Part 3

Early the next morning Buffy snuck out of the house, climbed into her aged and temperamental car and headed off once more to Angelus' office. The only difference was that this time she wasn't being ordered by the big bastard to go there, this time she was going there to beg him for a favour and she was sure that his so-called help was going to cost her even more.

Before she knew it she was once again pulling up in front of the building which housed his offices. She quickly climbed out and headed for the entrance, hoping that he was there and that he would consent to see her, instead of tossing her butt out onto the sidewalk as a test of his ultimate power.

As she walked inside she noticed a stylish blond woman arguing with the security at the desk. Buffy was shocked at the open aggression the woman displayed in trying to get her way. Buffy made sure she stood well away from the woman and jumped when someone called out her name.

"Ms. Summers?"

It was the secretary at the security desk and Buffy wondered what she'd done wrong.

"Yes?" she answered cautiously.

"Mr. McKenna said to tell you that you are free to go up there without checking in here."

Speechless and shocked, Buffy thought she may have murmured thank you before moving towards the elevator bank. As she moved the blond woman grabbed her arm viciously.

"Ah, the new play thing," the woman said bitterly, her face contorting into an ugly scowl. "Don't get used to this sweetie, none of you last very long and I'll be waiting in the wings."

Buffy pulled her arm away from the woman just as one of Angelus' security guards grabbed her and went to remove her from the building. Still shaking from the altercation, Buff stood there for a moment until she had regained her outward composure and she simply continued onto the elevators.

As soon as she stepped into Angelus' office she came face to face with him. It was then she realized that someone downstairs had called him and told him what had occurred.

"I'm fine," she told him before he could say a word. "She didn't scare me away, so your precious little agreement stands."

Covering up his immense relief at her words, he simply walked away from her over to his desk. He sat down and stared at her until she moved towards him.

"Why are you here?" he asked her coolly. It was a coolness he didn't feel, he had been worried ever since the night before when he had called and found the phone disconnected. His imagination had taken off and he had imagined that she had come to her senses and ran away from him.

"I need a favour," she said quietly.

"What sort of favour?"

Buffy took a seat across from him and started, "My mom... she... uh..."

"Spit it out."

"She wants to meet you."

"She can meet me at the wedding," he replied.

Buffy sighed; she should've known he'd be a giant asshole over this. "That's not good enough."

"Sorry, but I am not here to pander to yours or your mother's emotional needs."

Buffy got pissed. The bastard had pushed her into marrying him quickly and now he didn't wanna deal with the fall-out. Buffy decided for once to do the mature thing and not call him every swear word she'd ever learned, instead she got up and went to walk out.

"Where do you think *you're* going?" Angelus yelled after her.

"Anywhere that's away from you," Buffy yelled back as she stepped into the elevator.

Angelus simply stared at the spot where she had been standing only seconds earlier and smiled. It seemed to him that she hadn't changed much since High School and he was pleased, it meant deep down she was still the girl that had captivated him all those years ago. There was also the added bonus of her passionate nature, if she was this passionate over their frequent fights, in public no less, then in the bedroom they would be unforgettable. Still smiling he returned to his work, all the time anticipating his next meeting with Buffy.

Buffy practically ran out of the building, cursing her stupidity for thinking that *he* might even lower himself enough to help. She climbed into the car and laid her head against the steering wheel, silently continuing to berate herself. Unsure of what to do or where to go, she probably would've stayed in the car park all day if she wasn't sure that *he* would eventually come out.

She slowly drove out of the parking lot and began to wonder where she should go. She really wanted to talk to Willow, but Willow had classes at UCS all day and she didn't relish the idea of traipsing all over campus and running into her ex-friends and/or her pesky ex-boyfriend.

So instead she chose to return home and sulk in her bedroom, over her situation and her soon-to-be partner in life, Angelus.

When she got there she grabbed the mail - all collection notices - and went inside. Settling herself down on the couch she attempted to flip on the TV, only to find the phone wasn't the only thing that had been disconnected, the power was off too. Sighing she headed up to her room and flopped down on the bed. Instead of rolling over and going to sleep as she longed to do, she forced herself to lay there and think.

She needed to find a way to stop Angelus from getting to her and making her lose her temper with him, but even she knew that her quest was in vain. He did get to her the way no one had ever been able to do and it confused her. As she lay there her eyes gently drifted closed and she fell into another fitful slumber, dreaming of the dark-haired devil.

It was nearly six when Angelus allowed himself to be pulled away from his work by Kathy. They were almost across the lobby when they were approached by an older woman.

"Mr. McKenna?" the woman asked.

"Yes. How may I help you?"

"I'm Joyce Summers," the woman told him.

Angelus smiled, incorrectly guessing that Buffy had sent her mother to see him. "Nice to..."

Joyce cut him off, "I want you to stay away from *my* daughter."

"Excuse me?' Angelus said not believing what he'd just heard.

"You heard me," Joyce said scowling at him. "Stay away from Buffy."

Angelus found his voice, "No."

