***All of the characters and places from the Buffy-verse are the property of the writers, actors and Fox. This is just my take on their work and they are in no way responsible for anything said or implied by myself.

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Los Angeles, the city of Angels had to be the biggest lie she had ever heard, Buffy thought pushing her way through the flocks of sinners who haunted her club every night. The River Styx had a reputation for loud music, stiff drinks and the perfect place to fill your darkest desires. Vampires, demons and humans alike filled her place to capacity each night and that proved to her mind that there were more demons than angels in LA these days.

Since Vampires and other demons had convinced the ACLU to take their case for civil rights and liberties to the supreme court they were now considered to be the same as humans in the eyes of the law. They had grown tired of skulking in the shadows and in the year 3000 they had decided it was time to step into the light...metaphorically of course. At first the general populace hadn’t been to thrilled to discover that the monsters from the horror movies had come to life but once they learned that eternal life was no longer a myth but a reality, they had been more than willing to welcome them into the world.

There were rules of course, you had to be twenty-one before you could legally become a vampire or other half breed and there were also drawbacks as well. The biggest one being that any preternatural creature who takes a human life by either murder or siring someone under the legal age of consent, were issued a death sentence. No trial, no chance to explain themselves just their name placed on the top of an order of execution.

Which is where Buffy came in. She was a legally recognized slayer with the full backing of the law behind her. Her mother had been human but her father had more than a few demons in his gene pool. Hank Summers had actually been Har’tuh one of the most feared hell gods of the mortal globe...a little fact he failed to mention to his wife. He had the ability to assume a human form but when she had been born it hadn’t taken her mother long to realize she was different than other girls. She healed faster than humans and had the strength and reflexes of a demon.

Demons had been legalized for more than a few years by then and Joyce, not being a fool confronted her husband about his less than human ancestry. He admitted his deception but explained that he should not have been able to create a child, which was why he hadn’t told her about his true nature. Some demons or half breeds like werewolves could mate with humans but hell gods were immortals.

Not immortal like vampires wished they were but truly immortal, as in can’t be killed by any means. Stab them, poison them and cut them into tiny little bits and they won’t die. Their bodies simply regenerate and then you have one ticked off demon with unbelievable power on your hands. But If they displeased their vessel of power or the one who elevated them in the first place, most of their demon gifts are stripped away.

Other demons called them the fallen ones, because they were doomed to live until the end of time never able to return to their place of glory. Living forever had it’s drawbacks and most of the fallen ones, locked themselves away in tombs like the ancient pharaoh's of old, as an act of penance for proving to be unworthy of their godhead.

Har’tuh wasn’t exactly the repentant type and he had used what powers he still possessed to make a new name for himself. Hank Summers was already a regular on the Fortune 500 list by the time he had met Joyce, and he got there by ruling the business world of high finance just like you would expect an ex-hell god would...ruthlessly. He had fallen for Joyce because she was homespun in the best sense of the word. True to her nature she forgave him for his lies and accepted the fact that her child was truly a miracle.

But little did she know a rare form of cancer had snuck into her brain eating away her life silently. By the time they discovered it was there, it was too late. She died when Buffy had been three, showing Hank another drawback of immortality..human mortality. Until he had met Joyce, he had formed no attachments to humans and her death had destroyed him in a way losing his powers hadn‘t. No one except for Joyce had known his true name and he feared that if it was discovered the enemies of his past would use his child to obtain their revenge. Fearing her safety he sent her away to live with his business associates Jana and Rupert Giles in London.

Jana or Jenny as she liked to be called, was a part of the old world thanks to her gypsy heritage and an accomplished Technopagan who monitored all of his business computers for preternatural booby traps. Her husband Rupert was a renowned expert in all things preternatural and was often called upon to give his opinions when arranging deals with demons. Confident that they were the only people equipped to raise the daughter of a fallen one, he had given them his parental rights and the truth about his identity.

They had raised her like their own child, and she had always believed that they were her true parents. Atleast until she turned sixteen. That was the year an enterprising journalist from the New York Times had somehow discovered the truth about Hank Summers and the fact he had a child. His story not only broke the news to the world but also to his daughter. When she had read the article that mentioned her by her first name only and showed a picture of her playing in the park with her mother, the careful cocoon of normalcy and safety her father and the Giles’s had tried to give her shattered.

Demons came out of the woodwork making nearly each day a constant battle for survival. By the time she was seventeen most demons had learned that she not someone they wanted to mess with and her reputation somehow reached the ears of the demonic taskforce. The Initiative, recognizing her skills offered her a job. She spent the next five years traveling the globe taking out hostile demons, further increasing her reputation, despite the fact that it was a Black Ops organization.

There were no secrets that could be kept from the demon world but not once did her father ever try to contact her. When she turned twenty-one he had bestowed upon her a large trust fund but still never bothered to meet her face to face. A year later she had retired to LA, planning on making a life for herself that didn’t include demons and bloodshed but fate had other ideas. A gang of vampires chose that year to make their presence known by massacring innocents nightly. For seven nights the streets ran with blood and the bodies began piling up and then the local preternatural task force had come to her asking for help.

She had wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t, not after watching the faces of the victims flashed on the news each night. She agreed to a one time deal only and they gave her the full authority of a slayer. She and the rest of the team dealt with them but since once you were a slayer your authority never expired, they tended to call her in when things became to much for them to handle. Since she could never say no, she finally understood that her life would never be ordinary.

Like it or not demons were a part of her life so instead of running away from that fact, she opened The River Styx instead. In Greek mythology the river served as a crossroads where the world of the living met the world of the dead and the world of the mortal met the world of the immortal. In short it was the perfect name for a nightclub that not only welcomed demons but was run by the daughter of a fallen one. For her patrons it was a place to visit the underworld in relative safety and for her it was a way to bring both her worlds together.

Now at twenty-five she owned one of the hottest clubs in LA and every once in awhile she helped mankind by slaying some big nasty blight on humanity who didn‘t understand that humans weren‘t happy meals with legs any more. All in all it worked for her.

She walked over to the bar to check up on her bartenders. “How’s it going tonight Xand?”

“We’re running low on blood and Jack but everything else is running around usual.” He told her never breaking his rhythm.

“Damn it Xander, it’s your job to handle this shit.”

“Don’t worry Willy’s going to drop us off a couple cases to get us through the night and the full order will be delivered tomorrow before we open. The Jack’s not going to make it, so we’re running the whisky sours at half price and offering dollar draws.” He explained, pouring shots.

“Did you ever think about calling the supplier like you did Willy?” She asked sliding behind the bar to help.

“Yeah well humans aren’t really afraid of me since they know I can’t kill them, so no luck there.” He admitted.

“Let’s go back to the office.” She said before pointing to one of the other bartenders, letting them know that they needed to take Xander‘s place.

They made their way through the crowd with ease and headed into her office. The club itself was painted in deep burgundies and solid blacks because it was expected but her office reflected her own sense of style. The walls were painted the color of the ocean at night when only the stars and moon keep it a deep blue instead of an inky black. All of the furniture was the color of aged driftwood while the fabric on the sofa and chairs was the true beige of fresh sand. Instead of carpet she had gone with marble floors with thin rivers of light blues running through it. Just like the soundproofing it had cost a pretty penny but it had been worth it to create a perfect haven from noise and jostling bodies outside.

She walked around her desk and picked up the phone. She punched in the number to their liquor supplier and motioned for Xander to have a seat. After going through several peons and all of the upper management she finally found herself talking to the boss. “This is Buffy out at The River Styx and my manager just informed me that your company can’t send over a few cases of Jack Daniels to get us through the night.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Summers but we close shop at 5 pm and if we make an exception for you then our other clients will expect the same treatment.”

“But this club isn’t like your other clients now is it? We send some serious money your way and if you can’t make an exception for us every once in a while, then I bet one of your competitors will.” Buffy told him coldly. She listened to him a few moments longer and then hung up the phone. “Send a couple of boys out back to meet the truck.”

“Okay lesson learned.” Xander told her seriously impressed at how she handled the situation. His boss didn’t take shit from nobody and he respected that. Especially since she was part human. He got to his feet smoothly, his leather jacket rustling softly against the natural fibers of the chair.

“Just remember Xand, the trick to dealing with humans in the business world is the threaten them where it hurts…the bank account. We’re one of the premier clubs in the area and there are lots of suppliers more than willing to take his place.” Buffy told him simply. “But you did a good job with Willy and you handled the shortage well. In this business you’ve got to be able to adjust to any situation quickly and so far you’ve been handling that pretty well.”

“Thanks boss.” Xander said with a nod. He was the recently dead, less than five years and his mind was still adjusting to the change. It takes awhile to forget that your not human anymore and despite contrary belief vamps don’t rise from their graves with the inherited knowledge of their sire. Just like growing up as a human there was a lot of learning involved and learning had never exactly been his strong point.

He was never going to be a master anything which is why he was determined to do a great job here. “Anything else you need?”

“Yeah could you send…” She changed her mind mid sentence. She had planned on doing some paperwork but she had this sudden desire to get lost in the crowd for a while. “You know what I’ll just talk to her later.”

She got up and followed Xander out breathing in the atmosphere. The main dance floor in the center glowed like a single bright candle and the further you walked away the darker the place became. It was a place that made you feel sexy and adventurous like everything you could never let yourself experience or admit to during the light of day was suddenly possible and not only was it accepted it was expected. This wasn’t one of those phony places straight out of a bad B movie, it was decadently elegant and unabashedly sensual. The booths were covered in the finest leather the velvet backed chairs and sofas had been imported from Italy, giving it the old world flair that the master vampires appreciated. But the live bands she hired were on the cutting edge of modern music which pulled in the young and upwardly mobile executives looking for a place to unwind.

