Part 21

Luxuriating in a hot bath was one of life’s grand pleasures, especially for a vampire who was usually without body heat. At this moment, Angelus felt like he could stay in the bathtub indefinitely. The scented water was glorious and the view superb: Willow was sitting across from him looking radiant. She had a glass of red wine dangling from her elegantly painted fingertips, her arm hanging negligently out of the tub. Her hair was a mass of soft curls pinned casually yet alluringly up to keep them out of the water. Her toenails were painted red to match her fingers and she was absently running her toes across his chest, deep in thought.

In the glow of the candlelight in the bathroom, she looked sexier than he had ever seen her. Hmm, he thought, not sexier…maybe more worldly. Yes, that was it. Kind of. He took a sip of scotch as he continued to study her. The new look she sported: manicured nails, new hairstyle, plucked eyebrows, was more polished…and she looked more comfortable in her own skin. It was as if today’s makeover and spa treatment had changed her perception of herself. As if the majority of the change had taken place within her.

Today had been busy. The women that came to take care of Willow were all he could ask for. They didn’t make her feel self-conscious or awkward for one moment. Instead of making her feel unattractive by wanting to make changes, they said things like, “Oh, your eyes are so lovely, how about we tweeze your eyebrows to show them off?” It went on and on like that, and as the day wore on, he could actually see Willow begin to see herself as the beautiful young woman she was.

They had left the length in her hair, but expertly added layers, revealing a slight natural curl that hadn’t been apparent before. Now she could just muss it as she blew it dry, and it would softly curl around her face and down her back. She loved it; he had smiled as she played with the movement today, swinging her head around. Now she could have a beautiful style without being a slave to fixing it. Later, after they gave her time to make sure she was happy with the new look, they added hot rollers and showed her how to fix it if she should feel like something different or dressier.

Willow had had a ball and now owned more beauty products than she had previously thought she would ever want. Angelus had had fun too. Watching her have such a good time being pampered pleased him very much. He had no idea how much of this stuff she would stick with once the novelty wore off since she wasn’t a vain person. But it didn’t matter, she felt beautiful and deserving, and that had been his objective. Besides, with all of that ‘permanent make-up’ stuff they had done, which he’d never heard of before, he wasn’t sure that too much effort was required on her part anyway. In his opinion, Willow was incredibly lovely without any enhancements.

The object of his ruminations began to circle one of his nipples with her big toe. “What are you thinking about, Angelus? You’ve been quiet for a long time.”

He took her foot and began to massage her arch. With a salacious smirk, he said, “You. As usual. How delectable you looked with a head full of rollers, how cute and serious you were when you were memorizing all the beauty tips the ladies gave you as they applied…stuff, how charming and irresistible everybody found you.” He raised an eyebrow, “How incredibly seductive you look lounging over there right now.”

She gave him a flirty smile and began to toy with his other nipple with the foot he hadn’t captured. “Oh. Well, in that case, sorry I interrupted. Feel free to go back to your thoughts. *After* you add some more hot water, that is.”

Angelus chuckled as he turned the hot water tap. “Yes dear. Is there anything else I can do to please milady?”

Willow snorted as she took a sip of wine before setting the glass down. “That’s rich coming from Mr. Bossy and Arrogant!” She sensually zigzagged her free foot across his chest and down his stomach. “Besides, the faucet’s in the middle and your long arms reach without having to move. It feels so great in here; I don’t want to budge. Maybe never.”

“Mmmm,” he moaned as she began to run her toes up one side of his cock and down the other, pausing to tease his balls. “I’m magnanimously choosing to ignore the bossy and arrogant remark. Will the rewards for doing your bidding always be this great?” He leaned his head back to rest on the marble tub and purred.

Willow giggled. “Yes. Yes, they will. But this bathtub is so big, I almost can’t reach you with my feet.”

Raising his head, he retrieved her teasing foot and began to massage it along with the other one. He gave her a dazzling smile and said, “As much as I love being fondled by your sexy toes, our bath time will be cut short by my hard cock demanding favors if you keep it up.”

She gave him a saucy look, “It’s already hard.”

