The Wolfram & Hart building looked beautiful at night. The moon and stars were reflected on the windows, giving it a heavenly look and making it almost possible for her to think it was a safe place for her friends to be in. Almost, since there was too much evil inside those glass walls not to notice, even when she knew that her friends would keep their eyes open in the future.
"Are you ready? Let's go. Lots of things to do and... well, eternity to do them, but I am sure you are dying to know what this is all about".
Cordelia turned around, startled at the female voice from behind her.
"You have to be kidding me," she said when she noticed Lilah Morgan was the one waiting for her. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is," Cordelia begged sarcasm evident in her voice.
"If you don't want me to tell you that I'll be your guide to Paradise, then I won't," Lilah said, rejoicing with the look of surprise and confusion on Cordelia's face. She walked to the edge of the terrace and sat down on a rusted chair to admire the view.
"You can't be in Heaven," Cordelia exclaimed, shaking her head and laughing, unable to believe it.
"What can I say? I've paid my dues," Lilah shrugged as she straightened out the sleeves of her white suit.
"Bribed someone to get you into heaven sounds more likely," Cordelia pointed out, raising an eyebrow and flashing her a half smile.
"Fine, some people are better than others are, but in here that doesn't matter anymore," Lilah said. Cordelia's amazement was getting old and she really wanted to show her what she had earned for eternity. It was part of her job to show the newcomers around, but she knew that since it involved Cordelia Chase, the tour would be quite tasteful. "Ready?"
Cordelia took one last look at the Wolfram & Hart building and then nodded, without taking the hand Lilah was offering her.
"Yeah, I know. It's lame, but we need to hold hands now," Lilah explained, amused by the situation. If anyone had told her that one day they'd be holding hands, Lilah would have died laughing.
Cordelia sighed, resigned, and then she placed her palm over Lilah's, feeling an electrical shock when their skin came in contact.
"Don't worry about that. It's perfectly normal. You feel corporeal, but you're nothing but energy now."
Suddenly, the lights of Los Angeles disappeared under Cordelia's nose and she found herself on the beach, at night, standing in the shore and watching the ocean, her hand still locked with Lilah's.
"You like the beach then," Lilah stated. Cordelia nodded.
"Am I doing this?" Cordelia asked, looking puzzled, as if she had many questions but didn't know where to start.
"You're still adjusting. From a while, you will walk wherever you want to walk and do whatever you want to do. You will even eat whatever you want to eat, even if you don't need to. You're just projecting them and I'm receiving them because we're holding hands. You'll be able to do this with anyone here," Lilah explained, and as she spoke the last words, she pressed her hand against Cordelia and suddenly they were inside a large living room, with leather armchairs, dark furniture and a large window over viewing the ocean. "I like the ocean, too." Lilah said. "But I'm more of an indoor person."
"So this is you?" Cordelia asked. "I like it."
"Of course," Lilah replied with satisfaction.
"Don't be so smug," Cordelia said. "Haven't you learned anything here?"
Lilah simply laughed. "If you didn't like it, you'd have wanted out already. But you are comfortable here. I can sense it."
"Can we stop holding hands now?" Cordelia asked. "I feel like a silly schoolgirl."
"Ok, but do it slowly. Very slowly," Lilah whispered they untangled their fingers. Only their palms were in contact, sending shivers down Cordelia's spine, who suddenly felt a wave of desire running through.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed and secured her grip on Lilah's hand again. "What was that?"
"You want me," Lilah stated matter-of-factly but with a smug grin across her face. "I always knew there was something more than basic antagonism and good fashion sense between us."
"I don't want you," Cordelia rolled her eyes, making Lilah laugh.
"Darling, you felt it. I felt it. Don't try to deny it," Lilah's free hand roamed over the skin of Cordelia's shoulder.
"Besides, here you can entertain yourself with a projected version of me, or you can have the real thing while you can. Your call," she said, pressing her body closer to Cordelia's.
Lilah would have never admitted it, but she respected Cordelia's strength and she found it enthralling in many ways. And after making contact with the seer, she understood the feeling was mutual. Cordelia respected Lilah as a rival. Perhaps the qualities Cordelia admired were those she could identify with, allowing her to be interested in Lilah, despite of herself.
"Fine," Cordelia muttered with fake resignation before immediately moving closer to Lilah herself until their breasts came to full contact and their mouths were only inches apart. The soft, electric current ran through her body once again and pleasure invaded her.
Without hesitation she pressed her lips against Lilah's. Their mouths danced with a furious rhythm, their lips tasting each other's hungrily. In a heartbeat, Cordelia found herself completely naked and she felt Lilah's hands examining the surface of skin.
"Not fair," she mumbled, and after one short laugh from her partner, Lilah was equally naked.
"Better?" Lilah asked, feeling Cordelia's fingertips across her back and making their way down and taking that as the response.
With the blink of an eye Cordelia found herself in bed, lying atop white satin sheets and covered by Lilah's warm body. She arched herself into that body, loving the sensation of her legs rubbing against Lilah's smooth ones while the former lawyer's tongue traced the line of her neck and the path downwards. Lilah buried her face between Cordelia's breasts, licking and scratching the delicate skin with her teeth.
Cordelia moaned as Lilah's fingers caressed her inner thighs teasingly before finding their target between her legs, running over the wet folds and fondling the curious clit that begged for attention. The soft pressure send a tingling sensation through her pelvis and Cordelia realized that being made of energy was a lot more interesting that being flesh and bones.
Every time Lilah moved deeper inside her she felt it in every molecule and the sensation was a thousand times more intense than before. It only took her a few minutes to reach the top, screaming Lilah's name as she came, shaking her body violently. Cordelia noticed the grin on Lilah's face before passing out.
"So you met Lilah already," a strong Irish accent sounded behind her. Cordelia turned around to see Doyle looking at her adoringly.
"Doyle!" she ran to him and they hugged tightly for several minutes. Cordelia felt the sparks as their bodies came in contact and she was suddenly reminded of Lilah and Doyle's comment.
"Lilah..." Cordelia whispered. "How do you...?" but she knew there was no point in completing the question. "You know Lilah?" she asked, instead.
"Sure. I've been keeping my eye on her. Honestly, I never thought she'd end up here, ye know?" he laughed. "But I guess she's found her place in the welcome committee." He added, winking an eye. Cordelia simply smiled. She couldn't blush even if she tried to.
The surroundings turned into a snowy valley. She admired the landscape and smiled. "I like the mountains," he shrugged.
"So this is how things work up here," Cordelia asked Doyle as she linked her arm around his. They started walking towards a frozen lake.
"That's why they call it paradise, princess."