seemed she wanted to crawl inside him.

“Sire,” Cordelia sighed as she nuzzled against his neck. “I need you. Make this terrible hunger go away.”

As she started to lap at his throat, Angelus nudged her away. “Soon you’ll get what you want. First, let’s leave the Slayer to her new playmates.”

Cordelia glanced over to see Buffy in mid-staking of one of the vamps. He burst into a cloud of thick dust. “Ugh! That just doesn’t give me the same gung-ho feeling that it used to.”

“Not when you’re fighting for the other side,” Angelus commented with a wry expression on his face. Turning serious, he took Cordelia by the arm. “Don’t ever make such a stupid move on the Slayer again. Stay away from Buffy.”

“You too!”

With a laugh, Angelus understood. Blind female jealousy had combined with instinctive vampire possessiveness causing Cordelia to attack the Slayer. “Wait until you’re a day old before you start bossing me around.”

“I meant what I said,” Cordelia glared daringly at her sire. “Stay away from her. Your kisses are mine.”

Yanking her to him, Angelus gripped her arm tight enough to mar her perfect flesh. “I like that you know what you want,” he flashed a grin, his mouth hovering just above her plush lips, “but get one thing straight. I’m in charge. Any kisses you get will be because I’m in the mood to give them.”

Cordelia slid her free arm around his neck and pressed up close so that her breasts were crushed against his chest. Her whole body tingled with arousal and hunger. Knowing he could take care of both, she murmured seductively, “I’m in the mood now.”

He laughed at her attempt, dark eyes glittering. “That was bad.”

“Sometimes it’s good to be bad,” Cordelia’s eyes sparkled as her tongue lightly caressed the edge of her fangs.

“That’s what I’m counting on,” He rewarded her with the briefest caress of his mouth followed by a sharp swat of his hand against her bottom.

Angelus and the other vamps had arrived in his black Plymouth. What had been a tight ride coming was roomy now that the others were left behind. He doubted any of those who eagerly volunteered to keep the Slayer at bay would survive. Oh, well. There were always plenty more of those to be created.

He sensed that Cordelia would be powerful once achieving her full strength. During the ritual, Angelus had let her feed from him more than he had done before when creating a childe. Even he was surprised at the length of time it had taken for her to rise, not sensing her awareness of him until this evening. Cordelia’s beauty pleased him almost as much as her fiery spirit and Angelus wanted her beneath him— soon, but first there were lessons to be learned.

Pulling up along the moonlight benches of Sunnydale Park, Angelus noted that several couples were out for a romantic stroll. He turned to Cordelia, his hand brushing her soft hair. “Care for a snack?”

Cordelia was already eyeing the potential candidates. “Mmm!”

“Before we get out of the car— lesson one.” Angelus tucked a finger under her chin to turn her face toward him.

With a small shake of his head, the vampire willed his human mask to fall into place. The demonic bone structure shifted back leaving only the compellingly handsome human man behind. “It gets easier with practice. Try to keep your human face on when stalking prey. Then wait for the right moment to make the change.”

Then he added with a wry twist of his lips, “The added surprise gets their blood pumping. You can taste their fear.”

Concentrating, Cordelia felt her facial structure moving back into what she was familiar with. “Good?”

“Beautiful.”

Smiling, Cordelia waited until her sire came around to help her out of the car. Despite her hunger, she found the thought of a moonlit stroll through the park on Angelus’ arm rather appealing. She hooked her hand into the crook of his arm and snuggled close. He smelled divine, all male.

Sire.

Angelus instantly turned to look at her noting her lustful gaze. She had said nothing, but there was no mistaking her arousal. Maybe it was just the fact that Cordelia kept rubbing up against him. For an instant he thought he’d heard her voice in his head, but it had to be his own lustful thoughts demanding attention.

Damn, he couldn’t remember a time he was hornier, but Angelus wasn’t going to let this sudden lust for his newest progeny rule his actions. There was a purpose for being here. His childe was hungry and needed to make her first kill. No matter that she would be eager for it if he pushed her up against the nearest tree, Cordelia’s first kill was the priority.

“There’s a loner,” Angelus nodded toward an elderly gentleman who sat on a bench with a cane across his lap. He was watching the younger couples stroll by with a smile on his face.

“Eew!” Cordelia made a face. “Hello, he’s an old geezer!”

“Smells healthy enough,” Angelus shrugged. “Not everything you eat is going to look like— who’s that movie guy you always mention?”

