Holiday on Helarth

Chapter Five ~ A Hot Bath

Getting the cold shoulder—literally-from a vampire really sucked. Spike let go of her arm as soon as they turned a corner and hadn't said a word since they'd left Laird Duncan's office. She was getting increasingly frustrated, because she wanted to ask him what he thought about Onisal's strange behavior. Now, she had to wade through his strange behavior.

As they neared their room, she reached her breaking point and yanked him into it. Spike stood before her, looking petulant but refusing to make eye contact. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot with a beat any speed metal band would have been proud of.

The scowl on his face as he refused to look at her pissed her off even more, but his one-word question pushed her over the top. "What?"

"What? What!" She took a deep breath. "I think that's my question, mister. What is your problem?"

He did that fluttering eyelashes thing—a surefire clue that he was about to lie.

"I don't have a problem. Well…we have a problem…getting you back home, but other than…I'm right as rain." He looked away, staring at anything that wasn't her. Buffy decided to be patient. If she held out long enough, he wouldn't be able to stay quiet for long. Wasn't in his nature. In a display of temper, he threw his hands up, but quickly put them back at his sides, shooting her a baleful glare. "Forgive me if I'm not Mister Chipper while you make nicey-nice with tall-dark-and-handsome."

"Is—" She turned away from Spike and ran a hand through her hair. "Ugh!" Mumbling to herself, she paced slowly. "And I just got through telling Nessie that he knew me, deep down." She charged at him and gave him a good poke with her index finger. "Are you dense?"

He shrugged. "I guess you think so."

"Didn't your mom ever tell you that you get more flies with honey than with vinegar?"

Sensing that he was going to say something equally dense, she put a hand up. "Just be quiet for a minute."

She stalked over to the curtain, tore it aside, and looked both ways in the passageway before slapping at the lever and letting the barrier shut over the door. She wasn't sure it would keep out Nessie if she decided to go all smoky and sneak into their room, but she hoped so.

With a sigh, she approached Spike, took his hand, and led him to the farthest corner of the room. Even when he was being a jerk she liked being this close to him and had to remind herself she had a purpose.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, and if you thought about it without the green-eyed monster clouding your vision, you'd know it too."

"I'm not…" Spike rolled his eyes heavenward and took a deep breath. "Who am I kidding? I want to step aside with grace, let you do what you want, but I'm not big enough to do it without looking like a berk."

She smiled then, reaching out to touch his cheek. "You have nothing to be jealous of. I see what you see." She sobered and leaned in to whisper. "He's hiding something, and we need to keep our eyes and ears open, to head off any problems he may throw our way." Spike's surprised yet admiring eyes, coupled with the way he bit his lip, had her leaning in closer to him. "I know the man hasn't seen a human female in two centuries. I'm just using that to my advantage right now. To keep his guard down."

With a chuckle, he turned slightly and kissed the palm of her hand. Stepping back, she grinned at him. "But it's kind of nice. You being jealous."

He gave her a gentle push. "Nice? For you, maybe. Embarrassing for me." He waved his hand as if he were swatting at a fly. "And what's with the peppy-girly act when he mentioned washing up? We should be spying on them to see what she was hiding."

"First, the prospect of getting clean appeals, but I was trying to throw him off balance before he thought about how good the chances were that I knew just what Onisal was hiding." As she talked, she lowered her voice to a mere whisper. "We don't have to spy on them. I know what it is."

Spike's interest was piqued now. He tilted his head, his eyes sparkling with the possibilities. "What?"

"My scythe. I could feel the buzz. She must've found it near the Earthmouth."

"Guess it went through when we did?"

She nodded. "I was holding it until the last big jolt, and then we were tumbling into the portal." Determination flooded her being. "I want my scythe, Spike."

"We'll get it. Even if we have to search every inch of this dreary place."

"Won't be that hard to find. I can feel a faint buzz even now. It will be like playing hot and cold. The more buzz, the closer I'll know we are."

