A Trunk Full of Trouble

Chapter 7 – The Taste

Now that was a great topic, and she took it as a good sign that he was asking about kisses. “No, it was a taste.” Buffy licked her upper lip.

“A taste?” That certainly was not what he expected her to say, he thought as his eyes followed the tip of her tongue. Involuntarily, he mirrored her action while he stepped closer to her on her bed.

She nodded slowly, deliberately. “Yes, Spike, a taste…a taste of you.”

He thought he could recognize a seduction when it was directed at him, but with this special girl, he was trying to avoid keeping his hopes too high. “Well, how did I taste?” Couldn’t hurt to ask, could it?

“Like I want more.” Buffy’s eyes glittered. Oh, how she needed this gorgeous man.

He closed the space between them. Now, Spike knew for sure. Now he could relax and enjoy her advances. “Like you want more?”

Still on the bed, Buffy lifted up on her knees in order to be able to reach his lips and whispered. “More. Definitely more.”

Reaching up, she wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. Her tongue immediately sought his out.

When he pulled back so that she could get some air, her voice was husky. “Now do you want to taste me?”

Spike flashed his fangs for just a second. “Don’t you know, little girl, that it’s not safe to ask a vampire to taste you?” He had to make sure she knew what she was getting into.

She laughed and gave him the brightest of bright smiles. “I think I’ll live in danger.”

Ah, this girl was going to make him or break him. “Kitten, I would like to sample your lips.” Sticking out his tongue, he ran it across her lower lip and along the crack in between. Pulling back to look into her eyes, he knew she felt the coolness of his tongue against the heat of her lips, knew she was reminded that he was a demon instead of human. What he didn’t see was any second guessing about being with him.

She parted her lips in invitation, and he didn’t hesitate. He swooped in with his tongue immediately to hers, savoring.

When he pulled back, he licked his lips. “Uhmmm, you taste like the sweetest of candies.”

“Shut up and sample me again.”

But when they came up for air, he just couldn’t let go of her acceptance of their differences and ramifications yet. With a serious expression, he held her at arm’s length. “Let’s just get this straight, luv. I’m a demon.”

Buffy knew what he was doing. He was making sure that her mind was made up about getting involved with him. She was sure. Without a doubt sure. “I’m a human.”

“I’m a vampire”

“I’m a vampire slayer.”

Spike tilted his head thoughtfully and looked deep into her beautiful, hazel eyes. “Do you care?”

“Not one stake or fang.” Her smile shined in her eyes for him to easily see.

He didn’t know what foolish maggot got into his brain, but he gave her one more out. He shifted into his demon visage. She never batted so much as an eyelash. Instead she reached up to explore and ran her index finger across one of his canines. Having no idea how sharp his fangs were, she nicked her finger, causing a droplet of blood to form. She looked at her finger totally expressionless, and then she looked at him before doing the strangest thing. She began opening her mouth, which his mouth mirrored of its own volition. Then she put her finger in his mouth and swiped the blood across his tongue. She could read his eyes. The only emotion he felt was surprise. Not the desire to make her dinner, just surprise.

“Spike, do you trust me?”

All he could do was nod.

“I trust you. Now kiss me. And more, more, more.” Spike in his human facade smiled as he threaded his finger through her hair and pulled her to him. Their mouths met open with tongue seeking out each other. Spike’s knees threatened to give out from just the kisses.

She broke the kiss only long enough to slip his t-shirt over his head. Then her hands were free to play. They danced and chased across his rippling muscles. She wanted to look her fill but wouldn’t give up his lips. Finally her hands ventured to the waist of his jeans. Making quick work of the belt, those hands unbuttoned his fly and unzipped them, pushing his pants to the floor so that he could step out.

Once naked, Spike changed positions with her. He moved her so that he was sitting on the bed, and she was between his legs. As she had, he made short work of her clothes. With all clothes out of the way, Spike pulled her along with him so that they were both lying on the bed, her on top of him.

She could feel his erection pressing into her thigh, and it fascinated her. She shifted so that he was still on his back, but she was now lying on her side next to him. Never breaking their kiss, Buffy grasped his hard shaft. She stroked once up and down, enjoying the sound of his moan into her mouth, and she found the silky smooth skin beneath her hand captivating. She brushed her thumb once, twice, three times across the head of his shaft, spreading the pre-cum. She listened to him groan in gratification again and again, but this time she watched as he broke their kiss and threw his head back in ecstasy. She stroked again, and she watched the muscles in his jaw work, his pleasure causing her to smile.

Finally taking pity on him, she slid down the bed to sit so that her face was even with his crotch. Her voice was husky. “Just a taste.” Still stroking him with her hand, Buffy flicked her tongue across the head several times, and smiled when the moans were starting to sound painful.

Spike was thankful that he was not still standing up, or he knew that his knees would have buckled for sure when she took the cool head of his member into her mouth and sucked lightly. The rest was a blur of a warm mouth and hands grasping his shaft and cupping his balls. He felt his orgasm build much faster than he would have liked, much sooner than what was “manly,” but what she was doing to him just felt too wonderful. His shaft going in and out of her mouth was heaven.

Buffy smiled the best she could with him in her mouth when she felt his hands fist in her hair not controlling her, just holding on. There was something just so primal and satisfying about that action. She knew he was about to come, but then felt his hands pull back on her head, giving her the choice of how to finish. With her free hand underneath his buttocks, she pushed him back into her mouth as he exploded.

Watching Spike coming down from his high, Buffy chuckled as his eyes finally focused on her. But then she was very aware of her nakedness and what she had just done. If pressed, she would have to admit that she had very little experience with sex. A one night stand with a jerk named Parker and a relationship with do-it-by-the-book Riley. And oral sex was just a footnote. So to say that she had little experience with oral sex or any sex would be a colossal understatement. On top of that, this was the only time she had really wanted to be as intimate with someone as bringing him to orgasm with her mouth.

Not knowing any of this, Spike opened his mouth and inserted his foot, including his combat boot. “Your mouth should be made a bloody national monument.”

Buffy just blinked a few times as she sat up at the end of the bed. It took a moment for Spike’s words to sink in, but when it did as her blush flamed she swiftly turned her back to him. Not knowing what to do, she reached down to the floor and jerked up the first piece of clothing she touched his black t-shirt and held it up in front of her for some modesty.

At first, the brutish idiot that he was had no idea why she was covering up. But then when it was clear that she meant to move away, he had a much-needed moment of clarity. A national monument?! Spike wanted to stake himself. Twice. “No…please…” He quickly sat up but kept his distance. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry. My sodding tongue should be cut out. Here, I’ll even get a stake for you with my name on it.” After he could see a few of her muscles relax, he scooted closer. “I’m sorry. I’m not use to girls as… inexperienced as you…” He scooted closer still until about eighteen inches left between them. “…unhardened but tender as you. And that is a compliment, my fair love.” He reached out, halted, then moved again until his fingertips rested on her shoulder blade. He drew a straight line down her back to her waist, and he was thankful that she let him. “Don’t let my bleeding jaded words ruin this for you, for us.” This time he traced his line from her other shoulder blade down, and smiled when he felt her shiver.

