Chapter Twenty-Seven


Buffy opened her eyes lazily, blinking in the morning light. She smiled and rolled over, reaching for the warm body that should have been occupying the rest of the large bed. She frowned and forced herself properly awake as she realised that she was alone.

She looked up, scanned the room for some sign of her erstwhile bedmate, but he wasn't there.

*Where the hell has the guy got to?* she wondered to herself as she swung round to sit on the edge of the bed, looking for something to wear, eyes finally alighting on a shirt that had been casually thrown over the back of a chair. She slipped it on and padded out of the room in search of Spike.

Following the sounds emanating from the kitchen she soon found the object of her little hunt. He stood with his back towards her, clad in only a pair of worn black jeans. She stood silently in the doorway, eyeing appreciatively the way the muscles in his back moved as he busied himself at whatever it was that he was doing. She smiled to herself as her gaze drifted lower and she raised an eyebrow as she took in how well the jeans framed his rather splendid arse.

She was lost in contemplation when the object of her admiration seemed to sense her presence and turned to face her. Recognising the expression on her face, he smiled.

"Like what you see, pet?" he asked with a grin, running on of his hands over his chest and down across his toned abs.

"Oh, that's a very definite yes," Buffy breathed, gaze following the movement of his hand. She walked slowly across the room, eyes travelling upwards until they locked on his. "You left me," she stated matter-of-factly as she came to a halt directly in front of him.

"You were fast asleep. Guess I tired you out last night, pet," he smirked.

"Guess you did," she smiled, moistening her lips at the thought of the previous night's 'activities'.

His eyes left her face and travelled down her body, taking in the shirt that hung off her slight frame.

"Hey, is that one of my shirts you're wearing?" he asked, surprised. Buffy took a step back and held her arms out to the sides before turning round slowly.

"Yep - you like?"

"As much as I hate to admit it luv, it looks better on you than it does on me."

"Why, of course it does," she purred with a teasing smile, eyes sparking with humour. Spike laughed and pulled her towards him, encircling her petite frame with his arms.

"But it just won't do," he sighed regretfully. Buffy looked up at him.

"Oh, and why's that?" she asked curiously.

"Because, pet, I have plans for today."

"That have anything to do with not letting me out of your bed?" she asked, playfully.

"As tempting a suggestion as that might be, luv, it wasn't what I had in mind."

"Oh." Buffy's face dropped a little and she frowned up at him for a second before a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "You sure about that?" she asked, running one hand over his arse and squeezing it through the tightly fitting denim before pulling him closer. Spike groaned in response and for a second he looked tempted, but then he visibly collected himself and pulled away from her, turning back to the counter.

"Like I said, pet, I have plans for today." He turned back to face her and handed her a cup of tea before taking a seat at the kitchen table. He pulled the morning newspaper towards him and took a sip of his coffee as he started to read the headlines.

Buffy looked thoughtfully into the steaming mug before leaning back against the worktop, biting her bottom lip somewhat nervously.

When she didn't speak, Spike looked up from the paper. "What? You're standing there looking all forlorn. What've I said now to upset you? Is this because I won't let you drag me straight back to bed? Is that it?" He couldn't help the slight irritation which slipped into his tone, but he stopped short of a full blown rant as he saw the look of anguish which appeared on her face as she shook her head before hiding her eyes by dropping them back down to the mug she was cradling in her hands. Spike sighed and pushed the newspaper away. "What is it then?" he asked kindly.

"You said you had plans," Buffy explained quietly into her mug, as if this accounted for everything. Spike looked confused.

"You have a problem with that?" he asked bewilderedly.

"Why did you ask me over if you had plans?" Buffy asked, raising her head to look him in the face. Spike's eyes widened and he gaped slightly as he realised what she meant, then he suddenly laughed.

"Luv, I didn't mean it like that! I meant I had plans for us. I thought that we could go out for the day, that I could show you around! You didn't really think that I was going to abandon you here all day, did you? You just have to stop jumping to conclusions about me, pet!" She frowned at him for a minute, irritated, and then broke into a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, I know," she agreed. "So, day out?" she suddenly asked brightly.

"Yep," he answered, pulling the paper back towards him and flipping over to page three.

"Where we going?"

"You'll see," was the only response she got as he studied the page in front of him.

"Ooh. Mysterious…"

"But you'll need some sensible footwear," he expanded. "Oh, and I'm taking you out to dinner tonight, so I hope you have something nice with you."

"Wasn't sure what we'd be doing this weekend," she said simply as she finished off her mug off tea and set the now empty cup down on the worktop behind her. "So I packed a bit of everything - I think I've got it covered." Spike looked up from his newspaper and raised an eyebrow.

"Good." He stood up and stalked over to her, predatory gleam in his eye. "Now, about you stealing my shirt," he began, pulling her body flush against his. She gasped and her breath quickened. Spike smiled as he watched her melt against him. "That was naughty of you," he admonished roguishly.

"I know, it was wrong," she said, feigning contrition.

"And I thought that you were a good girl…"

"Oh! I was!" Buffy argued mischievously. "But then I met you. You're evil - you corrupted me!"

"Oh, so this is all my fault, is it?" he laughed. Buffy nodded vehemently.

"Yep - definitely your fault. I mean, if I'd never met you I wouldn't have been all naked in your bed. And then you left that shirt out…" she was cut off by a growl from the man still holding her.

"Say that again," he demanded, huskily.

"What? That you're a messy slob who leaves his clothes lying around his room?" she asked, biting back a laugh.

"No," he rumbled. "The bit about you being naked in my bed - I liked that bit."

"Oh, you did, did you?" she teased.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I think I want to see that one for myself." He pulled her towards the bedroom and she followed willingly, smile lighting up her face.

"But you've already seen…"

"Not in the daylight I haven't," he cut her off.

"What about our daytrip?" she asked laughingly as he pulled them both down onto the bed and started to unbutton the shirt.

"Later," was the only response she got before he divested her of the cotton garment and lowered his mouth to her nipple.

"'K," she managed to get out before his ministrations put coherent speech beyond her grasp.



Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Not that I want to sound like a small child or anything, but - are we nearly there yet?" This last part was sing-sung in the way she remembered using when she was about five.

They'd finally managed to drag themselves out of the bed later on that morning and into the car and were now driving down a road in what seemed to Buffy to be the middle of nowhere.

She would be the first to quite happily admit that she had no idea where they were going and Spike was being no help at all, limiting his information to the occasional "turn right here", or words to that effect.

"Yes, we're nearly there, pet," he sighed. "Take the next left." Buffy saw the turning approaching and the brown road sign which clearly stated "Brimham Rocks" in bold white lettering. She frowned.

"You brought me all the way out here to look at some rocks?" she asked in astonishment.

"Not just 'some rocks'. I happen to really like this place," Spike answered defensively.

"But - rocks?" she asked, her tone displaying her continued uncertainty.

