Willow didn't see Spike for five days, but during that time her relationship with Tara deteriorated to the point that one of them had to move out of the dorm room. The blonde had suddenly become too possessive and jealous of any time that Willow spend away from her. Because Willow had a home in Sunnydale, she decided to move out and back into her room in her parents' house.
The following Saturday morning found Willow packing up all of her belongings and moving back home. After unpacking, Willow spent most of the afternoon at the Magic Box with Giles and Anya. While Anya handled the customers, Willow and Giles researched.
A woman had been killed earlier that week and her body found last night. The news had mentioned mutilations, so Giles had Willow hack into the coroner's office to read the official report. As Giles had feared, the woman's reproductive area had been badly mutilated. Plus, ew, Willow thought, the woman had been dead for at least three days before she was found by a couple of kids skinny-dipping at the lake.
Since Buffy and Riley hadn't found it yet, Giles wanted to know if this was the work of the Morkan demon. They were trying to find any and all information about it that they could, including the manner in which it mated, the length of its mating season and where it might like to hide out.
Just before sundown Giles asked Willow if she would go to Spike's crypt and bring him back to the magic shop. If the Morkan demon was still in Sunnydale and responsible for this death, they might need Spike's help.
Willow wanted to tell Giles that she couldn't go get Spike, but she didn't have a good reason to give him. `I'm afraid that I'll jump his bones' didn't seem appropriate, though it would certainly have the desired affect of Giles not letting her anywhere near Spike. However, the resulting explanations might be the end of her and Spike. Not, her and Spike, as in, a couple, because they certainly weren't that, but her life and Spike's, er, unlife, would be cut short.
In the end Willow meekly agreed and now stood outside Spike's crypt in the waning sunlight, where she had paced for the past 15 minutes, loathe to enter. Suddenly the door was pulled open and Willow jumped back. Spike stood in the doorway, protected from the setting sun. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, top button unbuttoned, and nothing else. Oh, goddess, Willow felt her eyes bugging.
"You coming in, or gonna stand there all night?" Spike asked. He had sensed Willow's approach and waited for her to come in. Spike hadn't seen her in a week and his body felt as if he were going through withdrawal. Afraid she would leave without working up the courage to enter, Spike finally decided to confront her.
When Willow didn't answer he just turned away and walked back into the dark crypt, leaving the door open. She hesitated, then thought, why bother leaving now, he already knows I'm here. She followed Spike into the crypt and shut the door.
Spike was leaning against the tomb, lighting a cigarette. He closed his eyes and took a long drag, then looked at Willow as he blew out the smoke.
"What's up, Red?" he asked calmly, noting that for the first time in a week his hands weren't shaking. Willow shifted nervously as he looked at her. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but no sound emerged. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time keeping her eyes on the floor.
"Giles wants you to come by the magic shop. Buffy hasn't found the Morkan demon yet and he, um, thinks it might have killed a girl."
"Need my help, eh?" Spike asked rhetorically as he took another drag. "What's it worth to you?" he looked at her.
"What?" Willow guiltily looked up from her examination of his bare chest. Who knew what Spike had hidden under his duster all this time. No wonder she wanted him. No, no, no. Bad Willow! No wanting. Well, maybe wanting would be okay, but definitely no having. Nope, none at all. Well, no *more*.
"My help," Spike repeated as he flexed his biceps, watching Willow's eyes glaze over, "what's it worth to you?"
"You want money?" Willow asked in confusion. Negotiating with Spike had never been her job. Did Giles even pay him anymore, or did Buffy just beat him up?
"Nope," Spike answered, startling her. If he didn't want money, what did he want?
"If you don't want money, what do you want?" she decided to ask him.
"A kiss," he finished the cigarette, pinched it out and threw it toward the can in the corner, missing.
"A...a kiss?" Willow stammered.
