Chapter Eight

Without any discussion, Spike and Buffy spent the next two days close to the house on Revello Drive.  They went out in the evening for a quick patrol of Sunnydale then returned to the house to cuddle on the couch until one or the other of them initiated the first round of that night’s vigorous love making.

Buffy had finally stopped trying to deny that what they were doing was more than recreational sex.  She was able to rationalize that when two people who clearly were fond of each other shared sexual pleasure it was perfectly fair to call it love making.  Even if, as she constantly assured herself was the case, they were not actually in love with each other.

The day before Buffy’s mother was to arrive home, they spent the whole day in her darkened bedroom, emerging only for forays to the kitchen for food and drink, or Buffy’s occasional trips to the bathroom.  Neither one of them commented on their unusual behavior, but the desperation with which they held each other every time they made love made it clear they were having the same thoughts.

(I’m being paranoid-Buffy.  There’s no reason to act like this is the last time.  We have plenty of time before everybody comes back.  He just won’t be sleeping here, that’s all.  Not a big deal.)

Buffy refused to admit that she had become accustomed to the safe feeling she got when she fell asleep with Spike’s arms around her.  Telling herself it was just some residual claim stuff that made it feel so right, she pushed away any thoughts of how much she might miss it.

(It’s not like I’ll be sleeping alone all that much.  Riley will be back and he’ll be there to hold me.  My real, warm, human boyfriend will be back and wanting to spend his free time with me. And that’s who I really want. My real boy friend.  This is just a summer thing between two friends who are lonely and bored.)

Telling herself firmly that she was going to be happy to see the big soldier and have him back in her bed, Buffy successfully suppressed any comparisons between Riley’s gentle, if boring, love making and Spike’s passionate and inventive worshipping of her body.

If Spike noticed how preoccupied she was, he didn’t say anything.  Too wrapped up in his own internal monologue to even worry about her unusual silences, he never caught the confused looks she was sending him from time to time.
(Bloody hell, know we’ve still got tonight before I have to go back to the crypt.  Soddin’ demon and his claim, makin’ me need to be with her all the time; worryin’ about leavin’ her to sleep alone.)

He almost doubled over in very real physical pain when he remembered who else was coming back soon and that she would not be sleeping alone all the time.  The demon was roaring for his mate and Spike grabbed a surprised Buffy, pressing her into the mattress with his body while he growled and licked at the almost invisible marks on her neck.

As quickly as it came, the demon was gone and William was kissing her frantically and murmuring soft words into her flesh as he held her in arms that managed to be incredibly strong and incredible gentle at the same time.  It wasn’t long before their bodies were once more intimately connected.  Their lips and tongues silently saying the things that couldn’t be put into words.

(Can’t give this up.  I’ll die without this.  Need to feel her touchin’ me, around me.  I’m drownin’ in her and I don’t want to come up.  Want to stay here forever, buried inside my Slayer, my Buffy, my love.)

Before they went out for patrol, they once again showered together, washing away the sweat and body fluids that had accumulated on both of them during the course of the day.  Spike was alternately tender and passionate as he tried to wrest every last speck of contact from his last day and night in the house. 

Buffy was luxuriating in the pampering he was giving her scalp and hair when she heard the phone ringing in the bedroom.  Quickly, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Let it go, love.  Whoever it is will call back.” 

“But it might be Mom,” Buffy complained.  “What if she’s getting home early.  Maybe she’s on her way right now!”  She struggling against his pinioning arms, then relaxed when the phone stopped ringing.

“See,” he said happily as he positioned her under the water and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.  “You didn’t need to get out.”

He slid his hands down her flanks and pulled her closer to his slick body, nuzzling his marks on her neck.  Buffy felt her knees weakening as he sucked gently on the scars, and she steeled herself to push him away.

“Okay then.  But, we need to get out and kill some demons.  The sooner we’re done patrolling, the sooner we can come home and go to bed,” she offered as an incentive to the vampire who was still reaching for her as she stepped out of the tub.

“Spoilsport,” he pouted, following her out and beginning to rub her down with the dry towel she handed him.  When he had her dried off to suit him, she returned the favor, rubbing his back and legs before turning to dry his chiseled chest.  She finished drying him off, only to run her tongue over his chest and nip at his nipple before running out of the bathroom laughing.

“Oh, that’s it, Slayer.  You will pay for that one,” he growled, pursuing her out the door and across the hall.  He grabbed her and tackled her on to the bed, biting her on one of her firm butt cheeks and mock snarling as he pretended to savage her flesh.

Buffy was screaming with laughter and flailing around trying to get enough leverage to throw him off.  When his growls and bites turned to purring kisses and licks, she was finally able to stop giggling and pull herself away.  She turned and looked at the smirking vampire, now lying on his back totally comfortable with his nudity.  Her breath caught with a little hitch as she realized again how beautifully he was made.

Suddenly the idea that he was not going to be lying there anymore after tonight, really hit and she threw herself on top of him kissing him frantically.  It took Spike only a second to recover from his surprised delight, and he wrapped his arms around the squirming girl on top of him.  For minutes she continued to kiss his face and neck, clinging to him as though she wanted to get inside his skin.

He could hear her heart thudding and in addition to smelling her distress, he could sense it through the partial claim he’d made.  He stopped responding to her kisses and took hold of her shoulders, pushing her slightly off him so that he could see her face.

“Hey, love,” he asked softly, “What’s this all about?  Not that I’m not enjoyin’ it,” he hastened to assure her, “but I thought you wanted to go kill things?”

“I did.  I do.  It’s just...everything’s changing.  Mom will be home, so no more Spike in my bed.  Willow and Tara will be back in a few days, and...then Xander and Anya.  And Giles!  Giles will be here in another week.  And...”

She didn’t need to finish her listing of names.  They both knew who else would be back soon.  The vampire’s eyes flashed amber as he stared at his marks on her neck, knowing the claim would mean nothing to her human boyfriend other than she’d let Spike bite her without dusting him.

“So, what’s the big deal, pet?” he asked much more calmly than he felt. He tried to smother the hope he could feel growing in his chest. “I’m gonna miss sleeping here with you, for sure, but we can still find time to be alone.  We’ll still patrol.  The nasties will be gettin’ more active now that fall’s comin’ and we’ll have plenty to do.  It’s not like I’m gonna stop helpin’ you jus’ cause your little Scooby gang is back,” he said cautiously.

When she didn’t respond, except to get up and start dressing, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up short.

“I’m not, am I, Buffy?” 

Spike’s use of her name, something he usually only did during love making, brought her startled eyes to his face and she cringed at the fear she saw there.  It was easy to recognize the fear, because she was feeling the same thing as she contemplated how complicated her life was about to become.

“I...I don’t know,” she whispered, pulling her arm free and tugging her sweatshirt over her head.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

She finished dressing and walked out of the room, leaving him lying on the bed, still naked, staring blindly at the ceiling.  She cringed when she heard him snarl and throw something across the room, although when he appeared quickly all dressed and ready to go, there was no sign of anger or fear.  His face was closed and his eyes were cold blue ice as he held the door for her.

The uncomfortable silence between them lasted until they ran into a group of fledglings just finding their way out of Restfield cemetery.  With a guilty start, they both realized that they had been careless about patrolling Spike’s cemetery  all summer.  And with the older vampire not staying in his crypt, the newly risen vamps had been able to make themselves at home in a way they never would have if he was still living there.

“Looks like it’s time to clean house, pet,” he said with barely restrained glee.

“It sure does. “ Buffy was startled to realize how much difference Spike’s presence had made in Restfield and how much she had come to depend on it when planning her patrols.

Buffy strolled toward the group of curious vamps, her stake concealed in her hand.  Giving them a cheery smile she asked, “What are you guys doing out tonight?  Is it Halloween and somebody forgot to tell me?  What are you dressed as?  Let me see, dirt under your fingernails, cheap suits, ugly faces...you must be...ogres!”

The newly risen vamps had no idea there even was such a thing as a Slayer; let alone that it was their misfortune to be turned in the very town in which she lived.   They jostled each other in their eagerness to be the first one to get a bite of the tiny blond walking toward them.  It briefly crossed the mind of the smartest one that there was something not quite right about the attractive blond couple who didn’t seem to be worried about being in a cemetery after dark, but he couldn’t really come up with any reason why it wasn’t all right to eat them.

Nevertheless, he hung back slightly and so had an excellent view of the Slayer in action.  Buffy pivoted on one foot, using the other leg to sweep the feet out from under two of the four vamps attacking her. Her momentum carried her out of reach of their grasping claws and she was able to stake the first one through the back as she went past him.  She had dusted two more before they had enough presence of mind to gang up on her.  While she exchanged punches with the one in front of her, another crept around behind and went to reach for her arms.

Instead of having an armful of Slayer, he found himself dangling off the ground.  Something very strong was holding him in the air using only the largish hand wrapped around his throat.  The vampire didn’t have to breath, but he began to panic as he realized that the steady squeezing could easily pop his head off.  The lone remaining fledgling hesitated only a second before he turned and ran for the gate, leaving his fellow bloodsucker to his fate.

