Coming Of Age

By Medea

Chapter Five

Spike wandered toward the Student Union building, wondering if he'd find Megan at the dance or if she'd decided to take a pass on this one, too. Her friends in the dorm pestered her to socialize more, but usually she begged off. Smirking, he began to wonder if maybe she *was* holding out for someone.

He just had to get her to admit it. Stubborn little wench.

As he emerged from an alley between two buildings, he heard the sounds of fighting. Even without the visuals, he knew Megan was in the process of dusting someone. Spike chuckled at the thought that she'd been provided with yet another excuse for not going to a college social event.

His humor faded when he finally caught sight of Megan and her opponent, just in time to see the vamp strike out with a knife. She yelped as the knife sliced across her arm, but her concentration never wavered and a few seconds later, she dusted him.

Spike charged toward her in alarm.

"Dammit, girl, you're supposed to be more careful than that!" the blond vampire scolded crossly as he reached for her wounded arm.

"Lighten up, old man. It's just a scratch," Megan smoothly brushed his hand away.

Spike would have none of it. "Come on, let's have a look."

"Yeah, right, you blood-sucker. Looking over the menu?" she teased.

Although Spike continued to frown in concern, her good-natured ribbing caused him to relax somewhat. As he closed a gentle yet firm grip around her wrist, Spike eased into their familiar repartee. "Relax, luv. You know I won't put my mouth on you unless you really want it."

Megan arched an eyebrow at him, but made no protest as he undid the button at her cuff and pushed the sleeve up her arm.

Spike clamped down on his instincts, although it was difficult to ignore the heady scent of her Slayer's blood. With almost clinical detachment, he examined the cut, which was indeed superficial. Thus reassured, he released her arm and stepped a few paces away, putting greater distance between himself and the temptation of her blood.

"It'll heal," he observed gruffly. "Let's get you cleaned up. Hope that wasn't one of your favorite shirts; stain's not likely to come out. Tear from the knife certainly won't."

"Vamp-doctor-and-wardrobe-consultant to the rescue," Megan joked with a grin.

A slight smile twitched at the corner of Spike's lips, but he said nothing. Indeed, to Megan he seemed oddly quiet on their way back to her dorm, and she didn't miss the fact that he was keeping his distance. Guessing that maybe it was harder for him to be around the scent of her blood than he let on, she started to feel bad for having teased him about the menu.

As they walked, her feelings of awkwardness grew even further when she realized...she was curious.

It didn't help that his constant teasing had been making her confront thoughts and feelings she didn't really want to deal with. Though she would be loathe to admit it to him, after he and Willow had left, she *had* developed a little crush on her memory of him. He'd been the strong, cocky, wise-cracking protector who always looked out for her. To make matters worse, as she'd grown older, her appreciation of the male form had matured as well. And he looked just as good now as he had when she was only eleven.

Treacherously, a question she had once asked whispered through her mind.

<What does blood taste like?>

And what about the other side of that equation, she wondered....what did it feel like, for a vampire to...?

Suddenly, the image of his mouth on her arm popped into her head. She desperately struggled to block it out. Slayers shouldn't have such thoughts. But it was burned into her mind, where it remained even after they reached her dorm room.

Megan unlocked the door and they entered. As she headed toward her closet, where she kept a small first-aid kit, Spike flopped down on her roommate's bed, leaned on his side and perused the cd's that were scattered on the floor.

Megan hesitated, looking at her closet door, then at Spike. He seemed fully engrossed in Jackie's music selection.

She took another step toward the closet, then stopped.

Her breathing grew shaky, and it felt like fireflies were bobbing and darting about in her chest.

Megan turned fully back toward Spike and stood there, watching him. After a few moments, he looked up and frowned at her. "You all right? Your pulse is racing."

"Spike, I..." Megan began, but was too flustered to think of how to say it. Wordlessly, she extended her arm to him, as if it were an offering.

The room was dark, illuminated only by the light coming in from the window. Megan hadn't bothered to flip on the light switch, intent on grabbing her first-aid kit and heading out to the bathroom. But even in the darkness, she caught a brief flicker of emotion in Spike's eyes, stronger than any she'd seen since the night he'd ripped out another vampire's heart on her parents' lawn.

Quickly, he looked away and muttered, "You're a big girl. You don't need me to bandage that up for you."

"I don't want you...to bandage it up..." Megan murmured awkwardly. "I want to know...what it feels like..."

