Chapter Seven - Confidence

Spike didn’t even have time to blink before a blinding arc of electrical energy shot out from Riley’s taser. And then he looked down in surprise when he realized he wasn’t unconscious.

The slight gasp and complete collapse of the woman beside him quickly answered any questions he might have, though.

Faster than the eye could see, he caught Buffy in his arms before her head could hit the floor. He shook her slightly, but she didn’t stir.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Xander exclaimed, horrified as he watched Buffy fall.

“Taking out the greatest threat first,” Riley retorted coldly, taking aim again.

“Are you crazy?!” Xander grabbed hold of the taser before Riley could shoot. “Buffy’s an innocent in this!”

Riley snorted. “Innocent, right… She had that thing’s hands all over her.” He tried to pull the gun away from Xander’s grasp.

Xander refused to budge, however. “We weren’t supposed to hurt her,” he insisted.

“Unless it was absolutely necessary,” Riley countered, still fighting for control of his weapon.

The argument finally managed to pierce through the overwhelming rage in Spike’s mind, and as he watched the two humans fight over the weapon, he saw his one chance of escape.

Xander and Riley were so completely caught up in their own little battle that they’d forgotten all about Spike. Finally having had enough, Riley shoved Xander back hard against the cliff face and used his taser to pin the other man’s neck to the rock.

Xander let out a gasping breath, and Riley realized too late exactly what he was doing.

“S-Sorry,” he said shakily, letting Xander go.

Xander rubbed his neck and breathed painfully, too caught up in the recent assault to notice the lightning-quick blur that whizzed behind Riley.

“What,” wheeze, “is your problem?” Xander finally said weakly and irately.

Riley looked away, ashamed. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “It’s just…seeing her…with that…” He turned back to where Buffy and Spike had been and saw for the first time that they were gone. “Shit!” he exclaimed, looking around frantically. “Where did they go?”

Xander shrugged and attempted to return his breathing to normal.

“W-We’ve go to find them!” Riley insisted. “Buffy’s unconscious, and—oh god!” He ran out the cave entrance, searching frantically for the missing pair.

“And she’s probably a lot safer than she would be around you,” Xander muttered under his breath, before reluctantly joining Riley on the hunt…

Spike collapsed just outside of the south wall of Brookside Park. That was the problem with the whole vamp blinding burst of speed thing – he could only keep it up for so long, and if he pushed it, he was in desperate need of liquid refreshment.

And carrying the Slayer’s dead weight along with him had definitely pushed it.

He settled his precious cargo more comfortably into his lap and tried to come up with a plan.

He needed blood. Badly. And given his recent handicap, ‘stopping for a bite to eat’ had become an annoyingly difficult task.

Plus, he was being chased. He could hear the whelp and tin soldier searching for them even then. For a second, he was almost tempted to leave Buffy and let her friends take care of her, but that deadly gleam in Captain Cardboard’s eye… Oh no, he knew that Buffy had been in his arms of her own free will, and if he caught her he was going to make her pay every bit as much as he would Spike.

Third, there was that damn monster. Everything except the lack of blood problem would be fixed if Spike could somehow find it, kill it all by himself, and restore the world to its natural order. All while starving, of course.

He had to bite back a bark of laughter at the sheer impossibility of this last plan. In fact, now that he really thought about it, he hadn’t had any real options from the beginning…

Wearily, he stood up with barely the strength to clutch Buffy to his chest. The walk to his crypt seemed endless, and several times he had to bite back the urge to, well…bite. The shock of the chip in his head was something he couldn’t handle at the moment, though, so Buffy had a double safety in her favor.

She was unceremoniously dropped to the floor just inside the crypt door while he scrambled over to the mini-fridge and gratefully discovered that Jonathan and his merry band of do-gooders had at least had the decency to leave his food supply alone during their little manhunt.

He emptied the first two bags in a single gulp each.

By that time, his brain was functioning properly again. He grabbed as many bags as he could and swore when he realized that he’d left his duster – and all its handy pockets – behind. However, a quick search revealed that that hideous leopard skin jacket that Buffy was wearing had several large interior pockets. He stuffed them as full as he could and lifted her up once again.

This place was probably the least safe location in all of Sunnydale. What they needed was somewhere nearby – he didn’t think he’d be up to carrying her all the way back to Harm’s – where no one would bother to look for them.

He discarded several ideas as he slipped through the shadows of Sunnydale Cemetery until the most ridiculous, outrageous idea presented itself to him.

He couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sheer audacity of his plan and, silent as a cat, made his way toward their new safe haven under the cloak of darkness…

“Mmm…Spike…” Buffy rolled over on her side, curling up against the pillow that looked very much like a naked vampire in her dreams.

“You called, luv?” he said, watching her intently from his own comfortable position on the other mattress.

Buffy’s sleep addled mind managed to register the fact that Spike’s voice was coming from the opposite direction of the object she was snuggled up against, and she opened her eyes to discover the mistake she’d made in her sleep.

She rolled over slowly so that she could see him across the room. “’Morning,” she muttered sleepily.

“’S just a bit past midnight, of course,” he gave her a bemused smile.

“Yeah,” she stretched, “see? Morning…technically speaking, that is.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Billie.”

“Buffy!”

“Barbie.”

“Bastard.” She stuck her tongue out at him, then blushed when the mischievous sparkle returned to his eyes and he licked his lips at her gesture. “What?” she demanded self-consciously.

“Lovely tongue you’ve got there, pet,” he purred seductively. “Talented, too, ‘f I recall correctly…”

Buffy ‘eep’ed and pulled her blanket around herself more tightly. So that part hadn’t been a dream… She sat up abruptly and noticed her surroundings for the first time. “How did we get here?” she asked, confused.

“Don’ remember your lover boy zappin’ you into unconsciousness then, ‘ey Slayer?” he sulked slightly at the fact that she no longer seemed to be acknowledging his advances.

“Wh-What?” her voice shook slightly. “Riley…shot me?”

