"I suggest you leave now." Riley sat up, challenging Angel. Angel's pained look turned to inhuman jealousy and rage in less than a second as he turned to Riley.
"I'm not leaving without her, now back off." Angel invaded his space, practically growling the words.
"Then you won't be leaving." Riley snapped.
"Hello?" Buffy snapped, agitated that they were talking about her as if she wasn't there. Several people started to stare now. Her outburst went ignored.
While Angel and Riley glared each other down, Buffy quickly grabbed Angel's arm and dragged him away before he caused Riley some serious damage. Once they were outside, Buffy felt everything let go.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Buffy yelled at Angel who was looking away from her.
"I don't know!" Angel snapped back. "I never know anymore. You make me crazy and I can't stand it! I can't stand what you do, I can't stand that you can't just be with me, I might be poor but I could give you more than million dollars could!"
Buffy looked away, ashamed at her need for stability and her fear of being poor. Her heart reached out for Angel, wanting to comfort him and kiss him but another part wanted to slap him.
She watched as Angel's shaking hands pulled out a pack of cigarettes, that look suspiciously like Spike's, and lit one. Buffy snatched it away before he could inhale and threw it on the ground.
"I'm sorry about what I need, Angel but...damnit, you can't just walk in when I'm with someone." She cried.
"Why? Does that lower the price?" Angel sneered, angry and hurt. He quickly drew another cigarette out and Buffy didn't stop him this time.
"You knew what would happen if you were with me, Angel. You know what I have to do. This is my job and it was my whole life. I knew nothing but this until I met you. Then..." Buffy sighed shaking her head, turning away from his so he couldn't see her tears.
"If you want to leave me, you are free to go, I'm not stopping you." Buffy forced out, closing her eyes tightly. She wrapped her arms around her, holding off the chill that only she could feel. Angel took a deep drag of his cancer stick before throwing on the ground and smashing it under his shoe. He stuck his hands deep in his pockets, his mind racing.
"I love you." He said softly, something forbidden, the answer to all of their arguments and questions. Buffy slowly turned and looked at him, stared at him.
"What?" She whispered so softly.
"Nothing." Angel quickly covered, hoping he didn't make a complete fool out of himself. "Forget I said anything."
Buffy swallowed hard, she couldn't count how many men that have said 'I love you,' to her. She seemed to shrug it off then but when Angel said it, it was something different. Something incredible that swarmed in her belly, spreading warmth throughout her whole body. Despite her tears and the heart wrenching conversation she smiled. Angel stared at her, his intense gaze reading every expression and movement, analyzing like a true artist. Her smile grew until it turned into a full teeth grin, she couldn't help it. A small giggle escaped and Angel half smiled despite himself.
He was totally in awe that his words could make this beautiful creature in front of him smile and laugh. He was totally and truly in love with her. When Buffy finally got her emotions and smiles under control, she tried to focus at the enormous problem at hand. She would probably do a Buffy Victory Dance when she was all alone later.
"So what happens now?" Buffy asked, she couldn't go back in there with Riley, not with Angel professing his love for her.
"How about, you come home with me tonight and I won't go crazy and try to beat up your clients." Angel held out his hand. Buffy knew that most their problems would not be solved tonight, no point in yelling in circles about the same thing over and over. She could enjoy the rest of her night with Angel and apologize to Riley later.
She slipped her small hand into his, Angel smiled at her, leading her over to his car.
*******
Part 11
Angel woke groggily, his limbs refused to move and his head felt too heavy for him to lift. A blond head was tucked neatly and perfectly under his chin, the smell of vanilla and strawberries being his air.
Buffy's lithe body wrapped around his, a leg thrown over his hip, and an arm wrapped around his side, she was as close as she could get without crawling inside of him. Angel didn't dare move, trying not to wake the image before him. He was filled to the brink with comfort and contentness. His fingers ached for lead so he could draw the beauty before him, flush from sleep.
Angel suddenly remembered the previous night's activities. They came to his apartment, talked, talked some more.
Then they had fallen onto the bed with one thing in mind.
Sleep, of course.
And what a night of sleep it had been. Angel had never slept so deeply in his life, dreams of Buffy danced in his head and to wake up with her actually next to him in flesh and blood, was more than he could ever ask for. He kissed the top of her golden head softly.
Angel reared his head back slightly, glancing at her face. A small smile dance across her lips and her beautiful eyes hidden by her calm eyelids. He couldn't suppress a kiss to her brow, another to her forehead, her nose, her lips.
His arms tightened around her, bringing her closer, if possible. She muttered something before burying her head in his shirt, clutching handfuls of the cloth in her tiny fist. Angel chuckled and he was sure that the sound rang in her ears, loud enough to wake her up.
She groaned and rubbed her cheek against his neck.
"Shut. Up." She growled. Angel smiled against the top of her head.
"You are not a morning person, are you?"
"I have no use for mornings except to sleep." Buffy muttered matter-of-factly.
"How about I make you some breakfast?" Angel asked, stroking her silky hair, loving the way it felt slipping through his fingers.
"So I'm left with no blanket?" Buffy whimpered, pulling at his shirt. Angel had to admit that it was absolutely freezing in his apartment, it was a crappy apartment in the bad side of town and the air conditioning for the building always go stuck. The place was too poor to buy another one.
Buffy's stomach growled loudly, ruining her argument. Angel chuckled, she was the only person that could make him laugh every minute.
"Fine, go make the eggs, damnit." Buffy playfully mocked anger and untangled herself from her boyfriend but didn't get out of bed. She grabbed the thin comforted at the foot of the bed and quickly pulled it on top of her.
"I feel like I'm in Alaska." She muttered from under the thin blanket. Angel grabbed the silk sheets from his closet, throwing them over her for more warmth.
"Yeah, this complex is the only place you have to open a window to chase away the air conditioning." Angel shrugged, trotting into the kitchen for some breakfast. He felt like he was walking on air, he could barely feel the cold. He was wrapped so tightly in the feeling of Buffy's warm flesh against him throughout the whole night, he wasn't sure he could ever feel cold again.
Angel quickly made from scrambled eggs, his grocery shopping couldn't really afford more than what was needed, so eggs it was. When the phone rang, Angel dove for it in case Buffy had fallen back asleep.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hey, you bloody bastard." An Irish accent hissed through the phone. Angel smirked.
"I've heard you got a new roommate."
"Thanks to you. I has always been a dream of mine to get to live in the same place with a chick from a porno but not the porno star from hell!" Doyle snapped.
"Oh come on, Cordy ain't that bad." Angel said halfheartedly, in defense of the old Cordelia.
"You should see my bathroom. There is not one inch on manliness left in it. All I see if make up and hair spray. And I swear to God, that if I see one more tampon then all hell is breaking loose!" Doyle yelled this time.
Angel laughed, this day was off to a great start.
"Oh my God! I have to go!" Buffy called in a rush from the bedroom, walking out quickly desperately trying to fix her bedhead hair.
Angel cursed, why did he always have to jinx himself?
"What?" Angel frowned, desperate for more time with her. The phrase 'she made his heart sing' was so corny but Angel knew that is what Buffy did to him.
"Faith and I always have lunch at the mall on Sunday's and it's already one o'clock. I have to be at my house in five minutes." Buffy searched wildly around the living room for her shoes.
"Can't you just skip it for today?" Angel grabbed her arm, pulling her tightly against him. Buffy's breath caught and her will was quickly evaporating, his body hard and warm against hers was more than she could stand.
"Uh..." Was Buffy's futile argument. Angel's lips pressed roughly against hers, the smiling and happy Angel was gone in a second replaced by a demanding possessive man. Buffy loved it. He urged her legs around his waist as he slammed her roughly against the wall. He ground their pelvises together with an urgency. His tongue forced it's way into her soft mouth, twisting with hers. His large hands grabbed at her ass, pressing her more tightly against him.
"Angel..." Buffy gasped at the delicious friction, her whole world spinning. The only thing she could feel was Angel, all around her, pressing her painfully against the wall.
He grunted in response, his lips sucking roughly on her neck. Buffy's eyes fluttered closed, a hand tangled in his hair, holding him to the sensitive part of her neck.
"I *really* have to go...Faith..." Buffy tried again, her heart pounding. Her voice didn't really agree with her body language, as she rocked her lower body against him, an aching need growing.
"Your not convincing me." Angel paused in his administrations against her neck, he need to breathe. He was feeling this incredible need growing, taking him over. He needed to get back in control but he couldn't. He could barely see straight. He could feel Buffy moving against him, the only barrier was their clothes. Angel gasped for breath as Buffy nibbled on his earlobe.