He stared at her intently for several moments, before rising to his feet and approaching her with a slow, deliberate pace. When he was almost flush against her body, he asked softly, "Did your Watcher tell you what a Slayer's blood is to a vampire?"

Megan felt her heart racing. Unable to speak, she merely shook her head.

With a smile that was pure sin, Spike swept his eyes over her before leaning close to her ear and whispering, "An aphrodisiac. Gets us all hot and bothered. Just so you know what you're offering."

He nuzzled the tender skin just behind her ear. Megan's eyes slipped shut and she released a shaky breath. When she opened her eyes, Spike had stepped back; he was waiting.

Still unsure of her decision, Megan nonetheless found herself holding her arm out to Spike. He grasped her hand and pulled her toward him. Rather than lowering his mouth to her wound right away, he drew her hand up and kissed it. Then, he slid her sleeve up, his fingers teasing lightly at the wispy hair on her forearm. Keeping his eyes on hers, he finally brought her arm up to his lips. His tongue snaked out of his mouth and teased at the cut. Megan trembled slightly. Spike's eyes slid shut as his mouth closed over the soft flesh of her arm, and he began to suckle.

Even if he weren't a vampire, it would have been an intimate act; indeed, it felt more intimate than anything Megan had ever shared with any man, even her dates in high school. As she shivered at the gentle suction of Spike's mouth on her flesh, and succumbed to the pull of his hunger as he drew out her life's essence, Megan almost felt naked.

She bit her lower lip and found herself gripping Spike's thigh with her free hand. As he continued to drink, Spike brought one of his hands down to cover hers. He pressed her palm even more firmly against his taut muscle, before letting his hand begin a slow, upward journey. His fingers traced a tantalizing path over her hips, then swept up to dance across the swell of her breasts.

At last, he pulled away from the cut on her arm and cupped her cheek in his palm. Spike tilted his head and Megan parted her lips in anticipation. But he didn't meet her lips with his own right away. Instead, he flicked his tongue against her mouth and ran it along her fleshy bottom lip. Her soft moan was quickly swallowed up when Spike finally closed his mouth over hers in their first kiss.

It was patient and unhurried. Spike savored the texture and taste of her mouth like a connoisseur. Megan, too, devoured his lips and tongue with pleasure, tensing slightly at the forbidden flavor of her own blood. She rested her hands on Spike's hips, while he cradled her head in his hands, all the better to press her lips closer to his.

Slowly, Spike nibbled his way down to Megan's neck, and she let her head fall back to grant him greater access. His tongue swept the entire column of vulnerable flesh in one long, wet stroke. It was a potent measure of the trust between them, which subdued the combative instincts of Slayer and vampire, predator and prey.

It was too much.

"Oh, God...Spike..." Megan whispered, light-headed from his attentions.

He withdrew from her neck and gave her a brief kiss.

"Shh..." he hushed, laying a finger on her lips.

It was only when Spike pulled away that Megan realized she was panting. Her rapid breathing was the only sound that disturbed the silence as Spike crossed to the door. He slid the deadbolt in place and then, as added insurance against roommate with key, he grabbed the nearest desk chair and wedged it beneath the doorknob.

Turning back to Megan, Spike shed his leather duster and tossed it on Jackie's bed. He smiled as he looked at her, flushed and fidgeting like the inexperienced virgin she was, yet meeting his gaze with a Slayer's fearlessness. She was exquisite.

When Spike stood before her once again, he took her hands, placed them against his abdomen, then slowly dragged them up, tugging his black tee shirt free of his jeans. Understanding what he wanted, she helped him remove his shirt. He raised his arms, allowing her to pull it over his head, then brought his hands down to her shirt and began to unbutton it.

In a matter of moments, every article of clothing had been stripped. Completely bared to each other, Spike and Megan gazed at one another through new eyes. They saw each other not as long-time friends, confidants, or sparring partners, but, at a most primal level, as male and female. Touch soon heightened this new awareness, as Spike drew her intimately against him. Megan's skin tingled. Her breasts, which had never felt the bare skin of a man's chest, were crushed against him. Her thighs brushed against smooth, jutting male flesh that even her hands had never touched.

Spike gently pushed Megan back onto her bed and covered her body with his own. They lay entwined with each other, delighting in the feel of skin and teeth and tongues. When their caresses grew urgent and heated, Spike took her virginity in one swift stroke. Megan hissed and blinked back tears; Spike stilled momentarily and placed soothing kisses on her dampened lashes. Then he began to move within her.

