Angel Ch. 01

A/N: So I'm trying this crazy "story actually has a plot" thing again. Hopefully y'all like this because I'm very excited to share it. Warning: the updates for this will be pretty slow as I plan to make each chapter especially long. Comments + Criticism make me write faster!

"Are you sure you want to go up there, boss?" Illya turned to face him from the driver's seat, mouth turned downwards. Ivan tilted his head to look out the tinted car window at the faded brown brick apartment building, smiling wolfishly. "Of course. It's always nice striking the fear of God into a cokehead like Faul every once in a while. Come." Vikashev, sitting in the passenger seat of the black SUV, laughed quietly. Ivan opened the door and stepped out into the chilly November air, rubbing his hands together before entering the building. The lobby of the building smelled of old newspapers with a lingering scent of tomatoes and cheese, as if a delivery man had passed through minutes before. The walls that had once been a bright white were now an aged yellow, speaking to the superintendent's neglect.

Hm. Maybe I should have a word with him once I'm done.

Ivan, Illya (his right hand) and Vikashev piled into the rickety elevator. Illya murmured "Pyat" and Vikashev pressed the button with a worn-down number five, shaking his head briefly when it refused to light up. "This place is a mess boss. Why not just knock the useless shithole down?" Ivan narrowed his eyes and considered it for a moment before showing his disinterest in the idea with a quick shake of his head. "No, no. There are tenants here who can't afford much else." The three men exit and stalk down the hallways of the fifth floor moving quickly and with purpose. "Shithole it may be, but it is not useless."

Illya knocked hard on the dark brown door once.

"Hang on a minute!" Faul yelled from the other side. There was a brief shuffling before the door swung open, revealing Robert Faul, eyes red and clothes dirty. "Ivan! Oh shit man! Hey! I-I didn't think I'd be seeing you."

"Well I like to make house calls every once in a while. Now, we must speak."

The three imposing Russians entered through the doorway.

"We won't be staying long."

----o----

"Almost done!" Angelica swiped her arm across her forehead before exhaling loudly. She stepped back to admire her work. Never in the six years she'd been living in apartment 501 had it looked so clean. She had spent the better part of a day scrubbing any and every surface she could find, all because she'd found a rat living behind her sofa. Well it had been living behind her sofa at one point but when Angelica discovered it had long since passed its expiration date.

"All that's left is the trash." She spoke aloud to herself before heaving the large bag up off her hardwood floors and carrying it to her doorway. She struggled to open the door for a moment and dropped the bag in the hallway once it was finally open. When she bent over to pick the bag up once more, a shadow loomed over her.

"Do you need some help with that, Miss?" A calm accented baritone asked from behind her.

She turned slowly to see an extremely tall man smiling down at her, flanked by two other imposing figures. All three men were dressed much too nice to actually be residence in the admittedly shoddy apartment building; tailored suits under thick expensive looking coats. The man who spoke to her raised his eyebrows waiting for his answer, and wow. Angelica must've been distracted by their designer outfits because Mr. Helpful was pretty damn handsome. Skin clear, save a small, pink scar on his upper lip and dark slicked back hair drew attention to his strong aquiline nose and clear blue eyes.

"Grey?" Angelica murmured to herself, not realizing she said it out loud. The stranger's face contorted in confusion.

"I'm sorry?"

Angelica shook her head as if to clear the fog invading her thoughts.

"I'm okay! No thank you."

"Nonsense, my mother would kill me if she knew I let a woman carry a load herself when I was readily available." With that he reached around Angelica and grabbed the garbage bag, pivoting on his heel to walk towards the garbage chute. Angelica trailed after him wringing her hands, she didn't necessarily like that he'd taken the trash anyway but it was really heavy. The two of them crammed into the small room where the garbage chute door was and it was only when the man had opened the tiny metal door that Angelica realized she didn't have to be in the room with him. Still, she watched him put the garbage bag into the chute and laughed a bit when it didn't immediately slide down.

"You can just push it through." He regarded her for a moment before nodding and laying both hands onto the back and giving it a quick shove.

"Blyad!" He yelled, right hand recoiling as the garbage disappeared down the chute. Angelica's confusion at his outburst lasted a few seconds before she saw the steadily bleeding cut on the stranger's hand.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I forgot there was glass in it. I'm so sorry, please come with me." She grabbed him by the cuff of his jacket and led him out of the garbage room and towards her apartment. He hesitated for a moment and when Angelica looked back she saw him wave off his two concerned looking companions. Without a word they turned towards the elevators.