Spike continued to hold the struggling vampire aloft while Buffy finished with the one she was fighting and then threw her stake with unerring accuracy into the retreating back of the last fledgling.  When nothing was left but the one Spike was holding, she put her hands on her hips and looked at him impatiently.

“Are you going to dust him, or just play with him all night?”

“I dunno, pet.  He was trying to grab you, so I was thinkin’ about ripping his arms off before I dust him.  What d’you think?”

The dangling vampire redoubled his struggles as the seriousness of Spike’s expression left no doubt that the older vampire was really considering tearing him apart.  Fortunately for him, Buffy was impatient to see what else might have been taking advantage of their absence from the cemetery. She plunged her stake into his chest, watching with great satisfaction as his remains drifted away on the evening breeze.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike’s disappointed grumbling and led him further into the graveyard.  They encountered several more newly risen vampires and sent them all to their final end before agreeing that they had done a good night’s work and turning for home.

Buffy frowned as they approached the bungalow, asking Spike, “Do you remember my leaving the lights on in the kitchen?”

“Can’t say I do, love.  But I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Words were unnecessary as both nighttime hunters slipped silently around to the back of the house to peer into the kitchen.

“Oh,” Buffy said slowly.  “Mom’s home a day early.”

She turned to look at Spike, tilting her head up in time to catch the disappointed look that flashed across his face.

“Guess we don’t get that last night after all.  Eh, pet?” he said quietly, trying to sound casual about it.  

“I guess not...” she replied just as quietly. 

As one, they moved together and exchanged a kiss that was equally full of regret and longing as it was passion.  They stood together for several seconds, neither one willing to be the one to let go first.  Finally, as so often happened, they were ready to reluctantly let go and step back at the same time.

When Buffy turned to go up on the porch and in the kitchen door, Spike followed silently.  Joyce looked up, startled, when the back door opened suddenly, then smiled when she saw who was there.

“Buffy! I was hoping you’d be home before I went to bed,” she said as she hugged her daughter and smiled over her shoulder at Spike.  “I guess you two still aren’t finding many things to slay?”

“Oh we found ‘em, Joyce,” Spike said with a grin, “It’s just the stupid buggers were all in the same place, so it didn’t take long to dust ‘em.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad I got a chance to see you tonight anyway.  I’m just exhausted from the trip.  I’m going to bed in just a few minutes and I do NOT want to be disturbed until noon!” 

Buffy laughed to hear her early-rising mother threatening to sleep late and kissed her on the cheek.

“Ok, Mom.  No problem here. We—I—don’t get up very early either.”

She held her breath, hoping her mother was too tired to have noticed her slip, but the sharp look Joyce shot at Spike told her it was a faint hope.  Giving Buffy a look that promised they would be having a long talk tomorrow, she said “good-night” and started upstairs.  Spike noticed her wrestling with her suitcase and with a “Let me get that, Joyce,’ immediately took it away from her and went upstairs with it.

Joyce wasn’t too tired to notice how comfortable he seemed to be in her house and that he had no trouble finding the correct room in which to put the suitcase.  Promising herself she would have a long talk with Buffy in the morning, she thanked him politely and closed the bedroom door.

When Spike got back downstairs, Buffy was sitting on the couch and idly flipping through channels on the TV.  After a moment’s hesitation, he slipped into his usual spot beside her and put a tentative arm around her shoulders.  He let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding when she dropped her head against him and mumbled into his chest, “She knows, doesn’t she?”

“Your mum’s not a stupid woman, pet.”

“And I, apparently, have no control of my mouth.”

“I think you have great control of your mouth, love,” he said, placing his tongue behind his teeth and leering at her.

She smacked him half-heartedly on his arm and glared at him.  “And you’re going to have to watch yours, too!  You can’t say things like that around my mom!”

“Relax, Slayer,” he put his other arm around her and nuzzled her neck.  “I’m not stupid either.  And, I don’t want your mom going for her axe,” he added.

“This is just the beginning.  Tonight my mom; next week Giles.  Gah!” she put her head down and shuddered as she thought about her Watcher’s probable reaction to any suggestion that Spike had wormed his way into her life, never mind her bed.

“We’re never going to be able to keep this a secret,” she moaned.  “Everybody is going to know what we did this summer.”

Buffy was so busy bemoaning how hard it was going to be to prevent her friends from finding out about them, that she didn’t see the heartbroken look that went across Spike’s face at her words.  While Buffy worried that her friends would find out about her summer fling with the vampire, Spike felt the whole fantasy he’d built up about what was between them crumble around his head.

He slowly removed his arms from around her slender body, asking in a deceptively mild tone, “What exactly DID we do this summer pet?”

Buffy blinked at him in confusion.

“What do you mean, what did we do?  Hello, you were there!  Where do you want me to start?”

“How about you start with, we patrolled together because you were bored and I was...convenient?  We got to be friends and shared a few laughs. We killed some nasties, took one trip to LA , annoyed Peaches, came back, killed some more nasties, had a few beers and some ice cream cones, and watched some TV together. That’s about it, yeah?”

Buffy continued to stare at him, her mouth hanging open.

“That is most definitely not ‘about it’, Spike, and you know it!” She glared at him angrily.

“ ‘Bout covers what you’re gonna tell your friends, though, doesn’t it?” He spoke through gritted teeth, trying to hold on to both his temper and his pride. 

“Well, what do you want me to tell them?  That I spent the summer having mind-blowing sex with the vampire that came here to kill me?  That I had a summer fling with William the Bloody and let him bite me?  That a master vampire tried to claim me?  How long do you think you’ll stay not dusty if I tell them that, huh?”

His face wore an expression she had never seen before. One she was sure she never wanted to see again.  She watched his eyes go from icy anger to sheer misery as he said quietly,  “If what we’ve shared was just a ‘summer fling’ to you, then I don’t think it really matters how long it is.  It won’t be soon enough.”

He whirled and was out the door before she could process what he’d said, leaving her staring after him in shock.  Absently clicking off the TV, she made her way upstairs and into her empty bedroom.  Still dazed, she got ready for bed, putting on pajamas for the first time in weeks.  She stood in the middle of the room, staring at the rumpled bed that suddenly appeared so large and empty.

With a small moan, she threw herself down onto it, burying her nose in the sheets that smelled faintly of tobacco, leather and Spike.  They also smelled like someone had spent the entire day having sex on them, and Buffy realized she was going to have to do that particular load of laundry when her mother was at work.  Wrapping herself in the comforting sheets and clutching the pillow that smelled faintly like Spike’s hair gel, she closed her eyes and waited to fall asleep.

Two hours later, she was still waiting.  No matter how many talks she had with her disobedient body, it insisted on telling her something was missing from the bed and sleep was not going to be an option until she found it.  She unconsciously ran her fingers over the almost invisible marks of Spikes teeth, not even noticing how much that soothed her until she was drifting off.


Chapter Nine

           When she awoke the next morning it took her a few minutes to remember where she was.  There was no cool body pressed up against her back, no strong arm around her waist or eager cock pressing into her backside.  She let herself indulge in a few minutes of unashamed self-pity, then gave a mental shake and sat up.

           (Better get used to this now, Buffy.  There will be no vampire missage in this bed.  It was just a summer thing that happened because we were both lonely and bored. It’s just as well Mom came home when she did.  Saved us from the whole “it’s our last night,” thing.  This gives me/us more time to get used to not being together all the time.)

            She conveniently ignored the fact that Spike did not have, to the best of her knowledge, anybody else in his unlife except her, Dawn, her mother, and peripherally, the same Scoobies that would want to kill him if they got an inkling of how Buffy had spent the summer.

             Buffy pulled the well-used sheets off the bed, pressing them to her nose as she carried the bundle of dirty linen down to the basement.  It was with a small pang that she put them in the washing machine, knowing that when they came out they would just smell like fabric softener rather than sexy vampire.  At the last second, she snatched the pillowcase out of the machine and carried it back up stairs.  When she was finished putting the fresh linens on the bed she stuffed the rescued pillowcase under her pillow and pulled the spread up to cover it.

           Joyce did, in fact, sleep until almost noon and by the time she came downstairs Buffy had gone out to spend some time in the sun.  She watched her daughter through the kitchen window as Buffy carefully basted her body with sun block and turned regularly to even out her tan.  To prove that the apple didn’t fall far from this particular tree, she decided to pretend she never heard Buffy’s slip of the tongue the night before.  As much as she liked Spike, she really didn’t want her daughter getting involved with another vampire, so in typical Summers fashion, she refused to consider it a possibility.

             She found it a little harder to cling to that belief when she found a laundry basket full of clean black tee shirts and jeans beside the dryer later that afternoon, but by then Buffy had gone to the college to register for Fall classes and once again, denial seemed the way to go.


            When Spike left the Summers’ home he had headed blindly for Willie’s, determined to drink away the pain that had taken up residence in his chest.  He sat at the bar, downing one Jack and O Neg after another, and snarling viciously at any demon daring to cast a glare in his direction.  He knew he was unpopular with most of the demon crowd, as word spread that he was helping the Slayer, but his current murderous mood made him welcome the idea of being challenged.  When it seemed no one was willing to actually start anything with the angry vampire, he grabbed a fresh bottle from the back of the bar and left to go drink himself unconscious in private. 

