Title: Hungry Eyes (1/1)

Author: Karen

Disclaimer: Not mine, just the story

Pairing: A/C

Rating: R, just to be safe

Synopsis: Angel and the boys kidnap Cordy’s date to give Angel a crack at winning his seer’s heart.

Author’s note: Ok, I know, I’m meant to be finishing my other fics but the muses didn’t want to play and gave me this instead. Sorry.

Dedications: Jen, Ina and Mel. You guys know the chances of me finishing my other fics anytime before the end of the world are slimmer than the chances of Buffy not dying again next season, right?

Hungry Eyes.

Cordelia blinked in surprise as Angel dropped into the chair opposite her and gave her a small grin

“Angel? What are you doing? I’m on a date, go away.”

She looked nervously around the small bar and restaurant checking her date hadn’t yet arrived. Angel frowned slightly and glanced over her shoulder where Wesley stood hidden, the younger man rolled his eyes and nodded impatiently

Go on!

The vampire cleared his throat and said slowly

“He called the hotel when you’d left for the day. He said he couldn’t make it. Y’know…..work and stuff.”

And the fact that Gunn and Lorne bagged him and he’s currently sleeping like a baby in the back of the truck.

Cordelia blinked and threw up her hands in exasperation

“Typical. The one night I have off to be Average Gal and once again the forces of darkness conspire to piss all over it.”

She looked down at the table for a moment

“He really had to work late?”

Angel’s long dead heart twisted inside him at the vulnerable tone of her voice and nodded firmly, hoping he wouldn’t go to hell for telling such an outrageous lie. Again.

“Absolutely. He that he’d call tomorrow and re-schedule and you were to go ahead and enjoy yourself tonight and he’d pick up the tab.”

Cordelia gave a wan smile

“That’s sweet, but I think I’ll just head on home and have another night of counting through all the ways my life sucks beyond belief. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She made to rise and Angel panicked and grabbed her wrist

“NO! I mean……well…. I think…..” He forced his mouth shut and mentally counted to ten and then started again “No, why not stay and have dinner with me? It’s been a while since we’ve talked and we should…..talk.”

Cordelia eyed him suspiciously

“Are you ok? You seem really…..dorky tonight. Even more than usual, I mean.”

Angel gave her what he hoped was a winning smile

“Of course I’m ok. I just thought it’d be nice to spend some time together that’s all.”

Cordelia looked pointedly at his hand still clamped to her wrist

“Ok, but I don’t think that pinning me to the table makes for a nice dinner atmosphere.”

Angel followed her gaze and stared at his hand and then pulled it from her skin sharply as though she’d suddenly been doused with holy water. Over by the bar Wesley sniggered and rolled his eyes

Prat

Angel watched his seer sink slowly back into her chair and tried to refocus his thoughts away from the tantalising image of Cordelia pinned under him on the polished wooden table top and writhing in naked ecstasy and back onto the subject in hand. What was it now?

Oh yeah, persuading her that he was the only man for her and that she should leave her apartment tonight and spend the rest of her life with him.

He gave a mental shrug

It’ll be a snap

He gave her another beaming smile and then frowned in confusion as she shot back from the table with a yelp

“Angelus!”

“What! Where?”

Cordelia dug through her purse with shaking fingers and then pulled out a heavy wooden cross

“You! You’re Angelus”

Angel scowled and reached across the table only to give a yelp of his own when she slapped the cross down onto his skin

“Cordelia, I am not Angelus.”

The slender girl glared at him and kept the cross firmly between them

“Uh-huh and I’m the Queen of Sheba. Angel NEVER smiles that much, you stupid son of a bitch, quit playing around and tell me what you want.”

Her voice shook just a little but her eyes held his steadily as she waited for him to answer and then, just as he opened his mouth to try and salvage something of the evening, a look of appalled horror stole across her face

“Oh god, George! He didn’t cancel, did he? You ate him!”

“I did NOT eat your date.”

He gripped the edge of the tabletop, not noticing when the wood splintered under his fingers

“Cordy, it’s me, I promise. I’m Angel.”

He watched her as she swayed sideways and eyed his legs under the table and then came upright again looking a little reassured

“You don’t have the pants on.”

Angel looked appalled and his hands flew to his thighs. He slumped with relief as he felt the smooth cotton of his pants and then caught Cordelia’s confused expression

“I thought you said I didn’t have any pants on.”

She stared at him for a moment then her body began to tremble where she sat. Angel reached out to her and then snatched his hand back as he remembered the cross

“Cordy, it’s ok. I’m me, I swear it.”

He watched helplessly as she folded over and then frowned as she began to snort into the table

“Cordy?”

She raised her head and he scowled again as he looked into eyes filled with laughter. She pushed herself upright and laughed and laughed as she looked at him. Finally she began to calm and managed to splutter

“Yo….your face! Oh god, it was priceless.”

