Blood of My Blood
Chapter 4

AN: Zoe agreed to do a bit of a quick beta for me since my usual betas are busy with holiday stuff, so a big thanks to her for that as well as her usual plot advice. And if there isn’t another update before Xmas, a big Happy Holidays to everyone! *hands out the gifts for reading and reviewing*



******


The warm water was relaxing. Buffy laid back against the tub with her eyes closed, inhaling deeply and taking in the refreshing scents of the bath oils she had added. She could have stayed like that until the water cooled, but she felt the water stir as someone joined her and she had a pretty good idea who it was. Deciding he wasn’t going to just go away if she kept her eyes closed, her lashes raised and she gazed at him through the steamy haze.

Even though she thought she was used to him being naked, the sight of his bare chest rising from the water still affected her in a way she wanted to deny.

Spike was squeezing some body wash onto a loofa sponge, making it sud up before scooting closer to her and taking one of her shapely legs in hand. It was obvious what he was about to do and her hand shot out to grasp his wrist. That’s when she realized her arm wasn’t broken anymore and that couldn’t be right. This was a dream then?

“Shh, just lay back and let me take care of my mate,” he said soothingly as he moved her arm to the side of the tub so he could continue his work.

“You don’t have to take care of me,” she protested, but she made no further move to stop him. “I know you didn’t want this, that your demon forced us into this. Just tell me what I need to do about this.”

There was silence as he finished with her lower body and slid between her legs so he could brace a hand behind her on the tub while his other hand stroked the sponge over her abdomen. He leaned in close, eyes trapping her gaze so that she knew what he was going to say was serious.

“What you do, luv, is bloody well get used to me takin’ care of you. This claim was no mistake and I don’t regret it for a soddin’ moment. Do you hear me?” His voice softened. “I know after what Angelus put you through...it’s any wonder you’re takin’ this as well as you are. You just need to trust me, even a little bit of trust that I won’t be like them—your father and Angelus.”

“How do you know about my father?” Her eyes searched his, hoping for once that this was a slayer dream and all true.

“Claim, pet.” He tapped his temple then gave a crooked grin. “And it’s their loss, it is. You’re an amazin’ woman. Anyone can see it in the way you’ve been takin’ care of me, too, while I’ve been out of sorts.”

“I...I’ve done nothing,” she muttered and looked away.

He brought her face back up. “You clean me, make me better. I’m not the same vampire I was before. You make me a man and that man belongs to you.”

His lips were a breath away from hers and she stared at them frozen, afraid to take the last step. She didn’t need to as he took the plunge that brought their mouths crashing together, pressing her down.

Spike continued to lower them down into the water and she tried to resist him, afraid even if it was a dream. He seriously wasn’t trying to kill her, was he? Not after that whole speech about wanting to be hers and trusting him.

//You drown in me. We’re one and I drown in you as well. Don’t be afraid to just let go and embrace the chaos. There is peace once you give in, and comfort that only I can give you.//

She heard his voice in her head, but still she was frightened and clung to him as they submerged. Why couldn’t her dreams ever be straight forward? Why did they have to do their best to give her the wiggins?

******

Golden eyes were the first thing Buffy saw when she woke up with a start. She gave a cry of alarm and jerked back before becoming fully alert. Hurt flashed briefly across Spike’s features but was quickly gone and replaced by concern again. His hands went for the blanket to pull it back so he could look her over, as was the daily ritual.

“What’re you doing in here, anyway?” she asked, lifting her shirt for him. It was better just to let him do his thing than to struggle with the protective vampire. “After last night, well...yeah. You weren’t in here when I went to bed at least.”

“Mate have nightmare,” he explained.

For a moment, she thought there was more to the dream than she thought and her eyes widened. “You saw it?”

“Felt scared. Heard sounds.” Spike glanced around then tilted his head.

Buffy saw the state that the bed was in, blankets and pillows strewn about, evidence that she had been thrashing about as the dream became troubling. Her gaze swept back to meet his, ever filled with concern for her.