“Keanu Reeves?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” she conceded, “but next time I get to pick dinner.”

Angelus instructed, “We’ll stop to let you rest on the bench. Strike up a conversation with him. When there is no one else around— make your move.”

“Ooooh! I get to play with my food. This is like acting,” Cordelia thought she could get into that.

They strolled up closer to the bench with the old man and suddenly Cordelia started to limp along. “Honey, I think I have a pebble in my shoe. Let’s stop for a second.”

“Mind if we join you?” Angelus asked smoothly.

The old gentleman moved his cane to his other side. Motioning to the empty spot beside him, he smiled at the attractive couple. “Please do. Wonderful evening, isn’t it?”

“Perfect.” Angelus returned the smile and then crouched down to retrieve the imaginary pebble from her shoe. His hand curled along her calf as it moved down eliciting a look from Cordelia that suggested he was playing with fire.

“Do you come to the park often?” Cordelia asked the man. “This is my first time.”

As he responded to her question, the vampiress found herself listening to the rhythm of his heart and sensed the blood stirring within him. She could smell it. Practically taste it on her tongue.

“So it was your young man’s idea to take an evening stroll,” he sounded surprised. “You don’t hear so many romantic notions from youngsters these days.”

“My lady wants a night to remember.”

Chuckling, the man remembered his own youthful days of dating and romance. “Do you always give her what she wants?”

“Hmm. Good question.” Cordelia leered up at her sire.

Angelus was on his feet again and reaching out to cup her chin tilting it upward. Bending down, he pressed a kiss against her lips. “It’s time, kitten. Take him.” Releasing her, he took a step back to watch the action.

Cordelia lunged eagerly at the startled old man who let out a hoarse cry. He barely had time to notice her game face before he felt her fangs at his throat. She drank him down in seconds, pulling back to look at her sire with a new understanding of what she had just accomplished. There was life inside her again feeding her, sustaining her and making her strong.

There was blood spread across her lips and chin. Angelus looked down with amusement. “We’ll have to work on your table manners, but I’d say that was a success. Come here.”

Cordelia stood before him trying her best not to touch him with her bloody fingers. He reached down for her hands, licking the fingers clean one by one. She purred at the sexy sensation.

“Not a bad vintage,” Angelus grinned kissing her palm.

Now she had her hands on him, grasping his leather jacket to keep him close. Cordelia licked at the blood at the corner of her mouth until Angelus told her she was being greedy. “Let me have a little more.”

He lapped at the blood, kissing it off, savoring the taste. When her mouth was completely clean, he pressed her lips open to touch his tongue to hers. Hungrily, without the pretense of gentility, Angelus thrust deep. He felt the wet slide of her tongue against his. She was a wild thing in his arms as he fucked her mouth.

His cock swelled against the closure of his leather pants demanding release. With a low growl, Angelus pressed it against her belly and then grabbed a handful of ass to lift her higher. Cordelia’s legs wound around him, her pubic bone now grinding her clit against his leather bound cock.

Cordelia whimpered against his mouth as he rocked his erection into the cradle of her thighs, her hands clasping his shoulders, his neck, tugging at his hair. Anything to get closer. A sting of pain hit as her back connected with the metal surface of a lamppost. It only made it better as more of her senses sparked.

They kept kissing until discovery became dangerous. There were still others in the park, but Cordelia couldn’t care less. Her sire wanted her and more than anything she needed to feel the sting of his fang in her flesh renewing his claim.

Sire. Take me. Now, now.

“You’re an impatient little bitch,” he said, loving it without realizing that her plea had not been spoken aloud. Releasing her back to the ground, he pushed her away, lust masking his features. “For that, you’re going to wait a while longer. Come with me. It’s time you met the rest of the family.”

Spike rolled up in his wheelchair as Angelus returned followed by the new addition to their happy little family. At least this one was a looker. Taking a good long stare, he suddenly realized, “What the bleeding hell! That’s the cheerleader you’ve got there, Angelus.”

“What’s your point?”

“The Slayer and her little gang of terrorists are gonna pull out all stops,” Spike warned him. “Killing one of them might get you a few random attempts at staking. Vamping one? That’ll cause an all-out war.”

“If it’s war, Spike, then I’ve already declared it.” Angelus brought Cordelia forward and placed his arm around her shoulder. “The Slayer’s friends are mine to kill and if I choose to keep Cordelia they’d better get used to the idea.”