          His crypt seemed much darker and colder than it had before he began spending his nights in Buffy’s cheery bedroom, but it suited his mood and he sank down into his comfy chair and proceeded to pour the entire bottle of bourbon down his throat.

           (What the hell is a summer fling?  Does she expect me to just stop wantin’ her on the first of September?  There isn’t that much magic in the world. I’ll never stop – Can’t give her up now.  She’s in my blood – literally.  The demon isn’t goin’ to let her go without a fight.)

           Just before he achieved his goal and passed out from the alcohol he’d been steadily consuming, he felt a brief flicker of loneliness prick his consciousness and realized the partial claim was still operating.  He tried to reach out to connect with Buffy, but passed out before he could be sure the reassurance he was trying to send made it.

           When he awoke late the next afternoon, he prowled around the crypt like a caged animal.  For the first time in weeks he wasn’t waking up surrounded by the scent of his Slayer and without the sound of her heartbeat letting him know where she was. 

            He thought back to his emotional exit the night before and groaned aloud.  “You bloody drama queen!  If she wasn’t worried about the situation before, she sure as hell will be now.  Be lucky if she doesn’t stake me just to get me out of her hair.”

            As the skies outside darkened, he went around the crypt, listlessly lighting a few candles and wondering if she was expecting him to come over for patrol or if she didn’t want to see him.  He vaguely remembered feeling the little touch of her loneliness the night before and it gave him a sliver of hope that maybe she wasn’t ready to cut him out of her life completely.

            “Not yet, anyway, you pathetic git.  Know it’s gonna happen, don’t I?”

           His conversation with himself was interrupted by a timid knocking on his door.  He looked up in surprise, wondering who would bother knocking, then felt his heart lurch when he realized whose heartbeat he was hearing.

            “Buffy?” he whispered in disbelief as he went to the door and opened it.

             She was standing outside, her arms full of his clean clothes and her face wearing an anxious expression.  He stared at her for long seconds before he shook himself out of his daze and backed up so that she could come in.

              He realized belatedly that she was holding his laundry, and mentally cursed himself for a fool.

            (She’s not here to see you, you stupid git.  Just gettin’ your stuff out of her house before her mum sees it.)

           He was reaching to take the clothes from her just as she stepped through the door and they collided briefly in the doorway.  Spike automatically grabbed her arms as she stumbled back, her balance thrown off by the things she was carrying.

             “I’m sorry, pet,” he said quickly, releasing her shoulders.  “Let me take those from you.  You don’t need to bring them in...”

             Her eyes flew to his face as he turned away with his laundry, his shoulders slumping.

            “You don’t want me to come in?” she asked in a small voice.

            He could hear the hurt she was trying to hide, and he could feel the touch of her pain in his blood. She whirled and started out the door, willing the tears that had sprung to her eyes not to fall until she was far away.  A strangled sound from behind her halted her exit and she looked back to see the vampire had dropped the clean clothes on the dusty floor. 

            Once again she got a look at true vampire speed as he was in front of her before she even registered his movement.

           “Of course I want you to come in.  How could you think I wouldn’t?  But I thought you—“

            “You thought I what?  What did you think I was saying last night?”

           He looked down at the floor as he mumbled, “Thought you were kickin’ me to the curb.  Wouldn’t want me around anymore now that your friends and family are comin’ back.  Won’t need me anymore.”

            He raised his head to meet her troubled eyes.  She moved into the crypt, pulling the door shut behind her.

            “Do you think that’s the only reason I want you around?  Because I need you for something?  I thought we were friends.”

              She stared stubbornly at the silent vampire, waiting for him to say something.  Instead he took her arms again and pulled her toward him so that he could read her face.  When she continued to look puzzled he said softly, “I’m not your friend, Buffy.”

           Her puzzled look changed to one of unhappiness and then, in her usual response to pain, anger.

            “My mistake then,” she said tightly, struggling break his grip so she could turn and leave.  “Let me go, Spike.  I won’t bother you anymore.”

            He could smell the angry tears trembling in her eyes as she tried to get away from him.  Suddenly his own anger leapt up to match hers.

           “Are you really that bloody stupid, Slayer?” he snarled.  “I’m not like the whelp.  I can’t pretend to be your friend when that’s not what I’m feeling for you.  I don’t know what the hell you think a ‘summer fling’ is, but I can’t turn off what I’m feeling just because the soddin’ seasons are changing.”

           He glared at her, his breath coming in totally unnecessary gasps as he waited for her response.   She glared back at him as long as she could, then her face crumpled and she sagged into him.

           He immediately wrapped his arms all the way round her and dropped his face down onto the top of her head.  Her arms crept around his waist and they stood silently until he felt Buffy sniffle against his chest.

           “Gettin’ Slayer snot on me, then, are you?” he said, smiling down at her embarrassed face.  He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her, moving away to give her some privacy while she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. 

           He was afraid to start talking again until she gave him some sign of where they stood with each other, so he picked up his clothes and dropped down to the lower level.  He was changing into clean jeans and shirt when he heard a small noise on the ladder.  He glanced up, his pants on but not fastened yet, his shirt in his hand.

           Buffy was standing on the ladder, part way down and looking around the lower chamber curiously.

           “I didn’t know this was here,” she said shyly.  She deliberately kept her gaze away from his bare chest and abdomen, not wanting to be tempted until she figured out where they were with each other.

           “Yeah, well, ‘s not like I spend a lot of time down here,” he said gruffly. “Especially lately,” he added, then cursed himself when he saw her flinch.

           Buffy walked slowly around the large space, noting the book shelves with the well-worn volumes of poetry.  There was a large armoire and a dresser, with a mirror that seemed wasted on a vampire.  She supposed it must have come with the dresser and Spike just hadn’t bothered to remove it.  She wondered briefly if it was there because he’d had other human women in his bedroom and felt her stomach cramp at the thought.

            She shot a look at the large four poster bed she’d been ignoring up till then and tried to picture Spike sleeping in the rich bedding covering it.  She remembered what Angel had said about Spike not needing to steal and gamble for money and she took another hard look around the room.  Buffy couldn’t be sure without her mother’s knowledge of furniture and art, but thought she might be looking at a room on which someone had spent a lot of money on very fine furnishings.

           Spike sat down on the edge of the bed and began to pull on his boots.

           “So, Slayer,” he said as casually as he could, “made up your mind what you want to do yet?”

           “About what?” she asked, avoiding his eyes by studying the titles of the books on his shelves.

            She heard a snort of exasperation as he threw himself backwards on the bed, glaring at the ceiling.   He stayed there for several minutes, then sat up abruptly and pulled his shirt on, and tied his boots.

         “Ok then, pet.  Have it your way.  When you suss it out, let me know, yeah?”

          He stood up and pulled on his leather coat.  “I’m goin’ to go kill something.  Are you coming with me or do you want to stay here until I get back?”

            Without answering, she moved to the ladder and quickly climbed up into the crypt.   She watched without speaking as Spike pulled the cover back on to the sarcophagus that covered the entrance to his bedroom.   Still not speaking, they left the crypt and began their patrol, quickly dusting any newly risen vamps they encountered.  There was no playing with their prey, no clever quips from the Slayer, no snarky remarks from the vampire.  Just two blond killing machines working their way methodically through Sunnydale’s numerous cemeteries.

           When then had cleared out the last cemetery on their rounds, they found themselves near the campus of Sunnydale University and Buffy let her feet carry her to a bench on the grounds.  When she sat down and rested her head on the back of the bench, Spike looked at her quizzically for a second, then dropped onto the bench beside her and tilted his head back.  They sat in relatively comfortable silence for several minutes, watching the stars flicker in and out as clouds blew across the sky.  When he couldn’t stand the silence any longer, the vampire turned his head toward her and asked, “Are we lookin’ for anything in particular up there, Slayer?”

             She tipped her own head toward him and met his eyes for the first time all night.

            “Answers?” she ventured.

            “Don’t think the answers are up there, love,” he said softly.

            “I suppose not,” she said with a sigh.  She stuck her lip out in a pout.  “I don’t see why they can’t be.  This should be easy.  Me Slayer, you vampire.”

            “Me William, you Buffy,” he gently reminded her and was rewarded with a sad smile as she scooted a little closer on the bench.  She looked into his darkened eyes with complete honesty.

           “I wish it was that simple,” she said slowly.  After another pause in which she searched his face as though the answer might lie there, she said candidly. “I don’t know how to do this, William.  I don’t know how to have you and my friends at the same time.”

            He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead.  “Let’s just see what happens, pet.  It’s not like everybody’s coming home on the same day.  Or like we need to invite them to watch us shaggin’,” he chuckled at her shocked gasp.

            “My patrollin’ with you shouldn’t give anybody problems.  Even the Watcher can’t object to havin’ somebody watch your back.  What else we might be doin’ when they’re not around is nobody’s business but ours.”

           There was a very heavy silence while they both avoided thinking about the one person who would most definitely think what they did away from prying eyes was his business.  Since he wasn’t due back for another couple of weeks, Buffy put all thoughts of Riley and her relationship with him in the back of her mind to be worried about later.