“Would ‘ave gotten yours truly if Harris hadn’t’a jumped in an’ attempted to knock some sense into your toy soldier.” He shook his head. “Who ever woulda thought the Whelp’d be useful?”

“Xander helped us?” Buffy took heart in this fact.

“Don’ get your hopes up, kitten,” Spike retorted. “’E just didn’t like seein’ you get shot. Still barely got us out of there before they got wind of our escape.”

“And you brought me here?!” Buffy gestured to the dorm room around them. “This will be the first place they’ll look!”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Spike said satisfactorily, leaning back against Willow’s pillows in a feline way. “’S too obvious. They’ll never think to look for us here.”

“What about Willow?” Buffy demanded. “I think she’s gonna notice when she comes back and finds a vampire in her bed.”

Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Goldilocks, your best bud’s been livin’ elsewhere all term. ‘Sides,” a wicked leer spread across his face, “’f you think me bein’ in her bed’s such a problem, ‘d be happy to accept an invitation into yours…”

Buffy’s face turned bright red, and she found something very fascinating to play with on her coverlet.

Spike’s eyes narrowed, and he began to compose a rather biting retort about her leading him on again when she nervously pulled up the corner of her blanket and gave him a shy smile.

“C’mon over,” she practically whispered, desperately looking anywhere but into his eyes.

He, however, didn’t tear his gaze from her face once while he walked over to her bed. He sat down on the edge lightly and was astonished when her hand caught hold of his and pulled him to her. Somewhat awkwardly, he lay down beside her, helping her when she tried to pull the covers over him as well.

For a minute they just lay there, face to face, bodies pressed together, not speaking.

“Gentlemen got your tongue?” she finally teased.

He spared her a wry smile. “Jus’ don’ know what you ‘spect me to do ‘s all…”

“You could start by kissing me,” she said softly, her hand wrapping around his waist and holding his body to hers more tightly.

It was all the opening he needed. His lips found hers to be just as sweet and soft as he had remembered, and his fingers trailed through her hair, pulling her closer, deeper into their kiss.

Buffy’s eyelashes fluttered shut, and she opened her mouth against his probing tongue. He didn’t slip inside her immediately, though, taking the time to nibble sensuously at each of her parted lips, tasting every inch of her mouth…

Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore and plunged her own tongue into his mouth. He let her explore for a while, biting back a moan when she discovered the sheaths for his fangs and began toying with them. Gods, did she have any idea how sensitive a vampire’s fangs were? The smiling curve of her lips against his told him that she knew exactly what she was doing…

With a growl deep in his chest, he fended off her tongue’s assault with his own. The two dueled and parried in an erotic dance that had both of them whimpering in each other’s arms within minutes.

The arm Buffy had casually flung about his waist began to slowly explore him, her fingers quickly finding the hem of his black tee and slipping beneath to feel the cool, smooth muscles of his back.

His own hand traveled from her hair down the sensitive column of her throat to her shoulder. A quick, light caress up and down her arm, and then those nimble fingers glided down her side, touching her just lightly enough to tantalize her delicate nerve endings, sending goosebumps up and down her spine.

She wrapped one leg over his lean hip, her foot gently massaging the backs of his thighs and calves. He responded by capturing her other foot between his, gently caressing her sensitized arches. She gasped lightly when his cool, bare feet first caught her, but soon was enjoying his movements too much to care…not to mention the way his feet slowly warmed to her touch, as if she were the sun, melting the chill from his limbs…

Inevitably, she had to break their kiss to breathe, however. She gasped a few times for air, still savoring the way their bodies were naturally molding together. She got one good look at the passion buried deep within his sapphirine eyes before his mouth lowered to her throat, and she was too awash with emotion to do anything but feel once again.

He nipped and sucked his way from the line of her jaw to the soft hollow of her throat, eliciting little mewls and whimpers from her as he went. His mouth traveled up the other side, pausing only to hiss slightly at the mark his Grandsire had left on her before his flicked his own tongue right over it, attempting to wipe away the claim.

Buffy felt an odd tingle go through her body and brief flash of panic when he bite gently over Angel’s mark, but then all memories of the lover who had given her his deadly kissed were erased as Spike’s hand gently cupped her breast through the fabric of her blouse, kneading and arousing her.

“Spike!” she gasped when his blunt teeth sunk deeper into the healed wound on her throat.

He smiled against her at the thought that he had finally broken the Great Poof’s claim, and he rose to look into her eyes once more.

“Wh-What was…that?” Buffy whispered raggedly, the butterflies in her stomach still fluttering about at a mile a minute and her heart beating a mile a minute.

“Vampire thing,” he explained sheepishly. “Just makin’ sure it was me you’re really with right now…”

“Of course it’s you,” Buffy frowned slightly, brushing back one platinum curl that had escaped his hair gel. It stubbornly refused to be put back in its place. “I-I’ve been thinking about this – you and me – for a long time…”

“Me, too,” he agreed softly.

“In fact,” she cupped his cheek in her hand and looked right into those deep cerulean eyes of his – clear and stormy at the same time…how was that possible? – before continuing, “that night when I first saw you…when you threatened Jonathan outside the Bronze?”

“I remember, luv,” he smiled slightly at the memory.

“I saw you, and you were so beautiful, and then I realized that you were a vampire and evil, a-and…” she trailed off and blushed.

“’Ey now,” he said softly, his knuckles tracing the curve of her face, “’s all right, princess.”

She smiled at the unexpected kindness she’d so recently discovered was buried deep within him. “It was like you broke my heart,” she finally confessed, “before I’d even gotten a chance to know you.”

He shut his eyes and was silent for a few seconds, but spoke before she had a chance to worry about his reaction to her admission. “Saw you that night, too, luv.” His voice was deep and husky now, sending thrilling vibrations right through her body and down to the void between her legs. He gently kissed the corner of her lips. “Saw you and wished…wanted…” He sighed and began again. “Just knew you were different is all,” he finally said, “and not just because you were the Slayer.” His voice softened, became more upper class, more sensitive, more vulnerable… “You were the kind of woman a man could spend eternity lost in. And never once grow bored. And I wanted so much to just…” He turned away, embarrassed.

