Chapter 6
Stealing a car was never an easy thing. Doing it in broad daylight was damn near impossible. She needed to find something that would provide decent cover for Spike during the day, but still be manageable for her to drive. Campers and RV’s were out. She’d settle on a pickup truck, but it would need to have a bedcover in order to be feasible.
Driving Spike’s Desoto with its blackened out windows was sure to draw attention, especially driving it through suburban Phoenix. But, she needed to find a car, and damn soon.
She drove around a corner and it seemed as if the fates were smiling down on her. She pulled over as she watch a woman get out of her idling SUV she had parked at the curb to dart back inside her house. It was now or never.
Leaving the Desoto running, she slipped out of the driver’s seat and raced to the woman’s SUV. Two seconds later, she calmly slipped behind the wheel and drove the car a few blocks over. She cut off the engine and grabbed the keys before racing back to where she had left a wounded Spike bundled up in a comforter inside his car.
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy was driving on the interstate out of town after a brief stop to change the license plates with another vehicle. She was getting pretty good at this. She just prayed Spike didn’t kill her when he realized she’d ditched his car. In his current condition, it didn’t seem like a possible notion…which reminded her. She was going to have to stop soon to see to his injuries.
She finally stopped in Tucson, Arizona. She would have driven further, tried to put more distance between them and their last known location, but she was deeply worried about Spike. She was going to need him to help find the Order, and she’d come to rely on his presence over the last couple of days.
She pulled the stolen SUV into a “mom and pop” motel and went to secure a room. She chose one as far away from prying eyes as possible. They’d probably think it was strange for a girl to be hauling a rolled up comforter over her shoulder, especially given her new “Goth” look. Something of which she’d almost forgotten about. But, the wary looks the older woman had thrown her way quickly reminded her of the fact.
She grabbed all of their belongings and deposited them in the room before going back to get Spike. As she hoisted him onto her shoulder, she heard him let out a muffled groan. She was torn between going slow and prolonging his agony, or just hurrying and getting it over with. In the end, she just hurried.
She eased the rolled up vampire off of her shoulder and onto the single queen-sized bed. Buffy didn’t see the point in getting two since they’d never used the second one anyway. Besides, it had saved them ten bucks.
When she got a look at the comforter, she let out a gasp. The thing was covered in blood. Her hands worked frantically to uncoil Spike, and she could feel tears well up in her eyes once he was finally exposed to her.
His face was unusually pale, as if all of his blood had just seeped out of him. His face, arms, and torso still bore the signs of the holy water he’d been sprayed with, the red angry welts stood out in stark contrast to his alabaster skin. He lay deathly still on the bed and Buffy was at a loss as to what she should do.
She knew he needed blood to heal, but she just didn’t see herself scouring about for his next meal. She hadn’t said a word when he left last night, but actively seeking a body for him to drain went against her moral code.
Climbing up onto the bed, she tried to shake him awake.
“Spike? Spike? Wake up!” she practically yelled as she shook him.
Nothing.
“Come on, Spike. Wake up, dammit! You can’t die on me… I need your help!” Tears were starting to slip silently from her eyes and down her cheeks as she straddled his waist.
“If you don’t help me… I can’t do this on my own…Spike! Wake up!” Her voice rose frantically; she was shaking him so hard and he wasn’t budging, and she feared that he was dead, and she was going to have to do this alone.
Then, his eyelids flew open and he pinned her with his amber stare moments before he vamped and attacked.
He bolted upright, one hand instinctively going to her hair to pull her head to the side, the other moving her black t-shirt out of his way. Then he struck, his fangs sinking deep into her neck, practically purring his pleasure once her healing blood flooded his mouth and slid down his throat.
His eyes closed, and he gave himself up to the ambrosia that was her Slayer’s blood. He pulled her close, the apex of her thighs nestled over his hardened length so that he could feel the heat radiating from her core. Spike inhaled the scent of her arousal. It, combined with the scent of her blood on the air, were slowing driving him to the breaking point.
“Spike,” she whispered, and tried to clamor closer to his body. His fangs had stung when they first pierced her flesh, but right now, as he pulled her blood into his mouth…she could feel it deep within her core. A steady throbbing that increased the more he drank. It was sensuous. Wicked. And, oh God! It felt so good.
Then her body started relaxing as the blood loss began to get to her. Arms that had been holding him close, relaxed and lay limp at her side. Her head fell back and her eyes started to roll back just before her eyelids descended.
Through the haze of his bloodlust and desire, Spike realized that Buffy was no longer holding him tight and lay limp in his arms. He abruptly released her neck, his human mask returning as his gaze raked her features.
“Slayer?” he called softly as he lifted her lax body close to his. “Pet? Are you ok?”
One hand lifted to smooth her dark hair back from her face. Her eyelids fluttered, and Spike found himself heaving a sigh of relief.
