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“I’m sorry, Lilah. The answer is no.” As she opened her mouth to speak, he quickly interrupted, “Don’t. You’ll only embarrass yourself. The answer will always be no.” Wesley grabbed the folder lying on the table. “Be sure and lock up on your way out.” And without another word, he turned and walked out of the door.
Wesley had turned her down. He had turned her down. Even after repeating it to herself, twice, Lilah still couldn’t quite believe it.
She had thought since he was no longer working full time with Angel that the side of the good might just be sprinkled with enough shades of gray for her to slip in and bring him if not to the side of evil; at least to her side and in her bed.
Apparently she had been wrong. She had never had a man turn her down before and she could honestly say she didn’t like the feeling. Not one little bit. But it wasn’t her fault. Somehow she hadn’t gotten the Intel that Wesley and Angel were back on speaking terms and that they even managed to help each other out on some cases. Heads were going to roll for that. And she meant it literally. If she had known she would have went about it differently, come at Wesley using a different angle, a different tactic. But instead here she stood feeling stunned beyond belief as she watched him walk out the door.
But if he thought he could tell her no and then just blithely walk out of her life he obviously didn’t know her very well. There was no way Lilah Morgan would just blindly give up on the one thing that she wanted. And she had made up her mind. She wanted Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life before. Come hell or high water she aimed to get him. And nothing was going to stand in her way. Not her job with what he called ‘Evil Incorporated’ and certainly not Little Miss Texas.
Oh yeah, she had seen the way he looked at that little... well, she would’ve had to have been blind not to. It was obvious Wesley was harboring some sort of crush on that girl. But it wasn’t as if Fred returned his feelings. She was too caught up in Charles Gunn to even notice poor Wesley. Which was a good thing as far as Lilah was concerned. She would have hated to have great bodily harm done to Little Miss Sunshine. Okay, so she lied. She would have loved it but she knew it probably wouldn’t have won her any points with Wesley.
So now she had to come up with a plan to make him notice her, to make him want her. And if anyone could do it she certainly could.
Despite his best efforts Wesley’s shoulders slumped as he walked into the Hyperion. It felt as if he was carrying the weight of the whole world. He just needed a few hours, hell, he would take a few minutes, to compose himself.
A huge sigh escaped him. He felt as if he had made one of the biggest mistakes of his life. It took all of his willpower not to rush back to his apartment and tell her he was sorry, that he had made a mistake. But he knew it wasn’t something he could do. They were like oil and water, they just didn’t mix. They shouldn’t. For a split second the thought of Lilah wrapped around him nearly drove him out of his mind and he almost gave into the temptation to head back to her. Thankfully, Was he really thankful? Angel chose that moment to walk into the room.
“You okay, Wes?”
His head snapped up as he turned to face Angel. “What? Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.”
Angel took a deep unneeded breath and sniffed the air. “Really? Then why do you smell like Lilah? And look as if you’ve lost your best friend?”
“It’s nothing.” Wesley shook his head. Leave it to a vampire to notice things he would rather not have anyone notice at all. “I brought the papers for the Saunders case. I thought we could go over...”
Gunn interrupted as he walked in. “Did I just hear you say Wes smelled like Lilah? Because Dog! She’s evil but she’s hot!”
“Charles!”
Gunn couldn’t help but cringe. He knew that a man shouldn’t say another woman was attractive when he was involved with someone and especially not when that someone was in the same room. But for a moment he had forgotten Fred was standing beside him. A huge sigh escaped him. He was positive that little slip would come back to bite him in the ass later.
“You misheard. There’s no way. Wesley wouldn’t do that. Would you, Wesley?” Fred turned to look at Wesley, her eyes huge and filled with certainty.
Wesley blushed and began to stammer before Angel took pity on him and quickly took control of the situation. He quickly grabbed the folder Wesley was clutching like a lifeline and handed it to Gunn. “Gunn, Fred, take this into the office and match the information with what we have.”
Gunn accepted the folder from Angel before he grabbed Fred by the arm and pulled her out of the room.
Angel waited until he was sure the other two were safely out of earshot before he began to speak, “So what about it, Wes? What’s going on?”
“I...uh...I”
He quickly interrupted. “Don’t bother trying to lie or cover up. I can smell her, remember?”
Wesley peeked around the corner before he turned to look Angel in the eyes. “Lilah came by the apartment this morning.”
“Why?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Apparently she hadn’t heard that you and I were back on speaking terms after...”
Even though he was over what Wesley had done, after all he’d gotten his son back safe and sound but he really didn’t want to reopen old wounds. “Go on.”
“Anyway she wanted her and I to... That is to say she wanted....” Wesley cleared his throat as a blush tinted his cheeks. “Well, you know.”