           “So, pet,” he said, changing the subject, “back to school soon?”

            “Yeah, I registered today.”  She looked up at him slyly.  “I signed up for another poetry class.  Figured I probably know somebody who can help me with it if it gets too hard.  Maybe even help me write some...”

           Spike gave the first genuine laugh of the evening.  “Trust me, love. You do NOT want me helpin’ you write the bloody stuff!”

          In spite of her badgering, he refused to tell her why he found that idea so funny and they walked away arguing and laughing, not noticing the shadow that watched them from the corner of a building.


Chapter Ten

They walked in comfortable silence for several blocks before Spike reached for Buffy’s hand and she moved slightly closer to allow him to take it.  It felt so natural and right to be walking together through the darkness, that any worries about the upcoming weeks faded away.

Buffy felt her heart speed up when they came to the intersection of the road leading to Restfield and Revello Drive.  As one, they stopped to look at each other, neither one quite sure what to say or do next.

As usual, it was the vampire who broke the silence as he ghosted his free hand over her cheek.

“We never did get our last night in bed, love,” he said carefully.  If his heart could beat it would have been racing as he waited to hear her response.

“No, we didn’t,” she agreed in a whisper.  “I...I was lonely last night...without you,” she added, still whispering.  “Did...did you miss me?”

He pulled her into his chest with a groan.  “Missed you the minute I left the house, pet.  Never want to be without you in my bed.  Never.”

“I’ve never been in YOUR bed,” she said slowly, running her fingers down the front of his shirt.  “You really don’t know if you like me there or not.”

“Then, don’t you think we need to find out?” he purred, running his tongue down the side of her neck.

“Well, yes, I suppose there’s no sense missin—eep!”  She was cut off when he scooped her up and began walking toward the cemetery gate with long strides, his leather coat billowing behind him.

Buffy tried to sound indignant as she squirmed around and giggled, “I can walk by myself you know!  Super power girl, here, remember?”

“Oh, I remember, love.  Trust me.  I expect to be enjoying those super powers very soon.”  He gave her one of his best leers.

When they reached his crypt, he kicked open the door and carried her all the way in before letting go and allowing her feet to slide to the floor.  She kept her arms around his neck and turned to press up against his already eager body.

“So, do I get to try out that fancy bed this time?” she breathed, kissing her way from his neck up over his jaw to his waiting mouth.

Without answering, he kissed her hard then broke away to close the crypt door and walk over to uncover the entrance to the lower area.  Buffy hurried to help him move the heavy sarcophagus lid, then waited as he dropped down to light some candles.  As soon as there was light flickering below, she climbed down, only to be gripped in strong arms before she reached the bottom.

She wrapped her legs around the vampire’s waist as he lifted her up and fastened his mouth on hers.  Never taking his mobile lips off the needy mouth devouring them, he walked to the bed and fell onto the soft mattress with her legs still clutching him.  Even though it had been less than 48 hours since they last made love, the urgency was almost overwhelming for both of them.

They lay on the bed, grinding their pelvises together until the need to feel bare skin became overwhelming and they broke apart long enough to peel off their clothes.  As soon as they were both naked, he pinned her to the bed and nudged her legs apart, pressing his hard shaft against her already dripping entrance.

“No foreplay?’ she gasped, even as she lifted her hips to meet him.

“Fuck foreplay,” he growled. “Need to be in you. Now.”

“Wouldn’t that be ‘fuck Buffy’?” she quipped, pulling him into her waiting warmth.  She sighed in relief when she felt herself filled with his cool length and she squeezed gently in welcome.

He lay still on top of her, basking in her warmth and the sensation of having her around him again.

“Ah, love.  You feel so good.  Want to stay like this forever.  Never want to leave here.  Don’t make me leave, Buffy.  Let me stay.”

Buffy lowered her legs and wrapped them around his thighs as she slid her arms around his muscular back and stoked it softly.  Their lips and tongues met and tangled, as their bodies melted together into an intimate comfort zone.

“I wasn’t planning to let you leave any time soon,” she murmured, wishing she had his eloquence during sex.  Knowing she didn’t, she answered as best she could by continuing her gentle squeezing, smiling at the growls and gasps she was evoking.

“Buffy...pet...love...Slayer!  You need to stop...doing...that...or...I...won’t—“

He stopped his protests as the breathing patterns and increased heart rate that he’d learned to associate with her orgasms told him she was just as close as he was.  With a happy groan, he surrendered to the building pressure and let her squeeze his release from him without either of them actually moving their bodies.

He shouted his pleasure into her neck and felt her teeth clench onto his shoulder as she shuddered beneath him.  He immediately fastened his lips on his marks, sucking her skin into his mouth fiercely.  He felt the blood being pulled to the surface and fought his demon’s urge to use his teeth on the soft flesh before him.

As soon as Spike began sucking on her throat, Buffy felt another orgasmic jolt go through her body and she arched up into him, moaning his name.  When he stopped sucking on her skin and began purring and licking gently at the reddened area, she relaxed immediately and almost purred herself.

She could feel everything as the claim struggled to complete the connection between them.  She told herself she should be wigged that a soulless vampire was in love with her, but somehow it seemed more comforting than frightening.  There was something about lying under his cool body and letting the love wash over her that made her feel very safe and secure.

He was floating...suspended on a cushion of peace and tranquility that he’d never felt before.  Even though he hadn’t pulled any of her blood into his throat, he could feel her within him as never before.  He felt her acceptance of his love, her tentative attempt to return it, and her complete willingness to allow his demon access to her blood.

Eventually he rolled off, pulling her with him so that they were lying side-by-side, Buffy’s leg thrown over his and her head resting on his chest.  He absently stroked the skin on her arm as he thought about what had just happened.

(I felt her.  Know I did.  She felt me too.  This’ll be what the Watcher will go off about.  I’ve half -claimed his Slayer. )

Elation warred with worry as he thought about their situation and wondered how much to tell her.

(Claim isn’t gonna mean a thing to the bloody soldier.  He won’t respect it the way another vamp would, even if he knows what it is.  And the chip won’t let the demon protect his rights.  I’d be unconscious before I could take down that overgrown hayseed with his drug-enhanced muscles.  She didn’t accept it, so it probably won’t effect her that much...)

“Spike?” Buffy’s worried voice brought him out of his thoughts and he turned his head to see her looking up at him curiously.

“Yeah, love,  ‘m here. Just got distracted for a sec.”

“Should I be offended?  We just made love and you’re thinking about something else?”  she mock-pouted at him.

He smiled at her warmly and raised an eyebrow.  “Trust me, sweetheart, I wasn’t thinkin’ about anything else but us and what we did.  Speaking of which,” he tried for a change of subject, “where’d you learn that little trick – or do I even want to know?”

She colored and lowered her eyes briefly.  “It just felt so good to be together like we were, I didn’t want you to move, so I thought I’d... Did you like it?”

“What d’you think?” he asked, pulling her up so he could kiss her swollen lips.  “I just can’t believe YOU got off on it.”

“One of the benefits of Slayer muscles,” she said, blushing furiously.

“You mean, you already knew you could come like that?”  He took in her embarrassed face and chuckled,  “Why you little minx. I’ll bet you’ve been practicin’ that since you were called.”

“I have not!” she blurted, smacking his chest when he laughed at her.  “Anyway, it’s not like I do it all the time or anything.  I just ...never mind.  This is sooo none of your business!”

He grabbed the fists that were flailing at his chest and pinned her arms to her sides while he continued to laugh.   As his laughter tapered off to soft chuckles, she grudgingly began to smile with him.  Nudging him with her nose, she said, “I’ll bet you’re just jealous cause you can’t do that to yourself.”

“Prob’ly right, pet.  S’good thing though or I’d been dust a long time ago, what with losin’ my concentration every time I flexed a muscle...”

“Knowing you, you would have been flexing all the time,” she grinned at him.

“Oh, no doubt about it, love.  I definitely would.”  He grinned back at her. Changing his mood, he asked more seriously, “So, love, how do you like m’bed? Does it suit you?  Feel like you could spend some time here?”

(Bloody hell!  Could I sound any more like a wanker?)

She stretched and looked around before snuggling against him again.

“It’s pretty comfy, I’ve got to say.”  She planted a kiss on his chest and sighed. “You know I can’t stay here, don’t you?  Mom hasn’t mentioned last night yet, but if I don’t come home tonight...”

“I know, love,” he agreed, resting his chin on the top of her head.  “I just hate the thought of goin’ to sleep or wakin’ up without you.”

“Me too,” she admitted softly.  “I couldn’t sleep last night.  The bed seemed so empty without... But we need to get used to it,” she said with sudden determination.  “It’s just not gonna happen anymore.”

She felt his body flinch and then gasped as an additional pang went through her from the bite marks.  He squeezed her apologetically and shut down the connection as best he could.

“Did you sleep OK?” she suddenly looked up at him.

“Uh...if passin’ out counts as sleepin’, I guess I did.” 