"Hush, luv - you'll see." Spike answered confidently, directing her to drive down a narrow country lane off the main road.

Buffy fell silent as she watched the scenery unfolding before her. The hills surrounding the road were covered in heather and willowherb, giving the impression that they were carpeted in a blanket of purple. But, beautiful as that sight was, it wasn't what captures Buffy's attention. She was distracted by the pillars of rock rising out of the bed of heather at irregular intervals, each between 10 and 20 feet high. Spike smiled at her sudden quiet.

"There's a little car park just here, pet," he indicated quietly. Buffy just nodded and pulled over before climbing out of the car and walking to stand at the edge of the car park to look out over the valley. She felt Spike move to stand behind her and place a hand on her waist.

"Stone! did the hand of sacerdotal fraud
Shape thee into this vital type of things,
Or did a million winters, on their wings
Of scythe-like perseverance come abroad
To bid conjecture stand before thee awed,
And, almost severing thee from present earth,
Make thee a marvel? Vainly giv'st thou birth
To solemn fancies, building an abode
Around thee, for a world of shapeless ghosts;
Vainly they rise before me, calling up
Kings and their masters, and imagined hosts,
That fight for clouds. What then! The heath-flower's cup
With dewdrops feeds this fountain ever dear
And the winged ouzel whistles 'God is here!'"
Spike whispered into her ear as they stood together. Buffy sighed as he finished his recitation and turned to look at him.

"That was beautiful. And it seemed to fit."

"That would be because it was written about this place," Spike explained with a smile.

"Did you write it?" she asked curiously. Spike just laughed.

"Me? Lord, no pet - I'm a bloody awful poet! Nah - it was written by some Yorkshire bloke - name of Ebenezer Elliot. But he wrote it about this place, actually about one particular rock. Come on, I'll show you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward to twist in and around the chimneys of rock, deftly avoiding the few other tourists who had braved the clear but cold autumn weather to wander their way around the valley.

Eventually they came to a stop in front of a large pillar.

"Okay, so what's so special about this one then?" Buffy asked sceptically.

"Look at the bottom." Buffy's gaze followed where he was pointing and she raised an eyebrow as she realised that the massive stone pillar was connected to the ground by only a tiny plinth.

"Why doesn't it fall over?" she asked.

"Don't rightly know, luv - geology never really being my strong point - but this place has always really fascinated me. Found it a few years back when I was on a holiday with…" he suddenly tailed off and turned away. "Anyway, I like this place. Thought you might too." Buffy rested a hand on his arm and pulled him back round to face her.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say holiday with Dru, right? And tell me to shut up if you want, if I'm sticking my nose in and you don't want to talk about it. And I do like this place, it's kinda cool."

"I just wasn't sure if you'd like the idea of me bringing you somewhere I'd found with my ex…" he tried to explain.

Buffy looked at him, surprised. "Why would that bother me?" she asked.

"Oh, well, no reason, I suppose…" he amended quickly, but Buffy seemed to have moved on as she realised that some of the chimneys had narrow ledges spiralling up the side of them.

"Bet you'd get a great view from the top of one of these!" she exclaimed, walking towards a nearby pillar.

"Yep, best in the area."

"Race you to the top!" Buffy called over her shoulder as she picked up speed round the narrow twisting 'path' to the crown of the tor. Spike swore and ran as fast as he dared after her. They both collapsed to lie on the wide, flat summit, breathing heavily.

Spike rested his head back against the cold stone and watched the clouds race across an otherwise crystal blue sky. He turned his head to the side and looked at the girl lying next to him, cheeks slightly flushed from the dual effects of the cold and the exertion.

"You're insane, you know that?"

She turned her head to him. "It might have been mentioned in the past," she laughed, before sighing. "It's nice here - peaceful."

"That's because it's bloody cold and most people aren't fool enough to be lying here on a freezing cold slab of stone in the middle of October," Spike explained cynically, standing up off the cold hard surface.

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly the most comfortable resting place ever - but it does have its plus side," Buffy said as she sat up, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them as she admired the view.

From the vantage point that they enjoyed the valley sloped downwards, widening out into an expanse of fields, seemingly littered with sheep, so small from this distance that they appeared to be merely white dots breaking the luscious green of the pasture. The only other breaks to the verdant countryside were the dry stone walls which formed the boundaries of each field, creating a patchwork quilt effect to the whole landscape.

The clouds which Spike had been watching race across the sky cast corresponding shadows over the scenery below, imbuing it with an air of instability and constant change. A solitary kestrel hovered determinedly over a single patch of ground as it tracked its otherwise invisible prey, and the calls of the tourists below them seemed to melt into the background as Buffy enjoyed the innate peace and tranquillity of her surroundings.

She smiled to herself and took a deep breath as she tried to ignore the cold seeping through her jeans as she sat on the bare rock. If she could only ignore the cold she would happily spend the rest of the day here, alone with her wandering thoughts. But the chill was insistent and leached its way in through her mental barriers and she couldn't stand it any longer.

She stood quickly and dusted off her jeans, sighing and looking around her. Spike watched, but said nothing, knowing instinctively that she found this place as magical as he did and that that was more powerful than words.

She walked to the edge of the rock and looked down at the sheer drop. It was then that she noticed the close proximity of the next pillar and a small impish smile played across her lips. She looked round at Spike.

"What?" he asked, catching her expression.

"Bet I could make that," she declared confidently, indicating the gap across to the next rock.

"You have to be kidding!"

"No, I could so make it!"

"Yeah, but it's a long way down if you don't," he argued.

"So not gonna happen - I could practically step over that gap." She hopped over to the nearby surface. "See."

"Oh, wow, I'm so impressed," Spike deadpanned as he spanned the gap to join her. He strolled the short distance across to the far edge of the pinnacle, measured the next gap in his mind's eye and jumped, clearing the distance with graceful ease. "No, bollocks to that. Changed me mind - not impressed at all." He smirked across at her before lying down on the rock, hands behind his head, blatantly ignoring her

The wind was suddenly knocked out of him as Buffy landed on his stomach.

"Bloody hell, pet - what was that for?" he exclaimed, sitting up suddenly and shoving her off him. He frowned and rubbed his stomach, before remembering that he this made him look somewhat less than manly, when he straightened up and looked at the girl who was sitting on the rock next to him, obviously very pleased with herself.

"Well, you seemed to be implying that I'd never be able to make that gap. So I took a bit of a run up," she explained innocently. Spike frowned and shook his head.

"That's not fair and you know it. Fine, so you could make the gap. It was hardly an effort now, luv, was it?"

"What, you mean like this one would be?" she asked, walking to the edge of the rock and looking down.

This chimney dropped straight down, some fifteen feet, she estimated. There were no outcrops and nothing to break a fall if she didn't reach the other side - and that was a good few feet away. This one was no little playful hop, but she was sure that she could reach the other side. Spike joined her, looking down.

