AN - please note the rating change!

Chapter Sixteen

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the light pressure of their touching shoulders and the sounds of the advancing night. When Buffy gave a small shiver, Spike stood up and held out his hand.

“Let’s get inside, love. I know it’s not a lot warmer there, but we can probably find something to wrap around you.”

Taking the offered hand, she rose gracefully to stand beside him. Their eyes met and held, followed by their bodies melding together in a simultaneous urge to hang on to each other. When the close proximity had its inevitable effect on Spike’s libido, he swept her up and carried her to the door, pausing in frustration when he remembered that he’d locked it and that the key was in his pocket.

“Bugger.”

Buffy giggled and squirmed in his arms. “Let me down so you can get the key out,” she ordered.

“Wanted to carry you across the threshold,” he grumbled, fumbling in his pocket for the key. He unlocked the door and threw it open with a flourish. “Guess I’ll have to settle for bowing you in,” he added, suiting actions to words and bending down to gesture gallantly with his arm. “Please come in, my lady.”

“Thank you, sir,” she simpered back at him, doing her best to appear to be sweeping elegantly past him in her jeans and tee shirt.

She watched curiously as he locked the door behind them, and frowned as he went around the first floor checking the locks on all the windows.

“What are you doing? Twice in one day? We’re here now; why are you still locking stuff?”

“I’ve got something precious here and vamps out there thinking they can take it. It’s the only way I’ve got to keep ‘em out right now.”

Buffy nodded. “I guess you’re right. At least this way, they’ll make noise breaking in and we’ll know something’s going on.”

She followed him into the library, where he turned on the lamp and settled on the couch with his arm around her.

“What did you mean by ‘the only way to keep them out right now’? You’re planning not to be a dead man tomorrow?”

“I mean, that as of tomorrow – or as soon as we can set it up – I’m giving this house to you. Then it will be vamp-safe, at least.”

“Spike--”

“You’d take it, wouldn’t you?” He stared at her anxiously. “Am I taking too much for granted, here? That you’re going to be staying often enough that being safe while we sleep is important?”

When she didn’t respond, he began to backtrack. “Of course it’s taking too much for granted. I’m a stupid git. Still not the vampire you love, am I? Just a ghost who’s taking advantage of--”

Buffy put her fingers over his mouth.

“If you’d stop babbling for a minute, I might have a chance to tell you that I’m fine with it. You just surprised me, that’s all. I…I’d love to be here often enough to feel like I belong here. I would.”

“Oh.” He looked embarrassed. “Well, that’s all good then, isn’t it? We’ll get hold of that solicitor tomorrow and--”

“No,” she said firmly.

“No? But you just…”

“We’re not going to have anything to do with that weasel. He’d just tell Wolfram and Hart, and then there’d be…well, I don’t know what would happen, but the less they know about us and what’s going on here, the better.”

She took out her phone and punched in a number as she continued, “We’re going to use Council counsel…” She paused to giggle at herself, then responded to the grumpy-sounding “Yes?” that Spike could easily hear. “Giles! Hi! It’s not too late is it? Well I know, but you’re old and old people go to bed---sheesh! Okay. I didn’t mean you were doddering…. Yeah, listen, Spike and I need a lawyer – can we come to your office tomorrow and talk to the Council guy?”

She wiggled her fingers at Spike, who grabbed the hand and played with her fingers while she talked.

“Oh, okay. The next day, then. Yeah, there’s a good reason, and—huh! Aren’t you smart? Yes, that’s what we need to do. Yes, it is good thinking on his part.” She smirked at Spike who paused in his pursuit of her fingers to raise his eyebrows. “Okay, I’ll see you sometime tomorrow and we’ll plan on meeting the lawyer guy the day after. Thanks, Giles. Goodnight to you, too.”

She closed the phone with an expression of great satisfaction on her face.

“Okay, that’s that. We’ll get it done by somebody who won’t go tattling to the bad guys right away.”

“They’ll find out eventually, pet,” he told her. “It will be on public record – all they have to do is take a look.”

“Maybe. But the longer it takes them to find out, the less likely they are to figure out that you can go out or that I’m planning to stay here.”

“They’re going to keep trying to kill you,” he said, squeezing the hand he was still holding until Buffy winced. He placed an apologetic kiss on her palm, but his expression didn’t change. “Won’t have you dying because of me.”