She went off into another round of helpless laughter leaving the vampire to stare around him at the confused faces of the other patrons. He looked back at her as the cross fell to the table with a clatter and she swiped at her streaming eyes

“Ok, I believe you. Angelus would NEVER be that uncool.”

Angel was torn between relief and deep annoyance

“Thanks.”

Cordy rolled her eyes as she snagged her small mirror from her purse and checked the damage to her carefully applied make up

“Do you want me to stake you? ‘Cos I could still do that.”

She frowned suddenly into the mirror and then whipped round in her seat

“Wesley!”

The Englishman jumped and looked round shiftily at the sound of his name

“Cordelia! What a pleasant surprise. And Angel how are you?”

The dark haired vampire glared up at his best friend as the man slunk over to their table and stood easing guiltily from one foot to the other. Cordelia glanced between the two men and her eyes narrowed suspiciously

“What’s going on?”

Wesley flinched again

“No…nothing?

Angel sighed deeply

Note to self: Next time I plan a romantic ambush make sure I don’t request the services of the worst undercover guy in the world ever

He hurriedly fixed a grin on his face as Cordelia’s eyes whipped to him and shrugged helplessly

“Don’t look at me. Wes, didn’t you get the message I left? I said I’d tell Cordelia her date cancelled.”

Wesley blinked and then nodded hurriedly

“Oh, of course. No, I didn’t see the message. Goodness me, is that the time? I really must be…..that is, I have somewhere I have to…..”

He took a deep breath

“Have a nice evening.”

He nodded to the both of them and made a hasty retreat to the door managing to bump into a waiter and crash his hip painfully into the maitre’d’s desk before he made it to the safety of the lobby. Angel rolled his eyes and picked up his menu as Cordelia continued to watch him with suspicion

“Shall we order?”

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully although Angel was aware of Cordelia’s speculative gaze on him from time to time. He grew increasingly anxious as the clock hands on the wall moved on and he had found no opening which seemed appropriate to lead to his confession of undying love.

Life was so much easier when I didn’t have a soul. I would have just taken her then and made her mine.

He eyed Cordelia as she finished off the last of her white chocolate mousse

I could just do that now. I could just take and claim her and make her mine.

He mentally played out the scene in his head and gave a slight wince as he reached the inevitable conclusion

And then I could have a lot of fun blowing in the wind as she staked my ass and poured holy water over the remains. Oh yeah, that’s a great plan, genius.

Cordelia gave a satisfied sigh and stretched her arms above her head. Angel’s mouth went dry as her breasts were outlined in all their perfection against the silky gold top she wore and her nipples took over his field of vision. He became aware of a sudden drop in the level of conversation around him and looked round to find practically every man in the restaurant staring at his dinner partner. A growl rose up before he could stop it and he felt his demon’s face flicker across his own as he glared around him.

Mine!

Cordelia, thankfully, remained unaware of his slip and pushed away from the table, catching up her purse

“I’m just going to the bathroom, ok?”

Angel nodded and forced his face back into an expression of blank politeness

“Ok, I’ll get the check and bring the car around.”

She nodded and sauntered off her hips swinging under the form fitting black pants she wore and her shoulders and back naked to the dip at the base of her spine thanks to her top only tying behind her neck and at the bottom. Angel groaned as his pants suddenly became uncomfortably tight

Maybe I’ll wait a few minutes. Just to let things…..settle.

They drove back in silence towards Cordelia’s apartment with the top down and the soft summer’s air ruffling their hair. Cordelia sat huddled inside Angel’s leather jacket, as the man she thought would be dropping her home that night actually had a roof on his car and she had dressed to impress rather than stay warm. She stole another glance at Angel out of the corner of her eye and frowned. There was definitely something off about him tonight, she knew he wasn’t Angelus but he didn’t seem like Angel either. He seemed on edge and almost as if he was waiting for something and a couple of times she caught him opening his mouth to say something and then, when he caught her eye, abruptly shutting it again.

“Angel, is everything ok?”

He turned his head and smiled at the picture she made wearing his jacket and cuddled up against the door. The coat was much too big for her and with her eyes round with concern she looked unbearably cute and all of ten years old. The smile dropped away hurriedly

Yeah, that’s the picture you want in your head when you seduce her. A ten-year-old Cordelia. Idiot.

He became aware he hadn’t answered her question

“Of course everything’s ok. I just had a great meal with a beautiful woman, what’s not to love?”

Cordelia ignored the small shiver of pleasure that went through her at his words

This is Angel, remember? He who you shalt not get groiny with. It’s the eleventh commandment or something.

She gave him a smile and turned her attention back to the windscreen

“It was an nice meal wasn’t it? Just a shame it was us instead of, you know, an actual date or something.”

Angel frowned and opened his mouth to reply but was forestalled when she lunged forward with a squeal and turned the volume up on the softly playing stereo

“I love this song!”

