Chapter 31—A State Of Bliss

“Buffy, it’s time.”

Buffy whirled, her full skirt billowing around her, and gave her sister the look of the truly terrified. “Oh my God, Dawn…what do I do?”

Dawn laughed out loud at the fear on her sister’s face. She stepped forward, and looked at her sister, love and admiration in every line of her features. “You go out there and face your fear, just like you have night after night since you were chosen.”

Buffy started to pace, clenching and unclenching her hands. “Right. Face my fear. Go right out there.” She whirled on Dawn again, panic lighting her eyes. “Do you have a stake?”

Dawn giggled, and her face took on the familiar lines of the sixteen-year-old once again. “Oh, for crying out loud, Buffy, it’s Spike, not some Big Bad. Come on! Everyone’s waiting.” She grabbed Buffy's hand, and started dragging her out of her bedroom. Pausing at the door, she turned and put her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “By the way, you look absolutely stunning. Spike is so gonna drool all over himself,” she added with another girlish giggle and knowing look.

Buffy looked back at the full-length mirror that had been mysteriously delivered to the house earlier that week. She had to admit, she did look pretty edible, considering all the headache and trouble she went through.

Her gown was made of the purest white silk, with a full flaring skirt. Leg-of-mutton sleeves billowed, then tapered to points that were attached with elastic to her middle fingers, covering the backs of her hands. Lace covered every inch of the gown, from the high neckline to the pointed bodice and over the full skirt. She twirled in front of the mirror and watched it bell around her, pleased with the effect. “I do look pretty good, don’t I Dawnie?” she murmured, lost in thought again.

“Hel-lo? Bridal Buffy? Time for the wedding now. Stop daydreaming.” Dawn grabbed her hand again, and led her to the open door. “Come on, Buff. Spike’ll think that you got cold feet.”

“Couldn’t be colder than his,” Buffy snarked, showing some of her normalcy for the first time since seeing Willow in the Magic Box. “He has the coldest feet of anyone that I’ve ever seen.”

“Hello, vampire. At least there’s no surprises.” Dawn helped her down the stairs, holding the front of the dress out of the way for her, and together they descended to the living room. She lifted the veil off the stand, and carefully put it atop Buffy's carefully coifed hair. “There. Giles is waiting by the back door. Be careful going through the kitchen. I’ll see you outside.” With a quick kiss, Dawn was gone.

She picked up her bouquet, and quick-stepped to the back door, where Giles waited in a tuxedo for his surrogate daughter. His face was a picture of amazement when she appeared; she knew he thought her wardrobe consisted of leather pants and tight tee shirts. He removed his glasses and she saw tears glistening in his familiar eyes, and hurried to his side.

“Don’t,” she commanded. “If you start, then I will, and now is so not the time. Thank you for doing this, Giles.” Sincerity filled her eyes as she looked up at the man who had fulfilled the role of father for her for so long.

“Buffy—“ Giles started, his voice thick with emotion. “I have never seen you look more beautiful. Spike is certainly a lucky man, to gain such a breathtaking companion for his bride.”

“Kind of a good thing he doesn’t breathe then, isn’t it?” she teased, letting out a giggle that calmed her nerves. He smiled and replaced his glasses, taking her small, powerful hands in his.

“Buffy, I feel that today is a day that I will never forget. You…you are the daughter that I never had, my dear, and I must tell you—I have always been proud of you. Your mother would have been proud of you as well. You have grown into a fine young woman, and I have never been more delighted than to escort you down the aisle. Shall we?”

She looked up at her Watcher and so much more with shining eyes. “Giles, I love you. Really love you. You are so much more than just my Watcher—you’re my friend and my father, in my heart. I can’t tell you how much you have changed my life, and don’t even want to think about what life would have been like without you. Would you take me to my future husband?”

He offered his arm, and she rested her hand in the crook. “I think we both look pretty spiffy, don’t you?”

“Spiffy is an understatement, Buffy.” He heard the strains of Bach floating through the closed door, and reached to open it. “I do believe that is our cue.”

It was a small, intimate affair. Anya sat in one of two chairs on one side of the aisle, and Clem, Tara, and Angel sat on the other side. As they started out the door, a figure emerged from the side of the house where she had been waiting, and made her way to the empty chair next to Anya, who looked shocked to see her there.

