Cordelia couldn't believe she was in Rome - walking through yet another boring old museum with Willow. She sighed, watching with a slight hint of amusement as the red head gaped at a painting that Cordelia could almost swear looked just like the one they had finished looking at. In fact, the entire museum had turned into one big blur in the brunette's mind, the different paintings and sculptures looking the same to her after the third hour. "Its almost sunset." She hinted gently.
The red head looked over at her friend, emerald eyes sparkling with happiness. She would have to get Spike to bring her back here one day, there was just too much for her to see in the brief time she had had. "Ok, ok. Just let me finish this room and we can go back to the villa." She couldn't wait to get back to the charming little house Angel had rented for them at the edge of town. It was beautiful, like something out of days gone by with its marble patio and spacious rooms. Almost too beautiful to want to leave to explore the city.
"Remind me what I did to deserve being dragged around not just one, but *two* museums and some big old church?" The former cheerleader smirked, walking to stand behind her friend. She looked at the darker colors of the painting and couldn't help but think that it looked like something Angel would have in his apartment. She was going to fix that, though. Yep, now that they were officially a couple she was going to introduce the King of the Brood to a litle thing called 'color'.
The red head turned to face her friend, the closeness of the brunette causing their bodies to brush against each other, faces close enough to kiss. {Her lips look so soft.} She felt her body tighten with desire, as he thoughts turned lusty at their close proximity. It would be so easy just to lean up and kiss the tanned girl's dark lips. So easy to...She stopped suddenly, realizing she had been leaning forward to do just that. {No! Bad Willow! Think of Spike!} She backed away, turning her head slightly so the brunette wouldn't see her blush. "What did you do to deserve this?" She repeatd, her voice shaky. "I think that was the two day shopping trip in Milan, Delia. 'Sides its not like Spike could come with me, the museum closes at dusk and I dont think he and the Sistine Chapel would have gotten along too well."
"Oh, yeah." Cordelia breathed. She could have sworn that the red head had been about to kiss her and for some reason she felt vaguely disappointed when it didn't happen. She watched as her friend moved on to yet another painting, unspeaking. The emotions the near-kiss had stirred in the brunette were unfamiliar to her. She had never found a woman attractive in that way before, never wanted to be kissed by another girl. But here she was, standing in a museum in Rome, her eyes roaming over every curve of Willow's body, her mind filled with a mixture of curiousity and desire. The red head certainly had changed alot since leaving Sunnydale. She no longer tried to cover up her body with bulky clothes, instead opting for flashy shirts and short dresses. It had made all the difference in the world, taking her from a simply pretty young girl to an absolutely stunning young woman.
{Stop thinking about her like that!} The chastising thought slipped through the brunette's brain. {You have Angel, she has Spike. No need to complicate things.} Another part of her brain whispered that the boys probably wouldn't mind. Something else she had read in those books of Giles had been about the sexuality of vampires - she knew Spike and Angel had been lovers at one point. And she could tell by the looks the two vampires had been giving each other the past few days that the thought of rekindling their old passion had crossed their minds. She had asked Angel about it, only to have him tell her he would never do anything to hurt her. She snorted. {So if it wouldn't hurt me he'd be all over the bleached wonder.} The thought of Angel with Spike didn't bother her as much as she would have thought. She knew that Angel loved her, but knew that he had enough room in his heart for more than one person. She smiled, maybe sometime soon she'd have to let him know her feelings on the matter. {Maybe then I can see about exploring the way Willow makes me feel.}
Willow could scarcely concentrate on the painting in front of her. The lines and swirls seemed to blend together into a jumble of meaningless nothing. She couldn't believe she had almost kissed Cordelia Chase! Angel's girlfriend! She wondered what Spike would say if he knew what had almost happened. {Probably ask you why you didn't do it.} She thought with a laugh. Giving up on the painting she turned back to her friend, composure regained. "Let's get back to the villa."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Spike."
The vampire smiled softly at the girl in his arms as she moaned his name into the night. His mouth resumed its torturous path of kisses and nibbles along her neck. Teeth bit gently into her declicate flesh, careful not to break the surface, and she moaned in pleasure. His cool tongue flicked out to lick at her skin, her taste rolling around his mouth like an exquisite wine.
