Angel had never liked dancing, actually he avoided it so much that he hadn't been to the dance floor since his senior prom. But his opinion was quickly changing. Having Buffy's lithe body grinding against his was something he wasn't willing to give up, not even to save his image, since he knew he didn't do much more than move and not even to the beat of the music.

He let his hands wander down her back, suddenly missing the open-back top she had been wearing the night he met her. He pulled her more closely to his body, breathing in her sweet scent, he wasn't sure if she was even wearing any perfume. On their own accord, his lips brushed against the side of her face, shedding butterfly kisses as he traveled downwards, finally finding her lips, claiming them with his own. Though she was surprised, she didn't hesitate to respond to the kiss with passion, forgetting where she was, only feeling his body against hers and his lips ravaging her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

After air was coming an issue, he pulled back, looking down at her with heavy eyes. “Come home with me”, he said with a husky voice.

And that was what broke the spell. Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize where she was. “I don't think that's a good idea”, she said regretfully, seeing the disappointment in his eyes but not even that could tare away the passion in them.

“I don't think we should jump into anything, I want... I need to take things slowly, get my head together”, she explained and he wanted to yell at her it was too late to take things slow, they already had slept together. But he didn't, he just nodded and escorted her back to their table.

“I think we should leave, we both have work in the morning”, she stated after half an hour, they both knew the mood was broken.

“Yeah, I guess we should. I'll take you home“, he answered and got off the table.

They left the club and drove in silence to Buffy's house. He parked the car and in a long while neither of them said anything or made a move. Finally Angel turned to her, drawing her attention to himself.

“I'm sorry about tonight”, he started but went silent as she shook her head vehemently.

“Tonight was wonderful. I just... I need a little time, I was just in a relationship that ended badly and I'm not ready to just jump into anything”, she tried to explain. Angel felt a strange feeling shoot through him, jealousy was something he hadn't felt before, he hadn't had the need to. He knew Buffy wasn't a virgin, he didn't have any claim on her but the thought of sharing her with anyone was not a pleasant one.

“I understand. And I don't want to push you into anything. It's just... being around you, it's... you drive me crazy”, he tried to find the right words to describe his feelings. Truth was he didn't understand but he didn't want to push, it might drive her away and he wanted her to come to him from her own free will.

“Crazy in a bad way?” she questioned with a small unsure smile and he shook his head with an reassuring smile.

“Can I at least kiss you for goodnight?” he asked, it was the first time he had asked the question since he was thirteen years old.

“Yes”, she breathed out and leaned into a kiss. It was short and sweet, and they had to pry each other away, Angel afraid that he might come on too strong as Buffy worried that she'd give him wrong signals.

“Goodnight”, she said and got off the car, quickly making her way to the house.

“Goodnight”, he whispered to the empty car. 'Cold shower, here I come', he thought to himself and drove off.

Buffy pried herself out of bed as the doorbell wouldn't stop ringing. She made her way downstairs with the irritating sound ringing around the house, she made a mental note to cut the wires on that damn thing. She yanked the door open, already knowing who would be on the other side.

“Mornin', B”, Faith greeted while breezing past her and heading to the kitchen. Buffy closed the door and followed the brunette.

“Where's the coffee? Are you sick or something?” Faith questioned, looking at the empty coffee maker and Buffy in turns.

“I'm so confused!” Buffy cried out in frustration and sat down to a chair, falling against the table with a thump. For a moment Faith just looked at her as confused as Buffy was feeling, till finally she made her way to the blond and sat down next to her. She patted her back like dog and leaned closer to her, wrapping her arm around her and resting her head against her shoulder.

“Tell auntie Faith everything.”

Buffy lifted her head, looking at her best friend but not even managing to give her a glare. “It's him. Everything is always so great with him”, she complained.

“That's terrible”, Faith said trying to keep a straight face.

“It is! We were having a great time, dancing. And then he kisses me. Oh, that man can kiss, it was like it was just two of us and I completely got lost into it. But then he said he wants to go home with me. I don't think I'm ready for that.”

“Why not? You've already slept with him, the fact that you have a bun in the oven proves it. You obviously like him, want him and all that, so why not?” Sometimes Faith just didn't understand her friend, if she was Buffy, she would have jumped his bones a long time ago.

Buffy let out a frustrated sigh. “We're not even in a relationship and I'm afraid I'll fall in love with him and nothing good can come out of it. He's spending time with me just because I'm having his child.”