Angel's legs suddenly turned to jelly and they sunk to the floor. Angel quickly leaned over her, his large frame covering hers completely. Her fingers, icy from the temperature of the room, felt good over his skin and made him shiver. She quickly pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it away, admiring his hard chest. She ran her hands over the muscles of his stomach, delighted as they jumped beneath her fingertips. She smoothed her hands down his back, loving the feeling of his marble skin.
At first glance, Buffy knew that Angel hadn't lived in LA for long, his skin was too white, no tan. Even though he did now live in California, he still hasn't tanned a bit. Buffy wouldn't have liked it any other way.
"What?" Angel breathed, her wide eyes staring at him, soaking him into her.
"I love you." She whispered, the way Angel had some it before. Angel stared down at her, his love coursing through him. It had not gone missed by him that she hadn't said it back when he did last night, but to hear her say it was enough to make him fly. When did he get so corny?
Angel didn't answer but dipped his head down, his kiss now more demanding and urgent. He would die if he wasn't inside of her. His hurried hands rid her quickly of her shirt. He let her tongue explore his mouth, moving against his in a gentle rhythm that drove him mad.
"I need you." He whispered urgently. He pulled at her pants, stripping her down to her underwear and bra. She was beautiful, breath taking. There was no time to worship her perfect body now, he needed her. *Now.* He felt that he was going to go crazy if he wasn't inside of her. He ground his erection against her center, groaning, searching for relief. Buffy undid his slacks with shaky hands, it was stupid that a girl who was paid to sleep with men, felt like a virgin with Angel. Angel quickly pushed down his pants and boxers, tearing at her underwear with a bruising need. He couldn't wait, he needed her, more than he could ever say.
There was only one thing he could think of, to be inside Buffy, filling her and surrounding her.
Buffy gasped as Angel entered her in a swift motion, arching against him. Her vision blurred as she stared up at the ceiling that felt like it was coming down on her. Pleasure racked her body, filling her. She couldn't focus on anything. Her mind was racing and stars exploded in her vision as Angel moved within her.
She felt like crying at the beautiful peace with him inside her. She had never felt this way before with any other men. Sure, there was pleasure but not like this. Nothing was ever compare to this.
The only thing she could hear was Angel's voice chanting her name like prayer against her ear, moving in and out of her, slowly quickening his pace until he was pounding into her. Breaking her and splitting her in half in the most delicious way. The ceiling looked like it was close enough to touch as Buffy felt something tighten inside of her, her breath stopped for a moment. The world seemed to stop, nothing but Angel's voice could be heard, murmuring a language that she couldn't understand.
Then it hit her full force, pleasure beyond the telling. Everything swarmed together in a mix of colors as waves of pleasure hit her, crashing down on her. The peace and comfort of Angel was heaven. A place she never wanted to leave. She yelled out Angel's name as she came, arching into him as he came with her.
Angel collapsed on top of her, sparing her none of his weight. He felt like he could finally breath, that he was seeing everything for the first time. He laid his head on top of her bra clad breasts and he cursed himself for not slowing down, for not exploring and worshipping her body like a goddess that she is. She probably gets this from men all the time.
"Sorry." Angel muttered, his body content and too lazy to move.
"For what?" Buffy asked breathlessly, running her fingers through his hair, soothing him.
"I wanted this to be perfect, romantic. Not on the floor of my apartment." Angel sighed.
"It was perfect." Buffy smiled and wiggled against him. Her grin grew when Angel grew hard, still inside of her.
"Again?" She asked innocently.
"Yes, this time much slower." Angel agreed, kissing her breasts through her bra, his talented fingers ridding her of the annoying object.
"Slow is good." Buffy moaned, her eyes rolling back as she pressed against Angel once more.
******
Part 12
Buffy skipped up the stairs to her apartment, although she had to stop due to the soreness between her legs. She smiled at the sweet pain. Making love to Angel all day. Oh God, she wanted to do that for the rest of her life.
She unlocked her apartment, a large smile on her face. After a two more times of rutting on the floor, they managed to make it to the bed. She couldn't get enough of his skin and she could imagine running back to him right now for more. Though, he would probably be repelled by her smell. She was in a desperate need of a shower.
Buffy threw her keys on the table, spinning around, doing the famous Buffy victory dance.
"I hope that is because you got a lot of money for blowing me off." Faith snapped glancing at Buffy from the bedroom. Buffy simply smiled at her, determined to not let Faith ruin her mood.
"I got something better than that." Buffy laughed, feeling truly happy for once in her life. Whoever thinks that prostitution is a great job because they get sex and money is deadly wrong. It made Buffy miserable, now that she thought about. She couldn't even remember a time she was simply and purely happy until now.
"What's better than money?" Faith asked.
"Angel." Buffy sighed, a dreamy look on her face. Faith opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it at the look on Buffy's face. A look a happiness. She could give her that for tonight. Whatever she said seemed to make Buffy want Angel more, hopefully this fling wouldn't last that long.
"I took the liberty of eating half your kitchen and checked your answering machine." Faith flopped down on the couch, relaxing.
"Thanks." Buffy muttered, raising an eyebrow. The brunette shrugged.
"You stood me up, I was bored. You now owe me two lunches and you have to let me borrow those black boots of yours." Faith gave Buffy a sweet smile and the blonde shook her head with a small smile. She couldn't stop smiling, her mouth hurt but she still couldn't shake it from her face.
"So, who called?" Buffy shrugged off her coat and kicked off her shoes, gathering two towels for her shower.
"Why don't you listen yourself?" Faith turned on her answering machine, letting the first of seven messages run. An angry male voice filled the air.
"Where the fuck were you? You left me at dinner by myself when you left with that poor asshole and made me look like a fool! I need to talk to you, damnit Buffy." Riley's voice left with a beep and Faith quickly turned off the answering machine.
"The next six messages are from him and similar." Faith raised an eyebrow at Buffy's confused look as she stood motionless by the bedroom door.
"Who was that guy, B? He sounded pissed." Faith stated the obvious with a snort.
"Riley, one of my clients, we were supposed to have dinner but I left and spent the night with Angel." Buffy frowned, her brow furrowed. She looked a little upset.
"Screw him, B. What is he gonna do on an answering machine?" Faith shrugged, trying to ease the worry on her friend's face.
"I never gave him my number, Faith. I'm not even listed." Buffy's frown deepened.
"Maybe you don't remember that you did." Faith tried but Buffy shook her head.
"I never give my client's my number. The only who I did give it to was Spike, God only knows why." Buffy shrugged it off. Maybe she had just forgotten, Angel was pretty much clogging her memory up. Her happy mood was dampened but not destroyed. She would worry about Riley later. Faith was right, he couldn't hurt by leaving messages.
"Just delete them all, I'll take you out to dinner to make up for everything." Buffy headed to the shower as Faith did what she asked.
*******
The next morning, Angel walked into Wesley's book shop. Gunn was probably upstairs, playing with Wes's antique weapons again. When Wesley was out or too into watching Fred, Angel and Gunn would spar. It once ended up as bad as Gunn having to get a couple stitches where Angel accidentally cut his arm.
"Angel!" Doyle looked up at him with a grin, raising his eyebrows twice. Wes also smiled at him, though not as obvious as Doyle. Wesley was too British to be that outright.
"What?" Angel frowned, not liking the way the two men were looking at him.
"You know, when I talked to you on the phone the other morning, well, you forgot to hang up." Doyle chuckled, his grin reaching his ears. Angel blinked at him, not understanding.
"Oh, Angel! More, Angel, more! Harder!" Doyle faked a woman's breathy voice, his eyes rolling back and his hand over his heart. Angel cringed.
"Oh no, you didn't hear that, did you?" Angel buried his face in his hands, shaking his head.
"Every moan and hump." Doyle answered with a sweet smile.
He felt a sweep of jealousy of Doyle listening to Buffy like that but then he felt scared. Buffy would *kill* him if she ever found out that he forgot to hang up.
"I can't believe you listened to us." Angel shook his trying not to chuckle.
"Yeah, let's just say you two are not the only ones that got off." Doyle joked and Angel's face scrunched up in disgust.
"Pig." He shot back.
"Well, hearing what Doyle had to say, I presume you had a nice day before?" Wesley asked politely.
"Perfect." Angel smirked at the memory but changed the subject. "Gunn or Fred here?"