When she rolled her eyes, he protested,  “Hey!  I had issues – needed some conversation with my friend Jack.”  At her blank stare he added, “Daniels, pet. Jack Daniels. Maybe you’ve heard of it?  Liquid comfort?”

She shook her head and sat up reluctantly.

“On that disgusting note...”  She began searching for her clothes and tossing them on the bed.

He watched her with admiring eyes, remembering how shy and embarrassed she’d been about her nudity at the beginning of the summer.  Now, she walked around the room, paused to look in the mirror and run her fingers through her hair, shot him a dirty look when she saw the enormous hickey on her neck, and strolled back to the bed without the slightest trace of shyness.

When she started pulling on her clothes, he sighed in resignation and reached for his pants.

“What are you doing?” she asked in genuine confusion.

“You don’t think I’m goin’ let you walk home alone do you?” he said gruffly. “I was, contrary to what you may think, raised to be a gentleman.”

She gave a snort of disbelief, more because she knew he was expecting it than because she didn’t believe him.

“Anyway,” he said, watching her ass swaying up the ladder in front of him, “Got to see that my girl gets home safe.  Doesn’t get scared by those things that go bump in the night.”

She shook her head at him and shot back, “I’m the thing that the things that go bump in the night are afraid of.  Remember, vampire?”

“Well then, It’s my duty as a member of the undead to see that you don’t terrorize any law abiding demons you find on the way home.  Either way, I’m going with you, so get used to it.”

She looked at him with puzzled eyes for a minute.  “You know, when Angel used to treat me like I was fragile, I would get really pissed at him.  And when Riley wants to protect me...” She shuddered briefly.  “What makes you think you can get away with it?”

“Because, Slayer, you know that I know you can take care of yourself.  I’m here because I want to be, not because I think you need me.  ‘S matter of fact, I expect YOU to protect ME,” he smirked at her and laughed when she rolled her eyes.

They walked the rest of the way quickly, teasing each other gently.  When they reached the Summers’ house, they burst in the back door together, laughing and shushing each other so as not to wake Buffy’s mom.

They stopped abruptly when the man sleeping on the kitchen counter raised his head to look at them with bleary eyes.  As he woke up more, his gaze shifted from Buffy to the suddenly dead still vampire behind her and he stood up slowly.

Chapter Eleven

“Riley?” Buffy bit back the “what are you doing here?” that wanted to fall out of her mouth.  Instead, she settled for looking around and asking, “Where’s Mom?”

“She went to bed,” he said coldly, never taking his eyes off the vampire.  “She got tired of waiting up for you.”

A light touch on the small of her back was Buffy’s only indication that Spike was still behind her.  She felt the gentle pressure for a second and then he was gone, the door falling slowly shut behind him.  She gasped and grabbed onto the counter for support as a jolt of pure emotional pain shot through her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt the misery flowing from the vampire to her.

“What’s wrong?”  Riley asked when he noticed her drawn face and white knuckles.  He moved toward her and frowned when she flinched away from him.

“N...nothing.  Just a sudden cramp.  I’m okay now,” she said, taking a deep breath and standing up straight.  The gut wrenching pain that had gone through her when Spike left was gone, leaving a residual ache.  She wondered what he’d done to make it stop hurting her.

“You don’t look particularly glad to see me,” her boy friend said anxiously. “I thought I’d surprise you by coming home a couple of weeks early, but maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

Buffy gave a guilty start and moved closer to him, holding up her face for a kiss and allowing him to pick her up in an all enveloping hug.  When he went to repeat their chaste “hello” kiss, Buffy turned her head just enough that his lips hit the side of her mouth and she kissed his cheek quickly before sliding down to the floor.

“No, no, it was a great idea.  You just caught me by surprise, that’s all.  I mean it is 2:00 in the morning, after all.  I wasn’t expecting to find anyone sitting in the kitchen.”

“Except Spike,” he said flatly.

She squirmed mentally, then decided to go with as much truth as she could.

“Yes, except Spike.  Look, Riley, I know you can’t see him as anything but an evil demon, but thanks to the Initiative he is completely harmless to humans and I think it’s...changing him.”

Buffy briefly remembered that Spike had saved Jake before he got the chip, but resolutely pushed the thought away. There was no way to explain about Jake to Riley without getting into areas that were definitely not any of his business.

(Well, technically, I guess my going out clubbing with Spike MIGHT be considered his business, but...)


“Vampires don’t change, Buffy.  We’ve contained him, that’s all.  If, when, the chip fails...”

“The chip could fail?” Buffy tried to keep the fear out of her voice, but couldn’t control the clenching of her stomach.  She shoved the question of what exactly she was afraid of to the back of her brain and stared at Riley anxiously.

“Well, it IS a prototype, Buffy.” He looked at her suspiciously.  “We don’t know how long it will last.  He was never intended to leave the lab, you know.”

She shook her head and turned away from his probing look.

“Well, he did, didn’t he?  And...and I’m glad he did,” she said, sticking her chin out stubbornly.  “There’s something very wrong with doing experiments on sentient creatures, even if they are evil.”

“They’re just animals.  Even if they can look and talk like humans.  They aren’t human. No souls, no conscience, no feelings.”

Buffy thought about the look in Spike’s eyes when he was buried inside her and the pain she had felt from him when he left her with Riley.  She started to argue, then shrugged and walked away from him.

“Well, whatever he may be, he has been a big help to me all summer as well as good company when I was here by myself and I’m not going to treat him like an animal.”

Riley rolled his shoulders in irritation, then opted not to get into an argument about the bleached blond on his first night back.

“It’s all right, Buffy,” he said following her across the kitchen and putting his hands on her shoulders.  “I don’t mind that you had someone to watch your back while I was gone.  But now that I’m back...”

He ran his hands down her arms and tried to turn her around to look at him.

“You won’t need him anymore, now that I’m here.  I’ll be able to patrol with you and—“

“You—you’re planning to patrol with me?” she could hear the dismay in her voice, but couldn’t seem to do anything about it.  Suddenly the complications of having everybody back in her life were overwhelming and all she wanted to do was get into her bed and shut out the world for a while.

“Well,” he was taken back at her obvious surprise, “yes.  I thought we’d patrol together.  Like we did before I went away. Is there some reason why I shouldn’t?” he asked with a frown.

Buffy sighed and shrugged.  “I really don’t want to talk it about right now, Riley.  It’s late and I’m tired.”

“Really?” he said, fixing her with a look she’d never seen before.  “Because you didn’t seem to be working very hard when you and Spike were sitting around looking at the stars.”

“When we what?  When did--?  Where--?  Were you SPYING on me?”

“That would imply that you were doing something that I shouldn’t have seen, wouldn’t it?”

“No,” she responded haughtily, “it would imply that if you were there, the decent thing to do would have been to let me know.  Not watch me from...wherever...as if I was some enemy soldier.”

He had the grace to look ashamed briefly, then quickly regained his righteous indignation.

“I would have, but I wanted to see what was going on with you two.  You seemed awfully friendly for a Slayer and a vampire.”

Buffy sighed and shook her head.  “We ARE friendly, Riley.  That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to see.  Spike and I are friends.  Turns out we have a lot in common,” she said without thinking.

“You have a lot in common with a vampire?”

The disgust and disbelief in his voice shook her confidence for a minute and she faltered as she responded, “Well, except for the whole – good/evil thing. I guess that’s not...” 

“Yeah, seems to me that would be a biggie,” he agreed through gritted teeth.  “Not to mention, soul/no soul, sleeps in a bed/sleeps in a coffin,” – Buffy gave a guilty start at that one- “eats pizza/drinks blood, do I need to go on?” he asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Spike eats pizza,” she said so softly he wasn’t sure he actually heard her.

“He also eats PEOPLE, Buffy.  Or have you forgotten that?  He’s violent, stubborn, impulsive...what could you possibly find to do together?  You have nothing in common, Buffy, nothing!”

She studied him in silence for a moment, before saying quietly, “You really don’t know me very well, do you, Riley?”  She looked into his puzzled eyes and smiled sadly.  “And I’m sorry.  That’s probably my fault.  I wanted so much for you to see me as a normal girl.”

“I know you’re not a normal girl, Buffy.  I’ve seen you fight and you’re amazing.  But that doesn’t make you like a vampire, just because you are as strong as they are.”

“I’m stronger, Riley,” she said softly and smiled ruefully at his frown of disbelief.  “See, that’s another thing you don’t know about me; because I never let you see it.  I’m strong and I kill things – hence the name, Slayer.”

She looked up at him again and allowed a little smile to quirk up the corners of her mouth.

“And, if I felt like being truthful about myself, I’d have to admit that I can be a little impulsive and stubborn --  or so Giles tells me, anyway.”

The big man’s shoulders sagged in submission.

“All right, Buffy.   I really don’t want to fight with you my first night back.  Let’s just agree to disagree about Spike for now.” 

He looked down at her hopefully and added, “There are other things I’d really rather be doing right now, anyway.”

As he spoke, he pulled her into his body and ran his hands down over her firm rear.  To her amazement, Buffy felt an immediate, visceral revulsion at his touch and she grabbed his hands before they could move anywhere else.

He tried to pull her in again and she let go of his hands to push on his chest.

