Buffy woke to the sound of a door slamming and extremely happy music playing at an extremely loud level. She pulled the blanket over her head, rolling over… and fell off the couch. ‘Why was I on the couch?’

She went over the events of the night before. Spike’s party, Bronze, pool game, dancing, drinking, settling the bet… “Oh my God!” Buffy’s eyes popped open. “No, please no,” she said softly. She sat up and noticed a dull ache between her thighs. Groaning, the slayer buried her head in her hands.

“About time,” Dawn said, walking into the living room. “It’s one-thirty, I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

Buffy got to her feet. “I was tired.”

“I bet.”

“What? No… no betting… I mean…” Buffy stuttered.

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Riley called, said he’d stop by later.” The teenager strode into the kitchen.

Riley! Buffy groaned again, rubbing her temples as she made her way upstairs. Shower, yeah, that’s what she needed, a shower. She grabbed her robe and headed for the bathroom.

She tried to shake last night’s memories as the hot water ran over her body. They just wouldn’t get out of her mind and she gave in. Buffy flushed, remembering the way he felt inside her. “Bad, bad Buffy,” she muttered to herself. She scrubbed herself furiously, trying to wash away any traces Spike’s touch could have left on her.

“What do I do now?” she asked herself out loud.

Maybe you should thank him, she heard a voice inside her say.

“Are you kidding?”

"Nope."

“Maybe I should chain him up and beat him within an inch of his life, you mean.”

Mmm, chain him up, yes.     

“Hey, you, no thinking bad thoughts about the evil undead,” she told herself.

Oh please, it’s not like you don’t think about it when Riley’s on top of you.

“I know, but… Hey! No I don’t!” Buffy turned off the water and got out of the shower. She dried off and shrugged into her robe, wrapping a towel around her hair. She walked into her room and plopped down on the bed.

Get dressed. Go see him.

"Oh, I’ll go see him, alright.” Buffy stood, and then went over to her closet, throwing on a pair of jeans and a tank top. She opened her weapons trunk and pulled out Mr. Pointy.

Right, like every other time you were going to kill him worked out so well.

“Hey you, shut up,” Buffy whispered, slapping the side of her head a few times as she made her way to her door.

You’re the one that told him to go on when he asked if it was ok.

“Oh yeah. Shit.” Buffy stopped, her hand on the doorknob. She leaned her forehead against the cold wood of the door. Cold. Like his hands, his chest, his… She moaned as she felt ghostly hands caressing her again, driving her to madness.

She shook her head. “Get ahold of yourself, Buffy.”

“Buffy!” she heard her sister call from downstairs. “Riley’s here!”

The slayer paled. Riley. Her boyfriend. Her normal, sweet, loving boyfriend… that she cheated on last night… with Spike! “This can’t be happening.” She opened the door and pasted a smile on her face as she walked down the stairs. ‘Just act like nothing happened,’ she told herself.

Yeah, right, nothing happened. Like you can pull that off.

‘Nothing happened, nothing happened, la la, can’t here you,’ she chanted to herself.

Riley was standing in the living room, picnic basket in hand, waiting for her.

“Have fun last night?” he asked, then kissed her cheek.

“Huh? No. No fun was had last night,” she said quickly.

“Really? Maybe we should remedy that. Picnic at the beach sound good to you?” he asked, lifting the basket in his hand.

‘I can’t do this, I’ll give myself away,’ she thought. She looked up at him, “I’d love to, but I have this thing. This thing that I have to do. Over at the Magic Box. With Giles.” She sighed. ‘He’s so not gonna buy it.’

“Oh. Ok,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “I should have made plans or something.”

“I’m sorry, but I appreciate the gesture. Very sweet.” She leaned up, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Lips that paled in comparison to the ones that pleasured her last night. ‘Stop it, now!’ she told herself angrily. This was getting out of hand. Mmm, and his hands…

“Then I guess I’ll get going.” Riley started for the door. “See you later?”

Buffy nodded, a smile on her face. “Bye.”

***

“Ready for another round?” Spike asked as he walked up behind her in the dark cemetery.

“Go away,” Buffy stated coldly as she rounded the corner of a mausoleum.

"Wot? Is the White-bread ‘round ‘ere somewhere?”

   “No, I just want you to leave me alone.”

   “Not wot you were sayin’ las’ night, pet,” he growled sensuously in her ear.

   “Nothing,” she ground out as she backhanded him, “happened last night.”

   “Right, so ‘at wasn’t you squirming on top o’ me?” he asked smugly, picking himself off the ground. He lit a cigarette.

   “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I went home and went to bed last night.”

   “Uh huh. Tell me another.”

   “Just let it go, Spike,” Buffy said, sighing as she turned to leave.

   “Let it go? Are you daft?” Spike asked incredulously as he jogged to catch up with her.

   “Yeah. I was drunk. Actually, I barely remember it. So just let it go.”