"A kiss. One itty-bitty, teeny-weeny kiss," Spike smirked. He placed both hands on the tomb and flexed his biceps again, having noticed the reaction he got last time. "I'll even promise not to touch you."
"Just one kiss and you'll help find the, um, the, uh...the demon?" she decided not to bother trying to remember its name because at this point her brain was officially mush.
"Yep," he agreed solemnly. Well, as solemnly as he could when he looked like the cat who...who...whatever the darned cat had done. Something about cream...or a canary? Yep, mush.
Willow slowly walked over until she stood in front of him. Oh, goddess, up close his chest was even more magnificent. And he had really great shoulders...and why did his biceps keep *doing* that? Wow, her gaze lowered, she'd heard of washboard abs before but never really knew what it meant. Wow, she swallowed hard.
"Red?" he called her name and she looked up into his deep blue eyes. "That kiss?" he reminded her and her eyes lowered to look at his lips. The same lips that had kissed her, that had sucked on her neck, that had wrapped around her breast...oh, goddess, she felt the familiar tingle in her belly.
Spike was on sensory overload. He saw Willow's chest rise and fall as her breath quickened, heard her heart rate speed up and smelled her arousal. He wanted to grab her and pull her to him, but was afraid that any move he made would scare her away, so he just stood there, watching her, waiting for her to make the first move.
Willow felt lightheaded and reached out to grab Spike's arm for support. Her fingers closed around his biceps and she closed her eyes. His skin felt cool. She ran her hand up his arm to his shoulder.
Willow opened her eyes and took a step closer until her body was just touching his. Bracing herself on his shoulder she lifted her other hand and placed it behind his head. Rising to her tip-toes she pulled Spike's head down to hers and lightly grazed her lips over his. Flicking her tongue out she licked his lips, then sucked his lower lip into her mouth and bit it.
Spike was in heaven. The heat of Willow's hand sliding up his arm to his shoulder, her other hand pressed against the back of his head, her body just touching his, her soft lips, her tongue...bloody hell, she bit him! With a growl Spike grabbed Willow's hips and pressed her body close to his, then crushed his lips to hers hungrily. He was like an addict desperate for a fix.
Willow moaned into his mouth as her hands explored his body. Slipping through his hair, over his back, around to his stomach, back up to his chest...she couldn't get enough. Willow finally pulled her mouth away from his, leaned her forehead on his chest and gulped in big lung-fulls of air.
"You," she tried to catch her breath, "you promised not to touch me!"
His hands rubbed her back, her arms, her neck, then tangled in her hair. "No, I said I *would* promise, but I never did," he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
"Spike?"
"Mmm?" Spike murmured into her hair. He didn't want this moment to end.
"What are we doing?" Willow asked breathlessly as she placed her hands on his waist and flicked her tongue out to graze his nipple in a very un-Willow-like manner.
"Bloody hell, Red!" Spike jumped in surprise and Willow felt his erection pressing against her stomach.
With a heady rush of power she closed her mouth over his nipple at the same time she closed her fingers over his erection through his jeans and squeezed. Spike's hands tightened in her hair and Willow felt his chest rising and falling against her head with unnecessary breaths.
Shifting her lips to his other nipple, Willow drew her hand up to Spike's stomach and slipped her fingers beneath his waistband. He grabbed her hand and spun them around so that his lower body pinned Willow to the tomb. Grasping the hem of her shirt he lifted it over her head and tossed it on the tomb.
"Right! *Today* you wear a bra," Spike commented as he cupped her breasts and squeezed them, then struggled with the clasp.
Willow stretched her arms out to the side and gripped the tomb, bent her upper body back over the tomb and let her head fall back on her neck, watching Spike through hooded eyes. She didn't know how or why, but he wanted her. The thought that she had turned him on, made him lose control just as she was, brought a rush of wetness from her core.
