One Special Night

CHAPTER 14 - Unannounced Guests

Five days after Elizabeth realised her feelings for William, she set off to Cambridge to do her usual weekly shop. Being that it was Saturday and he was free, William had offered to go with her but she’d refused. True to his word, he hadn’t made any further advances towards her, except of a friendly nature, and she was finding that more of a strain than his previous actions.

William watched her go wishing there was something he could do to ease her still obvious tenseness…wishing he could find some magic potion that would make her stop loving Connor and love him instead.

It seemed so unfair. She liked him, she desired him, but she loved someone else and no matter how much he lay in bed at night aching for her, he wouldn’t use that physical attraction to undermine her anymore. Not when she’d begged him not to.

He went into the kitchen to get himself a drink when Giles entered the room carrying an overnight case that he put on the floor. "Going somewhere, Rupert?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, uh, yes, actually," the older man stammered uncomfortably as he removed his glasses and began to clean them furiously. "I’ve just remembered that a…a friend is in town for a couple of days and I…uh…I’m going to meet up with them and s-stay over for the night."

William watched the other man in amusement and was delighted at the blush that rose on his cheeks when he asked nonchalantly, "A female friend is it?"

Giles replaced his glasses and nodded. "Er…yes, actually…my friend is a woman," he admitted, unable to meet his colleague’s eyes for more than a second at time.

"Good for you, Rupert," William said with a smile. "Enjoy yourself tonight then."

Giles reddened further then cleared his throat loudly and picked up his bag. "Thank you." He glanced around the room again then back at William. "Have I missed Elizabeth?" William nodded and Giles sighed. "Would you mind telling her that I shan’t be home tonight?"

William nodded again and Giles turned to go then paused and looked back at the younger man. "You know, William, maybe you and Elizabeth could make use of this time alone tonight to…uh…get to know each other a little better," he suggested awkwardly.

William’s eyes widened in surprise then narrowed into a frown. What the hell was he saying? "I think know Elizabeth fairly well already, Rupert," he replied slowly.

Giles looked as if he were going to say more but then nodded and smiled slightly. Maybe he’d been wrong about the chemistry he’d thought he’d seen between the two. Heaven’s knew he wasn’t an expert on the subject of romance. "Of course," he agreed amicably. "See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, goodbye," William responded absently, still frowning at the other man's implications. What an odd thing for him to say. It was almost as though he were trying to suggest that he and Elizabeth…

But that was ridiculous! Just a few days ago he was stating how happy she was with her fiancé.

Drink forgotten, William shook his head and decided he must be wanting Elizabeth so much now that he was beginning to read too much into the most vaguest of things. Obviously it was a side effect of his nightly frustrations and so he decided to make himself useful while getting rid of some of his excess energy and cut the grass as he’d promised Elizabeth he would.

As it was a relatively warm day, he jogged upstairs and entered his room then dug around in his wardrobe until he pulled out an old pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt. Donning them, he went downstairs and out into the garden to mow the lawn.

He was barely halfway through when there was a crunch from the mower and then a loud grinding noise. William switched it off then turned it on its side to see that the blade had caught on a stone and broken. With a tut of annoyance at the machine, he walked off to unplug it from the mains then came back and knelt down to begin removing the snapped blade. He hadn’t got very far when he heard the sound of a car pulling up on the gravel drive out front.

Checking his watch, he saw that it was still too early for Elizabeth to be returning from shopping and wondered if Rupert had forgotten something and come back. Standing up, he brushed the excess dirt off his hands before heading around the side of the house to investigate. As he rounded the corner, he came to a stop when he saw a reasonably tall, young woman getting out of a silver Vauxhall Vectra.

"Hi," she greeted with a friendly smile on her pretty face. "William, right?"

William stared back at her, confusion clouding his features that this stranger should know his name. "Yes," he replied slowly.

"I'm Dawn," she introduced herself brightly. "Elizabeth's sister."

William's eyes widened slightly at recognition of her name. Giles had mentioned that he had a second niece called Dawn who enjoyed travelling around the world but he'd not really gone into any detail and William had never pressed as his interest lay with the older man's other niece.

"Hello," he greeted then looked over to the car as a movement caught his eye and a tall, brown-haired young man got out of the driver’s side.

Dawn followed his gaze then smiled sweetly at the young man and held out her hand towards him. "This is my fiancé…Connor."

She wasn’t looking directly at William as she made this announcement, something for which he was extremely grateful because he was certain he must have been looking at her as if she were mad.

Later, he would reflect on the irony of how a huge, life changing revelation such as this would come to light in such a quiet, ordinary way. So ordinary in fact, that he seriously doubted his hearing for moment, because if Connor really had just been introduced as Dawn's fiancé and not Elizabeth's, it would've surely been accompanied by a fanfare of epic proportions, wouldn't it?

Not this strange light-headed, buzzing that he was experiencing, that was so loud in his own ears that he only vaguely heard Dawn say something about only having got back to England the night before and deciding to pay a surprise visit to her uncle and her sister.

"Are they inside?" she asked pinning him with her gaze again.

William stared blankly at her for a second before his brain finally processed her words. "Um…Rupert's away for the night visiting a friend and Elizabeth's out shopping," he supplied falteringly, knowing he sounded almost nervous but unable to do anything about it.

He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the man standing at Dawn's side. This was Connor. The man that he'd mentally raged about, envied completely and hated with a vengeance. The man who, he'd thought, was standing between him and the only woman in his life he'd ever truly loved.

The man who had just been introduced as the fiancé of said woman's little sister.

The friendliness of Dawn's initial greeting slowly faded, cool scrutiny appearing in its place as she saw William staring dazedly at Connor who was shifting uncomfortably under the other man's gaze. "Is there a problem?" she asked sharply.

Numbly, William shook his head as he desperately tried to get a grasp on the situation.

"You're engagement," he blurted out suddenly, needing clarification that what he'd heard the first time was real. "How long…I mean, when did you…?"

Dawn frowned at his question, wondering why he looked so shaken. This didn't appear to be the composed and intellectual man that Elizabeth had described in detail during their weekly phone calls with each other. "Connor and I got engaged at Christmas," she told him coolly.

"Christmas?" William repeated dubiously. "But…I don't understand," he muttered to himself as he looked down at the ground briefly before raising his eyes to Dawn once more, his eyes narrowing slightly as he clarified harshly, "And Elizabeth knows about this?"

Dawn looked puzzled at the line of questioning he'd suddenly taken and nodded her head. "Of course she does. She helped us celebrate at mum and dad's a few weeks ago." She paused then added impatiently, "Look, I'm sure there's a reason behind all these questions, but really, jet lag's setting in and I just want to see my sister, so, do you know when Elizabeth will be back?"

