Title: Just a Summer Romance
Rating: NC17 (at some point)
Season: Between Season IV and V, but totally non-canon
Disclaimer: Just playing with characters that belong to Joss, ME, etc.
Summary/notes: A sequel to Are We Friends, my Challenge 31 fic for the Bloodshedverse. Buffy and Spike deal with the consequences of their night together.

Just a Summer Romance

Chapter One

Buffy woke up gradually as light from outside filtered into the crypt, chasing away the gloom and forcing her out of her peaceful sleep. She started to stretch, and found that she was sore in several places. She was also somewhat pinned down by a muscular arm across her waist.

Memories of the previous night came flooding back as she noticed the black-painted nails on the hand at the end of the arm. Her heart raced and her breathing became faster as what she’d done and with whom she’d done it became perfectly clear.

(Oh my god! I had sex with Spike! Spike – sex – words that should never be used together. I had sex with him. That is just...okay, want to say disgusting, but it wasn’t. It was...unusual. Yeah, that’s a good word. Much better than mind-blowing, wonderful, want-to-do-it-again sex. It was unusual sex.)

Beside her, the increase in her breathing and heart rate woke Spike from his normal, heavy, early-morning sleep. He remained still, judging from her body’s responses that she wasn’t necessarily happy about finding herself in his bed, but he was unwilling to give up the physical contact until he had to.

Unfortunately for his attempt to remain inert, one body part woke up immediately when it noticed Buffy’s warm rear end tucked up next to it. As soon as it poked its way between her thighs, she gasped and sat straight up. Spike opened his eyes unwillingly and saw what he’d been afraid he would see – Buffy staring back and forth from her own naked body to his and clearly getting close to hyperventilating.

(Guess a morning shag is out of the question, then.)

When she grabbed the quilt and yanked it up to cover her chest, she accidentally pulled it off of him, leaving his lean body and eager cock completely exposed. She moaned and tried to pull the bottom of the quilt back over his lower body without exposing more of hers. Deciding he’d have a better chance of calming her down if she wasn’t so worried about what they weren't wearing, he took the edge of the quilt and carefully spread it out across both of them. The way Buffy was clutching it to her chest made it impossible for him to cover his chiseled chest and muscular shoulders, but he did the best he could.

He rolled away from her onto his back and crossed his arms under his head as he waited to find out if he was going to be adding his dust to that already on the floor of the crypt. He tried very hard to keep his expression bland and respectful, knowing one sign of cockiness or smirking on his part and the previous night’s beating would seem like a massage.

(Was hopin’ she’d wake up happy to be here, but I guess that was too much to wish for. Bloody William tryin’ to make last night more than it was. We had a good shag, and if I don’t bollix it up too badly, we might be able to come out of this still friends.)

He carefully suppressed the demon that was insisting he had no desire to be friends with the woman he’d tried to claim.

Buffy ran her eyes up from his chest to his face, pausing to wince at the tooth marks she had clearly left near his neck. When she got to his face she suddenly chickened out and looked down at the quilt, her face flaming.

With a resigned sigh, Spike rolled off the bed and pulled his pants on, keeping his back to her as he did so. When he had them zipped up, he collected her clothes from the floor and silently handed them to her before going over to his “kitchen” and opening the refrigerator.

As soon as she realized he was giving her some privacy in which to get dressed, Buffy jumped off the bed and pulled her clothes on haphazardly. She glanced at him once or twice to see if he was peeking, but he was always turned away, his pale back the only part of him visible back in the dark corner.

Finally she put her head up and said softly, “I’m dressed. You can turn around now.”

She put her chin up and for the first time since she awoke she looked him in the eye. She couldn’t interpret the look on his face. It wasn’t the smirking self-satisfaction she had expected to see, but neither was there anything apologetic about it. The vampire was just looking at her. He seemed to be calmly waiting for her to tell him where they stood.

There was no way for Buffy to know that there was a war going on behind the impassive face across the room from her. William wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg her forgiveness for presuming to touch her, and the demon wanted to push her back onto the bed and take what he now considered his.

None of that showed on Spike’s face as Buffy studied him carefully looking for some clue about his reaction to the night before. Finally she gave up trying to read his blank expression and admitted in a shaky voice, “I don’t know what to say to you.”

“ I’m guessin’ ‘it never happened’ isn’t gonna get it this time,” he responded with a rueful smile.

“A world of ‘no’, ” she agreed, rolling her eyes . Her hand went to the bite marks on her neck and she rubbed them absently as she stood there. Somehow, now that they were dressed again, it was easier to remember that they were friends who could talk to each other and she closed the distance between them until they were only a few feet apart.

She looked up at him anxiously and said, “You know this can never happen again, right? I mean, I’m the Slayer, you’re a vampire. I have a boy friend...oh my god! I have a boy friend. I cheated on Riley! With you!”

She was so wrapped up in her own sudden dismay, she didn’t catch the pain that went across the vampire’s face at her words. Nor did she see his hands clench into fists as he struggled to control himself. By the time she looked back at his face, there was no sign of the ache that had taken up residence in his unbeating heart.

Moving a little closer to her, he rubbed her arms in what was meant to be a comforting manner as he said soothingly, “Nobody knows about this except us, love. By the time anyone is here to see you again, those bites will be gone and...and last night will be just a memory.” (A wonderful, once in a lifetime memory), he added to himself.

Without thinking, Buffy moved into his comforting embrace and rested her head on his chest as she said, “I suppose you’re right. If nobody finds out about it, nobody will get hurt.”

Grateful that she couldn’t see his face, the vampire squeezed his eyes shut as he kissed the top of her head softly and agreed, “That’s right, pet. Nobody will get hurt.”

She pulled back from him, frowning slightly as she found that inexplicably difficult to do. For some reason the bite marks on her neck started to ache as he dropped his arms and let her go. She reached up to touch them again and shuddered as he ghosted his fingers over hers, immediately replacing the ache with a tingle that went all the way down to her toes.

“Spi—what...what did you do? Why do I feel like this? I’ve been bitten before – it never felt like this.”

He sighed and took her hands in his as he braced himself for a storm.

“Are you holding my hands so I won’t hit you?” she asked with a worried smile.

He laughed gently and squeezed them a little as he admitted, “Well, maybe that’s one reason. But not the only one,” he added, moving his thumbs softly over her palms. He brought one hand up to his mouth and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

“Jus’ let me tell you what’s goin’ on before you decide to beat me up again, okay?”

She looked at him dubiously, but nodded her head. “Okay, ‘splainy, please.”

Shaking his head at her abuse of the English language, he began hesitantly, “When I bit you – the second time. While we were mak-“

“Having sex,” she interjected. “We were having sex. I remember.”

“Right, then. While we were having sex, I might have said...something...that made my demon think I wanted to claim you. What you’re feelin’ is just the effects of the partial claim. It’s not a big deal. It’ll go away as soon as the marks do. I promise. It’s not permanent.”

He waited anxiously as she digested the information, absently rubbing the marks again as she did so. Her knowledge of vampire lore was not as great as it probably should have been, but she had some idea what he meant. She thought back to the night before and tried to remember what he’d said when he bit her. She could remember that he had murmured things in her ear almost the entire time they were making love (having sex! We were only having sex.), and she really had no idea which endearment might have been the trigger.

“So, you didn’t mean to do it, then?” She cocked her head at him and waited impatiently as he took his time coming up with his answer.

He looked back at her and decided to go for complete honesty.

“My demon did,” he said flatly. “I didn’t expect to lose control of him like that, but when you bit me...”

“Are you saying this is MY fault?” She fixed him with green lasers as she waited for an answer.

“No, pet. No, no. Not saying that at all,” he hastened to assure her. “ I’m jus’ explainin’ why it happened is all.”

Somewhat mollified, she poked her lip out in a pout and relaxed.

“Well, okay then. I guess I’ll just have to wait for them to heal up. It shouldn’t take that long. Slayer healing and all that.”

“No, pet, it won’t take long,” he tried to keep the sadness out of his voice as he agreed with her.

Buffy shuffled uncomfortably for a minute, not sure if she wanted to know why he didn’t seem happier about losing the claim quickly.

“I guess I’d better be getting home,” she finally said quietly. “Mom will be calling as soon as she gets to New York.”

“Alright, pet. I’m jus’ goin’ to get some more kip. I’m still a little knackered from last night.”

She shot him a guilty look as she remembered the beating that had led to the rest of the night’s events, but he wasn’t looking at her as he climbed back up onto the sarcophagus. She decided she really didn’t want to know specifically what had made him so “knackered” and held her tongue. When he was lying down again on his back, bearing an uncomfortable resemblance to the corpse that he actually was, she walked over and pulled the quilt up over his immobile body. She ran the back of her knuckles over his cheek before she turned to leave.

As she went to go, she was reminded of how fast vampires could move when his arm shot out and grabbed her hand. She raised startled eyes and found him looking at her intently.

“I’ll see you tonight, love,” he said. It was a statement, not a question and she felt a jolt of anger go through her. The anger quickly dissipated when she saw the fear on his face.

“Yeah, Spike. I’ll see you tonight. You promised me double the slaying, remember?”

“Double it is, Slayer.” He let go of her hand and closed his eyes again, not wanting to watch her walk out the door.

Chapter Two

When Spike showed up on the front porch just after sunset, Buffy tried to tell herself the jolt of happiness that went through her was a result of the claim, but since the bite wounds were completely closed and already well on their way to being invisible, it was a hard sell.

They began walking toward the nearest cemetery, an uncomfortable silence taking the place of their usual bantering conversation. Just when the silence was getting to the point that almost any sound would be welcome, a piercing scream saved the day. The two blond super beings sprinted toward the source of the sound and found a young couple pinned against the side of a crypt by two fledgling vampires.

Spike pulled the first one off the screaming girl and tossed him toward Buffy who was holding her stake out for the vamp to land on. As soon as the dust cleared, she lifted the stake a little higher so that the slightly taller second vamp would hit it in just the right spot. She saw his eyes widen as he found himself moving through the air toward a smiling blond girl holding what appeared to be a piece of sharpened wood. With a “thump” he hit the stake perfectly and exploded into dusty particles.

Spike was glaring at the two teenagers in disgust.

“I hope you two morons are usin’ some kinda birth control,” he growled at them. They blinked at him in confusion and looked at Buffy for clarification.