"I could make that, easy. Not so sure about you though, pet. Such little legs 'n' all," he taunted, suddenly full of male bravado. *No way I'm gonna be out down by some pint-sized…*

"Go on then, prove it." He was pulled out of his thoughts by Buffy's challenge. He looked at her and she smiled sweetly back at him. There was no way out of this one. He looked once more back at the drop and over at the other rock before swallowing.

*It's not that I couldn't do it, of course I can. Well, maybe I'm a little nervous. It's a long way down if I miss, after all. But no bloody way I'd admit that to her. Never let me forget it she wouldn't. Life wouldn't be worth livin'. So got ta do it. Bloody bint…* He took a deep breath and, once he was sure that she wasn't watching his face, shut his eyes before launching himself into the void that was the gap between the two pillars.

He staggered slightly as he felt the hard ground beneath his feet, before opening his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief as he realised that he had reached the next pillar. He quickly gathered himself before spinning round to face her and giving a cocky bow.

"No sweat," he declared, pursing his lips and raising an eyebrow at her. Buffy looked at him, feeling the annoyance rising in the back of her throat at his conceited mannerisms.

*No way. Absolutely no way that he's gonna win this one. I might be a bit nervous, but no way I'd admit that to him. He'd never let me forget it. Arrogant little…* she looked down quickly and tried to forget about the shear drop before taking a step backwards and propelling herself out into the breach. She watched, almost in slow motion, as the far side came racing towards her. *Gonna make it, I'm gonna make it - no problem, knew I would.*

At the far side, Spike watched as she jumped and his eyes bugged slightly as he instantly realised that she was going to fall short. He watched as she rose into the air, legs stretched towards him. And he watched as she started to fall. He felt as if his heart was in his mouth and he took a step towards her, a step towards the edge, all the time trying to will his body to move fast enough to reach her.

She felt a foot hit the far side and smiled as her other foot joined it. She had made it and she felt the elation race through her body. But, almost at the same instant, she felt herself lose balance.

She thrust her arms out to try and regain her stability, but she suddenly realised that she hadn't made it. She had reached the edge, but that wasn't enough. She was going to fall and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She closed her eyes against her sudden realisation and awaited the inevitable.

Her eyes flew open as she felt the hand grab her arm and she looked up into Spike's cerulean eyes as her pulled her away from the precipice into his arms.

"It's okay, Spike's got you, there's nothing to worry about. It's okay," he whispered over and over again as he held her close to him, stroking her hair to sooth her.

She stiffened slightly at first that he could speak so patronisingly to her, but then the realisation and shock of how close she had actually come to falling hit her, hard, and she sagged against him, hands clutching at the material of his shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder.

He held her closely for a few minutes, then drew her back and held her at arms length so that he could look her in the eye.

"You all right?" he asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Yeah, I guess," she answered, uncertainly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Just a bit of a shock, that's all."

"Come, on. I really think that's enough excitement for now, let's go." He led her towards the path leading off the rock they were on. "Anyway, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm bloody freezing."

Buffy laughed shakily and smiled and they made their way back to the car.







Chapter Twenty - Nine


"You ready? The taxi's here…" Spike called from the living room. Buffy appeared at the bedroom door with a smile.

"Of course I'm ready - why wouldn't I be?" she asked sweetly, twirling a lock of her long blonde hair round a finger in an ultra-sweet manner and smiling coyly. Spike's jaw dropped as he took in the vision standing before him. No matter how long he knew her, she would never stop astounding him with how beautiful she was, and tonight was no exception.

After the shock of earlier, the two had returned home and spent a few hours lying on the sofa watching lame Saturday afternoon programming and trying not to think about anything too hard. The treatment seemed to have worked and Buffy had calmed down quickly and declared that her 'scare' had been 'one of those things' and that she was 'over it'. Spike hadn't been convinced at first, his natural over-protective instinct kicking in, but she'd drawn the line when he'd tried to provide an ice-pack for the back of her neck and he'd wisely decided to let the subject drop.

And she certainly looked as if she was over it. The short, black dress she was wearing followed the line of her petite body perfectly, emphasising her curves in a way Spike could fully appreciate. The square-cut neckline revealed a tantalising amount of cleavage, still surprisingly tanned despite the months spent in a colder and definitely less sunny climate.

Spike's gaze wandered down her form to where the dress ended at mid-thigh revealing her toned and perfect legs. He swallowed and wrenched his stare back up to her face.

She smiled and tossed her long golden locks over her shoulder. "Do I look all right?" she asked in that tome that girls use when they know they look great, but just want to make a guy say it. She smiled knowingly at him.

"Y-you look…" he trailed off and gathered himself. "S'pose you look all right," he ended nonchalantly, before breaking into a grin when her face fell. "Come on, pet - you know you're stunning. You don't need me to tell you that. Anyway, taxi's waiting, we'll be late." He indicated the door and she flounced past him and into the waiting taxi, pretending to be mad at him.

The pretence didn't last long as she caught him trying to hold back the laughter and soon they were both seated in the back of the taxi, giggling at each other.

Spike gave the taxi driver the address of the restaurant and they both settled down as the taxi pulled off.

Spike stared out of the window and watched the dark streets pass by. He jumped slightly as he felt Buffy's warm breath on the back of his neck. He turned his head to see that she had scooted up against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked coyly.

"Of course you can, pet."

"You promise not to tell anyone…?"

"Promise."

She bit her lip and lowered her gaze for a moment before reaching over to whisper in his ear. "I'm not wearing any panties."

Spike coughed and suddenly sat up straight, hitting his head on the low ceiling of the car. "Pardon?" he asked, wondering if he'd heard her right.

Buffy smiled and threw a glance at the driver. Once she was confident he wasn't watching them, she discreetly took hold of Spike's hand and drew it towards her. Spike watched almost in awe as she parted her legs slightly and allowed him to run his hand slowly up her thigh. He moaned quietly as his knuckles brushed the hair at the apex of her legs and he bit his lip softly.

"God, pet. You can't do this to me," he complained softly into her ear as he gently explored further, still not quite believing that this girl would willingly leave the house in a short skirt and without any underwear.

"Why not - don't you like my surprise?" she breathed into his ears.

"Oh, God, pet, that's not what I mean. I mean, God, yes, I like - see?" he took her hand and placed it on his crotch, showing her exactly how much he liked her little 'surprise'. "But, I mean, do we have to go to dinner? I could just tell the bloke to turn round and take us home now," Spike said, not caring the slightly whiny tone to his voice.

"No. You said you'd take me out and we're going out. Just thought I'd make things a little more interesting, that's all."

"You're killing me, Summers."

The only reply Spike got to his comment was a smug little smile as Buffy withdrew to the far side of the back seat and carefully crossed her legs.

Spike gulped - it was going to be a long night.