“Keep her?” Spike wondered if the chit was that good a lay. She was certainly beautiful, but Angelus never kept the ladies around very long before. That was mostly because of Darla. Her little side trips never lasted very long and she would return to boot whatever luscious tramp Angelus had bedded out of the house. Then again, Darla was dust.

Drusilla moved around the perimeter of the room eyeing Cordelia who was all too aware of her scrutiny. Dressed in white lace, her dark black hair stood out in contrast to her pale skin and ruby red lips. She seemed to float across the room in her long gown coming to a stop in front of them.

“Daddy has brought me a sister.” Drusilla’s head tilted as she looked with curiosity at the new vampire. It was apparent to her even if it wasn’t to Spike that the newcomer was far more than just a new toy. “She’s beautiful, special. Miss Edith will be jealous.”

“Miss Edith?” Cordelia lifted a brow.

“You’ll meet her later,” assured the other vampiress, “if you’re a good girl.”

Cordelia knew very little about Drusilla. The fact that she was crazy was certainly part of that rudimentary knowledge. She suddenly wondered what her place was in this strange family structure. What claim did Drusilla, as Angelus’ childe, have over him? While she knew that Drusilla and Spike were a tight couple, her vampire instincts told her there was more to it than that.

Possessively, Cordelia turned toward Angelus holding onto him with both arms molding herself to his side. She gave the other female a hard stare. Drusilla tittered with laughter, knowing that her new sister wanted their sire to herself. Moving to his free side, Drusilla raked her nails down Angelus’ arm.

“Do you remember our first night, my Angel?”

He lifted his hand to her thin face. “I do.”

“There was a blood red moon and the stars wept in the heavens,” Drusilla looked dreamy-eyed.

A soft hiss formed in Cordelia’s throat. She didn’t like the thought of Angelus showing Dru anything even if it happened so long ago. MINE. The thought came as a shout.

Both her sire and Drusilla suddenly looked at her strangely making Cordelia feel wary. Angelus turned to his first childe demanding an answer, “Did you hear that?”

Had she done something wrong? Cordelia tightened her grip on her sire as she watched Drusilla step closer, her ageless black eyes pinned on her seeing far more than what was on the surface.

”Yes, my Angel,” Drusilla’s blood red lips curved upward. “I told you this one is special. The promise of the night is hers to claim. Risen under the full moon, she is a childe born to darkness, but destined for the stars.”

“Explain yourself.” Angelus growled at what sounded like another of Drusilla’s cryptic predictions.

Grinning gleefully, she laughed and laughed while twirling around them. “I do so like the stars. They like to tell secrets.”

“Get away from me,” Cordelia swiped at the hand that reached out to tickle her.

Even Angelus reacted with an angry glare at his eldest childe. No one touched Cordelia without his permission.

Spike finally let out a long sigh having decided to put a stop to Drusilla’s teasing before it got her into trouble. “Leave them be, princess. You know what it’s like with a new childe in the family. Besides, we have some planning to do since the Slayer’s likely to drop in on us.”

Skipping mirthfully over to his side, Drusilla dramatically draped herself upon the table top. Then her expression turned dark. “Naughty Slayer! She blew up the Judge after all of our trouble to put him together.”

Giving himself a little room, Angelus grabbed Cordelia’s wrist and pulled her down the hall to the area set up as the master bedroom. It wasn’t up to his standards certainly, but it would do in a pinch until he could move his growing clan into something more fitting than this factory. In the meantime, this room held the only object of convenience that he needed— a bed.

Tossing Cordelia inside, Angelus shut the door behind them with a bang. She rolled to the floor and lay there staring up at her sire in confusion. He looked angry, but she could think of nothing that might have caused that response.

“Get up,” Angelus ordered towering over her like a dark god swathed in leather. “Get rid of those clothes.”

Had she mistaken his intensity for anger? Eager to comply, Cordelia’s mouth curled into a sensual smile as she gracefully rose to her feet. She tore at the ties of her halter dress letting the strings go. The slinky material fell all the way to the floor pooling at her ankles and exposing her bare breasts. Pushing off her lacy panties and kicking off her sandals, Cordelia was naked in a matter of seconds.

There was certainly nothing shy about her actions. Angelus watched amused at her overly eager efforts. Although the aspect of the demon and their sire-childe bond significantly increased her natural sexual drive, Cordelia had been a virgin before he seduced, killed and turned her. She still lacked finesse.