“Thank you for coming to check on me,” she finally told him, leaning forward to kiss his cheek without thinking.

How could she be embarrassed about an innocent kiss after what they had done the night before? And in the dressing room? Although, all that could just be because of the claim he did on her. Conveniently, she denied the memory of having returned it in the heat of passion.

“Have you fed yet?” she asked. He shook his head and she sighed, “Well, you go do that while I get a bath and get dressed. Maybe I’ll start reading the book I bought yesterday.”

Spike nodded and started to get up when she grabbed his hand, deciding curiosity had finally gotten the better of her.

“Do you...kill when you feed?” She bit her lip, afraid of the answer.

“I kill.” He gave a nod and her heart plummeted, but then he continued, “I kill animals for food. Mate no like me kill people.”

Her eyes watered and Buffy lunged forward to hug him. She was so grateful for the small miracle—it was a miracle to her, at least. Now she didn’t have to feel guilty for harboring a killer and feeling romantic things for him. Was she feeling romantic things? And, if he could stop killing for her then it gave her some hope for their future. Her good arm tightened around him until he finally set her away from him.

“Mate go bathe. I get food.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a soft smile and stretched up on her toes to give him another quick kiss before turning toward the bathroom.

******

The bath was relaxing, even with the dream lingering in Buffy’s consciousness. She knew that there was no chance that it was going to play out for real so she closed her eyes as she lay in the warm water. Her mind drifted off, but she couldn’t get it to stay in lovely daydream land.

How weird was it that she hadn’t tried to be Avoid-y Girl again with Spike when she woke up to him in her room? He had been worried about her and instead of shrugging him off, she had kissed him. Twice. There had to be some evil spell affecting them. That was it and as the Slayer, she needed to vanquish whoever was responsible.

Oh get a grip, Buffy she thought with a sigh, pulling herself out of the land of the pyramids for just a moment.

Okay, so maybe she was starting to like him. He wasn’t really acting all evil and trying to kill her anymore. Quite the contrary, he was being super sweet and taking care of her like the big protective mate that he was. What kind of ass would she be if she ignored all that?

Plans of getting rid of the claim seemed to be getting more distant every day they spent together. She still wasn’t too sure how Spike was going to take all this when he returned, but it definitely wasn’t going to be so cut and dry as them both going on their own ways.

The door opened and Buffy’s eyes snapped open, almost worried that the dream was in fact about to be re-enacted in some way. “Hello?”

Spike walked in and stopped to look down at her. Their eyes met. There was no hiding the evidence of his reaction to the view, not when he ran around naked. Her eyes were riveted to his bobbing erection and she blushed, but was unable to tear her gaze away. She might not be some virgin, but one short night did not make her experienced in any way, shape, or form.

When her tongue darted out to wet her lips, the spell seemed to be broken as he lowered himself to kneel beside the tub. He leaned in so that he could give her an eager kiss, a hand slipping into the water to massage her hip, melting her resolve even further. It was hard to live in denial over her feelings when he touched her.

After a moment, he pulled back and said, “My beautiful mate. My beautiful Buffy.”

Buffy blushed and looked down before glancing back up through her lashes. “Thank you.”

Spike leaned in toward her again and that’s when it hit her. The smell. She clapped a hand over her nose and darted across to the other side of the tub to avoid him. How had she missed such a stench while he was kissing her?

Well, duh, ‘cause he was kissing you, stupid, her inner voice mocked her and she rolled her eyes before saying, “Tarzan, you so need a bath. When was the last time you washed?”

The confused look in his eyes said it all and she wrinkled her nose. “Oh that is so gross. What, do you roll around in the garbage, too?”

The vampire looked every bit ashamed of himself and even a bit hurt.

“Tarzan take bath,” he said before trying to get into the tub with her.

Buffy scooted back and pulled her legs out of the way, blinking at him. “You...hey, you can wait you know!” A sigh fell from her lips when he looked at her expectantly. “Fine, turn your back to me and I’ll help you.”