“You wanted to make me a vampire?” she finished for him.

He nodded sheepishly. “Are you mad?” he inquired cautiously.

“No, I don’t think so,” she began hesitantly. “I mean, it is kinda scary, but it’s also kinda…”

“What?”

“Sweet? Touching?” She shook her head. “Not sure, but…I’m not repulsed or anything.”

“Good to know,” he commented, resting his against her shoulder and lightly nuzzling her neck.

She wove her fingers through his hair and watched his face in amazement. It was as if yet another mask had slipped away, and now all she could see was a scared, lonely young man who wanted nothing more than to accepted, held, loved… And so she accepted him, and held him, and…

“Slayer?” he finally whispered.

“Mmm?” she responded, still battling with the latest emotions that were trying to worm their way into her heart.

“What am I to you?” he asked hesitantly, frightened but doing his best to hide the barrier around his innermost self that she was so close to breaking through.

The façade didn’t fool her in the slightest, though. “Beautiful,” she answered without pause.

He smiled a shy, delighted little smile. “You saved my life,” he commented.

She frowned at the non sequitur.

“When I fell over the cliff,” he clarified, “you saved my life.”

She shrugged. “Fall probably wouldn’t have killed you anyway. Besides, you saved me, too…”

“From your own boyfriend,” he snorted derisively.

Buffy frowned. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said slowly, the idea a revelation to her as well.

“Oh?” He didn’t allow even the tiniest sliver of hope to shine through the word.

Buffy bit her lip. These new thoughts and feelings were still strange to her, so why should she share them with him yet? Because you want to tell him, you want him to be the one to understand you… She took a deep breath.

“Riley,” she began with a sigh. “When Riley and I first met,” she started over, “I had absolutely no interest in him – not in that way. He was just kind of this nice, ordinary guy that was around.”

Spike nodded for her to continue, surprisingly not showing even the slightest signs of jealousy.

“So, then he starts liking me, and after a while I begin to realize it. You may not have noticed, but I’ve been a bit unlucky with love…” The look in his eyes said he definitely had. “But everyone always tells you to jump right back on the horse and give it another go and so…” She threw her head back in exasperation. “I just kind of went along with it because I thought I was supposed to, y’know?”

He nodded and began petting the short hairs at the back of her neck.

“Mmm, feels good…” She closed her eyes for a second at the sensations before speaking again. “Willow liked him a lot, and everyone said he was good for me, and we would do those normal date-like things where we’d rant on and on about our interests and discover that we have absolutely nothing in common but keep pretending anyway.”

“You felt pressured, trapped,” he commented.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “It was like: this is the best I’m ever going to get, so I better grab it up while I still can.”

“Doesn’t work without the fire,” he smiled slightly and leaned in to kiss her temple, “without the passion…”

“I know that now,” Buffy nodded, “but I’d never had a chance to really find that out before… But then he slept with Faith while she was in my body, and he didn’t even realize it, and—”

“Hold on a second,” Spike frowned. “Who slept with who in who’s body?” he asked confusedly.

Buffy laughed. “You didn’t hear about this?” she asked. He shook his head. “Ugh,” Buffy threw her head back, “the ten thousand reasons I can’t stand Faith…”

“That’s that other Slayer, right?” he inquired. “The one that’s gone rogue?”

“Oh, yeah,” Buffy grimaced.

“An’ she was in your body?”

“Had this little switchy device and everything.”

“Well now,” he said with a look of sudden realization on his face, “that all makes sense now then, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?” It was Buffy’s turn for confusion.

“You didn’t by any chance corner me in Bronze, try to practically dry hump me, and then run off with some cute little cock-tease statement ‘bout how bein’ with me was wrong, now did you, pet?”

“What?!” she exclaimed in horror and indignation.

“Din’t think so,” he reassured her with a small smile. “Gotta tell you, though, I spend many an hour tryin’ to puzzle out whether you were drunk or looped up on some spell or whatnot. Acted like a grand ol’ bitch, she did.”

“Faith came on to you?” Buffy said coldly. “In my body?!”

“Bitch,” he repeated apologetically. “Found a new addition to the top ten people I hate list.”

“Riley didn’t hate her,” Buffy said sourly. “He didn’t even realize it wasn’t me.”

“An’ the two of them, they…” he trailed off.

“And get this,” Buffy said irately. “Here’s Riley’s great excuse: ‘I felt that something was wrong’. Hello? You can’t even tell who you’re sleeping with?!”

Spike shrugged. “’E’s a useless wanker anyway,” he informed her, “couldn’t find his ass with both hands.”

She giggled slightly at the image, that completely dumbfounded expression on Riley’s face as he searched. “You knew, though,” she said softly, leaning into him once more.

“Was bloody obvious,” Spike declared. “Did think it was some kinda ‘mega bitch’ spell or somethin’, though.”

Buffy bit her lip while she debated asked the next question. “Would you have slept with her?” she finally ventured.

Spike sighed and pulled away. “If she’d been serious? Prob’ly,” he admitted. “Although, vampire here. Will do anything to get laid.”

“Except lie to me,” she pointed out.

He looked at her in surprise.

“Come back here,” she opened her arms to him.

He watched her nervously, hesitantly…

“I want you,” she said softly, “and I’m pretty sure you want me…”

“’Course I do, luv,” he insisted.

“Then c’mon,” she caught his hand and pulled him back into her arms.

He was tense for a minute but then began to relax at the way her hands were gently massaging his back. “Thought you’d be angry,” he commented.

“Yeah,” Buffy said softly, “me, too.”

“What with me thinkin’ ‘bout shagging your worst enemy while she was in your body…”

“I did get that point already, you know,” she smiled wryly.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yup.” She lowered her lips to his ear and began nibbling lightly at the lobe there. “So whattaya say?” she looked up at him demurely. “You want a shot at the real thing or not?”

The only response she got was a low growl, and then he was on top of her, his weight pressing her down into the mattress and his hands and mouth everywhere…

Chapter Eight - Not Again...

“It’s all my fault,” Riley insisted. “I let them get away.”

