** So not kidding about that NC-17 rating people. If hot,tasty, erotic smut is not your thing you might wanna skip this chappie... No? Okay - but don't say I didn't warn ya ;) **



Chapter Fifteen ~ Ring of Fire

“Love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring.
Bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring fire.
I fell in to a burnin’ ring of fire.
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher.
And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire.
The ring of fire.”

~ Johnny Cash



Was this really happening? Was Buffy actually in his arms right now? One minute she was beating the piss out of him, the next she’d launched herself at his mouth. The feverish heat of her body seared him through his clothes. Her mouth was so hot and wet and inviting – and her body, thrumming with life – the musky animal tang of her blood and her flesh. It was fiercely intoxicating. This was so much better than anything he could have possibly imagined.

*If this is another dream I don’t EVER want to wake up.*

Her hands wound themselves in his hair while she kissed him ravenously. Now that she started this, she was lost in it. There was no thought involved, just the final, overwhelming urge to join. Her body rejoiced madly. ‘At last, at last it!’ it cried. The feel of him was incredible – he was cool everywhere she was hot, soothing the aching fire that had been burning her for days now.

Her legs wrapped around his waist of their own accord, seeking closeness, seeking contact. Her arms snaked tight around his neck as she clung to him. ‘More, more, more!’ her body howled. She felt like she was starving for things she didn’t have names for, things only he possessed. It was perfect, mindless connection – a feverish and deeply primal thing. All questions, rationales and plans snuffed out of existence like candle flames, leaving Spike the only light in that darkness.

He was waiting for spontaneous combustion to kick in. She was a live flame in his arms, liquid sunshine that was about to burn him up from the inside out. When she wrapped her legs around him he gasped from the raw heat of her pressed up against him. He was barely containing himself, his demon was screaming to get out – to take her right here, right now. To fuck her and drink her till he’d had his fill. But Spike wanted more than that, he wanted to lay her out and enjoy her, taste her - love her. For more than just one night, more than a week, a month or a year. Forever was on his mind, and at the moment it seemed like barely enough time.

He pushed her up against the nearest convenient tree, grinding his rock hard length into her sultry heat. His hands sought contact with her naked flesh and wormed their way up under her clothes. He caressed her exposed back with one hand, reveling in the silk of her skin – while the other found her bare breast underneath the camisole. She moaned at his touch and tightened her legs, writhing against him.

God, how he’d dreamt of this. So many nights longing for her – and now, this moment – it was so much better than any fantasy he’d ever had. She was blisteringly hot, and he could feel her arousal soaking through the crotch of her jeans. The smell of it was driving him mad. He didn’t know how much longer he could hang on before he literally ripped her clothes off and simply took her. He wanted to taste her so much, to feel her thighs wrapped around his neck. He wanted to make her come more than he wanted blood right now. And to be inside her? He wanted that more than he wanted to live.

Her nipple was a hard little pebble against his palm, and he pulled away from her kiss to taste it. He gently set her on her feet while he moved down her body to expose her breasts. They were unbelievably perfect – small and firm, just the right size for his hand. He licked between them and was gratified to watch a row of goosebumps pop up where his tongue had been. Her flesh was delicious, tinged with the salt of her sweat – her nipple like rough satin in his mouth. He swirled his tongue over it enjoying the texture, while he rolled the other one between his thumb and forefinger.

She was panting hotly and making little mewls of pleasure. He moved down her stomach, kissing it and licking it slowly until he was on his knees before her. The smell of her sweet, dripping cunt was like a drug for him. He inhaled deeply, savouring it. He undid the button on her low-rise jeans and carefully unzipped her. This was so much farther than he’d ever hoped to go, it almost didn’t seem real. But here he was on his knees, about to do what he had only dared dream.

She was wearing a pair of ivory lace panties sheer enough to see her dark curls through. His mouth watered for a taste of her, and he wasn’t about to deny himself the pleasure. He pulled her g-string down and her jeans open as far as he could – not wanting to take them off quite yet. He wanted to draw out every single moment of their pleasure. Using his fingers he spread her lips open slightly and then slid his tongue in between them. Buffy arched into his mouth with a strangled cry. He snaked his tongue inside her as far as the limited position would allow and was rewarded with a flood of her juices. She was so wet for him – for him. The thought made his already hardened cock swell and throb against his jeans.

*Soon, soon…*

He thought hungrily. He pistoned his tongue in and out of her , savouring such an intimate taste of his beloved. She panted and shivered lacing her fingers through his hair – holding on while the world spun dizzily around her. He pulled out to flutter over her clit with a series of light, teasing strokes. When he wrapped his lips around it and sucked it into his mouth Buffy cried out and her knees buckled. He rose up to steady her, pinning her against the tree.

“There, there…” he soothed, “Daddy’s got you now.”

He kissed her soundly, sliding his tongue into her mouth and twining his hand in the silky hairs at the nape of her neck. He worked his way to her throat, scraping it lightly with his teeth and teasing it with gentle flicks of his tongue. She whimpered helplessly, completely under his thrall now. He took her hand and placed it over the solid bulge in his pants.