“Come on, luv. Wake up.”
Her eyelids finally lifted and blue eyes locked with hazel.
“All better?” she asked with a slur in her voice, the recent blood loss weighing her limbs down so that she started to sag against him. The slight smile that played about her lips gave her an almost drunk appearance.
“Uh huh…Big Bad’s all better.”
“Good,” she whispered before she fell forward onto his chest and sleep overcame her.
Spike held her close and leaned back against the pillows. His feelings for this slip of a girl had changed over the last couple of days. They were bound, the Slayer and the vampire. Destined to travel together to fight for their survival. Both stricken by tragedy yet determined to persevere. They made a good team. And, as he held her close listening to her steady heartbeat, he vowed silently that nothing would ever take her from him.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike woke first, the Slayer’s body still sprawled out on top of his bare chest. The gaping hole in his torso had closed over, thanks to the swift healing properties of her blood. His eyes gazed down at her still form while she slept. Her warm breath skated over his bare chest as she exhaled, the soft currents wafted over his skin and skimmed across his bare nipple, causing it to harden in response.
As he reclined back against the pillows, one hand slowly stroking her hair, and Spike marveled at how much their relationship had changed over the last few days. No longer were they determined to kill each other. Instead, they now guarded each other’s back as if they had been doing it for centuries.
He felt her stir in his arms and he waited until the last vestiges of sleep subsided and she lifted her head from his chest.
“Hi,” she whispered shyly, still not completely recovered from the recent blood loss.
“Hey yourself, pet. How you feel?”
“Tired…but I’ll be ok. How do you feel? All healed up?” As she asked this, her eyes drifted down to the scar decorating his chest where the stake had once pierced his flesh. Her hand ran over the mark, amazed at how quickly he’d healed.
“Wow! You heal almost faster than I do,” she murmured amazed.
Spike’s eyes closed as her fingers continued to trail across his chest.
‘She doesn’t even know what she’s doing to me.’ He needed to distract her, had to get his mind back on developing a plan of action. But, her hands…oh God, her hands were driving him crazy.
Buffy gazed down at her hand as it roved over Spike’s chest. She was amazed at the coolness of his flesh beneath her palms, in awe at the smoothness of his pale skin as her fingers continued to caress him. She never knew that his duster concealed such a wonderful specimen beneath all that leather…not that she’d seen enough to judge. But, his lean frame was comprised of sleek muscle and Buffy couldn’t seem to take her eyes or hands away from it.
Spike’s eyes popped open as her hands continued to explore his chest. When they started a downward path over the hills and valleys of his six-pack abs, he couldn’t prevent the growl that erupted from the back of his throat. Her hand stilled at the sound, and her head lifted to gaze at his face.
She started to remove her hand, unsure as to why he was suddenly growling at her, but he moved like lightning and gripped her wrist in his hand, holding it in place on his stomach.
“I…I,” she stammered.
“No…don’t stop,” he whispered, slowly releasing his hold on her wrist.
“I…I don’t know what to do…” her voice trailed off in embarrassment.
His hand reached up and tucked a stray lock of her jet-black hair behind her ear. As his fingers trailed along her jaw, her lips parted in surprise at his gentleness. She leaned in to his caress, and moments later, she felt his other hand come up to cup the other side of her jaw slowly urging her lips down to his.
He brushed his lips back and forth across her parted lips, feeling the softness of her lips beneath his. Then his tongue darted out to lick a path around her open mouth. A groan sounded in her ears, and she was surprised to realize that it came from her. If he had been hurried in his quest to take her mouth, she might have resisted. But, as his lips sucked and nipped lightly at her like he had all the time in the world, she was helpless to do anything more than lean into him and beg for more.
Finally his mouth settled over hers, and she practically screamed with delight as his tongued delved within the recess of her mouth to lightly duel with hers. Back and forth, his tongue slid along hers, the slow in and out motion a perfect imitation of what he’d like to be doing with his body. Yet, he seemed in no hurry to move forward…seemed content to just hold her face within his hands as his tongue worked its delicious magic.
Just when Buffy didn’t think she could stand it anymore, his mouth left hers to nibble lightly along her jaw to the ear he had exposed when he’d tucked her hair behind it. She felt his tongue circle the outer shell before his lips closed over the lower earlobe, his blunt teeth nibbling lightly on her flesh. She didn’t know how she had managed to hold herself lifted from his body the entire time he had been kissing her, but as his tongue started worrying the silver stud in her ear, the strength in her arms gave out and she collapsed on top of him.
Spike groaned as the hardened pebbles of her nipples ground into his chest. The rumbling of his mouth caused an answering shiver to course through her body. Needing to feel her body flush against his, he rolled them so that she lay on her back with him nestled between her parted legs. His mouth finally left her ear to nibble his way down the long expanse of her neck.