He dropped her hand and stood up. “You were right, Slayer. You need to leave. I was wrong to talk you out of it. You need to be far away where they have no reason to think that you could be making me happy about bein’ here.”

“Now who’s being all martyry?” She stood up, her arms waving around as she warmed to her subject. “Something or somebody has been trying to kill me since I was fifteen. It could happen anywhere. I’m not leaving you,” she added, when he appeared ready to argue. “There’s nothing they can throw against us that we can’t handle together. Or with help from Willow or a group of graduates of the Spike’s Slayer School final exam.”

“Buffy – I know what I said before, but I wasn’t thinking. I can’t be responsible for your death, pet. Don’t ask it of me.”

“Didn’t we just have this conversation? Except the other way around? You aren’t responsible for what happens to me, because the only person who’s making decisions for me is me.”

“You are a stubborn bint, aren’t you?” he said, reluctant admiration in his voice.

“Hello? Pot, meet Kettle.”

She stood, hands on hips, and dared him to argue with her. Instead, he gave one of the deep chuckles that made butterflies chase each other around her lower abdomen, and pulled her into another fierce hug. Buffy immediately put her arms around his neck and squeezed back, allowing him to lift her off the floor, holding her with a drowning man’s grip on the only floating object within reach.

“Now might be a good time for the carrying me somewhere thing,” she whispered.

Without a verbal response, he swung her legs sideways and grabbed them with one arm while the other cradled her upper body against his chest. He dipped Buffy so that she could turn off the lamp, then strode out of the room and down the hallway to the kitchen and the door to his bedroom. With another small dip, Buffy was able to reach the doorknob and push the door open.

She felt Spike shift into his vampire mien before he walked down the stairs and crossed to his bed without hesitation. He paused at the edge of the bed and she heard the bones shift back. Raising one hand to the back of his head, she pulled him down into the first kiss of the evening, her muffled whimper bringing a corresponding groan from Spike.

He dropped her legs, letting them slide down to the floor so that he could once again wrap his arms around her and enjoy the way she melted into him. It wasn’t long before there was too much clothing between them and hands were pushing up shirts and tugging at belts. Buffy accomplished her goal first and wrenched her mouth away from his to begin kissing her way around his bare chest, pausing occasionally to lick or bite a nipple.

By mutual consent, they paused long enough to shed their shirts completely and for Spike to unfasten Buffy’s bra. He tossed it aside, saying, “Your call, love. Lights on or lights off?”

“No fair,” Buffy mock pouted. “You can see either way. If they’re off, I just have to feel my way around…” Putting her words into action, she used exaggerated patting motions to feel her way down to the bulge in his jeans. “Aha! There it is. I found it.”

“Pretty sure it wasn’t hiding, pet,” he groaned, pushing into her hand. “But I don’t want you to have a hard time finding anything…”


He flicked the bedside lamp on, tilting the shade so that the light was directed away from the bed, leaving it illuminated by a soft glow. Buffy’s hair reflected the glow of the lamp and he almost forgot what they’d been doing as he stopped to admire the vision in front of him.

“Bloody hell,” he whispered reverently. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You don’t remember everything you’ve ever seen,” she said, embarrassed by his awed gaze, even as she grew warm under it. “You don’t even remember anything you’ve ever seen--”

“I’m trying to set a romantic tone here, Slayer,” he growled, sitting on the bed and reaching for her hand. She readily extended it and he pulled her towards him to stand between his open knees.

“Let me undress you, love,” he said, running a gentle finger over one nipple and teasing it to a hard point. “Allow me to unwrap this breathtaking package that I’ve somehow managed to deserve.”

Buffy blushed. More than conscious of how often she’d refused his attempts at romance in their less happy past, she stood still and allowed him to slowly peel away her jeans, kissing his way down her body as he worked the tight denim down her legs. Buffy obediently lifted one foot, then the other, so that he could slide her socks and shoes off before dropping the jeans to the floor. When she was standing in a small pile of denim, he nudged her forward, out of the discarded clothing and closer to him. He buried his face in her stomach, visibly inhaling her scent as he pulled her even closer.