Wes shook his head, knowing where Fred was at every moment. "They went out for food, they will be back shortly."
"Oh come on, Angel. You slept with *Buffy*, one of the hottest chicks in LA that I have seen yet. I assume she quit work now that you guys are groiny." Doyle asked.
Before Angel could answer, the bell above the front door rang, signaling someone had entered. Wes quickly went to help the customer.
"Is Buffy Summers here?" A familiar voice asked. Angel frowned and turned to look at Riley. The jealousy and rage from the night before came back in full swing when he saw Riley. What the hell was he doing looking for Buffy? Now that he and Buffy were intimately together, there was no way in hell she was going back to her profession.
"No, you can just leave here. Better yet, how about leaving town? It might be much...safer." Angel hinted, glaring at the farmboy. Riley, clad in his Gucci suit, glared back, recognizing the poor man anywhere.
"Is that a threat? Do you even know who I am? How powerful I am?" Riley snapped.
Angel felt Doyle tense behind him, ready to back him up if need be.
"I don't care how rich you are or what car you drive. I told you once to stay away from *my* girl. If you don't, you will be using all your money for hospital bills." Angel snarled, the two face to face now.
"At least I have money to pay for what I need." Riley looked over him in disgust. "You obviously can't support yourself so how can you support her?" Angel's jaw tightened but he didn't flinch. He just retorted with a sweet smile.
"Ironic, isn't it? How you have all the money in the world and she still picks me, a *poor* unemployed man. Your pathetic." Angel spat. "You have to pay women to even *look* at you and you'll need all your money for that."
Riley's fist shot out, catching against Angel's cheek bone. Angel's first reaction was, of course, to punch him back. His knuckles slammed against Riley's nose, blood spilling from it.
"You bastard!" Riley screamed, holding his nose with one hand and throwing another punch with the other. His aim was distorted with rage and Angel could easily avoid it.
"Come on! All that money, you could at least afford some boxing lessons or something!" Angel taunted with an evil smirk, landing another punch to Riley's face.
Angel went after him again, the image of Riley and Buffy implanted in his head, but Doyle pulled Angel back as Wesley grabbed Riley and pushed him out of the store quickly. Angel struggled against his Irish friend, needing to feel Riley's bones break under his hands.
Angel finally calmed and Doyle's grip on him slowly loosened. Angel looked apologetic to Doyle before turning to blood spots on Wesley's floor.
"Sorry. I really hate that guy." Angel sighed, going in the back room to get a cleaning rag.
"Don't worry, Ang. You kicked his ass." Doyle grinned. Wes frowned and looked at his ruined white rug.
"Damnit, Angel, I got this rug from France." The Brit frowned.
"Damn, I think I missed something good." Gunn walked in, Fred against his side. Wesley frowned at the sight, turning away to look at the blood on his rug.
"I told you we should have waited until the store was closed." Gunn frowned to Fred who insisted they go out for something to eat sooner.
"Yeah, Angie kicked Riley's ass with a baseball bat but then the loser pulled out a gun. So I, being the heroic one, tackled him from behind and got the gun away-" Before Doyle could finish his lie, Angel came back to clean the rug.
Buffy's boyfriend frowned, touching his cheek. "I'll have a bruise." Then he looked down at his knuckles that were red and he flexed his fingers.
"Make that bruises, oh, and don't tell Buffy. I don't want that ass to scare her or anything." Angel said. Everyone nodded in agreement and went to work on cleaning Wes's expensive French rug.
******
Part 13
Buffy leaned back in contentment against the bare chest of her lover. She sighed a deep sigh of fulfillment and peace. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. Angel dropped opened mouth kisses against her neck and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"I love you." He whispered huskily against her ear, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.
Buffy simply moaned in agreement, deliciously spent and aching. They enjoyed the comfortable silence before Angel ushered them out of her bed.
"Come on, I want to make you breakfast." Angel grabbed his slacks, slipping them on before looking at his lover, laying stubbornly in bed.
"I'm tired." She held a pillow over head, her tone had a whine in it. Angel chuckled, dipping down to tickle her ear with his breath.
"Did I wear you out?" He grinned. Buffy removed the pillow to give him an evil smirk.
"Not yet, but you still have time to make up for it." She laughed as Angel growled playfully. He grabbed her, wrapped only in a blanket, and threw her over his shoulder. Buffy laughed, squirming to get down. He walked over to her kitchen before setting her in the chair. Buffy shook her head, wrapped the blanket around her like a toga before relaxing in the chair.
"Why are you making breakfast when it is 8:00 at night and why do you always want to eat after sex?" Buffy raised an eyebrow a small smile on her lips.
"Because breakfast is the only meal that I can make good and I have no idea." Angel answered her questions in order with a happy smile. He always was smiling around her now.
Buffy chuckled and looked at her kitchen table. "I'm not really sure I want to eat on this after what we did on it."
Angel frowned. "Good point."
"You are ruining all my furniture." Buffy accused.
"We'll just have to make love on everything in my apartment then, just to be even. It's gonna be tough but I will do what I have to do." Angel mocked a sigh of sadness as he looked about her kitchen for the right utensils.
Buffy grinned and their happy silence was broken by the phone ringing violently. Buffy rolled her eyes and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Buffy?" Riley's voice asked. Buffy cursed silently, she really needed caller ID or a number block.
"You really shouldn't call here." Buffy sighed, just the sound of Riley's voice made her skin crawl. His phone calls have been increasing ever since she broke contact. Angel was listening discreetly as he made French toast, watching his lover out of the corner of his eye.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you for days. Where the hell have you been?" He snapped, his voice shaking and Buffy leisurely relaxed in her chair.
"With Angel." Buffy said proudly, waiting for Riley to blow up. He deserved it for filling up her answering machine. She wasn't scared of him.
"What?" Riley asked after an angry silence.
"I've been sleeping with Angel nonstop for the last couple of days. On the bed, in the shower, on tables, does that answer your question?" Buffy smirked and she could feel Angel's eyes burning into her in question.
Riley cleared his throat, his voice shaking. "Right, that's okay, it's what you do. I accept that."
"Oh, you must be confused. I'm not doing it for any money." Buffy clarified spinning in her chair.
"You little bitch..." Riley spat. Buffy laughed.
"Does that mean you are mad?" She asked innocently.
"You don't know who are messing with." Riley threatened.
"Blah, blah, blah. I heard the whole 'I'm so powerful' speech, give it up Riley." Buffy's cheerfulness dropped as her tone grew serious and angry.
"Stop calling me. I don't want anything to do with you. Goodbye Riley." She hang up the phone with a slam to find Angel staring at her.
"He's been calling you?" Angel growled, wanting nothing more to snap the boy's neck. Control, Angel, he told himself.
"He won't call me anymore. You should have heard him, he was so pissed off." Buffy laughed reaching her hands out to Angel. Angel obeyed as he kneeled down beside her, he grabbed her hand, playing with her fingers.
"So, this means, that you won't be...that you'll stop, now?" Angel treaded gingerly, his hope rising.
"Yes, it does. I want to be completely yours, Angel." Buffy smiled at him, tangling her hands in his hair.
Angel's whole body was flooded with relief and joy and he laughed at the fuzzy feeling that the words caused him. His hand snaked to her neck, pulling her head down to his.
Their kiss was passionate and joyous, Angel having trouble controlling the large smile as he kissed his lover.
Buffy broke away from him, giving him a stern look.
"Stop smiling, it's hard to kiss you." Angel's smile made her smile.
"I can't." Angel laughed, getting up and kissed her forehead.
"I have the best place you can work. It won't pay a lot but I know that you will love it." Angel promised as he tried to concentrate on making the french toast instead of his girlfriend only clad in a blanket.
*******
Buffy stood nervously in front of Wesley's bookstore, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Why are you fidgeting?" Angel asked, glancing down at her with an amused smile.
"Do you know how long it has been since I have had a real job? I've only been a waitress for about a week when I was sixteen." Buffy frowned.
"Come on." Angel placed a hand on her back, pushing her inside. The bell rang as they went inside and Wesley came down, his nose stuck in a book.
"We aren't open until another hour." He said but smiled when he looked up at Angel and Buffy. Buffy was nervously fiddling with her application and stood close to Angel, who had a warm smile.
"Why, hello you two." Wes smiled back. Angel nodded his hello and he pushed Buffy towards the Brit.
"Uh, hi. I'm Buffy." Buffy unconsciously folded her application, too nervous to make sensible words come out.
