title: You're No Mr. Smith

chapter title: December 27

author: sentbyfools

chapter summary: The end is more of a beginning than anything.

a/n: This is the final chapter. Thanks for sticking with me for so long (3 years is a long time, isn't it?). The sequel is in the works but I probably won't start posting for a little while as I need to focus on a couple of my other unfinished stories. Feel free to leave any questions on this chapter in the reviews, and I'll make sure they get answered in the sequel.

Thank you to everyone who has followed this fic for the past three years and to everyone who's ever read or reviewed.

Dec. 27

He grinned at her brightly. He was really pale, she noticed, but she stopped the train of thought before it started. She didn't need to think of Angelus in that light. Post Parker, she had sworn off Angelus. Being around him was making her off her game, and she didn't need that. Not in this business. She could always stop; she was on a break after all, but she loved her job. Stopping altogether didn't sit well with her.

"Done over-thinking this?" Angelus asked from behind her. She could hear the grin in his voice.

'I wasn't thinking about you,' was her snap reaction. She held her tongue though. She wasn't in the mood to start that with him. Having him there was already giving her a headache.

The anxiety she tried to ignore.

"Nice place," he said, whistling as he circled the room with his gaze.

"Thank you. Now don't bother me. I have things to do," she replied as if he might listen. Angelus didn't react well to orders though so she wasn't surprised when he sidled up beside her and wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulders.

"I missed you, Buffy. Did you miss me?" he murmured into her neck as he started to kiss along it. She moaned softly, trying not to get lost in the sensation of his cool lips against her sensitive skin. It wasn't really working.

"Not really," she replied. She blanched at how needy and breathless she sounded and that gave her the strength she needed to push him away. She wasn't ready for this, for him. Why had he come? Why had he come?

Frustrated at him and herself, she turned away from him to avoid meeting his questioning gaze. She could feel him behind her even though they weren't touching; his presence was suffocating.

"What happened to you?" he asked. His tone was quiet, controlled. She didn't turn around, but it did give her pause, both the tone and the question.

"You first," she shot back at him. She didn't need him to psychoanalyze her. She had been doing that enough for the past two weeks.

"I asked you first though," he pointed out.

"Oh, yes, but I care more about you than what happened to me," she said, rolling her eyes along with the sarcastic response.

He chuckled. "How selfless of you."

"Not really," Buffy said. It was the truth. The longer she could avoid talking about her, the better.

There was a long silence, and finally something in Buffy gave, and she turned around. He was studying her carefully, but not in his usual manner. His gaze wasn't objectifying her. She wasn't sure she liked this new turn of events.

"Why do you care?" she asked, voice strained.

"You're the best," he said, a non-sequitur. He took a step towards her. He made his approach clear, careful in his movements. Like she was a frightened animal, backed into a corner. Maybe she was.

"I'm better than most."

Her voice was so small that she was surprised it came from her. She hadn't sounded so vulnerable in years, longer than she could even remember. Never show your enemy your weakness. Somehow along the way, she had stopped considering Angelus the enemy.

Angelus was centimeters away from her. She had to incline her head to look him in the eyes as she said," That's the thing. I don't think I am."

She wasn't sure who ever said the truth will set you free. It just made her feel more trapped beneath the weight of her uncertainty.

Angelus frowned at her and took her face in his hands, forcing her to keep their eye contact. "Fuck Parker Abrams. He's dead and you're not. You're better than this, lover."

There were a billion questions ─ how did you know, where were you, why did you even ask, what are we even doing ─ but Buffy ignored them all in favour of closing the distance and kissing Angelus. Whatever else he was, he made her feel good. Buffy needed to feel good in that moment. She was tired of feeling awful. If he thought she was the best, then she was. That she had even let Parker make her question that baffled her then, but she refused to berate herself. She much preferred to not regret and focus on kissing Angelus instead.

She bit at his lower lip gently, and then released it as she slid her tongue into his mouth. They dueled for long moments until finally Buffy had to pull away to breathe. She panted against his lips, and he did the same.

"Don't stop kissing me," Buffy said when she had caught her breath. She caught his gaze in hers.

"Bossy," Angelus chided. His eyes grew dark and almost golden for a moment, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. His expression lightened and his lips fell into a grin. "But I'm happy to oblige."