“He thinks you’re too stupid to be allowed to reproduce,” she said sweetly as she pushed them toward the gate. “Stay out of cemeteries at night. ‘K? Bye now.”

The burst of speed and the brief interaction with the teenagers broke the ice, and Buffy and Spike were soon walking around their usual patrol areas with the same comfortable camaraderie that they’d had before. Unfortunately, the two fledglings were the only evil doers they found all night and they were soon back at Buffy’s house, both filled with pent up energy.

Spike was bouncing on his toes and shadow-boxing around her back yard, trying to entice Buffy into sparring with him.

“Come on, Slayer. You know you want to dance with me. Let’s go.”

“Don’t be silly, Spike. You know you can’t hit me back – and if I can’t go all out, it won’t be any fun.”

“I could make it fun, pet,” he said, curling his tongue against his front teeth and wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes at his blatant innuendo and smacked him on the head.

“Speaking of dancing...”

He stopped clowning and looked at her intently.

“You still want to go clubbin’, Slayer?”

“Yes. You promised me a night in LA – and you told me you always keep your promises.”

“Ok, then. I’ll pick you up as soon as the sun goes down tomorrow. Wear somethin’ sexy, “ he added with a leer.

“Oh, to accompany somebody in jeans and a tee shirt?” she sneered and rolled her eyes at him.

“Jus’ do what you’re told you silly little bint and don’ worry about me.”

“Someday Giles is going to tell me what a bint is and I’m going to have to hurt you for that, “ she grumbled.

He just laughed and danced out of her reach when she swatted at him.

“You’re full of energy tonight,” she said, shaking her head at him from her seat on the back porch.

“Had Slayer blood last night. Feel like I could take on the world.”

“Yeah, well, you’d better try to make it last, vampire. It’s not like you’ll be getting more any time soon,” she growled at him, angry that he had reminded her of what he was.

Spike’s good mood vanished and they were suddenly uncomfortable with each other again. He mentally cursed himself for bringing it up. When he saw her face settle into unhappy lines, he sat down beside her and reached for her limp hand.

Holding her hand in one of his, he used the other to turn her face toward him.

“I also got to make love to a beautiful woman, and that was much more important than anything else that happened,” he said with complete sincerity as William took control of the conversation.

Buffy blushed and ducked her head as she said, “More important than Slayer blood? I find that hard to believe, Spike.”

“Believe it, love. Your blood made the demon roar, but kissin’ you, feelin’ you around me... that’s the memory I’m taking with me to my dusty end.”

Buffy was left completely speechless by his confession of what the night meant to him. His words gave her a warm glow inside, at the same time that her brain was screaming, “Vampire feelings! There will be no vampire feelings. They have no feelings. He can’t mean what he’s saying. Not listening. Nope, not listening. La, la, la, la...”

Her internal monologue was interrupted by his hand waving in front of her face.

“Slayer? Buffy? You in there?”

He wasn’t sure how to take her reaction to what he’d said. The expression on her face and the increase in her heart rate said one thing, but the way she leaned toward him and the way her fingers curled around the hand still holding hers said something very different. His interruption brought her attention back to him and she met his worried gaze with an embarrassed shrug.

“Sorry, Spike. I guess I zoned out there for a minute. I’m not used to hearing you say such nice things to me.” She raised her free hand to touch the side of his face. “I’m not sure I know how to react,” she added, stroking his cheek softly.

“I’d say you’re doing just fine, love,” he whispered, leaning into her hand and closing his eyes.

The sound of the phone ringing inside the house jarred them out of the moment, and Buffy dropped her hand and moved away from him quickly. She avoided looking at him as she stood up and prepared to go inside, missing the disappointment that flashed across his face when she broke contact.

“I...I guess I’d better go in. That might have been an important call. Could have been Mom, or Dawn, or...”she stopped herself just before she said Riley’s name, but the amber eyes flashing at her told her it didn’t matter. They both knew who was likely to be calling her this late at night.

“Right,” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t want to be missing any important phone calls, do we, Slayer?”

“Spike—“ she hesitated, not sure exactly what she wanted to say, but knowing it was important to remind him that she belonged to somebody else.

“Don’t,” he said flatly. “Just bloody don’t, all right?”

“Okay,” she said meekly. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow night?”

The fact that it sounded more like a question than a statement, made him realize how close to the surface his demon was and he forced it back as he tried to look nonchalant.

“Oh, yeah. You’ll see me tomorrow. And I’d better see you dressed to impress, Slayer.”

He lifted his eyebrow at her and ran his eyes up and down her body, trying to get back the easy bantering they’d enjoyed earlier in the evening.

Buffy was grateful to have the tension relieved and immediately responded with a huffy, “As if I need fashion advice from you! I just hope you don’t embarrass me, Spike.”

He studied her for a minute, then smiled his cocky smile and said, “I’ll do my best, pet. See you tomorrow,” he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness in a swirl of leather.

Buffy sighed at the mercurial changes of which the vampire was capable, and opened the kitchen door to go in. The phone had long since stopped ringing, but she was pretty sure she knew who it was and that he would call back soon. With a guilty start, she realized that she hadn’t talked to Riley in several weeks, and hadn’t been the one to call since the first week he was gone. She vowed silently to be a better girlfriend to him for the rest of the summer and went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.

She was just finishing brushing her hair and preparing to climb into bed when the phone rang again. She picked it up as she slipped into bed, piling pillows against the headboard and pulling the covers up.

“Hello?” she said into the phone as she squirmed into a comfortable position for a long talk.

“Buffy? Where’ve you been? I’ve been calling all night.”

“Uh, well, I was patrolling...you know, Chosen One and all that. Vamps to slay, demons to hunt. The usual. I did hear the phone the last time, but I was still outside and couldn’t get to it in time. I knew it was you, though,” she finished brightly. “That’s why I came in.”

“You wouldn’t have come in anyway?” Riley asked in surprise. “It’s the middle of the night, Buffy. What were you doing still outside?”

Opening her mouth before she had totally engaged her brain, Buffy responded cheerily, “Oh, Spike and I were talk—“

“Spike? Spike was there? Did he bother you? Did you have to stake him?” She could hear the anger in his voice and the trace of hope as he asked about staking.

“No, Riley,” she said with a sigh. Deciding it was safest to go with as much truth as possible, she went on, “Spike isn’t bothering me. He’s been helping me patrol and keeping me company while everyone is out of town for the summer. He’s been very helpful, actually.”

There was a tense silence from the other end of the line until Riley finally asked, “And does your mother know you’re spending time with another soulless vampire?”

Buffy was astonished that Riley would think that her mother would be upset, and angry that he would obliquely refer to Angel as though he had a right to comment on that relationship.

“Angel has a soul,” she said shortly, making it very clear that was going to be the end of that subject. “And my mother happens to like Spike. A lot.”

“Well, she doesn’t know him like I do,” he muttered, sounding very much like a spoiled child. “She wouldn’t like him so much if he didn’t have that chip,”

“On the contrary,” Buffy said sweetly. “She’s known him for years. He’s always been welcome in my mom’s house.”

“Spike’s been in your house? Before he was chipped? What the hell were you thinking, Buffy?”

Riley’s righteous indignation reminded Buffy of how little he really knew about her life before she met him and how complicated it could get, being a Slayer on the Hellmouth.

“Long story, Riley. I really don’t feel like going in to it right now, okay? I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.”

“All right, Buffy. I’m sorry I yelled. I just...I miss you, you know? And I worry about you when I’m not there.”

She could hear the affection in his voice, and smothered the impatient sigh that wanted to sneak out of her mouth.

“I’m sorry, too, Riley. Let’s just forget it, okay?” She forced herself to sound interested as she asked, “So, how is your visit going? Are you catching up with lots of old friends?”

“Oh yeah. Having a good time. We had our high school class reunion and I got to see all my old buddies. We’ve been fishing and just riding around in the truck. It’s been great.”

“Well, that sounds...great. I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

“I am. But I miss you. I’ll be glad to get back. Getting really horny... I hope you’ll be rested when I get back.”

Buffy smothered her laugh, but did roll her eyes since he couldn’t see that. The idea of Riley being horny enough to wear her out was even funnier now than it would have been two days ago.

“Uh, yeah, I think I’ll be okay,” she said with a smile in her voice, trying to ignore the little one in her head that was saying, “unless you let Spike wear you out in the meantime...”

(Bad voice! Bad, bad. Not listening to bad voice. La, la, la...)

For the second time that night, someone had to bring her back from la-la land as Riley said, “Buffy? Buffy are you there?”

“Oh, yes. I’m here. Sorry, guess I just got carried away thinking about when you get back.” She winced at the blatant lie, but when she heard the happiness in his voice she decided it was a good lie.

“Well, on that happy note, I guess I’ll let you get to sleep. I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Love you, Buffy.”

“Um, okay. Bye-bye,” she chirped, hoping he wouldn’t notice the lack of “I love you” on her part. She told herself it didn’t mean anything. “I just didn’t feel like saying it right now, that’s all,” she mumbled to herself as she slid down on the bed. “Doesn’t mean a thing.”

Which would have been a lot more convincing if her dreams hadn’t been filled with piercing blue eyes, smooth alabaster skin and a very talented tongue...

Chapter Three

Buffy started worrying about what to wear around noon the following day. She stood in front of her closet and tried to think about what to do. Yes, Spike had said she should look good, and she had told him she wanted to dress up, but the idea of appearing in public dressed in her best and accompanied by someone in jeans and a tee shirt was not appealing. Finally she just decided to trust him not to embarrass her too much, and she pulled out a little black dress that she’d been saving for something special.

A leisurely bath, time spent drying and curling her hair so that it hung around her shoulders in golden waves, a half an hour at her dressing table working on make-up, and she was ready to get dressed. She stood in front of the mirror in a black lace thong and held the dress up to her. It came up high in front into a halter top, and was cut low in the back. A bra was obviously not an option, but she looked at her perky little breasts and decided it was OK. She pulled the silky fabric over her head and settled the swirling skirt around her hips. The hem just brushed the top of her knees and when she had added thigh-high black stockings and strappy little black sandals with three inch heels, she stepped back to evaluate her hard work.

Staring back from the mirror was someone she almost didn’t recognize at first. Gone were the pretty, young co-ed and the flinty-eyed slayer, and in their place was a beautiful, sophisticated woman. She worried for a minute that she looked too good for what Spike undoubtedly had in mind for them, but when she heard the car pull up outside she knew it was too late to change. She heard the front door open and voice calling up the stairs, “Oi, Slayer. You’d better be ready. It’s a long drive and we’ve got reservations for 8:00.”