"Back?" William echoed absently, his mind still reeling from the shock of what Dawn had unknowingly just revealed. Connor was frowning at him and he could tell that the other man didn't like the way he'd been questioning Dawn but there was so much here that just didn't make sense. So much that was muddled and confused and yet through it all, one thing was slowly becoming blatantly clear…

Elizabeth had lied to him.

Hard on the heels of that realisation was a surge of anger so intense that he had to clamp his mouth shut in order not to let out the string of expletives that rose to his lips lest he alienate Dawn and Connor even further.

Swallowing down his ire, his mind rapidly flew back over the last three weeks of his stay and suddenly William began to see things in a new light. Gile's not so subtle hint just that very morning. Elizabeth's own admission of desiring and wanting him but not acting on it for fear of losing her self-respect. She was trying to protect herself, she'd said. Couldn't have a relationship based purely on sex…

His heart tripped suddenly. Was that really her telling him she didn't love him, as he'd automatically thought…or had that been her thinking he didn't feel that way about her? And if so, did that mean that she did, in fact, love him after all?

Or was he finally having a mental breakdown and all this was merely a hallucination brought on by his frustrated desire having actually fried his brain?

He swallowed hard. Just the possibility that Elizabeth might feel the same as he, was enough to deflate his anger as quickly as it had arisen and allow hope to flare brightly in his chest.

Maybe he was just kidding himself, but what if she'd been going through the same agony as he? What if she'd realised she'd fallen for him on that first night but refused to acknowledge it, just as he'd done, thinking that it wasn't possible?

He heard his name being called and blinked rapidly as he focussed his attention on Dawn again who was staring at him with a concerned look. "You okay?" she asked with a slight frown. "You've gone a little pale and you keep fazing out on us."

"Sorry, I'm fine," he replied quietly then paused and looked from Dawn to Connor and back again as an idea began to take shape in his mind. An idea that he realised would need their help to come to fruition.

Naturally, after his recent little interrogation, he was sure that convincing them would be easier said than done, but, much as he hated the idea of discussing his private feelings and personal life with someone else, there was too much at stake for him to risk losing Elizabeth now that he suspected she might just love him in return.

"Listen," he said quietly to them both. "I know this may sound weird and I haven't really been…" He paused as he searched for the right words.

"Totally sane?" Dawn suggested dryly.

"Welcoming," William amended with a small smile before adding seriously, "But I really need to talk to you both before Elizabeth comes back."

He saw the look of concern that darkened Dawn's gaze and the way Connor's hand tightened supportively around hers and hurriedly reassured her, "No, nothing's wrong. Elizabeth is fine. It's just that…look, why don't we go inside? I'll make us all a drink and then we can talk."

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Half an hour later, Dawn was staring at him with a deep frown marring her pretty face. William had just finished telling them about his meeting Elizabeth that snowy night, his subsequent attempts to trace her and the joy of finding her again only to have it dashed when she'd lied about her engagement.

"I love her and I think she loves me," he finally told them with a sigh as he openly admitted his feelings. "But there's been so many misunderstandings and misconceptions between us…" He lifted his hands in mute explanation of the complexity of the situation. "If I went to Buffy now and told her I know she lied about her engagement and then tell her how I feel about her, I doubt that she'd believe me. She'll just think I'm saying it to try to get her back into bed. I don’t think she's got the self-confidence to trust either what she feels…or me. I need to get closer to her, to win her trust and I think I know the way." He paused and looked at them appealingly. "But I'm going need your help."

The engaged couple glanced at each other for a moment before they turned back and Connor said, "Go on, we're listening."

While William talked, Dawn and Connor paid rapt attention. Once or twice Dawn interrupted, questioning him sharply, but slowly her reticence evaporated and amusement took its place. "I'm not sure I should be agreeing to this," she told him, once they'd both promised to help. "And if you hadn't assured me that Buffy won't get hurt…"

"If she hadn't lied to me in the first place then none of this would be necessary," William pointed out, his tone grim. While he thought he could understand what had motivated Buffy, the thought of all the unhappiness she'd caused them both by her creation of a fictitious fiancé made him angry enough to believe that a little revenge of his own wouldn't do her any harm.

He stood up and took the empty mugs on the table over to the sink. Dawn joined him there and touched his arm to get his attention. "You do love her, don't you, William?" she asked seriously.

William stared back at her, his eyes conveying the truth of his words and depth of his feelings as he replied, "Yes, Dawn, I do." He gave her a slight smile. "I wouldn't be doing any of this otherwise."

The dark haired girl studied him a moment longer then smiled back and nodded. She prided herself on being a good judge of character and his sincerity and love would have been obvious to a blind person. She felt the last of her trepidation slip away deciding that her sister was a very lucky woman. "Good," she said at last. "I'm glad she's finally found someone like you, William. I think you'll make her very happy."

She walked off and William let out a heavy sigh hoping against hope that Buffy would give him a chance to prove her right.

TBC IN CHAPTER 15 - The Games People Play

DISCLAIMER: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Mutant Enemy Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

AUTHOR: Katrina

SYNOPSIS: AU: All Human. A heated encounter with cynical stranger, William Saunders, on a winter's night gives sensible, Elizabeth Summers a chance to act out of character and leaves her with memories she'll treasure forever. But then, he unexpectedly reappears in her life and wants to pick up where they left off...

ONE SPECIAL NIGHT

CHAPTER 15 - The Games People Play

Cambridge was busy, the supermarket hot and crowded and Elizabeth managed to pick the queue where every single customer in front of her seemed to have a problem. After paying for her purchases, she wheeled the trolley outside and welcomed the cool breeze that wafted across the parking lot as she headed for her car. She loaded groceries into the trunk then returned her trolley and set off for home.

The journey took longer than usual due to roadworks causing hold-up's and by the time she turned into her uncle's drive, she was feeling extremely frazzled, longing for nothing more than a relaxing sit down and hot drink.

She pulled up next to the silver Vectra and frowned slightly at the sight of the unfamiliar car wondering who had come to visit. Dismissing it as probably being one of William's colleagues from the university, she got out and opened the trunk to retrieve some of the shopping.

Deliberately, she picked the heaviest box of groceries and a couple of reasonably weighty bags for good measure, just to add to her already unhappy state of mind of being badly done by and headed towards the house.

Putting down the bags, she opened the door then picked them back up and entered the house kicking the door shut behind her. She heard the sound of voices coming from the kitchen and felt a spark of annoyance that she was carrying a heavy load and no one...well, William...had bothered to come out and help.

She walked into the kitchen and pulled up short as she discovered her sister, Connor and William all laughing together like best friends as they sat around the table drinking tea. Their heads all turned at her entrance and the obvious amusement on their faces at the sight of her struggling with the too-heavy box had her fighting the petulant impulse to hurl the thing at them and then burst into tears.