Giles sighed wearily. “You have no idea where they could have gone?” he asked, concerned.

“I don’t see how Spike could have gotten far carrying Buffy,” Xander said, casting a bitter look in Riley’s direction.

“Carrying Buffy?” Jonathan asked confusedly.

“Yeah,” Xander said, giving Riley the evil eye, “that’s kind of the part Mr. Initiative over here left out – the whole shooting Buffy with a taser just because he was pissed off.”

“I thought we agreed not to mention that part,” Riley hissed at Xander between his teeth.

“No,” Xander retorted, “you ordered me not to say anything. I never agreed to anything. And I don’t take orders from you.”

Riley’s eyes narrowed. “It’s your fault they got away,” he countered, contradicting his own statements from earlier. “If you’d just let me take Spike out—”

“You were so out of it I had no idea what you were going to do,” Xander defended his actions. “For all I know you were going after Buffy again. Or you had that thing set to kill Spike.”

“And what if I did?” Riley demanded. “That thing deserves it.”

“He still owes Xander money from that pool game they bet on last week,” Anya commented off-handedly. “He can’t die until we get his money.”

“And when did this become a vendetta anyway?” Willow chimed in to defend Xander as well. “You were supposed to help Buffy, not shoot her!”

“I am trying to help Buffy!” Riley insisted, scowling. “We need to find her right now, and you people aren’t helping!”

“Now, now,” Jonathan broke in, a small furrow on his brow at the way things were changing before his very eyes, “we all want to help Buffy.”

“Of course, now we have no idea where to look,” Riley glowered at Xander. “They’ve probably found themselves a good hideout by now.”

“Au contraire,” Xander retorted, holding out the black leather duster that he’d retrieved from the cave. “I’m guessing this is a personal enough item to do the tracking spell,” he said triumphantly, handing the jacket over to Willow.

Willow turned to Tara, who nodded.

“This should just take a few minutes,” Willow agreed…

Buffy lay back on the bed in her dorm room and moaned as Spike’s talented tongue played games with the hoops through her ear. Hungry, eager hands peeled back the skin-tight T-shirt he always wore, exposing the most scrumptious six pack of abs she’d ever seen.

He pulled away from her just long enough to slip his shirt the rest of the way off, and then he was back on top of her, his lips capturing hers in another smoldering kiss.

She arched her body into his cool hands as he unfastened the buttons of her blouse one by one. Tender, lingering caresses trailed across all the new flesh that was exposed to his hungry eyes, and she whimpered as his touch lit her skin on fire.

“Cor, you’re beautiful, luv,” he gasped, looking down at her with dark, stormy eyes as he bushed her blouse aside to discover tanned curves hidden only slightly by a thin strip of crimson silk.

She bit her lip in anticipation when his hand reached down to toy with the front clasp of bra. He didn’t release it at once, though, pausing to slip the smooth fabric between his fingers and cup her breasts in his palms first.

After a while the agony of not feeling his bare flesh against her needy mounds became too much and managed an enraged scowl. “Do it already,” she demanded, guiding his hand back to the clasp.

An amused smirk twitched at the corners of his lips. “Do what?” he asked with false innocence.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” she threatened good-naturedly.

“Mmm…”

The vibrations of his chest when he purred went straight through her nerve endings, sending excited little tingles all throughout her body and culminating right at the junction of her thighs. Her panties began to chafe a bit against the sensitive wetness as her body prepared to welcome him inside.

“Might enjoy havin’ you hurt me, baby,” he said with a small wink, knowing exactly what effect he was having on her at the moment.

She tried to scowl at him. Really, she did. But then he was grinding his hips against hers, and her clit started throbbing in eager anticipation even through the two layers of jeans that separated them.

“You’re…ohgod!…an…yesplease!…asshole!” she finally managed to get out breathlessly.

He chuckled against her throat while his hand slipped down to unfasten her jeans. “Not very convincing,” he chided her. “Maybe if you weren’t moanin’ and screamin’ for me…”

“I hate you,” she said darkly.

“Right then,” he said, pulling back. “You won’t be wantin’ me to touch you then, I guess,” he teased.

She groaned when his body rose off of hers. “Still want you…” she finally whispered raggedly, shimmying her jeans and panties off of her legs. He helped pull them free of her ankles and then settled back down on top of her, his jeans the only obstruction remaining to their union…well, that and his cocky, obnoxious attitude.

“’Course you do,” he agreed with a delighted grin. “’m irresistible. Can’t hardly keep your hands to yourself, ‘d wager,” he teased.

“Ugh!” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Full of yourself much?”

“Not as such,” he countered, “but ‘f you want to be full of me, all you’ve got to do is ask, Bitsy.”

“Argh!” she exclaimed. “Could you be any more irritating?! And, for the last time, it’s Buffy!”

“Could be lots more irritating if you wanted me to be, Bessy. Got a feelin’ you like me this way…” He gave her a lascivious smirk.

“That’s it!” she exclaimed, twin fires of anger and desire rushing through her at the same time. “Just shut up already!”

And with that she shoved him hard onto his back and plundered his lips with her own, shutting him up in the only way she knew how. His body rumbled with a deep, resonant purr beneath her, and she crawled on top of him, enjoying the vibrating sensation between her thighs.

“Cor, luv!” he moaned when she broke off their kiss to begin biting and licking her way down his throat.

“My name,” she insisted, grinding her hips down against his. “What is it?”

He gasped at the overwhelming pressure as his cock swelled up in his jeans, enjoying the feel of the hot body on top of him moving up and down far, far too slowly…

“’S a bloody stupid name,” he gasped out, refusing to cave in to her demands with the last of his strength.

She frowned and caught the zipper of his jeans roughly, yanking it down and exposing the beautifully sculpted hips she’d ever seen outside of Greek statues. She gave him a feline smile and intentionally avoided looking at the head that was now peeking out at her

“Say it,” she insisted, her tongue tracing the cool plane of his solar plexus.

“Binky,” he retorted smugly, hiding just how close to losing it he really was.