Angel’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You and her? What did you say?” Angel shook his head. “Never mind. You obviously said no.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you are the only man who would have the balls to tell her no. Any other man would have been cutting cartwheels at the thought of sleeping with Lilah, even if she is evil.”
“Perhaps.”
“Let me ask you this. Did you, even for a split second, hesitate?”
Wesley’s mouth hung open. “Are you kidding? It took everything I had to tell her no and walk out of that room.”
Angel tilted his head to the side as he stared at Wesley. “Then why did you?”
“Well, she is evil.” He couldn’t stop himself from repeating the obvious.
“So? She’s also very beautiful.”
Wesley couldn’t help but agree with Angel. Lilah had a certain classical beauty about her that called to him no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
“And as far as I know Lilah has never hidden the fact of who she is or what she does from you. Has she?” Angel waited until Wesley shook his head before he continued, “It’s not as if you are going to miraculously turn evil too. Is it?
Once again Wesley shook his head.
“Then I repeat. Why did you?
Wesley stared back at Angel as a slow dawning came over him. There was no reason for him to turn Lilah down. Angel was right. She had never pretended to be anything than what she was.
A sudden though occurred to Wesley. “Why are you suddenly team Lilah?”
“I’m not. There’s too much baggage between Lilah and me for that to ever happen. But if she can bring you happiness, even if it’s only for a little while, then I don’t see why you don’t grab it with both hands. Life, the future, this world... everything is so uncertain.” For a moment Angel closed his eyes, momentarily lost in thought before he quickly shook his head as if trying to rid himself of bittersweet memories before they could take hold. When he began to speak again his voice was husky with emotion. “Don’t do like I did, Wesley. Don’t let it slip through your fingers. Because you may never get another chance.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what, or more to the point who Angel meant. “But do you really think I should? I mean what about....”
Before he could finish his sentence Angel interrupted, “It doesn’t matter what I think, or anyone else thinks for that matter. What does matter is what you think? Is Lilah someone you want to be with or do you have someone else in mind?” Angel wasn’t blind. He had seen the way the wind was beginning to blow before Fred and Gunn had started dating.
For a brief moment the image of a tiny Texan with long brown hair swam in front of his eyes only to dissolve quickly as Lilah Morgan’s smiling face came into view. There was something about her that he just couldn’t get out of his system. Wesley shook his head. “No, there’s no one else.”
“Then why are you still here?”
Twenty minutes later, Wesley hurriedly unlocked his apartment door. As he stepped into the room his mouth dropped open. He was scared to move, almost too scared to breathe. He was even scared to blink, he didn’t want to think that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Dear God if this was a mirage please, please let it continue. Slowly, carefully, Wesley closed his eyes and then quickly opened them. No. It wasn’t a hallucination. Wesley swallowed hard. He had never in his wildest dreams expected this. He didn’t know what to say. But he did know what he wanted to do.
Wesley kicked the front door shut with the bottom of his foot before he walked towards Lilah, slipped his arms around her naked waist and crushed her body against his.
Lilah was stunned at her reception. That wasn’t to say she hadn’t thought Wesley would like her body. She had known he would. But she had thought it would take her a little longer to get him to do.... A deep shiver went through her body. Oh dear God, he was licking her neck!
“Wesley?”
Wesley brought his head up and stared into her eyes. “Any objections, Counselor?”
Lilah just shook her head, she was incapable of making a coherent sound, as she urged Wesley back towards her.
Wesley smiled against the soft skin of Lilah’s neck. Gently, he traced the line of her jaw with his tongue. His smile widened as a strangled sound escaped her. He knew this, whatever it was between them wouldn’t be easy but he was through denying himself what he wanted and he wanted Lilah. Badly.
And although he knew they should talk, it would just have to wait. Without word, Wesley scooped Lilah up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
Lilah’s legs were wobbly as she got up from the bed to lock the door. In their haste they had forgotten simple security measures.
His eyes darkened as he watched her walk across the room, naked. As much as he had enjoyed being with her, he wanted only honesty between them. “I don’t want there to be any games between us.”
Lilah smiled as she walked back into the room, she couldn’t help but tease, “That’s not what you said a little while ago.”
Wesley couldn’t stop himself from smiling in return. “I won’t lie to you. Lilah. I find you extremely beautiful and tempting beyond all reason but I’m not in love with you.”
Lilah turned out the light and slipped into bed, snuggling up against his deliciously, warm body. “I’m a big girl, Wesley. I know the score. Besides, I’m not asking you to be.” Yet. She whispered to herself as she gently kissed his chin before she laid her head on his chest. She knew before he had said it that he wasn’t in love with her but she also knew he would be unable to resist her for long. She was going to crawl under his skin and she was never going to let him go.