The scent of Willow's arousal made Spike want to rip the bra off of her, but he finally managed the clasp and slid the straps over her shoulders. He placed his hands at her waist and gazed at her hungrily before lowering his head to suckle her breasts. With a moan, Willow raised her hands from the tomb and wrapped them around his head, pressing him to her. Spike wrapped his arms around Willow's back to keep her from falling backward and moved his mouth to her other breast.
Letting go of her with one hand, Spike reached between her thighs and rubbed her swollen mound. Oh, goddess, Willow jumped at his touch. She'd never felt so...electrified. His every touch set her off.
Spike raised his head to Willow's neck, the racing of her blood begging him to taste it. He licked and sucked her pulse point as he moved both hands to the front of her jeans, slipped the button and unzipped them. Grabbing the waistband he pushed her jeans and panties down over her hips. Lifting her he set her on the tomb, removed her sneakers and pulled her jeans and panties off. Spike stood back and looked at Willow, naked Willow, on his bed.
Willow leaned back on her hands and, breathing heavily, watched Spike's eyes as they roamed over her body. "Spike," she whimpered as his gaze brought a fresh wave of heat.
Spike sniffed the air and smiled at her knowingly. With his eyes locked on her expressive green ones, Spike licked his index finger suggestively, slid his hand between her thighs and slipped his finger between her folds.
Willow was too far gone to care if he was mocking her. She felt his hand between her legs and spread her thighs to accommodate him. As his thumb pressed against her clit Spike pumped his finger in and out of her, spreading her, then slipped in a second. Oh, goddess, Willow's eyes almost closed as her body reacted to Spike's touch, but she didn't want to stop looking at him.
Pulling out of her suddenly he dropped to his knees in front of her and, with his hands on the inside of her thighs, lifted them and spread them wide. His tongue darted out to lick at the juices that ran from her and Willow moaned at the contact. Then his lips were sucking her clit. His tongue slipped between her folds and he lapped up her juices and created more.
"Oh, goddess, Spike...Spike...," Willow moaned as she lifted one hand from the tomb and buried her fingers in Spike's silky hair, grinding herself against his face as she came.
Spike stood, licking her juices off of his lips and removed his jeans. He climbed up next to her on the tomb, slid her back, then pressed her down and moved between her legs.
Willow boldly reached her hand out and wrapped her fingers around him.
"Bloody hell!" he cried as she stroked him. "Willow, baby," he groaned.
"Say that again," Willow commanded as she stroked her thumb over his tip, her other hand clinging to his shoulder.
"What?" Spike ground out. Her hot hand on him kept him from thinking clearly. "Say what?"
"My name," Willow begged. "Say my name again."
He couldn't take any more. Pushing her hand away from him, Spike positioned his head at her entrance and slowly slid between her folds, then paused for her to adjust to him. He leaned down on his elbows and kissed her, sweeping his tongue into her mouth, until she wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed against him, indicating that she was ready for him to continue.
"Willow," he whispered against her lips as he thrust into her. "Willow," he sucked on her bottom lip. "Willow," he licked her neck. "Willow," he bit her earlobe.
Willow thrashed beneath Spike. She was so turned on by him; his breath and tongue tickling her neck, his pelvic bone grinding against her clit, the way he said her name. "Spike! Spike...Spike, please. So close," she begged for release.
"What do you want, Willow?" he asked as he continued to pump into her.
"Spi-ike," she moaned in protest.
"Say it, baby," he rubbed his body against her clit as he watched her face.
"Spike, please...please, make me cum! Spike!" she screamed her release as he reached between them and twisted her clit. Willow's body tensed as the orgasm ripped through her and Spike slammed into her once more before joining her.
***
When Willow opened her eyes she was still lying on the tomb and Spike was lying beside her, his head on her breast, his fingers moving softly over her bare skin.
"Spike," she whispered his name.
"Mhmm," he acknowledged her without moving.
"I think...I think you paralyzed me!" Willow complained and she felt him smile against her breast. He flicked his tongue out and grazed her nipple which puckered immediately.