“No, Riley.  Not here!  It’s the kitchen, for God’s sake!”

She carefully smothered memories of Spike pushing her up against the sink just a few days ago.

“Fine, “ he said, trying to kiss her rapidly retreating mouth, “Let’s go upstairs.”

My mom is home.”

“Buffy,” he almost growled,  “I’ve been gone for two months.  Haven’t you missed me at all?”

“Of course I did.  I did miss you.  I just...I just can’t right now.  Because...you know...” she peered up at him to see if he was buying it.

She knew he wouldn’t want to have sex with her if she was having her period.  Riley had very emphatic rules about what was and wasn’t “normal” sex and having it during that time was definitely not on the list.  Again, memories of Spike’s enthusiasm for sex when she was menstruating cropped up, but she loyally pushed them back.

(After all, he’s a vampire.  He’s all about the blood.)

Buffy got lost in her memory of the first time she’d tried to turn Spike down because she was having her period.  While she hemmed and hawed and stammered, he had just stood there looking at her with steadily growing amusement.  Finally he had burst into outright laughter and explained to her, through muffled guffaws that he always knew when she or any of the other Scoobie girls were having their “monthlies” as he called it.

While she glared at him in embarrassed anger, he’d calmed down and reminded her that he was a vampire.  “Enhanced sense of smell? Appetite for blood? Ability to sense/smell changes in bodily functions? Stop me when I get to something we’ve talked about before, love.”

“You mean you always know...eeww, Spike!”

“Nothing eww about it, Slayer,” he’d said, suddenly serious.  “It’s your blood, just as surely as if it came from a vein.  And it’s extra rich blood at that.  You didn’t seriously think I was going to forgo a chance to...”

“Don’t’ say it!” she’d gasped in a panic.

“OK, love,” he’d rumbled, running his mouth up her neck to the place right behind her ear, “I won’t say it, but I’m bloody well going to do it before the night is out.”

Buffy’s distraction as she thought about Spike and the night he’d shown her just how OK he was with making love during that time of the month caused her to miss the calculating stare Riley was giving her.  When he let go of her arms, she snapped back to the present and looked at him apologetically as she frantically tried to remember what he’d been saying while she was lost in her memories of sex with another man.

“So, then, “ he said with exaggerated casualness, “I’ll see you tomorrow night?”

“Uh, uh...sure.  Of course.  Tomorrow night.  Maybe we can go to the Bronze or something...”

“Yeah, or something,” he agreed.  “I’ll let you get some sleep now,” he added, kissing her on the forehead.

Guilt made Buffy hug him longer and harder than she actually had intended to, and he finally had to point out that she was crushing him.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” she blushed and stammered.  “I forgot –I –“

“Hey, it’s okay, Buffy,” he smiled and tilted her head up.  “I’m glad to see you missed me.  Just thought I’d remind you that I need to breathe now and then.”

She searched his face for any sign that he was comparing himself to Spike, but he seemed genuinely pleased to have been hugged so hard. 

(Guess it’s just me who needs reminding that Spike is different from human men.)

“Ok, Good-night, Riley.  And...I’m glad you’re back. Really I am.”

“Me too.  I guess it’s going to take us a little while to get used to each other again.”

“I guess so.  But, hey, we can start tomorrow night, right?”

“Right.  Good-night, Buffy.”


Chapter Twelve

Spike could feel Buffy’s reaction to the way his stomach had knotted up when he left her alone with the soldier.  He stopped at the edge of her yard and inhaled unnecessarily to calm himself down.  Using skills he hadn’t really known he possessed, he was able to damp down the connection between them so that he couldn’t feel her anymore and she, therefore, wouldn’t be able to feel him.

He forced himself to walk away quickly before the urge to stay close enough to see and hear them could make him do something he was sure he’d regret.

(Don’t really need to see or hear her snoggin’ or more with Capt’n Cardboard. Bad enough to know it’s gonna happen.  Seems like it’s time for another visit with my friend Jack.)

He got back to his crypt and threw himself into his comfy chair, bottle already open and tilted toward his mouth.  Visions of Buffy and Riley kissing, holding each other, and making love were piercing his brain as he gulped the whiskey as fast as he could.  When the oblivion he was seeking began to seep over him, he unconsciously relaxed his control over the claim connection.

He immediately felt Buffy’s guilt and confusion, as well as the loneliness she was feeling as she curled up in her bed.  His own confusion kept him from passing out as he tried to figure out what he was sensing from her. 

(She’s alone?  She sent him away? Why is she so lonely? Could‘ve had him if she wanted.  No way the stupid git was so mad at her about me that he’d not want to shag her silly after bein’ gone all summer.  Somethin’s wrong...)

Telling himself he wasn’t spying on her, just checking to be sure she was all right, he forced himself to his feet and stumbled toward the door to his crypt.  By the time he’d staggered through the cool night air as far as Revello Drive, he was rapidly sobering up and having second thoughts about what he was doing.

(What am I goin’ to say to her?  I came back ‘cause I knew he wasn’t here? Thought you might want/need me?  Yeah, that’ll happen you bloody wanker.)

He stood under the tree in her yard, staring up at her window.  Now that he was close, he could hear her rapid heartbeat and restless tossing around in her bed.  He told himself he was just checking on her, nothing else, as he silently climbed up and onto the roof.  Moving as quietly as only a nocturnal predator can, he slipped over to her window and peered in.

Buffy was lying on her bed clutching Mr. Gordo and rubbing her face on an empty pillowcase.  Spike frowned as he caught a whiff of the pillowcase and realized it smelled of both Slayer and vampire.  This close to her he could feel her confused emotions even more than before.

(Bloody, stupid pillock.  Don’t know what he said to her, but he’s got my Slayer upset and losin’ sleep she doesn’t need to lose.)

Suddenly the Slayer’s heart rate went up and she sat up looking right at the window

“Spike?  Is that you?”

(Shit.  Guess there’s no point in pretendin’. If I can feel her, she can feel me.)

“Yes, love,” he said softly, moving closer to the windowsill. “It’s me.”

“What are you doing out there?” she asked, with just a trace of the anger he expected to hear in her voice.

He sighed and slipped one leg over the windowsill.  “Could feel you, pet. Knew you were upset about somethin’.  Jus’ came to make sure you were all right, that’s all.  I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” she admitted, gesturing him into the house.

He cast an eye at the pillowcase she was still holding and raised an eyebrow inquiringly.   She flushed when she realized he had seen it, and quickly shoved it back under her pillow. 

Wanting to distract him before he could ask her about it, she asked casually, “So, you could feel me, huh?  What’s that all about?”

He took a deep, unnecessary breath and sat down, careful to keep some distance between them.  When he reached for her hands and held them gently, she frowned briefly.

“Is this another one of those, you’re-holding-my-hands-so-I-won’t-hit-you things?”

Smiling ruefully he nodded his head and brought her hands to his lips for a second.  “Dunno, love.  But we need to talk about what’s happened between us.”

“Friends, sex, patrol, sex, go dancing, kick demon butt, sex, summer fl-“

She stopped when she saw the amber flashes in his eyes and felt his grip on her hands tighten.

“Okay,” she said quietly, “not just a summer fling.  I admit it.  I just don’t know what to do about it.”

She looked him directly in the eye and said, “and I don’t know if what I’m feeling is real or if it’s got something to do with letting you bite me.  Don’t you think it’s time you told me, Spike?”

“Yes, love, it is. It’s past time...I just...I’m a coward.  I don’t want to lose what we have – whatever it is, and I’m afraid...”

“Spit it out, Spike.  What’s going on with us?  Why can I feel it when you’re... and why can you tell that I’m upset all the way from your crypt? I thought you told me if I didn’t reciprocate the claim would go away in few days.  If anything, it’s getting stronger.”

He held her hands lightly, unconsciously using his thumbs to rub small soothing circles on her wrists.

“Spike?” Her voice began to sound more like the Slayer and less like the Buffy he’d come to know so well.

“Alright, love, here’s the bloody situation.  I wasn’t lying to you when I said the claim wasn’t finished, or that it would go away in a couple of days.  But we didn’t exactly do what we needed to do for that to happen...”

She continued to look at him with barely concealed impatience and he hastened on.

“The thing is – in order for the claim to fade away, we would have had to stop having any kind of physical contact.  Every time we made love...” He paused waiting for the inevitable correction in his terminology.  When it didn’t come, he felt a small spark of hope in his chest and he continued with more confidence, “every time we made love, we strengthened the bond a little.  Every time you let me love you, let me touch you... Every time I put my mouth on those marks, I was renewing my side of the claim.”

He felt rather than saw her withdraw from him.  She pulled her hands back slowly and wrapped her arms around herself as though she was cold.  He immediately damped down the fear and pain that shot through him, hoping she hadn’t noticed.

“So, you’ve been deliberately letting me think this thing was going to go away, and at the same time you were making it stronger?”  Her voice shook slightly and she felt an overwhelming disappointment go through her.  She couldn’t help but remember Riley’s words about soulless demons and vampires as she struggled with an overwhelming sense of loss and betrayal.