----o----

Ivan followed the woman into her apartment, eyes tracking the sway of her hips and her nervous way of fidgeting. She was quite pretty, not his usual type with her hair done in long black braids that reached just below her shoulder blades and her skin a warm dark brown. Once inside she motioned for him to sit down in an office chair near her computer desk. When he took the offered seat she promptly disappeared searching for something in what Ivan assumed was her bathroom.

Ivan took that time to scan his surroundings. Peach painted walls and hardwood floor didn't exactly match her two small grey sofas and the small dark wood dining table but who was Ivan to judge? If it wasn't for his sisters insisting on the help of an interior designer, Ivan was sure his home would be a nightmare of mismatched colors and furnishings. Just then the woman returned clutching a bright red cloth box in her hand. She raised it and shook it a bit, "First aid." Her tone and smile was apologetic and Ivan felt himself smile in return.

"I am so sorry...uh...I don't know your name!" She exclaimed before dragging one of two dining chairs to sit across from Ivan. She took his hand and gingerly placed it in her lap so she could begin cleaning it.

"Ivan. Ivan Sakharov." She nodded deeply, focused on the task she'd given herself.

"That's Russian right?" She glanced up for confirmation, when she received it she continued on, "My name's Angelica Kane or Angie I suppose."

"Angelica." Ivan tested it out.

----o----

Angie shivered at the sound of him saying her name, his accent wrapping sweetly around the vowels and consonants.

"Yeah." She breathed. "This might hurt a bit." She felt Ivan huff a bit of laughter, as if the thought that Angie could do something to hurt him was amusing.

Tough guy huh?

Angie swabbed at the cut with cloth doused in hydrogen peroxide and watched his face for the telltale sign of discomfort.

Nothing.

His eyebrow hadn't even twitched. Ivan smiled down at her like he knew exactly what she had been thinking and took great pleasure in proving her wrong. Angie looked back down at the cut to inspect it a bit more, it wasn't too deep, just quite long, arcing across his palm in the subdued red-pink of a clean wound. She kissed her teeth, a little upset that he had hurt himself while doing her a favour (granted she hadn't asked but...).

"Oh, I'm so sorry about this, I should have told you. Should've remembered." Slowly she wrapped gauze around his palm before securing it with the tiny silver clip. Finishing her task, Angelica looked up to meet his eyes, guilt churning in her stomach.

"Don't worry about it, I've had worse. This is practically a bug bite. Doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Now you and I both know there is no way that's true. My garbage basically sliced open your hand. You have to let me make it up to you!" She frowned, packing up the first aid kid and leaving to stash it away in her hall closet.

"You're exaggerating, but I won't say no to seeing you again. How exactly are you planning to...make it up." Angie paused in her actions at the tone of his voice. Silky, cloying, suggestive. She gave the first aid kit one more shove and closed the closet door, "I don't know what you think I'm offering but I was thinking along the lines of dinner. My treat."

----o----

Ivan considered her offer for a moment, there was no way in hell he was going to allow her to treat him to dinner, besides, Ivan wasn't very fond of dining out in public with civilians. Never know who's watching.

It just wasn't a good idea.

Hesitating, Ivan spoke: "I don't know...I'm not big on dining out." Angelica frowned for a moment before smiling once more. "That's fine! I'll make you dinner, what do you like? Not to brag but I'm pretty proficient in the kitchen."

Now that, Ivan was happy to accept.

----o----

"So when's this dude coming over again?" Angie's best friends sat on her couch flipping through her TV channels before settling on a rerun of America's Next Top Model.

"Tonight! Which is why I invited you two over here! You're supposed to be helping me taste test remember?"

Erika and Shae got up from the couch to stand at either side of Angelica in her kitchen, a tight squeeze to say the least. Shae rubbed her hands together, peering into the bubbling pot on the stove before sniffing its contents. "What do we have here?"

"Spaghetti, I figure it's something safe and he shouldn't have any complaints, right? Who doesn't like spaghetti?" Shae hummed in agreement before tasting the sauce and sprinkling in black pepper.