He captured her lips in his own and Buffy gave in to the significantly rougher kiss. He bit her deeply and sucked on the open wound. It stung, but Buffy regained control quickly and returned the bite, blood flowing freely from both their wounds. He groaned against her lips and then continued his rough assault of her mouth. Her lips felt bruised as he pressed against them.

While his tongue invaded her mouth, his hands were moving up her sides and tugging her shirt out of her jeans. She let him, wanting to feel his talented hands against her skin. She began backing him up towards the front bedroom. Their heated touches were only leading towards one thing; Buffy much preferred fucking in a bed than on her floor although she wouldn't say no to the kitchen table.

He pulled away from her and stopped her in her steps. Pressing his forehead against her sweaty one, he said as he slipped his hands beneath her shirt, "Not going to put up a fight this time?"

"I'm on a break," she said by way of explanation. Plus, she really wasn't in the mood for fighting him. She was too horny for that. Beating the crap out of him would take longer than she had the patience for.

He chuckled and began stroking his hands against her stomach. His hands were cold. Buffy didn't mind though. Her skin was hot enough that they warmed quickly.

"Continue this in the bedroom," she said. She removed herself from his grasp and walked into her room. She began unbuttoning her shirt as she did so, sure that he would follow.

She was right. By the time she finished unbuttoning her shirt, Angelus was behind her and she had reached the bed. He slid her shirt off her shoulders slowly and pressed his hips against her ass. His erection pressed against her and the feeling of his arousal turned her on more. She pushed back against him, eliciting another groan from him and then reached behind her and between their bodies to unsnap her bra.

She twisted until she was facing him.

"Please," she said, and even though she didn't say anything else, he knew exactly what she wanted.

"God, your tits are beautiful," he said as he pressed her down on the bed until she was leaning back on her elbows and he was pressed in between her legs, his covered erection digging into the crotch of her jeans.

"Take off your shirt," she said. "I want to touch you."

"Of course," he said, and pulled the thin t-shirt up and over his head.

"You're being unusually compliant," she said, giving him a suspicious look.

"I'm really not interested in fighting today. Are you? Besides, if I wanted to kick your ass, I wouldn't wait until you were so defenseless. I like you on your A game; it makes the win that much sweeter."

"Defenseless?" she said, her tone challenging. With one swift moment, she switched their positions so that he was laying on his back across the bed and she was straddling him. "I am in no way defenseless. You on the other hand..."

For a moment, she did consider fighting him, the critique in his words cutting too close to home. The knife strapped to her ankle was within easy reach as were the two beneath her pillow; carving into his skin would be all too easy. When he thrust his hips against hers though, she pushed that thought aside. She wanted this more than she craved the heat of battle.

Leaning down she kissed his chest. She sucked on the skin until his chest was littered with red hickeys. She dug her nails into his sides, leaving bloody swaths on the skin. He didn't seem to mind though. It wasn't long before he lifted her forward so that she was straddling his chest instead of his hips. He began to undo the belt of her jeans, and Buffy was all too happy to help him.

She shimmied out of them, removed the knife from her ankle, and then returned to her position in his lap. She grinded against him and enjoyed the way he watched her as she did so.

"You're gorgeous, Buffy," he said, reaching up to run his fingers through her hair. It was probably a mess; she hadn't bothered to brush it all that day. She didn't think she would have company out here with how remote her location was. Well, at least not so soon. She was prepared for them, of course. If she wanted to survive, Buffy needed to be. Buffy wanted more than survival though; she wanted to live, so she kept her weapons well stocked, her body well toned, and her ears and eyes open to any and all threats.

"I know," she quipped back at him, returning her mind to the current situation. Her mind went, unbidden, to the thought of the situation in her pants ─ she blamed Xander ─ and she started to giggle uncontrollably. She touched a hand to Angelus' chest to steady herself as the laughter overtook her.

"What are you laughing at?" Angelus asked, but Buffy's laughter had already stopped. Underneath her hand there was no movement, no heart beating in his chest. She leaned down, touching her ear to his chest instead. A minute passed. He was breathing, she could see that clearly, but there was no reaction within him.