(Reservations? We have reservations?)

Buffy went to the top of the stairs and yelled back at him, “I’m almost ready. Try some patience for a change.”

She quickly grabbed an evening bag from her mother’s closet and filled it with her wallet, lip-gloss, a comb and, as an after thought, a stake. She hung it from her shoulder, and with a sense of trepidation that surprised her, she started down the stairs. She was almost to the bottom when she saw an incredibly good looking blond man, wearing an expensive black suit and dress shoes staring up at her with his mouth hanging open.

By the time she registered that she was looking at Spike, she was frozen on the stairs unable to do anything but gawk. He was wearing a blue shirt that matched his eyes exactly, and a tie that she was pretty sure cost more than her dress. She wanted to accuse him of killing someone for the clothes, but the way the suit fit, as though it had been tailored just for him, kept her mouth shut.

Spike couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to. The woman standing on the stairs looking down at him was a vision in black and gold that he wanted to remember forever. He was grateful that he didn’t need to breath, as he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to and would have passed out on the floor.

Time dragged on as they stayed rooted to their spots, both lost in the sight in front of them. The sound of a door slamming next door broke the spell and Buffy shook herself and came the rest of the way down the stairs. The vampire moved forward and took her hands, helping her down the last two steps, but never taking his eyes from hers.

“You look absolutely stunning, Buffy,” he said with a slightly different accent than she was accustomed to hearing from him. The look on his face left no doubt as to his sincerity and she blushed slightly as she replied, “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”

They were standing at the bottom of the stairs, only inches apart and Buffy suddenly felt very warm as he devoured her with his eyes. She colored again, and gently took her hand out of his as she moved toward the door.

“So, reservations, huh?” she asked as she went out the door. “What’s that all about?”

He slipped in front of her and ran to open the door on the passenger side of his old Desoto. He couldn’t resist touching her hair as he waited for her to get in the car and she smiled up at him almost shyly as she felt his hand brush her head.

By the time he was back around to his own side and had slid behind the wheel, he was back to his old cocky self and he ran an appreciative eye up her nylon clad legs and said with a leer, “I hope those aren’t panty hose, pet.”

Buffy flushed, but snarked back at him as she flashed him a glimpse of lacey tops and silky golden skin. “Do I look like the pantyhose type?” she said innocently.

He swallowed hard and wished he was wearing his usual tight jeans as his cock sat up at attention in the light weight dress pants. He peered sideways at her to see if she noticed, but she was looking out the window, watching Sunnydale disappear behind them.

By the time they got to LA, they had relaxed back into their usual comfortable camaraderie and Buffy was beginning to wonder what he had in mind for them.

“Where are we going, Spike?” she asked, looking around but not recognizing where they were.

“Right here, love. “ he answered, pulling into a curved drive in front of a very expensive hotel and opening his door. Before she could ask what they were doing at a hotel, the valet was opening the door on her side and handing her out of the car. His appreciative look at her legs as she swung them around to get out didn’t pass unnoticed by the vampire, and his eyes were briefly flecked with gold as he handed the key to the oblivious boy.

“Take good care of her,” he growled, gesturing at the car and taking Buffy’s arm. “We’ll be a while.”

They entered the hotel lobby and Spike immediately guided her toward an elevator set off from the others. A small tasteful sign indicated it was a direct elevator to the “Top of the World” restaurant.

When they emerged from the elevator into the restaurant, Buffy gasped involuntarily. The room was huge and dominated by the floor to ceiling windows surrounding it. When Spike gave the hostess his name, she smiled coquettishly and escorted them to a table for two right next to a window.

Buffy was entranced by the view from their table, but not so entranced that she didn’t notice the woman looking Spike up and down and licking her lips. Buffy surprised herself by giving a low growl that fortunately no one heard but Spike. He cocked an eyebrow at her curiously, but continued to talk with the more-than-attentive hostess about a wine list.

When she finally walked away, swaying her hips provocatively, Buffy huffed, “Well, you’d think a nice place like this wouldn’t have such a ‘ho as their hostess.”

The blond vampire gaped at her and said, “Uh, Slayer? Not sure I’m followin’ you here. What did the poor bint do to bring that on?”

“She was ogling you,” she snarled. At his amused expression, she snapped, “And you were ogling back!”

He looked at her in annoyed surprise for a second, then burst into a big smile.

“You’re jealous!” he crowed.

“Wha-? As if! I am not!”

Buffy rolled her eyes and huffed in disgust. (I’m not jealous! Am I? Oh my god, I am. I’m jealous. Argh!)

“Yes, you are. You’re jealous.” He was so delighted, he was practically singing it

“Fine, I’m jealous, Mr.-I’m-going-to-eat-the-parking-valet,’” she growled back at him. “Thought I didn’t notice that, huh?” She stuck her chin out at him combatively.

Instead of arguing with her, he reached across the table and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. Warmth shot through her body when his soft lips touched her sensitive palm and he smiled when he felt her heart rate go up.

“Suppose, just for tonight, that we agree that there is nobody else in the world except us? We don’t have to worry about anybody ogling anything, because they aren’t really there. There’s just Spike and the Slayer.”

He looked at her with soft blue eyes that pleaded with her to agree. When she shook her head, “no”, he started to shut them in pain, but she stopped him with a light touch on his face.

As soon as he was looking at her again, she said softly, “There’s just William and Buffy.”

A smile that lit up his whole face was his only response, as he kissed her hand again and rubbed his cheek against it before giving it back.

“William and Buffy it is.”

While the waiter was pouring the wine Spike had ordered, a pretty girl carrying a camera came up to them and offered, “Would you two like a picture as a souvenir of the night? You look so wonderful together.”

Before Buffy could respond, Spike jumped up and said, “Absolutely, luv. We’ll take two or three.”

He pulled Buffy to her feet and got behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. Buffy settled for wrapping her arms across his, when she couldn’t find anything else to do with them. They took another one of them standing side by side with Spike’s arm around her waist, and a final one of them sitting at the table, leaning toward each other and smiling happily at the camera.

After giving the girl Buffy’s Revello Drive address and a nice tip, Spike sat back down across from her. The menus came and they ordered, Spike having a New York Strip “very rare” he instructed carefully while Buffy rolled her eyes. The ate a leisurely dinner, talking about where they would go after they finished and what time they would have to leave LA to get home before sunrise.

Buffy tried not to wonder how much the evening was costing, or where Spike was getting the money for it, but she knew it was beginning to add up and they hadn’t even gone dancing yet. When she ventured a question about it, he gave her a hard look and said evenly, “Don’t worry about it, Slayer. I didn’t steal it and I didn’t kill anybody. That’s all you need to know.”

She flinched a little when he called her Slayer, and wondered if she had spoiled the evening for them, but he soon bounced back and was anxious to move on to the next part of the night. Buffy refused to be rushed through her chocolate mousse dessert and by the time she was done, he was practically jiggling with impatience.

They walked past the hostess without even noticing the wistful look she sent after Spike, and managed to get back into the car without risking a Spike headache for punching the valet.

The next stop was a well-known club on the other side of town and Buffy was flabbergasted when the owner came over to greet them, tell Spike how good it was to see him again, and offer a bottle of champagne on the house.

“How...what...who...” she fumbled for the right to question to ask as Spike just smirked at her smugly.

“I’m an important man, love. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“You’re not a man, you’re a vampire. And you live in Sunnydale. How does that man know you?”

He laughed and finally admitted, “Spent some time in LA off and on. Especially after Dru sent me away and before I came back to Sunnyhell. Got drunk here one night and passed out. Came to just in time to see a couple of vamps trying to take the night’s receipts and have Jake for dessert. Couldn’t tell you why I didn’t just kill them and drain him myself – but I didn’t. Dusted both of them, then passed out again. When I came to, I was lying on a couch in his office and he was telling me my money was no good in here for as long as he owned the place. Decided havin’ someplace this nice to go to whenever I wanted was more important that eatin’ him, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

“Does he know what you are?” she asked dubiously.

“Can’t imagine he doesn’t,” he said. “I’m sure it was my demon whipped those two thieves. I was too pissed to be much good in a fight. He’s never mentioned it, though.”

While Buffy tried to digest that their host knew what Spike was and liked him anyway, (Kinda like my mom, she realized with a start) he was taking her hand and pulling her toward the dance floor. The two lithe blonds attracted a lot of attention as their natural athleticism and sense of rhythm quickly made them the most watchable dancers on the floor. After several fast songs, the band dropped into a ballad and they melted in to each other as though they’d been dancing together for years.

Spike’s arm was around her waist and his hand was on the small of her back as he guided her around the floor. After several circuits that let her know he was probably one of the best dancers she’d ever been with, he slowed down and they found themselves in one place swaying gently to the music flowing around them. He moved both hands around her waist, pulling her closer to his body and she snaked her arms up around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her herbal shampoo. He could smell and hear the blood rushing through the artery in her neck, just below his chin. When he couldn’t resist it any longer, he put his head down and licked the pulse pounding there. As soon as Buffy felt his lips on her neck, she shivered and moved closer to him. The vampire groaned as her warm body pressed up against his and he began nibbling on her the warm skin on her neck and murmuring in her ear when he worked his way up to her ear lobe.

When the evidence of what her nearness was doing to him became impossible to deny, Buffy reluctantly pushed herself away slightly and shook her head.

“What’s wrong, love?” he whispered in her ear, trying to pull her back against him. He missed the warm body he’d been pressed up against, even thought she had only moved an inch or so away.

“What’s wrong is the whole club is going to know what you’re doing,” she hissed at him, turning a bright shade of red. “Those pants don’t hide a thing.”

“They won’t see anything as long as you’re in front me,” he grinned. “The only way to protect your virtue is to stay right here.” He pulled her back against the even larger bulge in his pants and she felt it twitch against her hip. She had to admit he was right. As long as she was plastered up against his body, no one would be able to see the hard object in front of him.

“See, love,” he whispered in that deep tone that sent shivers down her spine, “you need to be here. “S where you belong.”

Buffy let the soothing sound of his voice and the feel of his arms lull her back into the pleasant daze she’d been in when they first started dancing and she felt herself melting back into him. She smothered the little pang of disloyalty she felt when she couldn’t keep herself from comparing how well their bodies fit together with how awkward it was to dance like this with Riley.