*~*~

Spike watched as Buffy picked at her meal. After the agony of the taxi ride, they'd arrived at the incredibly upmarket restaurant - it was costing Spike much more than he could realistically afford to be here tonight - and Buffy had spent the first part of the meal gently teasing him with promises of what was to come when they got home.

But then she'd fallen quiet. Spike wasn't sure what had caused this sudden change in mood, but he knew that he was currently looking at meditative-Buffy. The girl was most definitely lost in her thoughts, pushing the food around her plate almost as if she didn't see it.

She sighed softly to herself and looked up at him, nervously chewing at her bottom lip. Spike raised an eyebrow softly and tilted his head to the left, waiting for her to speak.

She took a deep breath. "What is this?" she asked him gently.

"It's duck, pet. I think the menu said pan-fried duck in a red currant sauce with some kind of juice or something. But it's definitely duck."

She scowled at him. "That's not what I meant. I meant, what is this?" she indicated the two of them. "What's going on? What is this?"

"Oh." Spike was silent for a moment, wondering how to answer that one. He didn't know what they had between them. He definitely knew what he wanted there to be between them, but he was fairly sure that wasn't what she wanted to hear right now. He finally decided to play it safe. "What do you want it to be?" he asked, throwing the ball firmly back into her court.

Buffy went back to playing with her food, not looking at him.

"I can't give you a relationship, if that's what you want," she said quietly. Spike said nothing, waiting for her to continue. "I was with Riley for so long. When we broke up, I felt like I was coming out of a dream. I wasn't sure of where I was - kinda disorientated. I need to know who I am, without all the confusing boyfriend stuff. I can't commit to another relationship right now." She sounded almost apologetic and she wouldn't meet his eyes.

Spike smiled softly. None of this was news to him. She hadn't needed to explain it - he'd known where he stood and known why she couldn't give more. He knew her better than she thought he did. "That's alright pet, never expected anything more. Just promise me one thing."

She looked up at him, surprised by his immediate understanding - she'd thought that he would complain, try to talk her round. She'd had this determined argument all mapped out in her head and everything. "What thing?"

"Promise me I'll never be the other man. This thing we have - whatever it is - it stops if either of us has anyone else. Serious like. I'm not asking you to be faithful to me or anything," he quickly clarified. "But, if you get a boyfriend, or I get a girlfriend," - *Like that's gonna happen. Wouldn't want anyone else* - "this stops. 'K?"

"Sure," Buffy agreed, relieved that it was something she could so readily consent to. She quickly pushed down the sickening feeling that appeared as she thought about Spike with another woman. *He's not mine. I have no right to feel… jealous? No, that's not jealous, it's, well, not jealousy,* she thought emphatically to herself as she took another gulp of wine. Instead she smiled wickedly and slipped off one of her shoes, reaching out with her bare foot to run a toe up the inside of Spike's leg.

He gasped and moaned slightly as her foot travelled up above his knee and rested in his lap. She smiled and indicated that he should keep quiet as she started moving her foot in delicate circles.

He nodded and tried to look as if he was enjoying his meal as he watched Buffy managing to eat each mouthful of hers in what was possibly the most erotic fashion he'd ever seen. She seemed to savour each mouthful and the things her foot was doing under the tablecloth made Spike wonder if he could control himself much longer. He put down his fork and indicated to the waiter.

"Em, we've, er, aah, finished. Erm, aah, could we, aah, have the bill please?" he asked, barely managing to keep his voice steady. Across the table, Buffy's face was a picture of innocence as she put down her fork and dabbed demurely at the corners of her mouth with the napkin.

"Oh, and I was sooo looking forward to dessert too," she complained as the waiter hurried off for their bill.

"You can have dessert at home, pet. I promise.

*~*~

Spike wrenched the door of his flat open and not for the first time sent a prayer of thanks to whatever deity might be out there that he lived along.

Buffy danced through the door and into the kitchen, shedding clothes as she went, leaving Spike speechless with want as he hurried after her.

"Dessert, dessert. You must have something here that passes for dessert," she complained as she rifled through his freezer, bare behind wriggling delightfully, in Spike's opinion.

He walked up behind her. "Oh, I think I see something just perfect," he purred as he stroked the globes of her arse.

"Me too!" she exclaimed as she suddenly stood upright, brandishing a tub of chocolate ice cream.

"But pet, I wanted to play," he moaned as she walked over to get a spoon out of the drawer."

Buffy perched on the worktop and lifted the lid of the pot before carving out a small scoop of the cold substance. "Oh, we can play…" she promised as she lowered the spoon and deposited the ice cream onto her left breast.

Spike's eyes lit up as he quickly made his way towards her.

He eagerly lowered his head to her breast and proceeded to lick every last bit of the chocolately goodness off her, leaving her moaning in pleasure.

"More?" he asked hopefully, with almost childlike enthusiasm. He looked up at her with such big blue eyes that she was unable to resist - even if she'd actually wanted to. She deftly coated her breasts with more of the quickly melting ice cream and lay back on the worktop.

She moaned with pleasure as he once again licked her breast clean, devoting more time than was strictly necessary to making sure her nipples were perfectly spotless. By the time he had finished his ministrations, Buffy was writhing around underneath him in pleasure.

He picked up the ice cream tub and held it where she could see it.

"More?" he asked, invitingly.

"God, yes!" she moaned, a look of pure lust and want on her face.

"Who am I to refuse a lady?" he asked as he dribbled the now almost completely liquid solution over her body.

She gasped as she felt the liquid hit. From her position lying on the worktop, she couldn't actually see where he was going to drizzle the substance and the sheer eroticism of the cold unexpectedly touching her was driving her wild.

Once he was happy with the placement of the ice cream, Spike stood back to look at his handiwork. Buffy was laid out on the counter, her body covered in a lacework of melted ice cream and nothing else. He licked his lips - she truly did look stunning there just like that and he took a moment to commit the image to memory, intent on remembering it for the rest of his life.

For Buffy, the moments from when he'd finished trailing ice cream on her to when he finally came back were torture. Sweet, pleasant torture that ripped through her body and headed straight between her legs. Her breaths were ragged and uneven, her chest heaving and she couldn't help squirming on the worktop. *And he's hardly even touched me yet!* she thought to herself just before his mouth touched her body once more.

His talented tongue travelled across her body with almost agonising slowness, persistently ignoring her attempts to direct it to where she most wanted to feel him.

"Please, Spike…" she moaned, willingly begging him, to no avail. He lifted his head momentarily from her form to flash her one of his irritating smirks before descending once more to continue his attentions.

Finally he gave in and her moans came thicker and faster as she felt herself approaching climax. "Oh, God Spike, oh God - don't stop. God please don't stop. Oh, yes, right there - just like that. God yeah, just like that." Her words descended into unintelligible mutterings until she felt her orgasm crash over her in a wave and she buried her hands in Spike's hair to hold him against her as she rode it.