Angelus’ eyes roved over her silky skin, his eyes settling on the dark curls nestled at the junction of her firm thighs. Some day soon he’d have her practice tantalizing him with a slow striptease. For now, he’d just enjoy the bounty of his creation.

His body stirred with renewed lust. Still fully dressed, even garbed in his full length leather coat, Angelus stalked in a circle around Cordelia, examining her from every angle. Truthfully, she was a gorgeous creature. She eclipsed the beauty of any vampire he had ever known. And she was his.

Angelus knew lust, but that word defied the sensations stemming from his gut. Lust was too simple, too insipid to describe his reaction. Not that he would tell her that just now. He felt the bond between then and recognized its strength.

He stood behind her, staring down at the sun tattoo at the small of her back just above the curving mounds of her buttocks. Angelus felt the power of his need compelling him to kneel at her feet, to sink his fangs into that silken flesh, to worship the lines and curves of her colorful tattoo with his mouth.

Gazing at him over her shoulder, Cordelia vented her need with an urgency that was close to a command. “Touch me.”

He did— suddenly and almost viciously grabbing her by the throat and pulling her back against him. Angelus pressed his mouth next to her ear, “Don’t give orders unless you are given leave to do so, childe. You have no power here. Don’t speak until you’re spoken to.”

Releasing her neck, Angelus walked around to face her. Cordelia was clasping her neck and only now realizing that she had no breath to be cut off by his grip. Defiance glinted in her eyes. “Not likely. I say what I want.”

With his hand in her thick hair, Angelus pulled her close staring down with amber eyes that slanted dangerously. “You will submit to me you willful cat or pay the consequences. I’ll show you what defiance gets you.”

Curling her fingers into his coat, Cordelia dared to point out, “Drusilla didn’t wait for permission to talk to you.”

Angelus removed her hands from his coat, but kept hold of her wrists. “Dru knows her place. You still need to earn yours.”

A shriek of surprise sounded from Cordelia’s lips as Angelus lifted her over his shoulder and slapped his hand across her bare buttocks. Walking the short distance, he flung her off his shoulder onto the bed. Dropping onto it, Cordelia bounced on the firm mattress settling prone at its center.

Then Angelus started to remove his clothes. First, he pulled off his coat, tossing the leather duster onto a nearby chair. Cordelia watched with eager interest as his hands reached for the buttons of his black shirt hoping that her sire would simply rip the garment from his body. No, he did not. Instead, he seemed all too patient about taking one small button at a time revealing glimpses of his bare chest beneath.

Licking at her lips, Cordelia curled up onto her knees. Her eyes never left him as they sparkled in anticipation. He was pulling the shirt from the waistband of his pants and she so wanted to touch the marbled torso now exposed to her view. Her knees inched forward moving her just a bit closer to the edge of the bed.

The vampire unbuckled his belt, but paused before going further issuing an order. “Take it off.”

Cordelia was all too happy to comply. What more might he allow her to remove? She pulled the leather belt from its loops and was about to drop it to the floor when Angelus told her to hold onto it. She darted glances from the belt up to his eyes, but her sire said nothing else while he stripped off his shoes, socks and leather pants.

Forgetting about the belt, Cordelia could no longer resist the need to touch her sire now standing naked and glorious before her. Rising up on her knees, she leaned in pressing their bodies together and letting out a contented moan at the contact. “Angelus.”

For a moment, Angelus allowed himself the pleasure of feeling Cordelia’s silken skin against him. His hands crept around to her back falling low onto her hips and tucking them close so that his hardening sex connected fully with her flesh. Just for a moment.

Cordelia was rubbing her face against his skin and running her nails along his arms when her sire’s voice caught her attention. “You like to touch. To let your hands roam free. It gives you pleasure to explore.”

“To explore you,” she admitted while fitting a hand between them to trail low across his abdomen.

He caught it and its mate which was curled around his neck. Yanking Cordelia down on the bed, Angelus pinned her body as he held both wrists in one hand. Taking the belt in the other, he saw her hazel eyes turn gold as the sudden fear caused her to lose control. Then he wrapped the belt around her wrists and knotted it to the bed frame.

“Sire! Let me go!” Cordelia’s first reaction earned her a deep growl. The sound did not squelch her anger, but it seemed to increase her desire. Then her eyes turned sultry as she pleaded, “Let me touch you. I want to please you.”

“Then do as you are told, insolent childe.” Angelus’ anger was present and all too real. “You presume that I want your touch.”