"Your heart isn't beating," Buffy said, her ear still pressed to his chest. "Why isn't your heart beating?"

Buffy has never been on the verge of hysteria at any point in her life, but she was coming close to feeling it now. Hearts are supposed to beat; there's no if, ands, or buts about it. Hearts are supposed to beat.

"About that..."

Buffy tore herself away from him then, arousal dissipating into nothing. She sat beside him on the bed, but she wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked.

"Well, remember Gwen?" he said, turning to look at her.

She met his gaze with barely contained anger. "How could I forget Electric Hands? The bitch tried to fry me."

"Well, I did my research, found out she was working for the Initiative," he continued.

"That's what you were up to when we were in Antigua. Gathering information on the Initiative," Buffy said.

"Yeah, which turned out to be a bust when they killed my best source. Fuckers," he said bitterly.

"Sorry," she said, truly apologetic. She knew how hard it was to find a good source. "But you found them anyway, obviously."

"Yeah, and by that time, they'd moved on from psycho mutants who can manipulate electricity and onto bigger and better things."

He paused and cracked his neck before he continued, "They were making vampires."

"Vampires," Buffy repeated as if that would lead to a new understanding of the situation.

"Vampires," Angelus echoed with a tight smile.

Buffy was starting to grow cold. She focused on that. She stood up and walked over to her armoire. She could feel Angelus' eyes on her and it made her feel like prey. It was nothing unusual, so she ignored it. Buffy pulled out a t-shirt large enough to cover her down to her thighs and threw it over her head.

When she was feeling a little more comfortable, she decided it was time to address the whole vampire thing. Keeping a safe distance away from Angelus and a close distance to her weapon's collection, she sat down in the chair next to the closet instead of beside him on the bed.

He gave her a disappointed look, but when she said, "Tell me everything," he did.

Jealousy and anger didn't really cover how Buffy felt about the whole Darla and Drusilla issue, and the fact that she felt those emotions at all was worrisome. Did she like Angelus? That wouldn't do at all. She gave him a disparaging look, and then she pushed her feelings away in favour of the bigger picture: the whole vampire assassins intent on killing everyone in their path.

"So, what are you going to do about them?" she asked curiously. On the one hand, she really wanted to know his plans, on the other, she wanted to know whether it was worth keeping him alive.

"I'm going to kill them," he said with a wave of his hand like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There's only room for one psychotic vampire assassin."

Buffy grinned at him, feeling oddly elated by his vow to kill his exes turned vampires. "I'm liking this newfound honesty."

"Newfound? Lover, when have I ever been dishonest?"

She didn't even acknowledge his question with a look. "How are you going to do that? And what about Nabitt?"

He shrugged. "I'll figure it out when it comes to that. And he's a dead man just as soon as I figure out where he is. For now, I'm exhausted. Care to join me in bed?"

She stared at him a moment, considering. He was dead, or well, to be more correct he was undead. He should be rotting in the ground right now, but instead Angelus was walking and talking and acting like his usual self except for the whole not breathing thing. Killing him would be the simplest thing to do in this situation, but Buffy reveled in the not simple.

She stood up from the chair and slowly walked towards where he was lounging on the bed. Carefully, she straddled him.

"Are you too tired for this?" she said. "That's disappointing."

His hands ran up her sides and slid the shirt up and over her head quickly. "I'm never too tired to fuck, Buffy. What kind of man do you take me for?"

"A vampire."

He laughed as he shifted their positions so that he was on top, kneeling between her legs, and she was lying beneath him. "That's true. But I'm pretty sure that's all vampires do. Fuck."

"And kill," Buffy pointed out as he began to remove his pants. She pushed her fingers under the waistband of her panties and began to finger herself. Heat began to pool inside her, and she moaned softly, closing her eyes as the waves of pleasure began to grow inside of her.

"Also, true. How is that any different from me normally?" Angelus replied. When she opened her eyes again, he was totally nude.

"I never said it was different," she said, "But the whole blood drinking thing is new, I hope."

He grasped her by the forearm and pulled her hand away from herself. She moaned at the loss of touch and pouted at him.

She was about to reprimand him when he responded, "And if I said it wasn't."

Reprimand forgotten, she said, "Well, that takes kinky to a whole new level."

"Wanna see my fangs?" he asked.