"Yes, I'm quite aware of that." Wesley looked at Angel curiously and Buffy mentally kicked herself.
"Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask if you had any openings for the store. I don't have much experience but I can work any hours and I learn fast and I-" Buffy started, nervously rambling. Wesley glanced at Angel who beamed proudly at Buffy.
"Of course, you can have a job here. I usually keep everything pretty organized but I can always use the extra help." Wesley took her application and put it on the counter. "You can start today, if you like."
A huge smile broke out on her face and Buffy refrained herself from jumping up and down.
"Oh, of course, anything you want." Buffy looked around. "Uh...what do I do?"
"Fred!" Wesley called down and Fred peaked from over the balcony from upstairs.
"Buffy is our new employee, want to show her how things work?" Wesely asked and Fred smiled.
"Sure, come up here, Buffy." Fred's smile was friendly and Buffy obeyed by practically skipping up the stairs. She blew Angel a kiss before disappearing behind the stacks of books and antique weapons. Angel chuckled.
"Thanks for doing this, Wes. You have no idea what it means to me, to her." Angel turned to his friend. Wesley smiled.
"Anything I can do to help, I'm glad she had decided to quit her profession. I'm sure she will be a wonderful employee." As if on cue, a loud crash came from up stairs.
"Whoops!" Buffy called.
Angel turned to Wes with an apologetic look. Wesley sighed.
"Why does everyone have to knock down something in my store?" The Brit asked himself.
"It's a curse." Angel answered.
"I have to go, a gallery wants to take a look at some of my drawings. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself, I don't trust her around sharp objects." Angel joked and Wes nodded.
"I'm leaving, baby!" Angel called and he was rewarded with Buffy waving from upstairs.
"I love you, good luck." She called out, blowing him another kiss. Angel grinned and with a wave he was gone.
Wesley looked up to Buffy and she beamed down at him.
"Well, at least your axe didn't break." She said positively to her new boss. Another crash, this time made by Fred interrupted Wesley's answer.
Buffy frowned. "I think it is now, though."
"I really have to move those weapons." Wes shook his head.
A couple of hours later, Wesley was showing Buffy how to use the register as the store became increasingly more busy. Buffy caught on quick but Wes still supervised incase anything happened.
"So," Buffy rang up books for an old lady. "how is the thing with Lilah going?" She tried to make conversation with her new boss.
"It's over." Wesley said, shifting uncomfortably.
"What happened?" Buffy asked, collecting the money and turning to the next customer.
"Fred found out." Wes looked down ashamed. Buffy glanced over to Fred and Gunn who were sitting on a couch talking quietly.
"Oh, sorry." Buffy said sincerely.
"Why look at the blondie, all grown up." A cocky British accent interrupted as Spike cut in front of the customers, glancing at Buffy.
"Get out of the way, Spike." Buffy cursed.
"Heard that you quit, couldn't quite believe it." Spike shook his head. "Had to come and see it with my own eyes."
Buffy turned to Wesley and he nodded, taking over the register so she could talk to Spike. She led him to sit down on the couch across from Fred and Gunn, who were too wrapped up in their conversation.
"'Ello cutie, I missed you. I've been becoming bored with Dru." Spike said honestly. He might be a pain in the ass but he really cared about Buffy.
"Faith always had an eye out for you." Buffy suggested. Spike raised an eyebrow.
"Really? That woman is a spitfire." Spike nodded, grinning at what he and Faith could do together.
"How have things been going?" Buffy asked, she hadn't talked to Spike in a while. Most of her time was occupied by Angel, not that she was complaining.
"Pretty good, actually. Heard you and Peaches have been getting it on a regular basis now. It's good to see him with someone besides the Cordy bitch." Spike took a cigarette and took a long drag.
"No smoking." Wesley called from the register.
"You are seeing things, there is no smoke here." Spike ignored the other Brit.
"Where do you hear all this stuff from?" Buffy wondered.
"Doyle." Spike yelled in protest as Buffy pulled the cancer stick from his lips.
"You have been getting Angel into this habit." Buffy accused.
Spike shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a stick here or there."
The bleach blonde stood up, glancing at his watch. "The wife will be calling any second, I better get going. You and I will have to have dinner sometime."
Buffy raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on her lips.
"Fine you can bring the Poof too." Spike kissed Buffy on the cheek before leaving.
Buffy chuckled before quickly getting back to her first day of work.
******
Part 14
Angel woke up with fluttering eyelids and he was immediately greeted by the lovely sight of....an empty pillow. Angel forced his tired eyes open.
"Buffy?" He called out, his voice deep from sleep.
"I'm getting ready for work. God, do you know how different it is to get ready for work in the morning? By the way, how did the thing with the gallery go?" Buffy called to her tired lover. She was in her bathroom putting on minimal makeup. She knew that this wasn't the type of job that you get dressed up over but she wanted to look good for her new work.
"Great, they loved my drawings of you. They took a whole bunch of my drawings to put on their display. You are my muse." Angel answered groggily.
"That's fantastic. I'm so happy for you." Buffy said sincerely.
Angel's muffled reply had something to do with sleeping as he fell back into her bed. They rarely slept at their own apartment anymore, it was almost as if it hurt to be away from each other too long. Buffy could think back to the miserable times when she would go to bed alone and wake up the same. Now, she would make love to Angel until her body couldn't stand it before falling into a spent slumber, then waking up to his beautiful smiling face only centimeters from hers. Buffy couldn't even imagine sleeping alone ever again when she had Angel with her.
Choosing a simple pair of jeans and a pink peasant top, with matching shoes, she glanced in her full length mirror, her head now naturally held high. She loved the way she looked now, her outside appearance didn't change but she felt different. Healthier, happier, proud, and the list goes on. All because of the man laying in her bed.
She stepped into her bedroom on a mission for a goodbye kiss but she found Angel dead asleep. She smiled softly and took time to admire and mentally worship his perfect body. A muscular arm was thrown over his eyes while the other was resting on his stomach. His muscular chest made Buffy want to drool, it was her head's usual resting spot. Her eyes made a path down to his belly, then to the thin trail of dark hair leading down to his most intimate place, which was hidden under the blanket. His powerful and strong thighs where tangled in sheets. An ache in her chest reminded her that she wanted to crawl back in bed and fall asleep against him but she couldn't ditch her second day of work.
She made sure she wasn't drooling before walking over and placing a gentle kiss on his lips before leaving.
*****
"What? This is outrageous!" Wesley cried. Buffy frowned, hearing her boss's enraged voice. She squinted against the bright California sun as she quickened her place to the bookstore. She found a big white van that had a label in front of it. Several man with clipboards and some type of badges were arguing with her employees.
It seemed like forever until she managed to get to the store.
"What the hell is going on here?" She snapped, grabbing a man who was nailing something to the door and pushing him against the wall.
"Damn." Gunn commented, looking Buffy up and down in appreciation, ready to pull Buffy off the man if need be. "Good looks and all that muscle to go with it." Fred swatted him in the arm.
"Health violation." The man glared at Buffy. "We are closing the place down."
"What? It is a book store!" Buffy cried, her fists clenched into fists.
"Buffy..." Wesley warned putting a calming hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong with it? This must be some kind of mistake, we passed all the tests for a store." Fred tried to rationalized, sounding lost and confused.
The man turned to nail the warning back on the front door but Buffy pulled him back once again.
"You should really learn how to control your employees." A voice said to Wesley. Buffy turned around slowly.
Riley smiled innocently, something dark in his eyes. "Hello Buffy."
"You bastard." Buffy cursed, advancing on him. "You call these men off, now! This is my *work* and my friends, Riley. If you have a problem with me, then deal with *me*." Buffy said very slowly, gritting her teeth together. She felt Wes and Gunn hovering over her and she was glad. She felt like she was going to explode and hit Riley with a very big metal object. Maybe a semi truck.
"Why, Buffy, I'm hurt. Did you really think that I have something to do with this? I just stopped by to buy a book. Guess I will have to go somewhere else now." Riley sighed, mocking sadness.
"You are the only person sick enough to do this, Riley." Buffy invaded his personal space, glaring hard at him, her voice low and threatening.
"What are you going to do about it? I'm above you, the police, everybody. You didn't believe me when I said I had power, now what do you think?" Riley smirked, obviously high with power. Buffy was shaking, she was so mad. Riley reached out, his finger tips brushing against her cheek and Buffy pulled away.
