“What’s the matter, pet? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” He cocked his head to the side, watching her closely. His girl had lost a lot of weight since he last saw her, that was for sure. She had always been thin, but now, she was next to skinny. It didn’t matter to him, though. He would always love her, even if she was barely more than skin and bones.
“You...” Buffy stared at him with wide eyes. “I thought...” She swallowed. “Are you real?”
“You tell me.” He smiled a little, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
She reached out a shaky hand towards his face, but pulled back before she could touch him. When she spoke, her voice was barely more than a whisper. “It’s been almost five months...”
“Hundred forty-seven days yesterday. Hundred forty-eight today.” His eyes never left her face. “’Cept today doesn’t count, does it?”
“No.” She shook her head, slowly. “You’re really here.”
“That I am. Could never stay away from you.” For a moment, they just stared at each other, none of them able to look away. “Are you gonna invite me in?”
She just kept looking at him. Then, a smile spread on her face. “Come in, William.”
He followed her into the house, unable to take his eyes away from her. She stopped in the middle of the room, turning around to face him. “William...”
“Beautiful as ever, you are.” He interrupted her, putting his hand gently on her cheek. “But you haven’t taken care of yourself. Tell me something, luv. When was the last time you actually ate something?”
“Hmm.” Buffy looked at him, like hypnotized. “Can’t remember. Maybe this morning.”
“Huh.” He nodded in acceptance. “Well, I’m here now. Will you let me take care of you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not leaving again, are you?”
Shaking his head, he let his fingers slowly wander over her face. She closed her eyes. “Not leaving ever again. You have my word.”
Their eyes met. Finally, she nodded. “I believe you.” A pause. “I need you.”
At first, he looked a little surprised by her words. Then, a ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he raised a scarred brow. “What, right now? Here?”
She nodded again. “Yes, here. I’m yours. Take me, William.” She paused again. “Fuck me.”
His eyes never leaving hers, he unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the floor without a word. Then he dropped to his knees in front of her.
His mind was screaming at him to rip her clothes off, pull her down on the floor and slam his painfully hard cock into her, over and over again until she would either bleed, or simply pass out from exhaustion. Instead, he gently slid his hand under her skirt, pulling down her white, silk thong with one swift move. The feeling of her tanned, smooth skin against his fingers was almost intoxicating, and he felt his mouth watering. He could just take her, right now, and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Yet, he merely leaned closer, feeling the soft, curly hair tickling his face as he inhaled the sweet scent from her pussy.
Buffy let out a soft moan, her whole body trembling. “Don’t tease me, William. I know you want me.”
“Oh, I want you, pet.” He let out a shuddering breath, suddenly afraid his voice would fail him. “I’ll always want you.” Without another word, he put both his hands on her slender hips to steady himself as he started letting his tongue do the talking, showing her how much he really wanted her. A small whimper escaped from her throat as he gently kept licking her clit, having no intention to stop until she would either beg or scream.
It didn’t take long before she came with a silent gasp, her hands grasping at his shoulders as her legs finally gave out, failing to support her. He immediately slipped his arms around her waist, gently lowering her down on the floor before rolling them over so he was on top of her. Then he hesitated for a moment, looking at her with so much passion in his eyes that Buffy felt like she couldn’t breathe, and she almost wept in frustration. “William, please...”
He interrupted her by pressing his lips against hers, kissing her almost fiercely as he easily slid inside her. “So bloody wet...” he gasped, savoring the feeling of finally being back where he belonged. It wasn’t Heaven, but it was as close as he would ever get. As he kept pumping faster and faster inside her, the rest of the world disappeared, and the only thing he was aware of was the beautiful woman in his arms, whispering his name over and over until they both came with a mutual scream.
“Do me a favor, pet?” He pulled her even closer, brushing his lips against her forehead and kept running his fingers softly through her tangled hair.
She was still a little out of breath after their intense love-making, and gave him a tired smile. “Anything.”
He was quiet for a moment, then looked away, suddenly not wanting to meet her eyes. “Don’t call me that anymore.”
Frowning, she glanced at him, trying to figure out what he meant. “Call you what?”
“William.” He still wouldn’t look at her. “It’s not who I am now.”
She swallowed. “Then what do you want me to call you?” He didn’t answer.
“Buffy, luv, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Don’t.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Don’t say it. I already know.” A pause. “And it’s okay.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “How can you say...?”
She interrupted him, kissing him again. “It’s okay,” she repeated, firmly.
For a couple of minutes, none of them spoke. Then, Buffy let her fingers run softly over his scar. “Did it hurt?”
He just looked at her, not trusting his own voice enough to speak, shaking his head, slowly.
“Were you scared?” Suddenly, tears were streaming down her face and she was unable to stop them.