She laughed. "Was that supposed to be a come on?"

He pressed against her, grinding his length against the wetness layer of fabric separating them. "Not really."

She inclined her head at him and pressed her wet fingers to his cheek. Leaning on one arm above her, he pulled her hand away from his cheek and slid them into his mouth. He sucked on each wet finger. The action turned Buffy on all the more.

With a husky tone, Buffy said, "Show me."

It happened in a flash. One moment, Angelus looked like Angelus, the next moment his face was mask of bumpy skin, eyes golden, and fangs digging into the skin of Buffy's fingers.

She loved it.

She pulled her hand from his mouth, scraping her finger deliberately against his fangs. It stung, but it had the effect she wanted. Before she could pull her hand to herself, he had grabbed it up again. Buffy moaned as he sucked on the open wound.

When he pulled away from her, he said, "You like that, don't you?"

"Mmhmm," she said, nodding. She was biting on her lower lip, worrying it with her teeth. She was so close to coming. She wondered if he could tell.

"Kinky girl," he murmured.

"Mmhmm," Buffy said again in confirmation.

"Want me to fuck you?" he asked her. He pushed his cock against the fabric of her panties, and she groaned, wanting to feel him inside her.

"Yes," she said, releasing her lip. "Gods yes."

He tore the panties from her and before she could comment on the destruction of yet another piece of her clothing by him, he was inside her. All thought left her except for the feeling of his cock thrusting in her.

She'd forgotten how good it felt having him inside of her. He was the only guy that had ever made her feel so full, so complete and it was amazing. She pushed her hips up to meet his thrusts, pushing him even deeper inside of her. At this rate, she wasn't going to last at all, and she didn't mind it. She just wanted to come again and again.

"This is so good," she said.

"Yes, it most definitely is," Angelus replied, pushing his hips into hers harder. He shifted her legs so that her knees were pushed up towards her chest. When he thrust again, it was deeper than before. Buffy moaned at the extra contact. She was going to be sore after this, but for now she was going to enjoy the feeling.

"This is better, isn't it?" Angelus' tone was demanding.

"If I said no?" she asked.

He stopped moving so suddenly that Buffy felt whiplash. "Well I could always leave." He started to pull away from her, but Buffy grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't be a dick. I was just playing with you," she replied, feeling kind of desperate and hating it, but fuck, she needed to come.

"I want to hear you say it," he said. He grinned at her as he continued, "My ego demands it."

"Your ego is stupid," Buffy said. She wrapped her hands around his neck so that he was forced downward. When he was within kissing distance, she kissed him softly and said against his lips, "Much better."

He moved out of her grasp then and resumed fucking her. She wasn't lying when she said it was much better. She was getting closer and closer to her orgasm. Angelus was holding one of her hips to keep her steady as his movements became more violent.

"Fuck," she said, "Please."

His teeth were in her neck before she could react. She moaned as he began to draw blood from her, and exploded as she came. His thrusts slowed as he sucked on the punctured skin, biting her harder as he followed her into orgasm. When Buffy began to feel a little dizzy, she pushed against him lightly with her arm.

He released her, and pulled away to reveal a blood covered vampiric face. When he leaned back down, Buffy thought he was going to bite her again, but he simply licked along her bite wound. Her skin was so sensitive that she felt herself coming yet again with him still inside of her. When her second orgasm faded away, he pulled out of her.

She closed her legs slowly, feeling weak, and said dazedly, "You're covered in my blood."

"Mmhmm," he said, licking his lips. "You taste delicious, Buff."

"Well, I'm so very happy to be such a good meal," she said. She wasn't really angry, but she didn't like having things forced upon her without her permission. It felt like a loss of control and Buffy was almost as controlling as Angelus.

"Sorry about that, couldn't help myself. Do you know how you smell when you're in the heat of orgasm?" he said, shifting his face back to normal as he spoke. He looked handsome covered in her blood, an image of darkness. It was stunning.

"How do I smell?" she asked with curiosity. Feeling was coming back to her but she still felt a little dizzy.

"Like everything I've ever wanted," he replied.

The words made Buffy feel weird as does the matter of fact way he said them. It made her feel good in a way that she didn't quite understand.

Weird.