"See you around, sweet cheeks." Riley strolled off, when Buffy was too angry at herself and at him to speak. She buried her head in her hands and ran her fingers through her hair. The health inspectors piled in their van and left when Riley did. She turned to her employees.
"God, you guys this is all my fault. I'm so sorry." Buffy sighed, feeling helpless for the first time in a long while, as she hung her head. Wesley sighed with her and put a friendly arm around her shoulders.
"It's okay, we don't blame you."
"Yeah, it's okay, Buffy. Angel and I will go and just beat the crap out of him until he backs down." Gunn said, ripping the notice off the door and opening it for everyone. They slowly piled inside, thinking of ways on how to resolve their problem.
Buffy went to the phone and angrily called her apartment, she needed to hear Angel's soothing voice before she snapped. She called him and spilled the whole story to him in an angry rush, breathing heavily.
"That explains it..." He mumbled to himself.
"What?" Buffy asked, growing dread in her stomach.
"I checked my answering machine from your phone and the gallery left a message saying that they couldn't take my drawings, that they were going to send them all back. That son of a bitch, I'll kill him." Angel snarled, gripping the phone tightly. he always knew that Riley was a farmboy from hell. He could hear the distress and anger in his beloved's voice and he felt the need to bring Riley's head to her when he was done with him.
"I'll take care of this, Buffy." Angel promised. Spike could help him out, he could use his money and power influence to get everything back to normal. His brother was a powerful alley and a feared enemy in business.
"Don't do anything to Riley." Buffy warned. She heard Angel growl and there was pause and Buffy knew he was searching for his cigarettes, luckily she had thrown them all out the other day.
"Angel, I don't need Riley pissed off more than he already is, God only knows what he could do next." Buffy couldn't even handle the thought of what would happen if Riley hurt one of her friends or Angel.
"I can't promise anything." Angel gave up the search for his cigs.
"I have to go, I love you." Buffy sighed.
"I love you too." Angel whispered, trying to soothe his lover with his voice. There was a soft sigh before Buffy hung up.
*****
Part 15
Angel's brow furrowed and he looked around at the chaos around him. There was people running around everywhere, yelling at each other from across the room. The bright lights above him made his eyes hurt and he felt like he was in a maze. Wasn't he just here? A sigh escaped his lips.
He hated the grocery store.
It was like a big black hole that all his hard earned money slipped into and it would always happen. Over and over. Plus with Buffy and all his friends over at his apartment, attacking his kitchen relentlessly, he felt like he was here every week.
He frowned at the many types of cereal there was, though that was the least of his problems. The problem with Riley was not unsolved but mended somewhere. Spike managed to keep the health violation police off Wesley's back with a little bit of hush money. Riley had disappeared, this was announced by Doyle and Gunn who actually went looking for him, armed with brass knuckles and baseball bats.
He blinked at the bright boxes taking up several rows, some had cartoons on them and others were just boring. His mind wandered to Buffy, as usual. What kind did she like again?
"Fruity Pebbles!" Buffy exclaimed, reaching her hands out towards the box childishly. Angel looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. She was seated happily in Angel's shopping cart as he pushed her around, shopping for both of them.
"The Flintstones?" Angel asked, amused. Buffy's bright smile vanished as she glared at him.
"And what do you like, The Jetsons?" She snorted and Angel couldn't help but chuckle as he grabbed her cereal, throwing it to her. She caught with ease and placed it on an empty spot in her cart.
"What else do we need?" Angel asked, pushing her down the isle. Buffy looked at her list.
"Cheese, whip cream, strawberries, and chocolate." Buffy read off her list. Angel laughed.
"And what are we going to do with those interesting items?" Angel leaned down, brushing a kiss to her ear.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She grinned mischievously. Angel steered her towards the fruits.
"You are going to make me fat." Angel complained, though was pleasantly warm inside, forgetting about the over looming danger of Riley and his obsessiveness.
Buffy shrugged. "You burn off calories by kissing, you know." Angel's blonde said matter of factly.
"Then we have to do a *lot* of that, just to make sure I stay in shape." Angel joked, looking through several cartons of strawberries before grabbing one and tossing it to his lover.
"Well, ain't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Doyle spoke to them as if speaking to children.
"Why do I always run into you guys? And why are you here? You eat all of *my* food." Angel mused to himself.
"Delia put a big gaping whole in my refrigerator. I need to repair it." Doyle glanced with a grimace at his full shopping cart. Buffy reached out of her cart to pick up a box of tampons and looked at Doyle questionably.
"You mean, Cordelia needs to repair it." Buffy chuckled. Doyle glared at the blonde in the shopping cart.
"Did you get one of these in aisle five? Do they come with a mute?" Cordy asked, coming up behind Doyle to drop some more food of her choice into his shopping cart and raised a distasteful eyebrow at Buffy.
Buffy glared at the tall woman openly. She leaned back in her cart, unconsciously grabbing the carton of strawberries and was prepared to cannonball the red fruit right into Cordy's pretty, little, white shirt.
"Play nice, princess." Doyle chided. Angel looked a bit uncomfortable but tried to make light of the situation.
"How have you been Cordelia?" He asked politely.
"Yeah, how's the porn career coming?" Buffy added with a sweet smile. Cordelia glared at the short blonde, seated in *Angel's* cart. Angel never sat her in his cart, Cordelia thought jealously. She liked Doyle and liked living with him but being with Angel was different. A hundred times better, more satisfying and now he was giving all of himself to that whore.
"Great. And you're whore career? How is that treating you?" Cordy retorted. Angel put a calming hand on Buffy's shoulder when he felt her tense in anger. Buffy covered his hand with her own and looked back to Cordelia.
"I don't do that anymore, but since there is a spot open, I think you would make a great whore. You have all the practice of being slut, you should fit right in." Buffy snapped back.
"Well, glad to know you are doing good, Cordy." Angel quipped dryly before Cordy could start something else.
"Okay, Angel, when they start attacking each other, we have to run and get some whip cream and pour it all over them." Doyle looked like he was ready to run and get it at any moment.
"We better get going. Nice to see you two." Angel nodded his head. Buffy made sure Cordy was watching as she dropped a kiss to Angel's hand. Cordy withered in anger as Angel pushed the cart with Buffy in it away.
******
"Do you want me to go beat her up?" Faith asked when Buffy told her about the Cordelia incident yesterday.
Buffy tossed the idea around in her head. "As tempting as it sounds, I think Angel might frown upon it."
"Goody goody." Faith teased. The first part of their lunch, at their usual spot at the mall food court, consisted of Faith trying to get Buffy to come back to the job. But Buffy declined the more Faith pushed so she gave up. Besides, it wasn't that bad since Faith was getting most of Buffy's clients and her pay had increased.
"This sucks B, I can't believe you are really leaving me this time." Faith frowned but then forced a grin. "Well, if Angel fucks as good as he looks then I guess you are getting something better out of it."
"Thanks, I think." Buffy chuckled, raising an eyebrow.
"So, details how is that hunk?" Faith pushed, leaning forward as if it was some big secret.
A smile grew on her face before Buffy could stop it and she looked down at her food, shrugging. "Word's really can't describe. Let's just say...wow."
"Wow." Faith agreed, grinning.
"And Spike?" Buffy quickly changed the subject. She wanted no one but her to know about all the wonderful things that make up Angel.
It was Faith's turn to grin mischievously. "That man..." She shook her head.
"He is very...kinky?" Buffy tried to find the word that describes her lover's brother.
"Rough." Faith added, taking a sip of her coke. Buffy smiled, she thought that Faith and Spike made a couple but then there was Drusilla.
"Did you ever get caught by his wife yet?" Buffy whistled. "I suggest never to do it in his apartment, too dangerous."
Faith frowned. "Now that you mention that crazy bitch, I had a close call the other day, it might be because of her."
Buffy frowned also, all she needed was Riley going after more of her friends.
"Spike and I...you know, were getting it on in this alley when this cop car zooms by, we kinda separated and decided to go someplace less public and as soon as we stepped out of the alley, the cop comes back. The damn cop said that someone put a warrant for my arrest out! The pig was about to hand cuff me and everything!" Faith practically yelled, caught up in her anger.
"Jesus, what did you do?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide.
"A little bit of money from Spike and smooth talking from me made the cop delete the warrant. I knew that Dru was crazy but she never called the damn cops on you." Faith slumped back in her chair.
"I'm not sure that was Drusilla." Buffy sighed, burying her face in her hands. Damn Riley. Buffy looked up to see Faith looking at her questionably.