When Megan started to move with him, Spike abandoned his restraint. Though he was careful not to cause her pain, Megan's first time was anything but gentle. Her vampire lover was a tempest unleashed, consuming her with relentless passion.

However, even more than their lovemaking, it was what Spike did in the quiet aftermath that reached right into Megan's core, and made it clear to her how their relationship had changed.

As they rested together, her back pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around her, he murmured, "I'll not have you getting swiped at by other worthless vamps ever again. From now on, they'll know that if they touch you, they answer to me."

With that, he brought one hand up from her chest to tilt her head to the side, while his other arm continued to hold her in a fierce, possessive embrace. Letting his demon come to the fore, Spike pierced her neck with his fangs and renewed the mark that claimed her as his.

*****

"What the--? Jeez, what's up with the door? MacKenzie, are you in there?"

Megan's eyes flew open to the sounds of her roommate struggling with the door. Oh, shit!

She glanced at her alarm clock, which read 3:50 a.m. Oh, shit! It was 3:50 a.m. and she'd locked Jackie out.

And now Jackie wanted in...and Spike was here...and...oh, shit!

Spike's arm tightened around her as he mumbled sleepily, "Ignore her, luv. She'll go 'way."

"Spike, let go, dammit!" Megan pushed away from him. She stumbled away from the bed, clutching the entire bedspread in front of herself to cover her nudity -- not to mention a rather conspicuous bite on her neck -- and went to the door. Removing the chair that Spike had wedged under the doorknob, she cracked the door open. "Uh...hi Jackie. Sorry about that."

"Never mind," Jackie sighed as she pushed against the door. "Just let me in, already."

However, Megan held the door firmly in place, and blocked Jackie's view of the interior.

"What the hell? Let me in," Jackie repeated indignantly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Megan.

From behind Megan's unyielding form, Spike called out in an overly-sugary voice, "Come back to bed, sweetheart. Sheets're gettin' cold without you."

All traces of suspicion vanished from Jackie's expression and she grinned broadly. "Wayyyy to go, MacKenzie!"

Megan blushed furiously. Before she could stammer an explanation, an apology -- she didn't know what, really -- Jackie took advantage of her momentary embarrassment to push past her into their dorm room.

"Hey, Spike," she greeted the blond vampire casually. "Don't get up. I'm just going to grab a few things and go crash down the hall in Jen's room."

"Knew you were a good egg, Jackie," Spike replied pleasantly, even as his eyes laughingly revealed his amusement at Megan's discomfort.

In a matter of moments, Megan's roommate had grabbed some clothes and basic toiletries, stuffed them in her gym bag, and slung the bag over her shoulder. As she breezed out the door, she winked at Megan and quipped, "Took you long enough."

Megan groaned and closed her eyes. Great. By morning, the entire dorm would know.

Maybe the whole campus.

She shut the door and slumped against it, barely restraining herself from banging her head repeatedly against the smooth wood. Spike came up behind her and nuzzled the nape of her neck.

"So the news is out. No reason to get your knickers in a twist. Scratch that, you're not wearing any. Come back to bed and I'll take your mind off it."

As he wrapped his arms around her and drew her back toward the bed, Megan sighed, "Spike...we need to talk..."

He turned her so she was facing him. At the sight of her troubled expression, he grew stern. "That'd better not be regret, little girl. I shagged you, I claimed you. You're mine. There's no turning back now."

"It's not regret...exactly..." Megan began.

"Damn right it isn't!" Spike continued defensively. "As first times go, that was right cracking! Left you completely knackered, I did."

"Spike, I was *there* -- you don't have to convince me," Megan reminded him. "And it *was* good. It was *amazing*. But that's not the problem."

His pride somewhat placated, Spike subdued his ire and asked, "Then what's the problem, luv?"

"You. Me. This...I don't know..." Megan murmured weakly as she sank down onto the bed. Spike sat beside her and pulled her back until they were both stretched out fully. Still not quite sure what she was on about, he opted to kiss her and nibble his way down her neck. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd forget what had her in such a pet.

Megan said nothing for a while, but she didn't protest Spike's ministrations either. At last, she whispered, "What happens when Willow comes back?"

Spike stilled.

He propped himself up on his elbow and regarded Megan steadily for a moment, before answering quietly, "Yes, luv. When Red comes back, I'll shag her into the ground and, when she recovers, we'll pick up where we left off. I'd *still* want to shag you into the ground, too. Already told you, we've both taken human lovers while we were together. Question is, what would *you* want to happen when Red comes back?"

