Touch of Evil
Part Twelve
Author: Amanda Arlequin
E-mail: aca203@is8.nyu.edu
Rating: R/NC-17 overall (some parts are mild)
Summary: This is the story of the cat and mouse game Angelus plays with
Willow, and the romance that follows.
Spoilers: This takes place after Angel loses his soul but before Becoming,
which never happened in my 'verse.
I will keep and discard Buffy lore as I see fit.
Disclaimer: While I have taken the liberty of adding a few characters of
my own creation, all of the original BtVS characters and their world
belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and The WB. All are used
without permission and no copyright infringement is intended.
**To each other we'll be facing
By love we'll beat back the pain
we've found
You know
I mean to tell you all the things I've been
thinking deep inside
My friend
With each moment the more I love you
Crush me
Come on
Lady**
Crush by The Dave Matthews Band
Diffused, late afternoon sun spilled into the room from the huge picture
window that made up the right hand wall of the villa's study. Willow found
Adrian there when she finally woke. He sat in an armchair he had moved to
face the window, his eyes closed as a peaceful smile played on his lips.
Willow stood in the doorway, her heart expanding with tender emotion as she
observed the familiar scene. The sunlight cast Adrian in a golden haze,
making him look more angelic than usual. Willow always hesitated in
disturbing Adrian during these moments. She felt like she was intruding on
something intensely personal, something that came directly from his soul.
He seemed to draw strength from the light, as if sitting there he was
engaged in some kind of mystical transference with the sun. The joy he
received from this simple act was akin to an infant's exuberant suckling at
a mother's breast.
Deciding not to disturb him, Willow turned to leave, taking with her a
portion of the peace infusing Adrian. Strong arms wrapped themselves
around her waist, halting her retreat.
Adrian rested his chin on top of Willow's head as she leaned back into
him. "Morning… or should I say afternoon."
Willow sighed, reveling in the comfort of being held in Adrian's arms.
"What time is it?"
"It's 4PM. But don't worry, I sent Lucinda to run the errands you wanted
done, and she's already finished them all. That means there's nothing
either of us needs to do for the rest of the day. So how does a quiet
evening at home, just the two of us, sound?"
Willow snorted playfully. "You're just trying to stop me from dragging
you to another club. And here I thought I'd converted you into a veritable
raver."
Adrian's hands slipped under the satin pajama top covering Willow,
stroking the skin of her stomach with the pads of his fingers. "Well, now,
I didn't say I didn't like it. I'd be lying if I said last night didn't
have its moments."
Willow grinned at the memory, though her cheeks did gain a bit of color.
Last night had been a huge departure from her former self, and though
Willow hadn't been the shy, reserved innocent of past for awhile, she
couldn't help but pause every so often in wonderment at just how much she
had changed in such a short amount of time. "If everyone back in Sunnydale
could see me now they'd… well, they'd probably get a stake or try to
depossess me."
Adrian couldn't help but join her in her light laughter. "I always knew…"
He stopped mid sentence, mentally berating himself for almost making a
foolish slip.
Willow tilted her head so she could look into Adrian's eyes, wondering why
the rest of that sentence had died on his lips and why his body was
suddenly so tense against hers. Before she could ask, Adrian seemed to
snap out of it, his body relaxing against hers once again.
"I always knew the woman I fell in love with would be just like you. It
doesn't matter to me if you're home and in bed by 10 or dancing all night
at after hour's clubs. Whichever Willow you are, I'll still love you."
Willow melted at his words, allowing him to lead her back into the study
and over to the couch. Once he was settled, Adrian pulled Willow down so
she was laying on top of him.
They laid like that, cuddling and kissing, for close to an hour. These
were the times Willow loved best. Laying with Adrian, wrapped in his arms,
which were both strong and gentle at the same time. That was one of the
things that made Adrian so special and made Willow feel incredibly grateful
he was in her life. He had exactly the right mix of brute masculinity and
gentle sensitivity. He was macho but it didn't stop him from expressing
his emotions to her. Nobody had ever held her as gently as he, making her
feel like some cherished possession while conveying both strength and
protectiveness. If there was one thing in the world that Willow didn't
doubt, one thing that remained stable, it was Adrian's love for her.
The kisses ranged in intensity, from quick, wet passionate open mouth
kisses to slower, tenderer though equally passionate ones. Some opened
like slow blooming flowers while others exploded upon impact, though each
and every one raked Willow's body with pleasurable shivers of delight.
Throughout it all they whispered endearments to each other, trying to
convey with both words and physical contact all they were feeling.
During one of their lapses into contented cuddling, Willow began to feel
playful. "Adrian?"
"Hmmm?" Unable to form words while in this blissful state, Adrian
resorted to mumbling. Her next question caught him completely off guard.
"When did you first know you were in love with me?" Though her tone was
capricious, Adrian could sense the serious undertone to her questioning.
He knew women well enough to know that the question's answer would be a
double edged sword. She was obviously looking for a very specific answer
and the wrong one could bring undesired consequences.
Internally, Angel cursed. The question was all the more difficult to
answer considering his present dual consciousness. As Adrian, Angel had
only first met Willow 10 months ago. However, as Angel he had known her
much longer and if he was going to be honest, which he had sworn to Willow
he would always be (a hard promise to make considering their whole
relationship was founded on one major secret), then that would entail
telling her the whole truth.
For a moment, Angel considered it. He wanted to tell her from the very
beginning, but something had held him back. He thought it would be easier
to protect her if she hadn't known the truth. Plus, never in his wildest
dreams had he ever imagined Willow would return the love he felt for her.
Perhaps if he'd known how far their relationship would progress, how deeply
their bond would grow, he would have told her from the start. Now, Angel
was too scared to tell her- afraid of the prospect of losing her.
Willow was still waiting for an answer, her body tensing as a result of
his continued silence. Angel also knew her well enough not to continue
keeping her in suspense, for fear she might begin to doubt things she had
no reason to. Resting his palms on her cheeks, Angel lifted her face to
his and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, deciding to be honest without
revealing too much. "I knew I loved you the first time I saw you Willow,
and even before that. I've been in love with you my whole life- it was
only when I first saw you that I realized it was you."
Now it was Willow who couldn't find the words to express her feelings.
Instead of trying she reached to pull Adrian's lips down to hers,
reigniting the passion between them.
It took the couple close to five minutes to pull apart long enough to
realize someone was knocking at the door. Growling from unfulfilled
desire, Adrian lifted Willow off him and stalked out of the room towards
the front door. Though Willow was just as disappointed at being
interrupted as Adrian, she knew she was better at controlling her emotions.
Therefore, she followed him to the front door in order to protect whoever
was there, most probably Lucinda, from his wrath.
Willow found Adrian standing in front of the open door, his body frozen as
if in shock. Curious, Willow stepped from behind Adrian and took in the
petit girl standing before her. Caught off guard, Willow couldn't stop
herself from shrieking. "Buffy! What are you doing here?"
On to
Part Thirteen
Back to
Part Eleven
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