"There's parts of you still workin'," he teased.
"Very funny," Willow commented, raised her hand to slap the back of his head, then buried her fingers in his hair.
"Spike," she said his name again. "What are we doing?" she repeated her question from earlier. "This is wrong, aaah!" she moaned as Spike shifted his head on her breast and sucked her nipple into his mouth.
"No, we can't," she insisted weakly as his tongue laved her breast sending tingles to her belly where his hand still traced random patterns. "Spike," she tried to push his head away from her, "this is wrong! We have other...,"
Spike felt a rush of rage as he suddenly remembered Tara and thought about her touching Willow. "You get rid of the blonde witch," he lifted his mouth from her breast and demanded angrily.
"Really?" Willow pulled his hair until he looked up at her. "Why's that?" she had a dangerous glint in her eyes, but Spike ignored it.
"`Cause I don't share," he told her arrogantly.
"Number one, you're not sharing, because this isn't happening again," Willow insisted even as she felt herself get wet at his words. "And number two, what about Buffy?" she demanded.
"What about her?" Spike asked in confusion, his mind already swirling with the heady scent of Willow's arousal.
"You're in love with her," Willow reminded him.
To his surprise Spike realized that the Slayer hadn't crossed his mind at all since that night in the alley. He'd been too busy thinking about Willow...and how to get her beneath him again. "What if I am?" he growled, not wanting Willow to know that he was whipped.
"I don't share either," Willow pushed his shoulder and rolled him onto his back, straddled him and slid her wet heat down over him. "This is absolutely the last time," she whispered huskily as Spike's eyes rolled back in his head.
***
Two hours after Giles had sent Willow to get Spike, the two finally showed up at the Magic Box. Willow rushed through the door ahead of Spike, her hair disheveled and her color high. "Sorry we're late!" she chirped to the gang already seated around the research table.
"Willow!" Giles looked up from his book. "Where have you been? We were worried about you."
"Well, um, Spike had to, er..." Crap, she thought to herself, why hadn't she thought up an excuse? Spike must have fried her brain when he...no, no, don't think about that!
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Watcher. Had to make a blood run. I'm all out an' Red didn't know how long this was gonna take," he swept his hand around to indicate the gang at the research table.
"You should have let us know you were going to be late," Giles reprimanded softly.
"Well," Willow retorted defensively, "as soon as they run electric and telephone lines to Spike's crypt, I'll be happy to!"
Spike smirked at Willow's response while everyone else stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Xander took the opportunity to speak up.
"This is a perfect example of why I've been thinking...,"
"Bloody hell, everyone duck, Xander's been thinking," Spike muttered from behind Willow, loud enough for everyone to hear. Willow reached back and slapped his arm.
"`Oh, sod off'," Xander imitated Spike's English accent to Willow's and Dawn's amusement, and then continued. "I've been thinking that we need a way to keep in touch when we're on patrol. And, obviously, for times like this. What would have happened if Willow had run into trouble, some big bad or something?"
"She did," Spike whispered for Willow's ears only as he slipped a finger beneath her shirt and ran it over her lower back. Willow blushed and reached behind her to slap his hand away. Her fingers wrapped around his and she just held it, instead.
Dawn peeked over at the two of them from beneath her lashes and smiled to herself.
"I was originally thinking, this," Xander pulled out a device and slipped it over his ear, "so we could communicate on patrol. Riley had it in his equipment left over from the Initiative. Unfortunately, there's only the one. It's no- hands, has a built-in speaker," he indicated the earpiece, "and microphone," he indicated the mouthpiece, "and has a wide range. However, for times like this," he indicated Willow and Spike who quickly dropped their hands, "we might want to invest in cell phones."
"I know," he held up his hands at Giles' expression,"you're worried about the expense. These babies," he removed the device from his ear, "are expensive, so we'd have to save up. Or steal them from the armory. But we could start with one or two cell phones that we'd store here with all of our other equipment, to take with us when we went on patrol, or, on an errand, such as tonight."