“No!  No, I swear I wasn’t trying to deceive you.   Jus’ wanted you so bloody much...” He reflexively reached for her hands again and winced when she cringed away from him.   “I’m not a strong man, Buffy.  I couldn’t make myself stay away from you. Couldn’t not touch you, hold you, love you...I never meant to—“

“Never meant to what?  Drink from me?  Bind a Slayer to you?  Is this how you make up for the chip? You can’t kill me so you decided to own me?” Her voice was an angry hiss as she struggled to keep it low enough that her mother wouldn’t wake and hear them.  “I was a fool to trust you,” she finished, fighting back the tears behind her eyes.

His beautiful face became a cold, hard mask as he stared back at her.

“Is that what you think, Slayer? Is that you talkin’ or is that the soddin’ soldier boy?”

“Leave him out of this, Spike,” she warned coldly.

“Don’t think I can do that, pet,” he said evenly. “Wanker’s only been back for a few hours and you’re already telling me you don’t trust me.  What’s next? He gonna talk you into staking me just in case the chip fails?”

Buffy winced inwardly as she remembered what Riley said about the chip’s longevity. 

(Could I stake Spike if I had to?  I sent Angel to hell.  There’s no reason why I wouldn’t be able to stake a vampire I’m not in love with.)

She ignored the little voice in her head asking her if she was sure she wasn’t falling in love with this vampire.

(That’s only the claim making me have...feelings for him.  They’ll go away as soon as the claim fades.)

The vampire waited for her response, the restless clenching and unclenching of his fists the only sign of his impatience.

Ignoring his question, she tried to continue the conversation in a calmer voice.

“So, if we stop sleeping together, this is going to go away.  Is that what you’re saying?”

She caught his brief hesitation before he answered and said, more curtly than she intended, “Tell me the truth, Spike.”

She saw him stiffen and bit back the apology that tried to come out of her mouth, although she softened her command with a quiet, “Please?”

He sat on the edge of the bed, his forearms resting on his knees, hands dangling between his legs.  He resolutely kept his gaze on the floor, afraid if he looked at her he would break down and cry.

“I don’t know, Buffy,” he said softly.  “I never claimed anyone before – and no one has ever claimed a Slayer.  I really thought it would just fade away if I stopped sayin’ anything possessive or...” he stopped and took a deep breath before continuing.  “I guess not sayin’ out loud what I was thinking every time we made love wasn’t good enough.  The demon knew I was thinkin’ it.”

There was silence for several minutes as he continued to stare at the floor, misery in every line of his body. 

He drew another shuddering breath and added, “I don’t know why it’s as strong as it is.  You never accepted it, or tried to claim me back.”  He couldn’t hide the pang that went through him when he said those words and he saw her flinch slightly when she felt it.

“You know it’s got to stop,” she finally said firmly.  “I’m the Slayer.  I can’t be bound to a...to your demon.”

“I know, pet.  Wouldn’t expect you to.  We’ll fix it, Slayer, don’t worry.”

“How?” she asked dubiously.

“Do what I shoulda done in the first place – stay away from you ‘less there’s somebody else around.  If we don’t do anything to renew it for a while and it still doesn’t go away, then we’ll have to fess up to the Watcher or the Wiccas and ask for a spell. “

“Okay,” she agreed. “We won’t see each other except when we know we can’t...”

As realization set in, she felt her resolution falter.  It was one thing to say she didn’t want the claim.  It was quite something else to acknowledge that she had to give up the gentle bantering and reliable back-up she’d become used to, not to mention the intense love-making that usually followed their patrols.

Suddenly the Slayer was gone and Buffy was back as she asked him timidly, “Couldn’t you just not...think?  Or not think claimy kinds of thoughts?  Just don’t think it anymore. Whatever ‘it’ is.”

She looked at him triumphantly as if she had just solved all their problems.

“Don’t think I can do that, pet,” he said softly, looking up so that she could read his eyes.  “I can’t be in you, surrounded by you, feeling you moving under me and not...”  His voice trailed off and his eyes glazed over as he thought about Buffy’s body moving with his.  He shook his head at his own easily distracted thoughts and touched her face gently.

“There’s only one way this is going to work, and that’s if I stay away from you completely.  You’ll know where to find me if you need me for somethin’, but I won’t be comin’ ‘round unless you ask for me.”

Buffy leaned into his hand and rubbed her face on it.  “We have to get rid of it,” she said with as much determination as she could muster.  “I need to know...”

“Need to know what, pet?” he asked, genuinely puzzled, but willing to keep his hand on her face as long as she seemed to want it there.

She looked up and met his eyes with complete honesty.  “I need to know if what I’m feeling for you is me or the claim.”

“Which do you want it to be, Buffy?” he breathed fearfully. He knew if his heart could beat it would have been pounding.

She just shook her head and whispered with her eyes closed,  “I need to know, Spike. I just need to know.”  Suddenly her eyes flew open and she asked, “Don’t you want to know? If it’s real?  For you, I mean.  If it’s real for you.”

He smiled at her sadly and shook his head, then took her chin and she got lost in his soft blue eyes.  He leaned in and put his forehead against hers.

“If it got any more real, I’d be dust. Doesn’t matter if you’re claimed by me, Capt’n Cardboard, or the great bloody poof.  There is nothing on this earth that can change the way I feel. I love you, Buffy Anne Summers. I think I always have. And I think I always will.  ‘M yours, love, whether you want me or not.”

He watched the emotions play across her face when he pulled back to look at her – surprise, a flicker of happiness? Then she gained control of herself and pushed him gently away.

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” she said softly.

“Yeah, pet. I guess we will.”

He stood up, pulling her up with him and folded her in his arms.  “Good bye, love,” he whispered as he fastened his lips on hers, leaving them there until she was kissing him back with a desperation that surprised them both.

Before their bodies could turn the kiss into something more, Spike reluctantly let go.  He turned in a swirl of leather and leapt through the window and down to the ground before Buffy could get, “Goodbye, Spike” out of her mouth.

Chapter Thirteen

True to his word, Buffy saw no trace of Spike over the next two weeks.  She resolutely pushed any thoughts of the blond vampire out of her mind as she worked on getting her things together to go back to school.  She continued to put Riley off when he tried to initiate sex, but she was rapidly running out of excuses not to be alone with him.

Fortunately, with Giles returning from England, she could plead time needed for training with her Watcher and bringing him up to date on the summer’s lack of hellmouth activity.  She assured Riley that the things she and Giles had to go over wouldn’t interest him at all and promised to spend more time with him when they were all caught up.

If Giles was curious about her sudden willingness to give up her time in the evenings to discuss Slayer things with him, he was able to hide it.  Over four years with this slayer had given him some insight and he knew she was struggling with something.  When she finally worked up her courage to tell him about Spike’s help, she was astonished that the older man just nodded his head at the news.

“Giles?  It‘s Spike.  I spent the summer patrolling with Spike.  Why aren’t you more wigged out by this?”

“I am not ‘wigged out’, Buffy, because I have been hoping for something like this.”

He was busy polishing his glasses and completely missed Buffy’s shocked look.

“It has occurred to me that the chip would allow Spike to seek redemption for his past if he was so inclined.  While Angel is the first vampire to be cursed with a soul, he is not the first one to help a Slayer or to fight evil.”

“Huh?”  Buffy’s mouth fell open.  “You never told me...”

“I wanted to reread some of the older Watcher’s Diaries to refresh my memory before I said anything.  Now that I have done so, I am convinced that Spike’s getting the chip may have been orchestrated by the Powers That Be.  He is being given an opportunity to redeem himself.  It will be quite interesting to see what he make of it.”

“So, you’re okay with me spending so much time with him this summer?” she asked in disbelief.

“Well, yes, of course I am.  I’m delighted that you had someone that powerful to assist you.  I am anxious to speak with him as to what caused him to change his mind about helping us in our fight against evil.  I don’t suppose you have any idea what it is, do you?”

Frantically Buffy sought for an answer that didn’t involve biting and sex. “Umm, I think maybe he was just bored and looking for some violence.”

Her Watcher seemed slightly disappointed, but shrugged and said, “Well, then, we’ll just have to see how it develops, won’t we?  When will you see him again?” he asked, changing the subject slightly.

“Uh, I don’t...I mean with Riley back and...Why don’t you just stop by his crypt some afternoon?  He’s usually awake by then.”

“I take it your babbling means that Riley is not as pleased about your having Spike’s assistance as I might be?” her Watcher guessed shrewdly.

“You might say that,” she grimaced.  “Spike is...staying away...for a while.  If I need him for something, he’ll help me, but we’re taking a...a break from patrolling together for awhile.”

Giles stared at her flushed face for a minute, then said in a mild tone of voice, “All right, Buffy.  I will contact him myself and see what explanation he has for helping you all summer.  And perhaps, why he is no longer doing so,” he added, shooting her a suspicious look.

Deciding she’d said all she needed to about Spike for the time being, Buffy hastily told Giles “good-night” and went out to patrol.  Things were still very slow around the cemeteries, and Buffy was fairly sure that a certain blond vampire was at least partially responsible for the lack of things to slay.  Every once in a while, she was sure she could sense him nearby, but when she would turn to try to find him, the sensation would go away immediately.

