Willow lay against Angel's chest, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. At each crack of the whip, she flinched and clutched him tighter, wishing she could shut down her hearing as easily as her sight.
Angel silently soothed the girl who trembled in his embrace, running his hand gently over shoulder and arm as he leaned against the side of the cage, his other arm draped across his bent knee. His eyes focused sadly on his creation going more insane by the second.
Spike also stared at the tableau before him. He desperately wanted to look away, look anywhere else, but he had to watch, he had to share this with her. He just wished he was the one against the wall.
The whipping lasted for a good half hour. Lily never made a sound. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Blood dripped from her lips torn by her fangs and her wrists torn by the manacles, joining the blood that soaked her jeans and puddled at her feet from the slashes in her back. Still, she never made a sound.
Finally, stomping her feet and screeching in fury, Drusilla flung the whip aside. "Why won't you scream, bitch?" she raged. Her hand wrapped in Lily's bloody hair and yanked her head back, nearly snapping her neck.
Through the agony, Lily held her ground, refusing to answer Drusilla, refusing even to acknowledge her existence. Stubborn pride had always been one of her faults.
Drusilla hissed in Lily's ear. "Two more nights. Two more nights and all your blood will flow. Two more nights, whore, and you die."
She jerked her hand back, pulling several strands of Lily's hair free with it, then raised the hand to her lips to lick away the congealing blood. At the taste her face suffused with fury and she spun around.
"Bastard," she screamed and flung herself on Spike, kicking, hitting and clawing. Stunned, Spike tried to defend himself, finally pinning her beneath him on the sofa. As soon as he had the advantage, one of the guards stepped in and pulled him off of her, nearly yanking his arms out of the socket as he jerked them behind Spike's back.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Spike demanded of his former lover.
Drusilla rose from the sofa and stalked over to him. Lashing out, her hand cracked across his face, nearly breaking his nose. "You didn't think I'd ever know? I could taste it! Your blood. You fed her," she screamed, panting and flailing her arms.
Spike's eyes flew around the room wildly, trying to think of a way out of this. Always quick witted, he found the solution and forced an innocent look onto his face. "She clawed me, pet, when I was trying to stop her from reaching you. Look at my chest. The marks are still there. She must have licked my blood from her fingers. You've been here the whole time. When would I have had a chance to feed her?"
Spike tried to smile at her, tried to look sincere, tried to forget that his lover was slumped against the wall twenty feet away, the blood he had fed her dripping slowly from nearly a hundred lash marks on her back.
Slowly Drusilla began to calm down. She ran a hand over her hair, then smoothed down her skirts before gesturing at the guard to release Spike, which he did immediately. Spike managed to control the impulse to yank the guard's heart out of his rib cage and have it for dinner and instead put on his most charming smile.
Reaching out, he pulled Drusilla into his embrace, his lips seeking her throat. Really wanting to rip it out, he forced himself to place a kiss there, then licked her cold, sensitive ear. She squealed and clutched him to her.
In the cage, Willow finally opened her eyes and forced herself to pull back from Angel, sitting up on her own. Automatically her eyes traveled in Lily's direction and Angel moved to block her view. "You don't want to look at that," he said quietly.
Willow paled even more and whispered to him. "Will she be okay?"
Angel nodded.
Willow's eyes met his briefly, then skittered away as she wrapped her arms around her trembling body. In her mind she heard each crack of the whip and worse, the sound the whip made as it connected with flesh. The sound had changed slowly. She knew it had become different because the flesh became wet and slippery.
"Angel?" she whispered again. "Did you...did the demon you...did he really do that to Drusilla? Did she really like it?" She managed to choke out the questions, desperately wanting to understand something that was so far beyond anything she had ever experienced or thought about.
Angel gave her a very sad look and gently touched her reddened cheek. "How much of your innocence have you lost in the past year, Willow? I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "I never knew...never thought it possible that...There are people that enjoy...that?"
"I can't speak for people, but demons...most demons...yes."
"And your demon...?" Bravely Willow looked up at him and acknowledged the pain and shame in his eyes. She nodded and reached out to touch his hand. "It wasn't you."
Angel snorted in self-disgust and pulled his hand back. "It was a part of me...and I remember everything it did...every emotion, every sensation it felt. Drusilla didn't mention that I liked it just as much when I would let her tie *me* to the bed and whip me."
Willow forced herself not to flinch from the self-hatred in his harsh voice. "Lily won't blame you," she said with great intuitiveness.