“Say it,” she repeated, plunging her tongue into his navel.

He gasped and bucked beneath her. “B-Brandy,” he taunted her, refusing to give up the little bit of power over her that he had left.

“God!” she exclaimed in exasperation. “Do you spend hours coming up with stupid names that begin with ‘B’ or something?!”

“Hard when I can’t stick your name right at the top o’ the list, too, Bunty,” he laughed.

“Is that even a name?” she countered, pulling his jeans down his hips furiously and tossing them aside.

“’Course,” he frowned slightly. “Don’ hear it much, but—”

He was cut off by another bruising kiss.

“Aggravating, annoying, stubborn, pig-headed…” she moaned between kisses all up and down his chest.

“Could say the say about you, kitten,” he joked lightly.

“I still love you, though,” she said lightly. And then froze when she realized exactly what she’d just said.

“B-Buffy?” his voice cracked, serious now and using her real name for the first time. His eyes were wide open in shock just as she was sure hers were.

“I-I-I…” Buffy began to stutter hopelessly, pulling back and curling into a little ball at the foot of the bed.

“Oh, pet…” Spike quickly curled up behind her, showering her back and neck with kisses.

She relaxed slightly against him, but her mind was still racing a mile a minute. I love Spike, I love Spike… Oh, heaven help me, I love Spike…

“Love you, too.”

The words were so soft against her ear that for a minute she thought she’d just imagined them.

“Love you, too,” he repeated, a bit louder.

She turned to look at him in surprise and couldn’t help but smile back at the nervous little grin he gave her. One hand cautiously reached out to touch his chest, and the electricity surged between them with newfound intensity.

They both gasped in surprise before Spike pulled her roughly back into his arms.

“Love you, want you, need you,” he moaned, laying her back down on the bed and coming to rest on top of her.

“L-Love you, want you, need you,” she repeated with a shy, lazy smile.

He bent down to kiss her once more and lined himself up with the soft wetness between her thighs, and…

“Oh shit!”

They both turned in surprise when they heard this exclamation come from behind them to see a figure outlined in the open doorway…

“Oh shit!” His eyes bugged out in disbelief when he opened the door to the dorm room to see the two of them moving together in a naked mass of limbs on the bed.

“Not again!” Spike groaned.

Somehow they managed to get a blanket pulled up to cover themselves up.

Still, he just stood there, staring, dumbfounded, and trying desperately not to think about how hot this scene actually was. He was sure his face was about as red as theirs were.

“S-Sorry…” he managed to stammer. “I th-thought this was Linda’s room?”

Buffy let out a weary sigh. “She’s one floor up.”

“Oh. I’m so, sooo sorry,” he hastily insisted, slamming the door shut again and practically racing up the stairs, his face still a dark maroon…

Spike turned back to look at Buffy, and for a second they just stared at each other, struck dumb. And then, simultaneously, a giggle escaped from each of their lips. It quickly turned into all out hysterics, and it was quite some time before either of them could speak again.

“Did you see the look on his face?” Buffy giggled into her hand.

“Think I might’ve caught it amidst coverin’ up your juicy parts, luv,” he said with a wry smile, tossing the blanket back to the side.

“Not a problem,” Buffy insisted. “He was totally too busy checking out your ass.”

“Lucky ‘ve got such a nice one then,” he joked.

“Mmm…” Buffy agreed, clutching the firm globes in question in her hands and pulling him back down between her outspread legs. “Where were we again…?”

“You were about to let the Big Bad ravish you,” he reminded her, whispering the words against her ear and tickling the soft hairs there.

Buffy turned his chin to her and captured his lips once more, the fire returning to her veins as his tongue slowly stroked hers. She began to explore his back, feeling the lean muscles beneath her palms tense and flex while he kissed her.

His own free hand – the one he wasn’t using to prop himself up above her – trailed down to her breast, cupping the tender mound gently while his thumb circled ever inward, moving closer and closer to her nipple.

She gasped when he finally flicked the rosy bud lightly and let out a syllable that was supposed to be “more” but ended up just as a heady moan.

He deciphered her code, though, and lowered his head to her breast, nipping and biting and licking and…

Oh god! She couldn’t even begin to put words to what his mouth was doing to her, but she had never felt anything like it. She gasped and sighed and moaned and chided herself for not being able to come up with some reaction to show just how wonderful she really felt.

His tongue was flicking her nipple back and forth now, while his hand played with the other one, each keeping a different time and rhythm that worked in perfect counterpoint to each other. Buffy got the distinct feeling that he was the type of guy that could do the pat-your-head-and-rub-your-stomach-at-the-same-thing without the slightest difficulty.

Desperate to return some of the pleasure he was giving her, her hand strayed down between them until it found something large and cool and hard. He jerked within her hand when she first encircled him and then began thrusting slowly in and out of her clenching fist while she traced the pulsing veins there.

“Cor, Buffy!” he whimpered against her breast. “Feels so good…”

“Bet it would feel better inside me,” she countered with a coy smile.

He gave her a mock scowl and reached down into the wet folds beneath him. One finger skimmed around the entrance to her womb, lighting off sparks through the sensitive nerves there.

“Please, Spike…” she begged, arcing her hips up to give him better access.

The finger slipped within her, and her muscles clenched around it instinctively, a small orgasm passing through just at this first penetration. By the time she came back to herself, a second finger was within her, stretching out her inner walls and preparing her. A third soon joined it, opening her up wide for him.

“You want me?” His speech was desperate and ragged, the effort of keeping from plunging right into her obviously taking its toll.

Buffy gulped. “I want you,” she whispered softly.

His eyes met hers and held her gaze, neither of them even daring to blink as he guided himself to her entrance.

She felt the velvety soft skin of his head lightly rubbing past her outer folds and gasped.

Then, with one strong, sure stroke, he was within her, buried up to the hilt.

“Oh my god…” Buffy moaned, clutching him to her as their bodies began to thrust in perfect time with each other.

He lay his head down against her shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut tight as his hips thrusted in and out of her blazing inferno over and over again.