Erika snorted, "Lots of people Angie. Maybe you should've gone for something a little more adventurous. Like...sushi." Shae perked up at the idea. "Oh yes! And serve it on your body, you know, naked, lying on the table! He knocks, you tell him to come in and BAM!" She bangs her hand on the kitchen counter, "he's eating a spicy salmon roll off your-"

"Shae! Shut up. He is not eating anything off me, that is..."

"Sexy?" Erika leered.

"Unexpected?" Shae left the kitchen to flop back on Angelica's couch.

"No, you nasties, it's unsanitary. Besides this isn't an actual date, I'm just repaying him for taking out my trash and slicing open his hand." Angelica pulled the pot from the stove and turned off the heat. "Ok, get out of my house, he's probably on his way now." The two grumbled but packed up their things and slid on their coats.

"Good luck boo. Give his Russian ass something to dream about tonight." Shae snickered before shutting Angelica's front door behind her.

Angelica rolled her eyes and began assembling dinner.

Twenty minutes later, she heard three quick knocks on her door.

----o----

Ivan clutched the bottle of red wine one of his sisters, Yekaterina had recommended.

"A date Vanya? With who? The waitress from Red Square? What was her name again, ugh Lillian?"

Ivan chuckled while he rifled through the books in his sisters' shared apartment. He pulled out a copy of Love's Labour's Lost and flipped over the pages. "Lidia. And no, she's just a girl I ran into, at the convenience store. You don't know her." Ivan refused to tell his sister that Angelica was a tenant in one of his buildings, it was asking for trouble. The eldest Sakharov loved her siblings but she was often overbearing, if she caught wind that Ivan was in a position of power over Angelica (in a way not even Angelica was aware of), she'd rip him a new one. She'd been reluctant to allow him to date one of the waitresses from her restaurant and he hadn't even been all that serious about her.

"Well I'm sure she's wonderful, try a red, maybe Cabernet Sauvignon? It's very popular at the restaurant lately, I have a bottle you can take in the kitchen."

He rapped his knuckles against her front door three times. Angelica swung open her door with a bright smile on her face and Ivan was struck once again with how lovely she was.

"Ivan! Hi, welcome back, how's your hand?"

He brought the body part referenced up for her to see, bandaged tightly.

"The doctor has assured me I will survive. How have you been, Angelica? You look good." His gaze swept her appreciatively and he entered her apartment when she made room for him.

Angelica couldn't help but giggle at the compliment, "I've been good, and thank you. You're not too bad yourself. Follow me, I hope you like spaghetti, because you don't really have a choice, it's all I made." She led him past her kitchen to her small dining area and motioned for him to sit down.

"I like spaghetti just fine."

----o----

If you asked Angelica how the hell she'd gotten in this position, she wouldn't have been able to tell you. And yet here she was, laying back on her elbows on her bed, watching Ivan slowly rid himself of his button up shirt. One minute they had been laughing over spaghetti and red wine and the next Ivan was asking if she had protection in her bedside drawer. The sight of his bare, muscled chest stoked a fire in Angelica's stomach. Her eyes catalogued every detail of his body, the pink scar on the right side of his abdomen (definitely not an appendix scar), the dark trail of hair leading from his belly button into his pants that housed a definite bulge. Angelica nervously fisted her hands in her comforter, God, I'm doing this. I'm going to have sex with this man. I barely know him! What if he's crazy, what if I do this and he thinks I'm terrible? What if he's terrible?. Angelica was snapped out of her frantic thoughts by the sound of Ivan speaking.

"What?" Angelica asked him dazedly, watching his shirt fall to the floor before meeting his eyes. Ivan chuckled at her expression and repeated himself.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ivan's hands left his belt before he could fully undo the buckle. He walked slowly towards her and sat himself on the side of her bed, resting his large hand on her knee. "I'd understand if you change your mind."

"Why would I change my mind? I'm a little nervous, I'll admit. But I'm definitely still interested." To prove her point she stripped off her top and jumped off the bed to do the same to her skirt. "No going back now, big boy!" She turned to face him and sent a silent thank you to "past her" who decided there was no harm in wearing a pink lace bra and panty set. The same underwear responsible for the darkening of Ivan's eyes.