Something in her face must have conveyed her feelings as, suddenly, they all stood up and hurried forward with the obvious intent of relieving her of the purchases. Feeling dwarfed by height of the people coming towards her, she failed to be grateful for their assistance and snapped peevishly, "It's alright, I can manage! I mean, I have carried them all the way in from the car on my own."

She saw Dawn's eyebrows lift and felt herself redden guiltily. There wasn't any reason for her to take her bad mood out on anyone else.

"You should have come in and got William to carry those for you," her sister said chidingly. "I mean, what's the use of having a fiancé if you don't get them doing the fetching and carrying for you?" She turned to Connor and smiled sweetly. "I definitely make you work hard, don't I sweetie?"

Connor's reply was lost on Elizabeth as she let go of the box, barely aware of the fast way William moved to catch it, and stared at her sister in confusion. "Fiancé?"

William?

What on earth was Dawn talking about? And what was she doing here anyway? And with Connor...Connor?

Oh. My. God!

Connor!

She'd been so wrapped up in feeling sorry for herself that it was only at that precise moment that the realisation of the situation hit her. Eyes widening, her face drained of all it's colour and her jaw dropped as the appalling comprehension washed over her that William must now know the truth...that she wasn't, nor had she ever been, engaged to Connor.

The rush of tears to her eyes was instantaneous and she bravely fought to keep them in check, blinking rapidly so as to clear her distorted vision as best she could while she contemplated the very good idea of running away.

William turned from dumping the heavy box he'd caught, on the table and immediately saw her obvious distress. Recognising the signs of someone about to bolt, he pushed aside his compassion and sternly told himself that what he intended to do was in the best interests of them both.

Steeling himself against the urgent impulse William had to simply take her in his arms and kiss away the tension, he summoned a casual smile and walked slowly over to her. Once within touching distance, he reached out his arm and put it around her waist before she could move away.

Ignoring the rigidity of her body, he pulled her close to his side and gazed down at her adoringly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm afraid I've already broken the good news of our engagement to your sister," he told her in an apologetic tone. "I didn't think you'd mind under the circumstances." He flicked a meaningful glance in Connor's direction before looking back down at her bewildered countenance.

Elizabeth froze as she tried to get a grip on the reality that she felt was starting to rapidly slip away from her. Why had William told Dawn that they were engaged? Surely he must have figured out that she'd lied to him? So why was he spinning tales and looking at her with warmth and affection radiating from those wonderful blue orbs instead of confronting her with the contempt and disgust she more than deserved?

A sudden crazy desire to burst into a peal of hysterical laughter threatened to overcome her but she forced it back when William moved her towards the table and pushed her gently, but firmly, down into a chair. "Poor darling, you look exhausted," he said, the epitome of concern. "Just sit there while I make you a nice cup of tea."

As soon as he moved away, she tried to stand up but, for some reason, Connor and Dawn had materialised on either side of her like a pair of jailers, she thought to herself irritably.

"I don't want..." Elizabeth began, only to be interrupted by Dawn who excitedly started chattering about how wonderful it was that she was engaged and what a dark horse she was not telling her own sister.

Elizabeth found herself staring down at her left hand in bewilderment, as though half expecting to see an engagement ring materialising there. If she closed her eyes and opened them again, would everything have returned to normal, she wondered dazedly as she heard Dawn then talk about the possibility of having a double wedding.

"No," she finally roused herself enough to protest. "Not a double wedding. Look, Dawn..."

"I agree with Buffy," William suddenly spoke up, cutting off whatever she was going to say. "Besides, you haven't set a date yet and Buffy and I hope to be married in June."

"In June!" came the twin incredulous cries of both women.

Knowing that Dawn was just playing her part, he pretended that he hadn't heard Elizabeth and focussed on her sister. "I know," he said heaving a heavy sigh as he produced an indulgent smile. "Six weeks isn't long to plan a wedding but I can't wait to make Buffy my wife and as she always wanted to be married in June, who am I to deny her?"

"Oh, that's so sweet," Dawn gushed, smiling happily at first William and then Elizabeth as she added, "You are so lucky to have him."

Elizabeth stared back dumbly at her sister and then someone...Connor, she thought...handed her a mug of tea which she gulped thirstily as she struggled to comprehend what was going on and when everything had suddenly got so out of hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry darling," she heard William say contritely and turned wide eyes towards him as he appeared at her side and draped his arm possessively around her shoulders. "I never asked if you had any luck finding a dress today." He looked over at Dawn and, to Elizabeth's stunned horror told her confidingly, "She's refusing to wear white, the silly thing." He dropped his gaze back to Elizabeth's and added in a low voice, "After all, nowadays and feeling the way we do about each other..." He trailed off and gave her a look that could've burned holes in metal, leaving no one in the room with any doubts whatsoever as to the intimacy of their relationship.

Elizabeth found herself locked in his gaze and placed the mug down on the table with a thump as her insides turned to complete mush. Swallowing hard, she found herself almost believing that the burning, melting look of desire was actually real and not just fabricated for whatever reason he alone knew.

And then, the moment was gone and William was talking about the dress again, saying that she preferred something in cream. Dawn responded enthusiastically and Elizabeth realised that her hands had curled into tight fists as she fought the urge to let out a very long, very protesting scream.

Everytime she attempted to say something, William would either cut her off or Dawn would come up with something else to do with the 'wedding' to excitedly talk about.

Frustration setting in, her head started to ache and she couldn't quell the feeling she had that she'd just strayed into the scene of an extremely surreal play where everyone, apart from her, knew their lines.

She just couldn't understand why William wasn't demanding to know why she'd lied about being engaged to Connor and, most of all, she really, really couldn't understand how she'd supposedly become engaged to William!

Engaged to William.

A shiver ran through her system at that notion and William's grip on her shoulders tightened slightly. He looked down at her and fought the urge to just pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and take her to bed until she finally admitted everything. He paused a moment in that thought and decided that if she hadn't confessed her deceit by that evening then it was a definite back-up plan.

"Buffy, we were wondering if we could stay here a couple of days," Dawn said, drawing all eyes to her. "We want to have a look around so that when Connor's parents come over we can give them a few pointers on where to visit. William said he didn't think it'd be a problem." She pulled a face then added wryly, "If it's okay with you though, we'd prefer to share a room. I appreciate that living here with Uncle Rupert makes things a little awkward for you, but really, I don't know how you and William put up with sleeping apart. Still, I guess all that running up and down the corridor and sneaking into each other's room must just add to the excitement..."

She ignored Elizabeth's gasp and turned to her fiance. "You go and get the bags and we'll meet you at the top of the stairs." Looking back over her shoulder to her sister, she grinned slyly. "Connor and I can't wait to have a little nap. You know how jet lag is," she told her with a wink.