   He smirked tossing his half-smoked cigarette to the ground. “Well, why don’t I remind you?” He grabbed her shoulders, crushing his mouth to hers. She gasped and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. One hand traveled into her golden tresses as the other snaked down to her waist, pulling her to him roughly. Buffy moaned, allowing her tongue to roam his mouth.

   When Spike felt her begin to respond, he jerked back, letting her go. She stood there in shock, her eyes glazed over, lightly touching her fingers to her lips.

   “You better get goin’, Captain Cardboard’s prob'ly waiting.” He turned and started walking away.

   ‘Don’t remember my arse,” he smirked to himself as he cockily strode back to the crypt.

Buffy smiled up at Riley as he rutted above her. God! Isn’t he done yet? At first, sex with him had been sweet, enjoyable, and later, it was just tolerable. But that was pre-Spike. Now? Now it seemed almost repulsive, all sweaty and stuff. She mentally smacked herself. Boyfriend… remember? You love him.

   She tried to get into it, shifting a little for more friction. Nothing. Finally, she closed her eyes and imagined cold holds roaming her body. The hot, sweaty body above her turned into a cool, dry, smaller frame. Buffy brought a hand up to grasp his marble white shoulders as he stroked the small bundle of nerves at her core. “Oh God,” she breathed raggedly.

   “I’m gonna cum.” Her fantasy was shattered by Riley’s voice. Looking down, she realized it was her own fingers that were really giving her pleasure. He hadn’t even seemed to notice. She quickly pulled her hand away. She dug the nails in her other hand into his shoulders and faked a long moan as he collapsed on top of her.

   Looks like I’ll be patrolling tonight to let out all of this pent up sexual frustration. She waited for what seemed like forever for him to get off of her.

   He finally lifted his head and planted a small kiss on the end of her nose. “That was…” he trailed off as he rolled to her side.

   “Yeah, wow.” She swung her legs to the side of the bed, and started searching for her clothes. “I gotta go. Mom and Dawn, you know, family stuff.”

   “Sure you don’t wanna go again?” he asked smirking. God, Spike even smirks better than him… AGH! Stop it!

   “I wish I could, but… you know Mom.” Shirt, shirt, where’s my shirt? Oh, there it is.   ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

She tugged the top over her head, then stood to zip her jeans. Toeing on her sandals, Buffy grabbed her bag. “See you tomorrow?”

   He grinned boyishly. “Tomorrow,” Riley nodded.

   She left the room, closing the door behind her and sighed. A week, only a week since her little indiscretion with the Peroxide Wonder, and her love life wasn’t the same. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that nothing had happened, and if it did happen, it wasn’t life altering, she knew it wasn’t true. Most of the time she tried to avoid Riley, telling him she had to do stuff with Giles, or her mom, or anyone else but him. And as much as she wanted to blame Spike, she knew that she was just as guilty as him.

   “Shoulda staked him when I had the chance,” she said to herself.

   Or maybe let him stake you, the voice said.

   “Hey you, no more of that!” She shook her head as if to get rid of the offending thought.

   Buffy looked up to find herself in his cemetery. She took a deep breath and decided to do a quick sweep, hoping that she wouldn’t run into him. Another part of her secretly hoped that she would. Her pulse sped up as she got closer to his crypt. Before she knew it, the slayer was standing at the door, fist poised to knock. She heard muffled voices coming from inside.

   “Oh, Spikey! Yeah, like that…”

   Harmony! But Spike belongs to me! She was about to kick the door in when she stopped herself. She was with Riley. She loved Riley… not Spike. She turned from the crypt and walked off resignedly, finishing her sweep.

   The dead were, well, dead tonight. ‘Looks like I’ll be bringing myself off in the shower,’ she thought.

   Or you could just go dust Harmony and...

   “Shut up!” she yelled at herself. “Stupid vampire. He’s driving me insane.” She kicked a rock on sidewalk, wincing as it embedded in the side of a new, black BMW.

   “Oops,” she whispered as she sped to a jog. Finally arriving back at the dorm, she opened the door quietly and let herself in. Buffy tiptoed upstairs and into her room to grab her pajamas, then made her way to the bathroom.

***

   Black leather swirled around his ankles as Spike prowled the cemetery, looking for a good spot of violence. He rounded the corner of a mausoleum and saw Buffy and The Whelp surrounded by a group of vampires. Tossing his cigarette to the ground, he pulled a stake from his back pocket and joined the fray.

   Spike punched one vampire in the face and dusted another that was attacking him from the side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xander on the ground with a vampire on top of him. He threw his stake, piercing the vamp’s heart from behind, and then lunged at another, grabbing his head and twisting it off. He watched Buffy finish off the last one as he brushed the dust from his clothes.

   Buffy turned to face him, slipping her stake back into her shirtsleeve. “What are you doing here?”

   “I live here, pet,” he stated matter-of-factly. “And you’re welcome.”

   “I don’t recall hearing anyone thank you, Bleachboy,” Xander said, picking his cross up from off the ground.