Hurt and confusion flooded Megan's eyes. She rolled over, turning her back to Spike, and muttered, "Just leave me alone. Close the door on your way out."

Angrily, Spike gripped her shoulder and rolled her back to face him. "Doesn't work that way, little girl. I'm not some scrawny, teenaged git you can send packing. You invited a *vampire* into your bed. We want something, we don't let it go."

"You don't want me, you want Willow," Megan bit through clenched teeth.

"Still on that, are we? Already told you about vampire relations. I'll always want Willow; doesn't mean I don't want you."

"Yeah, you told me, all right. So now I'm an 'appetite' you satisfied."

Spike shifted to his demon face and his golden eyes glared down at her. "That how you want to see it? Would that make you feel better? 'Cos you're right -- you were absolutely tasty. So glad you offered yourself up on the menu."

"Let. Me. Go." Megan demanded in a voice that trembled with pain and fury. She attempted to pull herself away, but his grip was unyielding, in spite of her Slayer strength.

"Sorry, no."

Megan continued to rail against the strong prison of Spike's arms and her rage mounted further.

"I should have staked you the first night you came back! You want a fight? Fine! You've got the worst fight of your creepy un-dead existence on your hands!"

"S'okay, I like a good fight. I'd rather shag, though."

"Not with me, you won't! I'm not here for your convenience! I'm not anyone's casual screw! I'm--"

"Special," Spike cut her off. He resumed his human mask. "I never said you were just a convenience. You're the one who jumped to conclusions, luv."

"You told me you had sex with all those other humans just to scratch an itch; that they didn't matter," Megan fumed, although Spike's words had disarmed the worst of her anger.

"They didn't; you do."

"But...." Megan protested weakly. She closed her eyes and shut down completely as the complexity of her emotions became too much to handle. "I can't do this. Humans are different. We're not like vampires; when we fall in love, we do it one at a time..."

Spike arched an eyebrow. "You give humans too much credit. Your kind are just as sordid as we vamps. Why d'you think daytime drama is such a hit? So," he leaned closer and began to tease her earlobe with his tongue, "you're in love with me, are you?"

"Stop it," Megan whispered. "Quit playing with me."

"Not playing. Least, not the way I'd like to."

When Megan said nothing and merely laid still beneath him, her eyes squeezed shut and leaking a few, stray tears, Spike sighed in exasperation. "Meg, look at me."

She kept her eyes shut.

"Luv, you don't want to make me pry your eyelids apart."

Megan reluctantly looked up at him.

"Not once did I ever mark any of those other chits I shagged; didn't care two scrapes about 'em. You're the only one I've claimed in that way -- you're the only one who's ever mattered enough. I'm not gonna lie -- I won't ever stop loving my Red, no matter who else comes along. But you're the first who's meant more to me than a shag or a quick bite. And I'm not one to pass that up; you're mine."

Megan sighed wearily and closed her eyes briefly. She'd known Spike for years, and that was probably the closest to a romantic declaration of love she'd ever get out of him. It still didn't solve everything, though. She opened her eyes again and admitted, "I couldn't do this to Willow."

Spike blinked at her in surprise. "What, you and me?"

Nodding, Megan continued, "I'll never be able to thank Willow enough for what she did for me. She didn't have to come looking for me, or help me out while the Council still had their heads up their butts."

Spike smirked at this remark and relaxed his grip on Megan somewhat.

"I owe her everything. How can I sleep around with her boyfriend?"

"Wouldn't really be *sleeping*, luv," Spike interjected slyly.

Megan let out an exasperated sigh. "You know what I mean, Spike."

Spike grinned lazily and released Megan's arms. Teasing beneath her chin with one finger, he explained patiently, "Willow wouldn't begrudge us this. I've been a good sport about Angel; she wouldn't gripe about having to share me with you. Trust me. Red's a real stickler for fair play."

"What, so all's fair in love and war?" Megan snorted.

" 'bout sums it up, yeah. So...*enemy* mine, shall we make war?" Spike leaned close and began nibbling tenderly at Megan's jaw line.

She shivered, and a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Well...I guess I wouldn't be a very good Slayer if I passed up a chance to kick some arrogant vamp's ass, *enemy* mine," Megan taunted.

"All talk and no show, little girl," Spike raised his head and narrowed his eyes in feigned skepticism.

Gripping his head fiercely, Megan pulled him down for a hard, demanding kiss. With zeal, the new lovers grappled with each other on the carnal battlefield of soft sheets.

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