This time he ran his hands, feeling her with his palms, up her back. “What you just did was a gift…” His hands traveled down her arms to her bent elbows where she was holding up his shirt. “…of which I so foolishly defamed…” He slid his hands under her forearms to finally cup her hands. “All I can do is ask for your forgiveness.” Holding her hands and ignoring the shirt, he wrapped her arms with his on top just below her breasts. “If I’ve gotten under your skin as much as you’ve gotten under mine, you’ll stay with this stupid vampire tonight.” He nuzzled her neck before whispering in her ear. “Please, luv, say you’ll stay.”

When she nodded, he blew out an unneeded breath. Letting go of her hand and scooting back, he started with one shoulder reigning kisses across her shoulders and neck. “Thank you…thank you…thank you…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Buffy had nodded her head, agreeing to stay. After all, she believed him. He did say that he was from the Victorian era which was…well, long ago. Over those many years, he had to have been with many women. So she forgave him, but with a determination that he had better make it up to her. And judging from what his hands and lips were doing to her body at the moment, she would come out a winner.

Ah, it felt so good wrapped in his arms. His hands rubbed up and down her arms occasionally, but a simple gesture that was…was quite a Band-Aid for her injured feelings, but also who would have thought that a gesture so simple as a stroke down her back could be so erotic. He just held her while his lips and teeth kissed and nibbled along her shoulders, sending little tendrils of lightening throughout her body. Everything he did made Buffy want to purr like a kitten.

With both of them still sitting up, Spike scooted back so that he could trace her spine with the tip of his tongue, ending in her hairline where he nibbled. He knew that he was getting to her by the goose bumps that appeared on her skin. He was behind her on the bed, straddling her, and he slowly moved until he was too close to stroke down her back anymore but switched to her arms. But he was close enough to kiss from the farthest point of her shoulder to the joint where the shoulder and neck come together, and then up to her ear. As he reached around and cupped her breast, he moved forward, closing the gap between them.

She gave a little jump when his hand moved up and cupped her breast, taking her nipple between his index finger and thumb. When her head lolled back and over to the side, providing him with better access to her neck, he was pleased because he was pleasuring her, and she was trusting him to do so. He massaged her breast, rolling and pinching her hard nub, while he bit with blunt teeth on her neck. He was surprised how much his demon desired to bite her tender neck, draw on her succulent blood, but no. He had bit sexual partners before, but this wasn’t such a time. This wouldn’t be casual, so he kept himself under control.

Since Buffy was so wrapped up in what Spike was doing to her breast and neck, she didn’t notice at first the other hand moved down until she felt his fingers playing with her course, pubic hair. She felt his hand slide between her legs, first nudging them farther apart which she gladly complied. Then she felt his middle finger slide across her clit and the entrance to her sex. He rubbed back and forth several times until on one pass, his finger slipped inside of her. Her moan echoed throughout the room. His finger stayed, moving in and out with the heal of his hand rubbing her clit. Soon a second finger joined the first. In and out. In her daze, Buffy finally noticed that Spike was moving in time with his hand, rubbing his hard member on the crack of her ass and lower back. Even outside of her, the sensation felt wonderful. He had turned her whole back into an erogenous zone. She let herself go, feeling his fingers and his shaft moving against and fingers in her. But after a moment, Buffy tried to reign herself in when she felt her orgasm approaching. She had other plans. She pushed back on Spike and wiggled against his hard shaft. He took the hint. After removing his hand from her sex, he grabbed hold of her hips, lifted her and sat her back down so that he was inside of her to the hilt. They froze for a moment, enjoying the first joining of their bodies. She began to move on him, and he moved with her. Then he stopped, stilling her with his hands on her hips.

Buffy was scared. Had she done something wrong? When he lifted her up and off, she knew she had done something wrong. But then he turned around so that they were facing each other. “Luv, I need to see your face our first time.” Buffy’s smile blossomed. She had done nothing wrong and more importantly, he had said ‘our first time,’ implying that there will be others, a second, a third, a fiftieth maybe?

Feeling like a light was shining down on him from her smile, Spike moved her around so that she was lying on the bed. Spike also smiled, but it was the feral smile of a cat that was moving up her body with feline intent to gracefully pounce. He moved up until their lips met and melded. The kiss was deep and long, only stopping for Buffy to come up for air, and then the kiss began again.

When Buffy felt Spike’s shaft nudge her entrance, she lifted up her hips in invitation, and he slid in until their bodies were melded just as their mouths were. Their motion was perfectly matched, slow and leisurely, each savoring every second, every feeling. The kissing only stopped when, with their heads thrown back in ecstasy, they came hard simultaneously. As the pleasure finally ebbed, Spike stayed where he was, still inside of her. With her legs she held him there, content feeling the weight of his body pushing down on her own. Regardless of her hold on him, Spike had no desire to move off of her move out of her.

Spike was blown away. To be a part of her was to be a part of heaven. Lying there, still inside, he knew with certainty that she was now his. She didn’t know it, but she was. He had been so afraid of commitment over the decades, and now he was scared she wouldn’t accept him on a long term basis. His demon inside was screaming to claim her for all time. That Spike wouldn’t do, but he would do whatever it took to keep her.

With him inside of her, Buffy felt like she had truly come home. Here she had been looking for it in different places, in different people, and all she had to do was have the car where she was hiding in the trunk, stolen. Simple, Buffy thought with a laugh. Not simple at all, but when she had really taken a look at him, felt him, she had seen home. She still didn’t think she could admit it to him yet, but she could to herself. She belonged to him.

And that was the way they fell asleep, both physically and mentally apart of each other.

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Chapter 8 – The Loving

All Spike wanted to do was look at her. Well, actually, there were a few other things he wanted to do to her, but they were currently in the lodge’s restaurant for a late lunch.

From cloud nine, Buffy was nibbling at her salad. She thought that she needed Giles’ attention, but that wasn’t so. All she needed was Spike’s. The feeling was wonderful, but he didn’t have to know how wonderful yet. “What? You’re making me nervous, staring at me like that.”

After a pause, Spike tilted his head. “Remember when I told you that I had given up on women because I always saw the worst?”

Teasingly, Buffy quoted for him. “’Ninety-eight point eight percent chance of failure.’ Yes, I remember. So give it to me. What is the worst now?”

“In your eyes…” Spike tried to see all the way to her soul. “…in your eyes, I see the future.”

Suddenly, pulling in breath through the fear of his rejection was extremely difficult. ‘Had to ask, didn’t you?’ Buffy chastised herself. She was terrified. Had he already seen failure for them in the future after only one night? “Well? The future. Is it the worst?”

“No, that’s just it. I see the future in your eyes, and it is the best.” He became dizzy gazing at her, and Spike felt bewildered. “Maybe I’m dreaming.”

