Tinglies
devylish
PG
1158
Prompt 108 still_grrr
Cordelia, Cordelia/Angelus
A/U Cordy never left Sunnydell for la, and angel never un angelused…..
Disclaimer All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of the creators of the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Any original characters, settings and plots are the property of devylish. devylish is in no way associated with the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made.

Cordelia's senses were tingling; the 'there's a vampire nearby' kind of tingling. She didn't have any special powers, but after spending a couple of years around a slayer, she'd picked up a few things. One of those things was: being a superhero didn't give you fashion sense. The second thing was: vampires make for tinglies.

'Damn!' She didn't have time for this. While she was anti-evil and pro-the-good as much as any girl was, she'd been hoping to avoid getting all dusty tonight; she had a date with Ted. Or was it Todd? Anyway, he was a cute rich frat boy.

"Friend, erh… acquaintance of the slayer here! If you value your unlife, 'go home!'" Cordelia called out then stopped and listened. She heard something rustling behind the tree on her left. "Creepy, crawly, undead, walking popsicles" she mumbled under her breath.

Okay, let's try this again. What was it her drama tutor was always telling her? Elocution, it's all about elocution. She called out again, projecting with more confidence than she felt. "Seriously, I'd just as soon avoid a dust-fest tonight!"

Cordelia heard the rustling of leaves again. She sighed, "See, this is why girls can't leave their homes without their stakes anymore!"

Reaching for the sharpened piece of wood that, over the years she'd learned to carry with her everywhere, she rounded the tree and came face-to-face with her full-sized tingle.

"Angel?" Cordele's grip on her stake relaxed.

"Sorry Cordy, try again."

It clicked in – who she was dealing with, -- not Angel, but "Angelus."

"Much better!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I love Sunnydale in the fall. Crisp air, colorful leaves, people gaining weight and fattening up for the winter… mmmmmmm!"

She shuddered, "I meant, what are YOU "Angelus" doing in here – in Angel's body? How'd you escape your little soul cage again?"

"Uhh, technically, I had this body before your precious Angel did. Took much better care of it than he did too…" Angelus curled a bicep and shook his head in dismay. As to my being set 'free'… finally, it was that damn happy clause again. Poor Angel, he just couldn't keep his hands …or his cock… out of the cookie jar." Angelus pushed away from the tree and leaned conspiratorially toward Cordelia. That little tech geek from Pylea – Buffy told you about Angel finding and saving her right? Winifred… is… was her name. Anyway, who knew she'd be such a… tempting little vixen? Angel caught her all alone, and all 'oh you big strong hero!' and he gave in."

Angelus leaned back against the tree, a look of pleasure masking his face. "She was delicious by the way. Trans-dimensionally tinged human blood; rare… and tasty!"

"Okay, ewwwww!" Cordelia shivered and tightened her grip on her stake. "I see you haven't embraced the concept of 'live and let live' yet."

He shrugged. "I was hungry. You really should drop the stake Cordelia." Angelus raised his hands, "As you can see, I'm unarmed."

"Yeah, except for those oh so sharp hide-a-fangs of yours."

"What? These?" His face morphed into a pale, ridged visage as his fangs dropped into place.

"Uhm, yeah. Those. Feel free to put them away again… now."

Angelus laughed; a rich hearty, deep laugh.

It was frightening. It's always frightening when evil expresses pleasure. So yeah, frightening. Frightening tinged with – something else. Something that Cordelia shied away from.

"You've always been my favorite you know." He pushed away from the tree and took a step toward her.

She retreated a step and hefted her stake a little higher. "Oh lucky, lucky me; I won't be hurt if you want to find a new 'favorite'."

Angelus glanced down at the stake in Cordelia's hand and his voice dropped. "I bet you couldn't drive that little piece of wood into the target," he placed his hand over his chest, "even if it was painted with a red and white bullseye. Your hands are probably shaking you're so nervous." He breathed in. "Yeah, I can smell the fear pouring off of you."

"I'm going to have to talk to my perfumer, he told me the scent I was wearing was eau du 'rich and sexy'."

And again with the laugh. No, it definitely was not all scary… there was exhilaration too. Fright tinged with exhilaration. She backed away from him again; this time without his making a move toward her.

"Yeah, that's definitely what I've always liked most about you Cordelia; it's the moxie."

"Moxie?"

"Your ability to bluff your way through the fear. Beat the opposition down with pure attitude."

"Is it working on you yet?"

Angelus' hand trailed slowly down his chest to his belly and then, a little lower yet. "Not the way you'd think it would… I must have a thing for doomed damsels with 'die trying' attitudes."

Cordelia's eyes widened as she comprehended what he was intimating. She couldn't stop her eyes from slipping down his frame to where his hand lay. Judging from the bulge forming in the front of his leather pants, her moxie definitely wasn't doing anything to beat Angelus down. "Woah, Cowboy! Put that horse back in the stable!"

"Once the horse is out baby…"

"Well, this cowgirl doesn't like horses… or bloodless cowboys, so, just… shoo." She backed one step, then a second step away until, suddenly, her leg hit a tree stump, and the next thing Cordelia knew, she was tumbling backwards.

And then she stopped tumbling.

She stopped tumbling and found herself wrapped safely in a pair of steely arms. Steely arms that were attached to a large, firm, hard form.

Looking up into Angelus' gold laced, dark chocolate orbs, Cordelia could feel herself melting. The fright was there, it edged and lined her veins, but there was also a feeling of undeniable heat, coursing through her blood stream.

"I can hear your heart beating Cordy. Sounds a bit like music." His voice was low and seductive.

It so isn't fair for vampires to be this hot! Gathering her fading wits about her, Cordelia retorted. "Don't forget you like blondes.… Darla, Buffy, erh… Darla."

He grinned. "I'd definitely make an exception for you."

As he slowly lowered his head, Cordelia closed her eyes and held her breath.

"Cooorrrrddeeeelliaaaa!" Buffy's voice sounded from several yards in the distance…. She was echoed by Xander's anxious yell. "Cordddddy!"

Opening her eyes, Cordelia saw a look of disappointment skip across Angelus' face. Pulling her up out of the dip he'd been holding her in, he released her and began to back away. "Saved by the cavalry, but," he sniffed the air around him appreciatively, "we'll definitely be continuing this at a later time." He winked at her before disappearing into the trees.

Sitting down on the stump she'd almost tripped over seconds ago, Cordelia listened to Buffy and Xander crashing through the woods toward her. Blowing out a deep breath she gathered herself to face her friends; pushing all thoughts of tall, dark, and delicious vampires out of her mind.