“ See what you do to me… how much I want you.”

He said huskily. She moaned and grasped it through his jeans, making him shudder. He sucked her lower lip and gently bit it, savouring the taste of her and then proceeded to kiss her languorously. When his hand found its way back inside her saturated panties she cried out against his mouth while squeezing his cock firmly. The pleasure-pain of it made him want to come right then and he struggled for control.

He caressed her clit with his middle finger for a moment then worked his hand in between her legs to slip a slick digit within her. Buffy gasped causing him to look at her. He was caught for a moment by her radiant green eyes. They reflected the same powerful desire and hungry yearning he felt for her. He slid another finger inside and watched her pupils dilate with the pleasure of it. Staring into his eyes she moved her hands to his jeans, unzipping him and freeing his erection.

He groaned as he felt her hot little hands wrap around him. So soft and warm against his naked flesh. She caressed the head with the pad of her thumb, swirling the pearl of moisture that had collected there over it in a circular pattern. Now she had him panting. Eyes locked on his she raised that thumb to her mouth and sucked it, humming with pleasure at his salty taste. The gesture undid him.

With a ravenous growl he crushed his mouth to hers, hand clutched in her hair, pulling her to him fiercely. He slid his fingers deeper within her and added his thumb to her clit, circling it. Kissing him violently she used his foreskin to manipulate his cock, sliding it up and down over the length. It was so cool, so large – she wondered how it would feel inside of her, if it would put out her blazing fire.

They devoured each other with kisses while their hands worked furiously. She spread her legs wider for him as he slid his fingers further inside. Spike braced himself against the tree with one hand as she industriously stroked his cock. He could feel her orgasm coming on, her thighs twitching and muscles just starting to contract. When her wandering fingers found their way to his nipple and tweaked it he knew he wasn’t far from his own either. He located her G-spot and then stroked over it with both fingers in a ‘come hither’ movement. Buffy rewarded him with a wail of pleasure, then doubled her efforts. He didn’t want it to end yet though, Spike wanted to take her somewhere and make it last all night – maybe all week.

“ Baby, Buffy – please. Want you so much…let me...let’s...”

He murmured into her ear, resting his forehead against hers.

“ Yeah, Spike…so good. Close…close now…”

God, she’d said his name. Told him how good it was. He could die happy – almost.

“ Love, let’s go somewhere…lemme take you somewhere…”

What? What was he saying? Go? Where was there to go? There was only here, and how he was making her feel right this second – like the entire Universe was about to explode. She felt his fingers driving deep while his thumb ground down on her sensitive clit. God, it was so fucking good, like nothing she’d ever felt before.

“ So close…Oh God...” She whimpered in his ear.

Ah, Christ - she was so wet, and he wanted to be inside her so much. Wanted to feel that slick intoxicating heat closing all around him.

“ Baby, let’s go now…wanna take you to my crypt … to my bed. Let me take you…do you proper…” He panted.

If he could just get her home… God, he wanted to strip those clothes off, wanted to have her in his bed with room to move and time to explore every bit of her. He’d keep her there for the next month…

“What?”

She asked, startled. What did he say? Her hands stopped moving.

“ I said; let me take you home, Pet. Do you proper.”

He managed to gasp, hand still working it’s magic.

“ That’s not what you said.”

She stilled that hand, pulling away.

Oh God, he said crypt... He wants to take me to his CRYPT! What am I doing? What have I done?

“ It is. Just want to get you into my bed, Love – you know pillows, room to maneuver?” He kissed her shoulder. “Clean sheets instead of the ground…”

“ You said CRYPT Spike.”

He stared at her, completely bewildered.

*What’s she going on about?*

“ You said crypt. And I can’t do this.”

“What?”

“ I forgot for a minute. But now I remember. And I. Can’t. Do. This.”

“ What? Wait. WHAT??”

She was pulling away from him, zipping up, tucking away all that delightful flesh. He could see her almost visibly retreat inside herself.

“ You said crypt, Spike.” She repeated as if to a singularly stupid child. “ You said CRYPT - you want to whisk me away to your crypt like it’s the ‘No Tell Motel’ and what?! You can’t even love me, you have no soul, you’re a fucking vampire and I don’t have any fucking idea what
I’m doing anymore!!”

“ Angel was a vampire.”

He said quietly, carefully putting away his now painfully throbbing erection.

“ Angel had a soul.”

Her voice was flat, as if this were a well-established fact they had discussed a thousand times.

“ Ah, but not all the time, yeah? And therein lies the rub.”

Spike adjusted himself carefully, vainly seeking a comfortable position.

“ What the hell are you talking about? Speak English.”

She smoothed her clothes and found her jacket on the ground. Brushing it off she studiously avoided his eyes. His voice was soothing, seeking to calm her.

