**Part Four**
Word Count: 1,840

September 2000

"I knew you weren't crazy," Charles said from his position on Buffy's bed. Willow was out with Tara and if Buffy guessed correctly wouldn't be back. All was right in the world once again. She hoped Willow wouldn't be back anyway, because she was standing here naked and Charles wore nothing but his underwear. She didn't plan on him having those on too much longer either.

"You did, huh?"

"Yes," he said, holding a hand out to her.

She took it, letting him pull her to the bed. His arm went underneath her as she lay next to him.

"Well, I'm glad you had confidence in me. The people that have known me for years - my best friend! - should have." She turned onto her side, facing him and slid a hand to his abdomen. "I have to admit there was a time there I wasn't sure I wasn't crazy. You get told 'no' so many times and you start to wonder why you're the lone standout."

"I'm sorry I didn't meet him."

"Maybe that's why you believed me when they didn't. I mean, it was Dracula."

She snuggled against his arm, reaching to touch his jaw with a fingertip. "I'm glad you're here now."

"Miss me, baby?"

"Mm, naturally."

"Afraid I wouldn't come visit?"

"There was that."

"I told you I wanted to give you time to get into your classes and stuff like that."

"Doesn't mean I didn't want you to visit."

"Well, I'm here now. Want to spend it talking about it or can we find something better to occupy our time with? I swear after that night at my house it was almost like we were never alone again."

"We were alone."

"Yeah, in my car or your dad's living room."

"You never invited me back."

He smoothed back some of her hair. "Because I see what you're used to and my house isn't it."

"Charles. We're not going through this again."

"I know, but you asked."

"There's nothing wrong with your house."

"Sure. And the next morning when you went out to find your car without tires, or worse, you'd have to explain to your dad why you were in that neighborhood."

"I…Oh," she said simply, not having thought of that. She wasn't sure what her dad would have said, but Charles had a point. She pressed her cheek against the palm of his hand and kissed it before sliding her hand from his abdomen to his chest.

His eyes fell closed when she grazed one of his nipples with the pads of his fingers. She liked the way he responded to her touch.

"I like the way you touch me," he whispered, as if reading her mind.

"Me, too."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I get that, you just don't get to do it as often as I'd like."

"I already gave you the option."

"I know, baby, but LA needs me."

It went without saying that Angel needed him. Neither spoke of Angel often, not unless they had to. And the need to rarely happened.

"I know, doesn't mean I have to like it and won't pout or pull out all my weapons to try and convince you."

He chuckled. "I think I will like that. A lot," he added hoarsely as she straddled him. The look in his eyes when she took him inside of her was so amazing. Riley always closed his, almost always anyway. She couldn't remember him looking at her like this, though. Like being here with her, inside of her, was all that mattered to Charles. LA - the mission - was important, but for the next little while neither would think of monsters or demons or anything else that went bump in the night.

"Me, too," she said, balancing herself against his chest with a hand as she took him inside of her. He wasn't huge, but wasn't exactly small either. And part of the slayer healing thing seemed to involve that part of her, too, keeping her almost as tight as her first time.

"You okay?" he asked in response to her slight wince.

"Yes, that was a good wince," she gasped as he hit the same spot again.

"Mm, up for trying something different and letting me do a little work," he said, palming either hip with his hands.

"Different how?" She stilled against him.

He chuckled. "Actually, it's not much different than this, just me behind you. I think you'll like it judging by that anyway."

"Sure," she whispered, biting her lip as she raised herself off of him. The urge to slide herself onto him again was strong. She wanted to take him all the way inside of her in one stroke. She'd never done it. Their first time at his house he was totally careful and their only other time had been in the backseat of his car so the positioning had been a little odd.

She moved beside him, staying on her hands and knees and pushed against him when she felt him there. He was pressing against her, the tip of him at her slick entrance.

"Charles," she whispered as he slid the head in. "I need all of you."

"You sure, Buffy?"

"God, yes, never more sure of anything."