"You know that Riley guy that has been leaving all those messages?" Faith nodded and Buffy continued.
"The bastard almost shut down Wesley's store and made Angel loose a job opportunity." The blonde explained.
"Holy shit, B. What did you do to this guy?" Faith whistled.
Buffy threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know! I made some remarks and ditched him for Angel, but that doesn't make you go all crazy, does it?"
Faith shrugged. "I don't know, I had a client pull a gun out on me once, but I kicked his ass. Why don't you send Angel to go do the same to that asshole?"
"A few of his friends tried but no avail." Buffy sighed.
"What do you think he wants?" Faith asked, finishing her salad.
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"Well, he is doing this for a reason." The brunette countered. "He wants something from you. What is it?"
Buffy's brow furrowed. "I never really thought about him wanting stuff, I just thought that he was crazy and doing it to be all...crazy like. And the only thing I could think is just too gross to imagine."
"Don't stop there, twinkie." Faith pushed.
"Well, the night I ditched him for Angel, he wanted me to sleep with him." Buffy thought back to that night.
"How much did he offer?" Faith asked.
"I don't know, something big though." Buffy chewed her lip.
"You think he still wants to sleep with you?" Faith raised an eyebrow.
"If he does, it wouldn't even be about sleeping with me anymore. Knowing him, he would probably want that just to get at Angel." Buffy sighed, shaking her head to get rid of the thought.
"Let's just hope he lays low for a while, if something else happens then I will seek that prick out and handle it myself." Buffy promised more to herself than to Faith.
Faith nodded slowly, not liking where this was going.
******
Part 16
"What? Last time I have seen you two, he was too shy to ask you for a dance and now you are humping like bunnies?" Willow laughed as she wiped the bar, ready for opening. The people were crowded by the entrance, impatiently waiting for the club's doors to open. Buffy spun on her barstool happily, momentarily forgetting about Riley and all Faith had put in her head.
"Isn't it great?" Buffy flashed her white teeth in a big smile to her redhead friend.
"Congrats Buffy." Oz, Willow's boyfriend, said to Buffy as he and his band set up on the stage.
"Where is that hunk?" Willow said with a small blush. Willow confused Buffy, she owned a bar and that put her fingers in the seedy underbelly of LA and she still got embarrassed when it came to boyfriends.
Buffy shrugged but she knew Angel would stop by the club later, it hurt to be away for too long.
"I was wondering what happened to you, I haven't seen you here in so long." Willow smiled, happy for her friend. She always frowned upon what Buffy did and she was glad that she finally decided to settle down.
"Sorry, Angel's been keeping me busy...all day...and night." Buffy trailed off.
"Too much detail." The bartender held up her hands.
"Sorry. Color me ecstatic." Buffy shrugged, jumping over the bar and made herself a club soda.
"Geesh, I haven't seen you this happy since...never." Willow frowned, preparing the bottles for a hectic night.
"Yeah. I'm also happy that your club is still open. I've been having problems with an ex-customer. This lunatic named-"
"Riley." A man strolled in, pushing his wallet back into his pocket. He wore a tan business suit and looked like he just came from a meeting. His hair was smoothed down and he flashed the girls a wide smile.
"Pleasure to meet you." Riley held out his hand to Willow who glared at him.
"How did you get in here?" She demanded.
"One of the bouncers now can afford a Mustang." The rich man smiled and turned to Buffy, still behind the bar. She gripped her cup tightly, trying to stop her fingers from trembling in anger. Damn bouncers.
"Riley, leave now." Buffy grit her teeth, spitting the words out slowly and stressing every syllable.
"I just got here, thought I would take a look around." He spread his arms nonchalantly, glancing around the place as if he was interested in buying it. Buffy frowned at the idea, more like closing it.
"We're closed right now, so you better do as the lady says." Willow watched the man closely, wary of his every moment. He looked familiar but she didn't trust him. She stood a little closer to the tense Buffy. Riley laughed and dropped his arms to his side.
"I just want a talk with Buffy, seems like she has been avoiding me." The Iowa bred blonde smirked at Buffy.
Buffy took a deep breath and jumped over the bar once again and stood in front of Riley. He towered over her, a good head taller than her and made her uncomfortable. She loved it when Angel stood over her, it made her feel safe and smothered with his delicious scent. But with Riley...it was different, scary.
"Buffy-" Willow warned and looked at Oz, whose band had stopped setting up and stood ready to jump in.
"No, it's okay. He is not manly enough to hurt me directly." Buffy glared into his eyes, which were not the familiar chocolate that she drowned in. Just cold blue. Riley's casual smile dropped and his shoulders tensed, his hands clenched. Buffy felt her muscles jump in reflex, she was sure he was going to hit her. Then it was gone and he relaxed completely except his tightened jaw
He led her away from their audience and into one of the corners of the club. Buffy made sure she was in sight of Willow and the door incase Angel wanted to drop by early. She wanted him desperately, wanted him to shield her from Riley and the sick games he played but she needed to deal with this, once and for all.
"What do you want, Riley? Why are you doing this to me?" Buffy asked, the questions that have been plaguing her since this all started.
"You know what I want." His voice was low and he put a possessive hand on her hip but Buffy backed away.
"Then you know I won't give it to you. I don't do that anymore." Buffy shook away the shivers of disgust he gave her. She could barely stand a single touch from him. Her body longed for Angel, it has been too long since she had last seen him.
"Oh right, now that you have your 'artist'. I never thought you would sink that low for someone that...poor. It's disgusting." Riley shook his head with a small laugh, obviously amused at her words.
"It's not about money." Buffy spat.
"It's always about the money, Buffy. You can't just go from a whore to an angel in a day because of one man who is barely making ends meat." Riley said matter of factly, his laugh and smile slowly dying into impatience and anger.
"Are you mad because I don't want money or that you weren't the man to make me change? I know you have this obsession with me, but you won't have me. Not now, not ever, not if I have Angel." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest with a smart ass smirk. She watched hate burn into his eyes.
"You act like money is nothing, it is everything in this city. You have no idea the connections I can make-" Riley grabbed her upper arm roughly but Buffy didn't flinch.
"Okay, I get it, you're rich, can we move on already?" She rolled her eyes, with a exaggerated sigh.
"You don't seem to be getting the picture, love. If I can't have you when you have Angel, then you won't have Angel." Riley watched as she tensed, her eyes turning dark. Buffy ignored the 'love' nickname, her arm bruising from his punishing grip.
"What are saying?" Though, she didn't want to know.
"Angel has, what, one friend? A brother? Oh, and you of course, a whore. When it comes down to it, he has no one, so he won't be missed if I get rid of him. It would be like he never existed." Buffy's blood ran cold and she yanked her arm from his grip.
"You will *not* go near Angel." Buffy hissed, anger and fear spilling into her words. Her hands were still shaking, but not with anger this time.
"Of course *I* wont. But I know people who will for the right cost." Riley smirked. Buffy turned away from him for a moment, taking ragged breaths. Just the thought of someone hurting Angel for money made her feel like she had a thousand pounds on her chest. It hurt to breathe and she tried to gain control. She wrapped her arms around herself and she felt Riley's victorious eyes burn into her back. Buffy took another deep breath, closing her eyes.
Riley grabbed her forearms, pushing her back against his chest. Buffy was too numb with fear to even feel his raging erection against her.
"But, I am always willing to negotiate, I am a reasonable man." Riley whispered harshly in her ear.
"You want me to sleep with you once." Buffy realized as she opened her eyes, staring blankly ahead and Riley pushed her tighter against him, dropping a kiss to her neck. Buffy flinched at the unfamiliar and unwanted touch.
"We will see about how many times." He smiled against her skin. Angel would always do that, his voice muffled since he loved to bury his face against her neck. Then she would rake her fingers threw his hair and he would always moan for her. Buffy wanted her him here, gods, please let him come soon. Let this be all a nightmare and she would wake up tucked happily under Angel's chin.
"No." Buffy breathed, shaking her head, she couldn't do that to Angel. She could never ruin that spark of glee in his eyes that she was his completely.
"Then Angel dies." Riley mocked a sigh of sadness and shook his head. Buffy's breath caught at the words and closed her eyes again. She felt him slip a piece of paper into her front pocket and he gave her hip a squeeze.
"I'll give you a couple of days to think about it but if I don't hear from you..." Riley trailed off, releasing her finally. "Let's just say, you better make Angel's last couple of days enjoyable. Use some of that hooker experience."
