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Ethos By Tango EMAIL: tangofic@hotmail.com *** It was as if the past two days had spun by on fast forward. Angel was still trying to figure out how Kathryn Merteuil ended up in his bed. Turning his gaze from his bedroom window, he looked over the crumpled and broken form nestled in his black silk sheets. She used to look larger than life, an untouchable venus that made his loins tighten with lust whenever he saw her, a coiling snake who couldn’t be trusted no matter what the situation. Now, she just looked broken and fragile. Her normally chocolate brown locks were bleached a golden blonde and her silky skin was covered in scratches and bruises. Even though he knew he was looking at one of the most viperous bitches on the planet, he couldn’t help but wince. Someone had beaten her within an inch of her life and left her in a dark, disgusting alley to die. If it weren’t for a phone call from Willy the Snitch, he would be looking at her in the morgue.. Taking a sip of his coffee, he turned back toward his bedroom window again and looked out at the grayish predawn light filtering inside the room. It had been three days since he had gotten the call from Willy. At first, he thought she was a stiff and Angel was sure Willy had contemplated ignoring her to keep himself out of the equation with the cops. Someone else could panic about the dead bitch in the alley and have the pigs crawling all over them. Willy was not one to make his presence known if at all possible. When Willy realized she was still alive, instead of calling an ambulance or - God forbid - the police, he called Angel. After following her to the hospital, Angel spent a couple of hours with his friend Kate Lockley, a stunning blonde detective and one of his many resources in the Los Angeles Police Department. He gave Kate all of the information on the attack and some of the information he knew about Kathryn Merteuil but none of the details on how he knew her. Kate hadn’t been on the force when he knew Kathryn, when he was in the prime of his police career, having just been promoted to detective years earlier than any of his peers. He loved his job and he was damn good at it. So good at it in fact, that he hadn’t made time for anything else. He rarely dated then, rarely went out on the town. He spent almost every waking hour keeping the city safe from the criminal element and solving crimes faster and with less brutality than any of his counterparts. Oh, he would have had a brilliant career. That was all before he met her. Kathryn, that treacherous bitch, deserved what she got and then some. He honestly couldn’t believe that someone hadn’t tried to kill her before. He met her at a bar with his friend, Lindsey McDonald, just after his promotion to detective. He had long since stopped letting Lindsey lead him into debauchery, but that night they were celebrating his promotion. The swanky little club they were in was the kind of place he would have lived in if he hadn’t chosen to be a cop. It was filled to overflowing with beautiful people, but the entire room dimmed when Kathryn walked into the room. She sauntered into the bar wearing an outfit that should have screamed “whore” but instead it whispered “you know you want it.” Lindsey, who was as much a pro at handling women as Angel was, made a beeline for her and Angel watched as several other men in the room did the same. Thirty minutes later when Angel finally decided to leave, Lindsey came back over cursing. “Gold digging bitch,” Lindsey growled, ordering another beer from the bartender. “Guess you struck out, huh?” Angel asked with mock sympathy. “The only way to strike out with her to is be poorer than the next guy,” Lindsey snorted and then took a long draw on his beer. Settling in, Lindsey began to tell Angel about Kathryn and her many talents. She could have been a professional mistress, moving from one rich man to the next, if Kathryn had the ability to stay monogamous. As it was, she had men pouring money into her account, giving her jewels and buying her cars just to be with her for a short time, for an hour, for a night. Lindsey had been almost star struck by her presence and he wasn’t the only one. It was like watching some intricate mating ritual. The men circled around her and when they made contact, they were prepared and thoughtful. The ones that rushed ahead were the ones that died quickly, staggering back from curt rejection. The ones that thought out their strategy and approached her the right way got to stay a while. Although she was definitely a prostitute in every sense of the word, the term didn’t quite fit. Unlike some who went out and advertised, offering the merchandise to whomever chose to buy it, Kathryn only sold to the highest bidder and that was only if he amused her. She was never desperate, even when she probably should have been. She knew all too well there was another man who would be all too willing to step into the void that the previous had created. That night Angel decided that he wasn’t going to pursue her like the rest of the chumps and the more he learned about her, the more his decision was the right one. She was manipulative whore who left a trail of ruined and shattered men in her wake. She used them and tossed them aside like they were broken toys. He swore to himself he would never be one of them. A year later he was at a party with Lindsey and his friend, Wesley, when she walked in. He did his best to ignore her as he always had. Looking back, it was probably the fact that he was the one man in the room that acted like she didn’t exist that made her want him. She wanted him so badly that an hour later he was in