“Do you want to be dreaming?” Did she want the answer to that question?

“No.” Shaking his head, Spike continued to stare at her. The future. If she was his future, she was a beautiful future for both of them.

To Buffy, cloud nine was feeling pretty good again. He saw the future in her eyes. A future with both of them. Just what she wanted. Someone that wanted her on a permanent basis. To be precise, that was half of the home she dreamed of. The other half was a place to be with that someone, but that could wait. Spike alone made her happy, made her feel wanted.

Noticing that they had both been silent for several moments, Buffy decided to lighten things up. “Do you like my tummy?”

Surprised by her question, Spike gave a snort of laughter. His answer was pseudo-serious. “It’s nice.”

Buffy tilted her head. “Do you like my laugh?”

“Yeah, kitten, I like it when you smile.” Spike was beginning to enjoy her questioning.

“I know you like my car.”

“Well, we’re not mates. We’ve hadn’t really gotten to know each other.”

Buffy tried to hide her laugh, but then she became a little more serious. “Do you like the way I make you feel?”

Spike was having a hard time answering that question because of all it would reveal. He loved how she made him feel, but that was too close to admitting that he loved her. But he would tell the truth. No way would he tell her anything other than the truth. He just hoped she didn’t ask certain other questions. “Yes.”

“Does that mean that you like me?”

He just stared some more. There was one of those questions he wasn’t ready for yet. That question just hit too close to what he suspected to be the truth. He was scared that he already loved this little imp. Spike put a twenty on the table, and with a soft smile on his sculpted lips, he offered Buffy his hand. When she took it, without a word, he silently led her back to the room. He couldn’t tell her his feelings in words, but he could show her. He could make love to her.

Buffy didn’t know what to think. She had asked him if he liked her, and he hadn’t replied other than taking her back to the room. She had been hoping for some type of declaration. But wait, she had gotten one. He had said that he saw the future in her eyes. As long as they were both in it together, the future was a big type of declaration.

Other than that, his thoughts were a mystery to Buffy. To hide her nervousness, she pulled two bottles of water out of the mini-frig and walked to him where he was sitting on one of the two beds. When she offered him one, he grabbed her whole hand instead of just the bottle, which effectively kept her from moving away. He didn’t meet much resistance.

His face was still unreadable, which made her only more nervous.

“Kiss me?” His voice was deep and sexy with a hint of playfulness.

Relieved that he wasn’t upset with her, Buffy smiled. “You didn’t have to ask.” She stepped between his legs, leaving only enough room between their bodies to lower her lips to his. Dropping the bottle, she wrapped her free arm around his neck. The first kiss was soft and short. She pulled back up so that she could look into his eyes. “So you might like me? I might like you.” She teased.

That was all it took. For some reason unknown to her, her words ignited the fire that had been smoldering within him since the discussion of “like” had come up. He put his hand behind her head and pulled her back down. This kiss was nothing like the first. Caution was thrown to the wind. The moment her lips parted, Spike’s tongue moved inside to duel with her own. Buffy moaned as he took over.

Spike let go of the hand he had still been holding, but neither heard the water bottle hit the carpet. With that arm now free, he slid his hand underneath her shirt to explore. Pinching the clasp, her bra opened, and Spike ran his hand up and down, enjoying the freedom but it wasn’t enough. He slid her shirt up over her head. She followed his motion by slipping his t-shirt off. Their groans mixed when the skin of chest and breast rubbed against each other. Their kiss became more intense. With each hand, he stroked the sides of her breasts, allowing his thumbs to brush against her nipples.

Moving to straddle his lap, she could feel his large erection rubbing against her heat. Or she should admit that she was rubbing and grinding against his hard on. Oh God, she needed him inside of her. With their lips lingering against each other, Buffy stood up, panting. She stood back up again, drawing him with her. She made quick work of getting out of her jeans, as he removed his own. Once they were both naked, she pushed him back down on the edge of the bed and climbed into his lap. She could feel the coolness of his shaft between her legs. After moving around to the best position, she was riding his shaft on the outside of her channel, between the folds of her sex. Now there was some exquisite foreplay, she thought.

Spike was enjoying her ingenuity and was almost coming unglued at the feel of her moist pussy lips gliding up and down, grinding against his cock. Finally, ingenuity be damned. He had to get into her.

They were in unspoken agreement. She had intended to wait to draw this superb foreplay out longer but she needed to have him inside her. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted up. She moved, shifted and ground her heat against his erection until she felt the head of his shaft at the opening of her sex. He pulled back so that he could look at her face when he became one with her. To his pleasant surprise, she looked him in the eyes as his cool shaft slid into her. She could feel him stretching and filling her as they melded together, hot to cold. He watched her face as her lips parted in ecstasy. She rode the tides of intense feelings. She rode him, coming down on him again and again so hard that the meeting of their bodies could be heard throughout the room. “Oh, god, yes,” came from the back of Buffy’s throat. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Regretting that he would have to leave her for a moment, growling Spike lifted her up and laid her on her back in the bed. “Oh, luv, your lap dance was driving me wild, but I want, no, I need to make love to you.”

She melted in his arms. ‘Make love.’ She knew it was just an expression, but it still contained the word, “love.” She looked into his eyes and echoed his words. “Make love to me.”

Just the mention of love sent Spike over, reeling. He wanted to be gentle, but his possessive instincts kicked in. His demon’s instincts kicked in. He wanted her hard and fast. He wanted to keep her. His demon wanted to claim her. He found her entrance and shoved himself in to the hilt and was rewarded when he felt her arch her back before forcibly lifting her hips to drive him further home. The pace they set was fast. Their mouths were frantic for each other, dueling, devouring. Their bodies slammed together over and over, each trying to get closer with each drive.

But when Spike felt Buffy’s fingernails claw his back, his demon came forward. He pulled out of the kiss just in time to save her from his fangs. Horrified, he tried to pull his shaft out of her, but she wouldn’t let him. If anything else, she set the pace faster. As their orgasms were approaching, she turned her head to the side, purposefully drawing his attention to her neck. Just the offering of her neck almost made him come. “No, luv, don’t tempt me. I won’t mark you for all the other slayers and watchers to see.”

“Then mark me where they won’t see…my breast.” Buffy could easily read his mind at that moment. He wanted to claim her, make her his, and that was what she wanted also. But he was afraid for her, that the academy would be furious, and afraid that he didn’t have the right. Well, she had the right to give him what they both wanted, and she had the need to give it. Buffy raised her hips up to meet his and when his pelvis clashed with her clit, her fingernails clawed down his back again. And again, she offered herself. “Please, Spike. I trust you. I want this.”

Her fingernails drawing blood this time ensured that the demon was staying in the forefront. He had to have her as his own. When his fangs entered the beginning of the rise of her breast, Buffy came with a shriek, her body bucking over and over. As the warm blood of the woman flowed over his tongue, Spike came also, pumping his seed into as her body was contracting around his shaft.