Drusilla smiled back dreamily, gently fingering the lace at her cuff as she watched the pair gliding down the white satin that covered the grass in the back yard. Flowers perfumed the air, and there was an electric sense of excitement that seemed to grow exponentially as father and bride made their way toward the group waiting patiently for their arrival.

Spike gaped at the sight of his bride. He’d never dreamed of marriage, not since being turned, and here he was, marrying the woman of his dreams in a few moments. When Dru had appeared, he started to intercept her, but a gentle touch from Xander, his best man, drew him back, and instead he waited for an unlife’s dream to come true.

Angel was shocked as well to see Drusilla. He started to rise, but Tara's gentling hand stayed him, and he looked at her with confusion as Dru took a seat. She nodded in Dru’s direction, and he saw the dark vampiress place her finger over her smiling mouth, shushing him, then shaking her head. Still, he tensed, wondering what had gotten into her mind that she would come here tonight.

Giles handed Buffy off to Spike with a smile, then went to stand next to Dru, who reached out and patted his hand. Fingering the stake in his pocket, he listened to the minister with half an ear as he watched every move that was made.

The bride and groom only had eyes for each other, though. They stared at the sight of the other next to them, taut with nerves but wanting to go through with this. This was a new beginning for them both, and they were anxious for it to start.

“Dearly beloved,” the minister intoned, “We are gathered here together in the company of friends and family, and in the eyes of God, to join this man and woman in holy matrimony. Love is a wondrous and blessed thing, a gift from the Powers That Be, and they have chosen to show that love to the world for all of eternity. They came to stand before us separately, but after tonight, they will stand together for always, a beacon in the dark for those who do not believe that such a union could ever exist.”

Turning to Spike, he looked stern for a moment. “William Giles Darling, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, no matter what may come, till death parts you?”

Spike looked up at the man, his eyes sparkling with tears. “I do.”

The minister then turned towards Buffy. “Elizabeth Anne Summers, do you take this man for your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, no matter what may come, till death parts you?”

Buffy looked into the eyes of her beloved, and her heart swelled with love. “I do.”

The minister continued. “The bride and groom have chosen to share their feelings with us now. William?”

They turned to each other, marveling at the sight before them. Spike looked dashing in his tux as he looked lovingly at the woman in front of him. Catching her hands in his, he drew them to his mouth to kiss her fingertips, then said, “Buffy, my love, you are the answer to prayers and the embodiment of dreams. I will cherish you with all my heart, and I dedicate my unlife to making you the happiest woman on the planet. I love you, you make my unlife complete.”

She smiled radiantly at him, and the minister motioned for her to speak. “Spike, I have waited for this day for what seems like forever. I will love you and cherish you until the breath leaves my body. You are my other half, the darkness to my light, and I cannot imagine ever living another day without you. I love you, heart and soul.”

Smiling, the Barno’th demon minister motioned for the rings, and Xander smiled and handed them to him, where he placed them on the blank pages of an open book. “Please take the rings. Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed, and so do I pledge my faithfulness and my troth.”

Their voices shaking, they repeated the words, then slipped the rings onto each other’s fingers. “What your vows have joined together, let no one put asunder, lest it ignite the wrath of the Powers That Be. You may now kiss the bride.”

Spike lifted Buffy’s veil, and cupped her face in his hands, staring lovingly into her luminous eyes before lowering his mouth to hers. Their lips met in a tender, touching kiss that carried worlds of unspoken words and a plethora of feelings. The small crowd erupted in applause, and they turned to face them, now and forever together.

Angel quickly made his way to Drusilla, who swayed to her internal music and smiled. “My prince has found the sunshine, and happiness fills his heart again. Daddy has a baby to love and grandmother is dust again, and Princess is all alone.” She grasped his hand, and looked up to see the tortured look on his face. “Don’t be sad, Daddy. The pixies say that they will bring your son back to you, and he will love and hate you, just as you loved and hated your father. The circle goes round and round and round and is complete. Let us go now and give the kiss to family, then I will leave.”

Drusilla glided across the lawn to where Buffy and Spike stood together under the canopy of roses receiving hugs and handshakes, and the group surrounding them parted to let the crazy vampire through. She stopped in front of Buffy, and smiled slyly, taking her hand and stroking it. “I knew that my dark prince would find the sunshine again. I always knew. When the pixies told me that I needed to make him for the sunshine, I thought they lied to me, but I know now that they had their plans too, just like the Powers That Be.”

Buffy looked at Drusilla through new eyes, and saw the loneliness that she tried to hide. “Will you be okay, Dru?”