As she came down, Spike moved back up her body, satisfied smile on his face as he watched her stretch languidly. "Satisfied, pet?"

"Already? You have to be kidding me!" she exclaimed. "I'm just getting started!"

"That's fine by me." He looked down at her. "You know, I've always had this fantasy of taking you right here."

"You have?" Buffy asked, interestedly, his suggestion hotwiring straight to her centre.

"Yes, I have," he said, swinging her legs round so that she was lying with only the upper half of her body on the worktop. He positioned himself between her legs and Buffy moaned as she felt him against her.

"Do you like that idea?" he teased.

"Yes, I like. I like a lot!" she gasped, shifting her position slightly.

Spike smiled and thrust suddenly forward, gasping with pleasure as he entered her. She wrapped her legs around his torso and began to move with him, building up a steady rhythm. He placed one hand by her head to balance himself as they moved more forcefully together.

"Oh, Buffy, you feel so good, pet. You're so beautiful. Perfect. Lovely. You're…" Spike trailed off as he moaned with pleasure and looked at her, trying to convey all the emotion he couldn't put into words through that one gaze.

Buffy couldn't take her eyes off his face, off the intensity of his gaze, it was as though she really could see through him to his soul and here, in this moment, she wasn't afraid of anything that she might see there. She could accept the intensity of his emotions in a way that she denied herself at all other times. Right here, right now it all just made her feel more. More wanted, more special, more loved.

"Spike!" she breathed almost with awe as he once again sent her crashing over the edge again and this time followed her over, calling out her name.

He slumped against her, peppering her face with tiny kisses, whispering her name over and over. She lay there for a second, enjoying the attention before she realised that breathing now would be a bonus.

"Er, Spike? Kinda getting crushed a little here…"

"Sorry, pet." He quickly moved off her and helped her down from the worktop. They both looked back at it.

"Well, that was…" Spike started.

"Amazing?" Buffy provided.

"I was going for incredible, myself - but amazing would do it as well!"

"That's alright then. How about we continue this somewhere a little more comfortable? Say, in bed?" She suggested as she lead the way out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. Spike merely smiled and willingly followed her.

A/N - Okay, so this is turning out to be the single longest weekend in history *L*. But, maybe that's good for you? Let me know, please review…

Chapter 30

Buffy was pulling out of the driveway when Spike's front door reopened nd he came running out. She stopped and rolled down the window.

"Miss me already, Spikey?" she asked teasingly.

He glowered at the use of the pet name she knew he hated, but decided not to dignify it with a response. "Not quite - forgot to ask you something."

"Oh, Yeah?"

"First weekend in December - you busy?"

"Like I plan my life that far in advance!" Buffy exclaimed incredulously.

"It's not that far away, you know - coupla months, tops. So, can I take it you're free?"

"Should be, why?"

"Work's Christmas bash - it's this big dinner and party thing - real posh affair apparently. Anyway, we're meant to turn up with a date and, well, none of the girls I know round here are much in the way of posh do material. Wondered if you'd come - there's a night in a hotel and a free bar in it for you if you do…" Spike wheedled.

"Sure, why not - might be a good night."

"Great! See you then!" Spike said, trying desperately to maintain is cool despite her response.

"Bye, Spike - call me," Buffy said as she pulled off with a smile.

*~*~

The flat seemed quiet as she opened the front door. She shrugged and yawned, glad that the drive home hadn't been any further as the weekend had left her absolutely exhausted.

*But exhausted in the best sense of the word,* Buffy thought with a smile as memories of some of the more 'satisfying' aspects of the weekend flitted through her mind.

She walked into her room and dumped her bag on the bed before wandering downstairs to get a drink.

Willow looked up from the couch as Buffy entered the room.

"Hi," the redhead said nervously.

"Hi, Will - where's Tara?" Buffy asked, somewhat confused by the tone of her friend's voice.

"She, well, she's gone out," Willow said, looking down at her laps where her hands were fiddling fretfully with the hem of her skirt.

"Will - are you okay. Did you and Tara have a fight?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"What? Me and… Oh, no, no - nothing like that! It's just…" she trailed off.

Buffy sat down next to her friend, tiredness suddenly forgotten as worry took its place. "Just, what?" she asked, gently.

"Look, I'm sorry," Willow said in a rush.

Buffy frowned and looked at her friend. "Sorry? For what?" she asked perplexedly.

"For Friday night. You didn't just have to go off like that. I mean, I know it can't be easy - what with me and Tara living here and Xander and Anya and all and I realise that you're single and I'm sure that it gets a little too much at times and I'm sorry if you feel that we're leaving you out of things and I'll try really, really hard never to do it again and I, we, Tara and I feel really, really bad that you felt that you had to leave and I honestly thought you knew about Xander and Anya and you know I would have told you if I thought that you didn't know and…"

"Will, Will - breathe, for God's sake. Oxygen is of the good." Buffy said as her friend rattled on with no signs of stopping.

Willow smiled weakly and shrugged, but stopped.

"Will. You didn't drive me out of the house. I went because I wanted to. I'd just got off the phone with Spike and he'd been on at me to visit. I'd told him no because it was short notice, but then I realised I had nothing else doing this weekend and I just thought 'What the hell'. It's nice to do that sometimes. But, now that you mention it, I may have been feeling just a teensy little bit left out of things. But, I can cope with that. I'm sure that's how Xander felt last year when we both had people and he didn't. I'm just having to learn what that feels like. But that's okay. I can deal. No biggy."

"You sure? I mean…" Willow said showing definite signs of starting off on another apology ramble.

"Yes, I'm sure. Not a problem. And I promise to tell you if I think you're shutting me out. How's that?" Buffy asked, skilfully deflecting Willow's imminent outburst.

Willow looked relieved and nodded before relaxing and smiling. "So, how was the weekend?"

Buffy smiled inwardly as she wondered how exactly to answer that particular question. She imagined the look on her best friend's face if she told her exactly what she and Spike had been getting up to all weekend.

It was then that it occurred to her why she didn't want anyone else to know. It was special, what she had with Spike. She knew what it was and so did he. But she wasn't sure that anyone else would understand. She knew that her friends would want to quantify the relationship, for Spike to be her 'boyfriend' or just a 'one night stand'. That, for them, would be easy to deal with. A nice, neat little box in which to put them so they didn't have to think too hard. But Buffy knew that her relationship with Spike wasn't like that, it was, 'complicated' was the first word that came to mind, but that didn't seem to fit properly.

Spike was more than that. He was her friend, her confident - she knew that she could tell him anything without fear that he would judge her for it or like her less because of it. He would accept her because of who she was, not despite of who she was. And she was the same to him - no secrets, no lies and no silly little games.

And she knew that she would never be able to put any of that into words that her friends could understand.

"The weekend was fun," she finally said, feeling that the response was a little on the lame side.