Connor walked out of the kitchen and Elizabeth realised that this could be her opportunity to finally get a chance to speak without interruptions and ask Dawn what the heck was going on.

Unsteadily, she rose from her seat only to find that William was suddenly standing right in front of her. Head down, she tried to step past him but he moved as well so that she ended up walking straight into him. Her head jerked up at his sudden contact and his arms automatically rose to steady her...so she'd thought. Instead, they closed around her and she felt herself lean into his warm, familiar embrace...the fresh smell of grass on his clothes mixing with his own purely male scent succeeding in making her head swim with instant arousal.

One of his hands moved up under her hair to cradle the back of her neck where it proceeded to gently stroke the tension from the tightly coiled muscles there. She felt his breath against her hair and then her ear as he bent his head to murmur, "Meet me in the garden and I'll explain."

The thought that there was actually an explanation for this nightmare scenario was promptly cut short when he pulled back to softly press his lips to her temple before placing a further lingering and far more devastating kiss against her lips.

Elizabeth was breathless by the time his mouth broke contact with hers and she stared up at him dazedly.

"I'll get on and fix the mower while you show your sister to her room, okay sweetheart?" he said lightly, his face betraying none of his own fierce arousal. Without waiting for a reply, he turned away and went out into the garden.

Once outside, William drew in a sharp breath and let out a low groan as he walked slowly over to the broken lawnmower while surrepticiously adjusting the front of his pants. Damn! He swore that woman could get him hard just by glancing at him. Dropping to his knees, he began to fiddle with the blade and recalled Elizabeth's stunned expression at his casual announcement of their engagement.

He was still justifiably angry with her and even though he loved her dearly, the idea of using her own deception against her was too good an opportunity to pass up...especially for the small part of him that wanted to watch her suffer a tiny bit for all the misery she'd caused.

All he wanted was for her to accept, as he had, that there was nothing shameful or wrong in their lovemaking that night. Once she did that, he figured that the rest would automatically follow.

Sure, they had a lot of talking to do and he didn't for one minute expect to gain her trust overnight. That was something he knew they both had to work at and he was prepared to do that. However long it took.

No...the first step was her willing admittance of her deceit. Once that obstacle was out of the way and she realised he wasn't going anywhere, they'd be able to put all their stupidness behind them and finally move on.

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Still reeling from the intensity of their kiss, Elizabeth stared after William as he walked out of the door and into the garden.

"Aw, you two are so cute," Dawn observed on a sigh and then added brightly, "Come on, show me where we can crash."

Elizabeth turned to see her sister already leaving the room and roused herself enough to follow. She caught up with Dawn at the foot of the stairs and, as they went up, the brunette started to babble about how she suspected something was going on because of their chats over the phone. Not that Elizabeth had said much about William...it was more of what she hadn't said that had alerted Dawn.

Elizabeth was shocked at what she'd unknowingly portrayed to her sister, unaware that Dawn was using a little poetic licence of her own in helping to maintain William's ruse. However, the sight of Elizabeth's pale, drawn features caused Dawn to have a small pang of compunction. Her sister had already suffered once by loving a man and she didn't want to continue this charade if her sister didn't love William as he hoped.

Pausing on the stairs, she caught hold of Elizabeth's arm and smiled warmly at her sister as she turned to face her. "You know, I like William and it's obvious that he's absolutely besotted with you but..." Dawn paused, her face growing concerned. "It's just...you look so tense and you've hardly said a word. You do love him, don't you, Buffy?"

Elizabeth gazed back at her sister's kind face and knew this was her chance. Her chance to say that she had no idea what was going on and that she and William most definitely not engaged.

This was her chance...

So why wasn't she grabbing it with both hands? Why, instead, was she she replying quietly, but oh, so truthfully, to her sister, "Yes. Yes I do love him. Very much, but..."

"I've got the bags, honey," Connor suddenly called up from the bottom of the stairs, having just walked in from outside.

"That's great, sweetie, come on up," the brunette urged with a smile before turning back to Elizabeth. "What were you going to say?"

Elizabeth stared at her for a moment knowing that she wasn't about to say anything with Connor around. She really didn't want to see his face if she admitted to purloining him...albeit in name only. Somehow, she didn't think that would go down so well. Besides, William had said he'd explain and she decided that she'd see what he had to say first before making any rash decisions. Especially since a rash decision had got her into this mess in the first place!

By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Connor had joined them with the bags and she showed them both to one of the two remaining spare rooms. Leaving them there to settle in, she hurried downstairs and into the kitchen.

Looking out the window, she could see William kneeling by the lawn mower and drew in a deep, steadying breath before exhaling slowly and heading outside to find out exactly what was going on.

TBC IN CHAPTER 16 - The Tables Are Turned

Elizabeth walked over to William, determination clearly written on her features and in the stride of her step. He didn't look up at her as she approached but it was obvious that he must have heard her because he casually said"This blade is an awkward bugger to get off."

Elizabeth couldn't stand it any longer. "William, what's going on" she demanded abruptly. "Why does my sister think we're engaged"

William stopped working on the mower then looked up at her as he slowly stood and wiped his dirty hands down the back of his jeans.

She looked up at him and noticed that he flicked a glance over her shoulder before focussing back on her. Taking a step, he moved closer to her and she immediately went to move backwards only to have his arms snake out around her body and capture her in a firm embrace. Hands running possessively down her back, her urged her so intimately close against his body that she was left in doubt of his evident need.

She tried to ease away from him but, in his desire to maintain contact with her, William wouldn't let her go. Instead, he leaned in and brushed his lips against her ear as he softly told her"Your sister is watching us."

Instinctively, she tried to turn her head but William's hand came up to cup her cheek then gently turn her face back and hold it still while his mouth moved hotly over her skin, searching almost desperately for her lips.

When he found them, he didn't kiss her gently as he had done before, nor lightly in the way she'd been expecting. Instead, it was with a depth of such thrilling need that she could do nothing but succumb to it immediately. Her arms locked around his neck and her body melted into his as it had been aching to do for the past few days. Her lips parted invitingly, clinging to the firm outline of his, while all the time his hands moved eagerly and caressingly over her body making every part of her aware of how much his touch aroused her.

The kiss seemed to go on forever. Each time she managed to find the strength to break free of him, his mouth would move to caress some other part of her throat or face. Then, having sensitised that area to the point where she thought she couldn't bear it any longer, he'd move back to her lips as if magnetised by them. Each kiss, each caress had her sink deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of pleasure he was spinning around her.

Lips never leaving hers, she felt him lift her off her feet and automatically wrapped her jean-clad legs around his trim waist, pressing herself harder against him with a soft moan. William broke the kiss and she felt him trail down her throat to the curve of her breast that was becoming increasingly exposed to the cool air as he deftly undid the buttons of her pale blue blouse.

