As soon as they reached the mansion, Willow and Xander set about making arrangements for their unexpected guests. Buffy had decided that they should hide out at the mansion for a few more days, until they were sure that any Initiative soldiers possibly staking out her house were gone. Spike had been pretty sure that it would be safe to go back to her house, as the soldiers would have left once they had made their little raid and discovered that the house had been deserted, but Buffy had thought it best to play it safe.

According to the general’s notes, when the special unit came to investigate the lock down, they would call in all the soldiers who had been a part of the Initiative and reassign them. So, Buffy thought it safe to assume that once the special unit had been and gone, it would be safe to return to their homes – but not before.

Buffy and Spike were still too busy drinking in each other’s presence to be of much help to Willow and Xander in the search for what seemed to be an impossible amount of bedding. Not to mention beds. But Willow didn’t mind, and Xander was just glad to have something to keep his eyes occupied in a direction other than the tattered old sofa in the corner, where the Slayer sat with her vampire lover.

Buffy slowly drew away from the latest of many kisses, and let out a little half-moan, half-whine. “My mom’s gonna kill me,” she pointed out. “One vampire in the basement was enough to make her wanna leave town. Now I’ve got what – like – fifteen?”

“Exactly,” Spike nodded with a smile. His expression became thoughtful for a moment before he went on, “You know – they don’t have to stay in your house, Buffy – unless you think they should,” he hurriedly added, not wanting to appear to be trying to put one over on her, wanting to be sure she knew the decision was still in her hands.

“But,” he went on cautiously. “this old place is just sitting here…abandoned…no one making any use of it…it’s kind of an ideal habitat so to speak for vampires, love…”

She smiled slowly as his idea began to take shape in her head. “We could fix it up a little…I mean, it’s *really* run down…”

“Nothing much wrong with it from a vampire’s point of view, love,” he pointed out. “Needs a good cleaning and some proper furniture, but then it’ll be right perfect.”

She nodded slowly, her smile widening as she thought about it. But there was still a certain apprehension in her eyes. Her smile fading, she looked him in the eye and asked softly, “Will they always listen to you, Spike?”

He did not respond for a moment. “They’ve never known anything but slavery, love,” he finally replied, holding her gaze with his sapphire eyes. “All they know is doing what they’re told. And I’m their sire. They’ll do as I say.”

“Even when you’re not around?” she asked anxiously. “Not just when you’re with them?”

He nodded. “Oh, yes, love. The sire’s hold on a childe is a bit stronger than that. But I figure to be close by most of the time.”

Her smile became playful as she pulled him closer to her and said knowingly, “Oh, there’ll be a lot of time when they’ll be on their own, Baby. They’re not the only thing you’re gonna have to take care of.”

His eyes darkened with desire at the look on her face, and he held her tighter as well. “Well, of course, I’ll have to find time for *all* my responsibilities,” he conceded, kissing her again.

She returned the kiss aggressively, pushing him back against the couch under her, pulling him closer to her with a hand behind his head and an arm around his waist. When his hand at the small of her back began a slow slide downward, she felt her heartbeat quicken, and one of her hands somehow found its way between them, trailing downward from his waistband.

“Ahem!” Xander said loudly, walking into the room with about a half dozen fledglings in tow.

Buffy and Spike quickly separated, aware of the completely undignified position they had just been caught in, and how unlikely the sight was to create any kind of respect in the vampire children in their charge.

As if reading their thoughts, Xander muttered as he leaned down to set a stack of blankets on the unoccupied part of the sofa, “Not in front of the children, Buffy.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, but she was blushing bright red.

“We *really* need to find some bloody privacy!” Spike muttered to her under his breath.

Suddenly, Buffy was *absolutely certain* that the soldiers would have left her house by now. “Better safe than sorry” no longer sounded like such good advice to her. She suddenly jumped to her feet, pulling Spike with her by the hand. “You know, we are *soo* gonna need a lot more blankets than that! And – and pillows and stuff…” she began, nodding innocently when faced with Xander’s skeptical smirk. “We have lots of stuff at my house…Spike and I’ll go get them...”

“Whatever,” Xander said, shaking his head.

“Hey, Buff?” Willow stopped her just before they rushed out the door.

“Yeah?”

Willow continued, all wide-eyed innocence, as she placed the keys to her van in Buffy’s hand. “You might wanna test them out – make sure they’re – warm enough, or whatever.”

Buffy’s blush heightened, and her eyes widened in shock. Was this coming from *Willow*? “Shut up,” she muttered as she dragged Spike behind her out the door, not wanting to give anyone else the chance to say anything.


Ten minutes later, Buffy slowly, deliberately closed and locked the front door of her house behind them, turning to brace her back against it as she gave Spike a slow smile.