The second story on the other hand was brightly illuminated with hundreds of tiny fairy lights and it was a place of brushed silk wall coverings and a color palette that was as light and pale as the main floor was dark and vivid. It was done in the softest creams and the faintest pinks and blues and to reach it you had to walk up one of the two burnished silver staircases that spiraled upward with delicate curves and bends. Giving one the allusion of ascending to place of innocence and light. It had a bar made entirely of white marble with gold filigree accents that covered it like the feather stokes of an angel’s wings. The second floor was for those a little unsure of the delights awaiting them down in the dark.

Tonight she felt like indulging in the wicked temptations of the dark. She wanted to dance, feel the other bodies in the room pressing around her like a velvet glove. It was oddly intimate to writhe in the dark with virtual strangers surrounding you. Their breath forcing itself out of their lips and across your skin as they exerted their bodies to the music pumping around them like a mother’s heartbeat. Feeling leather behind you while on another side there was velvet, lace or silk. The mixing and clashing of the perfumes and colognes surrounding you, filling your lungs with every scent imaginable. All of your senses were stimulated at the same time and since she wasn’t into chemical recreation it was the closest thing to being in a drug induced haze as she would get.

She felt a pair of cool hands circle around her stomach drawing her closer from behind. Normally she would have pulled away, she preferred dancing alone, but she felt an excited shiver of desire trace its way down her back. It had been awhile since she had felt something even close to desire so she let herself be pulled back against a rock hard chest full of sharp planes and deep valleys.

They danced for a few minutes and she felt his hands turn her around so that they could finally see each other face to face. His hair was a mess of brown curls tinted a violent shade of white blonde at the tips as if he had dyed it all and was now letting the color naturally grow out. She was envious of his impossibly sculpted cheekbones but they suited the sharp angular lines of his face to perfection. But as stunning as his face was, it was his eyes that were truly breathtaking. At the center the were the palest shade of blue she had ever seen and like bleeding ripples of a pond the color deepened as it traveled further away from his pupil. A single scar high on his eyebrow marred the overall perfection of his face but it matched the clothing he wore. He was wearing a nearly floor length black leather duster with tight black jean encasing his long slender legs and narrow waist and a silk shirt the same color as the darkest blue in his eyes. Everything about him screamed, bad boy and she had a weakness for that in a man or a demon.

While she was studying him, he was studying her just as intently. Her golden blonde hair swung freely just beneath her high firm breasts with a few streaks of deep cherry red adding a bit of edge to her. Her face was a soft oval with full pouty lips and eyes the color of fresh grass in spring. She was wearing tight black leather pants that had showcased her tight heart shaped ass to perfection and a shimmery jade green sequined top that tied from behind at the nape of her neck and the center of her back leaving plenty of creamy white skin exposed between and at the sides.

Just looking at her made him hard but all he did was give her a seductive grin. “You like what you see luv?”

Chapter 2:

She tilted her head to one side and then back to the other like she was thinking over his question. In reality she wanted to see if he tasted as good as he looked but that was a little fast even for her. “You’re not a total waste of my time.”

She was saucy, he liked that in a girl. “I was just thinking the same thing pet. You got a name to go with that attitude?”

Before she could respond she heard a familiar and not to welcome voice call out her name several feet behind her. Schooling her face into a carefully blank mask before turning, she never noticed that the guy across from her had been taken back at the sound of her name. “What you brings you by my den of dissoluteness, Detective Angelus?”

“Buffy we need to talk.” Liam said coming to stand in front of her. His tall thick body was cloaked in his habitual black like a priest, only once upon time Angelus had been quite the bad vampire.

Not executable but a general rebel without a cause. She had met him on the vampire gang case but then he had only been a beat cop with a disregard for anything vaguely even resembling a rule or procedure. She had found that sexier than hell and it wasn’t long before the two of them were tearing up the sheets and burning the damn building around them. He had been her wildest, hottest lover ever until he had a crisis of conscience. A case he was working went sideways and a bunch of runaways ended up dead.

She had been there that night, watching along side him as the coroner grimly tried to piece together the mangled bodies of those kids and she saw something in his eyes fade away as the last body was carried out. That something had been his fire, his passion and it had been replaced by a cold spark of duty forged from his crushing guilt. Even though she understood it on some level, she couldn’t stand the cold. It was like her marrow had frozen in her bones and the cheer was leached out of her life with every moment she was around him.

She tried to be the considerate girlfriend but she woke up one morning realizing she no longer knew the man lying next to her. The man she had loved knew how to separate the job from his life and truly live but this new Liam Angelus was as dry as a eighty year old virgin. If he hadn’t been a vamp she would have said he had found God, but as impossible as that was, he still steered away from anything less than pure as the driven snow. Sex had went from chains and blood play to straight vanilla with the standard missionary position making a nightly appearance. In short she was bored sick after a month but then he did the unforgivable, he asked her to sell her club.

“That place breeds the kind of monsters that kill the innocent. Don’t you see that you are better than that, you don’t belong there Buffy. It‘s a place of sin and you’re a pure soul.” He had told her with a fervor usually reserved for the spokesmen who hock those nifty and amazing gadgets on TV, promising that they can change your life for only five easy payments of $19.95. The ones that work like precision instruments on the commercial and only arrive on your doorstep as cheap plastic in a slick box.

In a pig eye she thought, not getting suckered in to his sales pitch. She had seen how that lifestyle hadn’t magically made his life any better and she had no intentions of buying into it any time soon. She had broken off their year long relationship then and there, which was why she was surprised to see him at the River of all places. “Is there bodies on the ground or is this just a social call.”

“It’s personal, will you come with me outside?”

“Angel if you want to talk to me, you can talk to me inside my club. If you can’t even handle that then we have nothing to say to one another.” She told him flipping her hair back over her shoulders. When his eyes instantly trailed down to her chest, she took a deep breath making her naked breasts strain against the thin fabric of her shirt, just to twist the knife in a little more.

“Why do you have to make things hard?”

She walked over to him, swinging her hips like a well oiled metronome set to a slow swaying adagio. “I thought that was the whole point lover?”

When he realized what she meant, he hastily took a step back like she was covered in slime or leeches, possibly even slime covered leeches. Unable to help herself she laughed, a rich deep sound full of smoky amusement. The same man who taught her to appreciate and ride the thin line between pain and ecstasy was as flustered as bride on her wedding night over nothing more than a weak double entendre. So yeah, she laughed.

Recognizing the look on his face and not in a mood for one of his broody snits, she drew in a deep breath and stifled the rest of her amusement. When she was sure that her smile had turned into a serious line, she spoke to him keeping her voice firm and carefully blank. “It’s obvious we have nothing to say to each other. We just don’t live in each other’s worlds anymore.”

“We could if you wanted it bad enough.” Angel told her, not bothering to reclaim the distance he had put between them.

“You have a lot longer lifespan Angel. Maybe you have a century of your life to waste, indulging your dry as weird grain toast phase but this is my only trip on the merry go round that is a human life. I want the brightly colored lights and the thrill deep inside your stomach as you let go of the pole to reach out your hand and touch the air as it breezes around you. I want to taste life, savor it like spun cotton candy until it melts on my tongue. I don’t intend to miss a moment of it, not for you, not for anyone.” Since she still cared about him, she took some of the sting out of her words with an intimate yet innocent smile.

He watched her for a moment, trying to forget about everything but her and the light in her eyes as she had spoken but he couldn’t. He could feel the air in this place, like a thick cloying cloud of sweat and sin reaching out to touch his flesh. All around him he heard the sounds of bodies pressing together, the sound of leather meeting leather, skin slapping again skin with a thick meaty whap and it disgusted him.

Like the people all around him, like her…he had let himself be a slave to his need to feel. While at the time people had been dying because he was thinking about his dick and not his job. No matter how hard he scrubbed the stain of the blood that he should have stopped from being spilt, would always be on his hands and not even for her would he let there be anymore. He didn’t need anymore ghosts staring back at him with glassy eyes dulled by death asking him why he hadn’t saved them, why he hadn’t protected them.

He knew that he couldn’t save everyone, he was just one man after all, but looking at the woman he loved completely in her element he knew he had to concentrate on the ones he could save. She was the Queen of the Dammed and she would remain in her palace ruling over her wicked court of depravity and nothing he would ever do would convince her to walk away. Saving his breath, he gave her a slight smile and made he was back to his own world.

Relieved that it hadn’t turned into a full out scene, she suddenly remembered the handsome stranger. Turning around, she wasn’t surprised that he had went off to seek his pleasure elsewhere. With no choice but to do the same, she threw herself back into the music with reckless abandon. But a pair of piercing blue eyes never wondered far from her mind.

Spike watched her pick up where she had left off before the Detective had arrived and tried to decide what his next course of action would be. He had come to this place looking for the daughter of Har’tuh and had gotten distracted by a shapely ass. An ass that happened to belong to the girl he was being paid a small fortune to guard with his life. Something told him that his employer, her dear old dad, wouldn’t be to pleased if he learned that he done anything more to her tight little body than protecting it.

Chapter 3:
After a few more dances, her skin was slicked with a thin sheen of sweat and the night was slowly reaching it’s peak. Which meant it was time to get her ass to work, she thought making her way out of the crowd and over to the staircase. She had installed large fans to the high arched ceiling on the upper floor so that the air was always being stirred. She felt it wash over her erasing some of the heat from her skin and began to scan the crowd for a familiar head of scarlet hair.