"Fun? That's cool - so, what did you do? Tell me everything!" Willow demanded.

"Okay. Oh, wait a minute - Xander - did he propose?" Buffy asked, trying to deflect the subject away from her weekend with Spike.

"We don't know - he's not back yet. So, tell me, tell me!"

"Alright - well, have to admit, he wasn't exactly impressed when I turned up at like 1am…" Buffy started as Willow curled up on the sofa to hear her Buffy's tale of the weekend.

*Well, the edited version of the weekend anyway,* Buffy thought.

*~*~

Willow had finally given in the night before; almost satisfied that Buffy was telling her all there was to know about the weekend.

Buffy, for her part, had been happy to get out of the room as she'd been doubtful that she would have been able to hold up under the pressure of her friend's rather extensive questioning about the weekend and keep some of the more personal aspects of their activities to herself.

The exhaustion she'd felt when she'd arrived home last night had disappeared with good night's sleep and now Buffy was curled up on the sofa, reading her now somewhat dog-eared copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' for what seemed like the millionth time before she sat down to write the final version of the essay that had to be in the following week.

She looked up as Xander ambled leisurely down the stairs. She smiled and put down her book.

"What?" Xander asked as he realised Buffy was smiling at him.

"So? Do I get to wish you joy?" she asked, attempting a posh English accent.

"What? Buff, what are you going on about?" Xander said, obviously bewildered.

"Oh, sorry," Buffy held up the book and shrugged. "Jane Austen - read it too much and you just get this overwhelming urge to talk like them. What I mean is, do I get to congratulate you?"

"Okay, see this look of confusion on my face? There's a reason for that. I mean, don't get me wrong - congratulations are always nice, but I have no idea why you would want to give them to me."

"Oh. So, you didn't propose to Anya this weekend, then?"

Xander's eyes bugged slightly. "I didn't what, to huh?" he sputtered.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then."

"Er, yes. I mean, no. I mean - no I didn't propose to Anya. Where did you get that bizarre and frankly ridiculous idea from?"

"Willow?" Buffy tried.

"Oh, and where did she get it from?"

"No idea…"

"Okay, let's be definite on this. I did not propose to Anya Jenkins this weekend. Nor do I intend to propose to her in the immediate future." Xander said slowly.

"Oh. But you took her away on a really romantic weekend"

"Yes, I did. And it cost me most of my student loan for this term. So that means no money for an engagement ring. You really think I would be stupid enough to try and propose to Anya of all people without being able to buy her a ring? I don't have a death-wish you know!" Xander explained fervently. Buffy just giggled at him.

"So, it wasn't that you just forgot to tell me?"

"No. Why would I do something like that? You're one of my best friends. Trust me, if I ever propose, I'm gonna want some serious female advice first - you'll be one of the first to know - promise."



Chapter 31

"C-!" Xander threw the sheets of paper down on the coffee table in disgust.

Willow and Buffy looked up from their movie to where their friend was standing, fuming. Willow raised an eyebrow. "What was that sweetie?" she asked before grabbing another handful of popcorn.

Xander frowned and threw himself down on the sofa, squeezing in between the two girls, appropriating the bowl of popcorn and hugging it to his chest like it was a security blanket. "I worked really hard on that assignment and what do I get? A C-. Sometimes I don't know why I even bother - my grades never seem to change."

"Aww, it's not that bad," Willow commented as she ruffled Xander's hair affectionately.

Xander batted Willow's hand away and attempted to smooth out his hair. "Well, it's fine for you, little Miss Brainbox. Have you ever got less than an A in your life?" he asked sarcastically.

"Might have dropped down to an A- once…" Willow retorted, eyes sparkling with humour.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she recognised the beginning of the long standing and oft repeated 'grades game' and she turned back to the film.

"But really," Xander said a few minutes later, suddenly lapsing into one of his rare moments of gravity. "I did try really hard on that assignment, and it is depressing that it's made absolutely no difference."

"What you need," Buffy said, not taking her eyes off the TV as she continued to munch from the rapidly disappearing bowl of popcorn. She recognised the tone of his voice - they'd had to deal with this Xander in the past and there was one guaranteed solution. "What you need is some distraction. How 'bout we go out tonight?"

"Nah - don't know if I've got the energy," Xander sighed, slouching further down into the sofa and batting Buffy's hand away as it delved in for more popcorn.

"Oh, come on! We can't just leave you in a depressive funk - it's so not like you. I insist - tow, taxis, a few drinks, a bit of a dance maybe - it'll make you feel so much better…" Buffy persuaded.

"I guess, fine. We'll go out then," Xander reluctantly agreed before suddenly seeming to cheer up dramatically. "But I get to pick where we go!"

"Sure, no problem," Buffy agreed as she deftly avoided Xander's defences and move in to grasp the final handful of popcorn with a cry of triumph.

*~*~

The pub was packed, much busier than was usual for a Wednesday night, but the three friends had arranged to meet Anya here and Tara was arriving later once she'd finished her mediation class so they had little choice but to go inside.

Buffy stopped just inside the doors and looked around, a small smile playing across her lips. Willow looked back at her as Xander moved further inside the pub.

"What's up?" she asked as she noticed that her friend had stopped.

"What?" Buffy was pulled out of her daze by Willow's words. "Oh, nothing - come on, let's go." She linked arms with the redhead as they hurried to catch Xander, but Buffy's mind still wandered slightly as it had been doing ever since they walked through the doors of the pub and she realised that they were in the same pub Spike had brought her when she'd broken up with Riley.

That realisation had immediately summoned up memories of the weekend they had spent together, just over a fortnight ago now, and that always made the blonde smile.

They managed to catch up with Xander after pushing their way through the crowds.

"You seen Anya?" Willow asked, having o raise her voice above the throng.

"Nah, have to keep looking."

"You go look - I'll get drinks. I'll meet you over there by the pillar, okay?" Buffy shouted, indicating a thick pillar, painted dark red which reached from floor to ceiling in the middle of the room. The other two indicated their consent and moved off in search of Anya. Buffy started through the crowds towards the bar, the mass of bodies meaning that she had to twist and push herself through the gaps as she thanked however might be listening that she wasn't any bigger.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she finally managed to get to the bar and leaned against it, determinedly holding her ground against the people behind her who were trying to place their orders. She looked around for a barman, but with no luck - they were all obviously busy taking orders further down the bar.

Suddenly, she felt someone tap her shoulder. "Can I get you a drink?"

She looked round and met the eyes of the guy standing next to her. He was tall, even slouched as he was against the bar, and handsome, in a dark and moody way. She eyed him up and down thoughtfully. He was well dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a dark blue silk shirt under a three-quarter-length leather jacket. Finally she looked up into his eyes and swallowed, suddenly a little nervous. They were the biggest brown eyes she'd ever seen and the way he was looking at her, she suddenly felt as if she were the only girl in the room. She took a deep breath.