The other patrons all noticed that the two beautiful dancers were now lost in their own world and they smiled with appreciation or wistful envy as they watched the couple swaying to music only they could hear. Spike and Buffy were so wrapped up in each other that neither one noticed when the music ended, nor that after a short pause in which the owner gestured to the band for another slow song, it began again.

As they danced, Buffy felt the little tingles on her neck that told her there was a vampire near. The tingle was almost familiar, but she shook it off, figuring Spike must have done something to trigger her radar.

(Maybe he nibbled too hard on my neck or something.)

Suddenly, he was ripped out of her arms and she opened her eyes to see him sprawled on the floor, eyes flashing yellow as he snarled at a large, dark haired man looming over him. Buffy could see the bouncers headed in their direction as Spike kipped back to his feet, preparing to launch himself at the man in front of him.

Buffy had run to his side and whirled to face his assailant, fully prepared to disregard her normal reluctance to hurt humans. One look at the furious face of the interloper and she froze in place.

“Angel?”

Chapter Four

Although neither vampire had gone totally into game face, both sets of glaring eyes were flickering yellow as they moved up to stand face to face. Buffy moved quickly to get in between them, and pushed Angel back toward the rapidly approaching bouncers.

“Stop it!,” she hissed at him. “You’re going to get us thrown out of here!”

“Us? What us? Are you here with him?” Her ex stared at her in disbelief and dismay. “You’re out with Spike?”

“Yeah, Peaches. She’s out with me. An’ you’re makin’ a scene in my friend’s club.”

Angel turned to stare at Buffy incredulously.

“What the hell are you thinking, Buffy? It’s Spike!”

“I’m thinking that everybody except me is having a fun summer and I deserved a night off from babysitting the Hellmouth.” She stuck her lower lip out and glared at other vampire. “And you’re trying to ruin it.”

By this time, Jake and his bouncers were surrounding the small group, which, Buffy suddenly noticed, appeared to include Cordelia.

“Is there a problem here, Spike?” Jake asked as he motioned for his bouncers to take Angel’s arms.

Correctly reading the barely suppressed rage on his grandsire’s face, Spike said soothingly, “”S OK, Jake. Just a misunderstanding. Peaches and I are old friends. His social skills just aren’t very good sometimes. Right, Peaches?”

“Angel, please,” Buffy added quietly.

He stared back and forth between his grandchild and his ex girlfriend for a second, then bowed to the pleading in Buffy’s eyes and shook the bouncers off with a, “Right. My apologies if my usual greeting was a little too rough for the time and place. I’m not used to finding Spike in such nice places,” he added with a growl.

Jake looked at them dubiously, but when Spike nodded his head, he directed the bouncers back to the door and went back to his office, leaving them in the middle of the floor.

“Care to join us?” Spike asked as he took Buffy’s arm and headed for their table. He didn’t look back to see if they were following, just pulled Buffy’s chair out for her and sat down himself.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at the still frozen Angel and walked over to sit down next to Buffy. She eyed Spike cautiously until Buffy snapped, “He’s not going to bite you, Cordelia. Relax.”

“Well, not unless you ask me to, Cheerleader,” Spike leered at her then winced when Buffy kicked his unprotected ankle under the table.

“Ow, Slayer! Knew I should have worn my boots. What’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t be an ass, Spike,” she grumbled.

(Guess William and Buffy have left the building. It’s jus’ like Angelus to bollix things up for everybody.)

When Angel had recovered sufficiently to follow Cordelia’s swaying hips to the table, he grabbed the only chair left and sat down in it facing Buffy and doing his best to ignore Spike.

“Buffy? I don’t understand. This is Spike. What are you doing going out with him? And what about the soldier?”

It wasn’t lost on the older vampire that Spike’s eyes narrowed and flickered yellow when he mentioned Riley. He tried not to watch as the other vampire struggled to push his demon down, but he couldn’t help noticing that Spike was able to do it fairly easily. A twinge of envy went through him to think that his much younger grandchild was able to control his demon better than Angel could his own.

Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to be patient as she filled Angel and Cordelia in on the events of the past year. Angel had heard about Spike’s chip and his inability to hurt humans, but he was floored at the idea that the former killer of Slayers was now helping one.

He turned to look hard at Spike and growled, “Why, Spike? What are you up to?”

“Not up to anythin’, Peaches. Jus’ helpin’ the Slayer out while her little Scoobies are out of town and gettin’ in my spot of violence. Promised her a night out on the town before summer was over and I’m just keeping my promise.”

He clenched his jaw and glared back at the clearly distrustful, scowling vampire. The air was tight with tension, and for a minute Buffy was sure they were going to throw the table aside and tear the club apart. However the blond vampire was able to lean back in his chair and project an air of supreme indifference that gave Angel no excuse for violence.

Instead, he demanded that the two blonds from Sunnydale pay up their tab and come with him. Cordelia rolled her eyes when he said, “We’re going somewhere else. I need some answers here.”

“Oh, wonderful,” she moaned. “You promised me a night out in a human club and now you want to go running back to Caritas. How perfect!”

“Caritas?” Buffy and Spike asked at the same time.

Angel sighed and, taking a more conciliatory tone, explained, “Caritas is owned by a friend of mine. He can...sense things about people and demons. I want him to read Spike to be sure there isn’t something evil going on here. I don’t trust him,” he added, throwing another glare at Spike.

“I do,” Buffy said quietly. Under the table she rubbed her foot against his ankle and saw him smile slightly in her direction before he turned his eyes back to Angel’s.

‘Well, then it’s probably a good thing we ran into you. Obviously he’s got you fooled somehow, Buffy. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of it as soon as we find out what’s really going on.”

He beamed at Buffy, completely missing the pissed off look on her face.

“YOU will take care of it? Because I’M being fooled?” The more she thought about his cavalier treatment of her belief in Spike, the angrier she got. “Have you forgotten entirely who I am? Slayer here, Angel. Pretty good at spotting evil when I see it, remember?”

He had the grace to look embarrassed, but stubbornly stuck to his guns as he said, “I’m not trying to insult you, Buffy. But I’ve known Spike for a lot longer than you have and I know –“

“You know nothing, Peaches; but I’m tired of this. Let’s go visit this friend of yours so he can do whatever it is he does and then Buffy and I can go back to enjoyin’ what’s left of our evenin’.”

He stood up and pulled Buffy's chair out, asking, “You ready to go, pet?”

She focused glittering green lasers on Angel as she reluctantly finished off her glass of champagne and stood up. She conspicuously ignored Angel’s outstretched hand and moved closer to her date. Spike smirked at the glowering older vampire and smoothly ushered Buffy toward the door. They paused to look in to Jake’s office and Spike thanked him sincerely for the champagne and apologized for Angel’s behavior.

“No problem, Spike. I’m glad you could smooth it over. I had a feeling my bouncers might have been a little out of their league there...” he said mildly as he looked at Spike . He wasn’t demanding an explanation, but he was clearly curious.

“Yeah, Peaches might’ve been a bit of a handful for ‘em. Thought it would be better to let it go than to tear up your club. Woulda had a go at him myself, otherwise.”

It was as close as Spike was willing to come to admitting that Angel was also a vampire, but it was enough to satisfy Jake’s suspicions. He nodded his head and repeated his promise that Spike would always be welcome there.

“No fighting tonight!” Buffy poked him. “We’re on vacation,” she explained to the grinning club owner with a smile. He walked over and shook Buffy’s hand.

“Well, don’t wait till you’re on vacation again to come back,” he offered. “You don’t even have to bring him with you if you don’t want to.”

He laughed with Buffy at Spike’s indignant, “I’ll be damned” and waved them away.

When they reached the sidewalk, Angel suggested they all go in his car, but Spike refused.

“We’ll jus’ follow you there, Peaches. Don’t want to leave my baby unprotected here on the street.”

Angel growled and made one last attempt to get Buffy to ride with him and Cordelia so that he could “talk to her”, but she shook her head and stepped through the car door Spike was holding open for her. In spite of Spike’s outwardly calm appearance, she could see that he was wound as tightly as she’d ever seen him.

Once they were alone in the car and Angel and Cordelia had gone up the street, she put a tentative hand on his leg and said carefully, “I’m really glad you didn’t let Angel make a scene back there, Spike.” She could feel how tense his muscles were when she touched him and marveled at how something so hard could feel so good when it was pressed up against her own thigh.

(Great, bloody, fuckin’ poof! Leave it to him to come ridin’ in like the Lone Ranger and ruin my night. If this ‘friend’ of his manages to convince her to leave with him, I’m gonna take this whole city apart, brick by brick.)

All he said aloud was, “I need to kill something.”

Buffy sighed and removed her hand, but stayed close to where he was sitting, resting her hand on the seat between them.

“I know what you mean,” she surprised him by agreeing. “I don’t know where he gets off thinking I can’t make my own decisions. He’s a stupid...poof!”

He shot an astonished look at her, then grinned with delight. “Right with you there, love,” he said and patted her hand where it was lying on the seat. When she turned it over and curled her fingers up into his, he swore his heart lurched. They drove the rest of the way behind Angel’s car, holding hands, but looking straight ahead as though if they didn’t see their hands, it wasn’t really happening.

As they slowed down to follow Angel into the parking lot, they could see the silhouette of Cordelia’s head and it was obvious that she was speaking very animatedly.

“Looks like the cheerleader has a few choice words for Mr. Tall, dark and forehead,” Spike pointed out happily.

Buffy examined herself internally, looking for the pang of jealousy that should be there, and was amazed to find that she didn’t mind that Angel seemed to be with Cordelia. In fact, she was happy that he had someone else to be protective of.

She giggled and agreed, “Yep, looks like he might be apologizing for the rest of the night.”

Finding themselves in much better moods than they had been when they got in the car, Spike and Buffy decided to make the best of the new club and they eagerly followed Angel and a still-angry Cordelia through the door. They were greeted by a large green demon with red horns on his head and a frothy drink in one hand.

“Angelcakes! Cordelia, don’t you look gorgeous? And what is this vision in blondness I see behind you?”

He walked past the two brunettes to circle Spike and Buffy twice before announcing to all within earshot that they were the “best looking couple to ever walk in the door.”