He quickly withdrew his fangs, and in the aftermath of their joining, he lathed the punctures clean. Buffy continued to hold on tight with both her arms and her legs. She had never felt anything like it before. When his fangs had entered her skin, it was like thousands of fireworks went off all over her body, wishing that they never had to stop. When he had withdrawn his fangs, she had given a little whimper before relaxing and enjoying his ministrations to the wound, feeling one with him.

Spike couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had fed from her, the woman he loved a bonding. He could admit his love for her to himself now, but still had a problem saying it. But yes, he did love her. Now, it was a matter of finding a way of keeping her. He didn’t doubt that he would. It was just a matter of how. One way was to claim her, and she claim him, making the bond permanent, but it was much too soon for that. He didn’t even know if she loved him, at least not yet.

After switching positions so that she was lying on top, Buffy laid her head over where his heart should be beating. She didn’t want to set herself up for failure, but she had to know. She was sleeping with a vampire so it was important that she know. “So…do you like me?”

She could hear Spike chuckle in his chest. “Yes, kitten, I like you and some.”

“Good.” She kissed his chest. “I like you, too.” Like him, that was all she could admit, but that little bit meant the world to her right now.

Knock, knock, knock. “Room service.”

Spike looked at Buffy, and when she shook her head, he called towards the door, “We didn’t order anything, so bugger off.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Spike slipped into his jeans and padded over to the door barefoot. Jerking the door open, he was growling. “Look, mate…” Pow. The next thing he knew was that he was sitting on the floor, holding an aching jaw. He looked up at one pfkin, a short demon with purple hair, and one salla, a tall, muscular grey demon. “Hey…ah…Pfk and Sal, nice of you to pay a call.”

Since Pfk was the brains and Sal was the brawn, Pfk did the talking. “Hello, ‘mate,’ fancy meeting you here.” He looked over at Buffy who was holding up a blanket for modesty and trying to put on her clothes at the same time. “Who’s the bird?”

“None of your bleeding business…ugh.” Spike flinched from the kick to his stomach he had received from Sal. “Buffy, luv, these are the gentleman, and I say that loosely, whose money Angel has.”

*****

Chapter 9:

Spike was shoved into the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car. In the front seat, a beaten up Xander was driving and Sal got in next to him and trained a crossbow on Spike. Pfk got in the back next to Spike and held a gun on Xander. A deadly criss cross. Buffy was noticeably absent.

Spike was furious. “You didn’t have to put her in the trunk.”

Pfk snorted. “No, we didn’t have to, but we did.”

“Well, get her the bloody hell out of there.” Spike wanted to strangle the little pip squeak so bleeding bad he could taste it.

Said pip squeak smirked, knowing he had the upper card. “Think of her as security.”

“I told you to get rid of her, that she…” Xander threw over his shoulder.

Spike growled. “Shut up, Xander.”

“…that she was bad news..”

“Shut the fuck up, Xander.” Spike smacked Xander on the back of the head gaining a somewhat satisfying yelp.

Pfk yelled over them. “Shut up, both of you.”

Spike glare at Pfk. “Look, Pfk, I was going to get your sodding money…”

“Didn’t look like you were getting any money a few minutes ago. Looked like you were getting a piece of ass.” Pfk leered and licked his lips.

In less than a second, Spike punched him in the nose. Blood started dripping out immediately.

Using his shirt tail, Pfk delicately dabbed at his nose. “Alright, that’s it. I want interest on the principal. I saw her on TV, and the girl was worth five hundred thousand. Now I want double that, plus the original two hundred thousand.”

Spike’s eyes widened in shock. He felt like he had been punched again. “Bullocks. You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no bloody way. You don’t know that they have one million to pay at your whim.”

“That’s your problem, not mine.” Pfk held out his bloody shirt tail. “It’s simple. Get the money, or she dies.”

*****

Spike and Xander were dropped off at the diner near the burned out warehouse. After saying an absent minded hello to the waitress, Glenda, Spike borrowed some change to use the pay phone, but before he could make the call, Xander insisted on his attention.

“I told you to get rid of her.”

Even though he wanted to smack him to his knees for repeating that same old tune so many times, Spike chose to just growl. After putting the coins in, he picked up the hand set in the phone.

Xander finally got smart and tried a different tack. “Ok, ok, let’s just go. Blow this town off. We could get new id’s, new names and start again. Go to Dallas or Pittsburg or somewhere that is not here. Let’s just get out of town.”

Spike slumped a tad and blew out an unneeded breath. “Not bloody well going to happen, mate. Fucking deal with it already.”

Xander pulled on his shoulder to turn him so they could look eye to eye. “Look, man, you’ve only known this girl for two days.”

Spike looked down and shook his head. “I know.” What could he tell Xander? He couldn’t believe he had fallen for Buffy in only two days either. But he had, and he had to get her back.

“Is she worth getting dusted over?” Shaking him, Xander looked at his friend like he had just turned chartreuse.

Spike’s eyes flew back up to meet Xander’s. “Yes. Yes, she’s worth it and more.”

Xander let out a long sigh while he let go of Spike. “Well, I’m out of here.”

Nodding his understanding, Spike started searching for the Watchers Council’s number. He suspected it wasn’t in the phone book under W, so it would take a bit of using contacts and networking.

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What a trip the last two days had been, Spike reflected. Now he, a vampire, was standing waiting to be introduced by another vampire who kills vampires to the head of the Watchers Council. The man who trained slayers to kill vampires. A rattle snakes’ nest if there ever was one. Just the thought made Spike’s head spin. What the bloody hell was he doing here? Buffy. It was for Buffy.

The granite poof, Angel, spoke first. “Spike, this is Rupert Giles.

Before Spike could speak, Giles surprised him. “William the Bloody, but your prefer Spike.”

Now on high alert, Spike looked the watcher up and down. “You’ve done your homework.”

“Of course.” Giles slowly nodded his head. “You have a reputation…”

Oh, balls, was there a stake coming from somewhere that he should be ducking. “Actually, I don’t kill…”

“…a reputation for not killing humans.” Now Giles’ expression showed interest.

Spike let out the unnecessary breath that he had been holding. “No, I haven’t killed since I left my family decades ago.”

Giles held out his hand to shake. “When all this is over, I would like to discuss your remarkable decision with you, if you don’t mind.”

Spike certainly hadn’t expected such an affable reception. “I…well…you…Right. I guess we could do that.” Spike shrugged and glanced over at Angel for a little help, but Angel was stoic as ever. But back to business. “Do you have the money?”

Angel answered. “I have your bag of two hundred thousand.” He set the infamous bag at Spike’s feet.

“And the million?” Spike was starting to get a sick feeling in his stomach.

Giles finished cleaning his glasses. “Originally, the ransom that was requested was for half a million. After much manipulation of our finances, we were able to scrounge up that amount in cash.”

Now his stomach was doing flip flops. “And…?”

With he glasses now perched on his nose again, Giles answered Spike’s question. “And that is all we have now.”