"Are you two in there?" Nessie said cheerfully from the other side of the barrier.

Buffy rolled her eyes. The slayer knew they were. "Yes, we're here."

Spike went and opened the barrier for her. The young demon stepped inside and studied them carefully.

"Laird asked me to look for you. He was worried that you might've gotten lost in the maze of passages, because you were supposed to be on your way tae find me. He said something about a bath?"

"Yes!" Buffy gladly jumped on that. "I could really use a hot shower…a bath." She turned her brightest smile on Spike. "We just got detoured for a minute. I swear, Spike can't go five minutes without a kiss."

Nessie's big eyes got rounder at that declaration. Spike stood taller, nodding his head.

"'S true. I can't keep my hands off her."

"Uh, the baths! They're this way."

Buffy stayed alert on the way to the baths, but the buzzing power only faded until it was nonexistent by the time they arrived. By then, she was distracted by the sights before her. Several small pools of various shades of blue and white-lighted water were spread out over the huge cave floor. The ceiling shimmered and sparkled as the water and light reflected against it. While the climate of Helarth was constantly temperate, in this cave, steam rose up and the air was definitely warmer.

"So," Spike said, shifting awkwardly, "there are no private baths?"

"Laird has a private one, but this is where the rest of us bathe."

"And, is there soap, shampoo…a towel maybe?"

"The only word I understood was soap." Nessie approached the nearest pool and used her foot to pry open the lid of a box at the ledge. "Soap boxes are at every pool. The gray bars are for personal use, and the clear bars of soap are for cleaning clothes…though it might be too strong for that flimsy material you wear. Spike's coat might stand up to it."

With a grimace, Spike shook his head. "Spike's coat does not get wet."

Nessie rolled her eyes. "I've never done a Turok's laundry, and I'm not about tae start now. You want clean garments, you do it yerself."

Before Spike could open his mouth and get on Nessie's bad side, Buffy stepped in.

"And how do we dry off?"

"Here." Nessie strode with purpose to the wall of the cave where they'd come in. She pulled a string above her head and a flap opened in the ceiling, followed by a continuous blast of air. It only stopped when she closed the flap.

"That's one big hairdryer," Spike said, impressed.

"I'll just be over here," Nessie said, pointing to an etched bench off to the side near a small, white pool of water. "I'm behind on the laundry."

They watched her walk away, but stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. There were no privacy screens, though a few of the pools were surrounded by slightly raised edges. As weird as it was to bathe in such a place, Buffy was desperate to get clean, so she took the lead and headed as far away from Nessie as she could get. She was sure Spike would follow, but when she stopped at the furthest pool, he was still standing where she'd left him.

She waved him over and only started removing layers of clothing when he started towards her.

"You aren't going to go starkers, are you?" he asked incredulously.

Buffy smiled at him and shook her head. "Just down to my intimates. They need to be cleaned anyway. What about you?"

"Me?" he practically croaked the word. "I'm good. I'll just sit back there."

Eyeing the slayer who seemed to be engrossed in her duties, Buffy whispered, "But we need to talk. And I'm gonna feel weird in here by myself."

Spike sighed. "You know I don't wear uh…intimates."

She really tried not to snicker, but he glowered at her anyway. She was down to her bra and panties now, and as she slipped into the hot water, she looked him up and down, lowering her lashes.

"It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

"Bloody hell!"

He glanced over his shoulder. Nessie stood and strained to see them. Buffy waved at her to let her know all was well. When Spike didn't move, she decided to try another tactic. A challenging dare ought to do it.

"Are you just going to stand there looking like a bashful virgin, or what?"

She busied herself with taking out the soap while he took off his clothes with jerky motions. He mumbled something about virgins-something she was probably glad she couldn't make out. Seconds later, he was in the water, glaring at her from the opposite side of the pool.