"Xander," Willow's mind finally stopped with the naughty thoughts concerning Spike enough to assimilate everything Xander had said, "that's brilliant!"
Xander preened under Willow's admiration, "Thanks."
"Smart men make me horny," Anya announced and Willow blushed. Vampires, at least a certain bleach-blonde vampire, seemed to make her horny.
"Ah, yes, well then, let's get started, shall we?" Giles uncomfortably changed the subject.
Willow seated herself in her usual chair while Spike removed his duster and leaned against the counter.
"Willow and I have been researching all afternoon," he paused and turned to Willow. "Ah, shall we wait for Tara?"
Willow blushed when she heard Spike growl. "Actually," she looked around the table, ignoring the vampire by the counter, "Tara and I, uh, broke up."
The room erupted with shouts of disbelief until Willow held her hand up to quiet them. "Things haven't been good between us for awhile and it was time. I'm fine with it. Really," she assured her friends.
"I'll bet," Dawn muttered as she looked between Willow's red face and Spike's surprised one.
When Giles continued his explanation of what he and Willow had uncovered that afternoon, that being not much, but it took Giles a while to say it, Willow looked up at Spike, who was staring at her. She tried to stare back; he raised his scarred eyebrow and smirked at her; she blushed and looked away.
The witch was having him on earlier when he'd told her to get rid of the blonde witch! Spike felt himself harden as he remembered her telling him she didn't share either, just before she covered him with her wet heat, and wished he hadn't taken his duster off. He also remembered her telling him it was the last time, but he knew that part wasn't true.
"So, Spike," Giles finished, "I hoped you might have some more information on this Morkan demon."
"Hmm, what?" Spike turned his attention back to Giles.
"The Morkan demon. We're trying to figure out if it's responsible for this death and if we have to be concerned about others, or if it's just...,"
"A rotten human being?" Spike finished for him with a sneer.
"Er, exactly," Giles responded.
"I told you everything I know. The demon's vicious, especially during it's mating cycle, and it'll shag anything that moves," he looked over at Willow who blushed again.
Giles sighed deeply, "Then we still have a lot of research to do. Spike," he had already turned back to the book in front of him, "would you be so kind as to join us?"
"Does he have to?" Buffy whined.
With an evil glint in his eye that turned Willow's knees to jelly and made her glad she was already sitting down, Spike walked behind her, brushing his fingers along the back of her chair, and took the empty seat to her right that was normally reserved for Tara.
It seemed symbolic, somehow. Spike had filled Tara's place in her bed, although, technically, they'd never actually *been* in a bed. Willow blushed as she remembered the naughty things they'd done. Not that they were ever going to do them again, she reminded herself. And now he filled Tara's place at the research table.
Spike scooted his chair closer to Willow's and picked up a book. He opened the book and casually leaned back in the chair to read it. Under the table he moved his leg so his thigh brushed up against Willow's and she gasped in surprise.
"What is it?" Buffy's supernatural hearing picked up the sound and she looked over the table at Willow.
"Oh! Um, nothing! I just read something really, uh, gross. Icky, ew!" she shuddered and turned the page, burying her face in the book.
Spike smirked behind his book and looked at Willow's blushing face out of the corner of his eyes. He knew from experience how far down that blush went. Looking up he saw Dawn staring at him and Willow with a considering gleam in her eye. Spike winked at her and she smiled back.
***
After researching for about an hour Spike sat up and put his book on the table. "Here," he said, "I think I found something."
"What is it?" Willow leaned over to look at the book, resting her elbow on the table as she read, her shoulder brushing against Spike's chest. Bloody hell, Spike thought to himself.