   “Right then. So nex’ time I see a vampire try to make you lunch, ‘ll jus’ sit back an’ enjoy th’ show,” Spike smirked.

   “Come on, Xan. One more cemetery and we can call it a night,” Buffy said, turning to leave.

   “Don’t leave on my account, Slayer,” Spike drawled, lighting up another cigarette.

   “Believe me, we’re not. There’s a frat party that I plan on making an appearance at tonight, and… why am I telling you this?” She sighed and turned to Xander. “Let’s go.”

Music blared from a large sound system in the corner of the main room as young bodies writhed to it’s pulsing beat. The vampire stalked the edges of each room, looking for a familiar face. He pulled the silver flask from his inner coat pocket and swallowed a healthy portion of the liquid, savoring the heat as it burned a path to his stomach. As he was returning the bourbon to its place, Spike felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His eyes darted around, catching a glimpse of his prey as she walked out the back door.

   He followed her stealthily, watching as Buffy went to sit down on a bench. She was all alone. Was she waiting for something? Someone? The vampire decided wait in the shadows, trying to judge her facial expressions in an attempt to figure out what she was thinking.

   *

   Boring, she sing-songed in her head. Stupid party. I shoulda just stayed home. Buffy took a sip of her coke. Willow and Tara had foregone the party to experiment with some new spells that they thought might help with Glory, while Xander and Anya… she blanched as she tried to shake the mental image. Then the blonde smiled. Anya was nothing if not blunt. The ex-demon had shown up at the last cemetery that the she and Xander were patrolling, rambling on and on about orgasms and positions, making Xander’s face turn a lovely shade of red.

   And Riley. Only God knew what he was doing these days. He sure wasn’t here, partying down with his girlfriend. Buffy couldn’t help but feel relieved.

   What’s wrong with me? I have a boyfriend who loves me, who does the sweetest things, who won’t turn to dust if we have a picnic on a sunny beach, and all I can think of is a certain bleached blonde, evil vampire.

   She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the person approaching her.

   “’Lo, luv,” she heard his voice from the shadows.

   “Spike,” Buffy all but hissed.

   He stepped out into the moonlight, walking towards her. “So, I was thinking to m’self, Slayer, out here, all alone, while the party she was itchin’ to get to is raging on inside. Now, wot’s wrong with this picture?”

   Buffy rolled her eyes. “And what, pray tell, did you come up with?”

   He smirked. “Came up with quite a bit, actually,” Spike drawled, glancing down at himself, then back at her.

   “God Spike, you’re such a… pig!”

   “Uh huh, so’ve ‘eard.”

   “What do you want?” she asked him flatly, standing to her feet.

   “I think you know the answer to that,” Spike said huskily.

   “I can just imagine.” Buffy made to brush past him, but he caught her arm, pulling her to him.

   “I bet you do. You’ve ‘ad a taste, Slayer, a taste of wot it’s like between us, and you can’t get it outta your ‘ead,” he growled into her ear. “When you’re with him, who do you think of? When he’s on top of you, who do you see?”

   Buffy’s eyes went wide. How does he know? No. He can’t. He doesn’t. She yanked her arm from his grasp and took a deep breath.

   “No, Spike. Maybe that’s what you imagine… but not me,” she said, glaring at him.

   “Right.” The deer caught in headlights look had given her away. “I’m thinking Soldier Boy jus’ ain’t cuttin’ it for you anymore. Wot? Is he boring, jus’ the same ol’ thing every time? Not enough stamina?”

   “Just. Shut. Up.” She pulled her fist back to punch him, but before it made contact, he caught it, hauling her against him.

   “I can make it stop,” Spike whispered seductively into her hair. “All that pent up hostility, the sexual frustration, I can make it all go away.”

   Buffy couldn’t breathe. Her body was tingling.

   “I can smell it. Your arousal, it’s intoxicating.” He nuzzled her ear, running his hands up her body, cupping her breasts. He smiled when she didn’t pull away, but leaned into his touch.

   “You know you want it. Give in.” His tongue lined her ear, then drew the lobe into his mouth, suckling on it lightly.

   Buffy gasped. The things he was doing, she didn’t want them to stop… ever. She jerked her head back and crushed her lips to his, devouring him. She stroked his back, exploring the corded muscles, feeling them flex beneath her fingertips. Finally she broke away and silently, she took his hand in her own, leading him away from the frat house.   

*

   Spike didn’t say a word all the way back to her dorm. He followed Buffy quietly up the stairs and into her room. When the door closed softly behind them, she leaned against it. The vampire sauntered over to her and pressed his body against her, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss and their tongues battled for dominance.

   He pulled away, gasping for unneeded breath. Spike bent to trail feather light kisses down her neck. He stopped when the fabric of her tank top came between him and her skin. He looked up to see Buffy’s eyes closed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. The vampire slipped his fingers beneath the bottom hem and lifted the shirt over her head, baring her breasts to him. His palms ran over her nipples reverently, then he took one rock hard pebble into his mouth, tracing lazy circles around it with his tongue. With his blunt teeth, he nipped at it lightly, causing her to moan softly. He moved to nuzzle the hollow between her breasts, then gave the same attention to the other nipple.