When he reached the bite mark he had left on her neck, he bit down hard and was pleased when her body arched into his. The heady scent of her arousal was playing havoc with his control, but he quickly reigned in his lust, determined to make this first experience good for her.
His mouth was eager to continue its downward trek along her body, but her shirt was providing an unwanted barrier. Rising to his knees between her legs, Spike pulled her to a sitting position and in one quick motion had her t-shirt pulled up her body and over her head.
Her hands automatically moved to cover herself as her bra-clad chest was exposed to his gaze. His hands gently eased her back against the pillows even as they pulled her arms away from her chest.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, his eyes flicking momentarily to amber as he gazed down at her perfection.
She blushed slightly at his words but made no move to cover herself.
His body settled back over the top of hers, his mouth eager to taste the parts of her body lay bare to his gaze. He felt how stiff the Slayer was beneath him, and he took his time – his tongue and lips cascading over her body until he felt her relax once more.
Spike tasted every exposed inch of her body. His blue eyes turned almost black as he watched the Slayer writhe beneath him. A flick of his wrist and a quick tug, and her jeans soon followed the path of her shirt, leaving her clad in only a matching bra and panty ensemble. Then those, too, seemed to fall away, leaving her naked to his gaze. He stood and quickly stripped out of his clothes before making his way back on the bed to stretch out alongside her.
His fingers skimmed along her naked form, delighting in the warmth of her body beneath his fingertips. His hands and mouth worked their magic until she lay writhing next to him. He moved to settle himself between her parted legs, groaning at the contact their bare skin finally touching: hers warm, his a little less so. Then, he was filling her body as she seemed to fill his thoughts and together they began their dance as old as time itself.
The two held each other tightly, lying replete in each other’s arms, each struggling to put in words all that had just transpired. The only sound that broke the silence was their heavy breathing as they slowly recovered. Spike couldn’t seem to stop touching her, his hand running idly down her hair and along the curve of her back as she lay tucked against his side.
“Slayer?” he called softly in the dark.
“Hmmmm?” she mumbled, the sound more of a hum in her throat than an actual word that left her lips. She was so relaxed she didn’t even object to the name he had called her. Shoot, she doubted he even knew her name.
“We should think about getting out of here. We need to stay on the move so the Order can’t track us. How long have we been here anyway? I was a little out of it when I was dragged in here.”
“What time is it?” she asked as she tried to push off from his chest and rise.
Spike felt her rise as she tried to see over him to the clock on the bedside table. He turned to the side and read the digital display to her.
“Eight o’clock.” Apparently, he’d slept longer than normal as his body repaired itself from its last attack.
“Oh, ok. Look, uh… Spike…I got to tell you something,” she began as she sat up clutching the cover to her chest as she looked down at him.
‘That doesn’t sound good,’ he thought. He quirked his brow at her, waiting.
“Well…you see…uh…I figured out why the Order was able to track us so quickly. And…uh…well…”
“It can’t be as bad as all that, Slayer. Spit it out already.”
“I ditched the Desoto.”
Bloody hell!
The silence was deafening and she waited for him to explode. Instinctively, she cringed, ready for him to blast her with “bloody hell’s” and “sod it all’s.”
‘My poor baby,’ he thought, then sighed. She was right. His car had stuck out like a sore thumb, providing an easy target for them to track.
“So, tell me, Slayer…how in the bloody hell did we get here?”
“I stole a car.”
“You nicked a car?!” he exclaimed, incredulous.
She just nodded, blushing slightly.
“I don’t believe it! The bloody Slayer nicked a car!” A wide grin split his face and he looked up at the girl staring down at him. She gave him a tentative smile in return.
“What kind of car? How did you get it? You have to give me the whole story!”
“Well, it was just parked at the curb. The woman left it running and went inside, so I jumped out and drove it around the block. Then, I ran back to the Desoto…easy. We’re now the proud owner of a SUV. I even stole a new set of license plates to put on it.”
Spike just stared at her, feeling somewhat foolish because he felt so proud of her recent criminal activities.
“Bloody marvelous,” he murmured as he sat up in bed. His hand slipped around the back of her neck, and he hauled her close for a lip-bruising kiss. He felt her melt into him, her hands coming up to rest against his chest. As quick as it began, it was over. Spike released her mouth, lifting his head to gaze down at her upturned face.
“Come on, pet. Let’s get dressed and get outta here. We don’t want a repeat performance of earlier today.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. Silently, she nodded at him. Buffy stood up, allowing the cover to fall back to the bed. She quickly gathered the clothes she had been wearing earlier and high-tailed it to the bathroom.
Spike watched her disappear from sight. He stood and quickly dressed, gathering their things together while Buffy got dressed. A few minutes later, they were back in the SUV and driving off into the darkness.