“Are you sure about that?” Faith questioned, she wasn't all too convinced that a guy like Angelus O'Reilly would care that much about the mother of his child if there wasn't an ulterior motive.

“Yeah I'm sure. Come on, have you ever seen him, he's gorgeous, rich and everything in between. Why would he be interested in me.”

Faith let out a weary sigh, she never understood how her friend could be so confident in life but so unsure of herself when it came to men or her looks. “Don't sell yourself short, B”, she told the blonde.

“I'm not. I just don't see it, I'm not one of those worldly types that guys like him go after”, Buffy stated with a shrug. She really was confused, every time she formed a opinion on Angel, he showed a new side of himself and she had to start figuring him out all over again. Everything would be so much easier if he would have just been the asshole she met in his office.

Angel made his way to the small diner where he and his friends met for breakfast every Friday, it was a years long tradition. He was irritated and on a foul mood. He needed to take things slow with Buffy, just the opposite what he wanted, and if that wasn't enough, he had had to take matters into his own hands as she wouldn't give him the release.

With a scowl marring his face, he walked into the diner and headed to their usual table. “What crawled up your ass?” Gunn questioned as he saw his friends dark face.

“Miss Summers didn't open her bedroom door for you?” Wesley teased and Angel sent him a withering look, the man was enjoying the situation all too much and obviously told the others. It was gonna be a bad day, he could feel it.

“Yes, tell us about that, Angel. Was this miss Buffy as lovely as Wesley describes her?” Doyle questioned and again Angel felt the strange feeling go through him, Wesley had been admiring his Buffy. That thought made him stop, 'his Buffy', where did that thought come from. 'I really must be loosing it', he thought to himself and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

“You'll never know, Doyle”, Angel said, trying to keep the possessiveness away from his voice. But both Doyle and Wesley noticed it, Gunn was obvious to his idols distress, to him it wasn't possible that Angelus O'Reilly could ever get all tangled up because of a woman.

“Oh, come on, Angel. Spill”, Doyle tried but Angel shook his head with a smirk.

“Gentleman never tells”, he answered.

“And when have you ever been a gentleman?” Wesley questioned and the group laughed.

The teasing continued through out the breakfast and for once, Angel was glad to get to work. He tried to busy himself with work to keep his mind from wandering to Buffy, he actually managed to find important evidence that would crack the case without any trouble. His grandfather only gave him one client at a time, just enough to keep him busy enough to earn his paycheck and usually it was with clients that could be spared.

When there was nothing to work on the case anymore, he growled in frustration, his mind was once again returning to the blonde and he had the urge to call her. He found himself holding the phone in his hand, ready to dial her number but then he shook himself out of it. He was going to give her space, not push her, not jump into his car, speed to the gallery and take her right there on her office desk. He shook his head, trying to clear the image out of his mind, damn, he was getting hard at the thought.

The buzzer of the intercom pulled him out of his thoughts. “Mr. O'Reilly wants to see you in his office right away”, his secretary's voice informed through it. This really wasn't his day, he thought and reluctantly got up to his feet.

He made his way to his grandfather's office, not bothering to knock, it was a childish way of rebellion, he knew, but Daniel O'Reilly probably would have a heart attack if one day he decided to knock before entering.

“You summoned, master”, he said sarcastically and Daniel didn't look amused, but then again, he never did.

“How is the Henderson case developing?” Daniel asked in his usual business manner.

“Just fine, but I doubt you called me here to discuss that”, Angel answered and sat down to the lush leather chair in front of the desk.

“Well, since you're so anxious to pass the pleasantries, I'll go straight to business. Have you found the wife already?”

Angel just looked at the older man with a raised eyebrow. “Do you really expect me to get a wife in this short notice? You just gave me the ultimatum. What am I supposed to do, kidnap a woman from the street?” he questioned and Daniel gave him a deep scowl.

“I am not amused, Angelus. I take it you haven't done much to your situation”, he stated.

“If that was all, I don't have the patience for this. I really don't care, I still have a year of time left”, Angel said and jumped to his feet, stalking off.

Still wearing the grim frown, Daniel grabbed the phone. “Get me, Lindsey McDonald, now!” he barked to the phone and slammed it down.

Meanwhile Angel made his way to his office, only to grab his car keys and leave work early. He jumped to his car and with tires squealing drove off, dialing a number on his phone while steering the car.

“Hello, lover”, he said to the phone with a perfected smirk on his lips.