"I created Drusilla. I destroyed Drusilla." His voice was full of bleak pain now.
"Not you," she stressed. "Never the you that is so tormented right now." Gently she slipped her hand into his and gave him a brief smile.
Angel shook his head in wonder at the pale miracle sitting next to him, holding his hand with total trust. He prayed he would never betray that trust.
"Isn't this sweet?" Drusilla's voice broke into the silence in the cage. Both Angel and Willow looked up at her and Willow instinctively slid closer to him. "Daddy and the little virgin are bonding." She leered at both of them. "Not too much bonding, I hope. She has to stay a virgin after all."
Blushing, Willow looked away from the insane female vampire and caught a glimpse of Spike staring at Drusilla. If looks could kill...Willow began to hope that maybe he'd finally do something, then mentally shook herself for hoping that a vampire might do anything good.
"You can stay in the cage for a while. All that exercise made me hungry." Drusilla smirked and licked her lips lasciviously. "When I get back, it's your turn, my Angel." She spun and headed for the door, calling orders to her guards. "Make sure that Angel and the redhead don't do anything naughty. And make sure that Spike doesn't feed the cow on the wall."
"Luv, you can trust me," Spike protested.
Drusilla snorted and pointed to Lily. "Go make good use of all that blood. You're going to need your strength," she promised. With that she strode out the door, letting it bang shut behind her.
Spike spared a glance for the guards and saw that they were sitting at a table across the room, playing cards, keeping half an eye on him, Lily and the duo in the cage. Forcing himself to act like nothing was wrong, he strolled over to Lily.
Lily heard him approaching and gritted her teeth as she planted her feet and pushed herself from her dangling, slumped position back onto her trembling legs. Moaning as one of her arms popped back into its socket, she waited expectantly, sadly, for the feel of his lips on her burning, throbbing back.
Instead, his hands freed her wrists from the manacles.
Lily collapsed into Spike's arms and he lifted her, knowing that every movement, every touch sent more agony through her. Still her hand slid around his neck and her eyes fluttered open. His guilty eyes met her pain filled ones and he flinched at the love he saw there. She could not possibly still love him.
As Spike turned he saw that one of the guards was stomping over to them. He growled a response. "Go sit back down. I'm not taking her out of here and I'm not going to feed her!"
Reluctantly the guard--one of his fledglings--returned to his seat, watching his sire closely.
"Bloody lack of respect," Spike mumbled angrily.
"You're not enough of a demon for another demon to respect..." Lily moaned the words, then began to cough, blood dripping from her mangled lips.
Spike closed his eyes briefly in emotional agony, then began to lower her onto her stomach on the sofa. Lily clung to him, refusing to leave his arms.
"No...in your arms...as long as I can."
"Luv, the pain..."
"Is unbearable," she groaned. "But infinitely worse...without your touch."
"Lily..." Every bit of anguish he felt echoed in the whisper of her name. Gently he sat on the sofa, cradling her against him. Overwhelmed by pain, Lily lay as still as possible, her head on his shoulder, her lips brushing his neck.
Another glance showed Spike that the guard was watching them too closely for her to feed and he cursed under his breath.
"I don't know what to do," he whispered hesitantly, lost.
"Love me," she sighed. Gritting her teeth against the tearing pain, she raised one hand to his face, gently caressing his smooth cheek. "Love conquers all..."
"I do love you," Spike whispered in her ear. "You just deserve so much more."
"Don't want more."
Something wet splashed onto Lily's upturned cheek and she forced her eyes open. Tears were streaming down her lover's face as he looked at her with such wonder. Lily moved slightly and touched her lips to his, kissing him with infinite gentleness.
Eying the guards who were watching them with lusty interest, Spike extended a fang and bit his tongue, cheek and lip. At the taste of blood mixed with his saliva, Lily's fingers wound into his hair and she sucked his tongue into her mouth. As the kiss continued, as Lily's agony began to fade, their eyes met in triumph.
"Clever boy," Angel whispered in French with a hint of admiration in his voice.
"What?" Willow asked, confused, feeling a little strange watching Spike and Lily kiss.
Angel continued to keep his voice extremely low. "He's feeding her. Probably bit his tongue. I knew there was a reason I turned him. That's brilliant."
Willow shook her head, giving Angel a skeptical look. "I don't know, Angel. Looks like they're just kissing to me."
"I can smell his blood. Every vampire has a distinctive aroma to their blood."