"Oh, oh, yeah!" Willow bounced excitedly in her chair. "He found something! Whoever wrote this," Willow flipped the cover to look at the title, "this Winters fellow, didn't use the name `Morkan' but he describes the demon perfectly, down to its stink-factor, and he says they like to hang out near fresh water, so...the lake?"
Willow turned to Giles, "That's where that woman's body was found. Do you think the demon would be stupid enough to dump the body near its lair?"
"Yes, the body was found there," Giles agreed. "However, even if the demon *was* that stupid, do you think it would still be there, with all the activity surrounding the, er, recovery of the body?"
"Only one way to find out," Spike said, sliding his chair back to stand up.
"Yes, of course," Giles agreed.
It was decided that Spike, Willow, Xander and Anya would join Buffy and Riley in their search for the demon, while Giles stayed at the magic shop with Dawn.
Willow was more than ready to give up research and go do some slayage; the physical activity would help her. She hadn't been able to concentrate at all, what with Spike brushing his thigh against hers, and flexing his biceps, and his sexy voice.
While everyone else was gathering their weapons, Willow took Giles aside. "Giles, maybe we should call Angel, just in case, and see if they have anything in their data base," she suggested quietly so Buffy wouldn't hear them.
"I already did," Giles admitted with a look over his shoulder toward the training room to make sure Buffy wasn't around. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Willow groaned as Giles reseated himself at the research table. "Well, let's look on the bright side, if we find it, we'll have something to add to the data base!"
"Here, Red, got you a weapon," Spike snuck up behind her and held out the axe he carried.
Willow jumped and turned around, her hand over her heart, "Don't *do* that!" She slapped his arm, then said, "I can't carry that!" as she took in the axe.
"Oh," he looked down at the axe, "then how about this?" he pulled his other hand from behind his back and held out two stakes and a dagger.
"Very funny," Willow told him as she pocketed the two stakes. "What am I going to do with that?" she indicated the dagger.
"Keep yourself alive if we run into that bloody demon!" he lay the axe on the counter, then shoved her jacket off of one shoulder and arm, slipped the shoulder strap of the dagger over her head and arm so that the dagger lay across her chest, and pulled her jacket back up. By the time he had finished the rest of the gang was assembled behind him.
"Well?" he turned to look at them. "What are you waiting for? Don't you have some big evil to fight, Slayer?"
"Jerk!" Buffy brushed past him followed by Riley, Xander and Anya.
"That's so sweet," Anya whispered as she passed him and Spike growled at her. Anya flipped him off with an innocent look and Willow and Dawn laughed.
Spike turned to glare at the two of them. "What's so funny?" he demanded.
"It *was* sweet," Dawn said as she gave him a hug.
Spike growled again. "I'm not sweet, I'm *bad*," he hugged her back.
"Stay safe," she whispered.
***
The six of them managed to squeeze into Xander's car, with Xander, Anya and Spike in the front seat and Willow, Buffy and Riley in the back. When they got to the road leading to the lake, Xander slowed down and pulled over to the side.
"Should we leave the car here?" he asked the rest of the group.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed from the backseat, "we don't want to alert the demon to our presence. Pop the trunk, Xan," she said as she crawled over Riley and opened the door.
"Hate to break it to you, Buff," Xander said as he climbed out of the car, then helped Anya out, "but only the newer cars allow you to `pop' the trunk. Mine still needs the actual key."
They all gathered at the back of the car and Xander unlocked the trunk. Everyone reached in for their weapon of choice, except for Willow who already had her weapon strapped to her chest.
"We should divide up, cover more ground," Spike suggested.
"Right," Buffy said. "Xander, you and Anya follow the road, but stay hidden. And be careful. Riley and I'll go around this way," she pointed to her right, "Spike, you and Willow go to the left. That work for everyone?"
There was a chorus of yes's.
"Um, what do we do when we find it?" Willow asked.
"Those earpieces would come in handy right about now," Xander commented.
"Yell," Buffy said, before she and Riley moved into the trees surrounding the lake.