"Sorry?" she asked, hoping she wasn't too visibly muddled by his very presence.

"I said - can I buy you a drink?"

Buffy took another steadying breath. *My God - and he's got an accent!* she thought to herself as she caught the vague Irish lilt to his question.

"Er, no - I'm buying a round, so it wouldn't really be fair," she explained apologetically.

"Oh, okay then. But can I at least know your name?" the guy asked hopefully.

Buffy laughed with an air of relief as she realised that this guy, as cool and collected as he might first appear, was at least a little nervous, a realisation that allowed her to relax and act slightly more naturally. "Sure - I'm Buffy, Buffy Summers." She held out her hand to him with a smile and he took it and shook it gently, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Liam. Liam O'Connor. Nice to meet you, Buffy Summers, but I think it's your turn," he said, gesturing towards the waiting barman.

Making her way back from the bar was slightly easier than getting there in the first place. Buffy had long since discovered that people had a tendency to move out of your way when they realised that you were carrying potentially staining drinks precariously in front of you. She saw Xander and Willow hovering near the pillar and smiled when she realised that Anya was with them.

"Hi guys. Okay drinks - one for you, you and you and finally, one for me." She took a sip of her drink and sighed. "S'pose there's no use asking whether there's anywhere to sit round here?"

"Yeah, right - that's why there are hordes of people just standing round!" Xander snorted sarcastically.

"It's Wednesday night - where did all these people come from? People have no right to be out on a weekday night - don't they have jobs to go to in the morning?" she whined as she realised that she was wearing her least practical shoes and would be dying by the end of the night if she couldn't sit down.

"So, what took you so long at the bar?" Willow asked in an attempt to distract Buffy.

"Apart from the thousands of people I had to fight my way through to get served? Oh, there was this guy…" she said nonchalantly.

"A guy? Was he good looking and possibly rich?" Anya asked, suddenly showing interest. "Not that I really care because I have Xander and I wouldn't want anyone else," she clarified, clinging onto her boyfriend's arm and looking at him ingratiatingly.

"Yes, a guy. And I s'pose he was good looking. Rich, I couldn't say," Buffy laughed.

"Potential boyfriend material?" Willow asked encouragingly.

"Will, we've talked about this - I'm not looking for a boyfriend at the moment. So, I would have to say, no."

"But, Buffy, you've been single for months. I know that you were with Riley for ages, but don't you think it's time you started dating again - I mean, you've hardly looked at another man since you broke up with Riley."

"Yes. I agree. And you must be missing all of the wonderful orgasms that he gave you," Anya said in her usual forthright tone.

Buffy blushed slightly, she would never get used to Anya's comments. "Anya…" she hinted.

"What? Oh, come on - you must miss the sex…"

Buffy blushed still further at this as she was once more thrown back into her memories of the weekend with Spike and she sighed slightly, a ghost of a smile playing across her lips.

"See - she does. I can tell!" Anya declared, catching the look that passed across her face.

"Okay, that's it! We're changing the subject right now!" Buffy declared. "No more talk about my sex life and no more talk about strange men being potential boyfriends!"

*~*~

"Buffy?"

"Yeap, Will?" Buffy asked, looking up from her completely uninspiring bowl of pasta and sauce that was today passing for lunch as her bank account steadfastly refused to stretch to anything more elaborate or exciting.

"You remember that hottie from the bar the other night?" Willow continued, flicking through the newspaper absentmindedly as she sat across the table from Buffy.

"Which one?" Buffy smirked - Wednesday night had turned into a nomadic wander round some of the pubs of Manchester, mostly in an effort to find somewhere to sit down and soothe Buffy's aching feet.

"Tall, dark, handsome, kinda broody - kept turning up wherever we were. Your own personal stalker guy…"

"Oh, Liam. Yeah, what about him?" Buffy asked, taking another bite of pasta.

"You get his number?" Willow asked casually.

"No. I told you - not really interested right now. I mean, he seemed nice enough had I been looking, but…" she trailed off.

"Didn't think you did…"

"Will, where's this leading?" Buffy asked, suddenly getting the feeling that there was something going on her she wasn't quite aware of.

"Ikindatoldhimthatyouwouldgooutwithhimtonight," Willow garbled out.

"What? Say that again, and more slowly this time," Buffy said warningly.

"I, er, well, that is, I sorta told him that you would go out with him tonight…" Willow said hopefully.

"Will. You know that I had no interest in dating this guy…"

"I know, but, like you said, he seems like a really nice guy. And one date wouldn't hurt and he already thinks you've agreed to this - you can't let him down!" Willow pleaded.

"Watch me."

"Please?" Willow asked, putting on her best persuasive expression. Buffy felt herself wavering in the face of this and thought desperately for another way out.

"I can't!" she exclaimed as inspiration struck.

"Please?"

"No, no - I really can't. I'm going away this weekend," she said, as if she'd just remembered a plan that had been organised for weeks rather than seconds.

"Where?" Willow asked surprised.

"Spike's. Yep, that's it - I'm going to Spike's. Can't get out of it." She looked at her watch. "I fact, my - is that the time? And it's Friday. I really need to pack and get going." She hopped off her stool and moved towards the stairs.

"You've never mentioned going to Spike's this weekend before…" Willow said doubtfully.

"Haven't I. Oh, must have slipped my mind," she called back over her shoulder as she started to accelerate up the stairs. She ran into her room, shutting the door firmly behind her and grabbed the phone, dialling quickly.

"Come on, come on. Pick up the phone."

It rang and rang and finally Buffy threw it onto the bed in frustration before joining it and staring up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Ah ha! Mobile! I know I have the number around here somewhere…" She rummaged through the pile of papers on her bedside tale and finally brandished a slip with a number scrawled on it. She quickly dialled the number and it was picked up in the second ring.

"'Lo?" Spike's familiar drawl answered.

"Spike, thank God! Say you're in this weekend - you could just save my sanity. I need to come over, tonight, for the weekend. Please say you're in." Buffy pleaded.

"Oh, pet. Sorry, I'm not there this weekend - I'm at the folks'," he said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "What's the big deal anyway?"

"Willow's trying to set me up. She's decided it's been far too long since I had a boyfriend and she's 'arranged' a date for me tonight. I really didn't want to go and so I kinda, said, that I was visiting you…" she said, hoping that he would change his mind.

"Oh. A date? Hmm, I'd love to help, pet…" Spike sounded genuinely apologetic.

"You would? Well, you could maybe go away another day and I could come over…" she wheedled.

"No can do, pet - I'm already there…"

"Oh. No, that's all right. It doesn't matter. I guess I'll just go on the date. I mean, I might actually like the guy - who knows," Buffy sounded disappointed, but she knew that she was playing the final card and cringed inwardly at the low blow. It worked.

"No, pet - you don't have to do that. Tell you what, why don't you come down - mum and dad won't mind. They'd love to meet you. I mean, it's a long drive, but…"

"Really no, that's great. Give me directions then…" she said excitedly, grabbing a pen.