Easily picking her out of the crowd she walked over to where her business partner sat quietly talking to a thin man with deep black hair. He was dressed casually a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black printed tee that had a stick man playing a guitar above the word ‘rock star‘ in red. He may look like a college kid but the small print on his shirt happened to be the truth. Daniel Osborne, or just Oz to his friends, was a bonafide rock star. He played guitar for packed venues full of screaming fans, with his band Dingoes ate my baby.

She had been the one to offer them a job playing here four nights a week. Before long word had gotten around, that the next big thing was appearing at the River Styx, nightly. It seemed like they shot to fame overnight, which meant it hadn’t taken long for the media to learn he was a werewolf. There had been other demon musicians and more than a few actors but coupled with his bands moniker there had been a flurry of outraged parents. Desperate to salvage their reputation, his label had called a press conference for a question and answer session. When the first reporter had asked why they had chosen that particular name, Oz looked directly into the camera and said, “I don‘t know? I voted for calling ourselves ‘The baby ate my dingo’ but Devon said that didn’t make any sense.”

Laughing at the memory, she couldn’t help being glad that things had ended up working out, when it was all said and done with. He didn’t drink, smoke or even trash hotel rooms and he had been with the same girl since junior high. In comparison to his contemporaries and band mates he was downright tame so the angry protestors had no other choice but to move onto an easier target.

“What’s so funny?” Willow asked her, giving her a puzzled smile.

“Just thinking about your husband.” Buffy said sitting down across from her.

“We’re partners Buffy, but only in the club alright. If you want a werewolf of your very own, I’m sure there are lots just hanging around here waiting for you to take them home.” Willow teased easily. As the wife of a rock god, jealousy was a big no-no while trust had to be a big fat yes.

“Actually I found a nummy non-human treat of my very own," Buffy told her licking her lips for effect. "Then Angel showed up, chasing him off before I could take a taste or get his name and number." Buffy looped her arm around the back of the chair, casually scanning the crowd for a mane of ultra white hair.

“What did Angel want?” Willow asked leaning forward.

“The same thing he wanted when I dumped his ass.” Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. “It didn’t sound any better the second time around.”

“Be careful with that one Buffy, still waters run deep.” Oz warned her sagely. “He keeps weighing himself down this way and sooner or later he’s going to snap. All he’ll see is monsters which isn’t a good idea since he happens to be a demon with a badge. He could try to shut you down.”

“More than a hundred demon hate groups have tried the same thing. I run a clean club and my books are a pristine as angels butt crack, thanks to your darling wife here. So if Detective Liam Angelus wants to take his shot he’s more than welcome to try. It’s America after all, the home of the trumped up charges and hefty lawsuits against the city for harassment. The ACLU would have a field day and the club would get a little free press.” Buffy said simply. Her club was her life, her center and she was used to fighting for it.

She didn’t think for a moment that Angel would go that far but she trusted Oz’s judgment. He didn’t talk much but he listened and observed. When he did talk it was usually worth listening to. He had some pretty profound thoughts swirling through that head of his and he had a unique way of looking at things. He was a creative free spirit and since Willow was analytical and practical they had always stuck her as the perfect couple. Oz taught her to open herself up and relax and she showed him how to be a little more responsible.

Besides they were such a cute couple it was almost sickening, Buffy thought with a grin as Oz stroked his hand over Willow‘s long hair. They had been married since Willow turned eighteen and they still looked like a pair of high schoolers knee deep in puppy love. She didn't see herself as the white picket fence type or even the modern ultra hip equivalent that these two had, but she was still envious. What it be like to have that kind of connection with another person, she wondered getting to her feet.That thought had come out of nowhere but it was easy to ignore since it wasn't something she wanted to really explore. She gave them the type of smile a child gives their parents when they catch them getting all cuddly. “I almost hate to break this up but we have work waiting for us in the office. Spreadsheets, expense accounts and salaries oh my.”

_____________________________________________


Spike, never being the patient type, fidgeted uncomfortably while he waited for her to come back downstairs. When he had first arrived, he had gone through the club and he knew that he wouldn’t exactly be able to blend in on the second floor. With the pale color scheme he would stick out like black stain in white satin sheets.

He had to give Buffy credit though, she had built one hell of a club. In reality it was like two clubs in one, the pleasant version of hell on earth, here on the ground floor or you could go upstairs to heaven, complete with fruity mocktails.

He was a creature of the dark, by design and nature and he liked it that way. But he couldn’t help wondering which way the red hot Buffy Giles swung. Was she a creature of darkness, like himself or the light of all lights. Disturbed by the way his thoughts were going, he took a few moments to remind himself that had some serious money resting on this case. Tthat was exactly what he should keep his eye on…the money he told himself firmly.

He had nearly convinced his hormones to obey, but then she appeared on the top of the stairs like Aphrodite herself, descending from Mt. Olympus in all of her glory. Her skin was effulgent in the soft wash of light surrounding her like a gossamer cloud. Due to the floor plan the light never quite reached him down in the pit but he felt as if he was seeing his first sunrise in centuries. As the warmth of her beauty spilled over him, i t was even more exquisite then he had ever remembered.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone. He pressed autodial and waited for his partner to come on the line. “Charles, call Summers and tell him to find someone else.”

“Too dangerous?”

“Yeah, something like that.” He said, watching the lines of her body as she made her way down the stairs. Only a fool would chose something as cold and crisp as money over those softly curving lines of womanhood. “Gotta go mate, something I have to do.”

Without waiting for an answer he clicked off the phone and jammed it into his pocket. In the back of his mind he knew Gunn was going to kill him over this, but the rest of his mind was to focused on getting over to her to care. He could smell her, the sweet scent of her skin on the air as if she was the only person in the building. Like the predator his beast within truly was, he pursued her with a single-mindedness that a pure human’s brain would never be unable to understand.

Standing in front of her only moments later, he meant to ask her if they could talk, but his lips had something else in mind. Before he had consciously even realized what he was doing, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His tongue trailed over her lips, softer than silk and he got his first taste of her.

Thoreau said, the whole body... imbibes delight through every pore and as his tongue explored her moist sultry mouth, Spike believed him unconditionally. She tasted like sin, sticky honey being licked off of warm skin in a dark room full of desperate moans. Her flavor traveled down his body, coating every cell of his being with her essence until his body would wither if he went without her for to long. Her kisses were narcotic, altering his consciousness with every moment he drank her in.

He pulled away, knowing that it was already to late. She was in his blood and he was addicted. Less than seconds since his lips had left hers, they tingled and his body was shaking from need. Since she was still in his arms, he didn’t see any harm in taking one more taste…just to take the edge of he assured himself.

Realizing his intentions, she brought her hand up to his mouth to stop him. “Why don’t you give me your name first?”

“Spike,” he said when she pulled her hand away. He was slowly recovering his senses when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for another searing kiss.

Every inch of her was humming with need. Her blood was burning through her veins and she had been cold for so long she couldn’t risk letting him go so soon. He had disappeared on her once tonight and she was afraid if she lost sight of him now, he would vanish without a trace. Fisting her hands into the soft leather of his jacket, she drank in the fire from his lips willing her body to burn alive until nothing remained but ash. At that moment she couldn’t think of a better way to die, than in his arms.

His hands roamed over her flesh like hungry wolves and when something ripped into her shoulder, she moaned. She was too lost to her desire for her mind to register the searing pain or the unending screams around her. Only when he jerked, did she feel the blood sliding down her body like warm silk. Her hand reached up to feel her throbbing shoulder and when she felt the blood thick and gelatinous against her fingertips, the haze of desire evolved into pure unadulterated rage.

Spinning around, she searched for any sign of the attacker. Her eyes grazed over the innocent bystanders looking for someone who was an island of tranquility in this surging sea of chaos. The scene blurred in lines of dark colors and jostling bodies as her focus narrowed her entire world down to one demon with putrid green scales and red rat like eyes. Nothing else mattered in that moment, not the passion, not the pain, nothing but the battle she was about to begin. Her face, normally so animated and full of life faded away to reveal a grim mask of ruthless determination.

She didn’t run through the crowd, like a fish desperately trying to make it upstream, she flowed through it, like the river itself. In moments she was facing her attacker and she launched out with a stunning right cross hitting him solidly in the face. He stumbled back, his mouth a bloody red ruin of mangled flesh. “Is that all you got slayer?” He asked spitting the blood that had gathered in his mouth out onto the floor.

He had dared to attack her in her club and she was not in the mood for witty banter or sarcastic remarks, she wanted to make him pay. She turned into a spinning back kick. When he ducked under her leg like she had expected, she dropped to one knee turning the back spin into a low leg sweep. She connected with him at the right knee, shoving it out of joint and knocking him to the floor with a high pitched scream of pain. Fluidly rising to her feet, she landed another blow to his ribs smiling sadistically at the dry snap of atleast one of them breaking under her foot.

He reached into his pocket to retrieve his gun, but before he could point it, let alone take aim, another foot pressed into his elbow anchoring him to the floor. “Wouldn’t do that mate.” Spike said applying almost enough force to shatter the bone. “The lady here will just take it as an excuse to kill you and you don’t want that now do you?”

With nothing left to do, he tossed away the gun and glared up at him. “Can’t wait to tell the boys back home that I not only bloodied the daughter of a god but also the infamous William the Bloody as well.”

At his words, Buffy looked over to Spike realizing that the same bullet that had hit her, had traveled through her flesh to lodge itself in his. She could make out the shiny metal of the bullet glaringly bright against the dark red blood streaming around it.