She tried to protest, tried to tell him to stop, but another, stronger feeling overrode everything she'd been about to say as his lips inched ever closer to her aching nipple. Head dropping back, she gasped as his tongue darted out to dip under the lace material of her bra and arched eagerly towards him. Her breathing grew heavy as she clasped the back of his head and urged him on so that she could once again feel the sweetly agonising sensation of his mouth caressing her so intimately.

Just when William was within mere millimetres of his goal, she felt him pull away then gently ease her away from him as he lowered her unsteadily to the ground. Elizabeth let out a little whimper of protest and frustration and it took her a few seconds to realise that he was tugging the sides of her blouse together and trying to do her buttons up with hands that were blatantly shaking.

Trying to get her breathing under control, she looked at him in confusion as her brain attempted to comprehend that he'd actually stopped.

"It's okay. She's gone now" said William, silently cursing the unevenness of his voice and the way he couldn't get his hands to work properly. He hadn't expected her to react as quite as eagerly as she did. Sharing a few heated kisses had been his plan and it had taken every ounce of his willpower to stop.

It was several seconds before his meaning sunk in and when it did, Elizabeth was mortified. He was talking about Dawn! Turning bright red, she wrenched herself away from him then looked down at her half open blouse, her own fingers trembling as she desperately tried to finish fastening her buttons as quickly as possible. "What's going on" she asked angrily, conscious that her voice was shaking almost as much as her hands.

There was an odd silence and when she automatically looked up, she saw that William looked as flushed and breathless as she felt.

"I would've thought that was obvious" he finally replied tersely. "I wanted to make love to you."

For a single moment, Elizabeth stood there and allowed the sweet, wild joy of his admission wash over her but then she dammed it and retorted harshly"I didn't mean that! I want to know why you told Dawn that we're engaged."

Finally getting his unruly body back under a modicum of control, William managed to adopt a mildly surprised look. "What" he queried, as if he'd completely forgotten about the whole thing and then added carelessly"Oh that. Well, it seemed like the best thing to do at the time." He tilted his head slightly as his gaze softened and his voice gentled. "I did it for your sake, you know."

It was Elizabeth's turn to be surprised. "My sake" she questioned with a puzzled frown.

William nodded. "Well, yeah. As soon as your sister walked in and announced that Connor…your Connor…was her fiancé, I guessed straight away what must have happened" he told her quietly. "I suppose they came here the tell you they'd fallen for each other and to ask you to let Connor out of his engagement to you." He sighed and shook his head. "I have to say, I thought it was a bit off of her to just casually introduce him as her fiancé like that." He shrugged and looked rueful. "Perhaps I shouldn't have jumped in the way I did but…and I know this may be hard for you to hear, Buffy…he just didn't seem all that ashamed about switching his affections like that, you know? And all I could think of was how you were going to feel when you came home and found out that he'd dumped you for your own sister."

While he spoke, William had taken hold of her hand and begun caressing it gently, and yet, so arousingly that she could hardly concentrate on what he was saying. Her senses were screaming out to her that they needed far more than the deliberately provocative stimulation they were receiving. That they wanted his hands on her body…his mouth…

With enormous effort on her part, she tore herself from her erotic yearnings and tried to listen to what he was telling her as he continued to speak.

"Anyway, I guess I just went on instinct really. I was angry on your behalf and before I knew it, I was telling them that you and I were engaged as well. You know, show him that your engagement meant as little to you as it obviously did to him. Although, naturally, I didn't let on that I knew about Connor and you…and to be honest, he never mentioned it either…didn't say much of anything actually."

William paused and Elizabeth stared at him speechlessly. This was the last thing she'd ever imagined. After everything that had happened between them…all the things she'd said; William had wanted to protect her…to help her.

God, how the tables could turn. One minute he was her nasty little secret and the next he was her champion…even if she didn’t actually need one.

The urge to just tell him the truth came out of nowhere and she opened her mouth to do exactly that, but stopped at the last moment as she remembered how she distressed she'd felt when she initially thought he'd already learned of her deceit. She was certain that once he knew, he'd hate her and that was something she just couldn't bear to live with. Besides, what was the point of admitting anything when he was going to be leaving soon anyway? Why make her life any harder than it already was?

"I have to say, you've taken it very well" he suddenly commented lightly. "I half expected that you'd come home and throw yourself into his arms before I had a chance to say anything. You must feel like hell."

That was true, she acknowledged ruefully, although not for the reason's he thought.

William sighed again and, tongue firmly in cheek, added mock sympathetically"And after you've struggled so hard to be faithful to your engagement as well."

Elizabeth swallowed hard at that, her eyes widening as she opened her mouth to say something…anything. "I…"

"Of course, you won't think so now, but in the long run, this is probably for the best" William cut across her in a comforting tone. "Just imagine if he'd left you for her after the wedding."

Suddenly, anger pulled Elizabeth out of her internal ramblings as she remembered something far more important than her fake engagement and supposed broken heart over Connor. "What on earth possessed you to tell Dawnie that we're getting married in June for God's sake" she demanded bitterly.

William released her hand and held up his arms in a gesture of defeat as he produced a look on his face that was somewhere between shame and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, okay? Don't ask me how, but she managed to drag out of me that we'd been lovers and, well, to be quite honest, after that I didn't have much option. Being your sister, I'm sure she knows of your high morals and I know Connor would've told her that you and he had never slept together so…"

Elizabeth was so annoyed that she almost missed the significance of what he was saying but when she did, she felt as though she'd turned to stone. "Connor and I…" she began then trailed off weakly.

"Well, you didn't, did you" William clarified reasonably. "I did think at first it must be because you were frightened he might find you inexperienced and that was why…"

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the word 'inexperienced' and felt the blood drain from her face. Oh God. She did not, must not, ask how William knew she'd been a virgin…she didn't think she could bear to hear his answer. Especially if he told her she'd been terrible.

"…and then when I saw him with Dawn and they said that you'd all been together around the time we first met, it all made sense. Connor had obviously been having second thoughts about your engagement and I'm guessing that you, not getting the attention you deserved, felt undesirable and that's where I came in." William smiled slowly at her, his eyes roaming down her body before flicking up to her face again as he added flippantly"You know, being convenient and all."

Elizabeth's mouth dropped open at his last remark as she vainly tried to protest his use of her own words against her. "I…you…" she stammered out then suddenly stopped and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath as she attempted to absorb the several shocks that she'd received in such a short space of time.

She needed time to think and she couldn't do that when he was standing so close. Hearing William's take on the situation was…surprising, to say the least, and her guilt factor over her deceit steadily rose another few notches.

Putting a hand to her head, she exhaled on a long sigh and rubbed her temple gingerly before opening her eyes to calmly say"This is a lot to deal with, I…I think I'll go back inside." Desperately hoping that this were - please God - a nightmare, she turned to go.

