Willow stared with unblinking eyes at the monitor in front of her. Angel
had become quite skilled with the laptop she had sent him several years
ago through their mutual contact. He e-mailed her with faithful
regularity.

"What is it, baby?" Spike asked from across the room.

She turned to look at him, "Mom's dead. A car accident."

He rose from his chair and walked to her, pulling her up into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Willow," he said.

"She never knew if I were alive or dead. She went to her grave with that
question unanswered."

He stroked her hair soothingly, but his body tensed against hers, "She
seems to have gotten on with her life quite nicely, all the same."

Willow sighed and rubbed his back, "I forgave her for being a lousy
mother a long time ago. She did the best she knew how."

Spike didn't share her sentiment, but refrained from saying so. Willow
drew away from him and wandered to the window that overlooked the
garden. The moon cast a hazy glow on the slate stones outside, still
damp from the rain that had fallen during the day.

Spike studied her in silence. She had grown into a strikingly beautiful,
confident woman. It amazed him that she seemed totally unaware of how
beautiful she was. He knew when she looked into the mirror, she saw only
plain old Willow in her reflection.

He turned to the computer and scanned Angel's message. He stifled a
laugh as he read the line about Buffy sustaining a mild concussion when
she ran into a big tree branch in the cemetary while on patrol. The
slayer had given up the search for Willow a couple of years ago, and it
had taken no small amount of persuasion on Spike's part to convince the
determined redhead to remain in London.

During the course of the past two months, Angel had begun a gentle
campaign to coax them into returning to Sunnydale. The slayer had given
up her crusade to rescue Willow. Xander had fallen in love with a young
woman who taught English at his former high school. He had immediately
lost his drive to get Willow back when the teacher had accepted his
proposal.

Although Angel hadn't directly said so, he'd hinted that his
relationship with the slayer had become increasingly strained since
Spike and Willow's mysterious disappearance five years ago. She couldn't
prove it, but she strongly suspected that Angel had somehow had a hand
in it all.

Spike was averse to taking Willow back. He had a certain feeling that
Angel's motives were more personal than he let on. With the slayer
stubbornly positioned on the sidelines of his life, Angel would have had
plenty of opportunity to consider his feelings for Willow. Also, Spike
was unconvinced that the slayer wouldn't resume her efforts to get to
Willow should they return. London had been a welcome sanctuary for the
two of them. He was disinclined to give it up.

Willow had turned from the window and was watching Spike with perceptive
eyes. He found it oddly unnerving, and at the same time comforting, that
she had learned to read him with such accuracy.

"It's time," she said softly.

He looked at her and shook his head, "No, Willow. I won't take you back
there. Not in your mortal state."

Willow smiled and crossed the room. She stood close to him, so close he
could feel the warmth radiating from her body, hear the gentle beating
of her heart. She cupped his face in her hands and drew him down for a
sweet, soft kiss.

"I know," she whispered, sweeping her long, coppery hair away from her
neck. "It's time."

Spike looked down into her eyes, searching for any sign of uncertainty.
She stared back at him, still and sure. Spike kissed her hard and deep,
pulling her body into his, crushing her against him.

"I love you, Willow," he murmured as his mouth dropped to her neck and
his game face emerged.

"I love you, too," she said.

He pierced the delicate flesh of her throat and heard the soft cry that
broke from her lips as he carefully drew her blood into his body. He
felt her grow limp, and he lowered her to the floor. He raked a nail
across his chest and brought her mouth to the bleeding wound.

"Drink, baby," his commanded softly. "Be with me, Willow. Be with me
always."

He closed his eyes and ran his hand through her hair as he felt her
mouth suckle at the gash on his chest. Lifting Willow's weakened body,
he carried her to the bedroom and undressed her. He stripped and laid
down beside her on the bed, cradling her in his arms as her heartbeat
faded and she exhaled the last breath she would ever need.
***
Willow awoke to a driving hunger. She turned to find Spike staring down
at her naked body, a slight smile dancing across his lips. She moved to
sit up, but he threw an arm over her and forced her back down.

"Spike, I need--"

"I know, pet," he whispered. "Come here."

As beautiful a woman as she had been, she was absolutely captivating in
her immortal state. Her smooth skin had taken on a delicate whiteness.
The warm copper of her hair created a striking constrast against the
cold porcelain of her pale face. Spike covered her mouth with his,
drawing her tongue between his lips.

He mounted her and drove himself into her with a single, possessive
thrust. Willow snarled and arched into him, clamping her pussy around
his cock. Spike pounded into her, working her toward her climax. He
watched as her lovely features were masked by those of the demon within
her. The evil beauty of her vampyric face rivaled that of her human
counterpart.

Willow growled deep in her throat as her orgasm gripped her body. Spike
brought her head to his neck. Her fangs sunk into his throat, and she
drank the rich, sweet blood her body craved.

The sensation of her pussy tightly sheathing his hard shaft while her
lips sucked at the wound on his throat sent Spike plummeting over the
edge. He roared her name as he came inside her.

Willow lay close to him, her human features in place and a faint amber
light gleaming in her eyes. Spike realized her hunger had been
diminshed, but not satiated. It had been important to him that her first
blood be his. It would strengthen her, strenghten the bond between sire
and childe, between lover and loved.

"Spike?" Willow spoke. "I'm still hungry."

"I know, luv. Fancy a stroll through Hyde Park?"

She smiled up at him. He kissed her and pulled her off the bed. He had
taught her to desire him first, above all else. Now he would teach her
to hunt.

End

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