Noticing where her gaze had traveled, he gave her an assuring wink. “Nothing but a thorn luv, don’t concern yourself.”

“From the show you two were putting on, I thought Har’tuh had hired her a prostitute instead of a body guard.” The demon spat out before leered up at her. “Either way it doesn’t look like your daddy is going to get his money‘s worth.”

Hearing enough, Spike kicked him in the face in a blinding blur of speed to fast for the human eye to follow, knocking the demon unconscious. But he knew, even before he met Buffy’s angry jade eyes, the damage had already been done.

Chapter 4:
“I can explain, pet.” Spike said taking a step towards her. He had just met her but he still felt like he had betrayed her.

“Let me guess Har’tuh paid you a small fortune to protect me from some big ugly from his past.” Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her chest, stifling a wince from the pain in her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Spike said a little surprised. “But I called my partner and quit after we danced.”

She laughed but she still wasn‘t ready to forgive him yet. But she wasn’t ready to let him go either, which sent her scouring her mind for some sort of compromise. “I’m good honey, but not that good. Call and let your partner know that your back on the job.”

“Your father may have already cancelled the contract.”

“He’s not my father, just the sperm donor. My father lives in England.” She corrected him coldly. “But Hank isn’t hiring you I am.”

She saw something flicker in his eyes. “Don’t worry, I can meet your fee.”

“That’s not what I worried about, I wondering what your hiring me for?” He walked over to stand in front of her and jerked his head at the demon. “You more or less took this bastard down without any help from me and when he told you my profession you didn’t exactly seem grateful. So what exactly do you want from me Buffy?”

Unable to resist, she flicked her gaze down the long length of his body.

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Spike said taking her arm. He wanted her so badly it hurt, but he had his pride…no matter how delightful the job sounded. “I’m not a whore. You can buy my professional services and I’ll guard your body but I’m not about to let you buy me.”

Judging by the steam all but pouring out of his ears, she figured they were even. “Get over yourself Spike. If I want a man, I don’t have to buy one. This isn’t the first time this has happened and since I am part human I could use some help. You took a bullet and didn’t run screaming so that shows me you can handle yourself. But it’s my life so we do this my way.”

She pulled her arm away and looked into his eyes. “I want you Spike but we will handle that on my terms as well. If you got a problem with that, walk away now.”

Wanting no more misunderstanding, he reached up to touch her face. “I might be bad for you luv, I’ve got a past and it isn’t pleasant. So maybe I should be saying the same thing to you.”

She thought about her own past, the blood, the pain, the demons. She had seen and done things that she knew from experience could make a man look at her like she was his worst nightmare made flesh. “Everyone has a past, mine is painted with blood and filled with screams of terror and pain. That’s also my future and my present, I might hurt you before this is over Spike.”

“Then so be it, I’m not about to walk away.” He brought his lips to hers and whispered against her mouth. “I might be the one who hurts you.”

With his lips a breath away from hers, she knew there was no going back now. She didn’t believe for a moment that she would live to see her golden years so her only choice was to live each day she did have well. Without passion, without heat you might as well be another cold body on a slab.

She couldn’t imagine a worse fate than that. No torment of hell could be worse than potential unfilled and every time her lips met his, she felt the potential for something more. Something that she wanted in the deepest crevice of her heart…to love and be loved in return.

“Then make me burn until then,” she whispered closing the distance between their lips. Dimly she heard the wail of sirens slicing through the night like the weeping call of a nightingale but nothing mattered but him. There was no end or beginning of time, just this moment.

Needing to feel her skin under his fingers, he pulled her closer, wrenching a pain filled gasp from her throat. “Bloody hell,” He muttered pulling away to study her shoulder. He had completely forgotten they had been shot and since she was the only one in danger of bleeding to death, he was surprised she hadn’t brought it up.

The skin was ragged and red, like a fire raging beneath her pale skin but to his surprise the thumb sized hole had already began to close. She was healing faster than he was and that thought alone, reminded his own brain that he too was in pain. Since he was more concerned about her it was easy to ignore it. Wanting to see how badly she was hurt, he prodded around the wound gently causing her to wince sharply. “I can’t believe you.”

“Yeah that me, natures mystery.” She muttered dryly pulling away.

“Not the healing, which is impressive by the way, but your fussing now more than when you were actually shot.”

“Well I was a little busy at the time.” She told him with a wicked smile. “I don‘t mind a little pain as foreplay, but even for me this was a little extreme.”

“Want me to kiss it and make it better, baby?” He shot back, liking the way it sounded.

“Vampires.” She said rolling her eyes. “It’s always about the blood lust and not about the lust.”

“You knew?” Spike asked, unable to believe she had surprised him yet again. Every time he thought he had her figured, she did the last thing he expected. He loved that in a woman and once you add in the rough foreplay, she was close to becoming his ideal girlfriend.

“The whole no heartbeat thing, gave it away on the dance floor. But it’s not really a problem for me, I need a man with a little more stamina than the average human. We got demons to deal with and Joe Regular doesn‘t really thrive in that environment.” She told him switching her focus away from her throbbing glands and insistent libido. Before she had time to say anything else or ask any questions she heard the sound of the front doors being thrown open.

Only one man she knew entered a room like that and she wasn’t really in the mood for another confrontation with Detective Angelus. “Follow my lead, you’re now on the clock.” She told Spike quickly, while Angel made his way over to them.

“What in the hell happened here?” He demanded, motioning for his men to assist the demon on the ground.

“Self defense, he shot me, I kicked his ass. Case closed.” Buffy told him harshly. His tone implied that this was some how her fault and that more or less told her how the rest of the conversation was going to go…badly.

“You don’t look badly injured while he is unconscious. That doesn’t say self defense to me.” He told her crossly, glaring at the man just over her shoulder. He could see she was bleeding but more importantly he recognized the man as the one she had been dancing with earlier. That just put him in a bad mood, even though they weren‘t together anymore he didn‘t care to have his nose rubbed in it.

“I’m the slayer in this conversation, Detective” Buffy said, leveling him with a icy glare. “So that means what you think doesn’t mean shit. I outrank you, so I don’t need your permission to deal with a violent assailant. He shot me in a crowded club full of innocent bystanders and if it had been a few inches lower I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. So what in the hell did you expect me to do Angel, ask him to wait nicely until your team could get here to arrest him?”

“You may be a slayer, but what about your friend here?” Angel asked, making sure that by friend he meant lover. “Did have a part in this?”

“He’s my body guard Angel and he was shot…so yeah he had a part in this. He knocked him out and disarmed him but the rest was just little old me. If he hadn‘t, you’d have a body on your hands, so you might say thank you.” Buffy said mockingly.

“Would you have really killed him?” Angel asked her quietly.

She met his eyes, letting him see the darkness she was capable of in matters of life and death. “You know the answer Angel. I don’t go down easy, I fight.”

“There has to be more to life than kill or be killed, or else what in the hell’s the point.” He asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Living Angel, that’s the point.” Buffy said laying a hand over the wound. The blood had dried so she slipped her finger into the wound to gather blood on her finger tip. She rubbed her finger over her palm to smear the blood over her hand before lifting it up to show it to him. “You don’t drink blood because it’s the color of fresh roses, you drink it because there’s life stored away in every single drop. This is my life, one drop at a time and I’m not ready for it to be over yet. That’s worth fighting for, I’m worth fighting for and I sure as hell don’t have to stand here and defend myself to you.”

“Why are you afraid you new friend here might suddenly see you the way I do?” Angel shot back, his mouth watering at the sight of blood warm and fresh on her hand.

Oz’s words floated back to her and she realized that he had been right. “I may be just another monster to you Angel but your nothing to me. Poor tortured Angel, can’t be a monster, can’t be a man. You are pathetic and the real reason your so pissed off is because I figured that out a long time ago. Your beneath me…”

He cut her off with a sharp backhand, knocking her a full step back. Every eye in the place turned to the sound as it echoed through the nearly empty building and up to the rafters above.

Which Spike took as his cue to step forward. Not as her body guard but as the man currently in her life. If she had a problem with that, then….they would talk about it later he decided. He stepped forward and hit Angel with a solid right cross wearing a sadistic smile the entire time. “Hit a nerve did she?”

Buffy laid a hand on Spike’s forearm, stopping him from taking another shot. She dabbed at the blood gathering in the corner of her lip. “It looks like I’m not the only one who is a monster.”

Realizing what he had done, Angel’s eyes filled with remorse. “Buffy…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, just get the fuck out. Your not welcome here anymore.” She turned around and left him standing there and she never looked back. Angel was her past, a past she didn’t care to repeat, while Spike…well she wasn’t sure what he was yet.

Both vampires eyed each other while the click click of her stiletto’s on the floor got father and father away. Spike’s first instinct was to go after her but he reckoned she needed a little time to get her mind together. It was obvious these two had been involved but since it was also obvious that it was very much over, he wasn’t threatened by this git in the least, he told himself.

They stood there watching each other in silence both fully aware that everyone in the room was waiting to see what would happen next. Figuring he had done enough damage for the night, Angel turned on his heel and left without another word. He had a lot to think about.


______________________________________________

“Buffy are you alright?” Willow asked running into her office only seconds after Buffy had pulled the door shut.

“My arm aches but it’s nothing my favorite Wicca can‘t help.” Buffy hinted, walking the rest of the way over to her chair.