Dru reached a hand up to touch Buffy's face, her touch as light as a feather. “Satin skin, silken tongue. Oh, yes, Spike's dark princess will be fine, she will find her pleasures where she can, she will. Miss Edith keeps me company and shares secrets with me. Take care with my prince’s heart. I told you before, he loves well, if not wisely.”

Buffy cupped the hand that rested on her face, and stroked it gently. “I will Dru, I promise. You take care of yourself, too.”

Dru turned to Spike and bright gelid tears filled her eyes. “My pretty, pretty Spike. My William. Such love you have for the life in her, I can see it all over you. She still flutters about your head, but I can see your dark princess there as well, hovering like a fallen angel over your shoulder. Remember Icarus, my little prince, and what happened to him when he tried to touch the sun.”

“I’ll remember, Dru,” Spike said, and she leaned forward carefully and kissed his cheek, minding not to touch him anywhere else. She stood tall and proud before them, smiling sadly at the two of them.

“One last thing, and then I’m off on an adventure of my own. Miss Edith has told me a secret that I need to share. Mind the people you think are your friends, for they will hurt you quicker and deeper than your enemies ever could,” she finished cryptically, staring off into the distance, as if seeing something they couldn’t

Spike felt a spark of alarm at her words, but hid his feelings from his new wife and the rest of the group as he nodded. “We’ll be careful, Dru, and keep that in mind.”

She touched his cheek and turned away, swaying gently as she made her way to the shadows surrounding the yard. They watched her silently as she left, but didn’t notice as she paused near a bush at the corner of the yard. “You’d do best to leave. You do not belong, even less than I, and they would harm you if they knew that you were here.”

When the listener didn’t reply, she continued on her way, shaking her head in dismay. There was danger all around, and her prince and his princess would have many trials ahead. She would have to remain close to assist them if they needed her, she decided.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy watched Spike draw the curtains from her vantage point on the king size bed in the bridal suite. They were exhausted, not only from the festivities, but from the emotional stress they’d been under all week. He turned to her and the gleam in his eye made her spasm in anticipation of what was yet to come.

He stalked across the room like an animal, his eyes trained solely upon her as he moved cat-like toward the bed, the air feeling suddenly warmer. He licked his lips as he came to stand before her where she sat and kneeled in front of her. His voice was low in the silence of the room, but Buffy heard every word over the pounding of her heart in her ears. “Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight, love?”

“No,” she replied breathlessly. “How beautiful was I?”

“If my heart were beating, it would have stopped when you walked out the back door. Buffy, you are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever laid eyes on in my unlife, and I’ve seen many a woman.” He reached down to slip her shoes off, his hands cupping and caressing her feet in silken stockings. She giggled, then stood and turned to present him with her back.

“Can you help me with these buttons? They were a nightmare to do up.” She lifted the thick fall of her honey blond hair, and showed him the fastenings at the back of her dress. “And be nice when you do it. I’d like to be able to save my dress, since it’s the only one that I will ever have.”

“Only one you’re ever going to need, pet,” he reasserted as he stood. “I have you now, ‘m never gonna let you go.” She felt her knees turn to jelly as his fingers brushed against the exposed nape of her neck, working the first of the hundred and twenty buttons that ran down her spine. “I’ll take my time and do it right, love. Only what you deserve.”

The room was quiet as he undid her buttons slowly, the only sounds her breathing and the rustle of the material as it slowly exposed her golden skin. Spike caressed her neck as it came into view with exquisite tenderness, and Buffy gasped from the sensation of his fingers alone. When his mouth brushed her spine, she closed her eyes, her body throbbing in sensatory bliss as her groin clenched in desire for his touch.

Spike concentrated on her breathing, matching his unnecessary breaths to her own jagged rhythm as he worked the buttons free. He flashed in his mind back to the time when he was a man, and this was the ultimate in intimacy to his virgin imagination, and he felt himself grow harder with the memory of his Victorian upbringing. So much had changed over the last hundred years, but the little touches that Buffy had included in their wedding meant so very much to him. It meant that she had accepted him both as the monster and the man, proving her love for him tenfold in his eyes.

As he spread the dress apart, he saw the underclothing she had chosen, and it twisted his gut to see the merry widow corset beneath the heavy satin of her gown. His fingers flew over the buttons quickly in his attempt to bare her to him, and she turned her head slightly, her breath warm on his ear. “Slow, lover. We have the rest of our unlives.”