"Right," Willow nodded as she watched Xander and Anya move down the side of the road.
"Ready, Red?" Spike asked and Willow giggled.
"What?"
"That sounded funny. Ready, Red?"
"Ha, ha," he replied dryly. "Shall we?" he held his hand out toward the trees on the left-hand side of the road.
"I guess," Willow said as she moved off of the road and into the trees. Once they were under the trees Spike took the lead. The canopy filtered the moonlight and he reached back for Willow's hand, guiding her through the darkness. They walked slowly, trying not to make any noise, carefully searching the area around them. Half an hour later they reached the beach; there had been no sign of the demon.
They began to walk around the lake when Willow suddenly froze. "Ew! What's that smell?"
"Demon," Spike replied, his voice low.
"D-demon? Are you sure?" Willow squeezed Spike's hand.
"Yep. Smelled a Morkan demon before. Nasty stuff," Spike told her.
"Oh," Willow swallowed hard.
"Come on," Spike tugged on her hand and they began walking again.
"Th-the smell's getting stronger," Willow announced fearfully after she and Spike had walked about a hundred yards.
"You're telling me," Spike replied. "Try having *my* sense of smell."
Spike stopped walking and Willow, who had been looking around them, walked into his back. "Sorry," she whispered.
"S'okay. I think we found its nest."
"Really?" Willow peered around Spike and saw a bundle of clothes. "What's that?"
"Probably victim number two," Spike said. "Stay here," he told her, then let go of her hand and walked closer to the bundle. He reached down and pulled back a piece of cloth, then quickly threw it back down, stood up, and backed away.
"Well?"
"Victim number two," Spike confirmed, his voice muffled through the hand that was covering his nose.
"What's wrong?"
"She's been there awhile."
"How could that be?" Willow asked. "The police were all over this place just this morning when they found the other girl."
"Yeah, well, you know the Sunnydale police force," Spike said derisively. "Maybe they took one look at victim number one and hightailed it out of here."
Suddenly there was a splash in the lake and Willow and Spike both turned to see the Morkan demon emerging from the water. Its head and shoulders were above the water now and Willow had a real clear view of the four-foot long tusk protruding from its forehead and its single eye. She gulped.
"Sh-should we yell now?" she asked Spike.
"Wait `til I engage it, then yell for the Slayer," Spike replied without looking at her. Willow turned toward Spike and gripped his arm. He looked down to see concern in her eyes.
"Just stay back, you'll be alright," he assured her.
"I'm not worried about *me*!" Willow said, glancing over her shoulder to check out the demon's progress. Its torso was out of the water now and the moonlight glinted off of its blue, leathery skin. Its green spots and, ooh, the claws at the ends of its arms, were now clearly visible. "I-I'm worried about you. Just, because, you know, you help us fight evil, not because I want to have sex with you again. Because I don't. Ever," Willow said without taking her eyes off of the Morkan demon. "H-he's big," she noted.
"But I'm bigger, `n badder," Spike leaned down and whispered in her ear and Willow jumped, turning her face back toward the vampire.
Spike smirked down at her, then brushed his lips across hers. "Get back now," he said. "And remember, wait `til we're fighting. Don't want `im to decide to run away!"
Willow took a couple of steps back and pulled the dagger out of it's sheath. "Be careful," she whispered. Spike didn't respond and she wasn't sure if he heard her.
Then he said, "You too, Red."
Spike moved forward to meet the Morkan demon which was over a foot taller than the slim vampire. "Hey, mate."
"What do you want, vampire?" the demon asked in a booming voice as it took its last steps out of the water and onto the beach.
"Nothing personal," Spike replied, "but I'm here to kill you."
"You think you can hurt me?" the demon asked incredulously, then laughed. "You are so puny. I will kill you slowly and let you watch while I take your woman. She has power, I can sense it. Perhaps she will be able to satisfy me, where these others could not," he waved his arm toward the body on the beach.