"Won't they know, too?" Willow asked, using her head to point towards the guards.
Angel made a scoffing noise. "Those two are idiots. Even though one is a fledgling of Spike's, they wouldn't recognize his blood if he spilled it all over them. I know Spike's blood intimately."
"Oh...OH." Willow blushed, her mind flipping back to the reasons Lily had given for vampires drinking from each other. She had this really ooky feeling that Angel hadn't drunk from Spike for added strength.
Realizing what he'd implied, Angel cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the couple entwined on the couch. He could see Lily's wounds beginning to heal.
With a shudder, Spike pulled back from Lily, leaning his head on the high back of the sofa. His eyes fell shut and he pressed his sore tongue against the wound in his cheek. Weakness washed over him.
Feeling much stronger, Lily gently caressed her lover's pale cheek, worried. He had sacrificed his own strength for her.
As she curled on his lap, the pain fading to a manageable level, Lily's mind wandered back a few days to visions of her feeding Spike, supporting him, giving him everything. How things had changed.
The hunger inside her was back to the level it had been after he had fed her earlier that night; the pain in her back was fading as the fresher blood slowly restored her physically; the madness was gone. She would survive until Thursday night.
But, would he?
She didn't dare try to return the blood to him. That would negate all he had done for her.
As if he knew she was watching him intently, Spike's eyes opened and he tried to smile.
"You need to feed," she whispered. He nodded, his eyes sliding away from her. Lily felt the desire to help him swell, but he forestalled her with a sharp shake of his head.
Slowly, wincing at the pain, Lily slid from his lap onto the sofa next to him. Spike stood on slightly trembling legs, then turned to the guards. "Get Angel out of there and back on the wall," he barked in a voice a lot stronger than he felt.
The guards looked hesitantly at each other, then moved to do as he ordered. As they dragged his struggling sire from the cage, Spike scooped Lily off the sofa. She moaned as he touched the still oozing slash marks on her back and clung to him as he carried her to the cage. Gently he settled her next to Willow, then closed and locked the door.
Willow watched Lily try to make herself comfortable on her side, then glared up at Spike who had both hands curled around the bars, holding himself up as he gazed at his lover. "You're a prick, you know?" she snapped.
Spike looked up at the girl's flushed, angry face and gave her a rueful smile. "No kidding." Steadying himself, he walked over to where Angel was once again chained to the now blood-spattered wall. He snarled at Spike. Spike ignored him and motioned for the guards to go back to their table, which they did. He guessed that since they were actually obeying him, he was making progress with Drusilla.
Watching his sire snarl in full game face and pull on the manacles, Spike frowned. "Give it up, mate. You're not impressing anyone."
Slowly Angel calmed down, his face returning to normal, but he continued to growl, low in his throat, at his one-time protege. Spike rolled his eyes.
"You're about to collapse," Angel hissed.
Spike gave him a wide, innocent look. "You think?" Angel glared. Spike glared back. "Maybe I'll just take some of your blood."
"Maybe I'll rip your throat out," Angel threatened sweetly.
Spike gave him a disgruntled look and ran a shaking hand through his short hair. "Wouldn't help anyway...not enough."
"So, you're basically screwed." Angel's cheery voice really pissed off Spike and he turned on his heel and stormed as well as he could out of the bunker.
Lily's trembling voice came from the cage where she'd hoisted herself into a sitting position to watch the interplay between the two males. "Angel, that wasn't very nice."
Angel gave her an incredulous look. "You're as nuts as he is."
Lily switched to French. "He's become addicted to the richness of my blood. Another vampire's would be better than a mortal's."
Angel answered her in the same language. "So, he'll go through withdrawal--that won't kill him."
"You're wrong. I don't know why, but two days without any of my blood left him incredibly weakened. I think he may very well die without it."
"Lily, I'm sorry, but I really don't care. He's a demon. He's a demon I created and I live with that guilt every day, but I'm not going to feel sorry for his condition. He brought it on himself. I've already pissed off my girlfriend once by helping him."
"You don't see it, do you?" Tears filled Lily's eyes. "He's changed..."
Angel interrupted her with a snort. "Weren't you the one who said that nothing changes in our world?"
"Think, Angel!" Lily snapped. "Think about what he just did for me. Why did he feed me, risking his own health and strength, his very existence? Was that the action of a demon?"
A shred of doubt crossed Angel's face.