"I think you took too much blood. I feel really tired."

"I think that was the sex, lover," he said smiling at her. He was still kneeling between her legs, and he took that moment to lie down beside her.

"That might be it too," she agreed. She turned into him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"I'm sleepy," she said.

"Go to sleep," he replied, and she acquiesced, falling asleep in his warm embrace.

They slept for hours and Buffy awoke to the feeling of another body pressed against her. She calmed the near freak out she had quickly, running through the events of yesterday. She touched her hand to the bite mark on her neck. The skin was raised and bumpy and she remembered with clarity the feeling of Angelus' teeth piercing her skin.

Buffy slid out from underneath the sheets and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Reaching into her bedside table, she pulled out the vial of holy water there. She also pulled out one of her many knives. Dousing the knife in the holy water, she returned to the bed.

She stared at Angelus for long moments before she moved closer to him. Buffy couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep now that the tell-tale rise and fall of his chest was gone. She traced the knife gently around the curves of face, careful not to cut him.

After a minute had passed of this, Angelus said without opening his eyes, "You can take the knife away, you know. I promise not to eat you."

Now that he was awake, the rise and fall was back. Buffy wondered how long it would take for him to get used to not breathing or whether he had already and he was just mimicking the need to breathe to placate her.

"I know," she said, removing the knife from his face. "I just wanted to see if the legends were true."

Angelus opened his eyes then. He opened his mouth to say something and then seemed to change his mind. After a moment, he raised a brow at her and said, "The legends?"

"Allergy to holy water," Buffy said.

His mouth fell into a grin and he said, "You own holy water?"

"It was a whim," she replied almost defensively.

Angelus stared at her, a considering look on his face, and then said, "Come on then. Let's find out."

She scraped the knife across his skin lightly, not breaking it. When nothing happened, she stabbed it through his skin. She already knew that he had super healing, so it wouldn't really bother him. The pained look on his face was oddly satisfying though.

"You're enjoying my pain," he said.

"Just a little," she said, "A teeny, tiny bit."

He made a rumbling noise, almost a laugh. "Your disregard for my well being is endearing."

"I don't think holy water effects me," he continued, "Maybe you should try just pouring it on me."

"Good idea," she said and reached back into her bedside table for the vial. She poured it drop by drop on his skin. Nothing happened.

"So I guess crosses won't have any effect either," Buffy said. "Well that's good, right? You can still kill a priest."

"Or a nun or two," Angelus replied. There was a lazy grin on his face, and Buffy couldn't help but smile back.

"You're warm after you feed, right?" she asked. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"My Buffy, always so smart."

She narrowed her eyes at him, slicing the knife into his skin just to watch it heal over. "That sounded like sarcasm."

"It wasn't," he said with a serious expression.

"Whatever," she said, hand-waving it away. "Anything else I should know about?"

"I haven't tested everything yet," he said.

A thought occurred to her. "Do you still go to the bathroom? Can you eat real food?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, an amused expression on his face. "I haven't needed to actually use the bathroom since the change. And I haven't tried eating anything besides people yet so -"

Buffy saw what he was getting at. "Perhaps we should try that out."

"You've already seen the kitchen. Unlike you, I need to go to the bathroom, and I'd like to shower so can you try making something? Can you even cook?"

"I have a lot of skills you don't know about, lover," he said. "I'll whip something up."

"Good, because I'm starving," she said. She tried to stand but Angelus grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against him.

"Really? I'm hungry too," he said, the arousal in his voice unmistakable.

"Yeah, no. I really need to pee," she said and untangled herself from his embrace. He pouted at her, but she ignored him and disappeared into the bathroom.

When she finished showering and freshening up, she exited in just a t-shirt and panties. She planned on spending the day in bed, so dressing would just be a pointless endeavour.

She could smell something good cooking so she supposed that Angelus really did have a hidden cooking skill. She walked towards the kitchen, drying her hair with a towel as she did so.

"It's almost ready," Angelus said when she entered. He was standing before the stove, frying something. Buffy only really learned how to cook out of necessity so she made really simple meals. Whatever Angelus was cooking looked complicated and she couldn't figure out how he managed to do that from the few ingredients she had in her fridge.

"It smells good."