Willow opened her eyes, her fingers threading through bleached hair as she stared up into the starry sky. The patio of the villa wasn't the most comfortable place to make love, but it certainly was romantic. She moaned again, her lover's cool mouth slipping down to her chest as he slowlu pushed her sundress down from her body. The tenderness with which her lover treated her sometimes never ceased to amaze her. But thats not what she wanted tonight. She wanted it rough and she wanted it *now*. "Spike.." She growled softly, grabbing his hair and pulling up on his head so that she was looking into his dark blue eyes. "Fuck. Me. Now."
Spike didn't need to be told twice. He could hear the passion in the red head's voice, knew exactly what she wanted, what she needed. His mouth covered hers, his tongue pushing into her without any pretense of gentleness or even love. If the chit wanted to be fucked then fucked she would be. Reaching between their bodies he tore at the cotton of her panties, ripping them with a crisp tearing sound. He was dimly aware of her hands on his jeans, fumbling at the zipper, before his cock was bared in the cool night air, hard and ready.
The young witch cried out both in pleasure and pain as his considerable length rammed into her. She moaned, fingernails digging into the flesh of his back as he started a fast pace, pounding into her with what she knew was only a slight amount of his true strength. She wanted more. "Harder."
The blonde didn't know what had gotten into his little spitfire tonight, but he truly didn't care. With a growl he slammed into her, harder than he had ever done before. A small sigh of pain escaped from her lips and for a second he thought he had gone too far. Then her eyes met his, full of unrestrained passion and he realized she had enjoyed it. He pulled his hips back, thrusting into her with a groan as she pushed her hips up to meet him, their bodies slamming together with an audible force.
The lust she felt for the man on top of her was driving Willow beyond caring. She closed her eyes, her hips arching off of the cool marble of the patio to meet him thrust for thrust. Pain and pleasure rode over her in alternating waves, her senses on fire with the need she felt inside. All that existed in her mind was him and his body, pounding into her. She felt her stomach clench as tension began to build to a breaking point. And still he slammed into her, pushing her into her release with a scream.
Spike groaned when she cried out his name, screaming it into the silent Italian countryside. Everything he, both demon and man, cried out as he too came, spilling his cold seed deep within her clenching channel. His face slipped and an overwhelming need for blood raced through his veins, brought on by the intensity of their coupling. Through golden eyes he saw her offer up her wrist to him, baring the smooth skin to his lips. He clutched it to his mouth, his eyes burning into hers as he gently pricked her skin with his fangs.
Willow moaned as his sharp teeth sank into her for the first time. She threw her head back, murmuring his name as her body found another, smaller, release in his intimate actions. Over her own deep breaths she could hear him gently sucking the punctures he had made, drinking her very life's essence into himself. A small whimper of disappointment creeped from her when his teeth left her, his tongue gently lapping at the wounds he had made. She smiled as he pulled himself up to lay next to her, sighing in contentment. If this wasn't heaven she didn't know what was. Had he claimed her with that bite? She didn't know enough about the whole process to be able to tell. "Did you....you know?"
Coming down from the high of Willow's blood and his own release, the blonde almost didn't hear the whispered words. "Did I what, pet?" He looked into her eyes. "Oh, no. Didn't claim you."
"Oh."
His heart broke to hear the sadness uttered in that one syllable. They had agreed that moving slowly was a good thing, but he could tell that she still doubted his sincerity sometimes. She rolled over on her side, and his hand moved almost automatically to trace patterns on the smooth skin of her back. It had only been a week since their talk - could she possibly be ready to take that next step? "Pet - Willow - are you ready for that? Are you one hundred percent certain that is what you want?"
She sighed. Why did he insist on making it seem as though he thought she didn't know what her heart wanted. She was sure that this arrogant cocky vampire was her soulmate - the one she was meant to be with. Why couldn't he see her conviction. "I want it with my entire heart and soul, Spike. But if you can't tell that yet then I guess we aren't ready." She stood, grabbing her dress and moving towards the house before he could stop her. She didn't care if Angel or Cordelia saw her naked. Thoughts of them, happily bonded to one another, stormed through her mind as she contemplated her own relationship. It just wasn't fair.
Spike watched her go. Not knowing what to say or even if she would listen to him. Her words had hit home. He hadn't been trusting her to know her own heart, even when she laid it bare before him a thousand times over. If she wanted this that bad then obviously she had made up her mind, and expected him to know it. He sighed. Even after a century he couldn't understand the mystery that was a woman.