“ I was, Pet. But no matter. My point is that Angel had a soul, ’cept when he didn’t and that’s what you’re afraid of.”

Buffy threw up her hands in frustration and started pacing.

“ What I’m afraid of is the agonizing oblivion that lies at the end of this road. Been there, done that. Got the t-shirt that says: ‘My boyfriend was a homicidal vampire and all I got was this lousy guilt complex.’ ”

She said in her best sarcastic tone. She tried to make him understand;

“ I know this story, I know how it ends. With death and pain and destruction. I won’t put the people I love through that again. Hell, I won’t put MYSELF through that again.”

“ You do NOT know the end of this story, ‘cause you don’t know me! I’m not bloody Angel!”

He shouted, losing patience. She eyed him coldly, sizing him up and finding him wanting.

“ You’re right – you’re not Angel. You’re not half the man he is.”

He was stunned, he felt as if she’d slapped him. To be compared unfavorably with the Poof, that manipulative buggering fuck! It made him feel ill.

“ And don’t I know you, Spike?” she continued with cruel precision. “My perfect enemy? My nemesis? William the Bloody – Killer of killers? Slayer of Slayers? The scourge of Europe…blah, blah, blah…”

She dismissed him and all his titles with a haughty flip of her hand.

“ That’s not me anymore.”

His voice held a quiet conviction.

“ Why? Because you have that chip in your head? That’s not a substitute for a soul, Spike.”

“ Never said it was, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t love you, Buffy. Because believe me I -”

She held up her hand – stop in the name of love.

“ Don’t say it! Just don’t…”

He pleaded with her;

“ But I’ve changed! And not just because of the chip! Because of you, I’ve changed because of you. You make me want to be a better man, Buffy – and I can be.
I can be a good man, for YOU.”

Her voice rose to an almost hysterical pitch;

“ But you’re not a man! And it wouldn’t matter even if you did have a soul – you’d still be a vampire. And I’m not going there anymore. I just can’t.” She shook her head, adamant – then continued, “ Don’t you get it? I want normal, I need normal! I need Riley, he’s strong and stable and reliable…”

Spike sighed and lit up a cigarette.

“ Sounds like a bleedin’ draft horse, not a boyfriend.”

He took a long, steadying drag and began pacing out his frustration.

“Haven’t you figured out yet that there is no normal? Normal’s just the status quo. Look around you – your best friend’s a gay witch, vampires are real and you live on a Hellmouth. Guess what, Princess – this is about as ‘normal’ as you’re likely to get!”

She rolled her eyes at his stubborn lack of comprehension.

“You know what I mean Spike. I want average-normal, sitcom-normal. I want a nice boyfriend; I want to go to college. I wanna have a good life with my friends and family and a little happiness. And most of all I don’t want to have to kill any of them!”

Spike stopped pacing and looked at her squarely. Gently, patiently he tried to explain;

“ Well, I’m sorry, Love. But that’s just not the lot you drew. You’re the Slayer, like it or no. And that means you have to kill things. Maybe even someone you love someday. But doesn’t that mean you should reach for your happiness with both hands now, while you can? Doesn’t that make it all the more precious?”

Frustrated at the brick wall she was throwing up, he growled;

“ And what’s so soddin’ fascinating about normal anyway? Normal is bland – normal is boring. And that’s the last thing you are, Pet. I’d wager it’s the last thing you need too…”

“ You DON'T know what I need! And you DON'T KNOW ME!” She shouted.

He matched her in tone and volume;

“ YES I BLOODY WELL DO! I know you better than you know yourself, and that’s what scares the piss out of you. This just might be the real thing, and you can’t handle that. Too scared to love because you might be hurt. Too scared to love me because of what that might say about you. Angel you could justify, rationalize. He had a soul and all that shite. But what if that had nothing to do with it? What if you just wanted him - his demon, his darkness. What if that’s part of why you want me?”

Buffy just gaped at him, speechless.

“ You say I’m a monster, deficient without a soul. But at least I recognize love when it comes knockin’, and I’m not so much of a coward as to run from it. What’s your excuse?”

He paused, waiting for an answer. When none was forthcoming he continued,

“ You’re never gonna be happy, Love – not as long as you keep running from yourself. Darkness is part of what you are. Accept it. Deal with it. Then maybe you can move on and stop lying to yourself for a change.”

She said nothing, just stared at him – completely stunned. It was obvious she wasn’t prepared to deal with any of this yet. Spike sighed and ground out his smoke. He suddenly felt utterly fed up with the whole buggered affair. She didn’t wanna deal? Fine. He’d had enough.

“ Let me know when you do. Until then I have better things to do with my time.”

He had a gratifying moment of triumph before he walked away from her.

*Guess I’m not Love’s bitch after all.*

He thought with a smirk.

But it was only a moment, and it was gone all too soon.



** Awww, c'mon now - you didn't think it was gonna be THAT easy did ya? I know you wanna kill me, but it's gonna be so worth it in the end, I promise. Stay tuned, True Believers... xoxoxox Rosie **