"All right then." She whimpered softly as he withdrew the little bit of him that had been inside of her. The whimper turned quickly into a moan she had to stifle by putting her mouth against her pillow as he did just as she'd asked. Given her all of him. He knew exactly what she'd meant to.

He did it again and again until her body felt like Jell-o. And then he settled in to stroke that spot from earlier he'd hit. She was back to whimpering, biting her lip to stop from crying out. She was so close, but it felt so good, so intense she was afraid she'd do more than just come.

"Just let go, Buffy, let it come."

His hands found hers, lacing his fingers through hers and he found the back of her neck.

"I want to feel you get off around me like this, Buffy," he said before kissing and nipping at her neck. "It'll be so good, I promise."

She realized at that moment how much she trusted him because she let go. She stopped thinking and let the orgasm course through her like a lion charging through the jungle. It was like he ripped it from her, thrusting against that spot with his shaft, his head, the bulbous part of his tip to keep her at that point for just a little longer so it built up again. And she had no choice but to let go again, give up control. To him. To his body. To her body.

He must have come, too, because the next coherent realization she had was him stilled, blanketing her still clutching her hands.

"Please tell me that was as good for you as it was for me."

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Why?"

"Because I don't think I can do much better than that so if it wasn't I'm in deep shit."

She thrust against him, feeling him still somewhat hard inside of her. "It was good. Very good. Don't go getting a big head or anything."

"Baby, it was the big head that made it good."

She laughed, "smart ass." He slid beside her on the bed, pushing aside the covers as he drew her to him. She drew the covers around them and settled in against him, kissing his shoulder and his arm.

She woke the next morning and he was still there, pressed against her and it was very obvious that he was happy to be next to her. Instinctively, she pressed her backside against him, as they were sleeping spooned up against one another with him behind her.

"You're going to oversex me into moving down here, aren't you?"

"Mm, just making you realize how good it could be if you were here by me all of the time. Did I ever mention," she asked as he turned her onto her back and slid on top of her. He was more than ready. Despite the roughness of the night before he was back to gentle, sliding himself inside of her in inch-by-inch strokes. "That I get these urges after slaying?"

"I think I saw evidence of that over the summer, yes. Remember that first night in my car?"

She threw her hands over her face, not having forgotten exactly but she was kind of hoping he had or at least wouldn't remind her of it. It had been so out of character of her. He pried her hands away, obviously she let him or he wouldn't have been able to.

"Don't cover your face, Buffy, it was great. And I'm not sure I would have taken that step, I saw you as out of my league."

She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him the rest of the way inside of her that way. "I like living dangerously."

"Me, too, baby." He kissed her then, finding and marking the opposite side of her neck from last night.

"Charles," she whispered, drawing him away from her neck. His eyes met hers and she saw question there, fear. That he wasn't the one for her. She knew he was afraid she'd see Riley and break it off with him. She didn't seem to be able to get through to him that clean-cut, farm boy just wasn't for her.

She didn't know about forever. She'd thought about, dreamt of, it once before. Her life wasn't cut out for forever. It was cut out for here and now, knowing that the here and now wouldn't be bad if it extended into tomorrow and further than that. And she wanted him there, living dangerously or not. He accepted her for who she was, fought by her side not afraid to call out that he needed help. That was the most important thing of all to her, that he knew his limitations and wasn't afraid to admit them.

"What?" He stilled himself inside of her and she cupped his ass, squeezing. It was a fine ass, too.

"I really like it. Us." She felt herself blush and shook her head against the pillow. She bit her lower lip, she knew what she wanted to say but couldn't. She was scared. She knew he wouldn't do that to her, take her heart's commitment to him and shred it to pieces. "I love you," she said, keeping her eyes locked on his.

"Good to know, because if you haven't already figured it out I'm quite gone on you, Buffy."

"Good," she whispered as he resumed thrusting in and out of her. She settled in then for another good orgasm and being able to bask in his arms afterward. She didn't feel like her life was so dangerous just then. She liked that feeling, too.

~The End~

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com