He winked at her before walking away. Buffy hadn't even noticed that the club's doors had opened and the place was now covered with people.
She blinked tears away, looking around the crowded club.
******
Part 17
Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, warming her icy fingers by stuffing them in the pockets of her coat. She walked home, not waiting for Angel who would probably be a nervous wreck but she couldn't see him right now. Couldn't see anybody, really.
Her thoughts were jumbled and shattered, leaving only small fragments that couldn't help her in this complicated situation. She tried to tell herself that Riley was bluffing and wasn't the murdering type but the way he looked at her, grabbed her at Willow's bar was a little more than enough evidence. She took deep shuddering breaths and closed her eyes tightly.
She sighed and cursed herself for leaving Willow's, for leaving the protection of Angel. Her feet took her to Angel's apartment, not hers. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, should she go in or crash at Faith's?
It killed her that she was thinking of not being around Angel, scared of what Riley might do if she saw them together. Buffy was never one to hide but this was too much. The though of Angel dead made her stomach churn and she could save him by sleeping with Riley, God only knows how many times.
But if she did as he asked, would he kill Angel anyway, then wouldn't it all be in vain? Angel would never let her go near him if she told him, he would rather die then have her go through heartache.
Another sigh escaped her sadden lips as she stepped into Angel's apartment without even realized she had walked up that stairs to the door. She shrugged off her coat with a weariness that only elder people should have.
The blonde collapsed into Angel's bed, smelling herself and him against the pillows. She closed her eyes, willing sleep to take over her but the only thing she saw was Riley's face, or Angel laying cold on the ground.
All because of her.
******
Angel let out a breath of relief as he saw his blonde tucked safely in his bed. She hadn't been at that bar and Willow had told him that after a talk with Riley, she split. He called both apartments but no one answered. He had been worried Riley had done something, said something.
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and rubbed his eyes in a childish sign of exhaustion. He maneuvered through the small space to lay down on the bed, but jumped when he saw Buffy's eyes open and watching him with a sadness that he hadn't seen in a long time.
He brushed hair from her face and titled his head to the side slightly.
"I was worried, Willow told me that Riley talked to you. What did he say?" Angel asked, though he didn't really want to know.
Buffy sat up, looking anywhere but him, she still needed time to get things straight. She brought her knees close to her chest, resting her chin on them, closing her eyes in a pained _expression.
"Buffy?" Angel asked, his voice more stern.
"I don't..." She sighed, not really sure what she was going to say, what she should tell him, what she shouldn't.
Angel's jaw was set firmly as he tried to think about what Riley could say to her to make her this distant. Has she changed her mind about their relationship? No, not when everything is so perfect. Not when he could taste the fruit of heaven everyday with her in his arms.
Buffy finally forced a smile to her lover. "Let's just lay down, sleep."
She was under the covers again before Angel could object. She turned away from him. She couldn't deal with anything now, she wanted sleep to take over her, for it to decide and soothe all of her problems.
Buffy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Angel finally laid down behind her, spooning her small figure. She turned around, throwing a leg over his hip and burying her face in his neck, both of them laying on their sides. Angel's large hands drew patterns on her back and tangled in her hair.
Buffy knew he was troubled and would probably not sleep tonight but she was too wrapped up in her misery to try and say anything to comfort him.
Especially since she couldn't even comfort herself.
******
Buffy smoothed her skirt and took a deep breath. She opened the door to her apartment, fully knowing that Riley was waiting for her. She went over her full proof plan in her head. She had decided just to fuck Riley and let Angel never find out anything about it. Besides, it was only her that would know. As long as she didn't have to hurt Angel, it would be fine.
"Let's just get this over with." She muttered before he could say anything. She straddled him as he sat on the couch, grinding herself against him and nipped at his neck. She avoided his lips, it was too intimate. Too unknown and unwanted.
She allowed his hands to roam under her skirt, pulling at her panties. She faked a moan but really wanted to vomit all over his designer shirt that she ripped off.
"Buffy..." A gasp at the door made the couple on the couch turn to the door.
Angel stood, his mouth open and his eyes pained. Buffy let out a cry, oh God, not Angel.
"Angel please..." Buffy moved to get off Riley and she was suddenly right in front of her boyfriend. She reached out for him but he pulled away like a wounded animal. That hurt more than a thousand hurtful words from Riley.
"Get away from me, you fucking slut!" He screamed at her, his calm and hurt features replaced by a twisted mask of hate and grief. She heard Riley laugh from behind her and tears spilled down Buffy's cheeks.
"Angel, please this isn't..."
"You've been doing this all along! You whore! You never quit being a whore and you have been doing this behind my back, haven't you?" Angel screamed at her, pushing her roughly against the wall. Buffy weakly shook her head.
"Don't lie to me!" He raised his fist and Buffy screamed.
***
"No!" She screamed and Angel couldn't stand watching her in her nightmare anymore. He grabbed her tightly pulling her into his embrace.
With a start and a gasp Buffy's eyes snapped open, tears already forming in confusion.
"What? Angel?" She muttered. What happened to her apartment?
"It was a nightmare, baby. You were screaming and kicking, please tell me what's wrong." Angel murmured in her ear, smoothing her hair and kissing away her tears. Buffy cried in relief, leaning against his chest.
"Oh God," She took deep breaths, slowing her racing heart. She tried to erase Riley's laugh and Angel's accusations from her mind.
"Please, love, I need to know what's bothering you." Angel whispered against her hair. He couldn't stand seeing her in so much turmoil. Buffy shook her head in dismissal.
"Riley...he wanted me to have sex with him and you walked in on us in my dream." Buffy said slowly, pushing away to look into his eyes. His expression was guarded. His reaction was the test if she should tell him what Riley really had said.
"Why would you have sex with Riley?" Angel asked slowly.
"He said he would hurt you." Buffy chewed her lip. Angel snorted.
"It was just a dream." Angel forced a smile.
"But what if it wasn't?" Buffy pushed. "Would you hate me if that really happened?"
"If you had sex with Riley to save me? Let's just be glad that is not how it is." Angel chuckled, shaking his head.
"But it would be saving your life, I won't let anything happen to you, not if I can help it." Buffy said, determination slipping into her voice as she climbed off the bed to pace.
Angel's smiled dropped as he watched her tense stance. "Come back to bed, it was just a dream, lets not worry."
"No!" Buffy cried. "It wasn't a dream! Riley came to the Bronze tonight and he said he would kill you if I didn't..."
"He said that?" Angel clenched his jaw. "Damnit, Buffy, why didn't you tell me? I don't want you near him! I'll call Spike and-" He leaned over and grabbed for the phone.
"No, damnit! Stop! Didn't you hear what I just said?" Buffy grabbed his hand, her voice high and she was boarding on hysteria and panic. The now familiar shaking in her hands started again.
"He is going to *kill* you. That means no more Angel, if you didn't get that." Buffy snapped. Didn't he understand how horrible this was for her? He seemed to shrug off his death as if he was nothing. As if no one would notice or miss him.
She would.
Angel froze, turning to look at her. "Are you actually considering sleeping with this asshole?" His lips turned into a snarl of disgust. Buffy turned around, showing her back to him. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly.
"I don't..."
"Buffy, I would never let you do anything you don't want to do, even if it means my death. I won't have him anywhere near you." His jaw was clenched as he sat up and turned her towards him. His grip on her arms was both firm and comforting.
"I know he will do it Angel, you didn't see his eyes when he said that. Its not even about me, its about you now. He hates you." Buffy dropped her eyes and placed a hand over his heart. It hurt to think that it might not beat if she didn't sleep with her enemy.
"The feeling is mutual." Angel sighed, trying to concentrate when their skin touched.
"Besides," He went on, "if he hates me so much, don't you think that he will come after me anyway? It won't matter what you do or not in the end." Angel tried to comfort her, playing with the ends of her hair, their bodies now so close they were touching.
"What are we going to do?" She asked, a small childish voice.
"Well, you are *not* going to have sex with him for a start. We will just wait until he makes his move." Angel mentally ran through several plans in his head but came up empty.
"You mean wait until they shoot you?" Buffy snapped.
"I don't care what happens to me, as long as you are all right. We will think of something." Angel brushed away her remark.
Buffy shook her head, she knew that this was going to end badly either way.
"Hey," Angel tipped her chin up to look in her eyes. "I love you, nothing will ever come between us."
Buffy knew it wasn't true and Angel was just saying this to try and bring her back to the edge of sanity.