“I’m not talking about that, I talking about what that bastard Angel did.” Willow said, her voice laced with hatred and disgust. She walked over to Buffy and laid her hands gently over the wound. Reciting the incantation in her head she could feel a ball of warmth flow into her hands. She visualized pushing that power into Buffy. When she pulled her hand away the wound wasn’t completely healed, but it was closed and some of the inflammation had faded.

“I am so over him Willow.” Buffy said rolling her arm gently. It still throbbed but it was barely even a one on her pain scale. Sometimes it was good to have a witch as a best friend and this was just one of those times, Buffy thought with a grin. But there were things she wanted to do tonight, most of them involving Spike, and she wanted to get started before she talked herself out of it. “Call the cleaning crew and have them handle the main floor first thing in the morning. Then talk to Xander and have him make sure the staff understands that this is an in house matter and that anyone caught talking it over with the patrons will be fired. I’ll handle the press but I will need you to run things around here for a little while after that.”

“So this wasn’t just a one time thing huh?” Willow asked, leaning back against the desk. She knew things like this happened a lot in Buffy‘s life but this was the first time it had happened in the club. Buffy loved this place and Willow understood why that was her first priority but she still wanted to what this would mean for her friend.

“Nope, just another unwelcome gift from Hank.” Catching the look of concern in her eyes, Buffy gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry I’m not solo gal, he also hired me a bodyguard.”

“So that’s what Blondie was doing with you at the base of the stairs…guarding your body.” Willow asked innocently. She had been two steps behind her when they had started their impromptu make out session. And even though she had been standing there in a public place, she had felt like she had walked in on them without knocking first. It was like they had secreted unrestrained desire into the air, which is why she left them to it and went back upstairs to get a kiss or three from her own husband. Blushing at the thought of how hot she had gotten watching them, Willow pushed those feelings aside.

She hadn’t been fast enough, Buffy saw the faint blush creeping down her friends neck. “Trust me Will, it was even better than you can possibly imagine. I was there and I’ve never been so turned on in my entire life. It was like the rest of the world was gone and all that mattered was feeling his lips against mind. Which is why I decided to hire him.”

When Willow gaped at her in shock, she quickly explained what had been going on. When she had the gist of it, Buffy leaned back in her chair. “So since I want to keep him around for awhile, I figured I might as well hire him to help me deal whatever mess Hank’s gotten me into this time.”

Since Buffy had only been enjoying brief affairs since her break from Angel, Willow was overjoyed that her friend was finally interested in someone for more than a one night stand. She knew what infatuation looked like on her friend and this wasn’t it. This was something deeper and since she had seen him punch Angel, she liked this new guy already. Now all she had to do was make sure Buffy didn‘t ruin it before it got started. “Take as long as you need, we can handle things here.”

Chapter 5:
Buffy walked back into the club. The house lights had been turned up and the place glowed with light like a burning white star banishing all the shadows the club was famous for. She could clearly see her blood, nearly black against the floor as well as the blood she had spilt and her rage swarmed through her like a thousand stinging wasps. It was like her body had been violated and it wasn't because the bullet had ripped into her flesh. Her essence was contained in every single thing in this building. Every brick and every plank of wood had drunk her in like a sponge and despite what Angel thought, it had been a place of innocence. She had never been innocent, but until tonight this place had been.

The River Styx was a refuge for those created out of darkness and for those wanting to get their first taste of it. It was a place where you didn’t have to hide away from a world that proclaimed you equal with one hand and slapped at you with the other for being a freak. Everyone was welcome and no one ever left feeling disappointed. The drinks were cold and the action was always hot. You could watch the bodies writhing and grinding on the dance floor or you could step out of the shadows and join them.

Inside the heavy wooden doors was a world entirely different from the world outside and it had been a world of peace. There had been minor skirmishes through the years, a shove here and angry word there but what had happened to night was just the opening salvo to the full out war that was brewing on some distant horizon.

Her father had taken back his name, she was Buffy Giles not Buffy Summers, but his past was always a part of her future. And just like her own past, it was bloody. “Thanks Hank,” She muttered tearing her eyes away from the blood that had desecrated her last refuge of normalcy.

She saw Spike, leaning next to the bar chattering on his cell, impatient with whoever was on the other end and she couldn’t help but smile. Meeting Spike had been about the only thing that had kept this night from being a complete and utter waste. Angel, she had discovered wasn’t fond of anything not being on his terms so he would be back for another game of make Buffy realize what a fool she was. The unknown demon who had sent her attacker would be back, because bad guys have one track minds of doom and destruction. But Spike…she watched the play of his muscles beneath his duster for a moment as he gestured impatiently. Well something told her he was anything but a waste of time.

“Damn it Gunn, I told you the girl is picking up the tab. She ain’t keen on letting Har’tuh help her out but we’re still getting paid. It‘s my hide in the line of fire so what in the hell makes you think you have the right to ride me over this?” Spike asked him angrily absently rubbing his fingers over the bullet still embedded in his flesh..

“I’m your business partner, the door doesn’t just say Gunn and Spike Investigations because it sounds pretty. Har’tuh was seriously pissed when I called him and when the news broke about what went down he called and ate my ass about taking his money only to drop the deal seconds before we would have actually earned it. He wants to sue our ass, some shit about endangering his daughter by leaving the case before he could find a replacement.” Gunn shot back his own anger at the boiling point.

“The girl took out the demon herself, with only a minor assist from me. You’re the lawyer Charlie, so use that and the fact she hired me to prove we’re not negligent or whatever horseshit Har’tuh tries to lay at our door. Then when that’s over with, transmit the files to my cell so I can do the damn job.”

“Listen I’m the brains of this company and something tells me your brains not on the beasties but the beauty. I’ve seen her pic, she’s a fine looking woman but that doesn‘t change the facts. Her daddy happens to be an overprotective Fallen One with enough clout and power to bury us if you fuck this up by fucking her!”

“Gunn, it’s nothing but business.” He lied easily aware that she had walked up to stand beside him. He held up his hand to let her know it would be a moment or two longer.

Without a word she took the cell phone and clicked it off. When he glared at her, she gave him a slow smile. “I’m not in the mood to talk and I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

Since all of the blood in his body headed south of his waist band, he found it remarkably hard to be pissed off about his interrupted conversation with Gunn. “Why didn’t you just say so pet?”

She grabbed the front of his jacket and jerked him closer to her. “I just did. So are you coming or not?”

“I’m not your plaything luv.” He told her, fascinated by the curve of her lip. “We might be doing things your way but that doesn’t mean you have me on a leash.”

She thought about all the things she wanted to do to his tight, toned body and then gave him a look hot enough that it could melt steel. “I don‘t let any man tie me down but if it makes you feel better you can tie me up. We‘re both our own masters Spike, but tonight I‘m not looking to play peasant to your prince.”

“You might change your mind about that, luv.” He said while all of his nerve endings sizzled and snapped at her words.

“Well see who begs first.” She warned him before stealing a brief kiss. She traced her hands down the lines of his chest. “Once I have you naked beneath me, I’m going to lick my down each and everyone of these lines. When I finally make my way down to your cock it’s going to think it’s been crowned king after I’ve worshiped it with my mouth.”

CRACK…shhhuuruur...fiszzezsz, they both turned back to look at the bar as the sound reminded them they weren’t exactly alone. Sheepishly Xander looked down at the broken bottle that he had accidentally shattered in his hands at her words. Unable to meet her eyes he watched the pale amber wine spilling down to the floor, before mumbling his apology. “Sorry boss.”

Hearing the desire in Xander’s voice, she couldn’t help but send Spike a triumphant look. “That was just a preview, so you wanna get out of here and catch the real thing?”

Instead of answering, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “Your place or my hotel room?”

She headed to the door and called back over her shoulder. “My place, I don’t have any neighbors to worry about.”

Chapter 6:
***The bike Buffy drives is BMW K 1200 S, I chose it because it has a futuristic look suitable for 1000 years ahead of now and you gotta love a bike that goes from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds right? Ohh, Hyper storage by the way is a small space that thanks to the technological advances of the time shrinks down objects so they fit in an impossibly small space.***


Spike followed Buffy out to the employee parking lot in back of the building. They had taken two steps towards his car, a 3057 Desoto Firedome designed to look like one two centuries older, complete with the original rocker panels, when she turned to him expectantly. “I forgot my coat, can I borrow yours?”

Now normally the ladies, asked about his ride which had cost him a lot of coin but for some reason she didn’t seem the slightest bit impressed, which took him off kilter. “You want my coat?”

“Yeah, it’s almost an hour ride from here and in this,” she gestured at her clothes. “I’ll be the block of ice formally known as Buffy.”

“Honey it’s sunny California, meaning it’s close to a balmy 75 degrees right now. I’m partial to this coat and this ain’t high school.” He shot back, casually walking the rest of the way to his car, just to let her know it was his. “I could give you a ride if you like, if your cars climate control is stuck on ice age.”

“And leave my baby here all alone all night, I’d meet you in hell for a disco first.” She told him walking over to her bike. She stroked her hand across the butter soft leather seat and turned back just in time to see his jaw drop. Her bike was a 3100 S, in devil may care red and even if you didn’t know jack about bikes it just looked well…cool, she thought with a wicked grin.

“You sure that not too powerful for a little thing like yourself?” Spike asked, forcing his tongue to roll back into his mouth. Gunn had the poor man’s version of that bike and even the replica was a beast right out of hell.

“You want a ride?” She asked sliding onto the seat like it was a long lost lover. “You could wrap your arms around me and keep your coat.”

“Hell take the coat, just let me drive.” He said abandoning his car without a second glance.