For a long time they stood there in silence. Buffy was a little weirded out by the domesticity of the moment. After months of just meeting up to fuck and fight, waking up in the afternoon to a meal made by Angelus was just not normal. Well, at least not their kind of normal.

"Are you eating?" she asked him.

He turned his head to look at her. "I'll try. My food is always delicious; I'd love to be able to eat it."

"Modesty suits you," she quipped.

He laughed and said, "Grab a plate. Food's done."

They ate in relative silence. Angelus had made something with the leftover chicken and eggs she had in the fridge. Angelus didn't have to be modest about his cooking skills; it was delicious.

By the time she was finished eating, she had decided they needed to address their situation.

"What are we doing here?" she asked him as she was putting her plate in the sink.

"I believe we were eating."

She turned to glare at him. "You know what I meant."

"I do. I just like winding you up," he replied with a smile. "What do you want to be doing?"

"I don't know. You're no Mr. Smith," Buffy said. She seemed to have finished there and Angelus sighed disappointedly but then she said, "But I sort of like you anyway. Besides, we make a great team."

"Do we now?" he said, but it wasn't really a question. He grabbed Buffy around the waist and pulled her towards him. Pressing his face into soft skin on her neck where he had bitten her, he murmured, "I sort of like you too. I think it's the sex."

"We have great sex," Buffy agreed, voice breathy as Angelus started to kiss and suck along the bite mark.

When he took a moment to pull away, he said, "Perhaps we should do that now?" It also wasn't a question as he was already sliding his hands under her t-shirt and pulling her panties to the side. He moved his fingers through the curly hairs of her sex and lower until his thumb was rubbing against her clit.

"Okay," she said, "Okay."

"That's what I like to hear," he replied as he stroked along her nether lips before pushing his way inside. She was already wet so the finger slid in easily.

"God, you are always so wet for me," he said. With his free hand he tore her panties off, giving him full access to her. "I really don't know why you bother putting these things back on. I'm going to keep ripping them off you until you learn."

"Oh, stop talking and put your mouth to good use," she said, tugging at him until he released her with a laugh. He kneeled down and continued thrusting into her with his finger, adding another one when she nudged him.

"Aren't you scared I could hurt you?" Angelus asked. "Your femoral artery is right here."

With the finger of his free hand he stroked along it. "I could tear into you right now, suck the blood right out of you."

"Try it and see if I don't stake your ass," Buffy said coldly despite their intimate position and the way her body felt like it was on fire with every thrust of his fingers.

"I love it when you talk dirty." Angelus grinned and then removed his fingers and, throwing one of her legs over his shoulder, replaced them with his mouth.

Buffy couldn't find the energy to respond to his quip because she was too occupied with trying not to fall to her knees. His tongue was probing her delicately, the touch so light that all it did was make her crave more. He was keeping her on the brink purposely, she knew, and she didn't like it. She just wanted to come.

"Angelus," she said, and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him away from her. When she looked down at him, his eyes were glowing dangerously. It didn't faze her.

"I'm really not in the mood for teasing," she said. "Like not at all."

"Okay," he said simply, and she released her grip on his hair. When he returned his mouth to her quim, this time he licked her almost hungrily, his tongue thrusting in and out of her and swiping along her clit in carefully calculated motions. Buffy's hands soon returned to his hair, using him for support.

"Fuck," she cursed, voice barely above a whisper, and then repeated it louder as her orgasm tore through her. Angelus continued to lick her throughout it until finally her grip on his hair loosened and he was able to pull away.

"You're lucky I didn't need to come up for breath, lover. You've got a grip like a vise," he said. He rubbed his head where she had pulled at his hair, and she giggled, amused by the mess her grasp caused.

"This is funny to you?" he said, coming to a stand.

"Definitely," she replied and leaned into to kiss him. She could taste herself on his lips. She licked at the inside of his mouth hungrily, not protesting when he lifted her up on the table. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer and dug her fingers into his sides. His sweats came off quickly and soon his cock was rubbing against her clit. He was teasing her, and she hated it.

She stopped the kiss and licked her palm slowly. Angelus watched her entranced. When it was wet enough, she grasped his cock, rubbing up and down the thick shaft. He groaned and tried to push her hand away, but she was teaching him a lesson.