"You know as well as I do that vampires are amoral creatures. They can feel human emotions, but their first and only real goal is their own survival. If the shell dies, the demon loses its hold on this reality, thus they'll do anything to keep the shell alive. Something is changing in him, Angel. Open your eyes and see it," she pleaded.
*****
Spike was very grateful to see that Drusilla had left the car behind. He didn't think he could walk another step. Collapsing behind the wheel, he sat there for a few minutes, building his strength, then dug the keys out of his pocket and started the engine. He headed for the Bronze.
After parking on the street, a block from the club, he found that his strength had returned sufficiently for him to be able to walk. As he turned down the alley that led to the entrance, he heard the sounds of flesh hitting flesh. A few more steps and he rounded a dumpster to find the Slayer standing over a beaten female vampire.
Not even thinking, Spike grabbed the hand that held a raised stake and squeezed.
Buffy jerked her head up, shocked, then snarled and swung her other hand at Spike's face. He caught that hand, too, as the female vampire scrambled to her feet.
"Oh, thank you, master," she babbled, nearly prostrating herself.
As he held off Buffy's attack with the last of his strength, Spike glanced at the female and recognized her. She was one of Drusilla's sycophants. Barely getting out of the way of Buffy's knee to his groin, Spike hissed at her. "Stop that. I know you've probably got a quota to meet, but I need her more than you."
Buffy gave him a very confused look, then found herself on her butt in the dirt. Before she could spring back to her feet, Spike grabbed the female vampire by the back of her neck and pulled her to his wicked looking fangs.
The female screeched in shock, but was unable to prevent him from draining her. Spike dropped her bloodless body to the ground then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before glancing down at Buffy. He tossed her the stake. "Probably should do her, just in case."
Buffy gaped some more, then crawled over to the female and plunged the stake in her heart. Brushing the dust off her hands, she hesitantly rose to her feet.
Spike held his ground. The vampire blood had restored some of his strength and he knew he could get away from the Slayer if she attacked, but he needed to talk to her.
"Okay, you want to tell me what the Hell is going on?" she asked, tapping the stake against her barely covered thigh.
Spike gave a brief snort, then nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Inside?" Buffy asked, nodding to the entrance to the Bronze.
"Don't trust me alone in the dark?"
"This way we BOTH get to live."
Spike nodded again and warily they walked side by side to the Bronze.
*****
As Angel contemplated Lily's words, she turned to the other prisoner in the bunker. Willow sat in what was becoming her customary position--knees drawn up, arms wrapped around her shins, head on her knees. She was rocking slightly.
Frowning, Lily scooted closer, wincing at the pain in her back. At least it was bearable now. "What's wrong?" she asked, quietly in English.
Willow glanced up at her and Lily frowned even more at the pallor of the girl's face and the pinched look around her lips. "Hungry," she mumbled. "And you're covered in blood again, which smells really nasty."
Lily sighed and nodded in understanding. The blood had dried on her skin, but was still damp where it had soaked into her jeans, hair and the tattered remains of her shirt. "I doubt they'll let me bathe again. We'll both have to live with it. Maybe Spike will bring me clean clothes."
Willow just snorted at that and Lily shook her head.
"Does it hurt...a lot?" Willow asked.
"I feel pain just like mortals. But, I also heal faster, so the pain is fading."
"You never made a sound," Willow said, a little awed.
Lily grimaced. "Stubborn pride."
The door to the bunker opened and Lily twisted herself around slowly as the smell of roses drifted in. Drusilla swept into the room and ignored the occupants of the cage, going straight to Angel.
"Did you miss me?" she asked.
Angel gave her a hooded look. "Dru...let me down from here."
She laughed and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Silly, you'd run away." Her laughter faded to a frown and she ran her hand gently over his bare chest. "Like you ran away then..."
Angel knew what she was talking about. "Dru, I had no choice," he replied softly. "I didn't ask to have my soul returned."
"But, now you like it," she said with a pout.
"Yes. Even with the memories that haunt me and the endless regret."
Drusilla shook her head. "They ruined my Angel. Made him all...human."
"Your Angel was a monster, Drusilla."
"Don't say that!" she yelled.
Angel kept his voice on the same even, rather sensuous level. "What he...what I did to you was wrong."
She gave him a puzzled look and her brow furrowed. "Then I'm wrong...and I'm not, Angel. I'm not wrong. I'm not bad. Please say I'm not bad." Just as she appeared to be devolving before his eyes, returning to her childlike state, something clicked in Drusilla and she pulled herself upright, her eyes snapping to his. She hissed and slapped him hard across the face. "Bad daddy!"