With a smirk, she glanced at the obvious proof of his arousal. Angelus ran his hand down from the wall of his chest and across the tight muscles of his abdomen to take his own tumescence in hand, the other curling under to brush the heavy sac beneath.

“Do you think I need you to take care of this?” Angelus began to stroke his erection with lightly curled fingers running from base to tip.

Pulling against her bonds only seemed to tighten the belt around her wrists. Cordelia tried to free herself, but the bed frame was made of metal. She wriggled and tugged, but it was useless. Angelus had her exactly where he wanted her. Bound and beneath him.

Cordelia was at war with herself. The part of her that possessed the memories of the human Cordelia Chase wanted to scream at this forced position. Yet the demon wanted to submit to its sire, needed to prove to him that she could be what he wanted. The childe needed to be claimed.

Settling down, Cordelia relaxed her arms beside her head on the pillow. Closing her eyes, she waited for Angelus to react, to speak, to respond in some way that acknowledged she was doing the right thing. He moved off of her, but Cordelia felt him shift beside her on the mattress. Her eyes were still closed when his first touch came.

Starting at the crown of her forehead, Angelus trailed his index finger across her profile. Down the slope of her nose, over her plush lips, under her chin to her throat and on down. The sensations started out as a light caress, but seemed to grow in intensity. His path never wavered from its straight course, passing her breastbone along the softer flesh of her upper abdomen.

Cordelia gasped aloud as the finger dipped into her navel before trailing lower over the gentle curve of her belly. Drawing in an unneeded breath, she held it forcing herself to keep her eyes closed as the finger maneuvered in the curls below before edging up to the swollen nub at the apex of her sex.

Her thighs parted slightly, automatically granting Angelus access, but the finger that came so close to her pleasure center suddenly reversed its course. A whimper sounded from her throat as anticipation turned to sudden loss as the teasing finger continued to tantalize her senses.

Cordelia waited until the upward path ended back at its starting point. Turning her head, she opened her eyes to see Angelus watching her with an evil glint and that one-sided smirk that made him even more appealing.

“You want something?” Angelus queried looking completely relaxed despite his raging erection.

“Kiss me,” Cordelia leaned over as far as she could twist in his direction. He was asking, so she was certainly gonna tell. “I want your mouth on mine.”

Cupping her face, Angelus hovered over her mouth before pressing his lips against her cheek. He continued to brush his lips and press kisses over her face, ears and under her chin. Everywhere except her mouth.

Leaning over her, he realized Cordelia was trying to hold back her protests, but they were edging close to the surface. “You have such a lush mouth. Such sharp little fangs. Do you want to bite me, Cordelia? Do you want your sire’s blood?”

There was a purr in her voice as she answered, “Oh, yes.”

Lifting her head, Cordelia opened her mouth, but Angelus was just out of reach. “Not yet. I’m not done kissing you.”

Angelus spent several minutes adorning her neck with innumerable kisses of every kind. The sensitive flesh there and the touch of his lips were driving her wild with her growing need. His hands were on the bed and did not move to touch her; there was just the sensation of his lips and tongue working their way across her skin— until he reached her breasts.

One hand curled around her right breast, his thumb brushing against the nipple as his lips moved lightly across the mound. Cordelia pulled against her bonds, arching her back upward to get closer to the flicking tongue. Then she cried out in painful pleasure as his fangs nipped at the upper curve of her areola drawing blood.

Lapping at the blood, Angelus painted her nipple with his tongue and then licked it away.

“Angelus— sire, I want you inside me,” Cordelia urged him to stop his teasing. He simply moved over to the other breast plying it with the same attention except that instead of biting, he blew cool air over her wet nipple. “Stop that! Just do it. Take me. Bite me. Just give me what I want.”

Chuckling, Angelus reminded her, “This isn’t about what you want. Once you understand that fact, we’ll see if I’m interested in giving it to you.”

Then he was back at his task again, this time lapping at her navel twirling his tongue in circles around it and covering it with its flat surface. Cordelia could feel the moisture pooling between her thighs just at this contact alone. There seemed to be something so mind-numbing about that spot.

Between her thighs, he blew air on her curls and parted her folds to gather the moisture there with his fingers. Cordelia shuddered at his touch, her hips rolling against his long thick fingers. Then the fingers were gone and Cordelia’s eyes snapped open to see Angelus sucking them into his mouth licking away her sticky fluids.