“What?!” Spike was practically hopping in place. “You only have five hundred thousand? Then what about the other half a million?”

“That is the rub, so to speak. There is and will not be more than half a million. You will just have to convince them to take what we give them. See if we can barter somehow.”

“Barter? Barter?! You don’t understand. These creeps won’t take anything less than a mil - cash. They will…”

“They *will* have to take what we have to give. Now, if you will excuse me, I have another issue to attend to. The Hellmouth and all that.” Giles started walking away, Angel with him.

Spike took a step after them. “Why don’t you use your slayers?”

“Absolutely not.” Spike could hear anger in Giles’ voice. “Buffy is there of her own doing. We will give the original money, but we will not send the girls in danger over her prank.”

Furious, Spike yelled after them. “You fucking wankers. I care more about her than you do.”

Angel briefly looked back, but kept walking.

Disgusted, Spike turned and headed to the pool parlor to meet Pfk. No wonder Buffy didn’t feel wanted or at home with Giles and the Slayers Academy. That Giles was a cold fish. A big, fat tuna. However, Spike would give Angel his due, he thought. The granite vampire did show a little compassion for Buffy when he had come after her. Spike had heard the affection when Angel had spoken of her, but still, Angel had just walked away all the same.

Picking up the bag of the seven hundred thousand dollars, Spike headed out. Well, he cared about Buffy; he loved her and no matter what was in the bag, he was going to somehow get her back.

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With great mistrust, Spike walked into the Eight Ball Pool Hall and found Pfk playing against Sal in the back. With the bag slung snugly over his shoulder for safe keeping, Spike spoke first. “Pfk. Let’s do some business.”

The demon nodded, put away his pool cue, and led the way into a deserted room in the back. “First I see the money, and second you see the girl.”

Spike shook his head. “No. Not gonna happen that way. I see the bird now, then the money.”

Pfk was trying hard for an air of superiority over Spike, but he was finding it hard. Good thing Sal was with him. “You don’t understand how these things work...”

“What things work? What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Spike paced a few steps in frustration.

“Business. How things work in this business. I get the…who are you?” Pfk’s manner changed drastically when Angel suddenly appeared behind the demon. Sal started across the room to help his employer.

Angel talked low in Pfk’s ear. “First off, tell the moose to settle down.” Pfk did. “Second, I’m the one holding the very large knife at your back. They call it a Bowie knife. It is a torturer’s wet dream, believe me, I would know. And I would hate to gut you and then kill your partner so fast you wouldn’t even get a chance to bleed on the floor.”

Pfk looked over at Spike. “Who is this guy?”

Angel didn’t let Pfk dismiss him by talking to Spike, so he answered. “I’m a friend of Spike’s. That’s all you need to know.”

Spike was thankful. He wanted to do a jig like some mamby-pamby girl. His luck had finally changed. “Now that we made the introductions, show us the girl.” He poked a finger into Pfk’s face. “And you had better start praying that nothing has happened to her.”

Pfk drove and Sal sat next to him with Angel and Spike in the back seat, holding knives on the pair in the front of them.

Spike spared a quick glance at Angel. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Ever composed, Angel didn’t bother looking over. “Everyone can use some back up.” After a few moments, Angel asked, “When we get her back, what do you think she is going to do?”

What an odd question coming from someone who works so close with slayers, Spike thought. Why ask him? “She is going to do whatever she wants to.”

Angel nodded. “I have a soft spot for Buffy. There is a great amount of responsibility and heartache to care about that girl. Sla…” Angel glanced up at Pfk before continuing. “…girls in her profession don’t live long.”

Spike felt like he had been hit by a freight train. He had never thought about the lifespan of a slayer, but when he did, he understood why they would die early. He could see her lying on the ground with her throat ripped out. “Yes, she would.”

Angel looked at him in question.

Spike kept his eyes on Sal, but his voice was firm. “I would make sure. I would be watching her back.”

“You would need to learn how to fight.”

“You have to be a good fighter to be a vampire that won’t feed. Every punk demon wants to kill me for the bragging rights. But I would find someone to teach me to fight better and fight with a partner.” Confidence rang clear as he spoke.

“And if she doesn’t want you helping her when she is finished training?” Angel’s tone was polite.

Now the light shined brightly on the matter. Angel wanted to see what Spike would do if Buffy decided that there wasn’t a place for him in her life as a slayer. “Then she will be who she wants. I won’t try to stand in her way.” As he watched Angel nod, Spike wondered what Angel would have done if he pushed himself off on Buffy. Can you say, “Dust!” Yes, Spike could, but if Buffy wanted him, he wouldn’t let Angel come between them.

As the car traveled farther down the road, Spike idly wondered if Angel would be so polite if he knew that Spike had left a little love bite on his slayer-in-training.

~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

After the original two demons, Pfk and Sal as Spike called them, dropped her off in a huge warehouse and locked her in an office three floors up, Buffy paced and sat around bored. She had tried to pick the lock but was hindered by the fact that she had no idea how to make like a thief. So she sat in a swivel chair and spun in circles, trying to think of a way out. The ceiling. She looked up at the ceiling, which was most importantly made up of tiles instead of some solid material. Pay dirt. She started stacking a chair and a box to climb on.

Wait. She heard deep voices and the two sets of footsteps on the stairs up to the office that she was in. Buffy scrambled to get the chair and box off the desk before whomever it was entered, hide the evidence of her escape for use later.

She was spinning in the swivel chair as two of the grey thug-like salla demons entered. The first one through the door had a lecherous grin on his face while the second guard leaned his back on the closed door.

Buffy’s eyes widened. This was so definitely of the bad. “Uh…hi, fancy meeting you guys here.” No answer. Not good. “See, this is my problem. The door has been locked and I couldn’t leave…?”

The demon took a couple of steps forward. “Just our luck. Sweet, little you being locked up here.”

Not the answer that she wanted to hear. “…But problem solved. The door is unlocked now, and I can leave.”

“No, that’s still your problem, little girl.” He reached down and unbuttoned his pants. “You’re not going to leave here alive whether they pay the ransom or not.”

“Not alive?”

“No.”

“No breathing?”

“No. And in the meanwhile, since you are handy, Stan and I want to play a little.” He sized her up with a look. “We may be a little big for you, but you’ll do.”

“What game do you want to play? Monopoly, yhatzee, go fish??” She was terrified of what was about to come out of his mouth.

“Rape.”

No, no, no. “Ra…ra…rape…?” One of a slayer’s worst nightmares was coming true. Yes, dying was the top one, but being raped by a demon had to be number two. Ok, she couldn’t beat them up, so she had to start thinking fast. “Wouldn’t you rather I participated willingly?”

The demon at the door spoke up for the first time. “No, I like them screaming.”

He should have stayed quiet. Desperate now, Buffy kicked the closest demon in the stomach, and he went sailing fifteen feet into the opposite wall. What was up with that? She had hoped for a foot or two, but fifteen?? She didn’t have anymore time to think when the demon that was at the door came at her. When he reached out for her, she grabbed his arm before he could and flipped him in the air. Before either had the time to make another attack, they heard voices downstairs.