“True, but we haven’t reached the ‘point of no return’ yet and you look far too content over there to let me have my wicked way with you at the moment.”

Willow raised her arms and rested them on the sides of the tub with a sigh. “You’ve got me there. It’s pretty impressive that you can give such a good massage with just one hand. Getting both feet tended to at once feels sooo good.” She smiled contentedly, “I’ve never felt so relaxed and unwilling to move in my whole life. Angelus, you take such good care of me.”

Her heartfelt words felt better to him than he ever would’ve imagined. They needed to incorporate this bathing ritual into their daily routine. The soothing water, candlelight and closeness was so intimate. He enjoyed how sensual it felt, being with her this way. “Spoiling you is a pleasure, my own.”

Willow leisurely wiggled her toes as he expertly manipulated every inch of her feet and murmured, “Thank you for today. I was sure I would hate it, but it was awesome. It’s like…um…being a girl felt so fun. Everyone was so nice and made me feel good…and girly.”

Angelus listened with a soft smile as she continued.

“You know, I thought it would be a bunch of, of 'Cordelias' telling me what was wrong with me…being all ‘Your hair is hopeless’…and you know, ‘blah blah blah, plain plain plain'.”

Suddenly, Willow slapped her hands on the tub where they had been resting and gave him what he thought was the most adorable scowl, “And you know what, Angelus?” she demanded.

He looked very serious, careful not to give away his amusement at her snit. Attentively, he asked, “No, darling, what?”

Lines appeared between her eyes and she peered at him intently, “I’m thinking Cordelia and all those other mean girls were *wrong*. Adelaide and Carmen and Giselle and, and Christine, they know about that stuff and *they* think I look great. It was just dumb for me to let stuck-up, hateful girls make me feel all…all ugly and dowdy just because I’m different.” With great resolve, she continued, “Well, I’m just not going to let people make me feel that way anymore.” She gave the bathtub another slap for emphasis.

Angelus was thrilled. This was a banner day indeed. He’d seen it coming, of course, but a person’s self-image didn’t change overnight, just as it wasn’t constructed overnight to begin with. And Willow’s had been beaten down over a lifetime, he thought; a lot of longstanding notions had to be reconsidered and overcome. “Good for you, sweetheart. You’re uncommonly beautiful with your flawless alabaster skin, thick, lustrous red hair, exquisite eyes….”

A flustered Willow interrupted and pursed her lips, “Well, I wouldn’t go *that* far…but, thank you.”

“Well *I* certainly would go that far…further if you’d have let me.” He pressed a kiss to her toes. “It’s true, you’re incredibly lovely, and I’m delighted to hear that you’re no longer entirely blind to it.”

Willow gave him a sweet smile.

Angelus felt he’d played a part today in some of her newly acquired confidence. He hadn’t even had to do anything different. All he’d had to do was be himself; the indulgent, attentive lover that he was. After her confessing her love for him this morning, he’d remained consistent. That was the test, after all. She was afraid that he was going to repudiate her, cut and run. Certainly his behavior conveyed that his adoration hadn’t ebbed in the least. In fact, if anything, he was more doting. This morning’s admission had been frightening for her, risky in her eyes, and he was happy to reward her courage with proof that her fears were unwarranted.

Stroking his feet, which were tucked around her, she said with a satisfied sigh, “Today was almost perfect.”

Willow’s attentions felt so good, it took a second for her words to penetrate Angelus’ brain. “Almost,” he drawled finally, when her words sunk in. “That’s unfortunate, dearest. What prevented perfection?” He opened his eyes and her look of regret surprised him, he couldn’t imagine what was troubling her.

“Oh,” she said, now including his calves and shins with the stroking of his feet. “The e-mails.”

Angelus was incredulous. Today had been specifically designed to be a day of pleasant surprises for her. Of course, he thought with disgust, leave it to her idiot friends to fuck up a perfectly lovely day. Schooling his features to show concern, and not irritation at the troublemakers, he asked, “What was said to upset you?”

“Oh, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. It was so great to sit there and read through them while I got my pedicure. It was all, you know, decadent and luxurious. But…well, Buffy kind of made me feel bad.” She said the last part with a scrunched up face.