   Deft fingers flitted down her body, running down to the zipper of her skirt. With a flick of his wrist, the flimsy material slithered down her legs to pool around her ankles. Spike knelt at her feet, burying his head into her taut stomach, inhaling her scent. He licked a path down her stomach and stopped at her panties. The vampire looked up at her again. Buffy was staring down at him, her eyes glazed over. He quirked a brow in silent question. Her tongue traced her bottom lip and she nodded.

   Slowly, Spike pulled her panties down over her hips, and they too, pooled at her feet. He lifted her left leg and hooked it over his shoulder, then dipped his head to taste the sweetness that was Buffy. He nibbled at her clit, making her writhe against him as she whimpered. His tongue stroked her slowly, drawing out her pleasure and he felt her legs quivering. He grasped her hips tighter, holding her in place. She ground herself against his mouth as he sped up the tempo, his tongue moving faster, harder. He felt her hands twine into his hair, pulling it as his mouth engulfed the little bud, sucking and nipping it. Her thighs tightened around his head and she emitted a low, guttural moan. As he lapped at the last of her juices, the fingers in his hair slacked. The vampire kept his face buried in her mound for a long time, not willing to move.

   A knock on the door broke the spell. “Buffy? You in there?” they heard Riley call out.

“Buffy? You in there?”

   Spike looked up from between her thighs to see Buffy’s eyes fly open and her jaw drop. She was still leaning against the door, the same door Riley was knocking on right now. He stood up silently and laid a hand over her mouth. He saw her eyes flicker towards the closet, motioning for him to hide. When he was safely concealed, she threw on her robe and opened the door.

   Oh God, I can’t do this. Buffy faked a yawn. “Hey Riley.” She moved aside so that he could come in. He didn’t budge, just stood there leaning against the door jam.

   “Buffy, hi. I didn’t see you at the party, so…” he said, trailing off.

   “Yeah, I left early… I-I wasn’t feeling well.”

   “You look a bit flushed,” he commented, his eyes filling with concern… and something else.

   Her eyes widened. He knows. “I think I, uh, have a fever or something. Sleep’s probably the best thing for me, hence the leaving of the party.”

   Riley flashed her a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, probably.” He looked down, shuffling his feet. “I’ll call you tomorrow or something.”

   Whew, he doesn’t know. “That’d be great,” she beamed, but hurriedly toned down her smile.

   “Well, you get back in bed and get some rest,” he said, pushing away from the door jam.

   “Yes sir,” the slayer said, mockingly serious. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

   “Tomorrow,” Riley said with a boyish smile. “I love you.”

   Buffy started at that. “Y-you too. G’nite.”

   “Good night.”

   She watched as he walked down the hall. When he was finally out of sight, she closed the door softly, turning to sag against it.

   The blonde closed her eyes, sighing. What am I doing?

   A loud crash resounded from her closet and she heard a muffled, “Bloody ‘ell!” Rushing to the closet door, she pulled it open, then doubled over laughing.

   “Glad you find my predicament so amusing, Slayer,” Spike drawled. He was standing in her closet, shirtless, with his jeans around his ankles. The bar holding her clothes had fallen on him, along with a box of shoes that had been sitting on the top shelf of her closet. He tried to walk to her bed, but stumbled halfway there, falling flat on his face.

   “Bugger,” the vampire mumbled, pushing himself up to a sitting position. “A lil ‘elp ‘ere?” He looked over at Buffy, who had fallen to the floor herself. She was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks.

   Spike pulled off his boots and slid his pants off, then pounced on her. He grinned evilly down into her watery, laughing eyes and crushed his lips to hers, claiming her mouth fiercely. Savoring the sounds of her soft sighs, he parted her robe to capture her breasts, circling her still hard nipples with nimble fingers. She arched her back, and he took the opportunity to slide the robe from her shoulders. He pulled his lips from hers, smirking when he heard her little whimper of protest. Catching her gaze he arched a scarred brow questioningly, almost as if he was daring her. Daring her to deny or accept him, she didn’t know, but she didn’t care.

   At her nod, Spike lifted her legs to wrap around his waist and plunged into her moist heat. Buffy felt him stiffen above her. Just when she thought she would die if he didn’t move, he did. He thrust into her hard and deep at an urgent pace. Throaty moans escaped her as she clawed at his back. He buried his face in her neck, and she could feel his face contorting, his demon emerging, then backing down, and then emerging again. Exquisite tension filled her body and she started to tremble.

   Spike felt her tighten around him as her climax hit her hard and fast. He drove into her twice more and he too fell over the edge, his cold seed spilling into her. When he was finally able to think, he looked down into her hazel eyes. She smiled shyly up at him, bringing a hand up to trace his rigid features. At her touch, they melted back into his human mask.