“I’m Lorne,” he introduced himself, “And you are...? Other than drop dead gorgeous, that is?”

He looked back and forth from Buffy to Spike expectantly, but Angel’s voice interrupted his beaming perusal.

“This is Buffy, Lorne,” he said gruffly, ignoring Spike completely.

“How do you do, Buf—“ his eyes got big and he whirled on Angel. “YOUR Buffy? The Slayer?”

He whirled back as he heard the snarl from the blond standing beside her and, batting his eyes at Spike, he said quickly, “Didn’t mean it that way, Scrumptious. Just that he talks about her a lot.”

He looked back at Buffy in admiration and said, “Welcome to Caritas, darlin’. I can’t wait to hear you sing.”

“Sing?” Buffy whirled on Angel. “What does he mean, sing? I don’t sing. No singing.”

“How about you, Luscious?” he turned to the blond vampire. “Would you sing for me?”

“Maybe later,” he growled, still angry over hearing Buffy referred to as Angel’s. “Give us something to drink first.”

“Oh, of course! Where are my manners? Here you go.” He ushered them to a table near the karaoke equipment and waved a waiter over. “Whatever they want,” he told him. “Keep them happy.”

Buffy looked around the bar at all the demons and vampires and decided that a Diet Coke would be the best choice.

(No way do I want to be drunk in a place where I’m outnumbered by demons twenty to one!)

Spike looked disappointed, but settled for a beer himself, still somewhat angry over the turn their fancy night on the town had taken. After a round of drinks and some awkward small talk, he finally looked Angel in the eye and asked, “Alright then, your royal poofness, tell us why you dragged us away from a perfectly good time at a nice, human club to this place.”

Angel hemmed and hawed until Cordelia finally snapped and said succinctly, “Lorne reads auras when people are singing. Angel wants you to sing so Lorne can tell him what evil plans you have for Buffy and he can rescue her from your evilness and be the big hero.”

Buffy and Spike gawked at her while Angel glared around the room as though looking for something to hit. Buffy and Spike looked at each other and put their heads together, speaking so low that even Angel’s vampire hearing couldn’t pick it up.

“Do you think he’ll know we...” she worried.

“Dunno, love. But he’ll know I don’t mean to hurt you. That should be enough for Peaches.”

Angel frowned at the two whispering together and leaned forward to try to hear what they were saying.

“Rude, much?” Buffy said as she pulled back, her lips pursed in a worried pout.

“It’s rude to whisper,” he snapped back at her, then looked away when he saw her flinch.

“I’m sorry, Buffy. It’s just that I know he’s up to something, and Lorne should be able to tell what it is. I’m just trying to protect you. Really.”

“I know you are, Angel,” she replied with a sigh, “but I’ve been the Slayer for over 4 years now. I really think I can handle Spike on my own.”

“Hey!” Spike’s indignant shout was cut off when Buffy looked at him with warm green eyes that said more than she intended about just what she’d like to be handling.

“Can’t I?” she said, holding his gaze until he thought the air between them was going to combust.

“Bloody Hell!” he exploded. “Let’s get this over with.”

He marched up to the small stage and started going through the available music. Cocking his head at Buffy, he asked with a smirk, “Should I be lookin’ for Wind Beneath My Wings, pet?”

He laughed at her horrified expression, and went back to the pile, leaving Angel, Cordelia and Lorne to puzzle over what it meant that her flaming face looked, angry, embarrassed and somewhat wistful, all at the same time.

As much as he would have liked to take the opportunity to croon a classic love song to her, even his demon’s desire for stirring things up knew that would be too much. The instant Angel caught on to what he was doing, the bar would be turned into an arena for a battle between two master vampires. He was pretty sure Buffy didn’t want to see that, no matter how much she might have liked the song.

Instead, he settled for being predictable Spike, and chose a song by the Clash. He started the music machine and began belting out the lyrics in a very passable baritone. When he got to “Girl, you got to let me know, Should I stay or should I go?” he was clearly singing directly to Buffy and she blushed in acknowledgement even as she tried to warn him with her eyes not to push Angel too far.

Fortunately, the older vampire didn’t pay much attention to anything that wasn’t written by Barry Manilow, and he didn’t have any idea what the lyrics were that Spike was shouting so enthusiastically. Lorne, on the other hand, had a very thoughtful look on his face as he stared at the blond vampire on his stage. Spike’s feelings for Buffy were so obvious, that the demon was sure he could have seen them even without his special talent for reading auras.

Buffy was laughing and clapping along with the song until Spike reached over the stage and grabbed her hand. She gave a little shriek, but allowed him to pull her up onto the stage with him where she joined him in shouting out the chorus. When the green demon saw what their combined auras looked like, he groaned and shook his head. No way was it going to be good for the interior of his establishment if he told Angel what he was seeing.

The two laughing blonds finished singing to a round of applause from the other patrons, and Spike bowed deeply before leaping off the stage and lifting a blushing, but laughing Slayer down to the floor. His hands lingered just a second on her waist before he let go and pulled out her chair for her.

Oblivious to the good time being had by everyone except him, Angel whirled on Lorne and demanded, “Well?”

“He’s not going to hurt her,” his friend answered immediately, hoping the vampire would be willing to let it go at that.

“That’s all you saw?” Angel snarled in disbelief. “What else?”

“Nothing else that’s important,” his friend tried to drop the subject. “That’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it, Sweetcheeks? If he was planning to hurt her?”

“I want to know everything you saw,” Angel gritted through his teeth.

“No, Angel, you really don’t,” his friend said sadly as he moved back to the bar. “Just let them go. She’s going to be fine.”

Chapter Five

Caritas was known as a place where anyone, or any demon, could come to relax and have a good time. There were also some hard and fast rules about behavior in the bar that helped make it a zone of tranquility for those demons that chose not to make murder and mayhem their constant companions. There was a strict no-fighting rule, as well as a rule protecting any human customers that might come in with demons, just as Cordelia frequently did with Angel.

However, demons as a group weren’t known for rule following, so some nights there were problems. As though Lorne wasn’t finding having two angry master vampires and a Slayer at the same table nerve-wracking enough, the door burst open and in rolled a gang of snarling demons in biker gear.

Lorne hastened to the door to greet them before they could actually all get into his bar. His attempt to convince them that they would be happier somewhere else was met with a backhanded slap that sent him sprawling onto the stage. While Buffy rolled her eyes and groaned, “Not in my good clothes!”, Spike leapt to his feet with a happy gleam in his eye. Cordelia scampered back behind the bar, picking up the baseball bat she knew Lorne kept there, while Angel got to his feet snarling at the interruption.

The gang’s forward progress stopped as they caught sight of the two vampires facing them. One was scowling quite impressively, his game face just beginning to come to the fore. The other, smaller one, was still in his human guise and was literally bouncing on his toes as he gestured them forward. His “come and get it” signals were unmistakable and the demons crowded through the door eager to be first to take him on.

None of them paid any attention to the very small, extremely pissed off human girl standing behind the two vampires, except perhaps to note that she might be a fun toy once they took over the place.

With the entire gang trying to crowd through the entryway at the same time, it was fairly easy for Spike and Angel to pick up one or two to fight simultaneously. But, once they had been forced back a little, the whole gang shoved their way in and fighting broke out all over the floor.

Lorne had made his way back to the bar and was busy trying to protect his glasses and bottles, while Cordelia whacked away with the ball bat at any demon that got too close. When one reached over the counter to grab Lorne, she cracked the demon’s head open, then hit him again in the face, sending him to the floor unconscious. Predictably, she then held the gore-smeared bat away from her clothes and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Meanwhile, Spike was working out his anger at Angel on as many demons as he could get to come within reach of his fists and fangs. His initial fury soon faded into his usual joyful appreciation of a good brawl as he worked his way through the first bikers to come through the door.

Ange was methodically destroying one demon at a time; only moving on to the next one when he had finished with the one he was currently pounding into the floor.

Buffy was watching anxiously, really not wanting to ruin her new dress, but feeling her juices begin to rise as the fight ebbed and flowed around her. When one of the bikers slashed Spike with his claws, sending blood from the blond vampire onto Buffy’s dress, as well as tearing the sleeve off his suit, she threw her arms up in the air and huffed, “Okay, that’s it!”

Leaping into the fray, she sent the offending demon to the floor with one kick. She continued to punch and kick him, punctuating her blows with muttered complaints about her ruined evening.

“First the stupid vampire embarrasses me in a nice club.”

Whack!

“Then a bunch of,”

Whack, thump!

“incredible ugly,”

Kick, snap!

“demons get blood on my new dress.”

When she finished turning the unfortunate demon into a pile of whimpering goo, she stepped up beside an admiring Spike to inspect his arm. She took a second to mourn for the beautiful suit that was now armless, before checking the wound. It didn’t appear to be incapacitating, so she turned back to the still-determined demons rushing toward them.

“Incoming, pet,” the vampire smirked as he pushed one her way.

“These morons are sooo going to pay for spoiling my night off,” she groused as she stepped up beside him, mentally rolling up her sleeves.

“Let’s do it, Slayer,” he grinned at her, happy to see that she wasn’t at all put off by his fangs and wrinkles.

The two blonds fell into a rhythm, working together as though they were parts of the same person. The fighting gradually died out all around them, until the only contests left were the two visitors steadily decimating the remains of the demon gang. They punched and kicked and ducked almost in unison. If one missed or took a hit, the other was there to take up the slack. It would have looked like a choreographed dance if it weren’t for the sound of breaking bones and the sprays of blood.

Angel was leaning against the bar with Lorne and Cordelia, watching his grandchilde and his ex girl friend with a mixture of jealousy and pride.

“They’re pretty awesome together, aren’t they,” Lorne ventured, watching Angel out of the corner of his eye.

“That they are, Lorne,” he answered softly, with just a trace of his Irish brogue showing through briefly. “That they are. They make a good team.” This last was said with a touch of sadness in his voice. “Is that what you didn’t want to tell me about them? That they’re a team?”

Lorne thought for a second too long before saying, “Yes, that was pretty much it, Angelcakes.”

Angel looked at the two now-triumphant blonds, leaning on each other in laughter as they went back to the surprisingly intact table and said flatly, “You’re a liar, Lorne.” The green demon blinked at him apologetically, but before he could say anything, Angel added, “Thank you for that.” He walked back to the table where Cordelia was just regaining her seat and sat down heavily.