the massive walk-in closet in the Master bedroom with her on her knees before him, expertly sucking him off with her hot, sweet mouth. That night he went home with her. For weeks, he only left her bed to go to work. It was like drowning in a sea of silk and sex. She was relentless, shameless and utterly tireless. She gave the kind of pleasure – and demanded the same – that didn’t even exist the real world. The days started to drift by as his only goal was to get to her huge, elegant house on the beach and be with her for as long as possible. She was a sweet drug and unlike other men, he never paid for her services. Instead, he found himself turning a blind eye when she was snorting cocaine in the bathroom or pretending not to notice that everything she owned was bought by another man’s money. Even when she started to cheat on him, he tried to let it pass. She was addictive and he craved her night and day. He hardly slept and rarely ate, living only for work and Kathryn. She started pushing the edges with him, showing up on stakeouts or fucking him at the police station in the men’s restroom. There was nothing like Kathryn in a brown silk dress wearing nothing underneath pressed against the wall of a parking garage. There was nothing like Kathryn period. It wasn’t until he caught her with someone else that he finally lost it. Even that might have been allowed if she hadn’t been with Lindsey. He damn near threw up when he saw Kathryn riding Lindsey like a bucking bronco. He lay beneath her, his hands tied to the bed in silk scarves, his hips pistoning up inside her. Angel staggered out of the door that day and never went back to her. He couldn’t help but notice that she wanted to be caught. After all, there was no fun if there wasn’t a game and she lived for playing them. She knew he’d be coming to her after work that night as he had every night for weeks. She wanted him to see her with his best friend. After a week of being ignored and not returning her calls, Kathryn condescended to visit him in his rat hole apartment, only to be turned away. Angel didn’t even try to hide his irritation when he slammed the door in her pretty face. A week after that she was waiting for him on his bed when he came home from work. “How did you get in here?” he demanded, tossing his jacket down on the bed before emptying his pockets and removing his gun, holster and badge. “I had someone break in, detective,” she said throatily, idly stroking the valley between her breasts as she watched him. “If you want to arrest me, you’ll probably need to strip search me first.” “Get out, Kathryn,” he said wearily, plopping down on the bed fully clothed next to her. “It’s been a long week and I’m tired.” Wickedly, she crawled over him, straddled his waist and ground her sex against his. She purred delightedly when she felt him immediately harden beneath her. “You’re never that tired, Angel,” she whispered. It wasn’t until she took one of his hands and pulled it up to her mouth that he snapped. He tossed her unceremoniously on her ass on the bed next to him and stood. “Get out, Kathryn,” he snarled. “It’s been fun, but it’s over.” “Do you think I came here for the view?” she hissed back, irritably waving at the shabby apartment around her. “I want to fuck!” “People in hell want ice water. Get out.” *** The door opening to his bedroom made Angel jolt from his reverie. He looked over at his bed where Kathryn was sleeping and back to the door where Wesley was sneaking into the room. “Has she woken at all?” Wesley asked, keeping his voice low. “Not since the hospital,” Angel said, leaning against the window frame. “I’ve just been-“ “Keeping a vigil?” Wesley asked, raising an eyebrow. “This isn’t what you think,” Angel whispered harshly. “She doesn’t mean anything to me.” Wesley opened his mouth to argue but decided against it by the look of sheer fury on Angel’s face. “Is there anything you need?” Wesley asked instead. “No,” Angel snapped. “Have someone standing by to bring something to eat when she wakes up – toast and tea or something. We’re going to have to explain some things to her.” Wesley nodded once and headed back out of the room as quietly as he came in. Angel closed his eyes and groaned at the bedroom door, before flicking his gaze back over to Kathryn. She looked so sweet and peaceful sleeping there, curled against his pillows, his silk sheets draped around her body. You’d think she wasn’t capable of destroying everything she touched. Not weeks after he had kicked her out of his apartment that night, she had shown up in the Chief’s office sporting a swollen lip and tearful eyes, telling him all about the horrible things Angel had done to her, including beatings, pimping, drug abuse – you name it, she had a story about it. Three months of leave without pay later and Angel was kicked off the force just barely escaping jail, just because he refused Kathryn Merteuil. And now, he thought, looking over her vulnerable form, she was completely helpless. She had no memory of who or what she was and according to the doctors, she might not regain her memory for quite some time. She had two broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and numerous bumps and contusions, including strangle marks around her throat. Angel sneered. Revenge was going to be so very sweet. Poor Kathryn with no one but him to turn to, no memory of what she was capable of and not even the ability to run from the house. She would grow to depend on him and trust him and then he would ruin her life as badly as she had ruined his. *** She woke up and tried to sit up in bed only to find that she could barely move. She looked around the room wild-eyed and when she saw the