"No," Joyce echoed in disbelief. "Why not? What could a sweet girl, like my Buffy have that would interest a man like *you*?"

Kathy spoke up in her brother's defence, "Angel loves Buffy. She's all he ever talks about."

Joyce turned her gaze onto the younger girl, "Who are you? His bit on the side."

"She's my sister," Angelus said tightly, very close to losing his temper.

"I doubt that would stop you."

Before Angelus could reply a guard came over. "Is everything okay, Mr. McKenna?"

"Fine," he replied. "Everything is fine." When the guard walked off he turned back to Joyce, his face a mask of pure rage. "Listen to me. I *am* going to marry your daughter, whether you like it or not and there is not a single thing you can do about it. And if you mess with *my* family, present or future, I will make your life a living Hell. Do you understand me?"

Joyce swallowed nervously, "I understand."

"Good," Angelus said grabbing Kathy's arm. "Have a pleasant evening Mrs. Summers."

He walked away dragging his younger sister behind him and leaving a shell-shocked Joyce standing in the middle of the lobby contemplating his words.

Almost exactly one week to the day of Angelus' and Joyce's confrontation, Buffy found herself standing at Angelus' side exchanging her wedding vows. The small, simple ceremony taking place within Angelus' garden  was far from the dream wedding she had imagined when she was younger, but then Angelus wasn't exactly the groom she'd envisioned either. At least she was thankful that he'd managed to keep the press away from the ceremony, if some stranger had started yelling at her and taking pictures... well, she just knew she would have completely lost it.

The past week had been a horrendous itself, between the legal formalities surrounding her father's debts, Dawn and Joyce's relentless bitching about Angelus and how he was just using her (like she hadn't figured that out) and playing the blushing bride who was cheerfully planning her nuptials she was teetering on the periphery of lunacy. The only reason she wasn't at this moment checking herself into 'Sunnydale Hills Home for the Mentally Ill' was because of Willow, whom had been forced to play the roles of best friend, confidant and amateur psychiatrist.

Buffy was suddenly jolted from her thoughts as she felt Angelus take hold of her hand and slide the cool metal of her gold wedding ring onto her finger. She hadn't even noticed how far along they were in the ceremony, surely she would've heard her mother or Dawn voice their obvious objections by now, but they had not  caused a fuss and was shocked to find her part was next. Almost without thinking the words flowed from her mouth, echoing those of the celebrant and then she slid an identical wedding band onto the hand of her tormentor.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Buffy had known this moment would come, the moment when she and Angelus would share their first kiss as husband and wife - their first kiss as anything actually. She experienced a moment of panic as his lips descended towards her own, but it was over almost as soon as it had begun. In a way it was like it had not even happened, it had been barely a touch and had left her feeling sadly deprived of something, of what she did not know. The only proof that she had that his lips had actually touched her's, was the fact that her's were still aflame from the fleeting exchange.

Like the blushing bride that she was supposed to be, she plastered on her newly perfected fake smile and the words of congratulations from the celebrant and the hug from her now sister-in-law.

Faced with the situation ahead she suddenly began to wish she could just wake up and realize this whole mess was a nightmare. She surveyed the guests and found exactly what she had suspected all along. Her mother and sister were glaring at Angelus, as if they could somehow mentally get him to confess he was using her or something.

Willow and Tara were standing by in support mode in case she should need a little (or a lot of) consoling. Lindsey McDonald stood in the back, drinking heavily. The only smiling face (at least genuine smiling face) was Kathy's, she actually seemed glad that Angelus was getting married - like it was real or something.

Instead of a reception, Angelus had arranged a buffet lunch for everyone; the food looked fantastic the only problem was that no one was actually hungry. The unfortunate side effect of this was that everyone was sat around trying to make polite conversation to stem the tides of antagonism and puzzlement scattering throughout the room.

Buffy was suddenly glad that this was not some mockery of her dream wedding or she knew that she would've been in tears by now. As it was she was she was sat in a chair next to her *husband* wondering what her mother and sister were up to and panicking over the time when the tension got too much and the guests left her alone with Angelus. A man she hardly knew and one who now had rights to her and her body, rights she had never given anyone before.

It was night time before the last of the guests, namely Willow and Tara, left. By the look on Willow's face, Buffy knew that they were departing only because Angelus had made it clear that they had outstayed their welcome. With one final supportive hug, Willow finally permitted Tara to drag her away from Buffy and towards their car.

As soon as he had closed the door on the couple, he moved closer to Buffy. Lightly he ran his fingers down her arm, "Since we have to get up early tomorrow, I think an early night is in order. Let's go to bed."

At the predatory look in her new husband's eyes, her apprehension increased significantly. She knew part of her wanted to just climb up those stairs and let him introduce her to the numerous of passions he so obviously knew, but the better part of her wanted to run and hide until he had forgotten she existed. Why on earth did she have to sign that damn contract and martyr herself for her family? Why hadn't she simply accepted what life had handed her and lived in squalor? She knew why, she wanted more for Dawnie than a life working at Happy Burger.