“Nope, no one drives but me, but I promise a hell of a ride.” She said reaching back to where the hyper storage cube was built in on the back. Flipping the switch she pulled out her helmet and the spare.

“Helmet laws suck,” He muttered, pulling it on anyway.

“Yeah well I like my brains inside my skull and the way people drive these days you can’t be to careful.” She warned, twisting her hair and sliding on her helmet. She patted the seat behind her and waited for him to climb on.

He did and when her ass was nestled against his rigid cock, she knew that it was for the bike. But since she got wet just looking at it, she couldn’t blame him. Motorcyle foreplay at it’s finest…she thought with a grin. She started the engine and instead of a throaty roar, it started light and mean and she felt his arms wrap around her tightly.

He barely had time to gasp when she pealed out of the lot like all of the demons of hell were on there heals. It was like he had blinked and they were suddenly tearing down the road at a breakneck speed, with a casual disregard for anything even resembling a traffic law. As they sped through the city streets nipping through traffic fluidly, he had to envy her skill. She rode the bike like an experienced streetwalker turning tricks nightly to survive and he wasn’t sure if he should shut his eyes and pray they survived or urge her to go faster.

An hour later and several near fatal misses later, she pulled up to an two story mansion a short walk away from the turbulent ocean. True to her word there wasn’t another house in sight and for all intents and purposes they seemed to have left the real world behind. Which is why she chose it, he assumed climbing off the bike to get a better look around. He pulled off the helmet and handed it to her. “Nice pile of bricks, pet.”

“Yeah well Hank gave more than enough money for this lifetime, so I figured why not have the best.” She said as she returned the helmets to hyper storage.

“Let me get this straight pet, you take his money but you won’t let him pay for my services?”

“Everyone likes having money Spike, even me.” She admitted combing her fingers through her hair. “He gave me a large trust fund and as far as I am concerned, I have earned every penny. His past constantly creeps up trying to take a bite out of my ass, so I think of it‘s a hazard pay. But like you I can’t be bought. I decide where the money goes and every time he sends some big expensive bribe my way, it gets sent back. See that’s what you are Spike a bribe.”

“How you figure that?”

“After he handed me over to my parents he walked away whistling and never looked back. I’ve never met him face to face…well not that I can remember, but I see his enemies once or sometimes twice a year. When that happens he sends some big please-forgive-me present my way. Sometimes it’s a pretty sparkle, sometime shuttle tickets home to visit my folks or in the really bad cases it’s a bodyguard.”

She looked out to the ocean for a moment, watching the moonlight being carried to shore by the cascading waves. Like always the sight calmed her. “He gave up the right to make those kind of decisions for me. So by hiring you myself, it makes it my choice. He doesn’t get a say in how I live my life and that’s the way it’s going to stay.”

He could hear the pain in her voice, the bittersweet longing for all that she had lost or never known about her real family. It was endearing, this fragility in someone who exuded strength and confidence the way other women had to settle for surrounded themselves in cheap perfume to make them feel powerful. “He doesn’t know what he lost pet.”

“Sure he does Spike,” she said turning back to him. “But the real question is does he care?”

Instead of answering a question that he didn’t know the answer to, he kissed her. He drank away the cold melancholy that had settled into her bones and replaced it with the molten fire of lust. Her hands roamed over his body, tightening his muscles under the skin with each desperate and hungry caress. “Inside…let’s go inside..” He told her, pulling his mouth away.

“Later,” She said reaching back to untie the stings at the base of her neck. She let the dark fabric slide down her body like water, watching the lust leap into his eyes at the sight of her exposed breasts. Putting her hands on the back of the bike seat she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “I want it here…now.”

Since he didn’t think he would make it inside, he didn’t see a problem with her scenario. He walked over to her and trailed his hand down her spine causing her to arch her back and press her trim ass against his throbbing cock. “How do you want it then luv, soft and slow?” He paused long enough to lick his way up her back. “Or hard and fast?”

“Fuck me fast, we’ll go slow later.” She promised them both. Reaching down, she unfastened her pants and slid them down her legs to pool at her feet.

If she had been wearing underwear, he never saw it but he did she her ass pale and juicy in the moonlight. Freeing his cock, he spooned her. He could feel her, moist and dripping against the tip of his member and he didn’t waste time with anymore foreplay. They had been dancing around each other all night and now it was time to take it over the top and send them both spiraling over the edge.

He rammed the full length of him into her, in single brutal thrust drawing a deep moan from her throat. He could feel her body adjusting to him, stretching to make room. “So tight,” He murmured hungrily, pulling out of her only to thrust back in before she could draw a single breath.

He reached his hands across her body, cupping her breasts in his hands absently marveling at the size. They filled his hands to overflowing and since they were as soft as spun cotton, he knew they hadn’t been bought. Nature had blessed her and he considered that a gift to all man-kind. He rolled her nipples around his fingers, pinching them, teasing them to tautness, delighting them both.

“More…Spike…give me more.” She gasped out, grinding against him with each thrust. Inside she was screaming inside for him, every fiber of her being was his for the taking and she would deny him nothing. She wanted to drown in him, be consumed utterly by the sensations he was kindling through her. But more than that she wanted to take him under with her. She reached up a hand to sweep her hair away, leaving the right side of her neck open and exposed. “Bite me…drink me in with your mouth.”

He could feel the climax building inside him with each jagged thrust and he could feel her body fighting for its own release. Slipping into his true face, he lowered his face down to her neck, greedily licking across the skin he was about to claim. Only one thought was understandable in his mind…mine…she is mine. Opening his mouth, he claimed her with his fangs. Blood welled to the surface filling him with the taste of her and dribbled down his chin to trail down her back like a crimson sacrifice for the passion bending them both to its will.

Screaming out his name into the night, the double penetration shot her over the edge, drowning her mind and body with a release the likes of which she had never experienced. Her whole body was a single burning nerve expanding and collapsing around him like her soul itself was struggling to burst free and fill the emptiness in his body.

As if he felt it, he found his own release and jerked his mouth away to scream his own pleasure into the night. It roared up to the heavens and made the stars themselves tremble in the sky as they reveled in the cry of desire truly sated.

Chapter 7:

Spike felt the salty breeze sweep over his skin and hoped it would return his sanity…it didn’t. If anything it made him a little more insane for the beautiful vixen pressed against him. He could taste her on the wind and even thought he had just consumed her fully, he wanted more. A sly smile slid across his lips, he wanted more alright but this time he would be in control.

In nearly two centuries of lovemaking he had never felt the kind of power they had created between them and it had been enough to bring Atlas to his knees. He was half in love with her before this and now he was completely lost…there would be no one else, for either of them.

She was his, even if she didn’t know it and it was time to make his claim permanent. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking of forever with a woman he had just met but with her it was like her heartbeat had filled his empty breast and brought him back to life. Dead was he no more, she had fucked the life back into him and he should just walk away before he lost everything. It was impossible to fall in love this fast, this quickly…it was just lust…infatuation and nothing more…nothing real.

Screw that, he thought bending down to pull up his trousers. He had fought for a lot of stupid reasons over the years, picked fights he had no hope of winning but not once had he ever ran away because it was it was impossible. Love wasn’t something you could custom order or put on the calendar and wait for, he told himself. It was too strong to be denied forever and yet so fragile that it could be lost in the single moment you looked away. That all love was, moments in time, single grains of sand on the coastline of your reality and he wasn’t about to let this or her slip through his fingers. He was tired of being alone in the tumultuous sea that was lost in the constantly crashing waves and fast currents.

Something told him, that his woman was the type to swim against the current, just on principal and he wasn’t about to let that happen. If she wanted to fight, they would fight until they were both aching and bloody but in the end he would burn in hell before he let her go. It was about time, she started to understand that and who she was dealing with. She had said they were both masters but so far all they had done is dance to her tune. Now it was time for him to lead. He bent down and scooped her into his arms. “My turn luv.”

Admiring his stamina almost as much as his diamond cut abs, she gave him a wicked smile. He paused at the door and she raised her voice for the voice lock. “What do you have in mind?”

The door swung open and he surveyed his surroundings. She had a spacious living room and to his surprise it was decorated in the same dark hues as the main floor in the club, a shrine of gothic elegance. Two long black velvet divans faced off against each other from opposite sides of the room separated by a deep thick rug the color of spilled wine. The far end of the room was dominated by a large work of art surrounded by candles. The sight of that particular portrait, froze him in his tracks.

It was a woman sitting on the grass with her arms wrapped around her legs, hiding her naked form and giving her an air of undeniable innocence. Behind her a full moon rode high in the sky while her golden hair spilled around her shoulders like sunshine in defiance of the encroaching night. On her back were a large pair of wings, broken and bloody with silver feathers forever frozen as they fell to the floor. He knew every line of this painting but as his eyes took in the woman’s tear streaked face he saw it clearly for the first time.

“I know it looks like me but I wasn‘t the girl who posed for it.” Buffy explained, noticing how entranced he seemed to be by the portrait. “I met the artist at the showing and she gave it to me but she wouldn‘t tell me the story behind it. She said someday a dark soul would tell me the story of my creation and that our love would either damn me for all eternity or restore my wings.”

Gently he laid her down on the rug settling himself behind her so that her head was cradled in his lap. He brushed his hand down her face, the face exactly like the crying angel in the picture. “Once upon a time, an angel was expelled from heaven and brought into a world she was never meant to exist in. The forces of evil had began to lay claim on this world and the Powers that Be knew she was the only one who was strong enough to protect the innocent. She was their gift to the world, a Champion given at a time when there were very few willing to fight. But there is a balance that must be met and by sending her into this world, it shifted the scales. The First evil demanded the order be restored. Having no choice they allowed a curse to be laid upon the Chosen One.”