"Yeah, it's not every day you lose one fiancé and gain another" William observed with a slight chuckle, apparently oblivious to her feelings. The look of misery she shot him over her shoulder had him falter for a moment and he felt himself relent slightly as the smile dropped from his face. "I thought you'd be pleased" he told her in a hurt tone that stopped her in her tracks and had her turning back to him in disbelief. "I mean, I know how you feel about your self-respect and I know what it's like to discover that the person you love has broken their engagement to you." He paused then added quietly"Same thing happened to me once."

He had her attention now. Her shocked gaze locked with his and he drew in a long breath as he began to speak.

"It was a long time ago and I was a young fool" he explained, his tone devoid of any emotion. "I believed that Dru…that was her name…truly loved me. Truth was, what she really loved was my parent's money that she knew would eventually be mine."

He let out a harsh, self-depreciating laugh and looked away, not wanting to see the pity in Elizabeth's eyes when he added bitterly"It wasn't until I found her in bed with someone else that I realised how little our engagement…how little I actually meant to her." He shook his head then lifted his gaze to Elizabeth's once more as he added grimly"I know only too well what the humiliation of losing someone you love is like, Buffy. I'm sorry if I handled this situation with Connor badly. I only wanted to help."

With his revelation, Elizabeth suddenly clearly understood the reasoning and purpose behind his actions. He was simply trying to help her save face and walk away from her 'engagement' with some pride in tact.

She sighed heavily and tried to decide which pained her the most; the jealous knowledge that William had loved and probably still did love, someone else or the awareness of just how amazing a man he was to have thought of her and acted so quickly to save her from being hurt.

Unfortunately, what William didn't realise was that he had far more power to hurt her than Connor would ever have and in 'helping' her, he'd actually caused even more appalling problems for her to deal with.

Shaking her head at how life could be so ironic at times she then determinedly focussed on the pressing issue at hand…how on earth was she going to explain away to Dawn the ending of their engagement?

Especially since her sister knew they'd been lovers and also knew, by her own damning admission, that she loved William.

Her head began to pound in earnest and she resisted the urge to rub her temples once more only to have William step forward and take hold of her hand again.

Head tilting slightly, he gave her a warm smile as his thumb rubbed soothing circles over her wrist. "Look, it's not the end of the world" he told her cajolingly. "The fact of life is that, unfortunately, engagements are always being broken."

Elizabeth frowned, his attempt at comfort rankling her. "Not within a few weeks of the wedding and not when the two people are supposed to be so madly in love with each other they can barely keep their hands of one another" she snapped, her nerves feeling dangerously close to breaking point. "And certainly not when one of those two people is me! Dawn knows that I…" She broke off and groaned loudly. "Oh God! She's probably on the phone to Mum and Dad right now" Her eyes widened in panic. "What if she's telling them to book the church up for us"

William's eyebrows raised and he stilled the movement of his thumb as he stared back at her quizzically. "Buffy…I was talking about your engagement to Connor" he clarified softly.

Elizabeth stared back at him, her face suddenly flushing intensely. She'd been so caught up in somehow convincing Dawn that she didn't love William after all that she'd completely forgotten about her fake betrothal to Connor.

Suddenly, it was all too much for her and, despite the fact that she was twenty-four years of age as well as being a mature woman who never gave way her emotions but kept them firmly locked up…she let out a cry of frustration and unceremoniously stamped her foot!

"Forget my engagement to Connor" she exclaimed pettishly. "How the heck am I going to explain to Dawn that you and I aren't getting married"

If he hadn't seen the sheen of tears in her eyes, William might almost have burst out laughing. His self-controlled, stubborn, beautiful Buffy was suddenly showing him very clearly just what he had to look forward to when she and he produced a daughter. He couldn't wait!

"Oh, don't worry about that" he dismissed casually. "We'll think of something." Releasing her hand, he turned back to the mower and crouched down seemingly once more absorbed in trying to work the blade loose. "Oh and while I remember, Rupert's staying at a friend's tonight so he won’t be home."

As he finished speaking, the blade finally came off and he let out a small cry of triumph as he held it aloft for her to see. "About bloody time" he said with a grin before standing up again. "Best get this fixed so I can crack on and cut the rest of the lawn."

Without another word, he turned and walked away to the shed, leaving her to stand and stare after him in barely restrained anger. Letting out a loud huff, she stormed back into the house muttering to herself about how her well-ordered life had become a shambolic mess in mere weeks.

In the shed, William dropped the blade in a bin before looking out of the window in time to see Elizabeth march angrily into the house. Letting out a chuckle, he shook his head and searched for a new blade.

So far, he was keeping her just enough off kilter that she wasn't getting the chance to think about things, merely react to them, which is what he wanted. No longer concerned about using her own emotions against her to gain an advantage and, being that all was fair in love and war, he was happily planning a full-on assault.

Going out to the car, Elizabeth bought in the rest of the shopping and busied herself with the task of unpacking the food and putting it away.

Glancing out the window, she saw that William had returned to the mower and was fixing the new blade with a bright smile on his face. The fact that he seemed so completely at ease while she was so on edge made her want to grab the nearest large object and throw it at him. Hard.

It was all very well for him, she groused internally…it wasn't his sister who believed they were passionately in love and on the verge of getting married.

Moving around the kitchen, she put the food away shutting the cupboard doors with more force than necessary, gaining a grim satisfaction from the loud bangs they produced. One thing was for certain, she reasoned unhappily as she finished her chore, there was no way the day could get any worse.

Not only that, but a brown-haired, chiselled cheek boned, blue-eyed Devil was actually sitting right next to her giving her soft smiles and tender looks while his evil hands constantly reached out to entwine with hers or brush an errant strand of hair out of her eyes.

And those lips; those wicked, wicked lips that were too soft to be real, just kept on murmuring endearments and planting gentle kisses on her temple...her cheek...her mouth, until she began to have a hard time remembering it was all a deception.

Her optimism that things couldn't get worse rapidly changed as the rest of the day and evening turned out to be a continuation of the nightmare that began when she walked in and discovered that she was engaged to William.

At nine o'clock, unable to stand it any longer, she announced truthfully that she had a headache and was going to bed. Playing the ever-dutiful fiancé, William immediately stood and went with her.

She climbed the stairs as quickly as her rigidly tense body would allow, tripping on the last step in her haste to get away from William. Naturally, the last person she needed touching her at that moment, reached out and put his hands around her waist in order to steady her and she nearly fell again as she jerked violently away from his touch.

His raspy chuckle at her retort sent duel tingles of awareness and aggravation up and down the last of her nerves. Reaching the end of her tether, she got to the door of her bedroom then turned on him like a cornered cat. "Look, you've made of show of being the doting fiancé in front of my sister and Connor but there isn't an audience now so just go away and leave me alone!"