"Come here." Ivan called to her, spreading his knees to make a space for Angelica. He slid his arms around her torso while she laid her arms primly on his shoulders. Ivan could barely drag his gaze up from her round breasts sitting temptingly in the lacy cups of her bra. Angelica laughed at his laser focus on her chest.

"Like what you see?"

"Lace. My one true weakness." Ivan wasn't joking. If there was anything that made him harder than a beautiful woman in lace undergarments, he hadn't found it yet. Besides, their position had Ivan's face situated right at breast level, and he didn't mind it one bit. He pressed Angelica's body closer to his and lightly rubbed his mouth over the swell of her breast, hands sliding up to undo the clasp of her bra. Much as he adored the material, it stood between him and something far more precious.

When Angelica's bra fell to the floor Ivan took a moment to appreciate the sight. Her skin, dark and rich topped with a pair of even darker coloured nipples.

"Just like-" Ivan begins, only to be cut off by Angelica who sounded equal parts amused and irritated.

"If the next word you say is chocolate I will punch you in the mouth."

Ivan was taken aback by the bite in her voice. "I assume you've been called that quite a bit."

"Yup, and I don't like it, so keep all that food speak to yourself."

"Right, I get it. No food."

"Thank you."

"Now that we've gotten that situated, may I fuck you now?"

"I can't believe I told myself this wasn't a date." She laughed softly, covering her face with her hand.

"You in the habit of lying to yourself, Angelica?"

"Not very often. Consider yourself special."

"Oh, I do." Ivan lowered his hands to her panties and slid his thumbs into the waistband to pull them down.

"Wait." Angelica placed her hands on his and pushed them away, "I'm not the only one getting naked here man." She reached down to withdraw the belt from Ivan's pants and pressed the heel of her palm to his manhood, eliciting a hiss through closed teeth from Ivan. He grabbed her at the wrist and looked into her eyes.

"Don't play with me Angelica."

Angelica managed not to whimper at the urgency in his voice, just barely. She watched Ivan rid himself of his pants and boxers all at once, marvelling at the twitching length of his cock. She pulled her panties down and shivered at the feel of cool air on her sex. Ivan grabbed at her and they tumble together onto the bed. They settled with Angelica on top of Ivan, mouths pressed together in a playful battle of tongue and breath, the two running their hands over any skin they could reach. Angelica pulled away for a moment and leaned over to snag a condom from her nightstand, tearing it open with her teeth and sliding it on Ivan without ceremony.

Angelica repositioned herself over Ivan's upright erection, stopping briefly to rub the tip of his cock against the lips of her cunt, biting her lips at the rush of pleasure it caused. She dropped her weight onto him and shuddered at the feeling of being full. She watched Ivan's face closely and smiled at his shut eyes and bared teeth. His throat worked spasmodically as he tensed and untensed his jaw.

'Someone's feeling good.' She thought pridefully, gyrating her hips back and forth, revelling in the feel of him underneath her. They worked in tandem with each other, rocking against one another, trading hot kisses and teasing bites.

For a while nothing was said save the gentle moans and whisperings between them.

Angelica stopped their motions to drop her head into his shoulders, mouth poised at his ear.

"Look, this is about to sound really selfish, but I don't wanna ride you anymore. I'm really tired. Think we could switch it up?"

Ivan froze for a moment, mind delayed by the sensation of her pussy throbbing around him. When it finally did click, he laughed. Real, full, belly laughing.

"Sure. Get on your back?"

Angelica was all too happy to concede. She swung her leg around him and flopped onto her back, spreading her legs for Ivan to situate himself between them.

Ivan pressed their lips together once more and fucked into her roughly, all at once.

In that moment, Angelica could feel everything; the pulsing of Ivan deep inside her, the slide of the sheets beneath under her back, every breath leaving their bodies. It was too much and not enough all at the same time. Her eyes roamed his face, cataloguing the blown pupils of his eyes, reducing that steely blue to a small ring around black. The slight downturn of his mouth as he adjusted to the wet clutch of her cunt.

Ivan grunted above her, his hands tightening on her hips. The drag of his cock inside her was delicious, like her insides don't want to let him go. She couldn't believe she was worrying about this. She didn't know how she could possibly go back to just playing with herself after this. How was Angelica supposed to be content with that when she knew how thick and hot Ivan's cock was when he filled her? Ivan slowed down, fucking into her leisurely. She made a questioning noise and he pinched her nipple with one hand.