Angel sighed and looked back at her, meeting her fiery eyes. The evil smile had returned to her face.
"And bad daddy's must be punished."
"Dru, why am I here?"
She scowled at him. "I told you. I don't know yet. So, until I do, we get to play." Grabbing the tattered remains of his shirt in her hands, she ripped it off him, tossing it aside, then turned towards the trunk and knelt before it, pulling items from the interior. Carrying a small box, she returned to Angel. He had remained silent and still on the wall, although inwardly he had winced at the sight of some of the instruments of torture... especially those he remembered giving to her as presents.
Out of the box, Drusilla took a small bottle which she opened very carefully. "Do you remember this, my Angel?" With a smile she poured a small stream of clear liquid down his chest.
Yelling as the holy water sent burning agony racing through him, Angel pulled futilely on his chains.
*****
Buffy and Spike found a relatively quiet table to one side of the Bronze and sat down carefully across from each other. By silent, mutual understanding, both kept their hands on the table.
"So, talk," Buffy began.
"What do you want to know?" Spike couldn't help quipping.
Buffy growled and gave him her most menacing look. "Let's start with why you killed that vamp."
Spike sighed and reached in his shirt pocket for his cigarettes. As the Slayer glared at him more, he lit one, taking a deep drag off it. "I can't take any blood from Lily."
"Yeah, that's some explanation, Spike."
Spike glared back. "I need her blood to stay strong. Hell, I probably need her blood to fucking survive."
"The Slayer/vampire blood thing," Buffy nodded her understanding.
"Yeah."
"So, a vamp's blood is better than a regular human's," she continued, slowing figuring it out.
"Yeah."
"Mr. talkative tonight, aren't' we?"
Spike leaned closer and blew smoke in her face. Buffy coughed and glared even more. Spike managed a smirk in her direction.
"So, why can't you drink from Lily? Is she dead?" Buffy asked, hesitantly.
"No. She's weak. I can't risk taking anymore from her. So, I killed one useless vampire bitch."
"Was that enough?"
Spike looked at her for a minute and Buffy started to squirm, getting a really creepy feeling. "No."
"So, you kill more vampires. Hey, you'll actually be helping me," Buffy replied, cheerfully. "Does it make you feel all boyscouty?"
He ignored her sarcasm. "I could drain every vampire in Sunnydale. It wouldn't help for long. I need something more...something different."
The creepy feeling quickly returned. Buffy began to get a glimmer of where this was going.
"I need the blood of a Slayer."
*****
Panting breathlessly, Angel raised his head from where it had fallen on his shoulder, trying to fight his way past the pain. His chest still smoked from the last round of holy water and a glance down showed him that there were ugly red burn marks marring his once smooth skin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Drusilla returning, her hands behind her back, but she'd left the bottle behind on the floor. Maybe it was finally empty.
In the cage, Lily sat impassively watching the torture. She had long ago lost her capability to be sickened by the things vampires did. She didn't feel sick, but she did feel sad. For Angel, who was in obvious pain...and for Drusilla, who in many ways was a child trapped in the body of a monster. She didn't--couldn't--pity the monster, but she could feel remorse for all that Drusilla might have been.
Lily wondered if Drusilla knew whether or not she was punishing Angel for being good...or for destroying her.
As Drusilla strolled back to Angel with new torture implements, Lily glanced down at Willow. The girl had been crying softly during the entire episode, curled into a ball facing away from Angel. She was too kindhearted and obviously couldn't stand seeing someone in pain.
Lily knew Angel was in pain; she knew what holy water could do to vampires. She was in pain, too, but neither of them would die from the tortures Drusilla inflicted on them.
And, a wicked part of her whispered in her mind, the demon in Angel deserved it.
From behind her back Drusilla pulled out a bunch of thorny sticks, tied together with a stained, green satin ribbon. "Mr. Whip has had his fun tonight, but do you remember this, my Angel?" She fingered the ribbon.
Yes, he remembered, a little amazed that the faded satin was still in existence after nearly one hundred and twenty years, although the thorny branches were new. He winced at the stains on the ribbon. Blood stains--her blood, after all these years.
Angel had used similar switches on her on discovering that she had slept with Spike. It wasn't that he cared that she had done so--in fact, it led to several years of threesomes-- but, she hadn't asked permission. He had controlled her so completely during those first four decades after he turned her.