Chapter 32

Buffy stifled a yawn as she turned down the slip road which lead from the motorway and navigated her way off the roundabout. She checked her directions once more and smiled as she saw that there was a left-hand turning just up ahead, right where she expected it to be.

Spike hadn’t been joking when he’d said that it would be a long journey and, with winter drawing in fast, it was fully dark now - something that Buffy quickly came to appreciate as she turned the corner off the main road.

The darkness seemed to swallow her as she drove down the winding country lane into the night. Hers was the only car on the road and she quickly flipped her headlights up to full beam in an effort to see where the lane was going. Despite the complete darkness, the road was actually in very good condition and relatively wide, at least in comparison to some of the country roads she’d driven down in the last few years. She chuckled to herself as she remembered asking Xander once why they built the walls quite so close to the roads in England. Xander had just laughed and told her that the walls had been there first.

The road widened still further and straightened out, the hedgerows at each side dropping away so that the only border between the road and the fields at either side was a low grass hummock. Buffy peered ahead and was suddenly struck by her surroundings. The darkness was total, the only light coming from her headlights, and they merely lit the road in front of her. The empty fields seemed to merge into the darkness giving Buffy the eerie feeling that she was driving on an isolated ribbon of tarmac as it twisted its way through the void. She suddenly realised that if there were a hundred foot drop at either side of the road right now it would look no different. She shivered and turned up the radio, hoping that she found her way to the house sooner rather than later.

The road started to rise and a slight glow appeared on the horizon, making Buffy hope that she may have finally reached her destination. She sat up a little in her seat and shook her head to clear it. If this were the village she was looking for, she would have to concentrate on something other than making sure she stayed on the road and didn’t hit anything.

She gasped as she crested the rise and saw the little village laid out in the valley below her.

The centre of the village was marked with a medieval church, lit up against the night sky with the aid of more modern floodlights. It had the air of a beacon showing the residents the way home to this isolated village miles from anywhere. She slowly started her descent, the road winding downwards and taking a right twist into the village proper.

It looked just like a picture book with its narrow streets and old-fashioned houses and shops. Buffy laughed as she caught sight of an Indian take-away on one side of the road, its modern fronting incongruous with the surrounding Tudor-style buildings and old brick.

She ran Spike’s directions over in her mind once more as she drove through the village, keeping an eye out for the large cream house set just off the main road. She smiled as she caught sight of it and indicated right to pull into the driveway.

Her tyres crunched loudly as she drove up the gravel drive and parked her car in one of the many available spaces that ran along the side of the house. She climbed out and stretched before looking inquisitively at the building in front of her.

It was definitely large, Buffy hadn’t seen much of the village but she imagined that it was probably one of the largest houses here, especially set as it was in such extensive grounds. And it was old; she wasn’t sure how old, but ‘old’ was certainly an adjective that could well be used to describe this house. The house had an air of an aged and well-loved blanket - a little frayed round the edges, but in surprisingly good condition and obviously well cared for.

She was draw from her musings when she saw the light at the side door turn on and the door open to reveal Spike, hair mussed and curly, making a change from his usual, slicked-back style.

“You made it then, pet?” he called, leaning nonchalantly against the doorpost and taking a sip from the mug which he held in his hands.

“You had any doubts?” she asked with a smile as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and walked towards him.

“With your sense of direction? Would I be risking a beating if I said ‘yes’?” he smirked and quickly stepped back as she took a playful jab at him. He set his mug down on a nearby window ledge and stepped up to her, backing her up against the doorpost. “Hello,” he whispered, his breath visible in the cold of the evening. He took in her diminutive frame and felt his breath quicken as the heat from her body radiated out towards him. He slowly leaned in closer, eyes closing as he bent to kiss her.

”William?” a woman’s voice called from inside the house, breaking the moment entirely. “Was that Buffy arriving? I thought I heard a car…”

Spike sighed and moved away from Buffy, who he could see was trying to hold back a laugh. “What?” he asked, scowling slightly.

“N-nothing,” she giggled. “Oh, well, it’s just that I’ve never heard anyone call you William before,” she admitted, eyes sparkling at him.

“Well, get used to it - you’ll have to this weekend. Come on then, s’pose I’d better introduce you.”

He led her inside into the warmth of the house and down a short dim corridor, which opened out into a bright, farmhouse kitchen.

A dark-haired woman stood in the middle of the room and she smiled as Buffy entered. Spike moved towards the sink at the far side of the kitchen and busied himself washing up the now empty mug.

“Well, hello,” the woman said. “I guess you must be Buffy. Glad to finally meet you - William’s told us so much about you and Rupert and I have been on at him for so long to bring you down here, but he always has some excuse. You’d think he didn’t want us to meet his girlfriend…” she shook her head and Buffy flashed Spike a questioning look.

Spike quickly shook his head and indicated that he would explain later and that she should just go along with it. Buffy held back a scowl, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She turned back to his mother and smiled.

“And it’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs Giles,” she said, deciding that she might as well make an effort to get along with Spike’s parents, never mind whether or not they thought she was his girlfriend.

”Oh, what am I thinking! Please, call me Jenny. We don’t stand on ceremony round here, you know. Rupert’s around here somewhere. I’m sure he’ll pop up sooner or later,” she shook her head and laughed contagiously and Buffy found herself smiling along.

“Well, mum. I really think I should show Buffy where to put her stuff and then I thought we’d go round to the pub for a bit.” Spike said, deftly manoeuvring Buffy away from his mother towards a door opposite the one through which they had come.

“Oh, okay then. See you later, Buffy.”

“Sorry about mum, she can be a bit overpowering if you let her ramble on,” Spike explained as they climbed the main stairs to the upper level of the house.

“She seemed nice enough to me,” Buffy shrugged as Spike opened one of many doors along the top corridor.

“This is us,” he said, throwing her bag down on the king-sized bed. Buffy followed him into the room and looked around. It had very obviously once been Spike’s bedroom when he’d lived at home and a few posters of the punk bands he was fond of had survived what looked like recent renovation works by his parents. The room was definitely in flux, the freshly painted walls and floral curtains contrasting strangely with the probably newly re-hung posters. She raised an eyebrow as he turned to face her, then what he had said filtered through into her consciousness and she frowned.

“Our room?” she questioned.

“Yes, our room. As in you and me,” he said, slowly and slightly patronisingly. She let the latter slip as realisation dawned.

“So that’s why you told you mom we were going out? Naughty boy, lying to your parents,” she said, wagging a finger at him.

He caught it and pulled her flush against his body, capturing her hazel gaze with his intense cerulean stare. “Didn’t lie,” he growled. “They assumed, I just didn’t enlighten them,” he smirked. “And the perks are definitely worth it,” he breathed as he pulled her in for a kiss.

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