The feeling of Spike’s lips and cool breath on her skin made Buffy’s knees buckle and she leaned into him, putting her hands on his shoulders for support. When he took the elastic of her underwear in his teeth and began to slowly pull it down, her breathing became ragged and her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders. Letting her finish taking off the panties by stepping out of them, Spike brought his attention back up, planting a open mouth kiss on her neatly trimmed mound.

While Buffy opened her quaking legs to give him more access, he used his tongue to tease her clit until she was moaning and the only thing keeping her up were his hands clutching her ass as he held her to his face. He waited until she was shaking and whimpering through her orgasm before falling backwards on to the bed, pulling her with him and leaving her lying on his face until she rolled herself off and slid down to rest her head on his bare chest.

“Wow. Wowie, wow,” she gasped. “I’d forgotten how good you are at that.”

“You forgot? Should I be offended?”

Buffy ignored his half-serious question, popping the buttons on his jeans and unzipping them. She pushed them down until his cock could spring free, dropping quick kiss on it, and then moved to the side of the bed and slid onto the floor so that she could pull off his boots and socks. She stood up and began to tug on the hem of his pants until he lifted his hips to assist her. When they had joined hers in the growing heap of discarded clothing on the floor, she crawled onto the bed and up his body until she was lying on him, skin to skin from head to toe.

She rested her chin on her crossed hands and looked up into his darkening eyes.

“There’s something poking me,” she said, wriggling on him until he groaned and grabbed her hips, pulling her down while he pushed up into her flat stomach. Buffy giggled and moved up so that she could reach his mouth; his cock now rested between her thighs. Opening her legs to let it nudge its way into place, she let him guide her hips, sitting up at his silent urging. As soon as she was sitting erect, she sank down on him, bringing matching sighs and smiles.

“Now there’s a sight,” he breathed, watching her face as she began to ride him, slowly at first, then moving faster as he pushed his hips up and gave her nonverbal encouragement to work him as hard as she wanted. With her head thrown back, he could see the pulse pounding in her throat and he felt his fangs dropping as his mouth filled with saliva.

Oblivious to the changes taking place below her, Buffy continued to ride him, squeezing as she rose and slammed down onto him to the accompaniment of small grunts. She felt the change in his cock, but was too distracted by the incredible new sensations it was creating to wonder when it had happened.

“Oh god! Oh god! Spike! Oh my god…don’t….don’t stop…I want…aaaaaah!”

The sudden orgasm took her by surprise and she collapsed on his chest, still vibrating from the scream it had ripped from her throat. Spike flipped them over and put her legs over his shoulders as he began an assault on her body that soon had her biting her lips to keep from screaming again. She shook all over with the force of the sensations being created in her body, bringing her legs down and wrapping them around his hips, hoping that, by hanging on tightly, she could prevent herself from losing consciousness.

Once again, when Spike began to approach his own release, he began to fade out, sparing Buffy the sight of his golden eyes and exposed fangs. He buried his face in her neck, surprised that he had no desire to drink from her, but only to have her flesh in his mouth. While he sucked on the soft skin of her throat, he smothered the words he knew she wouldn’t believe. He couldn’t keep from thinking it, however, as he emptied himself into her and silently vowed his eternal devotion. His hips kept moving in jerky twitches long after his orgasm was over. Eventually, he came down from what he was sure had any drug-induced euphoria completely beaten, and he relaxed onto the soft body beneath him.

For long minutes, the only sounds in the room were gasping breaths as they both struggled for recovery. Finally, Spike rolled to the side, pulling her with him so that she was resting against his body.

“Bloody good thing I’m already dead,” he mumbled.

“Why is that?” Buffy’s question was more of a gasp than it was actual speech.

“’cause I’m pretty sure that would have killed me,” he said, a smile in his voice.

Buffy gave an exhausted giggle.

“We’re pretty good, aren’t we?”

“Good? We’re bloody brilliant! They could write a book about us. They should write poems! Epics, they’d be. Something for everybody who’s not us to strive for.”

She giggled again and snuggled into his side. “That was pretty amazing – even for us. I think it might be a while before I can do it again.”

“Again? We can do that twice in one night?”

“You really have lost your memory, haven’t you?” she snickered.

He snorted his agreement, then added, “And if that didn’t bring it back, I can guarantee nothing will. Think we’re safe there, pet.”

“Yep, seems like we should be.”