“What was the curse?” Buffy asked, softly.

“The woman who painted this, listens to voices that only she can hear and sees things in her mind of things yet to come because she lives in the world between worlds. But not even she knows how the story ends, the whispers would not tell her.”

“How do you know all this?”

“The artist, Drusilla is my sister.” He bent down to lay a soft kiss on her forehead. “She showed me this painting and told me that you and I had loved each other throughout time, only to lose each other again with each new life and death. But our souls are joined, calling us to each other and the only way to be truly whole is to be together. She said you were my destiny and that even though my soul was taken so long ago, it was never lost because to you it will always return.”

Buffy wanted to pretend nothing he said made any sense but she couldn’t, not after what she had felt outside. But believing something and admitting it were entirely different matters, she decided. It was one thing to believe that her soul mate was a vampire and another to believe that she was some mystical Chosen One destined to fight the forces of evil. She was the one who controlled her destiny and she was going to keep right on making her own way.

Right now she was choosing to be with Spike for the foreseeable future atleast…not because of some story she assured herself but because she wanted him. He was attractive, witty and sexy as hell so who wouldn’t want to try him on for size for a while.

He could practically see the wheels turning in her head and he knew she wasn’t ready to believe. Hell he hadn’t believed it when Dru had told it to him nearly twenty five years ago when she had painted it…wait a second he thought, mentally putting together a timeline. “How old are you by the way pet?”

“Isn’t it a little late to be asking if I’m legal?” She teased getting up and turning to face him deliberately putting her back to the painting. “Fear not lover, I’ll be twenty six next March.”

Chuckling to himself, he smiled at her, needing no more assurance that she was in fact his. It would take her a while to wrap her stubborn mind around it but it wasn’t like he was getting any older. “Good to know pet but you wanna break a few laws anyway?”

“What did you have in mind?” She asked.

“Lay back luv, just put yourself in my hands.”

She did as he asked and he just took a few moments to enjoy the sight of her, cream against the deep red of the rug that wrapped around her curves like melting wax. He slid down his pants, so that they were both naked. He wanted her to see just how strongly she affected him before he showed her just how strong his control really was. Tracing his hands up her thighs, barely brushing her skin he slid his way up her body. Lowering his head, he took his first taste of her.

As his tongue stroked along her skin, she writhed beneath him arching her hips to give him better access. Like cat liking the last traces of cream from a bowl, he forced himself to go slow. He wanted her to beg, even if it meant driving himself insane with need. Using the rough underside of his tongue, he circled around her clit never touching it.

He looked down her body and up at her face, willing her with his eyes to ask for what she wanted. He watched her roll her nipple between her forefinger and thumb, pleasing herself but he knew it wouldn’t be enough to get her off. For that she needed him and all she had to do was say the words.

He trailed his tongue down her slit, gathering up the sweet drops slipping down her flesh like dew on the petals of a rosebud. Like a bee gathering nectar he hummed, low and deep in his throat.

“So close….uhh...fuuucck.” She cried out writhing beneath him. “Please…more…uhnn.”

Doing as she asked, he flicked the end of his tongue across her clit, before drawing the nub inside his mouth. Suckling her gently, he thought he had never tasted anything as sweet as the sticky juices of her passion. He slid his fingers inside her, motioning for her to come…and she did as if on command. He felt her muscles clench around him, sucking him in and pushing him away at the same time. “Your such a tight little thing.”

“Another…benefit of super powers..” She gasped out, riding the last waves of her climax.

That made him blink. “You mean….”

“Yep…you could fuck me senseless and tomorrow night or the night after it’s like I’m being touched for the very first time. It‘s just like pulling a muscle and given enough time in between I heal.”

Perpetually chaste, that was a new one even for him and if he hadn’t loved her before this, that alone would have been enough to push him over the edge. It made sense when he thought about it, losing her virginity was just another injury and he had already seen first hand how quickly she healed. But all that mattered to him was that no matter how many men she had in her past, tonight her body believed he was her first and only. That suited him just fine, but he didn‘t like the idea of her being able to forget him. He had planned on another bout of rough and tumble but he now had something else in mind.

He moved up her body, to nuzzle her breasts. He could hear her heart echoing beneath his ear and he could feel it resonating inside his own chest as if it was beating for them both. Overcome with tenderness, he slid into her gently, drawing a silky soft moan of pleasure from her lips. Like an intricate ballet, they dipped and swayed against one another with a delicate grace of yielding muscles while the symphony of their soft cries and moans played in the background.

Their first time had been wild, nearly an inhuman need to mate, to feel, this was about discovering one another. With every feather light caress he learned not only where she liked to be touched but also helped her to uncover a few more secret places on her body. He could feel her trying to hold back, lose herself behind the walls around her heart but she couldn’t. This wasn’t about sex, the battering heat and need, sex could be a meaningless act between strangers. This was about reverent passion, something that would matter when the night faded.

He had no idea how long they had been lost in each other but when they cried out their release only moments apart, he could see in her eyes that all the walls she had built over the years had come tumbling down. She was naked and exposed beneath him in every way. Nothing was keeping them apart but their skin.

He was just as exposed but while he found it liberating he could see it scared her down to her bones. His angel, had been hurt before and now he could finally see the scars marring her heart clearly. When the first tear trembled down from her lashes, he knew he was the first person to make love to her that way. Gathering the tear with his thumb, he looked into her eyes. Earlier he had offered her his body, now he would offer his heart. “I love you…”

Chapter 8:
“You don’t love me Spike, you love the idea star-crossed lovers chasing each other through time.” She pulled away from him, unconsciously mimicking the pose in the portrait behind her. “I’m a realist, I don’t look at the world through love colored glasses or lead with my heart. I do what it takes to survive and the last guy who claimed to love me, thought I was too bloodthirsty for his taste. He was a vampire for god’s sake and I disgusted him.”

She brushed back her hair so he could see her eyes, the darkness swimming just below the surface of the pale green of her iris. “I do what it takes to survive, break bones before mine are broken, I never hesitate…I just go for the kill. You saw me tonight and that was just a fleeting glimpse of the things I am capable of doing.”

“You know what I saw tonight Buffy? I saw a woman who wasn’t afraid of anything. But I say three words to you and you tremble.”

“It wasn’t the words that scared me Spike, it was the intent behind them. We can be together but your damn well going to understand that I am me and not some Chosen One. I’m just a woman, a daughter of a hell god sure but still just a woman. A quirk of evolution, a cosmic mistake whatever you want to call it, but at my core I am just a woman who lives in the real world.”

“I know who you are Buffy, maybe even better than you do.”

“Yeah…well what’s my favorite color?” Buffy shot back. When he didn’t answer right away, she shot out several more questions in rapid fire succession. “Favorite food, favorite song, book movie…favorite anything? How about which way I sleep or the name of my perfume?”

“Bottled Sin?” He guessed not seeing her point.

“See, you don’t know me. Those are the types of things people in love know and thousands of other tiny details.”

“I bet your ex knew all those little things but funny…he’s not the one here with you now.”

“Get out.”

“What?”

She picked up his pants and threw them at him. “You heard me, get out.”

“The hell I will.” He shouted back at her. “Those things that you talked about are the things I want to learn by being with you. But I bloody well can’t do that, if you toss me out on my arse every time I come close to seeing the real you. I’m not asking you to marry me or even to say the words back to me.”

“So what are you asking for?”

“Time Buffy…” He scooted over to look into her eyes. “All I am asking for is time for us to get to know one another. I love you so all I want is to give you a chance to find out if you love me back.”

It wasn’t so much really, she thought searching his eyes for any sign of deception and finding nothing but brutal honesty. He couldn’t make her love him…but if she was honest with herself she would admit that wasn’t what she was afraid would happen. She was afraid that she would love him. Hell, she already felt more for him than she had ever felt with Angel and that was dangerous. Angel couldn’t make her change, because she didn’t love him enough but Spike was different. Every time she looked into his icy blue eyes, she fell a little deeper. Before she knew it she would be drowning in him and she didn’t know if she was ready for that.

What she did know, was that she still wasn’t ready to lose him either. “Okay Spike, I’m your girl but this is your one chance so don’t blow it.”

He felt all the tension drain out of his shoulders at her announcement. “Don’t worry luv…I won’t.” He kissed her softly and laid her back down on the rug.

__________________________

Spike woke her up early the next morning, not with gentle caresses that she had been expecting on their first day as a couple but with a panicked scream. Jolting awake, she surveyed the room searching for the threat and had to laugh at the what she saw. Spike, deliciously naked cowering in fear behind the sofa from the soft light streaming in through the windows bathing them in a warm morning glow. “It’s okay Spike…it’s necroglass.”

Not sure if he trusted her, he tentatively reached a hand into the offending rays. When nothing happened, he looked back at her. “Next time give a fellow a bit of warning before hand luv.”

“Sorry, we were kinda busy and I forgot.” She said innocently admiring the lines of his naked ass. “Besides it’s the law isn’t it?”

“Sure for businesses and such but the cops are a sight too busy to check every house just to make sure they are up to code. But if you wanna make it up to me…” He lunged for her before she could guess his intentions. Tackling her to the floor he started kissing his way down her neck, brushing his tongue over her nearly healed bite mark.

She let him go on for a moment before fisting her hands in his hair and jerking him up to face her. “Sorry but you just went back on the clock.”