The excited flare of his nostrils and the gleam of lust in his eyes were intoxicating. Buffy knew she was administering a form of torture as she lathered up the soap and rubbed her hands over her skin. She never felt more powerful that when he was staring at her like he was now. She slipped under the water to wet her hair and came up slowly, reaching for the soap again.

As soon as she was done with her hair, she crossed the pool to him, straddling his lap as he sat on a small ledge under the water.

"Buffy," he murmured, as he put his hands on her hips to hold her off. "Please. Don't."

She kept her eyes on Nessie, who seemed very occupied with her washing. Buffy couldn't tell yet if the demon had eavesdropping powers or not.

"Shhh." She whispered in his ear, purposely moving her mouth around to make him tingle. "I'm testing her hearing. Just go with it."

A strangled moan escaped from his lips as her silk-covered areas made contact with his skin.

"That's it, baby," she said a little louder, keeping an eye on Nessie. "Just relax and let Buffy wash off all that dirt and grime."

All of her sensitive areas were tingling, her body humming its own tune, clouding her thinking, as the evidence of his arousal pressed against her inner thigh. She willed herself not to move, even though she knew how wonderful it would feel to bring on that friction.

"Are you…done?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Not yet." She raised her voice even louder. "God, you have the softest skin. Could do this to you all night."

"Slayer," he ground out, now panting.

Still, Nessie kept up her washing, not even hesitating. From her reaction earlier to the thought of them kissing, she knew the girl was not that good an actress. She glanced down at Spike, who appeared to be in agony. Getting her hand between them, she grasped his cock and he jerked forward in her hand, almost throwing her off his lap.

Buffy was too turned on to laugh, but she licked her lips and tried not to smile as she slowly pumped her hand over his hardened flesh. She had a hard time speaking, but managed to say, "Just a… little while longer."

"You're killing me."

"Already dead. Plus, this is payback for seducing me on the balcony of the Bronze."

Spike's head lolled back, but he managed to speak. "Payback's supposed to hurt."

"Never said it didn't feel good, or that I didn't enjoy every…last…minute. I'm only paying you back in kind."

He was beyond caring that they were in the company of another demon as Buffy upped her tempo. As Spike squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his pelvis forward, she forgot about Nessie, enthralled with the sight before her. Through the clear, illuminated water, she could see his abdominal muscles constricting and bunching up. He was incredibly sexy, and if she were a more daring person, she would have tugged her panties aside and slipped his cock inside her, right then and there.

Reaching her other hand below, she cupped his balls and squeezed, lightly at first, increasing the pressure as his hips moved faster. She kissed him as he came, just in case he made any noises that would draw Nessie's attention. Spike went still, and she moved her head back to gaze at him. With half-closed eyes, she could see the gratitude mingled with intense relaxation in his eyes. Spike hugged her to him and caressed her back as he set his head on Buffy's shoulder and gave her a feathery kiss on her neck.

It wasn't hard for her to keep her voice to a whisper after such an erotically intimate moment. "I'm going to get into his office tonight and get my scythe."

"Give me a moment. Can't think straight just yet. Blood not exactly near my brain."

She chuckled, and when he loosened his grip on her, she kissed his cheek. Buffy leaned forward and relaxed against him. She could feel her heart beating against his chest. One heartbeat would have to be enough for the both of them, but the thought didn't make her sad or depressed any more.

"We have to be careful," Spike finally said. "Might be best to scope out his schedule—see when he comes and goes. My internal clock is messed up with no day and night cycle."

She tightened her grip on his bicep. "I don't think I can wait. There might be something or it could just be my imagination, but my scythe seems to need me, as much as I need it. It's as if it's calling to me somehow. It's weird. It didn't feel this intense back on Earth."

Spike gazed at her, conveying without words that he'd do anything for her. She stared back at him, caressing his arms. He didn't have to try to communicate for her to know it was the truth. He was willing to take care of her sister, he was willing to stand by and take abuse when he thought she needed to vent, he was willing to fight for his soul for her…he was willing to die for her.

"You need it, we'll get it."