“Well, that was refreshing,” Spike said, downing the new drink Lorne had placed in front of him. “Nothing like a spot of violence to finish off an almost perfect evening.” The pointed, but surprisingly good-humored look he sent toward Angel made it clear which parts weren’t perfect.

“There is nothing perfect about getting blood and demon guts all over my new dress,” Buffy grumbled. Her cranky tone of voice was belied by the color in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye.

“Fess up, Slayer. You enjoyed that just as much as I did,” Spike said, wagging his finger at her.

She looked around at Lorne’s clean-up crew collecting the dead demons and rolled her eyes. “I SO did not,” she huffed, but she was smiling at him as she did so.

Then her eyes fell on the ruined suit jacket and shirt and she moaned. “Oh, your clothes are ruined too. And I liked you in that suit.”

“He’s got plenty more where that came from,” Angel growled. “And it’s not as if he can’t buy more.”

Buffy looked at Angel like he’d lost his mind.

“This is Spike! He wears the same thing every day. He steals cigarettes and blood, and plays pool for poker money.”

“Buffy, he does those things because he likes to. Not because he has to.”

Angel successfully ignored his frantically signaling grandchilde, and smiled when Buffy sent the younger vampire a “we’ll talk about this later” look.

Spike glared at the once-again-brooding older vampire and growled, “So, Peaches, as much fun as this has been, we need to get on the road if we’re gonna get back to Sunnyhell before I risk serious sunburn. I’m guessing Kermit over there told you I’m not plannin’ to harm the Slayer?”

Angel just looked at him under lowered eyebrows and snarled.

“Right, then.” He stood up and offered Buffy his un-bloody arm. “Coming, love?”

He deliberately sent his eyes roaming over her body in a way he knew would make her warm and laughed softly when she blushed all over. Doing her best to ignore his double entendre, she gave Lorne a little wave and said ‘Good-bye “ to Cordelia. For the first time that either of them could remember, a visit with Angel didn’t end with a good-bye hug and kiss. Buffy gave him a sad smile, but she was still too angry about her spoiled trip to a dance club, not to mention the subsequent damage to her wardrobe, that she couldn’t bring herself to hug him.

Buffy complained all the way to the car about her ruined dress, messed up hair, and general lack of the fine grooming with which she had started the evening.

“I’m a complete mess,” she muttered.

As they neared the Desoto, Spike finally had enough of listening to her whine about her appearance and he grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her around to face him.

“You,” he said flatly, “are the most beautiful woman in this city. I don’t care how much demon blood you have on you, or how much slime you have in your hair.” He raised a hand to push said hair back from her face and continued in a softer tone of voice, “You are a queen. Venus herself would be jealous of you, Buffy. You will never look anything less than wonderful to me.”

Buffy was left completely speechless by his ability to bounce back and forth between violence-loving vampire and the poetic Victorian gentleman she was beginning to suspect he had been before Drusilla turned him. His words, and the emotion pouring out of his eyes, made her uncomfortable at the same time that the woman in her was thrilled to be the object of this passionate man’s ardor.

“I...I have slime in my hair?” she said in a small voice. It seemed the safest option, considering all the other things he’d said.

(Way to seem self-absorbed, Buffy. He tells you he thinks you’re beautiful, and you complain about slime in your hair. Wait! Spike thinks I’m beautiful?)

Using anger to cover his disappointment that she hadn’t responded to his sincere flattery, he threw up his hands and turned back to the car growling, “Fine! Let’s get back to Sunnydale so you can wash your bloody hair!”

As he reached for the door handle, he was suddenly slammed up against the car from behind. He whirled, demon face emerging, to face the attack, only to find himself pressed back against the door by a warm, feminine body. Buffy kept him pinned there for several long seconds, staring into his puzzled eyes. Finally, she asked softly, “You think I’m beautiful?”

“You know I do, love. Told you often enough in the last couple of days.” He leaned in and kissed her gently as he murmured, “Think you’re beautiful.” Kiss. “Strong.” Kiss. “Brave.” Kiss. “Sexy.” The last word was practically growled into her mouth as he fastened his lips on hers and ran his tongue around them until she sent hers out to caress it.

With a groan, he pulled her even tighter against his body and let her feel the desire that had been steadily building in him since he watched her come down the stairs. She moaned into his mouth and allowed herself to melt against him, knowing the arms wrapped around her wouldn’t let her fall when her knees gave out.

Once again the fabric of his dress pants provided only a thin barrier between her warmth and his hard cock. When her small hand touched him through the cloth, he hissed and thrust forward involuntarily. His hands were moving down her bare back, making her shiver as they ghosted over her skin. When he got to the bottom of her spine, he slipped them into the waistband of the dress and down over her firm cheeks, pulling her even more tightly against him.

When she tried to wrap one leg around his hip, to increase the pressure on her aching sex, he used his grip on her ass to lift her up so that she was pressed against his fabric-covered cock. Buffy ground herself against him, whimpering in her need for more contact. When one of his hands reached under her skirt to shove aside her thong, she gasped and squeezed the fingers he slid into her wetness.

Leaning back just enough to fit her hand between them, Buffy reached for his zipper and pulled it down, mewing softly when it seemed to get stuck part way. At last it was down and she could pull his smooth cool length out and place it at her entrance. He immediately removed his fingers and allowed the head of his cock to push into her waiting warmth.

Using his arms for support, Buffy gradually lowered herself onto him, shutting her eyes and throwing back her head, the better to appreciate the feeling of being stretched and filled.

Spike growled as he felt her warm walls slowly enclose his cool shaft. When he was finally in as far as he could go, he held her hips still, moving his own hips around until he heard her gasp. He knew then he’d found the spot he was looking for, and began to slowly push in and out of her, touching that spot with each thrust. He turned them and put her up against the side of the car to give himself better leverage as his thrusts came harder and faster.

It briefly occurred to Buffy that they were standing in a parking lot, albeit a dark one, and that they could be discovered at any moment. To her surprise, she found that she was even more turned on by the idea of someone seeing them, and she filed that away as information to be vigorously denied if she remembered it later.

With the way they had been teasing each other all night, as well as the ferociousness of Spike’s attack on her body, it was a very short time before Buffy was clenching around him and making the little gasping sounds he already knew meant she was reaching her climax.

When he felt her begin to shudder with the force of her orgasm, he let himself go and he spasmed into her at the same time she was muffling her shriek against his jacketed shoulder.

For several minutes after, he remained inside her, the weight of his body keeping her up against the car as they both struggled to breathe normally. The sounds of people passing by on the street finally brought them back to awareness of where they were, and she pushed against him feebly to make him let her down.

He growled softly when he slipped out of her, only slightly mollified by Buffy’s matching little whimper of protest. He moved back far enough to let her skirt fall back around her knees, but didn’t release her to take his face out of where it was buried in her hair.

Suddenly, his head flew up. His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of his grandsire’s voice and he realized Angel and Cordelia were leaving the club. No matter how brave and foolhardy Spike could be, he knew that letting Angel spot him shagging Buffy against a car in a parking lot would lead to a fight to the death. A fight that would leave Buffy mourning no matter which of them won.

He stepped back from her with a quick kiss and whispered in her ear, “Got to get movin’, love. Sounds like the Poof and the Cheerleader are on the way out.”

He heard her heart beat, which had just dropped back to normal, accelerate again as she took in what he’d said. With a very un-Slayerlike squeak, she whirled and dove into the now open door of the car, crawling past the steering wheel and across the seat on her hands and knees. Spike was right behind her, shoving her away as he dropped behind the steering wheel.

“Much as I like this view, pet,” he said appreciatively of her waving rear end, “I don’t have time to enjoy it if I’m gonna live to get out of this parking lot.”

Before she had even turned around to sit down properly, he was backing out of the parking space and slamming the car into drive. From her place on the floor where she landed when he went into reverse, Buffy thought she could hear Angel’s muffled, “Spike? Is that –“ Whatever else he might have said was lost in the sound of squealing tires and the roar of a V-8 engine as they left the parking lot on two wheels.

Fifteen minutes later they were safely on the freeway and heading back toward Sunnydale. Buffy was back on the seat by this time, and sitting by the window, letting the cool night air dry her sweaty hair.

(I am so in need of a shower! I have demon slime in my hair, I’m sweaty, and I’ve got Spike stuff sliding down my legs.)

She turned her head slightly to look at his intent profile as he pushed the big car down the highway at attention attracting speeds.

“Don’t you think you ought to slow down?” she finally asked. “If we get stopped...”

“Don’t plan to get stopped, pet,” he answered, but he did ease off the gas pedal enough that he could steal a look at her. He couldn’t read her face, and her body language told him nothing.

(Can’t tell if she’s sorry we did it; sorry we got interrupted; or jus’ plain sorry she ever went out tonight. Sure as hell wasn’t the ending I was planning for the evening.)

They rode on in silence until Buffy began yawning and Spike patted his thigh and offered, “Want to put your head down, pet? Maybe catch some kip on the way home?”

He wasn’t really expecting an answer from her, and he didn’t get a verbal one. What he did get was a lap full of demon-slimed blond hair as she dropped her warm cheek onto his leg and closed her eyes with a sigh. He dropped one hand down to rest on her shoulder and drove into the night.

Chapter Six

By the time they pulled into Buffy’s driveway, the eastern sky was beginning to lighten and Spike’s body was screaming at him to get to shelter. He shook Buffy’s shoulder gently and whispered, “Wake up, love. I need to get home before I fry.”

Instead of sitting up, she just turned her head and murmured sleepily as she burrowed into his lap. Her warm breath on his lower abdomen was all it took to bring him back to attention, and his cock was immediately nudging the side of her face. She squirmed around a little more, obviously not awake enough to realize what body part she was pushing against with her nose.

A strangled, “Blood hell!” from the vampire, finally got through the fog in her brain and she froze as she took in her position and remembered where she was.

Spike was already putting his hand between her head and the steering wheel so that she wouldn’t injury herself when she bolted upright; but to his surprise, she remained where she was. He soon realized she was deliberately blowing her warm breath on his already hard cock, and he made a noise between a growl and a groan.

“You’ve got to stop that, pet. One way or another, I’m going explode into dust. Not sure if it’s gonna be you or the sun that does it, but...”

Giving his cock one last nudge with her nose, she giggled and sat up carefully. Looking at him and batting her eyes innocently she said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”

“Very funny, Slayer,” he growled, adjusting himself and reaching for the door handle. “’S a good thing I’m so tired or I’d never get to sleep this morning.”