"I love you." She whispered, leaning up and catching his soft lips in a kiss. She closed her eyes at the sensation, tears unwillingly coming forth. His tongue flicked against her lips and she opened her mouth without hesitation, inviting him to rediscover and claim.
His usual moan sounded when she ran her fingers through his hair and she hooked her free fingers in his belt loop. She tugged at his slacks with a small whine. This is one of those times where she absolutely needed him to be inside of her.
"Bed," Angel muttered unconsciously against her lips, lost as he cupped her breast on her shirt, brushing his thumb over her bra clad flesh.
"Right behind you." Buffy directed with a small chuckle against his skin.
"Hm, right." Angel muttered, laying down and pulling her on top of him.
****
Part 18
Buffy smiled at her customer as she rang up his books and placed them neatly into a brown paper bag. The past couple of days have been dull and uneventful. Thank God. Angel was in her eyesight every second of the day, her fear for his safety growing as Riley stayed in hiding for the time being.
The elder man smiled back at Buffy and walked out of the store with a new edition of some Sherlock Holm's books. Buffy looked at Angel who was watching the doorway for uninvited guests with his eagle sharp gaze. He started smoking again, the whole ordeal wearing on him much more than he would like Buffy to see. Dark circles were under his eyes and his chin produced stubble from not shaving. Angel smoked more then Spike did now but would never let Buffy have a cig herself. Bad habit, he would say.
"Put that out, Angel." Wesley snapped at him as the artist inhaled, letting the smoke curl into his lungs.
"I put the first one out for you and that is all I am willing to offer right now." Angel sighed, running his fingers through his unruly hair.
"You heard Wesley." Buffy scolded from the counter. They were unusually busy. Buffy had suspected that Riley sent in all these people to make a distraction, so Buffy would lose sight of Angel for a moment and then Riley would have his clean shot. The blonde immediately cursed herself for thinking so morbid and she knew she would go insane if she kept this up. Though, she already felt like she had teetered into the edge of insanity.
Angel muttered something under his breath before stabbing the cigarette into an ashtray. Buffy flashed him a smile and Angel's lips automatically curled into one. He could never deny those lips.
"Angel, you looked horrible, you should really go get some sleep." Fred said with a small encouraging quirk of her lips. Angel shook his head.
"I'll sleep when Riley is six feet under." He snapped, irritable. He had not argued against Buffy keeping a watchful eye on him, because he in return could always keep an eye on her. He was just waiting for Riley to pop around the corner and try to take her away from him. He would never allow that.
Ever.
Angel ran over plans in his head to get him and Buffy out of this mess, not really thinking to apologize to Fred. She was a big girl, she could take it. There was the option of running, Buffy and him flying to Ireland and leaving this place of broken dreams behind them. Angel quickly ruled out the idea of living in fear and hiding. Fighting Riley was going to be difficult but the only way. The other way of solving this was too unimaginable to comprehend, it would mean Buffy would actually have to sleep with Riley. Angel couldn't allow that, either. Angel only had a handful of friends and only one of those people had connections and power. Riley had almost every alley to them in his pocket and more money than Angel could every imagine holding in his hands.
He couldn't even tell Buffy about the eviction notice that he found on his apartment door. He had struggled in the money business but he had always paid on time. Riley's doing once again.
"I'm waiting for the pigtails and apron, B." A voice called out and Angel was quickly sent into a panic. The voice was threatening, dangerous. He sat up quickly, his eyes scanning the achingly busy crowed, trying to spot Buffy at the register. He collapsed back against the couch when he saw only Faith talking to his love.
"I'm not at the Denny's." Buffy glared at her, though she was thankful for Faith's comic relief. She watched Angel out of the corner of her eye as the brunette talked.
"Nice place, I bet it has crappy pay but it is a start, eh?" Faith dug into her pocket and after a moment searching, she pulled out a wad of money wrapped tightly in the rubber band. Buffy looked around wildly, her eyes wide.
"Faith! What the hell are you doing?" Buffy hissed. Faith looked a bit hesitant as if she didn't want to part from the money. Buffy couldn't blame her.
"I got this for you, I've been making money off your customers and it looks like you need it more than me." Faith shrugged, pushing the wad of hundred dollar bills across the counter.
"I can't take this." Buffy shook her head and stepped back. But Faith reached over the counter and grabbed the blonde's wrist and forced her palm out. The prostitute slapped the money into her hands and made her fingers close tightly around it.
"If not for you, then give it to that smoking chimney over there," Faith nodded to Angel who was watching them closely, a cancer stick once again pressed between his lips. "buy him the patch or that orange flavored gum or something."
Buffy stared down at the money and bit her lip. She looked up at her old friend with a sincere smile on her face.
"Thank you, this means a lot." Buffy said softly, slipping the money into her coat pocket. Faith shrugged, uncomfortable with the mushiness of it all.
"Yeah, yeah." She snorted, digging her hands into her pocket. "I'm gonna split, talk to you later." The brunette quickly fled from the store, not wanting to let her soft side show, even to Buffy.
*****
"Relax, you are making me nervous." Angel said to Buffy whose eyes were darting around at the abandon buildings, searching for hidden snipers with guns bigger than Rhode Island. Buffy couldn't believe how nonchalant he was acting, though a part of her new it was a front. She could tell by how hard he was squeezing her hand, his eyes squinted slightly, looking at father distances for trouble. Then Angel glanced around.
"Wait, where the hell are we?" He asked, looking around the unfamiliar surroundings. Buffy steered him left into an apartment complex.
"I asked Willow if it would be alright if you stay at her place for a while." Buffy shrugged. Angel sighed.
"Buffy..."
"No. Riley is trying to hurt you, Angel, and the first place to look would be at one of our apartments. It might take him a while to catch on but I think you will be safe here." Buffy held her hand up, stalling his arguments and briskly walked quicker, eager to get inside.
"I'm not going to stay at some stranger's home, Buffy!" Angel shouted, halting in his steps. He couldn't take all this running and hiding anymore. If something was going to happen, it had to happen soon or he would go insane.
"Willow is no stranger to you." Buffy scolded, ignoring him and walking quicker. Angel threw his hands up in frustration and surrender. He could never win with her.
"One night, one night only, Buffy." Angel promised before jogging to catch up with her. His arms circled around her as she stood in front of the building's door, waiting to get buzzed in. Buffy leaned back against him.
"I just like to know that you feel safe." She sighed.
"I only feel safe when I am with you." Angel kissed the soft flesh of her neck before turning her in his arms, bending down for a kiss. Buffy turned her head quickly, letting him catch her cheek before pulling away.
Angel raised a questioning eyebrow, concern filling him before she spoke.
"I won't kiss you until you stop that damn smoking." Buffy muttered, though there was nothing she wanted to do more.
"I take offense to that, my lady, I'm sure you have kissed dozens of men who have smoked." Angel chuckled as he opened the door for her when a loud annoying buzzing signaled their welcome.
Buffy shrugged and glared. "Yeah, but they paid me."
"What's your price then?" Angel teased, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze, making her forget about Riley for a moment as they playfully mocked eachother. Though, Riley was never far from Angel's mind, even in these precious moments he shared with Buffy. His dark gloom seemed to follow the artist everywhere he went.
"Way to much for you, buddy." Buffy grinned before Oz welcomed them into his and Willow's apartment.
****
Angel and Buffy lay in bed in their guest room, the bed was made from only one person but they somehow made themselves fit in a comfortable position. Angel watched, his features blank as Buffy was caught in another nightmare. Her dream terrors were almost every night now but she would always forget them in the morning.
Angel wouldn't.
He couldn't get the picture of her crying out in her sleep in pain or surprise out of his mind. He glanced at the clock on the table across the bed. With determination written in his features he quietly untangled himself from his lover's embrace. He stood up, slipping on a sweater and black pants.
He had arranged for Gunn, Spike, Doyle and Wesley, to meet him at midnight. They were going to take care of this Riley pest problem quickly and discreetly.
Angel glanced back at the bed, the thing he told himself not to do, and sighed in pain...? Love? He didn't know, everything was cluttered with Buffy. He gently smoothed her worried brow with his fingers, caressing her features. He bent down and showered soft kisses across her brow and lips.
When he pulled away, a feeling of foreboding dread took over him for such a long moment, he thought he was having a heart attack. He took deep breaths to slow his racing heart and the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He swallowed down vomit that threatened to rise as he quickly left the room.
The dread was too much for him.
TBC...