He wiggled against her suggestively. “Don’t worry pet, nothing can get to you without going through me first. I‘m protecting you with every inch of my body.”

Amused she pressed a light kiss against his lips and writhed enough to make him groan. “Sorry lover but we still have to find out whose behind last nights attack. That means using the other part of your anatomy.”

“If you wanted me to use my mouth all you had to do is ask.” He said trying to slide down her body.

Since she wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist, she did the only thing she could. She shoved him off of her, catching him off guard. Nimbly escaping his hands when the reached for her, she gave him a stern look like he was an errant child. “I have a lot to do today, press wise concerning the attack last night and I don’t have time to play right now. If you’re a good boy we can pick this up later but until then I suggest you call Har’tuh and find out what he knows.”

“Oh shit…” Spike mumbled suddenly recalling where his leather duster and his cell phone were. Charles was going to be right pissed when he called him back, he thought shaking his head. “Pet, would you mind running outside to pick up our things, seeing as the sun’s out an all. I asked my partner to transmit your file to my cell and we can start there.”

“I’ll get the stuff but your flying solo. I, being your employer am going to take a shower leaving all the grunt work to you.”

He watched her dart outside as naked as a jaybird and he had to admire the way the muscles of her thighs moved just under her trim little rear. She strolled back inside and tossed his coat to him. “There’s blood in the freezer but you can help yourself to anything in the house.”

“That being the case, why don’t I take a shower with you.” When she glared at him, he gave her a sincere smile. “Now pet, I’m just thinking about your hydro usage. Water’s a mite expensive these days but more than that we should all do our part to conserve what’s left of our natural resources.”

“I wonder if they ever thought a few thousand years ago that fresh blood would be easier to get than fresh water?” Buffy asked finally giving in. “You might as well join me since your eco-friendly and all. I mean every citizen, even the undead ones should do their part right?”

_______________________________________

After a very long and soapy encounter with a very eager woman who handled a good deal of the ‘grunt work’ Spike slipped a packet of blood into the ionwave. According to the brand, it was the good stuff straight out of Bloodworks. Vampires, not exactly expecting to be embraced with open arms when they first came out, waited until they had a alternative food source before declaring their existence. Sure they may have sired some of the brightest minds in the world to produce the Synblood but since they had a longer lifetime and the blood could be used on humans for medical reasons, everyone pretty much considered it a win-win situation.

But the second the patent period expired, knock-off blood flooded the market with most of it being an inferior product. Some of it tasted worse than rat blood but just like soft drinks, some of the generic stuff was actually pretty good. He poured the packet into a mug and took his first sip. He might have appreciated it more, if he hadn’t sunk his fangs into Buffy last night but after the way her blood has tasted he couldn’t call the alternative anything but palatable. Putting off the inevitable a little while longer he imagined several scenarios where his beautiful woman, sated every single need of his body, mostly after he rescued her from some big bad.

Knowing that he might as well face his fate and getting more worked up by each fantasy knowing full well Buffy wasn’t in the mood, he flipped open his cell.

“You have 36 messages,” It informed him in a calm efficient voice. “Message one: Charles Gunn…message is as follows…”

Spike listened to Gunn curse him and various parts of his anatomy for the first ten messages and then as the messages slipped into double digits he slowly moved on the insult his ancestors. By the final message, he had even degraded his beloved Desoto and that was just one step to far. He pressed auto call and waited for Gunn’s voice to float over the line. “Good morning mum, sorry I didn’t get in before curfew but Buffy and I were busy studding for finals.”

“Cut the shit Spike. Har’tuh is on the warpath and since the news broke about the attack, you and I are at the top of his list. Not only is that bad for business but it’s also bad for our health. So you better have one hell of a story that makes this all better or I‘ll leave your sorry ass twisting in the wind.”

“Har’tuh can bugger off, he’s not our client anymore…she is and let me say she is very satisfied.”

“Please tell me that you did not fuck our client?” Gunn asked sharply, praying for patience.

“Actually she’s my bird now so it was more like making love.”

“Just couldn’t wait to tell someone could you.” Buffy asked from where she had been standing in the doorway the last couple of minutes or so.

Giving up, he slid the phone across the counter to her. “Tell my esteemed partner Gunn, that your father isn’t going to chop him up into filet of lawyer.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll deal with Har’tuh you just concentrate on finding out whose behind the hit last night.”

“Miss Summers, Spike tells me that you want our services but unlike my partner I’m a man who thinks of all the angles before diving right in head first. I can’t access any of the files without your name on one of our contracts and until that happens all I can do is pass on the info Har’tuh gave us when the case started.”

“Fine as soon as the call is over transfer the contract and I’ll sign it digitally with Spike as a witness. Once that‘s taken care of I will transfer your fee into your business account. But I am going to tell you the same thing I told Spike, I am the one in charge.”

After the last hours he had been having, he lost the final thread of his patience and for the first time in his career, he lit into a client. “Listen girl, I don’t give a shit whose in charge that’s you and Spike’s problem. But I do care about the angry Fallen One calling me around the clock threatening to feed me my balls on a silver spoon.”

“The key word is Fallen One, while I on the other hand am just full of otherworldly power. I can handle Har’tuh but if you screw this up because you to busy pissing yourself, I’ll be the one holding the spoon. And by the way, the name’s Miss Giles, not girl do I make myself clear?” Buffy told him firmly, her tone clearly reminding him that Hank wasn’t the only dangerous one in the family.

“Yes Ma’am, may I talk to my colleague please?”

With a sweet smile she slid the phone across the counter. “He asked to talk to you.”

“Yes?”

“Damn is she that scary in person?” Gunn asked unable to believe the tiny little woman in the files had him shaking in his seat. No wonder Spike was into her, he thought running a hand over his head.

“You have no idea what my girl can do but before you write her off as a total bitch, I think you should know she rides a 3100 S. The real deal, not that cheap piece of shit you own.”

“Seriously…can I date her when you are finished with her?”

“Watch it mate…I took you bad mouthing my car but don’t go there.” Spike warned, a low growl trickling out of his throat.

“You got a real case on her then?”

Spike looked up at Buffy, meeting her eyes. “Yeah, I love her.”

“Hey, that’s cool if you two get married the bike becomes community property right?”

“You seem awful chipper considering the way this conversation started.”

“I figure your girl will keep her daddy off our back so now that my death is no longer a possibility and my best friends in love leaving a veritable ocean of heartbroken women for me to console, it’s turning out to be a pretty good day.” Gunn said shifting through the papers on his desk before getting back to the matter at hand. “I’ll transfer the data over as soon as we hang up, so let’s focus on keeping your girl alive.”

______________________________________________

After the contracts were signed and transmitted, Buffy had one more phone call to handle. She drafted the press release while the secretary had her on hold. Twenty minutes later, her father’s rich baritone poured through the line. “Are you alright honey?”

“I got shot, thanks to you so yeah I’m peachy.”

“Now honey, I hired you a bodyguard and trust me when I get a hold of them they will….”

“Save the vengeance riff for someone who cares.” She said crossly cutting him off mid sentence. “The boys are working for me now, so if anyone is going to kick their asses it’s gonna be me. The guard you so thoughtfully hired without telling me I needed one, helped me take down the assassin last night. He took a bullet in the process so send them their fee back for a job well done.”

“Consider it done baby, now what else do you need?” Hearing that the guard had actually gotten shot protecting his only child, altered his feelings towards Gunn and Spike Investigations drastically.

“You’re not my father, so why don’t you cut the sweet talk and tell me exactly what in the fuck you got me into this time.”

“I only found out about it the day before yesterday. It’s bad Buffy, maybe even the worst thing you’ve ever faced. But like it or not I am your father and you are going to need my help on this.”

“What I need is for you to stay the hell out of my life and take your friends with you. But since that’s not going to happen anytime soon why don’t you cut the dramatics and tell me what is after me so I can protect myself. Rupert Giles is my father and once I know the details he will be the one I call for help.”

“Damn it Buffy, what did I do that was so wrong.” Hank burst out, having more than enough of her bitterness. “I sent you to a family who loved you in an effort to keep you safe. Your all I had left of your mother and you are the only child I will ever have but I put your needs first.”

“Sure whatever helps you sleep at night Hank.” Buffy shot back mockingly.

“I want an answer Buffy. You owe me that much atleast.”

“You want to know why I hate you? Alright, how about the fact you never think of anyone but yourself. You dump me on the Giles’s and let me know what its like to have something close to a normal life only to rip it all away. All because Har’tuh the Fallen One, refused to stay down where he belonged. All of the others faded from the public arena but you couldn’t stand to leave the spotlight. If you hadn’t been busy playing Hank Summers multi-billionaire extraordinaire then that scum bag reporter wouldn’t have dug into your past looking for a juicy scoop. That article destroyed any chance I ever had to be happy.”

Unable to help herself Buffy began to cry, but the tears did not wash away her anger. Just the opposite, they pushed her to say all the things she had been holding inside since she read the paper that morning. “I had to leave the people I loved because they were only human and weren’t up to fighting the things following me home every single day. But you were, but not once did you ever show up on my doorstep and offer me another home or another chance to start over.”

“Baby if I would have known you wanted me to, I would have been there in a heartbeat. Your right, I made some mistakes and I’m sorry for that but that doesn’t mean we can’t start over now.”

“Too late. I already have a home and I am to old and tired to start trying to go back and fix the past. Unlike you I don’t get to live forever, this is my only shot. So tell me what demon is after me and let me get back to my life.”

“It’s not a demon and it’s not after you because of something I did…it’s after you because of something you did.”

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