“You- you’re not coming in?”

The disappointed look on her face would have made his heart stop, had it been beating. He looked into her anxious eyes and breathed, “D’you want me to?”

Buffy blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

“Well, no. I mean not if you don’t want to. I can see why you’d want to get home. You need to sleep. I need to clean up. You need to...” her babbling trailed off when he took her chin and tilted it up toward his face.

“’S not a question of what I want, love. You bloody well know what I want. Do YOU want me to come in? Sun’s comin’ up. You’ll be stuck with me all day.”

She flushed again, but held his eyes as she whispered, “That’s kinda what I had in mind.”

Instead of answering her, he pushed the door open and held it as he quickly pulled her out onto the driveway. They walked to the door, Buffy fumbling for her key as she tried to calm her racing heart.

(OK, I’m inviting him in. To spend the day. With me. To do what? Sleeping? We can do sleeping. Maybe shower? Shower with Spike? Wet, soapy Spike? Argh! Do I really want to do this?)

She took a peek at the puzzled vampire standing beside her, and gave herself a mental shake.

(Yes, I do. I want him. I want him in the shower. I want him in my bed. I want him in ME. Repeatedly. It’s summertime . I’m entitled to a summer fling. I saved the world, dammit. .)

Spike stood just outside the door, wanting to follow her in, but puzzled by the rapid increase in her heart rate and breathing. It wasn’t hard to see the confusion going on in her head, as every thought was reflected on her mobile face. When she settled into a look he recognized – one of stubborn determination, he smiled and followed her inside.

(Don’t know what that was all about, but looks like she made up her mind about somethin’. Hope it’s what I think it is.)

Closing the door behind them, Buffy blushed to the roots of her hair as she mumbled, “Uh, I think we...that is, I...you...” She stopped, unable to say what she wanted. She looked at him with pleading eyes, willing him to read her mind and not make her say it.

Smothering a grin, he pulled her into his chest gently and whispered in her ear, “Think we need to get cleaned up, pet. That what you are trying so eloquently to say?”

She nodded her head dumbly, fighting the shivers that his cool breath sent through her body.

(What’s the matter with me? I let him screw me up against a car, outside, in public! Now I can’t tell him I want to get him naked? Buffy the Slayer-slut is suddenly shy?)

Letting go of her, Spike shrugged out of his ruined jacket and dropped it on the floor.

“Right then, pet. Showers it is. Who’s goin’ first?” he raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at her, enjoying the blush that spread over her face again.

As soon as Buffy realized he was teasing her, she lost her embarrassment and whirled to run upstairs, throwing over her shoulder, “Whoever gets in there first!.”

With a whoop, the vampire followed her with supernatural speed, catching her at the top of the stairs and tackling her to the floor. He planted a quick kiss on her indignant face, then was on his feet and into the bathroom before she could move. By the time Buffy made it through the bathroom door, he was already naked and turning on the water.

Buffy stopped to admire his tight ass and to watch the muscles in his back flexing as he bent over the tub to adjust the temperature.

When he had it to his satisfaction, he turned to her and smiled when he saw how she was looking at him.

“Like what you see, love?” he smirked, running a hand down his chest to his taut stomach.

In reply, Buffy approached him and ran her warm hand lightly down the same path. She smiled to herself when he hissed and clenched his fists, his cocky expression giving way immediately to one of heated desire. It gave her a jolt of purely female pride to know that she could reduce the cocky vampire to a quivering beggar with just a touch. She shot him a triumphant look, then turned her back and lifted her hair.

“Unfasten my dress for me?” she asked softly.

He stared for a second at the graceful neck she was presenting for him, then lowered his head and used his lips and teeth to unhook the halter top. He reached around in front of her and caught the top as it fell, holding it against her chest and running his thumbs over her now-exposed nipples. His cool lips continued to nibble on the back of her neck as he pulled her back against his body.

Buffy felt wetness begin to seep out around her thong as she leaned back into him, enjoying the feel of his cool hands running over her. When he came to the top of her skirt, she shimmied her hips to help him slid the dress the rest of the way off. It pooled at her feet and she almost collapsed into it when he slid a hand into her thong and cupped her mound. She moaned and pushed against his hand.

“Still too many clothes,” he growled into her neck, pushing the underwear down until she could hook it with her toes and pull it the rest of the way off.

He turned her around and held her at arms’ length, his eyes running from her still-slimy hair to her bare toes.

“So beautiful,” he breathed. “A golden goddess.”

Once again, his flowery praise made her feel uncomfortable and she broke the mood by stepping into the shower and saying, “a slimy, sweaty, goddess.”

He barely controlled his sigh of exasperation at her inability to take a compliment from him. He wanted to be angry, but the sight of her standing under the running water with her head thrown back was too much and he stepped in behind her.

While Buffy allowed the running water to soak her head, he reached for the shampoo and poured some into his palm. He eased her forward out of the running water and gently began to massage her head with his long fingers. He continued to rub her scalp long past the point where there was a need to spread shampoo; lost in the feel of her hair and the contented sounds she was making as he worked the suds around her head.

Finally he allowed her back under the water, and while she was rinsing out the shampoo, he picked up the nylon scrubber and poured vanilla scented body gel on it. He began at her neck and moved gently around her body, using the sponge and his hands to spread the suds. When he came to her breasts, he dropped the sponge and used his hands to massage the soap into them. He watched her nipples come to little hard peaks, and couldn’t resist tweaking them with his fingers.

Buffy playfully slapped his hand away and reached down for the scrubber he had dropped. While Spike continued using his hands to spread the soap around her body, she began running the nylon sponge over his muscled chest and abdomen. When they had cleaned each other’s fronts as much as was possible without sitting down, they stepped closer together and without discussion, put their arms around each other to begin working the bubbles around their backs.

It wasn’t long before proximity to Buffy’s warm, wet body had the inevitable effect on Spike and his cock bobbed against her stomach as she stretched her arms around to reach his back. When she slid her soapy hands down to his ass and cupped his cheeks, he stopped pretending he wasn’t aroused and pulled her in against him. He slipped his own hands down over her ass and let his fingers wander into the cleft. He smiled when his questing finger’s gentle circling of her smaller hole made her gasp and clasp her legs together.

When his persistent exploration made her squeal, he broke into actual laughter as he licked water off her neck.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked. “How would you like it if I did that to you?” She fully expected him to back off from her challenge. Instead, his eyes became even darker as he shook with laughter and nuzzled her throat.

“Oh, love, if you only would...” he purred into her neck as his fingers continued to find their way past her clenched thighs and onto more acceptable places.

“Wha-? Ewww, Spike! You are such a pig!”

“Oink, oink, pet,” he said, completely unfazed. “Could show you how much fun it is to wallow, Slayer. Could teach you so much...” Somewhere in the middle of his teasing, visions of teaching her the things he had learned about sex in his over 120 years of unlife completely took over his brain and he forgot what he was saying and doing. His hands stilled and his eyes unfocused for a minute as he began to fantasize.

Buffy’s curious, “Spike?” brought him back to the realty of the warm, wet body already in his arms and he mentally smacked himself for allowing his mind to wander away from what was right in front of him.

“Sorry, pet,” he said apologetically, “let my brain get ahead of my...other parts there. Forgot what I was doin’ for a sec.”

“Forgot? You forgot what you were doing?” Anger and a trace of insecurity crossed the Slayer’s face at his words.

(Fuck! Way to bollix it up, wanker!)

Hurt that he seemed able to think about something else while she thought they were working their way toward more sex, Buffy struggled to get out of his embrace. He held her slippery body as tightly as he could and frantically tried to calm her down.

“Slayer. Buffy. Please. Listen to me, love. Please.”

His pleading voice kept her from continuing to struggle, but she refused to look at him and stood rigidly inside his embrace, arms folded across her chest.

He wanted to tip her face up so that she could read the truth in his eyes, but he was afraid if he let go she would slip away from him and out of the tub.

He settled for running light kisses from her forehead, down her cheek and jaw and onto her neck. He ran his tongue lightly over the area just behind and below her ear that he was coming to realize was an erogenous zone for her. While his lips and tongue worked their magic, he began speaking softly to her.

“Didn’t forget because I wasn’t into it, love. I just got wound up in all the things I want to do with you; things I want to do to you; things I want to teach you to do to me. It was visions of how wonderful we could be together that had me gobsmacked there for a minute. Never meant to ignore you, my love. Could never ignore you. Want you all the time, any and every way I can have you.”

“Really?” she asked quietly, relaxing slightly in his embrace. She peered up at him through wet hair. “Gobsmacked, huh? What does that even mean?”

“Means,” he said, smiling with relief, “that when I’m around you my brain goes out to lunch sometimes and all I can think about is makin’ lo- shaggin’ you into the ground. You can’t be mad at me for that, can you, pet?” He looked down at her dripping face hopefully and risked letting go so that he could push the wet hair out of her eyes.

“So, you still want me?”

Instead of answering her, he picked her up and placed her legs around his waist, so that she could feel how much he wanted her pressing against her bottom. When she shook her head, “no” and tried to get down, his heart sank and he started to plead with her again. But she put her fingers against his lips and whispered, “I just want to try it in a bed this time.”

“As you wish, love,” he whispered back as he lowered her feet to the bottom of the tub. They quickly rinsed off and stepped out. Spike grabbed a large towel and began running it gently over her body, patting her dry and planting kisses every time he finished an area. When he came to her soft curls, instead of using the towel, he licked them until there was no water left to lick and Buffy was clinging to the sink to support herself. Her knees had long since refused to hold her up as his tongue flicked in and out of her folds making sure he got every last drop of bath water.

When all he could taste was the heady nectar of her arousal, he stopped and stood up to quickly flick the towel over his body. As soon as he was dry enough, he dropped the towel and opened the bathroom door. He turned, scooped her up in his arms, and strode out into the hall looking back and forth between the bedrooms.

“Over there,” Buffy breathed, pointing a dainty finger toward her bedroom.

Spike kicked open the door, using his heel to nudge it shut behind him. He walked over to the rumpled bed and carefully set her down beside it. Suddenly shy again, Buffy dropped her gaze and stood twisting her hands awkwardly, wondering what to do next. One look at his face and she relaxed. The vampire was looking at her with such obvious desire that she immediately regained her feeling of womanly power.