He reached the bottom of the row, and she stood, turning to face him. He noticed absently that she had undone the buttons on the forearms of the dress, and they hung loose as she shrugged her arms out of the sleeves, holding the bodice to her chest. She caught his eyes, green drawing blue, and let the dress fall to the floor to lay in a puddle of material around her feet.

He stopped breathing at the sight of her. She wore a merry widow, as he surmised during his adventures with the buttons, but never did he imagine that his sweet Buffy would wear something this naughty. It cupped her breasts, jutting them out and leaving the nipples exposed, their pink tips visible over the lace frills that edged the demi-cups of the corset. It nipped her waist even tinier than normal, then flared out slightly to add to her curves. Garters held up white silk hosiery, and she stood shyly in the dim light, her hands demurely clasped in front of her. “Do I look okay?”

He fell to his knees and gazed up into her face in adoration. “You know, you have a willing slave, love. You are more than just okay. You’re gorgeous.”

She smiled, and kneeled beside him. “Let’s get you out of that tux.”

Fortunately, the tux was less trouble than the dress, but they were both panting with desire and anticipation before his trousers even hit the ground. Buffy had to remind herself several times that it was rented, or else she would have just shredded the darn thing. When the tux did finally hit the floor to lay among the growing pile of clothes, he stood above her in all his naked glory, his cock jutting proudly from a nest of light brown curls. “Hey,” she said, “You look pretty gorgeous yourself.”

He started to reach for her and stopped when she reached for him instead, grasping his hard length in her hand and bringing the velvety head to her mouth, kissing it lightly before she engulfed it in her hot, greedy mouth. She took his full length down her throat as he buried his fingers in her curls, then drew back slowly, his moan of delight echoing in her ears.

She held onto him still as she stood, and brought her lips up to his. “I forgot—we haven’t even kissed yet,” she said, seconds before her lips claimed his in a deep, passionate kiss.

He was glad for her Slayer strength as he gripped her forearms tightly. At least he didn’t have to be afraid he would break her like a normal girl. Their tongues tangled in each other’s mouths, and he could taste the sweet icing from the wedding cake and the copper tinge of blood from when she’d accidentally bit the inside of her jaw while munching on canapés at the reception.

Her hand gripped him firmly, and she turned him around to face the bed, backing onto it and climbing into the center and pulling him with her. “So, leading me around by my danglies now, are you?” he teased, voice low.

She smiled. “Haven’t I always?” He started to snark back at her until he realized she was teasing him, and he gave her a wry smile.

“I suppose,” he admitted freely. “I’ve let them lead me ever since I first saw you. In the end though, I followed my heart, and it always led me right to you, pet.”

His admission touched her heart, and she looked up at him through a veil of fresh tears. “I love you, Spike. Heart and mind and soul.” She cupped his face tenderly, smoothing the sharp edge of his cheek with her thumb. “You have all of me, forever.”

“And you have all of me, for eternity.” His mouth swooped down to capture her lips in a tender kiss that both soothed and excited them both. His mind swirled with the overwhelming smells that surrounded them—the rich, heady scent of her arousal, the sweetness of honeysuckle and roses, the air freshener the hotel used, the clean, crisp smell rising off the bedding, and he realized he had slipped into his game face when the slick trace of copper teased his nostrils and his tastebuds flared to life with the taste of her blood in his mouth. He realized he had nicked her lip with his fang as it descended and started to apologize until Buffy ran her tongue over the same fang once again, purposely scraping it, then thrusting it deep into his mouth.

“You’re playing with fire, Slayer. You know what the taste of your blood could do to me?” he growled, kissing the soft skin behind her ear, rubbing his cheek against hers.

“Hmm…make you more passionate?” she purred, and she felt his cock twitch in her hand.

He searched his heart for violence once again, and found none. Instead, he found need and desire, not only to possess her again and again, but to make her his for all time. “That it might, pet. But it calls to the demon, and he demands his due at times.”

He drew back, and she looked deeply into the golden eyes that looked down on her from above. Even now, in the eyes of the demon, she could see the depths of his love for her, and she banished any fear of harm from this man from her heart forever. “You would never hurt me, Spike. I know that. You do too. I trust you.”

He nodded in agreement, admitting to them both the rightness of her statement. “So, you still want to go through with the other thing too, right?” he asked, still uncertain whether that was a step either one of them were willing to take.