The first demon pointed a claw in her face. “Not a word about this, girlie.”

With that, both demons hurried downstairs, leaving Buffy to think about what had just occurred. Looking out of one of the only very small places in the frosted glass windows that were translucent, Buffy could see Spike and Angel with three crossbows trained on them, held by the three salla demons. Somehow she had to help.

Thinking back to the incident she had just had with the two demons, she was stunned over what had happened. She had used her fighting training from the academy, and it had worked better than she had expected. No, it had worked like a dream. When she had kicked the demon, he shouldn’t have traveled so far. When she twisted the other demon’s arm, he shouldn’t have flipped so easily. What was going on? She asked that but also suspected that she knew the answer. She had finally received all of her slayer strength, and none too soon. She would celebrate later, but right now, she needed to help Spike and Angel.

Buffy went back to her original plan of escaping through a ceiling tile. She looked down at her feet and then back at the ceiling. Could she do it? She could if she really had her slayer strength. But there was only one way to find out. She lined up under the target tile, crouch down and jump. She came through the tile with more force than she had expected, but she did plan on where she was going to land. Actually, there was a lattice work of thin metal and beams. She was lucky enough to jump so that she could grab one of the beams and then pull herself up. Thinking of her new abilities, she grinned wide. ‘Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.’ She had finally come into her own.

~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

“Nice set up, Pfk.” The warehouse was just like Spike’s now burnt-out one, but with “the works” in improvements super sized. Ultra expensive cars were everywhere. “Let’s see what you would think if someone took a match to it.” Pfk threw Spike a hateful look over his shoulder

Angel pushed on Pfk with the tip of his knife. “This is all nice and cozy like, but keep to why we are here. Let’s see the girl.”

“How about no?!” Pfk was unexpectedly smug. “See, two of my boys are behind you with crossbows. Put your knives down.” Spike and Angel swung around to see two more salla demons on the stairs leading up to the office with crossbows trained on their chests. “Ah, I love the sound of metal hitting concrete. I guess a crossbow trumps a knife tonight.” He motioned for Sal to pick up the knives and search both Spike and Angel. He found one more knife on Angel.

Unbeknownst to all the demons on the floor of the garage, Buffy was above them, moving in the rafters. She watched as Spike and Angel were made to drop some wicked looking knives. Seeing the pair of them was all she needed to boost her courage enough to act decisively against her captors. She, along with the two vampires, could win out the night. But first, she had to get down to the best possible spot, and then find a way to help without getting Angel and Spike killed. Not to mention the icing -- wait until they saw the new strength enhancing her fighting skills.

Regardless of the change of power due to his lack of weapon, Spike repeated Angel’s demand. “We have to see the girl.”

Pfk puffed up with self importance. “Ha. Funny. No, you don’t get to demand anything. But since it is my men with the crossbows, I get to demand. And I demand to see the money.”

Glancing over at Angel, Spike handed the bag over. Grabbing the handle, Pfk held the bag in the air, weighing it. “This isn’t a million two. There’s no way. This weighs considerably below.” He set the bag on the trunk of a car and opened up the bag. After rifling around, he glared at Spike. “What are you trying to pull?”

Spike tried to step forward but got poked in the back by an arrow. “The two hundred thousand I owe you is in there. The half a million for her original ransom is in there. That is what was owed. You’ve been paid in full.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Pfk’s sing song voice was annoying. “I said an additional half a million. You’re ripping me off.” Pfk was practically hopping up and down with fury.

Spike didn’t care anymore. He was pissed and was getting desperate to see Buffy and make sure she was alright. “I don’t bloody think so, now let us make sure the girl is alright. Seven hundred thousand should at least buy a peep.”

Furious, Pfk pulled a gun and stuck it in Spike’s face. “No, I do think so, and I’m going…”

Angel knew a pending train wreck when he saw one. “Gentlemen, let’s talk this through.”

“I’m…listening.” And that was just barely, considering all the snorting and cursing Pfk was doing.

Spreading his hands palms up, Angel tried to diffuse the situation. “I represent the people that put up the half a million for Buffy.”

That at least stopped the furious, small demon from shooting Spike as he turned towards Angel. “Good, show me the other half a mil.”

Angel dropped the bomb. “And I can assure you that there will not be any more money forthcoming, but I am sure we can…”

“Now that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.” Pfk tried his best to get up into Angel’s face, which was hard considering the nine inch difference. “Not going to work for me.”

Ah, how Spike wanted to verbally tear into this guy, but he kept reminding himself that Buffy was at risk. “Pfk…PFK! I’m sure that we could work something out.”

“Actually, I think we can work out which one of you I will shoot first and then keep the girl for myself. After all this, there must be something valuable about her."

Chuckling, Spike shook his head. “Not anything you want, Pfk. I promise you. Not anything you want.”

And Spike was still shaking his head when a forklift came out of the back and crashed into a Jaguar two cars down from where Spike and the others were standing. Using the spectacular distraction to his advantage, Spike kicked the crossbow out of the hand of the salla demon trained on him. Before his foot hit the ground, Spike hand punched Pfk out cold so that he could concentrate on finishing off the salla. The other two sallas were on Angel; Spike would help out there when he could. At the moment, the salla he had was enough for him.

Finally, Spike was able to get in a good blow to the salla’s wind pipe, make a successful grab for Pfk’s crossbow and shot the salla. He turned around into time to see Angel brutally snap the neck of another of the sallas. Taking a step forward, Spike looked for the third salla and froze. He blinked his eyes several times but still saw the same thing. He looked over at Angel, and the expression that he saw on the brunette vampire’s face told Spike that he saw the same thing, and was just as shocked. Buffy was fighting, holding her own with the last salla demon. Spike shared a quick look with Angel, trying to decide whether help her or not, and with a nod of agreement, they held back. Their decision paid off. They watched as Buffy fan kicked the demon, sending him sideways. She reached down for the crossbow and shot him through the eye socket.

Angel smiled. Buffy had bagged her first demon, and she did it with style.

Spike couldn’t have been more proud of her. He started towards her, but then the door of the warehouse opened and in walked Giles and two petite brunette girls that Spike assumed to be other slayers-in-training.

At the door shutting, Buffy looked up and the two girls joined her, all laughing and carrying on about Buffy’s success.

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Chapter 10:

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Thirteen months and five days ago, Buffy had been mad, furious, angry, enraged and livid. Spike had left her. That simple. Just took his money and walked out. She had been so proud and thrilled that night she had gotten away from her kidnappers. Finally, she had received her slayer skills full scale. Using them, she had taken out one of the demon thugs all on her own. She had been flying high on adrenalin and had mistakenly not kept track of Spike. She had just assumed that he would be near. Then Giles had arrived bringing two of the advanced girls, and Buffy had been so excited. A spontaneous, playful sparing match between the three of them broke out so that Buffy could show off. It felt so good being able to go full strength, blow by blow and hold her own. She had known the moves backwards and forwards for months. Now she had the gifts to go with them. Now the training finally paid off. Paid off for her slayer career, but not benefiting her life with Spike. He had walked away from her without saying a word. No good-bye. Nothing.