Buffy planted kisses throughout his soft, platinum hair, all the while still stunned at how big he was, how good he felt, how her walls molded around him just perfectly… It was absolute agony each time he pulled out of her.

“Buffy,” Spike finally said, raising himself up above her once more. “’ve never felt anything like this before…”

“Me either,” she agreed softly, catching one of his hands and twining their fingers together.

He took the opportunity to pull her arm up over her head, catching her other hand and well and moving it to the same position, stretching her out beneath him. The new position gave him the added leverage to increase the strength of his thrusts, and soon their hips were slamming together with superhuman intensity.

Buffy cried out and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper inside of her. She gasped in astonishment when he found the most tender and secret spot within her, and he redirected his angle to strike it with every push.

Their rhythm fast and frantic, they met in a demanding kiss, lips angling, teeth biting, tongues thrusting and parrying.

Spike felt her inner heat begin to overpower him, his sac clenching in anticipation. A slight circular motion in his hips, and he ground her clit on the way in before striking her g-spot once more.

She screamed out his name as she fell over the edge, her Slayer muscles clenching and milking him of the cool ropy squirts of semen that shot into her womb.

“I love you, Buffy,” he whispered against her cheek with the last of his strength when the ecstasy became too much to bear.

“Oh, Spike… I love you, too,” she murmured before dissolving into a pool of Jell-O beneath him.

For a long time they just lay there, completely spent, pondering the strange emotional turn their relationship had taken and trying to figure out how on earth they each let themselves even get to this point.

Finally, they both decided to just worry about the moment, and Buffy flipped him onto his back, smiling as she felt him harden again still within her, and began to ride him for all she was worth…

“I’m sorry,” Willow said for the umpteenth time when the spell fizzled out before her. “There’s just too much interference. I can’t get a trace.”

“You said you’d be able to find them!” Riley insisted, pounding his fist into the kitchen counter angrily.

“N-Normally I would,” Willow agreed, a bit put off by his displays of temper, “but the spell’s a bit sensitive to emotional energy, and…it’s just temporary. We should try again in an hour when their emotions are less…intense.”

“That ‘intensity’ is why we have to find them right now,” Riley demanded.

“Th-They could just be arguing or-or fighting or something,” Tara tried to calm him down.

Riley snorted derisively. “You saw them in the cave,” he turned to Xander. “It’s not ‘fighting’ that’s short-circuiting the spell.”

“Yeah,” Xander agreed slowly, “I saw them…” And I’ve never seen either of them look that genuinely happy before, so maybe you should get out of denial that they’re under some spell and grow up already…

“Try the spell again,” Riley insisted.

“They’ve got to be tired by now,” Jonathan pointed out, trying to mediate between the enraged Initiative agent and the Scoobies.

“Try. It. Now,” he repeated through clenched teeth.

“We’ll just wait another hour first,” Willow insisted. “I doubt they’re done…er…”

“Having orgasms?” Anya suggested perkily.

Willow’s face turned a deep crimson. “Wait an hour,” she repeated.

“We’ve already tried that four times,” Riley growled, stalking out the door and slamming it shut behind him on a quest to find Buffy himself…

Chapter Nine - Aftershocks

“Guys,” Xander said nervously, “I think we need to stop him.”

Five curious heads turned in his direction.

“What do mean?” Giles asked, his brow furrowed.

Xander sighed. “Riley kind of…lost it back in the cave,” he finally admitted. “I tried to stop him from firing, and he practically strangled me. I think he’s gone slightly over the edge – enough to hurt Buffy.”

“B-But Riley wouldn’t do that!” Willow protested, her opinion of the Initiative agent wavering.

“Did you see his aura?” Tara pointed out. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that angry…”

“He practically turned his back on the commandos for Buffy,” Willow pointed out.

“That was before Buffy started having sex with someone else,” Anya pointed out. “It looks like they’ve reached the vengeance stage of their relationship. And, trust me, I know about the vengeance. It isn’t pretty.”

Reluctantly, Willow agreed, remembering all the painful death threats she’d promised she would carry out on Riley if he hurt Buffy and preparing herself to carry them out if need be…metaphorically, of course.

“I should be able to track him,” Jonathan agreed. “I’ll go.”

“I’m going with you,” Xander insisted.

Jonathan looked about to object for a second but then conceded his point. “Willow, Tara, keep trying the tracking spell. If you can get to Buffy and Spike first, you can cut Riley off.” He turned back to Xander. “Let’s go,” he said with a grimace.

“Mmm…” Buffy slowly opened her eyes to the feel of cool breath brushing her temple. She yawned and smacked her lips once before cuddling back into the pale crook of Spike’s neck. His occasional random breaths continued to tease the short hairs across her forehead, and she let out a contented little sigh.

The angle of the light against the blinds indicated to her that most of the afternoon had passed while they slept. She craned her neck to make sure that they were closed properly before returning her attention to her newfound lover.

He murmured slightly in his sleep, soft mewls and purrs that alternated with the unnecessary breaths he took. Buffy took a moment to memorize his sleeping features, so peaceful and calm and beautiful. And so seemingly innocent. If she hadn’t known first hand that he was a creature of darkness, she would never have believed that this god beside her was anything but the purest white.

The narrowness of the standard issue dorm bed had forced the two of them to press up right against each other as they slept, but now Buffy inched back from him a bit to look at him more completely. The only other time she’d really had a chance to observe him this closely was during Willow’s spell, and she’d been too preoccupied with the kissing…and the Giles blindness and demons attacking Xander…and then the more kissing to really study him. And she’d never gotten such a good view before.

Every inch of his body lay bare and open to her inspection, and all of him was so beautiful to her. Her eyes followed the gentle curve of his throat to the strong line of his collarbone, down across the planes of his chest to the firm muscles of his abdomen that twitched slightly when he breathed. His cock was only semi-hard and still resting in the wiry curls at the junction of his thighs.

She studied him a bit and finally determined that his natural hair color must have been brown. She had always guessed black from the color of his eyebrows, but the truth lay right there before her.

