Chapter Twenty-Four

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“God,” she breathed, “I forgot how good that could be.”

Rolling off her and onto his back beside her,
Spike chuckled in reply.

“I plan to remind you on a daily basis,” he murmured, trailing his fingers down her bare arm.

She turned onto her side and smiled at him.

“Is that a promise?”

“Oh yeah,” he murmured, drawing her against him and kissing her, his hand buried in her hair. She moaned and pressed herself closer to him, delighting in the feel of his cool skin against hers. He pulled away and buried his head in her neck, kissing her lightly before drawing on the skin just short of painfully.

“You might as well pee on me,” she mumbled and he chuckled, leaning back to look at her.

“Can I help it that I want everyone to know you’re mine?”

“And by everyone you mean Angel.”

He had the good sense to look bashful and she shook her head with a smile.

“Think he got that idea with our little display.”

“Well, want to make sure it gets through that thick head of his, don’t I?”

She laughed, wrapping her arms around him and pressing a kiss to his lips.

“You’re terrible. How many times do I have to tell you that you’re the one I want?”

“Couple more times at least. And I want to hear the bit about you running off on Angel again as well.”

She laughed and rested her head against his chest.




She turned round, struggling to suppress the smile on her face as she made her way back over to the older vampire. As she grew nearer, she spotted the look of absolute astonishment on his face and she laughed internally. She finally came to a stop in front of him and he rounded wide eyes on her.

“Spike?!” he spluttered out, “Spike’s the guy?!”

“Well, err … yeah.”

“But… he…”

The vampire kept opening and closing his mouth, attempting to speak so she spoke instead, struggling to suppress a giggle at the sight of him.

“Yes, Spike’s the guy. I’m in love with him.”

She didn’t think Angel’s eyes could get any wider, but apparently they could.

“But-“

“I love him,” she repeated again, before he could protest.

“Buffy-“

“Well, if that’s all you’ve got to say, I’ve got things to do. It was nice seeing you and all. Bye!”

She turned on her heel and strode away from the vampire, just catching a glimpse of his shell-shocked expression as she turned away.



She laughed again in remembrance of that little scene and when she tilted her head up, Spike was grinning.

“Love that bit where you walk off on the poof. Would have loved to see his face,” he murmured and she smiled widely, pressing a kiss to his chest. They fell silent and he drew her against him as he laid back, wrapping both arms around her.

“I love you, you know that?” he mumbled against her hair.

“I did have a vague idea,” she replied, “But maybe you should get the chains out again.”

He laughed and pressed a kiss to her head.

“Chains, eh? Such a dirty little girl.”

“You’re the one who owns the chains,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m a bad, rude man.”

“Not true,” she murmured, turning her head and pressing her lips to his neck.

“No?”

“Nope. You’re a good man. You just like pretending to be bad.”

“Hey, I can be bad!” he protested and she giggled.

“Right. I’ll fetch the kittens, shall I?”

“That’s it, Slayer!” he growled, turning and pinning her to the bed. She laughed and wrapped her arms and legs around him, her desire flaring with his. She swept a desirous look down his body and finally met his burning gaze with heavy-lidded eyes. He growled low in his chest and then leant down, his mouth finding hers in a plundering kiss.



With his head resting on her bare stomach, Spike was purring lowly as she threaded her fingers through his hair, releasing the curls he hated so much.

“Mmm,” she murmured contentedly, closing her eyes, “That was good.”

“Glad to hear it,” he answered, his hand trailing a teasing path up her thigh, “Although you might want to keep the volume down if we do that in your bed.”

She swatted him lightly on the shoulder and he laughed, pressing a ticklish kiss to her stomach. They fell into comfortable silence and she closed her eyes, her fingers still playing with his hair. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this relaxed – and it was more than the relaxation afforded by several mind-blowing orgasms. She felt warm and content and all sorts of good. And maybe that was the endorphins working a little bit, but she put most of it down to the purring vampire who was nuzzling his nose against her navel.

She smiled and traced her fingers down his
neck to his back, drawing invisible swirling patterns on his skin. There had to be something meaningful in the way it was four years to the day that she had been with Angel that one time – and now here she was with vampire number two. A vast improvement, she thought with a smile.



Seeing Angel again after another sizeable gap only helped throw into focus just how the vampires differed – and it was ultimately Spike who came out better. He loved more without his soul than Angel ever could with his and he had become a better man not because he was forced to – not in the same way as Angel had been anyway – but because he had wanted to. For her. It was a scary thought that she could inspire that much devotion, but she definitely wasn’t going to complain. She hadn’t felt this safe for years now. She opened her eyes and looked down at the vampire resting against her stomach and smiled warmly.

“Spike.”

He tilted his head, blue eyes meeting hers.

“I love you.”

He was still for a moment, closing his eyes as a blissful smile stretched across his face, and then those startling blue eyes met hers again.

“I love you, Buffy.”

She smiled and traced her fingers across the sharp line of his cheekbone.

“Good.”

He smiled and kissed her stomach, his lips cool against her heated skin.



Her hand fell to her neck and she fingered the necklace he had placed around her neck with a smile.

“I never got to thank you for this,” she murmured and his eyes met hers again.

“We had more important things to do, as I recall.”

She smiled and he grinned, wrapping one arm around her and leaning up on his elbow.

“It’s lovely though. Thank you.”

“Had to get something good enough for my girl.”

She smiled softly again, running her fingers gently over his shoulders.

“I think this has definitely been the best birthday ever,” she sighed, before amending, “Apart from the bit where you were mad at me.”

“I was just jealous. Don’t like to think of you anywhere near the Great Poof.”

She smiled and shook her head slightly.

“Well, don’t. I’m in your bed, aren’t I? And I don’t plan to leave for… oh… several hours.”

“That so?” he asked with a crooked smile, “What are we going to do to pass the time?”

She shrugged but laughed as he pushed himself up and crawled his way up her body predatorily.

“M’sure we can think of something,” he murmured, pausing to kiss her collarbone.

“Mmm,” was the only reply she could give, wrapping her arms tightly around him and urging him closer.



His mouth found hers in a kiss that started off gentle but quickly grew frantic as she clung to him, her nails digging into this skin. He was moving against her ever so slightly, teasing her, and she groaned, needing more. She was an addict already, it seemed. He pulled away and she forced her eyes open to see him smiling widely.

“Love making you look like that…” he murmured, dropping his mouth to press a trail of tantalising kisses across her skin, “Love making your little heart race…”

She gave herself up to the sensations he was creating in her and arched against him, one leg slung around his hips. He moved against her and she moaned deep in her throat.

“Love that sound too…”

“Spike,” she pleaded.

“What do you want?”

“Want you. Need you.”

He smiled like a cat who had got all the cream and lowered his mouth to hers, teasing her with barely-there kisses until she groaned and flipped them over, pinning him to the bed. His eyes went wide with surprise but then settled into a desirous heat.

“You’re a tease,” she murmured, hands splayed on his chest as she leant over him, her hair falling around them, “And that’s just not nice when it’s my birthday.”

“I think it might be past midnight actually,” he purred, moving his body teasingly under hers. She smiled and dipped her head, catching his full lips between hers.

“Well then, that was definitely the best birthday ever,” she murmured, biting his lip teasingly.

“Just wait till next year.”

They shared a heated look and then their mouths collided in a hungry kiss.


The End