For the first few months, she was eaten up with anger directed at him for leaving her. Her fighting ability soared. She was winning every sparing match. Then the next few months, she became numb, not caring about Spike or slaying anymore. Where before she felt pain, now she would look in the mirror at her scar on her breast and feel nothing. During that period, Angel came back from a long, overseas assignment. He had pulled her aside, and they talked. They talked about her abilities, they talked about her apathy and that was when they talked about Spike.

Angel stared at her intently. “Is the problem about Spike?”

“N…yes.” She changed her mind and decided to tell the truth.

“You only knew him two days.”

Buffy thought for a long moment. “It only took one.”

“That last day when you were being held by the car thieves, Spike and I had a talk.” Angel was not sure of what he could say that would help. “I asked him if you chose slaying over him, what would he do? He said he would not interfere and would walk away.”

Buffy was on her feet. “But I didn’t choose slaying…”

“That night, as you were celebrating your skill and ability to slay with Rose and Sharesse, I had assumed that you had chosen slaying, and so did he.”

She sank back down in her chair. “Oh, God…”

“After watching you with the other slayers and ignoring him, he took his money and left.”

Buffy wasn’t sure whether to hit or hug Angel. Hit him for assuming falsely that she would choose slaying over Spike, or hug him for letting her know why Spike had left her. Bleached blonde, self-sacrificing son of a bitch.

“But Buffy, you have had your abilities for a year now and have worked hard. I know you probably want to run to him, but I would like to see you finish here. You’re so close. Just give it one more month until you graduate.”

Buffy thought long and hard, not wanting to make another mistake. “Ok, but do you know where he is?”

Angel wasn’t surprised by the question. “No.”

“Find out, and I’ll stay to graduate.” Buffy laughed when Angel squirmed out of her hug.

~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

Las Vegas

When Spike walked out of his house and over to his car lot, he spotted Xander talking to two clients next to a 350Z Nissan. The man had a Barbie doll looking girl hanging all over him, her leg rubbing up and down his own. Spike had to laugh. The man was trying to keep his shirt covering his erection. Spike bet they had known each other only since the guy had hit it big in some casino. Spike and Xander had seen it so many times at the lot and made a good bit of blunt off of it.

After settling at his desk, he looked back out at Xander’s clients. The woman was a petite blonde, and unfortunately, any petite blonde reminded him of Buffy. It had been thirteen months and five days since he had seen her. The year anniversary had been painful. He had spent the week snookered. Xander again was incredulous. “You only knew her for two days.” Did he always have to say that? The time didn’t matter. The pain was the same as if it had been a day or a year.

The last night he had seen her was still clear, probably because he ran it through his mind at least once a day. Giles had arrived along with a couple of other slayers-in-training. He had immediately joined Angel, and the other slayers made a beeline to Buffy. The three girls were jumping around and doing fight moves like the teenage mutant ninja turtles that Xander was so fond of watching.

Buffy had finally come into her own. She had her slayer powers and was now primed to realize her destiny. How could he be so selfish as to try to take that away from her by dragging her into his life instead? He loved her so much that it hurt, and it had hurt horrendously to leave, but watching her grinning and bragging, he knew he was doing the right thing.

Spike had looked up and caught Angel’s eyes. Their conversation had run through his mind. Angel had asked him what he would do if Buffy chose slaying and not include him. And Spike’s reply had been, “Then she will be a slayer. I won’t try to stand in her way.”

And he kept to his word that night. As Spike’s heart bled borrowed blood, he counted out his two hundred thousand, took it and left. He may have taken the money, but he had left his heart. No matter how much it hurt, he still thought he had made the right decision. She had to follow her destiny. No matter how much he wanted her to, there was no way she should spend her life with an ex-car thief vampire.

Spike shook himself physically and mentally. That was his quota of self pity for the day, and he wanted to be done with it.

However, things had been getting worse lately. Not only was he seeing her in every petite blonde, he was now hearing her. To be exact, he was starting to hear knocking like when he had first met her, and she had been locked in the trunk of Giles’ car.

The knocking started simple. Two weeks previous, he had been sleeping during the day and was woken up by a single knock. He had checked the door and found no one. The next night, he heard three knocks in succession while he was doing paperwork in the office. He searched and found no one. The knocks in these two locations happened more than once, often enough that they had him cussing a blue streak each time. Or when his mouth was shut, he was worrying about his sanity.

This night, trying to shake off his blues, Spike waved at Xander and skipped work and went to the strip for a little R and R. However, at the New York New York Casino, someone kept knocking close to his blackjack table. No longer able to take the nuisance, he decided to walk the strip and get lost in the crowds. Do a little people watching to help forget, or that’s what he told himself. It was actually the reverse. He just ended up seeing Buffy in every similar blonde. At the corner of the Bellagio and Caesars, he stood with all the others waiting for the light to turn green to cross. That’s when he started hearing the knocking again. This time, the sound was different. The first time in the casino sounded like it was against wood or something solid that was similar. But this time was different. This time sounded like it was against metal. However, he couldn’t tell for sure since the few raps only happened once. Spike was beginning to wonder where he could find a good demon psychiatrist.

That was until he reached the intersection between the Mirage and Treasure Island. He had unfortunately arrived just as the Pirate Show started out in front of Treasure Island. To avoid the mass of tourists he headed across the street to the Venetian. That’s when he heard the knocking again. Two sets. Now he was sure the knock was against metal. He rushed between the cars trying to beat the green light, searching for the car the noise was coming from. Time was on his side, and he found the right car, or the right trunk to be more precise. A trunk of a Mercedes S600. With his luck and trunks, it would be some thug with a baseball bat. Or even worse, a beautiful girl that would break what was left of his heart. Yeah, letting the car drive away was the best idea, but curiosity got the best of him. After all, it could be an animal or something that needed help, couldn’t it?

As he reached towards the trunk to open it, he saw the light turn green just as a hand shot out and jerked him into the trunk and shut the lid. Before he could even struggle, a flash light came to life illuminating the love of his life. A very mad love of his life.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Sarcasm dripped from Buffy’s voice.

Spike’s brain still couldn’t quite process what was going on. “You…me…fancy here…here?!”

“Yes, here, locked in a trunk.” Buffy gestured around their surroundings. “Ring any bells?”

When Spike didn’t, or couldn’t respond, Buffy switched off the flashlight, and they road a short distance in pitch black and silence, giving Spike time to pull himself together as best he could. Once they stopped, they heard a rap on the trunk, the trunk unlock and open a tad and then someone leaving. Buffy kicked the trunk open and got out, followed more sluggishly by a still stunned Spike. He recognized his surroundings as outside of his house. She threw his front door open and walked inside. He followed without conscious thought to do so.