This time his mouth came down directly tasting more, his tongue teasing her clitoris and then dipping inside. Cordelia was so aroused that she was close to climaxing. Angelus sensed this, lifting his head away. “What do you have to say, Cordelia?”

Glaring at him obstinately, “Shut up and finish what you started!”

Angelus bent down again, but turned his head and bit into her femoral artery. Cordelia cried out again with a mixture of pain and pleasure, but it was not enough to push her over the edge. Her sire drank down a few swallows before closing the wound.

Moving to her side, Angelus maneuvered Cordelia until she lay prone on the bed, her wrists now tight against the leather belt. Two fingers wandered down the length of her spine to circle the sun tattoo before inching along the bisecting line of her buttock, each one following the curve of a cheek until reaching the moist flesh below. There, both of his fingers dipped inside moving in and out and in and out.

Cordelia curled her legs up beneath her, thighs spread and her hips rotating to whatever rhythm Angelus would allow. He kept changing the tune, keeping her off balance and letting her come so close without letting it happen. Her cheek was pressed down onto the flat of the mattress and her eyes closed doing her best not to start begging for release.

“What do you have to say again?”

Tired of fighting it, Cordelia seemed to relax into the bed. “Whatever you want. Just do it. Whatever you want.”

Though Angelus released the belt binding her wrists, Cordelia did not move from her position. Her sire’s large hands followed the line of her spine to take hold of the curve of her hips. He thought of taking her from this position and watching her firm buttocks and sun tattoo while thrusting into her, but sensed within himself a sudden irritation that some of the fire had left her with this forced submission. The fact was that he wanted her, but not broken.

“Come up here, kitten. Turn around and let me see you,” Angelus kept a hand on her while she rose to her knees.

Cordelia’s eyes darted away from her sire despite the continued need burning within her.

Lifting her chin, Angelus had to order her to look at him. “Do you know what I want?”

“No,” the answer came out as a whisper of confusion.

“I want your touch and your kisses. I want you surrounding me. I want to keep tasting you. All of you.” Angelus’ fervent words brought the spark back to Cordelia’s eyes. Then he said, “I want to know what you want, tigress, because I plan on giving it to you for eternity.”

“Just you.”

Angelus was on his knees in front of her. He pulled Cordelia into his lap, lifting her up to let her sink onto his erect penis. Letting out a growl at the sensation of her tight core gripping him, the vampire pulled her down hard until he was completely imbedded. An answering cry of delight sounded from Cordelia’s throat. He filled her so full, stretched her so right.

Her arms came around his shoulders, her head resting in the crook of his neck as they rocked each other onto the threshold of oblivion where the only thing left was pleasure. At the last moment, Cordelia pulled up exposing her throat and Angelus complied with her needs by sinking his fangs into the very mark he left behind when she was human.

As her orgasm came, Angelus lifted his fangs and brought her to his own throat. “Do it, baby. Take what you want.”

Cordelia bit down hard sinking her fangs into her sire’s throat, the sensation of that action alone sending multi-orgasmic shudders through her body. Angelus cried out with his own climax pumping into her. Then blood welled onto Cordelia’s lips, splashing onto her tongue and the back of her throat. Sire’s blood. Potent. Powerful. She lapped and sucked at Angelus’ neck until it gave her a head rush.

Pulling back to meet her sire’s gaze, Cordelia’s mouth was covered in blood. “Still a messy eater, I see,” Angelus grinned and started to kiss away his own blood from her face.

They fell back on the bed entwined in each other’s arms, both eager to explore something new.

“Daddy is ignoring us, Miss Edith,” Drusilla pouted. “He’s been in the bedroom for an entire day without coming to play.”

Spike was having tea with Drusilla and her doll to pass the time. Anything to keep Dru under control. She had attempted to interrupt her sire and the cheerleader twice with Spike barely managing to stop her. He knew that Angelus would not be pleased at the intrusion.

“It’s no different than when Angelus turned you or you turned me, luv,” Spike told her. “At first it’s all about feeding and fucking.”

With a gasp, Drusilla leaned over to cover the doll’s ears. “Don’t say that naughty word in front of Miss Edith. My Angel will tire of sister soon enough.”

“Don’t count on it, my black beauty. That girl is a feisty one. Angelus may tire of her— in a century or two.”

Drusilla leaned in close to whisper, “But we can play, my Spike. Can’t we?”

NEXT CHAPTER:   Chapter 2