Letting out the breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding, he finally nodded. “Yeah. But not for the reasons you may think.” He would do anything to take her pain away, knowing that he was the cause of it.
“I’m so sorry.” He was crying now, silently, his face turned away from her, not wanting her to see his tears. But he knew that he could never hide his feelings from her, no matter how hard he tried. Buffy had always been able to see right into his soul. The soul that was no longer there. So he wept, for her loss as well as for his own.
“Shh, I know.” She tightened her grip around him, pressing her cheek against his. “It’s not your fault.”
He went on like he hadn’t heard her; “Didn’t wanna leave you, pet. You have to believe me.”
“I do.” Buffy pulled back a little, gently brushing his tears away with her fingers. “Just tell me one thing.” She paused, almost afraid to ask. “Do you still love me?”
He stared at her with wide eyes, tears instantly forgotten. “Of course I still love you! That’ll never change, pet, I promise. I’ll love you forever.”
Looking into his blue eyes, Buffy forced back a sob. “Forever’s not long enough.”
“No, it’s not.” His eyes were dry now, and he felt like his chest was burning. “But it’ll just have to do.”
“Are you sure about this, luv?” His face was pressed against her neck and his voice sounded muffled. “Once we do this, there’s no turning back.” He didn’t dare looking at her at first, too afraid of seeing the possible rejection in her eyes. But when he finally pulled back and their eyes met, all he saw there was love.
She just smiled. “Do it.”
He only hesitated for a second, then returned her smile almost shyly and tucked a single strand of hair behind her ear. “I love you.”
“I know.” Buffy let out a soft sigh and rested her forehead against his for a moment. “I love you, too.” She looked him right in the eyes as she lifted her hair from her shoulder, giving him access to her neck.
His eyes flashed yellow and his face shifted, although he never stopped stroking her hair, soothingly, as he let his sharp teeth sink down into her exposed throat, feeling the sweet taste of her blood in his mouth as his fangs pierced her soft skin. He kept drinking until he felt the life starting to slip away from her, and immediately pulled back, gently guiding her mouth down to his own neck. And he kept holding her close, even when her heart had long since stopped beating.
The first thing she became aware of when she woke up was the worried look on his face. He gave her a shaky smile when he realized that her eyes were finally open and that she was now looking directly at him. “Hey there, cutie. Was starting to get afraid you wouldn’t come back to me.”
Buffy inhaled sharply, then realized that breathing was no longer necessary. She struggled to sit up, giving him an assuring smile. “I will always come back to you.” Her smile faltered a little and she shuddered. “I’m so cold.”
He wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back. “I know, kitten. It’ll get better once you’ve fed.”
Closing her eyes, Buffy enjoyed the feeling of his strong arms around her. She realized that a part of her was missing and that she should feel at least some kind of loss, but for some reason, she had never felt more whole in her entire life. She felt complete. Safe. Loved.
She had always known that vampires were real. And the moment she had opened the door and seen him standing on the porch, she had known exactly what he was. She had felt it. Yet, she hadn’t feared him, even for a second. She knew that he would never hurt her. Unless, of course, she asked him to. And for the last couple of months, even though her friends kept telling her to move on, that he was gone, a part of her had always known that it was just a matter of time before he would come back to her. Because not even death could ever come between them. They had finally found each other again. And this time, it was forever.
Now she rolled her eyes and gave him a sweet smile as he kept fussing over her. “I’m fine. In fact, I’ve never felt better.” She paused. “Have you decided yet?”
Frowning, he gave her a questioning look. “Decided what, sweet love?”
“What you want me to call you.”
“Oh.” He chuckled a little. “You decide.” A pause. “Just nothing poncy.”
“Okay...” She thought about it for a moment, then pouted. “I like ‘William’. How about ‘William the Bloody’?”
He stared at her in disbelief, then let out a snort. “You better be kidding.”
“What? It’s a nice name!” He growled at her, and she couldn’t help but giggle. “All right, I’ll think of something else. Hmm, something less nice...” Her face lit up. “What about ‘Spike’? That bad enough for you?”
“Spike, eh?” He smirked. “I like it.”
“Good, then it’s settled.” Buffy’s face softened. “This is real, isn’t it?”
“Real as it’ll ever be.” The smug look on his face disappeared, and suddenly he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him before. “No regrets?”
She leaned over and kissed him. “No regrets.”
“Good.” He looked relieved, the confident look back on his face. “Hey, the sun’s down. Wanna get out of here and get something to eat?”
A wide grin spread on her face. She knew exactly what he was thinking, yet it didn't bother her. After all, she was a creature of the night now, just like him. And she couldn’t help but feel strangely excited. “I thought you’d never ask!”
Hand in hand, they left the house and stepped out into the night.