"Well, well," Angelus said as he entered the basement storeroom where Buffy was. It was not difficult to track her, though her scent was off for some reason tonight. Angelus could not help but laugh as she tried to cover herself with her hands. He did not smell sex in the air, which confused him. What other reason was there for her to be standing here naked? "What have we here?"

"Shut up."

"Is this a new way of slaying?"

"Get out."

"I suppose it might enable you to distract the vampire in question so you can stake it without a fight."

"Get out of here."

"It's a new look for you, Buff, the natural look. You might want to save the threatening tone for when you're not weaponless and in a rather precarious position."

"What do you want?"

He strode toward her, knowing the smirk on his face gave way exactly what he wanted. Smelling Oz's scent in the air as he walked through the room sent him into a jealous fury like he had never experienced before. "Are you now giving away what it took your boyfriend so long to get a piece of, Lover?"

"What?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I suppose you've got a taste for it now and had to get yourself off somehow."

"You're sick."

"Or is it with no other pathetic vampires with a soul you've decided to try shape shifters? I never knew you were so kinky," he said as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I might have gone another round or two with you before casting you aside had I but known. You should give evil a try, Lover, you might just like it."

"There's nothing about you I like anymore."

"You keep trying to tell yourself that, Buff, but I can smell that you're lying." He chuckled menacingly at the tears his words caused her to shed. She was looking around rather frantically now. Was she looking for Oz? He would rip the young werewolf to shreds if he found out he had touched Buffy. She was his, no one else could lay claim to her. Not until he was done with her at any rate, and she would be dead when that happened.

"I'm not lying," she said, her lips trembling.

He could smell the fear on her, so strong and intoxicating. She was weaponless, friendless, and helpless. It would be so easy to kill her here and now. His problems would be solved; the one glitch in any plan he came up with would be out of the way for good if he just killed her. She did not believe he would do it anymore than he believed she would kill him. It was their dance until one day they reached the end with one or the other dead. Perhaps they would both die, it would be fitting.

"Right," he said cockily. He backed her against a nearby wall, his game face falling into place at the unfamiliar animal scent surrounding her. He had smelled Oz in his werewolf form before and this scent was not the young werewolf.

She inhaled sharply as he leaned in to kiss her, his mouth capturing hers possessively. He did not exercise caution with his fangs as he had with the soul. She did not seem to mind, though. Jealousy was an emotion Angelus knew little about. He took whatever he wanted for over one hundred fifty years and never gave a damn who he hurt or stepped over. The idea of Darla with someone else never fazed him, never giving where she had been or who she had been with much thought.

The time to leave before he did something stupid and careless had already passed. He was already kissing her, his body was already betraying that he wanted her.

"Is he coming back?" he hissed as he broke the kiss. His mouth found her neck and the most intriguing pulse point there. He nibbled it, grazing it with his fang but not drawing blood.

"Who?"

"Your shape shifter lover, who," he prompted. He lowered his mouth from her tempting neck to her breast.

"Oh God," she murmured. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know you smell like something else, animal, not human."

She laughed and he drew away, scrutinizing her. She dared laugh at him as if he were some lovesick fool. He drew a fang along the swell of her breast, causing blood to flow. She let out a soft cry, pleasure or pain he could not tell. "You're going to believe whatever you want to believe. There is no guy, animal or otherwise. It's been an incredibly bizarre night, and your being here is only making it more bizarre."

"Is that right?"

"Yes, so if you just came here to torment me please just stop and leave before Oz comes back with some clothes."

"So it is Oz," he said, disappointed yet not altogether surprised. Willow was a nice enough girl but who would want her when they could have Buffy. Her innocence until the night of her birthday aside, she exuded a sensuality that got a guy's attention. "I guess Willow's not your best friend after all."

"Angel," she protested, trying to wiggle her way out of his grasp. Her wiggling was only serving to arouse him more, which she seemed to realize. "You have to go. I can't fight you tonight, but if they see you they're going to wonder why I let you go. Again."

"Tell me you haven't thought of this, that you haven't wondered what the difference between your boyfriend and me is."

"I haven't," she whispered.

"Liar," he growled.

The back of her head fell against the wall behind her, apparently Oz's impending return was temporarily forgotten. It would be incredibly easy to take her, but tonight was not the time. He would have her again just not when Oz or whoever else might walk through the door at any minute.

He stepped away, letting her fight to regain her balance. "Why do you smell like animal?"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is Xander."

"Xander?" he roared. Oz was an acceptable substitute, but Xander absolutely was not.

She shook her head. "I don't know what happened. I was in the library with Xander and Amy and next thing I knew I was down here. Naked. Just leave it at that."

Now that he thought about it, he smelled magic mixed in with her scent. "A spell," he said under his breath.

"Something. Look, you need to go, I can't keep justifying to the gang why I let you go. And if Oz walks in here seeing us like this, he's going to tell the others and they'll think I planned this somehow."

As she spoke, Angelus heard footsteps in the hallway getting closer. She was right, it was time for him to go. "If I find out that you're lying to me, about what happened tonight, I'll kill whoever it is you fell into bed with slow. You have no idea the torture I've inflicted on my victims. Or the pleasure I took in administering it."

"I have an idea."

"No, Lover, you don't. Those watcher journals you may have buried your nose in to find out information about your boyfriend don't tell the half of it. Until we meet again," he said before jumping out a nearby window.

"Hey, Buffy, I'm back with some real stylish clothes," he heard Oz say just as he cleared the window.

"Thanks, Oz," Buffy's voice came from just beneath him.

"Sorry it took so long, Giles and the others wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine, thanks." After a few minutes of silence he heard her voice again. "I'm set, let's get out of here," she said.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Lover," Angelus said as he disappeared into the night. He could not go back to the factory with her scent so strong on him. Drusilla would pick up on it and Spike would never let it go that he had come up against the slayer and let her go yet again. A vicious kill would squelch his lust for the slayer, at least temporarily, and would help hide her scent. Soon, he was hunting again, searching for fresh blood that would help alleviate his hunger.

~The End~

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com