   Reluctantly, he slipped from her heat, standing, then bent to pick her up. Cradling her in his arms, he carried her to her bed, laying her down gently and sliding in beside her. He heard Buffy sigh contentedly as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. The vampire smirked, masculine pride filling him at the thought of being able to tire out the slayer, not once but twice. He tightened his hold on her slightly.

   A bloke could get used to this. ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

   *  

   Buffy stretched, a satisfied smile playing at her lips. She turned over in bed and her hand collided with the empty space where Spike had slept. The slayer blushed at the memories of the night before. She had awoken once with his head buried between her thighs and again at him entering her from behind.

   The blonde knew that she should feel guilty for the past night’s events, but strangely she didn’t. She could finally admit it; Riley had been basically annoying her for over a month now. And when he wasn’t annoying her, he was boring her. She had to do something about this relationship going nowhere and do it fast. Yesterday wouldn’t be too soon.

   She looked over at Willow’s side of the room, noticing that the witch was already gone. Either that or she hadn’t come home last night. Getting up, she rummaged through her disaster of a closet and found some clothes to throw on. Spike, she thought as she slid into a pair of jeans. What was this thing with him? Lust? Or was it something else? Buffy pushed the thought from her mind as she tugged her black camisole over her head. No reason to label it just yet. He may not want anything else to do with her. Probably purged her from his system. Whatever it was, Spike had shown her that she and Riley were over.

   She toed on her sandals and grabbed her bag containing her brush, makeup, and toiletries and headed for the bathroom.

   *

   Buffy chickened out. The slayer who had saved the world on so many different occasions was a coward when it came down to it. She had left her dorm determined to end things with her boyfriend, but halfway there had made a U turn.

   Now she found herself in his cemetery, outside his crypt. The slayer raised her hand to knock on the door, but stopped when she heard voices.

   If that’s Harmony, I’m so gonna dust her…      

   No, that’s a guy’s voice. Bending her head closer to the door, she listened, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then she recognized the voice. It was Riley.

   What’s he doing here? She pushed the door open forcefully, her jaw dropping at the sight that greeted her.

   Spike was chained in the corner and Drusilla watched on as Riley poured holy water onto the blonde vampire’s bare torso. Buffy gasped at the stench of her lover’s burning flesh. At the noise, Riley turned to face her, his golden eyes glowering.

“Look, pet,” Dru said to Riley, gleefully clapping her hands, “we have another to play games with.”

   Oh god, oh god. What a day to forget a stake! Buffy scanned the room, searching for a weapon. She took a steadying breath.

   Dru sauntered to Riley’s side and ran a possessive hand over his chest. “You stole my Spike, so now I have something of yours,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm, showing no trace of the raving madness she normally portrayed.  

   “Hello Buffy,” Riley drawled as his demonic visage melted back into his human mask.

   “Riley,” the slayer greeted tightly with a slight nod of her head. “Guess I know where you’ve been spending all your time.”

   “Yeah? Well I can say the same for you. You still reek of him.” He nodded his head toward the chained up vampire, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

   Buffy darted a glance toward Spike, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. His face was devoid of emotion as he locked eyes with Dru. “Spike,” she called out. No answer. “Spike! Look away!”

   He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Bloody ‘ell.” Opening his eyes again, he glared at his former lover. “Stop with th’ soddin’ parlor tricks Dru!” She smiled innocently at him.

   “You ok?” Buffy asked the blonde vampire, her eyes trained on Riley.

   “Still ‘live… er, well, m’not dust.”

   “Not yet, anyways,” Riley sneered as he lunged at the slayer. She caught him and flipped him over her head. As she turned to face him, Buffy saw Dru rush to the ladder leading into the lower level of the crypt.

   Spike watched on helplessly as Buffy and Riley fought. He pulled against his chains when he saw Riley get the upper hand. Their mouths were moving, probably exchanging witty banter if he knew his slayer correctly, but his anger and fear for her drown out their words.

   Riley was on top of her, about to go in for the kill when she kicked him away. He landed a few inches from the open doorway, just missing the shaft of sunlight streaming in. He leapt to his feet, staggering a bit. The fledgling saw Buffy running towards him and jumped out of her way. Racing to the other side of the crypt, he dropped down to the lower level and made a mad dash for the sewers.

   Buffy let out a frustrated groan then hurried to Spike’s side. His body was covered with burns and knife wounds. Cupping his face, she placed a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. “Keys?” she asked.

   “Dru still ‘as ‘em,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers.

   She sighed and backed away from him, grasping the chain. With their combined strength, his bonds broke free of the wall easily. Wrapping an arm around his waist, Buffy helped him to the sarcophagus and into his makeshift bed. She turned and walked to the door.

   “Buffy, wait,” Spike called out softly as he sat up. “Stay, please.”

   She smiled wryly. “Ok, if you want me to leave the door open…”

   “Oh,” he said sheepishly and laid back down, closing his eyes. Spike heard her close the door softly then rummage around near his television. When she came back over to him, he opened his eyes.