He should’ve known! Stupid bitch Slayer. He’d said it before, and he’d say it again, that girl could fuck up a wet dream. Suppressing Slayer loathing, he asked, “How so?”

Willow’s face now exhibited an expression exclusive to her: selflessness with sweet concern for others. Gesturing vaguely toward Sunnydale, she said, “There she is, all sad and brokenhearted over losing Angel, and here I am,” now she gestured toward him, herself, and the bathroom at large, “falling in love, being spoiled, and having the time of my life.” She gave him ‘you know what I mean’ face. “Not only that, but…well, you’re *not* Angel, but still. I’m all, having sex and getting naked and taking baths with her, her…well, the love of her life’s body. Sheesh,” she said blinking. “It’s really confusing. You know, the part where you *are*, but *aren’t* Angel. Makes me feel bad. Kind of. I mean, I feel so good, which makes me feel bad. Angel’s gone and I can’t help that. Neither can you, for that matter.”

Angelus wanted to hoot with laughter, but that would be unwise. Willow would not appreciate how the situation amused the hell out of him. Adopting a sympathetic expression, he nodded sagely, “I can see how Buffy’s grief makes you sad. I’m sorry, darling. It’s a shame that her loss was our gain. But even though she isn’t aware of our relationship, and definitely wouldn’t approve of it if she was, she is your friend and wants you to be happy. You’re not doing anything wrong by loving me. The loss of her…boyfriend isn’t anything we caused or can help. You’re a good friend to her, and by continuing to be so, you’re doing what you can for her.”

Ugh. That little speech repulsed him, but Willow looked somewhat happier. “Tomorrow you can take over the e-mail correspondence.” He didn’t add that he’d be pre-approving any outgoing e-mail. Not that Willow would try to send anything without checking with him, but just in case, he’d had a computer expert implement a system where things would appear to go out, but be intercepted by a holding account so he could look them over before they continued onto their destination. The same system applied to incoming e-mails on the off chance something from one of her friends, most likely Buffy, said something that he might find…not in his best interest or that didn’t reflect well on him. It was just best for now that everything was monitored, it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Willow squeezed his legs and smiled. “That’s so great. Thank you. I’ll feel better when I can write to her myself. But, you know, whoever’s been sending the e-mails, pretending to be me, has done a *really* good job. *I* wouldn’t know they weren’t from me, if I didn’t *know* they aren’t from me. You know?”

Angelus laughed out loud. He was relieved that a weight was off of her mind and he loved it when she used ‘Willow-speak’. Her mannerisms and speech patterns were priceless. “Good. I’m glad you approve of how you were represented. Did you enjoy the rest of the e-mails?”

Willow snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yes. Xander sure isn’t sorry that Angel’s gone. He went on and on about how he’s glad ‘Deadboy’ is history. He’s so glad that it’s causing friction in his relationship with Cordelia…she’s pretty annoyed that Buffy’s single and feels threatened. And *that* makes me happy. Cordelia is just bad news from the word go.” She wrinkled her nose, “It’s kind of big confusing circle, isn’t it?”

Angelus smirked, “It is. But I got the best part of the whole deal, so I can’t complain. My soul is gone and I have you. Things have never been better from where I’m sitting.”

Willow grinned. “Such sweet words. Loving a demon doesn’t seem so crazy when you talk like that!”

This was the first time she’d made reference to loving him since her initial admission that morning. During the course of the day, the only indication he’d seen of it was watchfulness on her part for signs of having alienated him. Willow was in love with him…so much so that she’d felt the need to say it out loud. He’d been internally preening ever since. Another reference to it now, and casual conversational acceptance that he was a demon, was marvelous. She was completely ensnared…by her own feelings, no less. He wanted to crow from the rooftops at this turn of events. Visible gloating wouldn’t serve his purpose very well, so he’d just have to celebrate by taking her to bed and fucking the daylights out of her. Lifting her feet, he examined the soles. “You’re pruney, my sweet. How about we dry off and I carry you off to bed and make love to you until we pass out?”

Willow waggled her eyebrows invitingly and he dove for her.

End Part 21