With that, she went into her room and slammed the door in his face with such force that it made her head throb even more. Turning, she collapsed back against the door for support and let out a harsh cry of frustration.

All evening he'd been attentive and lover-like, so that her nerves were stretched to breaking point with the effort of controlling her own responsiveness to him. Even now, outside her door, if he'd taken hold of her and kissed her as he had done in the garden earlier, she had no doubt she would've betrayed exactly how she felt about him.

She didn't know how much more she could endure. Keeping her love for him in check when she could maintain a physical distance between them was one thing, but now, with him so determined to play the amorous and adoring fiancé, it was becoming nigh on impossible as he seemed determined to touch her every chance he had.

Deciding that she really, really needed to speak to her sister, she'd waited for an opportunity to arise to speak to her alone but, to her continuing frustration, none ever presented itself. Admitting defeat, she'd come to bed and resolved to have a talk with Dawn first thing in the morning and try her damnedest to convince her that she'd lied about her feelings for William before hopefully persuading her to cut her trip short. The sooner they were gone, the sooner William would leave her alone and she could hopefully retain a small part of her sanity...and her pride.

She ran a weary hand over her face and sighed heavily. Her skin actually felt hot and tender with a feverish craving for the intimacy of his touch. Her body ached with tension and desire, her brain clouded with emotion and need.

Going to her bedside cabinet, she pulled a pack of headache tablets from the top drawer and then went into the bathroom. Taking two of the pills, she had a quick wash then went back to her bedroom and changed into her favourite silky nightslip. Turning off the main light, she then climbed into bed and settled down, her body slowly relaxing as the tablets took effect and she gratefully succumbed to sleep.

"Well, she's ticked off as all hell, but I expected that," William replied with a wry smile as he sank down onto the couch.

Dawn let out an unlady-like snort and shook her head. "I'm not surprised the way you were all over her. Even Connor and I aren't that bad and we're for real."

Dawn looked horrified. "You mean that when you get together we'll have to put up with that all the time?"

"All the time," William confirmed with a grin, pleased at how Dawn seemed to expect things to work out.

Dawn grinned in response then looked over at Connor as he stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom. The young man bent and gave Dawn a quick kiss before he exited and when she looked back at William she saw him grinning unabashedly back at her. "Okay, okay, we're just as bad," she allowed with a roll of her eyes.

Dawn gave him a look then sat forward as her expression softened. "You know, I have to admit that I wasn't completely convinced about your plan," she divulged quietly. "But seeing Buffy's reaction to you, even if she is fighting it, makes me realise that I haven't seen her like that with a guy since old Poophead Parker."

The last was said with such disdain that William immediately frowned. "Who's Parker?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"Poophead Parker," the brunette corrected him with a grimace. "He was the jerk who Buffy dated in college when we were in America. She fell for him hard and I know that for a while there she really believed they'd end up getting married."

Despite the fact that he'd already started to suspect that the reason Elizabeth was so fiercely determined to keep a tight control on her emotions was due to a man in her past, William couldn't help the pang of jealous hurt that coursed through him at hearing it confirmed. "What happened?" he asked flatly.

Dawn's expression grew angry. "Buffy found out that the only reason he was dating her was to sleep with her. He even had a bet going with half the college to see how long it'd take him."

"He what!" William exclaimed, so aghast at that piece of information that it brought him involuntarily to his feet. Trying to sleep with her was bad enough, but betting on it?

He started to pace. "Oh God," he muttered to himself as he shook his head in disgusted disbelief as he imagined how Elizabeth must have felt to have all her hopes and dreams ruined in such a callous and heartless manner like that. What a bloody wanker that Parker was. Good job there was an ocean between them otherwise he didn't dare think what he'd do if the bastard lived over here.

"Yeah, well, I'm not quite sure what happened after that really. All I know is that she dumped him pretty quickly and it wasn't long after that that Uncle Rupert offered her the chance to take a year out and help him." She shrugged. "She took it and has been here ever since."

"Well, for that I'm grateful to the git at least," William all but growled. "Buffy might never have come here otherwise and we'd not have met. His loss, my gain and if he was too stupid to realise what he had when he started dating her, then he's an even bigger prat than I already think he is."

Dawn's gaze softened on the man who'd won her sister's heart as he stood there obviously distressed over what she'd just revealed. If nothing else, his reaction to her revelation alone would've been enough to convince her of the depth of his feelings. He was completely in love with Buffy and he still didn't know for sure if she felt the same...but Dawn did and she suddenly felt bad for not telling him sooner.

"She told me she loves you, you know," the brunette remarked quietly, as if she wasn't aware that she'd just handed him everything he'd ever wanted on a silver platter.

William halted mid-pace, the hand that had been running agitatedly through his hair dropping uselessly to his side as he slowly turned to face the young woman. "What?" he asked faintly, his expression one of total disbelief.

Dawn gave him a small smile and nodded. "Buffy...she said that she loves you...very much."

William's eyes widened at the conformation and his posture relaxed slightly as he swallowed hard. "She did?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Dawn nodded, her smile widening at the look on his face. "And I even gave her the opportunity to deny everything but she didn't take it."

William was having trouble comprehending what he was hearing. Yes, he'd suspected...hoped...that Elizabeth loved him in return, but to hear that she'd actually admitted it to her own sister...

He frowned suddenly as a thought hit him. Had she just said that to continue the façade or did she really mean it?

Dawn watched in fascination as his expression changed from wonderment to doubt and couldn't help but let out a tut of disgust as she realised that despite all of his seeming bravado, William was just as insecure about everything as Buffy was. Shaking her head, she stood up and went to stand in front of him.

"Buffy meant what she said, William," she told him firmly when he finally made eye contact.

"How can you be so sure?" he replied with half a smile as his gaze practically begged her to say something to convince him once and for all.

William blinked, then very, very slowly, a huge grin began to bloom on his lips. "Her eyes," he repeated almost to himself as he weighed the relevance of Dawn's words. The truth of Elizabeth's love for him had been reflected in her eyes when she'd talked to her sister. He hadn't been wrong, she did love him...she did!

Dawn gave a little squeak of surprise as she suddenly found herself engulfed in a big, tight hug by William. "Air," she gasped in a strangulated voice as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, sorry," he apologised, immediately relinquishing his hold and stepping back. "Just...it's nice to have it confirmed, you know?"

"I know," said Dawn, grinning back at the obviously happy man. "Now all you have to do is get Buffy to admit it to your face and you're home free."

"I will," he assured her with renewed confidence as his expression became determined. "I'm not going to lose her now."