"I-I'm not his woman," Willow protested softly.
"Do not lie to me!" the demon roared. "I can smell you all over him."
"Oh. Oh! You don't think he'll tell Buffy, do you?" she asked Spike's back.
"Why don't we worry `bout that when we both get out of here alive," Spike suggested.
"Right. Good idea," Willow agreed, tightening her grip on the dagger.
"C'mon, big blue," Spike taunted the demon. "Let's dance."
The demon roared, then lowered its head and charged Spike.
Willow screamed, "Buffy! Buffy!"
"Willow?" she heard her friend's distant reply. "Willow, where are you?"
"On the other side of the lake, on the beach," Willow yelled back. "Hurry, we found the demon!"
Spike ducked under the tusk and stepped to the side, then swung his axe at the tusk. He didn't bother trying to disable the demon, that would only piss him off. He needed to kill the demon, and there was only one way to do that. The axe hit the tusk and bounced off. The vibration in the handle stung Spike's hands and he almost dropped the axe.
The demon swung around before Spike could recover and swiped at him with its claws, leaving four long tears in his t-shirt, just missing his beloved leather duster.
"Hey! Watch the coat!" the vampire yelled as he skipped backward.
Spike regained his balance and closed on the demon, swinging the axe above his head to distract the demon, then burying the blade in the back of it's knee. Maybe disabling the bugger wasn't such a bad idea. The demon roared in pain and dropped to one knee as its leg refused to support its weight.
Spike moved in and swung at the demon's shoulder, disabling its arm, then stepped back out of range of the claws and wildly swinging tusk. Spike jumped as the demon was trying to rise to its feet and kicked its forehead at the base of the tusk. His momentum carried him over the demon's head and he rolled into a ball as he landed, then rolled to his feet with the axe still in his hand.
Running back toward the stunned demon, Spike swung the axe at its forehead. At the same time the blade connected with the base of the tusk, the demon's good arm connected with Spike's head and sent him flying through the air.
The demon roared in pain as its tusk, already damaged by Spike's previous attacks, tore out of its forehead, leaving a gaping hole. The demon grabbed its head and bellowed in agony.
Willow saw Spike hit the ground hard, and knew that he wouldn't be getting back up as quickly this time. While the Morkan demon was distracted by its own pain, Willow snuck around behind it. Gripping the dagger tightly in her right hand she stepped up beside the demon. Sensing her presence the demon lowered its hands and looked at her with its single glowering eye, giving Willow an unobstructed view of the wound in its forehead.
She reached out with her left hand, drawing the demon's attention. As it rolled its eye toward her left hand and swung its clawed arm at her, Willow raised her right hand and struck, burying the dagger to the hilt in the hole left behind by the excised tusk. The demon toppled over, dead instantly, but its arm, already in motion, connected with Willow's shoulder and knocked her to the ground.
Groaning, she climbed to her knees and crawled over to Spike, who still hadn't moved. "Spike," she called his name as she shook his shoulder. "Spike!" she called louder.
"What?" Spike sat up suddenly, cracking his forehead against Willow's.
"Ow!" Willow sat back on her heels and rubbed her forehead.
"Bloody hell!" Spike grabbed his already aching head with both hands as the chip went off.
"You're hurt," Willow reached one hand out toward Spike's bloodied t-shirt while the other cradled her head.
"Willow!" Buffy yelled as she ran up to them followed by Riley, Xander and Anya. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"We found the demon," Willow motioned behind her as she continued to rub her forehead.
"Oh, god!" Buffy exclaimed. "He smells worse dead!"
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "How come nobody thought to bring a crossbow?"
While Spike and Willow sat on the ground, recovering from their battle with the demon, Buffy retrieved their weapons and wiped the gore off of them as best she could in the sand. Then she and Riley dragged the body further down the beach to be burned. After the flames had died down, they walked back to Xander's car and headed back to the Magic Box.