He closed his mouth with a snap and returned his full attention to the road as the singer’s husky voice began to sing

I’ve been meaning to tell you

I’ve got this feeling that won’t subside

I look at you and I fantasize

You’re mine tonight
Now, I’ve got you in my sights

With these

Angel clenched his hands on the steering wheel and made up his mind. He checked his mirror and abruptly swung the car off the freeway and headed for the beach ignoring Cordelia’s cry of alarm and the beeping of angry drivers all around him.

Hungry eyes

One look at you and I can’t disguise
I’ve got hungry eyes

I feel the magic between you and I

Cordelia clutched the door handle as Angel tore down the road to the ocean and yelled

“What the hell are you doing?”

Angel saw a suitably deserted spot up ahead and gunned the car towards it, braking sharply and turning the car off in one economic movement. He turned to his love and said firmly

“We need to talk.”

I want to hold you so hear me out

I want to show you what love is all about
Darling, tonight

Now I’ve got you in my sights

With these

Cordelia scrabbled for the door handle as Angel turned towards her and fixed her with intent eyes

“No, I don’t think we do. I think I need to get the hell out of this car and go home and you need to go and lie down somewhere nice and dark and get over what ever it is that’s turned you all Insano Boy.”

Angel snaked out one long arm and pulled her away from the door and took a grip on the back of his jacket with his other hand

“That won’t help. Cordelia, look at me.”

Cordy raised her eyes to his as she tried to wriggle out of the voluminous leather and glared at him

“Let me go.”

Angel shook his head and sighed

“I can’t.”

He ignored her struggles and pulled him across the seat towards him and into his cool embrace

“I love you.”

Hungry eyes

One look at you and I can’t disguise

I’ve got hungry eyes

I feel the magic between you and I

I’ve got hungry eyes
Now I’ve got you in my sights with those

Hungry Eyes

Now did I take you by surprise?

Cordy froze in his arms at his whispered words and shook her head violently

“No, you don’t. You love Buffy remember? Go Buffy!”

Angel took advantage of the momentary lull in her wriggling and settled her comfortably against his chest and rested his chin on her head

“No, not anymore. That was first love, what I feel for you is the real thing. Eternal.” He dropped a kiss on her shiny brown hair and said softly

“It’s been you for so long now. Everything I do and everywhere I go, there you are. I watch you all the time and I can’t see past you to anything else. You can cut me off at the knees with just a look or a word and I need to let you know how I feel. Watching isn’t enough anymore.”

I need you to see
This love was meant to be

Cordelia realised her mouth was hanging open most unattractively and fought to regain her scattered senses

“And that gives you the right to pull this stunt? Angel, what gives you the idea I look on you as anything but a friend?”

She strained against his hold again and muttered grimly

“Although at this point ‘friend’ may be stretching it some.”

Angel grinned and raised a hand to push her head to his chest once more and then drag his fingers slowly through her slightly tangled hair

“Wes and Gunn, they persuaded me that you might feel the same and then Lorne confirmed it.”

Cordelia felt her mouth fall open again but this time in betrayal

“Those bastards! And Lorne isn’t allowed to tell you what he reads in someone else.”

She closed her eyes as his cool fingers caressed her scalp and twisted a lock of her hair gently between them

“He didn’t tell me what he read in you.”

He paused and closed his eyes

“He printed off the e-mail you sent Willow and showed me that instead.”

He felt her stiffen in indignation and hurriedly continued

“He wants us to be happy. Together.”

Cordelia scowled out over the ocean and then slowly a small smile appeared on her face. She managed to free one hand from the constraint of her overlong sleeves and hesitantly placed it on the hand on her waist holding her tightly against him

“Is that right?”

Angel relaxed slightly at her tone and said warily

“Yes. So do I.”

He turned her in his arms and placed a hand beneath her chin to make her look at him

“I know we have problems and that there’s a lot of stuff to work through but I think we might have a shot. I want to try.”

Cordelia read the sincerity in his dark eyes and smiled softly in the darkness

“Ok. We’ll try.”

Her smile widened into an evil grin as his hand slipped round the back of her head to draw her mouth to his

“But I still get to dish out some major retribution when we get home. No one sneaks around behind my back and gets away with it.”

Angel felt a brief pang as he thought of the hapless George they had abducted that evening and then gave a mental shrug

Guys, you’re on your own

He brushed his lips over hers and whispered

“Deal.”

Cordelia opened herself to his kiss and smiled to herself. She must remember to tip that escort good when she got home. Ok, so he hadn’t shown up, but the plan to get Angel’s attention worked like a charm and it couldn’t have worked out better if she had planned it that way. She slipped an arm around his neck, pulling him closer and then the only sound in the still night was the roar of the ocean and the song playing on.

I’ve got hungry eyes

One look at you and I can’t disguise

I’ve got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and

I’ve got hungry eyes

I’ve got you in my sights

Did I take you by surprise

With my Hungry eyes?

The End.

Song: Hungry Eyes

Artist: Eric Carmen

Album: Dirty Dancing, The Soundtrack