Elizabeth was pulled from her restless sleep by the sound of someone urgently saying her name. Groggily, she forced her eyes open and reached over to flick her bedside lamp on noticing from her alarm clock that she'd only been in bed for forty minutes. Frowning, she pushed herself up to a sitting position as her foggy brain tried to focus on the source of her disturbance.

Her stomach gave a little lurch when she realised it was William and he was standing in the open doorway of her bedroom.

"Wrong?" she queried, her mind still clouded with sleep. Giving her head a little shake, she blinked rapidly in order to dispel the last vestiges of her tiredness and froze as she registered the fact that William was inside her room now, silently closing the door and shutting them in together in a dimly lit, warm cloak of intimacy.

"You cried out just as I was passing by your door," William lied as he slowly walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. He hadn't planned on doing anything further tonight, but learning of Elizabeth's true feelings had made him impatient to hear the actual words from the woman herself. He just hoped he wasn't going to be disappointed. "I guess it's Dawn and Connor, isn't it?" he continued sympathetically. "I should've expected this. "Poor Elizabeth...I know just how you feel."

Elizabeth seriously doubted that. He was, she recognised from his damp curling hair and loosely tied bathrobe, on his way to his bedroom from the bathroom. Glancing down at his bare feet, she realised that he was probably wearing very little under the robe apart from a rosy glow and that comprehension managed to effectively chase away all remaining remnants of sleep.

As he settled himself by her side, she caught a waft of the fresh male scent of soap that clung to his newly clean form and involuntarily found herself leaning forward slightly to breathe the aroma in more deeply.

Realising what she was doing, she drew in a sharp breath and jerked back as she turned her head away.

"Oh, come on, have a good cry if you want to," William offered comfortingly and before she knew what was happening, he'd stood up, shed his robe and had climbed in the bed next to her.

Mortified that he'd mistaken her reaction to him for distress, Elizabeth could do nothing more than gasp out his name as he gathered her into his arms and pulled her close against his naked body.

"Shhh, I know," he soothed as he tucked the covers in around them. "You just let it all out."

"But I'm not upset," she protested, trying to hold herself away from the tantalising smoothness of his bare skin next to hers. "And you shouldn't be here," she added, trying to win the battle within herself to not succumb to her own desires.

"Come now, Buffy, no need to put on a brave face in front of me," William told her in kindly. "And you don't have to worry about me being here. I know you love Connor and I completely respect your feelings." He paused, then added succinctly, "Besides, it's not like it's the first time we've slept together, is it?"

Slept together? He intended to sleep here? With her? Oh God! She couldn't let him do that...she just couldn't. So why was she not saying something to put a stop to it? And why was her traitorous body moulding itself to his so unresistingly?

Because it knew this was where she really wanted to be, she realised resignedly. Weeks of being constantly on her guard with him chipping away at her defences coupled with the day of intense emotions she'd just endured had left her resistance at an all time low. Never mind what her brain said, her body knew the truth and it was determined to ignore her mental struggle completely and grab control.

"Mmm, this is nice, isn't it?" he murmured softly as his hand began to draw lazy circles on her back.

Nice? That certainly wasn't a description she'd use, Elizabeth thought dizzily as she desperately tried to resist the lulling effect of his gentle hands. Wonderful? Unquestionably. Dangerous? Definitely. But nice? Not even close.

"There's something just right about the way you feel in my arms, Buffy, do you know that?" he continued, his voice dropping a seductive octave. "It's like we fit." As if to prove the point, he wriggled even closer, diminishing what little space there was between them to nothing.

Elizabeth swore she could feel every hard inch of his body now. Not a part of her seemed to remain untouched as she lay flush against his muscular form. Eyes closed, she was taken back to their one night together, back to how it felt having his body cover hers...move against hers...be inside hers.

"William," she groaned as she made another futile attempt to put some distance between them.

He lifted his head and looked down at her, and, if that slight movement somehow meant that every inch of his skin where it met hers dragged ever so gently and erotically against her in a way that made her tremble with arousal and need, she prayed that only she was aware of it.

Apparently she wasn't though, for the next minute William leaned forward and moved to cover her body. Immediately, she lifted her hands to push against him, knowing that if he succeeded in kissing her, she'd be lost for good. Although she didn't dislodge him, the movement was enough that the lamp on her bedside table that he'd been reaching for was knocked to the floor with a loud thud as his arm jerked.

"Calm down, I was just leaning over to turn off the light," he told her with a frown.

"Oh!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I thought you were going to try..." she stopped and bit her lip feeling suddenly embarrassed.

"Try and what?" William queried softly before shaking his head slightly at her continued silence. "I'm sorry, Buffy," he began in a regretful tone. "But I'm not going to make love to you if that's what you were thinking, so please don't ask. I can't, not knowing you love another man."

Elizabeth was speechless. Don't ask him? A surge of annoyance ran through her at that. How dared he assume? She had no intention of doing any such thing. She took a deep breath and then another in order to let him know of his misconception when she discovered that the gentle friction of her lace covered breasts against his chest had stimulated them to such an extent that they actually seemed to be pushing against the solid wall of muscle as though deliberately trying to incite a response from him.

Apprehension weakened her anger and she once more discreetly tried to pull away from him as she bit back a heavy sigh.

All that panic when William had first arrived here. All the problems which had now arisen from her defensive lies about being engaged. All her self-contempt and soul-searching anguish on believing that William wanted to establish a relationship with her based purely on sex...and now here she was, lying by his side, aching for him to make love to her while he, very clearly, had no reciprocal feelings whatsoever.

"For heaven's sake woman, just lie still and go to sleep," William ordered with a pretend yawn as he tried to control his own body's reactions to her persistent wriggling. "You'll feel better in the morning."

Better? Did he really not know what he was doing to her? Of all the stupid, insensitive, thoughtless...Men!

A sudden knock sounding on her door followed by it opening wide stopped her from finishing her sentence as both she and William looked over to see who had walked in.

"Dawn!" Elizabeth cried in mortification as she saw her sister come to an abrupt halt two steps into her room.

The brunette's surprised gaze turned speculative before a mischievous smile began to appear on her face. "Oops, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," she said, beginning to move backwards to the door. "I heard a bang and was worried that you'd hurt yourself Buffy, but I can see that you're in...good hands." With that, she bade them both a good night and left the room.

Elizabeth stared at the closed door, blankly. From the way Dawn acted, it was obvious what her sister thought she'd interrupted and her face flamed at the fact. How was she going to convince Dawn that William meant nothing to her now when she seen them in bed together with her very own eyes?

She let out a long sigh as everything of the past few months seemed to suddenly bear down on her shoulders making them visibly sag under the weight. She couldn't go on like this any longer. Everything was getting completely out of hand and she knew of only one way to make it all stop, whatever the consequences may be.

Turning to the man sitting silently next to her, she drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves and said, "William, there's something I have to tell you."