large form of a man coming quickly towards her, she started to scream. Her throat burned and ached so badly that the sound she made resembled more of a whimper. “Please,” she cried out, trying to slide away from the man approaching her. “Don’t.” “Kathryn,” he said, in a deep rumbling voice, “calm down. It’s only me. Angel.” What she knew of her life came rushing back as he brushed her hair gently from her face. She didn’t remember why but she hated hospitals and when she woke up in one, she tried desperately to escape despite her condition. She screamed and kicked despite the pain it caused her. The doctor and nurses explained she was having a panic attack and gave her sedatives. She shouted until she passed out from the drugs. She only wanted to go home, even if she had no idea where that was. When she woke later, the Dr. Green asked her if her name was Kathryn Merteuil and she realized she couldn’t remember. She had no idea who she was or where she could go to escape the hospital. She was hysterical and the same kind of panic came over her now. The name Kathryn didn’t mean anything to her and the gentle brown eyes of the man sitting next to her on the bed were not recognizable. All she knew was that he was her only link to who and what she had been and that he had agreed to let her stay with him, rather than in the hospital, until she could remember who she was. He handed her a glass of water and she gratefully took it, wanting to assuage the pain in her throat, but it streaked down like fire instead. He was staring at her as if he expected her to tell him everything, but she couldn’t. He seemed to know more about her than she did. Her face redden in humiliation when he asked her if she needed help to the bathroom and she had to admit that she did. She pushed away the blankets and looked down. She was wearing a baby blue silk nightgown that was at least a size too big for her. The scooped neckline almost bared her breasts completely. Self consciously, she tugged it up and then covered her legs more. When she looked up, Angel, looked confused, but then the expression was quickly shuttered. “Is this mine?” she asked as she tried to scoot to the edge of the bed. “It’s Cordy’s.” He said, sweeping her into his arms. “Cordy?” “A friend…of mine,” he answered. “You’ve never met her.” “I can walk,” she protested, as he lifted her up and held her closely, but gently against his broad chest. Her ribs ached in protest with every step he made despite his attempts to be gentle. “No, you can’t,” he answered firmly, carrying her across the room to attached bathroom. The room was large and spacious. The four-poster king sized bed she had been lying in must have been Angel’s bed. It was the centerpiece of the room, covered in decadent black silk. The bathroom was large too, clean and elegant. He set her on her feet softly and she swayed for a moment, holding on to him while she balanced on her good foot. “I can help you or I can leave,” he said quietly. “I can do it,” she said, swallowing harshly and regretting it when her throat ached in response. “I’ll be right outside the door,” he said, strolling back outside and shutting the door behind him. Going to the bathroom was a struggle. Every part of her body ached when she moved. Just sitting down and getting up again was almost too much to ask of her abused body. After relieving herself, she tried to limp across the room and then resolved to hop on one foot. The large mirror over the sink was calling to her. She needed, more than anything else, to see her own face. Her ribs ached horribly and when she looked into the mirror, she cried out in distress. She broke out in a horrified sob as she realized she didn’t recognize herself, which was bruised and discolored from the attack. She had been certain that one glance in the mirror would bring it all back, but it didn’t. She was a blank slate. She leaned against the counter, staring at the crying stranger in the mirror when Angel came back inside. “You know me,” she sniffled, after he put her back in his bed. “Yes,” he said. “For how long?” “I’ve known you for a little over three years,” he said, divulging no other information. “And?” she asked impatiently. “And what?” “I don’t remember anything,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know who I am. Tell me something. Anything. Did we like each other? When was the last time I saw you? What were we to each other?” “We used to be lovers,” he said in low, heated voice that sent a shiver down her spine. “We…we did?” she rasped in surprise. She wasn’t certain why it never occurred to her before, but she never thought about the possibility of a lover before that moment. She raked her eyes over him then, taking in the details of her former lover. She wanted so badly to feel some familiarity, but there was none. For all she knew, he could have been lying. For all she knew, her name wasn’t really Kathryn. Unfortunately, he was the only person she knew and she was forced to trust him. “It was years ago,” he said abruptly, covering her with the blankets and rising to his full height. Every bit of warmth he had exuded previously, which wasn’t much, had disappeared with the discussion of their past. “It ended badly,” she said, knowing from his posture that it was true. “You could say that,” he said wryly. “Tell me more,” she said, stifling a yawn. Her eyes drooped even as she struggled to keep them open. There were so many more questions she had for him. “Later,” he whispered. She felt his fingers flutter over her jaw line just as she began falling asleep. Home - Navigation - Affiliates - Random - Fanfiction - Links - Updates - About
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