* * * * * * * * * *
Willow pulled her attention away from the sky above and to the water bubbling in the fountain in front of her, admiring the beauty of the statues. She could see Neptune sitting in the center of it all, surrounded by other statues depicting various other mythological beings. She leaned into Spike when his cool arms wrapped around her. Her mood from the night before had disipated rapidly, the red head determined to make their last night in Rome special before they left for Venice. "Its beautiful." She murmured, watching the moonlight glance over the water.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you, pet." Spike whispered, forcing a breath of air out to tickle her ear. He had spent the entire day thinking about the words the red head had spoken to him in frustration the night before, and he finally understood. He shouldnt have been asking her if it was what she wanted. He shouldn't have been questioning her nonstop about her feelings on the matter. She had already agreed that she wanted this, that she wanted to be with him for eternity. There was nothing left for them to talk about, nothing they even needed to discuss. He needed to just take what he wanted - what they *both* wanted. And for that there was no better time like the present.
With a smile the blonde pulled her to the edge of the fountain, pushing her to sit on the edge, close to where Cordelia and Angel were currently locking lips. Turning her back to him and cradling her in his arms he swept the hair back from her neck, his lips kissing her gently, knowing that anyone watching would see the next part as simply some sort of lover's embrace. He bit gently at her flesh with his teeth before calling his demon to the surface. His fanged teeth scraped delicately at her neck, drawing a thin line of blood across her pale flesh, just a taste. He licked at it, feeling her tense slightly before relaxing into his arms.
Willow leaned further into his embrace, the realization of what he was going to do slipping through her mind. It was almost too good to be true that he was going to do this, here under the stars, in front of a fountain, in Rome. It certainly would be something she remembered for the rest of her life. She gasped slightly as his teeth again raked over her neck, drawing another line of blood that he proceeded to lick away. Wetness pooled between her legs and she prayed that he planned on taking her back to the villa afterwards. She tilted her head to the side a little more, inviting him to continue, her eyes never leaving the quiet waters of the fountain.
Spike felt it the moment the last bout of apprehension left her body. He knew by the subtle tilt of her head that she was giving him one last piece of silent permission. That was all he needed. He tightened his grip on her, his fangs slipping deep into her skin as the first warm gush of blood flooded his mouth. Drinking lightly, he let all the love and desire he felt for the mortal in his arms flood through the bite and into her body, starting a bond that would last for the rest of their existence. Claiming Drusilla had never felt like this. It had been all rough and tumble, done with barely a thought one night in a drunken haze. This was special, this girl was his mate. Not a soulmate, because he didn't have a soul, but his true mate. Someone to spend the rest of his unlife with. He swallowed another mouthful of her blood, knowing with utter certainty that she would be his forever.
Willow was almost shocked at the sensations his bite created in her. It wasn't like the night before, where the action had been passion inspired. This bite didn't inspire waves of desire in her, only a deep sense of completeness. She felt his teeth withdraw from her, his tongue licking at the mark he had made. *His* mark. The feelings of love and caring hadn't left her when he pulled away though, and she suddenly understood what Cordelia had meant about being able to feel the other person's emotions. She knew exactly what Spike was feeling at that moment and knew that he could read her just as easily.
She stood, seeing Cordelia and Angel moving to join them. Angel gave his childe a grin and realized that he knew what had just happened and wondered at the proud look that followed the grin. Sometimes he acted so much like a human father that it was hard to believe he was one of the most feared vampires in all of history. The two men stepped off to one side to talk to each other, leaving the girls alone. She winked at her friend, pulling her hair away from the bite mark for the girl to see.
"He did it right here?" Cordelia sighed with happiness for her friend. "That's so romantic. Well...if we get past the fact that it involved blood sucking, because that is decidedly *not* romantic."
"Depends on who you're asking, Delia." Angel laughed, rejoining his lover. He kissed her neck gently over the faint scarring of the mark he had left on her not too many weeks before.
"I thought it was perfect, sucking and all." Willow grinned, leaning into the embrace of her lover. {Mate.} Some distant part of her echoed and she smiled happily, unsure of where the thought had come from, but sure that it was right. She fished a couple coins out of her pocket, handing one to each of her friends. She shut her eyes, making a small wish, before tossing the coin into the water. One by one the others did the same.
"You know they say if you toss a coin in that fountain you will return to Rome, pet." His voice was husky with desire, wanting nothing more for the night than to take the red head back to the villa and consumate the claiming.
Willow smiled, turning to place a kiss on his soft lips. "I can't wait, as long as you are here with me."
"Like I alrady promised: Forever, luv."