"Shouldn't we clean up first?" she asked nodding towards the exceedingly messy dining room.

Angelus just shook his head at her, "Buffy... we have servants to do that."

"Naturally," Buffy muttered sarcastically. "How about we watch some TV?"

Angelus simply stared at Buffy, confused as to why his new bride would rather watch the idiot box than go to bed with him.

"Why are you acting like some stupid, shy little virgin? It's our wedding night for fuck's sake!" Angelus snapped at her.

Buffy suddenly stared at him, her eyes flashing and her skin turning an angry red. "Maybe because I am a stupid, shy little virgin," she told him furiously. At the stunned look on his usually arrogant face, she continued to deride. "What? Did all your little investigators miss that juicy titbit? Sorry I'm not quite the whore you envisioned marrying."

With that she marched past him, up the stairs and towards the bedroom. All the time hoping that his conscious (if he had one) would keep him away for the night so she could deal. Unfortunately she had the feeling she hadn't seen the last of him.

A virgin. Angelus had not expected that, after all she was a beautiful, passionate young woman. However it wasn't a turnoff, in fact it had the opposite effect on him - he wanted her more than ever now. He slowly moved towards the bedroom, it was after all his wedding night and if his sweet, pure little bride had any thoughts about denying him... well, he'd simply change her mind.

When he entered the room he saw her sitting at the dressing table, brushing out her long blond hair and wearing the most hideous flannel 'granny gown' ever designed by man.

She sighed when she spotted him in the mirror, "Somehow I just knew that I hadn't seen the last of you tonight."

"Well... it is *our* wedding night."

Buffy stood up and moved a little towards him, "I guess I did agree to... uh... sleep with you."

Angelus looked at her, "I assure you, it won't be that bad."

"How do you know? Did you have you... uh... *friends* fill out review cards?" Buffy replied.

"No, but I haven't had a complaint yet," he told her laughing softly. "Don't worry love, I'll be gentle."

Before a word could be uttered, he was kissing her. He thanked the powers that be when Buffy didn't fight him; in fact she was to his surprise actively participating. He kept his hands moving, exploring her body through the hideous nightgown, trying to go slowly and not scare her, but finding it difficult to restrain himself - all he really wanted to do was toss her down on the king-sized bed and show her whom she belonged too.

He gently began to undo the buttons that graced the front of her gown and slowly removed the unsightly barrier from her body. He sucked in a deep breath when he caught sight of her; she was everything he had imagined and more. He realized he was embarrassing her when she tried to pull the gown back up to hide herself from his gaze and he simply removed her hands from the gown so it fell to the floor.

"Don't," he whispered.

She didn't reply or move and Angelus used the opening to kiss her once more and slowly manoeuvre her towards the bed. He lay her down on top of the silken duvet and hastily removed his clothing, shocking her into even more silence at the sight of his form. He soon lowered himself onto the top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows and allowing her to grow accustomed to the feel of his body next to hers... Shifting slightly he began laying kisses along her collar bone and downwards until he arrived at her breasts. He stopped momentarily to look at then, before grasping one perfect nipple with his mouth until he felt her begin to wither with need beneath him.

She was pushing him to the limits of his control with her movements, but he would not and could not rush her. This first time had to be pleasurable for her or she'd simply tolerate him from then on and he wanted a willing bed mate and not an icicle.

Angelus ran his hands down the length of her body, feeling what would soon belong exclusively to him. He also was relieved when he felt her heart rate escalate and her breath catch in her throat as her excitement mounted and nervousness waned. Meeting her eyes, he slipped his hand between her thighs causing her to gasp as he pushed her legs further apart.

Heat began to radiate more intensely from her skin, partly due to embarrassment and partly because she did like what he was doing to her. She stilled when she felt him touching her and slipping one of his fingers inside of her, he knew it was because no one had ever done this to her and he secretly rejoiced as he coaxed her body to comply. As soon as she relaxed he began to nudge against her with his erection and she once more tensed, as though her body knew there would be some pain involved despite the pleasurable feelings.

"It'll be okay," Angelus whispered to her.

As to prove it he began to gently manipulate her clit. As he felt the first rippling of Buffy's orgasm, he used it to break through her virginal barrier. He felt her tense beneath him as the pain became evident, but she soon began to relax as her body became used to his invasion.

After a few moments he began to move within her, slowly and gently at first. However it soon escalated into something quick and passionate, something that neither Angelus nor Buffy had ever expected. It wasn't very long before Angelus felt himself nearing completion and he once again stroked Buffy's clit causing her to come for a second time, but this time he joined her.

He rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms, neither of them speaking, both simply trying to catch their breath and make sense of what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" he managed to whisper a little while later.

"Yeah," she breathed back. She lay there in his arms for a few more minutes and then finally asked, "Was I okay?"

Instead of a reply, all she got was a snore and when she looked at him she found him asleep. Unsure of what she should do she simply lay there until sleep overtook her.