   “You don’t have any blood?”

   “Din’t make it to th’ butcher’s las’ night,” he said with a smirk.

   Buffy blushed. “Well, you have to eat something.”

   Spike shook his head. “Should be a bottle o’ Jack ‘round ‘ere somewhere, if you’ll…” he trailed off when she crawled up beside him. Spike watched as she brought his knife up to her wrist. He caught her hand.

   “Buffy, no.” At her questioning stare, he explained. “The chip,” he said, tapping his temple. “Won’t let me.”

   “As long as you don’t take too much, you should be ok.” She pulled from his grasp and slit her wrist, wincing a little at the pain.

   His demon roared at the scent of slayer blood, but he forced it down, struggling to keep his human features.

   “Wot if I can’t control m’self?” he asked as she offered her wrist.

   “I trust you.”

   At her soft declaration, his eyes widened and he felt his unbeating heart leap. He nodded and bent his head, hesitating just a moment before he closed his mouth over her self-inflicted wound. Again, he struggled to keep his demon at bay as her blood filled his mouth.

   Buffy watched as he gently fed from her wrist. The act was surprisingly tender, and there was no pain, just a slight sensation of pressure. It was kind of… nice. Well, nice didn’t even begin to explain it, but anything other than that was delving into territory that she was reluctant to address at this time.   

   With her free hand, she reached to run her fingers through his platinum locks when he broke away. Spike stayed bent over her wrist for a few moments, panting unneededly.

   “You ok?” Buffy asked.

   He nodded, looking up at her with a smile; a real smile, not just the trademark smirk he usually flashed. His smile quickly vanished.

   “Wot about Dru and Riley?”

   She sighed. “I’ll call the gang, let them know what’s going on. We’ll handle it.”

   “Wot about us?” he asked quietly.

   “I-I don’t know. I mean, is there an us?”

   “Don’t know pet. Wot do you want?”

   She shrugged, looking down at her hands. “Well, I like, um, being with you,” Buffy said, a blush crawling up her cheeks.

   Spike smirked. “Like bein’ with you too luv.”

   “Is that ‘us’ material though?” she asked, glancing back up at him.

   “It’s somethin’ t’ build on.” He placed a finger under her chin, lifting her lips to his for a light, lingering kiss.

   Finally Buffy broke away. “I gotta go warn the guys,” she said as she slipped off of the sarcophagus. When he started to follow her, she stopped him. “No way mister, you’ve got to rest, heal…” She trailed off when she noticed his wounds.

   “Funny thing bout slayer blood,” Spike said, looking down at the almost healed burns and cuts marring his chest. “Seems t’ be a cure all for vamps. Well, that an’ it’s a powerful aphrodisiac.”

   She smirked. “We may have to test that theory.” Buffy watched as he pulled on a shirt. The she realized something. “Um, Spike, it’s still sunny outside.”

   “Never stopped me before, luv.” He grabbed his duster. “Gotta sewer entrance in the lower level.”

   Buffy wrinkled her nose. “Eww. The sewers?”

Spike was already there and waiting for her as Buffy walked into the Magic Box. She had decided that she already spent way too much time in the sewers as it was, no need to add more to it. ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

   "Demongirl 'ere called everyone, be 'ere in about thirty minutes," the vampire said as soon as he saw Buffy walk in the door.

   "Good," she said as she made her way to the training room. "Anya, let me know when everyone's here?" At her nod, Buffy glanced at Spike, "You coming?"

   He hopped off the table he was perched on and followed her into the back. As he strode in, she was already attacking the punching bag with a vengence. Leaning against the doorway, he watched as she worked off her frustrations.

   An amused expression lit up his face as she delivered a powerful kick to the bag, causing the anchoring rope to break, and it flew across the room.

   "I think it's dead, luv," he said with a smirk. At her blush, he advanced into the room, coming to a stop just before her. "Wanna dance?"

   Buffy arched a brow questioningly and in reply he dropped into a fighting stance.

   "But your chip," she said, her brow wrinkling.

   "Won't bother me if I don't try t' 'urt you. 'll just fight defensively."

   She nodded and took a deep breath as he started to circle her. Mindlessly she began to deliver a brutal series of punches and jabs.

   "That all you got, Slayer?" Spike asked mockingly, catching all her blows in his open palms. "M'not even breaking a sweat."

   "Vampires don't sweat," Buffy countered as she knocked him to the ground with a high kick to the chin. He rolled as he hit the ground, and sprang to his feet, anticipating her next move.

   "'At's more like it," he voiced, his blue eyes flecking with gold as he delighted in the mock-fight.

   Their sparring match continued, Spike deflecting her blows and pushing her to her limits until a forced cough broke their concentration.

   "Ahem... they're here," Anya called from the doorway.

   Hearing the announcement, Buffy dropped her poised fist and relaxed. She took a deep breath and looked up at the vampire that was starting to mean more and more to her. He was needlessly panting, a small smile playing at his lips.