While he complied with her request, she grabbed for the loofa to put some body wash on it. Her hand tightened on it when she noticed it was the same one from her dream. She quickly tossed it away and reached for the rag hanging nearby, sudsing it up then turning back to her waiting mate.

Naked Spike. She had to touch naked Spike. At least it was only his back and then she would do his hair. That was all.

Was he actually purring while she washed his back? That was too cute...too cute for a feral vampire, even if calling himself Tarzan was kind of adorable at times. Spike would not like being called “cute”. It would ruin his Big Bad image.

Washing his hair seemed strangely intimate, her fingers massaging his scalp. She tried to think of other things. Anything else but being naked in the tub with Spike and having her hands on him.

Rinsing his hair was an ordeal with him sputtering indignantly after she poured water over his head. He turned around then and glared at her and she just gave him a lopsided grin before starting to get up to exit the cooling bath. As she did, she felt his hand skim over her thigh and nearly fell over at the sensations the small action caused.

Spike’s nostrils flared and she blushed, knowing he was scenting the air. Vampires were so gross. She hurried from the room and the very troubling situation she had gotten herself into. It would only lead to very bad things. Very bad. Sinful even.

Oh, why was her head going wacko on her?!

The Slayer sensed Spike following her down the hallway, and she glanced over her shoulder at him. He leered at her and licked his lips, causing something to tug low in her rather than the disgust she thought she ought to be feeling.

“I’m going to get dressed and then see about getting something to eat,” Buffy said, hoping to distract him from what he was obviously thinking. The evidence was right there. Not that she wasn’t thinking the same thing. “You can just wait for me in the living room and I’ll be right there.”

Instead of doing as he was told—like usual—he stalked toward her, continuing to look at her with lustful eyes. She backed away until her spine hit the wall, trapped when he caged her in with his arms braced on either side of her. His head dipped in to inhale deeply while he gave a soft purr.

“Tarzan needs mate,” he said hoarsely, “Need to touch mate.”

“It’d be wrong to do anything while you’re like this,” Buffy returned, pleading with him to understand. Then with a grimace, she continued, “For one, because I am so not saying ‘Oh god, Tarzan, make me cum’ in the middle of sex because you don’t know your own name.”

“Buffy no talk.”

The smooth reply made her blink, so surprised at the blatantly smart-assed comment coming from the feral vampire that she thought maybe she had imagined it. She had to be hearing things, because “Tarzan” would not make a joke.

“And two, you’re not yourself and not thinking clearly, so it’d be like I was taking advantage of you.” She tried to steer the conversation back onto the right track. “If you’re still happy to be my mate and...do this...when you’re yourself again, then we can re-open this discussion.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, both for some measure of covering and to show that she was serious about this. It was a bit awkward with her good arm holding her broken one in place, but she made as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The act didn’t impress him and he captured her lips in another kiss, pressing her body into the wall with his own. Fire immediately erupted within her and started to melt her resolve again. His hands sliding over her soft curves didn’t help either.

“Buffy!”

A gasp had Buffy shoving Spike off her then turning to face Willow with flaming cheeks. The redhead was blushing just as brightly, her skin rivaling her hair. They seemed locked there in shock until they were brought back to reality by the growling of the vampire. His golden eyes were flashing dangerously and for a moment Buffy was worried he was about to go after her friend.

“No, Tarzan, she’s my friend,” the slayer said, turning to grab his arm. “We need clothes. Clothes would be good. Then we can get to the talking and the peaceful not biting time.”

“Tarzan?” Willow looked even more confused.

“It’s a long story, a story I’ll gladly give you once we’re dressed and not giving you mental scarring. Just wait for me,” a growl from Spike had her adding, “us in the living room right there.”

Buffy pointed the way for Willow then pulled Spike with her into her bedroom, almost thankful for the diversion from his amorous overtures. He didn’t seem as happy to be interrupted and she realized he had probably also been reacting to her distress at being caught in such a compromising position. Now she only had to hope he could behave himself while Willow was there and that her friend wasn’t arriving with bad news that could set her vampire off. She wasn’t sure she could hold him off that well with her arm still healing.