She could see the line of one lean, white hip, but exposing him further would have required pulling the blanket back further from him, and it seemed such a crime to disturb the tranquility of the gorgeous vampire beside her.

Instead, she curled back up against him, appreciating the feel of him all the more now that she had a clear picture of every rippling muscle in her head. Strangely enough, that moment seemed more intimate to her than everything they had done the evening before. Just being here with him, in his embrace…

She let out another sigh. “I love you so much,” she whispered softly, one of her hands gently stroking his hair.

He stirred a bit at this, and one of his arms reached out instinctively to wrap around her waist and pull her to him. He nuzzled against her throat lightly, still half-asleep but slowly returning to consciousness.

She gave him a radiant smile when his long lashes finally fluttered open and she was met with twin brilliant blue orbs. “’Morning, handsome,” she teased lightly before giving him a quick, chaste kiss.

He sighed, and then frowned slightly, his head cocked to one side as if gauging something.

“What?” she asked curiously.

“’S mid-afternoon,” he finally commented, a teasing smile on his lips. Lazily, his hand glided down her side.

“Guess that means you can’t leave for a while yet,” she said slyly, “not until the sun goes down…”

“’m trapped, baby,” he agreed happily, laying his head back down on the pillow.

She wound her hand around his waist and pressed their bodies close together as they just lay there, touching and kissing lightly.

She felt the heat ignite in her body once more at his nearness, and her hand snaked down between them to encourage him to ‘rise to the occasion’.

Surprisingly, however, he batted her hand aside.

“Bi-Buffy,” he quickly corrected himself, a slight frown marring his brow, “we should talk, luv.”

She groaned. “Why talk?” She bit her lip petulantly. “Talk bad. No talk. Want you now.”

A smile twitched at the edges of his lips. “Want you too, kitten,” he agreed, “but what happened…”

“Regrets?” she asked nervously, her eyes suddenly widening with fear. This was it. Get too attached and they just run off and—

“No,” he quickly reassured her, brushing the hair back from her face, “no regrets, just…me vampire, you Slayer… ‘S not right, kitten.”

“It feel right last night,” she reminded him. “It felt better than right, it felt…wonderful…”

He chuckled slightly. “No arguin’ there,” he agreed. “I jus’…” he trailed off, unsure of himself.

“Tell me,” she said softly, cupping his cheek with her palm. “Let me in.” She hadn’t meant for the pleading tone to be in her voice; it just was.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “I can’t help feelin’,” he began, looking her right in the eyes and cautiously reaching out to stroke her hair, “that I shouldn’t be reactin’ to you like I am. ‘m a vampire for cryin’ out loud! The very thought of you should make me homicidal and repulsed an’…an’ why do I want you?”

“Mmm…” she giggled slightly. “Similar thoughts crossed through my mind. But you know what?” He cocked a curious eyebrow in her direction, and she went on. “I don’t care. All I know is that last night was probably the best of my life, and…I don’t ever want it to end. So I don’t care if this is ‘wrong’. It’s not wrong for me, and hopefully it’s not for you, either.” She gave him a shy little smile.

“No,” he reassured her, a surprisingly endearing shy little smile of his own on his lips. “’S not like I give a damn ‘bout what anyone else thinks anyway. But I jus’ wanna know…when? Why? How?”

She didn’t need clarification to know that he was referring to her little admission. “When?” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t know exactly. I would have said just last night, but now that I think about it, there were signs earlier. After Will’s spell? Before that? There were definite lusty feelings before that.”

“’m not too concerned about the lust, pet. That I understand…”

“But you don’t understand why I love you?” she asked softly.

He looked slightly abashed at the fact that she’d said the words again. Frankly, he’d been half convinced that it was one of those heat of the moment things…

“Not jus’ that,” he sighed, rolling over onto his back as much as the narrow bed would allow and coming to rest against the wall, “but ‘s as good a place to start as any.”

She curled up beside him and let one hand rest on his smooth chest, her finger caressing the sleek muscles there. “I can’t fully explain, of course,” she began. “But you make me feel strong. And you make me feel beautiful. And you make me laugh, and you make me furious, and you make me burn.” Her thumb found one flat, male nipple and began playing with it experimentally. “And when I’m with you…” she blushed, “I feel like you understand me, like you get me…”

“I do get you,” he insisted. “No one’s ever made as much sense to me as you do.”

Her smile brightened at his admission. She’d actually been a bit concerned that she was manufacturing a lot of that last part because she so wanted it to be true…

“I can be myself around you,” she added softly. “It’s like I can be all of me at once, Slayer, woman, child, adult, confident…scared. I feel so natural around you, like I don’t have to hide anything.”

His eyes raked up and down her naked body, and he licked his lips. “You’d better not hide anythin’ from me, luv,” he joked.

She batted him playfully in the head. “I hate you,” she grumbled.

“That’s not what you were sayin’ when I was poundin’ you into the mattress,” he teased.

She gave him a sly smile. “Then maybe you should try pounding me into the mattress again,” she suggested coyly.

“Not too sore for another round?” he grinned.

“I’m good to go,” she agreed, wrapping one leg around his waist.

“Couldn’t hardly move your legs last night, though,” he said, his chest slightly puffed up with manly pride, “not after I was through with you.”

“What can I say, baby?” She bit his earlobe. “Slayer healing and all…”

“That combined with the Slayer stamina an’ Slayer strength an’ Slayer muscles makes for a most…appealin’ package, too, luv,” he groaned and pulled her up on top of him.

And then she lowered herself down onto him and showed him just how well she’d recovered…

Catching up to Riley had actually been remarkably easy. Especially since he used the same standard grid pattern every single time he patrolled.

He looked especially annoyed to see them but held his tongue on account of Jonathan’s presence: the other man clearly outranked him.

“You’re never going to find them this way,” Xander pointed out, still panting heavily from his recent run and leaning against a nearby tree to steady himself.

“This is the most efficient pattern for covering the campus,” Riley declared, casting Xander a dark look.

“Yeah…if they’re just hanging out in the middle of the quads in broad daylight,” Xander retorted, deciding that he liked Riley less with each passing second.

