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Chapter 27


She stared at him as if he’d grown a tail. “What? I am so not going to invite you in!”


“Then come out so we can talk?”


“Spike, I’m tired.”


Now that she said it, she did look like she needed some rest and he felt bad for intruding in on her. “I’m sorry. I won’t be long.”


She sighed and put the stake on the window ledge before raking a hand through her hair. “Fine. Talk.”


Why did he suddenly start feeling nervous? Nobody but her had the power to reduce him to the shy schoolboy he’d been. He fumbled inside the pocket of his duster and drew out the box of chocolates. He dropped his eyes and said, “Just came to give you this. Sorry it’s a bit crumpled.”


When she didn’t say anything back, he glanced up to take in her expression. He expected to see her annoyed, maybe a little angry, but he’d never expected to see her eyes gleam with unshed tears, and it made his heart constrict. He hadn’t meant to make her sad.


“Sorry. Shouldn’t have come here. I’ll just… go.”


He turned to leave when she leaned out the window and clasped a hand around his forearm. “Don’t.”


Her eyes were wide and full of fear he’d never meant to instill in her. Her heat seeped through the leather and he shivered.


“Buffy…”


“Spike, I… why? Why are you doing this to me?”


He took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers, letting out a breath when she didn’t stop him. “I don’t mean to hurt you or… make this hard for you.”



“Then why?”


“You know why.” He brought their joined hands to his cheek and kissed the back of her hand. “I can be good. I can.”


'I love you,' he thought but didn’t dare to say it aloud from fear of breaking the moment.


“I want to believe you… I really do. If I put my trust in you, do you promise me that you won’t-”


“I’ll never hurt you, Buffy.” He stared deep into her eyes, willing her to see the truth.


Her hand trembled slightly in his and she said two words that meant the world to him.


“Come in.”


She just took a giant leap of faith, trusting him like this and he would do anything in his power to prove to her that she hadn’t made a mistake. He unwillingly let go of her hand and put down the box of chocolates in order to grip the windowsill so he could climb in. Once he was inside, her scent enveloped him and he breathed it in. Every little thing in her room screamed Buffy. The clothes strewn around, the stuffed animals, even the weapons heaped in a big wooden chest next to her bed. She gazed at him, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt and he stepped closer.


“Buffy…” he said, clearing his throat to get rid of the lump that seemed to have grown there. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”


“Can I ask you something?”


“Anything.”


“Is there… is there a part of you that is my William?” Her eyes were pleading with him to tell her she didn’t make a horrible mistake by inviting him into her home. Into her sanctuary.


“I am William, luv. And I know this must be tough for you… the things I’ve done. I’m not proud of them, but I’ll do anything to make you believe that I… that I can be anything you need me to be.”


“I-I just want you to be you.”


He walked slowly towards her, stopping when he was a mere inch from her. Then he drew her into his embrace, feeling as if his heart would start beating again when she encircled his waist and caressed his neck with her warm breath.


How long had he wished to hold her like this?


“This is all my fault,” she whispered.


“What is?”


“What happened to you… I should have been smarter, should have figured it out sooner and saved you.”


He leaned away enough to be able to look at her. “Hey now, don’t do that. There’s nothing either of us could have done. We can’t change the past. I know you wish I were human… and… I may be a monster, but I still love you. I never stopped.”


She buried her face in his chest. “I don’t know if I can ever get past the things you’ve done. If this will ever work.”


“I know it will. I won’t ever stop proving that you can trust me.”


Pulling away and taking his face in her hands, she then rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. Ecstasy rushed through him as her lips dragged against his. As he pressed her closer to him, his hands slipped from her waist to her hips. Her t-shirt had ridden up as she raised her arms to encircle his neck and his fingertips met the silk of her knickers.


Buffy teased his lips open with the tip of her tongue before slipping it into his mouth to slowly caress the sensitive tissues inside. He tilted his head and touched her tongue with his, chasing it back into her mouth. The sound of her moans almost drove him crazy. He felt very conscious of the way her nipples rubbed against his chest through the thin material of their t-shirts, and he craved to take them between his lips.


He suckled her tongue then pulled slightly away to nibble at her bottom lip before pulling it into his mouth to sooth the ache. The tips of his fingers dipped beneath her edges of her panties as he traced her ass cheeks. The heat of her almost burned him but he was all too willing to go out in a blaze, especially if she kept making those breathy desperate sounds.