She reached out a hand and gently stroked his smooth hardness, smiling when he closed his eyes and sighed. Emboldened by the fact that he wasn’t watching her, she rubbed her thumb over the head, spreading the pre-cum around. She then slid her hand down the shaft, pumping gently and watching his face.

As soon as she squeezed him and began pumping, he suddenly had to watch, and he stared in awe at her small hand working the length of his cock. When she sank down onto the bed to take him in her warm mouth, he couldn’t stop the flow of verbal encouragement while she sucked and licked him.

“Fuck, baby, your mouth is ... Feels so good, your hot little mouth, little pink tongue, on me, sucking me, Ahhh!” he almost screamed as she nipped at him with her blunt little teeth. Encouraged, she continued to nibble her way up one side and down the other, pausing at the top to insert her tongue in the little slit, and run it around under his foreskin. By the time she was done there, the vampire was babbling almost incoherently and pushing his hips toward her in an effort to put more of his cock inside her warm mouth.

Buffy decided to experiment while she had a willing subject, and she fought back her gag reflex so that she could get him into her throat. Spike’s size made it impossible for her to take him all in her mouth, but she was able to get the head far enough down her throat that when she swallowed, he growled and grabbed her head, stilling it temporarily.

She shook his hands off, the rotation of her head making him cry out again, and continued what she was doing. She was determined to take it through to its logical finish and smiled to herself when she felt his balls tighten up under her hand and his thrusts become uncontrolled. With a final strangled yell, he spilled into her throat and she swallowed him down, each swallow milking even more from him.

When he finally stilled, she lifted her head and made sure he was watching as she licked her lips of every last drop. She was hoping to see something to let her know that she’d done a good job, but the expression on his face made her made her stomach drop. She’d never seen quite that expression on his face before and she looked away from him to hide her confusion. Something about the look on his face told her she didn’t want him to speak just then. She was so sure that he was going to say something to change things between them, that she grabbed him and pulled him on to the bed with her to stop his mouth with a kiss.

The vampire wasn’t fooled. He knew she was avoiding having to deal with what she could read on his face, but he couldn’t help himself. The sight of Buffy looking up at him, his cum still on her lips, her eyes anxiously looking for his approval, made it impossible for him to deny what was happening.

(Bloody, buggering fuck. I’m fallin’ in love with her. Spike, William the Bloody, is in love with a Slayer. Might as well fall on a stake now. There’s no way this can end well.)

Even as he rolled his body on top her hers, kissing her back with everything he had, he was wondering how long it would be before she broke his heart just as Drusilla had. He knew she didn’t love him. Liked him maybe. Lusted after his body and his talented hands and tongue; but there was no way Heaven’s Chosen One was going to fall in love with a soulless vampire. Even a harmless one.

Mentally shaking off his momentary sadness, he concentrated instead on the scent, taste and feel of the woman writhing under him. He took her two hands in one of his and stretched them over her head, silently encouraging her to grasp the rails on the headboard.

Their bodies were pressed together, warm fragrant skin to cool, smooth flesh. Buffy moaned and squirmed under him as though she couldn’t get close enough, but she obediently kept her hands around the railings.

As soon as he was sure she was going to stay there, he let go of her hands and began moving his long, cool fingers down her body, following them with his lips and tongue. He suckled on each breast for minutes at a time, using his hands to caress the other one while he did. He gloried in the way Buffy arched up into his mouth when it fastened on her nipple. He nipped and licked at them until the peaks were hard as diamonds and bright red.

Leaving his hands to keep her breasts happy, he ran his mouth down her rib cage and onto her flat stomach. He tickled her navel with his tongue, running it around and around until she squirmed and giggled between gasps. Then he kissed his way across her hip bone and down to where her leg met her lower abdomen. He paused to suck over her femoral artery and enjoy the sounds and scents of blood rushing past his mouth. Pulling on the skin there, and sucking as hard as he had on her breast, he felt her fighting the urge to ask for his fangs.

He knew he didn’t have enough control of his demon to resist the bite if she offered it, so he reluctantly moved away from the tempting rush of her blood and began planting kisses down the inside of her thigh to her knee. By the time he had worked his way back up the other leg, she was whimpering in need and pushing her hips up off the bed. He blew his cool breath across her pubic bone, stirring the curls there and causing another whimper.

Using his hand to hold her hips still, he nuzzled his way between her outer lips, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her arousal and lapping up the moisture he found there. Her legs fell apart as she felt his tongue slide into her wetness and she moaned in relief. Her relief was short-lived as he continued to tease her by running his tongue around her outer lips, carefully avoiding the swollen nub she was trying to force into his mouth.

He ran his tongue into her warm opening, wriggling it inside and making her twitch before he ran it from there all the way up to her clit. He then proceeded to lick her throbbing clit with forceful flicks of his tongue until she ground out a snarling, “Spike...If you want to live...”

He smiled into her, then raised his head long enough to say, “Alright, love. I love your sweet tasting cunny, but I guess I’ve been playin’ long enough.”

“Too long,” she gasped, as he pulled her into his mouth and began to suck on her clit, at the same time his tongue continued to flick back and forth across it. In no time Buffy was panting and whimpering as she tried to press herself against his mouth, growling when he held her hips still. By the time she arched off the bed, screaming his name, he was rock hard again.

He gave her a minute to calm down from the tremors still shaking her body before he slid up and into her tight warmth. He buried himself with one strong push, then stilled as he waited for her to notice where he was.

“That what you wanted, then, love?” he murmured as he sucked on her earlobe. “Did the Big Bad give you what you wanted?”

“Took you long enough,” she sighed, relaxing the muscles that had just clenched almost to the point of cramping when her whole body spasmed in pleasure.

“Evil, here, pet. Remember?” he smiled into her neck and licked the pulse pounding there. He ran his tongue lightly over the spot he had marked at his crypt and was gratified to feel her shiver slightly at the sensation created.

Buffy opened one eye and looked at him suspiciously. “What the hell was that? I thought you said it was going to go away.”

“Don’ want it to go away,” he mumbled, thinking she couldn’t hear him.

“Spike...” there was a warning in her voice, and she shifted under him as though she was thinking about pushing him off.

His head flew up and he looked at her with so much fear she was shocked. She’d never seen Spike be afraid of anything, human or demon, but here he was staring at her, almost quaking with it. She frowned at him, not quite sure what had just happened.

“Spike? What’s the matter? Is something wrong?” She could feel him clutching her arms and his body was trembling. She wracked her brain for what might have happened or what she might have said or done to bring on this reaction. She was shocked at the look in his eyes as he answered her.

(Are those tears? What the hell did I say?)

“I didn’t mean it, Buffy. I swear, I didn’t. I’m not tryin’ to own you, love. Wouldn’t keep you if you didn’t want to be with me. Don’t push me away, love. Don’t make me leave. Won’t bite you again. Promise you.”

There was no trace of the cocky, violence-loving demon on the pleading face before her. She realized that he thought she was recoiling from his demon and its attempt to claim her. Surprisingly, she felt no sense of disgust or revulsion at the idea that his demon wanted to make her his. She had a feeling that belonging to Spike’s demon might very well be something she wouldn’t mind at all if she wasn’t the Slayer.

“I wasn’t accusing you of trying to claim me again,” she said soothingly. “I was just asking why I could still feel it when you touched the marks. I’m not mad at you, you big baby.”

“Oh.” He looked back at her and made a feeble attempt to save the situation. “I knew that. Was jus’ testin’ you, is all.”

She just rolled her eyes and wriggled against him, reminding him that they had been in the middle of something.

“Right, then,” he muttered, trying to salvage what was left of his dignity. “One good shaggin’ comin’ up. Hang on to your knickers, Slayer.”

Her giggle was enough to banish the specter of his embarrassing behavior and he began moving slowly in and out of her tightness, losing his sense of insecurity as she put her arms around him and pulled him even closer. He could hear her panting whimpers as he rotated his hips to get both her clit and the nerves he was looking for inside.

When she brought her legs up and locked her ankles behind his back, he let the demon out and began pounding in to her, shaking the bed and pushing her back against the brass headboard. As hard as he was thrusting, the Slayer was pushing back against him and meeting him thrust for thrust. It briefly crossed Buffy’s mind that there was no need to control her Slayer strength with Spike and she could let her self go in way she couldn’t with Riley.

Secure in that knowledge, she allowed herself to take what she wanted and demand more for the first time in her short life. Her nails raked his back as she arched into his strong body and pulled him to her.

“Give it to me, Buffy. Give it to me good,” he gasped as she clenched her muscles around his cock. He wondered briefly how her human lovers managed to survive love-making with Buffy with their equipment intact, as he felt the pleasure/pain that made shagging her better than anything he’d ever felt before. Even his inventive dark princess, had never made him feel like this.

He felt the pressure building and his balls tightening as he buried himself in the warmth of her tight, velvet walls.

“Come for me, love. Want you to come with me. Let it go, sweetheart. Let yourself feel me. Feel me Buffy. Can you feel me filling you up?”

Her shuddering body was his only answer as she pulled him into her so hard he thought they might break each other’s bones. When the last wave of sensation had finally subsided, Buffy relaxed the grip she had on him enough that he could turn his head and bury his nose in her neck. Without thinking, he licked his barely visible bite marks again.

This time, when the tingle went through Buffy’s body, she just relaxed and arched her neck to give him better access. As the licking went on, the tingle changed to a much less stimulating feeling and she found herself basking in a state of overall peace and contentment.

(Maybe there’s something to be said for this claim stuff. When I think I can be bothered moving my mouth again, I’ll ask him more about it.)

She was so wrapped up in how comfortable and content she was both mentally and physically, that it took her awhile to identify the rumble coming from the body draped over her.

“Are you PURRING?” she asked, nudging the source of the rumble.

“Mmmm, hmmmm,” he murmured, never taking his lips off the soft skin of her neck.

“Uh, since when do vampires purr? And why?” Rather than the demanding tone she would have normally taken with him, her questions came out as idle requests to accompany the small circles her fingers were tracing on his arm.

“Happy,” he mumbled between licks.

Buffy felt like she should be seriously wigged by the whole situation, but the calming licks made it impossible to feel anything except safe and content. She shrugged lightly and wriggled closer to his body.

“Oh. ‘K, then.” As she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, she murmured softly, “Me too.”


TBC