Riley frowned and struggled to come up with a valid retort, but Jonathan stepped in before things turned nasty.

“The most efficient technique,” he informed Riley with a stern look, “was to stay at Giles’ and wait for Willow to complete the tracking spell.”

“It wouldn’t have worked in time,” Riley retorted. “They need to be stopped now.”

“I hate to break it to you,” Xander repeated for the umpteenth time, “but Buffy wasn’t in any danger.”

“That thing was about to rape her!” Riley’s eyes widened in horror at the other man’s callousness.

“Y’know, technically force is required for it to be rape…”

“He’s brainwashed her!” Riley insisted. “Why else would she let him touch her?!”

“Maybe because her boyfriend’s turned out to be a paranoid psycho?!” Xander shot right back at him.

“And Spike’s sooo much better?” Riley demanded sarcastically. “It’s a thrall!”

“Like Anya said earlier, if Spike had a thrall, he would have used it long ago.”

“Oh, and since your demon fuck toy said it, it must be true!”

Riley’s head snapped back at the force of Xander’s punch.

“Don’t you ever talk about her that way!” Xander screamed in outrage, a murderous rage in his eyes.

Riley wiped the blood from his mouth furiously. “I should have known you side with them,” he hissed. “After all, what else should I expect from a demon lover?”

“Yeah, and your girlfriend’s finding out right now just how much better demon lovers are,” Xander retorted spitefully.

“Only because of a spell!” Riley insisted. “Buffy would never willingly touch that…vampire.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah,” he muttered under his breath, “’cause Buffy’s never gone for the hot vamp in town before…”

“What are you insinuating?” Riley hissed.

“If you don’t know, then that just proves you know even less about Buffy than I first thought,” Xander countered.

Riley shook his head. “It’s a spell,” he insisted. “Just a spell. Buffy would never… No!”

“There is no spell!” Xander exclaimed in frustration. “In fact—”

“There is,” Jonathan finally commented, breaking up the argument that had been spiraling out of control before his very eyes.

“What?” Xander turned to look at him in surprise, while Riley’s face showed a triumphant grin.

“There’s a spell,” Jonathan repeated, “and it’s starting to get out of control. I say it’s high time we break it…”

“This is going to take forever, isn’t it?” Anya complained, idly fingering Tara’s bedspread. The tracking spell had worked for a bit, leading them towards campus until it fizzled out again, and their guide vanished. Tara’s room had been nearest, so they’d gone there to try recasting. “Vamps have almost endless stamina,” she continued. “This could go on for days…”

Giles massaged the pressure points on the bridge of his nose and tried desperately not to invoke the image Anya’s comments brought to mind.

“Ha!” Willow abruptly exclaimed as the guiding tug returned to her hand, the feel almost like that of an invisible hand pulling her in the right direction. “We’ve got it again!”

The four of them practically ran to follow the path directed before Willow, hoping to get close before the sexcapades resumed again and the spell died once more. However, this time it began to lead them away from campus, in a direction almost at a right angle to their previous path.

“Are you sure the spell’s still trained on Spike?” Tara asked anxiously as they entered the edge of the woods.

“The sun just set,” Giles commented. “Spike could easily be on the move again.”

“I wonder why he’d go out into the middle of the woods,” Willow said thoughtfully, slowing her pace a bit since Buffy and Spike probably wouldn’t be doing the wacky if they were moving around again.

“To make my life miserable,” Anya groused, pulling her hair free of the branch it had been caught in. “After all, that seems to be the entire point of this day. And I was just getting to the really juicy parts of Jonathan’s book, too…”

“You’re sure you’re not just wandering around aimlessly?” Buffy repeated for the third time.

“This thing’s scent trail is crazy all over the place,” Spike growled out with irritation. “Must’ve been walkin’ in circles…”

“I think you’re lost,” she accused.

“I’m not lost!” he protested vehemently.

“Liar.”

“’m not.”

“Are too.”

“’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Look,” he finally exclaimed, “will stop bein’ such a bossy, stuck-up…”

“…Stubborn, unreasonable…”

“…Annoyin’…”

“…Clueless…”

“…Obnoxious…”

“…Sexy…”

“…B— Did you jus’ say ‘sexy’, pet?” he broke off suddenly.

“Oh god, I want you,” she moaned, catching his head between her hands and pulling him down for a bruising kiss.

He returned her fervor full-heartedly, teeth biting, lips demanding, tongue battling. Their arms flew over each other desperately, seeking to touch, caress, reclaim everything that they’d explored the night before.

Buffy finally pulled away for breath, panting heavily.

Spike was a bit breathless himself until he remembered that he didn’t need to breathe. “We’ve got to find the beastie, Berry,” he reminded her. “Then we can kill it, fix everything, an’ have ourselves a nice, long shag.”

“It’s Buffy,” she hissed, her eyes flashing, “and you should remember it since you were screaming it nonstop just a few hours ago…”

“Whatever you say, Bonnie,” he teased.

“Bonnie?” she said with a sly smile. “Does that make you Clyde?” She pulled him in for another quick kiss.

“’ll play the Clyde to your Bonnie any day, luv,” he said with a soft purr when she finally released him again.

“Later,” she nodded dumbly, her body still protesting from when she pulled away from him. “There’ll be time for everything later…”

“Later,” Spike agreed. He attempted to pick up the scent again and frowned at her. “Could you try not to smell so delicious? ‘S a bit distractin’…”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can randomly change my scent at will. That’s one of those amazing Slayer powers that I have.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe you could try being a bit less annoying,” she smiled softly, “’cause it’s really turning me on…”

He gave her a sly smile and then picked up the trail again. He pushed past the bushes before them, and they both came to a dead halt when they saw the mouth to the cave.

“It in there?” Buffy asked nervously.

Spike nodded and laced his fingers with the hand that sought his.

“We have to go in,” Buffy said confidently, gaining strength from his touch.

“Jus’ be careful, luv,” Spike said softly.

She turned to smile at him. “I love you,” she informed him before marching into the cave, Spike right on her heels…

CONTINUED...