“Alone at last,” she said in an exaggeratedly suggestive voice.

He laughed softly, taking her in his arms again as she slowly backed him toward the staircase. But by the time they reached them, their lips were already pressed together again, and neither of them was watching where they were going, so they just tumbled down onto the stairs.

Giggling, feeling like a schoolgirl again, Buffy pushed off of him and pulled him to his feet. Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close, she whispered against his lips, “Maybe we should try to make it upstairs.”

“Right,” he whispered back, kissing her again.

With an extreme force of will they separated just far enough and long enough to make it up the stairs to her room, where Buffy wasted no time in performing her usual routine of pushing him down onto the bed, as they hastily fumbled at the confines of each other’s clothing.

But tonight, Spike had other ideas.

“You know, love,” he murmured in a low, throaty voice that sent shivers all through her, as he slipped her shirt back off her shoulders with smooth, cool fingers, and then slowly traced those fingers from her shoulders down her arms to intertwine with hers. “I’m thinking we ought to try a different position.”

And suddenly he flipped her over so that she was on her back on the bed, and he was over her, pinning her to the mattress by her hands he held in his own. Instinctively she pulled up against his hands, though she didn’t really want to get away – and found that she couldn’t, anyway. His grip was too strong.

Her eyes widened with realization as he gave her a slow, seductive smile. Had he always been this strong, and only restrained by the chip in his head? The chip that had made him unable to resist as she had held him like this, pinned to the bed in his suite at the Initiative? Not that he had wanted to resist – as she didn’t want to, now.

The look in his eyes made her feel weak all over, and the shivers started again up and down her spine – but in a very, very good way. That look said that Spike had had enough of submission. Tonight was her turn.

Slowly, a wicked glint in his ice-blue eyes, he brought her wrists together above her head and held them with one hand, freeing the other to wind a slow trail down her body. His leisurely, light touch made promises that she was desperate for him to fulfill by the time it finally reached its destination, and her back arched up in pleasure at the anticipated contact.

“Oh, God! Oh, Spike!” she gasped, and he smiled with satisfaction as he continued. This time he was the one administering the divine torture, using his hand with an expert touch to bring her desperately close, while still holding her back.

“Please, Spike, oh please!” she moaned, and it was almost a sob, as he dropped his head to her throat to kiss her, his very talented fingers still working, gentle and firm at all the right places and moments, to bring her to the brink of her release.

She longed to pull him closer, to kiss him, to *touch* him, but was at his mercy, restrained by his gentle yet powerful grip.

She gasped again as she felt herself nearing the edge, only to remain unfulfilled, by his teasing touch.

“Do you want me, Buffy?” he whispered in her ear, following the question with more soft kisses from below her ear down to her shoulder.

She knew exactly what it was that he was really asking. “Yes! Oh, God, yes, I want you!” she gasped. “Please, please, Spike, *now*!”

And so he granted her urgent plea, and released her wrists to hold him to her as they moved together in perfect rhythm, her desperate clutching fingers raking her nails lightly down his back and eliciting a gasp of pleasure from those perfect, trembling lips.

Buffy smiled to herself, in the moment before her ecstasy consumed her. There were still some things within her control.


Hours later, they lay still entwined with each other in her bed, utterly spent. Spike leaned up on one arm, just gazing at her contentedly as she snuggled against him, his free hand idly playing with her hair.

“You know,” she said teasingly, “You just proved, you’ve still got a lot to learn about being good.”

“Right, love,” he replied, an eyebrow raised as his twinkling blue eyes caught hers. “Like the whole part about lying to your friends so you can sneak off and shag your boyfriend? That part of being good?”

Buffy looked momentarily shamed – but not too much. She smiled, “Okay, so I’ve got a lot to learn, too.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer. “But I’m not in any hurry for you to learn it, love. I’m happy knowing you’ve still got a bit of bad in you when I want it.” And he leaned in to kiss her again, slowly and thoroughly, possessing her with his mouth.

When they finally parted, her eyes were hazy with a heady mixture of pleasure and exhaustion. “Me too, Baby,” she whispered as she leaned her head back on his arm beneath her and gazed contentedly up into his adoring eyes. “Me too.”

FIN

A/N: I know there could be a lot more story from this point, and I’ll probably do a sequel later, but this seemed like a good ending point for this particular tale.  I’ve got a couple of new projects I’m starting, so it might be a bit on a sequel but I’ll probably do one later telling how things play out with the new little “vampire family” and Buffy and Spike’s fledgling relationship. Thanks everybody for reading and all your wonderful feedback!! It keeps me writing, and writing fast!!  LOL Thanks again! -- Jessi