She rubbed the head of cock lightly with her finger, teasing the leaking slit. She switched hand then, and licked the precum off her finger. Angelus was watching her with eyes that were turning golden at the edges. She was getting to him ─ good. That was the point of this exercise.

That, and she enjoyed it.

He tried thrusting into her hand, but she stilled him with the other by gripping his waist. He glared at her angrily, but that faded under the motions of her hand. She kept stroking him until he was unable to hide his need, and that is when she finally released his cock.

"No more teasing?" she said.

"No more teasing. Fuck, let me just -"

Buffy gasped when he finally entered her. She'd been aching inside since the moment his finger had first thrust into her and she knew that only his cock could satisfy that ache. She wrapped her legs around Angelus tightly so that he couldn't pull away and slung her arms around his neck so that she could kiss him. She felt him vamp out before she saw it, his fangs burying themselves in her tongue. She let him bite her, loving the mix of the pain and the pleasure.

When Buffy had to release him for air, she panted against his lips in time with his thrusting motions. He was speeding up, but she wasn't close enough, not yet.

"Wait," she said, "I need -"

"I know," he replied darkly. His arms were wrapped around her midriff. Using one hand to hold her against him, he snaked the other one between their bodies, brushing her clit with his finger. The combination of his cock inside of her and his finger against her clit sent waves of pleasure through her, but it still wasn't enough. Her teasing had pushed him too far and he was going to come before she had the chance to.

"I can't," she said, frustrated.

His eyes glowed fully yellow then and as he pushed into her, his teeth buried themselves in her neck. It was exactly what Buffy needed to push her over the edge. Angelus' hips pressed into hers as he joined her in orgasm.

When they disentangled themselves and came to a stand beside the table, Angelus said, "You're beautiful when you come."

"You're serious," she says. She continued with a dismissive wave of his hand, "That's ridiculous."

"You're beautiful all the time," he said.

"Really, you need to stop," Buffy said, feeling weirded out. "What is this a new vampire thing? You feel the need to torture me?"

"That, Buff, I'd feel the need to do anyway," he said, smirking, "But I think the vampire thing makes the feelings I have so much stronger and I want to share them."

"Oh," she said, understanding. She didn't blush except during stress and a good fight, but she felt the red flush growing on her skin.

"You're blushing," Angelus pointed out.

"Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't notice," she said, rubbing her face with her hands in a futile attempt to make the blush fade.

"No problem. I live to be of use," he said.

They stood there in silence until Angelus pulled her towards him, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"No more biting," Buffy said.

"Okay," he acquiesced. He nuzzled her neck softly, and then licked at the raised skin of his bite. It felt good, nice and warmer than anything Buffy had ever felt.

"When are you leaving?"

He laughed into her skin, the sound making her body rumble. "You want me gone so soon?"

"Do you want to be gone?"

"Are you trying to get me to say I want to stay? You can just ask right out Buffy? I'm feeling, what's the word, complacent right now. I promise not to lie," he said into her neck in between kisses he pressed to the skin.

She sighed. He wasn't going to make this easy and why did she think that he would?

"Do you want to stay?"

"For now. Until we're ready to leave," he replied.

She twisted in his arms so that she was facing him. "We?"

"Of course. What did you think this whole exercise was about? I came to you because I want you to come with me. Will you do that?"

She watched him steadily. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't look angry either. He had said it so matter of factly and his expression matched his tone. She couldn't tell if he was lying or playing with her or being truthful. All she could do is give him an answer. The question was whether she would say yes or no. Over the past few months of their fights and their fucks and their relationship if you could call it that, she had felt more alive than she ever had on her own. Even killing people hadn't been as exciting before. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes," she said because she could always say no later on if he began to bore her. She really hoped he didn't. She doubted that killing him would be as satisfying as this.

December 29

Darla tore into the throat of the man she had been fucking for hours, reveling in the taste of his blood on her tongue. He screamed until her teeth in his neck shut him up. In the corner, Drusilla sat, watching as the man's blood splattered against the bed sheets and the walls, painting a grotesque picture.

"When is daddy coming home?" Drusilla asked plaintively when Darla stood up and wrapped the blood drenched robe around her.

"Soon," Darla said, smiling. "Soon."