Once in, she turned on him. “You.”

“Me?” Spike looked like a deer caught in headlights.

She stepped up so that they were only twelve inches apart and poked him in the chest, causing him to take a step back. “You.” Poke and step. “I loved you.” Poke and step. “I loved you, and you left me.” Last poke, and he fell down on a sofa. “You took my home away with you.”

Confused, he looked up at her. “Home? What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“Home. Home! HOME!” Buffy’s face was red with anger. “You asked me what I wanted, remember? And I told you that I wanted a home. Well, mister, that home was you, AND you left.”

Spike slowly shook his head. “You didn’t need me.” Pain filled him with the admission.

“You mean I didn’t want you.” Her voice was softer this time, filled with knowledge.

He doesn’t say anything. What could he say? She had hit the nail on the head.

Tears were shining in her eyes. She could read his face. It had been just as Angel had said. Spike hadn’t thought she wanted him. “You idiot vampire, I wanted you.” Her anger was starting to deflate.

Now Spike was totally confused. “But that night, you were so happy with the other slayers.”

“Yes, I was happy that I finally got my abilities. I was so high that I could have jumped over the moon, but that didn’t make me want you any less.” She reached out and touched his cheek.

But Spike wasn’t ready for the intimacy. There were still some things to work out. He gently held her wrist still. “Home?” Spike was still stuck on that concept that she had been so insistent about when they had first come into the house.

Buffy enjoyed the cool touch of his hand on her wrist and was happy to discuss her concept of home. “Yeah. One half is someone I want to be with and am wanted by.” Smiling, Buffy didn’t think he realized that he was now rubbing circles on her wrist with his thumb. She had him.

“Even if I did want you, you are a slayer now, aren’t you?” It was killing him. Out and out killing him. She was telling him how much she wanted him, and he was questioning that??

“Yeah, but that doesn’t change anything.” Buffy bit her upper lip and tried not to grin.

Spike took a deep unneeded breath. “What is the second half of home?”

Now she did grin. “Someplace that I want to be and am wanted.”

“But…”

Buffy turned her wrist so that she could interlace their fingers. She gave it a little squeeze. “But I am stationed here in Vegas. Angel pulled some strings. But that still doesn’t get you off the hook, mister. You left and took my home with you.”

Silence stretched as Spike tried to process all the changes that were happening in just a matter of a few minutes. And he loved every one of those changes. “Well, love, I am someone that wants you, and this is someplace that you are wanted.”

She looked down at him on the sofa and smiled. “Then I must be home.”

Grasping her hand, he pulled until she sank down on the sofa beside him. Holding her gaze, he reached out and cupped the back of her head, drawing her so close that their eyes naturally closed just before their lips met. Her arms wrapped around him so tight that the tips of her fingers bit into the tops of his shoulders. Their mouths opened, and their tongues tangled.

When he added more pressure to the back of her head, Buffy moaned and pressed her body as close as she could get in a sitting position. But Spike soon settled that. Turning her, he shifted them so that he lay on top of her. Pulling back so that she could take a breath, he kissed his way down her neck until he reached his bite mark. “I missed you. I missed you so much.” When he nibbled the scar, she moaned and bucked her hips up.

She could barely speak through her panting and pleasure. “Never leave me again.”

“Never.” He brought his mouth down on hers again, fusing them together.

~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

After their love making, Buffy finally found the strength and the willpower to extract herself from Spike’s embrace and get up off the couch.

“Come on. Get dressed. Tracy and Beth helped me with all the knocking, and they want to meet you at last.” Spike was disappointed that they weren’t moving on to the bed for the rest of the night and hopefully the next day but she was excited, and he couldn’t tell her no. Also, he was disappointed that they didn’t go to bed because he wanted her to tell him that she loved him again, and he thought bed would be the most likely place to charm her into that admission. When she had been ranting at him earlier, she had said that she had “loved” him, but she hadn’t said it again. Now he guessed that would have to wait for later…No, it couldn’t. After they got dressed and Buffy’s hand was on the door knob, he got up his nerve. “Buffy?”

Noticing how serious he sounded, she hesitantly turned around to face him. Maybe he had changed his mind? The thought of him changing his mind again now that she had found him made her feel sick to the stomach.

All choked up, Spike had to clear his throat once before he could ask, and even then he was vague. “Did you mean it?”

Relieved, she leaned back against the door. She didn’t need an explanation of what “it” was. “I meant it, Spike.” With the corners of her mouth tilted up, she took off her pants again.

Confused and elated at the same time, Spike tilted his head as he watched her. “Not that I don’t enjoy the striptease when I see one, pet, but what the bloody hell are you doing?”

She took off her shirt and made sure that she was completely naked before answering him. “I love you.”

He was on her in a flash. “Now you know why I was taking my clothes back off. I thought they might be in the way when I told you that I love you.”

“Bleeding right you were, too, kitten.” Using his body to pin her to the door, he caught her head between his hands. “I love you, too.” His mouth claimed hers, his tongue swept into her mouth, finding her tongue willing.

Deciding her friends could wait, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Once they were both naked, they fell on the bed, immediately a tangle of limbs.

“Oh, god, I need to be inside you.” Without much preamble, he slid into her heat, becoming one with her. Starting on her lower jaw, Spike nibbled his way up to her ear before biting on her neck. As their motions quickened, so did the pressure of his bites.

Buffy thought she couldn’t stand any more, but at the same time wanted more. She thought she would never get enough of him. His shaft moving inside her, stretched and filled her like she was in heaven creating divine friction.

Unexpectedly, Spike felt her shift and then her teeth come down on his neck, pressing hard until they broke the skin. She gave a shallow pull of the coppery liquid from his vein. “Mine.” At first he had thought he had heard her wrong, but again she spoke, “Mine,” more insistent this time. Spike roared when her teeth broke his skin again. His ridges appeared and eyes turned gold. “Yours,” he said with a slight lisp around his fangs.

After hearing and feeling his growl, she felt the prick of fangs into the tender skin above her jugular. The gentle pull of her blood made her blood boil, her ecstasy in his arms complete. She came with an explosion of stars behind her eye lids. As she rode wave after wave, she heard him in her ear. “Mine.” With the one possessive word her orgasm peaked again. “Always,” she ground out as he pistoned into her.

With her acceptance of his claim, he slammed into her slickness one more time before he lost all control. He still had the presence of mind to retract his fangs to keep from hurting her and so that he could throw his head back and practically howl his extreme pleasure.

He was panting as he came back down. He couldn’t believe this gift from the Powers That Be. All in one night, Buffy had been returned to him, and they had just mutually claimed each other. She was his for all time. He must have done something bloody fantastic to have earned such gifts. He looked down into her smiling face. “Mine.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow at him, her mate for all time. She loved seeing him so happy and so smug. “Mine,” she reminded him.

“Always.” He needed no reminding. “Always.”

~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

The End