Tightening her arms around him, she bit his lip before she leaned away, panting. Even though he didn’t need to breathe, Spike realized he’d been doing the same. Trying to calm down the rampant emotions, they stood there for a while, clinging to each other, unwilling to let the moment go. When he noticed he was still cupping her bottom, he couldn’t help but squeeze it with an impish grin on his face she couldn’t see. Buffy shivered and pressed herself impossibly closer, but it wasn’t enough.


Then someone knocked on the door, and she jumped away from him as if burnt. She shot him a wild glance, her cheeks flushed with desire suddenly turning pale. She looked terrified as the knock on the door repeated itself.


“Hey, B. Are you sleeping yet?”


He nodded at her and slipped out the window before she could say anything, wondering all the way to his flat if she regretted letting him in.


*******


Faith’s voice cut through the fog with the efficiency of having a glass of cold water thrown into her face. Buffy barely caught a glimpse of black leather before Spike was out the window. Her mind fought to catch up with what had happened, and her eyes widened as she brushed her lips with the tips of her fingers.


She numbly walked to open the door and found Faith standing there with a worried look on her face.


“Are you okay? I didn’t wake you up, did I? You’re usually up late so I thought I’d stop by and see what you’re up to.”


Buffy cleared her throat and fought to form a coherent sentence, her skin still burning where his hands had been. “I-I’m fine. Just a little out of sorts.”


“I can see that.” Faith entered the room and plopped down on the bed. “So sit down and tell me all about it. We can gossip and stuff. Or at least I heard that’s what chicks our age do.”


Buffy snorted and sat down next to her. “I doubt they slay demons though. And is that why you came here so late? To ask me how I am?”


“Couldn’t sleep.”


“Ah, okay.” Spike’s taste still lingered on her lips and she licked them, closing her eyes for a moment. The way his muscles quivered under her hands, how he groaned when she sucked at his tongue. God, she was going crazy. That was the only explanation for it.


And Faith was staring at her.


“What?”


“You look a little… flushed. Were you looking at porn, you naughty girl? You could have asked me to join, you know.”


“What? No, I was not watching… that. Eww.”


Faith laughed and collapsed on the bed. “Sure you weren’t. That’s why you’re all blushing and your eyes are glazed.”


“My eyes are just fine.” She blushed guiltily. “Promise you won’t tell Giles? I think I just did something stupid.”


Faith sat up. “Oh, secrets. Out with it.”


“Spike was here… we… there might have been a make out session of major proportions.”


Faith arched a brow. “I thought you said there would be no more of that. I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep your word.” She frowned. “Wait. Here... as in inside the house?”


“Hence the something stupid.”


“Well, I can’t argue with that. You know the rest of us living here aren’t slayers, and he’s got no love for me or Giles.”


“He won’t hurt you! He’s… different. He’s not like any other vampire I’ve ever met. And he brought me chocolates. He’s still so… there’s so much of William in him, and he promised to… God, do you think I’m completely stupid?”


“Guess we’ll have to wait and see. But… I trust your instincts. They haven’t been wrong before, so I’m willing to keep mum in front of Giles for now.”


Buffy hugged her. “Thanks.”


“But just so you know, I am sleeping here tonight.”


“Okay.”


They climbed under the covers and soon, both of them drifted into a deep sleep.


*******


Spike walked down the corridor leading to his flat when he felt it. The familiar tug at his stomach signaling… but it couldn’t be true. Not now. Not when Buffy finally offered him the world with a single kiss.


The doorknob had been broken and the hinges creaked in protest as he pushed the door open, his senses on a high alert. Shadows hugged him as he entered the darkness of his bedroom, his skin tingling in foreboding. Then he heard it. A suppressed giggle. The sound he recognized so well.


“Look who’s finally home.” She walked over to him, hips swaying. “We’ve been waiting for you.”


The second form had risen from the bed to join the woman who was currently smirking at him. Nobody switched on the light. There was no need to.


“What are you doing here?” he asked.


“Our Spike is cross with us,” said his Sire as she molded herself to Darla’s side. “He didn’t want to invite us to the party. Bad dog.”


“We just might have to punish him for it. Running away, being rude… hiding secrets.”


“What secrets? Don’t be daft, Darla.”


“Still so naïve, William. Do you really think you can hide anything from us? From Dru’s special sight? And if you don’t want to tell us willingly…” She shifted into game face and grinned. “Then we’ll just have to make you.”


Before he could figure out what was happening, Drusilla materialized behind him and hit him hard across the back of his head. He cursed himself for not paying attention to the whereabouts of his Sire as he fell to his knees, and the world around plunged into darkness as she hit him again.


TBC