Her eyes widened, and she almost laughed. “To have you bound to me forever? You bet your ass, baby. I want everyone to see that you belong to me and vicey-versy.” Her voice became husky with passion and a gleam sparkled in her eyes. “You’re mine, and you’d better get used to it, like right away, because I don’t plan on giving you up.”

She pulled his head down to her, and nibbled on his ear delicately. “Make love to me please, Spike. I need you.”

“But—” His protests were stalled when she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled her to him, his cock slipping into her wet folds and deep inside her before he was able to say anything more. She arched her hips to meet him, and he found himself moving without conscious thought, his body driving him forward even as his mind screamed for him to take things slow to make this first time memorable.

Buffy clamped down on him with her inner muscles, something that she knew drove him wild, and he moved faster and harder against her. Her gut knotted as the tension built in both of them, and she felt her orgasm building deep inside her long before she knew that she was so close to climax. She started whispering to him in his ear, holding him close to her throat as they moved together.

“Spike, I love you so much, for the man that you are and the man that you were. You excite me, you support me, and you make me feel more of a woman than I’ve ever felt before in my life. I want to be yours completely, forever and always. My husband. My beloved. My best friend. I’m so close, baby. So close. Don’t stop, love, don’t ever stop loving me or making love with me. You are my life.”

Spike closed his eyes and concentrated on what she was saying, and his heart soared. His Buffy. His wife. His mate. With his demon still at the fore, his heightened senses revealed that his beloved was close to orgasm, and he moved slightly to change the angle in which he penetrated her to find that extra special spot, deep in her core. She gasped aloud when he found it, and he started thrusting deeper and harder into her until she stiffened beneath him. Her inner muscles fluttered and rippled along his length, and he knew that she was coming—for him, always for him.

He slowed and waited for her to finish, then started thrusting into her with all his strength, wanting to make this time memorable for both of them. She grabbed his arms and dug her nails into his skin without conscious thought as she neared her peak again, and he bent his head to her neck.

Buffy tossed her head back and forth wildly. God, this was more than she’d dreamed it could be, this feeling deep inside of belonging to someone. He pressed a kiss to her neck, marking his spot, and she waited for a sharp pain, but there was only more pleasure as his fangs glided into her skin. She felt his mouth working against her throat, suckling on the marks that he made, and her body exploded in a kaleidoscope of sensation, forcing a cry from her as she arched against him, spiraling upward into the clouds and beyond. Seeking to silence her own screams of passion, she clamped her teeth onto the taut muscle above her mouth, and she was shocked beyond belief when she felt warm fluid gush from his skin.

He raised his head from her throat, a satisfied look in his golden eyes as he met the utter confusion in her green orbs. “You are mine, Buffy Summers Darling, until dust.”

Receptively, she said, “And you are mine, William Darling, until dust and beyond.” The words barely left her lips when he stiffened against her, his orgasm hitting him like a fast freight train, and he gripped her hips in his hands, pulling her body to meet his in frenzied passion. A feeling of belonging enveloped them both, completing them both. They belonged to each other now, for now and always.

He collapsed across her body, panting unnecessarily, then bent his head down to swipe his tongue across the marks on her neck, smiling as mini-orgasms shook her from the light contact. “I love you, Buffy,” he murmured against his marks.

She kissed his neck where her teeth had marked him, and was gratified when he had the same reaction; his body jerked with the contact, and she felt his cock twitch and swell inside her, even though he’d just come. “I love you, Spike. Forever and beyond.”

Sated and exhausted, they untangled long enough for Buffy to strip off the corset and hose, then climbed between the sheets of the king size bed. Spike curled around her back, holding her close with both hands, and she snuggled against him, a satisfied smile on her face. “Did I hurt you, love,” he asked, and was rewarded by an emphatic shake of her head.

“God, no. Can we do that again?” she murmured sleepily, and he chuckled.

“The claim? As often as you like, although your friends might not want me to use your neck as my chew toy.” He smoothed her shoulder and kissed her hair, and she half-turned to look at him.

“Screw my friends. I belong to you, not them, so I don’t care what they think. Not anymore, at least.”

He held her close as she drifted off, feeling the beating of her heart against his hand. Married. Never in his unlife had he ever believed that this could be possible, but then again, miracles happened, and he was holding one of the greatest of them in his arms. “I love you, Buffy Darling,” he whispered, then allowed himself to drift off, thinking that this was the closest thing to Heaven that he would ever experience. More than Heaven—this was to him the definition of bliss.