   "Ready to impart some bad news to the scoobies?" he asked as he turned towards the door.

   "Yeah," she sighed. "And some good news too." At his questioning glance, she walked past him, a secretive smile dancing across her face.

   Spike stood there for a moment, trying to figure out her meaning, but gave up, shaking his head as he walked out into the shop. Buffy had sat down at the research table beside the two witches and across from the watcher. The whelp was leaning against the counter where Demongirl was going over the books. He strode over to his usual perch on the ladder and waited for the meeting to start.

   Buffy cleared her throat. "I have some news. Some of it's bad... and, well, some of it's not so bad," she began. "Drusilla's back." There was a collective intake of breath at the announcement, but the slayer trudged on. "It kinda gets worse. As you can see, Riley's not here. That's because he's been turned."

   Willow looked at her friend with wide eyes. "Dru and Riley? Together?"

   Buffy nodded, glancing over her shoulder at Spike. His face was completely indifferent.

   "Well, what are we gonna do?" Xander asked.

   "Go hunting, I s'pose," Spike spoke up.

   Buffy nodded. She had been unsure of what Spike would want to do with the creature he had spent most of his unlife with. She already knew what she was going to do with Riley, and involved the business end of Mr. Pointy.

   "Well, you know her better than anyone else," Giles pointed out. "Where would she go?"

   "Durin' the daytime, prob'ly the mansion, maybe the ol' factory," Spike offered tonelessly. "But at night, she'd go somewhere there's a lot of people with their blood pumping. Place where it's dimly lit. I'd say The Bronze. And wherever she is, she'll likely be surrounded by minions."

   "Ok," Buffy said. "The Bronze is probably more of a sure thing. There's a few hours left til sunset, so that'll give us time to plan."

*

   "Remember guys, don't look her in the eyes, and don't underestimate Riley," Buffy threw over her shoulder at her friends. Dusk had settled over Sunnydale an hour ago and the scoobies were armed to the teeth with stakes, crosses, and holy water, along with smaller weapons secreted into their pockets.

   As they pushed through the doors of the club, Buffy waited for the tell tale tingles that would signal a vampire's presence. The only thing she felt was Spike. The gang spread out. The two blondes climbed the stairs to the second floor as Willow and Tara took a seat on one of the couches and Giles, Xander, and Anya sat down at a table near the stage. The only thing they could do now was wait.

   Spike leaned against the guard rail and intently watched the crowd below. He felt rather than saw Buffy as she came to stand beside him.

   "You sure you wanna do this?" she asked in a small voice.

   He nodded. "We fell outta love years ago. She just realized before I did." He reached into his duster and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter. Lighting one, he returned the rest to the inner coat pocket and took a deep drag. "Funny thing is, she knew I was in love with you before I did too," he finished with a wry smile.

   Buffy's eyebrows shot up. "W-what?"

   Spike's face softened as he nodded slowly. "I said, I love you. Have for quite a while now." His voice took on a refined, upper class British quality as he stated this.

   "I-I don't know what to say."

   "I know you probably don't feel the same way about me, but..." His words were cut off when Buffy leaned up to crush her lips to his. He gasped as the fiery heat of her tongue traced his lips, begging for entrance. Allowing her access, their tongues battled for dominance, thrusting, circling, seeking. Her hands traveled up his chest to twine around his neck as his gripped her waist and pulled her tightly to him. As his fingers began to draw light circles on her back, they both stiffened. Pulling apart quickly, the looked down at the first floor.

   Dru and Riley were walking through the door flanked by about twelve minions. Buffy searched the crowd for the scoobies. Catching their gazes from their respective corners, she nodded and the two blondes descended the staircase.

   The slayer struck first, dusting the closest minion. At her shouted command, Tara, Giles and Anya begin rushing the people through the exits. Spike jumped another minion that was about to attack Buffy, twisting his head and decapitation him. Xander joined the fray, stake in one hand, holywater squirtgun in another. Willow was right behind him.  In no time, the minions were reduced to dust, and Buffy and Spike were squaring off with Riley and Dru.

   Riley began circling the slayer. "What? You're allowed to get a little vampire action but I'm not?"

   "Looks like you got it alright," Buffy said as she waited for him to make the first move.

   "Yes, he did," Dru said, her eyes glazed over. " Didn't even fight. He took all the fun out of it," she pouted, but then her face lit up again. "He's a lot more fun now."

   "I'll just bet he is." Spike rolled his eyes. Dru attacked, lunging for him, but he sidestepped her, pulling out his stake. Game faces on, the vampires exchanged blows.

   The scoobies watched on from a distance, far enough to be out of the way, but close enough to help if needed. They saw Riley finally make a move, leaping for Buffy's throat, but she deflected him. Spike and Dru had somehow taken their fight to the area near the dancefloor. With a powerful kick, Dru dusted first, falling onto an overturned table's broken leg. As her ashes fell to the ground, Spike stood still, just staring at the place where she had landed, panting.