Angel closed his eyes as the memories swarmed over him. He had confronted her and she had cowered in fear, fear that he was truly angry, fear that he might kill Spike, fear that he would leave her. Angel's voice had been calm, almost amused...
*****
"Do you understand what you have done wrong, Drusilla?" he asked the girl cowering at his feet. She shook her head sending her hair, which was tied back with a green ribbon, falling across her face as she stared at his feet. "You didn't ask my permission. You must be punished for that."
Drusilla's eyes flew upwards as she nodded. "Yes. I was wrong. I was bad. Punish me."
"I could send Spike away..." he started, watching the emotions race across her face. She was panicking now.
"No, please, not that. It...it wasn't his fault."
Angel gave her a stern look and she cringed back slightly. "Of course, it wasn't his fault. You are the wicked one. He is only a male, easily seduced by one such as you."
She nodded again, clutching her hands tightly together as she knelt at her master's feet. He stood strong and solid before her, legs slightly parted as if bracing himself on a ship, wearing his hunting clothes. He still carried his slender walking stick.
"How...how will you punish me?" she asked.
The stick lashed out, catching her across the cheek and sending her tumbling onto her side. "You know better than to ask that."
"Yes master," she whispered, cradling her bleeding cheek. When she looked back up at him, Angel smiled at the lust in her eyes. He had conditioned her well over the decades. She enjoyed the pain almost more than the pleasure.
"Go to your room and undress. Take off everything, then sit on the end of your bed."
Nodding, Drusilla scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room.
*****
Naked as he had ordered, Drusilla looked up expectantly as Angel strode into her room. In his hand he carried a bunch of thorny twigs, obviously taken from the bushes in the garden. Drusilla stared at them wide eyed, her body already tingling in anticipation and just a little fear.
Angel's hand reached out and gently untied the ribbon from her hair, then began to twine it around the branches. "Go look out the window," he ordered.
Drusilla jumped to her feet and hurried over to the window. Two stories down she saw Spike sitting on his horse, looking up at her, obviously knowing that she would be there. Disappointment, which was quickly replaced by a deep sadness, washed over her. He was leaving. Angel was sending him away? "You...you said..."
"Oh, he will be back. But first..." Angel joined her at the window, his hands sliding around her cold body to grip her breasts. He watched Spike stiffen below him at the sight of the couple clearly visible in the wide low-silled window, then he shoved Drusilla against the glass.
At the first blow from the thorny switches, Drusilla shrieked, pressing herself against the window, her eyes never leaving Spike's.
*****
"Yes, I can see you do remember," Drusilla said with a leering smile. "But, this time, I get to use them on you."
Angel winced at the thought, then dropped a stoic mask over his face. For all that he had done to her a century ago, he deserved whatever she did to him. It would never be enough.
At he first blow to his burned chest, he bit the inside of his cheek, forcing the instinctive scream down as agony arced through him.
*****
Willow had cried herself to sleep about halfway through the brutal beating, for which Lily was very relieved. For an innocent like her, the sight of torture could often be as bad as the actual act.
Lily watched in silence, occasionally wincing in sympathy as Angel groaned and jerked in the chains. By the time Drusilla was done, his entire chest from neck to waist was covered in deeply bleeding scratches and slashes. Her own back twinged in solidarity.
Panting airlessly, Drusilla lowered the bundle of sticks to her side and took in the sight of Angel in such pain. Licking her lips, she delicately traced a heart in the blood on his chest, smiling as he tried to escape her touch. Then she turned and reverently carried the bundle back to the chest, her fingers caressing the ribbon where his blood mingled with hers.
Angel watched her warily, slowly beginning to shake off the lethargy caused by intense pain. When Drusilla returned to him, her hands were empty. If he could have, he would have breathed a sigh of relief.
Drusilla looked up at him, smiling again, a little wickedly. "You know, I could punish you forever like this...but it only causes pain on the outside...there's only one way to truly make you hurt. Her," she stressed.
At that, Angel snapped to attention. "Dru, leave her alone. You can't beat her."
Drusilla made a scoffing noise. "I'm much stronger now, thanks to you." She patted his chest gently, causing him to flinch in agony. "But," she said with a sigh, "she's not here and I don't want to go find her, so, we'll have to play another game. This one is called," she began as her hand slid down his chest towards the front of his jeans. "Making daddy betray his heart," she finished with a grin as her hand began to unfasten the buttons on his jeans.
End Chapter 16