   "Hey look, your girlfriend just bit the dust," Buffy taunted Riley. He turned and grabbed her from behind, pulling her against him and yanking her neck to the side.

   "I could always just turn you," he breathed into her ear. "The way you like to fuck vampires, one of is bound to do it," he said as he licked her jugular.

   Rage fueling her, she flipped him forcefully over her head. He landed flat on his back, dazed. She pulled a stake from her back pocket and leaned over him.

   "It would never be you," she spat angrily as she rammed the stake through his unbeating heart. Numbly, she turned, looking for Spike. He was standing in the same place, but no longer looking down at the ashes of the vampire he had loved for over a hundred years. He was looking into the eyes of the woman who held his heart now. Slowly, he walked to her and took her hand. Leaning down, he placed a light, chaste kiss on her forehead.

   "Um, did I miss the memo or something?" Xander asked increduously. He turned to his best friend. "Will, you been experimenting with that 'do thy will' spell again?" She smacked his arm in reply.

   "Uh, remember early, at the Magic Box, I said I had bad news and not so bad news?" At her friends' nods and questioning gazes, she continued. "Well, this is the not so bad news. I'm with Spike now." She felt the vampire at her side squeeze her hand comfortingly as she braced herself for their reactions.

 *

   Buffy inhaled sharply as his mouth worked it's magic on her core. Teasing, stroking, circling, nibbling, and suckling until she felt as if she would spontaneously combust any second now. Then she did as tremors racked her body and she fell over the edge.  She recovered quickly and grabbed his shoulders, hauling him up her body for a bruising kiss. Quickly pulling away from him, she looked up into his eyes.

   "Do you remember what you said this afternoon at the Magic Box? About if you don't try to hurt me?" she asked shyly.

   Spike nodded. "No chip induced migraines."

   "Well, what if... I mean...what if... nevermind," she stuttered, ducking her head in embarrassment.

   He placed a gentle finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. Beautiful, sparkling hazel eyes that he would willingly lose himself in forever.

   "Wot if wot, luv?" he asked as he leaned down to rain tiny kisses on the delicate skin between her neck and shoulder.

   "What if you, uh," she stopped, taking another deep breath, "without trying to hurt me, um, bit me?" she finished quickly.

   Spike's head jerked back and searched her eyes. She was serious.

   "You sure luv?"

   Buffy nodded. "When y-you fed from me earlier, I liked it. I was just wondering, if the bite was for pleasure, not pain, would it hurt you?"

   He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't think so."

   "Ok. I want you to do it."

   His eyes widened yet again at the woman who surprised him more and more every day. Dipping his head, he caught her lips, kissing her with all the love and passion he had in his being. His fingers lightly teased her breasts, brushing them with featherlight caresses. Stroking down her sides, they came to rest on her hips, then pulled her legs to wrap around his waist. Reaching between them, he positioned his member against her. With one swift move, he embedded himself deep within her. With deep thrusts he moved at a maddeningly slow pace. Tearing his lips from hers, he moved to her jugular, nipping, sucking, and licking. He felt her nails clawing into his back as her inner walls gripped him tightly.

   When he heard her breath catch in her throat, he bit down gently, drawing in a mouthful of her intoxicating slayer's blood. He felt the muscles throbbing around him as she cried out in extacy. Taking in one more mouthful, he retracted his fangs and lapped at her new wounds.

   Buffy's little mewls of pleasure turned into growls when he started pounding into her at a driving pace. Her hands were everywhere, nails digging into his back, shoulders, and arms. With every inward thrust, she let out a ragged, high pitched moan, her hips bucking up wildly against his.

   "Open your eyes luv," he commanded softly. Her glazed hazel eyes caught his almost black gaze. Her hands moved up, one on each side of her head, and he caught them in his own, lacing their fingers together. Angling his thrust, his pelvis brushed against her sensitive, aching clit, giving the added friction to send her into the throws of another intense orgasm. As her muscles tightened and quaked around him yet again, he felt his own release coming close. Then she bit him, hard, on his shoulder and he was done for. With a roar he exploded inside her, stiffening as his cold, dead seed poured into her.

   Spike was about to move off of her when she clutched him to her. Giving in, he collapse on top of her, revelling in the soft heat of his slayer. He wasn't finished with her yet, not by far, but closed his eyes to rest. As she was falling into an exhausted slumber, he heard her whisper something. A whisper any normal man would never had heard, but then, he wasn't a normal man.

   "I love you."

*

   Buffy walked through the dark cemetery with a spring to her step and a smile on her face. For the first time in forever, she let herself be happy. Really happy. Her friends accepted, albeit some grudgingly so, her relationship with Spike, as did her mother.

   She found herself standing outside a familiar crypt door and her smile widened.

   And to think,  a voice said smugly,  not too long ago, you were saying that nothing happened.

   "Nothing happened my ass," the slayer whispered to herself as she opened the door to Spike's crypt.