Once again, she found only one fledgling to slay and after a cursory stroll around town, she headed home for another night of wishing she wasn’t alone in her bed.  She found herself looking forward to getting back into the dorm, where sleeping alone would be a choice, not something imposed by her mother’s sleeping in the next bedroom.

So far, her mother hadn’t brought up the subject of Spike’s clothes in the laundry basket or Buffy’s slip of the tongue the first night she was back.  She did look at Buffy curiously when the Slayer started going out on patrol by herself, but wisely decided not to say anything.  When Riley showed up at the house to help Buffy move back to the dorm, her mother was careful not to bring up Spike’s name or mention his help during the summer. 

Once Buffy and Riley had moved her stuff into her small room in the dorm, she began unpacking and finding places for things.  With Willow wanting to room with Tara, and Buffy’s unpleasant experience with her first roommate, not to mention the unusual hours her Slayer duties required, a private room had seemed like a good idea to her and she had a small corner one to herself.

When Riley began dropping strong hints about how they should “break in” the new room, it suddenly didn’t seem like quite such a good plan.  She knew the time had come to either admit she didn’t want him anymore or try to pick up their relationship where they’d left off in June.  She looked at him thoughtfully and almost giggled at his hopeful smile.

(He really has been very patient and sweet.  I should do this.  Get back into the swing of things with my real boyfriend.)

Resolutely pushing all thoughts of piercing blue eyes, soft cool lips and a lean muscular body away, she smiled back at him and allowed him to pull her to the newly made bed.  Even though he felt too warm to her touch, she forced herself to respond to his eager kisses and whispered endearments.  As soon as her clothes were off and he’d dropped his on the floor, he moved to cover her tiny body with his.

While Riley grunted and puffed on top of her, Buffy tried her best to enjoy what she used to find perfectly pleasant love-making.  But she couldn’t help making comparisons between the big man working away on her body without, apparently, any idea what he was doing, and the blond vampire who could make her nerve endings sing with just a touch of his cool fingers.  Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she used her Slayer strength to flip them over so that she was on top of him, looking down into his surprised face.

“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding, almost petulant.  She belatedly remembered that he didn’t like being reminded of how strong she was and she ducked her head in apology.

“I’m sorry, Riley.  I just thought we could try something a little different...but if you don’t want to...”

“No, it’s fine.  Just surprised me, that’s all.  You could have just asked me, you know.”

She suppressed a sign and agreed sweetly, “I’ll remember that next time. I promise.”

Buffy began to move up and down on him, squeezing gently as she did so and rubbing her clit on his pubic bone every time she came down.  She got a rhythm going and, without realizing what she was doing, began to move on him as vigorously and uninhibitedly as she did on Spike. In no time she was reaching the point where a little attention from him would send her over the edge and she increased her pace, clenching around him as she did.

She was so caught up in her own building orgasm that she didn’t notice that Riley was writhing beneath her and gasping her name.  When he grabbed her hips and stopped her motion, it took a few seconds for her to realize what had happened.

“Wha—?” she looked at him through lust-filled eyes, surprised to see him looking less than pleased.

“Buffy, you’re hurting me!” he gritted out through clenched teeth.  She could feel his cock deflating inside her as he tried to push her off.

“Oh, Riley!  Oh my god.  I am so sorry!  I never – I didn’t mean to—oh my god!”

Babbling apologies, she quickly moved off him and looked to see if he was permanently damaged. 

“I’m sorry, baby.  I really am.  I don’t know what...I’ve never done that before, have I?  You would have told me, wouldn’t you?  Oh my god.”

He looked up at her and smiled ruefully.  “It’s okay, Buffy.  Just shows how much you missed me, I guess.  I’ve never seen you that passionate before.  I think I might like it – once I recover, that is.”

Blushing furiously, Buffy continued to fuss over him and apologize until he finally stopped her with another kiss.

“It’s all right.  I promise.  I didn’t realize that Slayer strength extended to every muscle in your body.  Now that I know, I can warn you to ease off before you cripple me.  We’ll be fine.”

Buffy tried to look pleased that he was taking it so well; although she didn’t care much for the idea of being asked to “ease off”.  She asked Riley if she could make it up to him by kissing it better and he readily agreed, settling himself back on the pillows to be serviced.  Struggling not to roll her eyes at his smug look, she bent to her task and skillfully brought him to throbbing erectness before he insisted she stop and let him enter her again.

Lying down on her back, Buffy prepared to continue her interrupted orgasm, only to find herself left wanting as Riley quickly got his release and pulled out of her.

“Wow,” he said breathlessly, “I should go away more often if that’s the effect it has on you.”

He kissed her tenderly and pulled her into his arms, completely oblivious to her lack of fulfillment and fully expecting to spend the night sleeping in her bed.  Buffy tried her best to enjoy being held and cuddled for the first time in weeks, but nothing felt right. 

He felt hot, too warm for comfort.  And he took up the whole bed with his large body.  Sunnydale U did not provide double beds in their tiny little rooms and the twin bed just was not large enough for two people when one was almost bigger than the bed itself.  When she added that to the way her body was complaining about the sexual tension left over from the interrupted orgasm, there was no way Buffy could remain where she was.

She slipped quietly out of the bed, noting briefly that Riley neither noticed nor cared that she wasn’t there anymore.  She couldn’t suppress the guilty memory of how, no matter how deeply asleep he was, Spike always reacted to the loss of her warmth and reached for her when she tried to move.

(I guess I shouldn’t be sorry Riley isn’t like that.  If he was, I wouldn’t be able to leave.)

As she had that thought, she realized that leaving was exactly what she intended to do.  She thought briefly about going to the, hopefully deserted, bathrooms and providing her own release, but discarded that idea in favor of going out and killing something.

She quietly slipped into her clothes and left the soldier snoring in her bed as she went out into the welcoming night.


Chapter 14

Spike was prowling through Sunnydale’s cemeteries, as he’d done every night since he’d left Buffy alone in her room.  He’d done his best to keep the claim completely damped down, both so as not to burden her with his emotions, as well as to spare himself any possible feedback from her relationship with the ex-commando.  For the first few days, he’d stayed as drunk as possible – using the alcohol to dull his senses and the pain; pain which varied from a steady ache at her absence from his life to a fierce, heart-rending stab when his disobedient imagination insisted on picturing what she might be doing with Riley.

As the first week went on, he’d felt a lessening of the pull between them and knew that he was doing the right thing.  If he just stayed away from her, the claim would fade until there was nothing left of it. As painful as he was finding it not seeing her every day, to not be there when she went to sleep or when she awoke, he fought down his demon’s demands and kept out of her orbit.  He couldn’t stop himself from shadowing her occasionally, just to see her and know she was all right, but he faded back into the shadows any time it seemed as though she was sensing him and he hoped she didn’t know he was doing it.

His plan was to give it a good three weeks or more before he approached her again, but the surprise visit from her Watcher and his request that Spike continue to help Buffy had thrown the vampire into a whirl of conflicting desires.  He disregarded Giles’ probing questions about his motives for working with Buffy, handling any suggestion that he was seeking redemption with a “That’s for the bloody great poof to worry about.  I just needed a spot of violence, that’s all.”

On the one hand, he wanted to keep his promise to the Slayer to stay away until they were sure the claim had faded completely.  On the other, the fact that her Watcher didn’t object to his helping her was one less obstacle to their continuation of the summer’s activities.  He didn’t delude himself that the Watcher would be as welcoming if he knew of or suspected their more private activities, but just to know he didn’t object to the vampire’s help was a relief

For the first time since they’d parted, he allowed himself to actively seek her out, going from one cemetery to another until he heard the unmistakable sounds of a fight.

                It was only a little after midnight, and Buffy was hoping that Spike hadn’t had time to get to every cemetery in Sunnydale yet.  The need to have a challenging fight and kill something was overwhelming and she vowed she would stake him if he hadn’t left her anything to kill.

(Oooh, this probably comes under the heading of ‘be careful what you wish for’) she thought, just before she waded into the gang of vampires she caught stopping cars and pulling the occupants out.   Once the surprised vamps got over their initial shock at being attacked by a small blond woman – and after she’d turned three of them into dust particles – they regrouped and began to surround the small Slayer.  They clearly intended to overwhelm her with sheer numbers.

Since she hadn’t quite worked off the tension she’d felt when she left her room, Buffy discarded the idea of running away and centered herself for a good fight.  As the snarling vamps closed in on her, she flipped herself into the air and over the heads of the two approaching her from behind.  She quickly staked one through the back, while she kicked the other into the closest attacker.  She whirled and spun, dusting another one as she crippled two more with well-placed kicks to their knees.

In spite of the built up energy she brought to the fight, as well as her own innate abilities, the sheer number of her opponents was beginning to be a factor and she knew she was tiring.  Just as the beginning tendrils of fear began to spread through her body, she saw a flash of bright hair and black leather and the vamp in front of her was flying backwards propelled by a well-placed Doc Martin boot.

Without any conversation, they fell back into the rhythm they knew so well, and Buffy’s strength was renewed as the pleasure of fighting beside Spike gave her another shot of adrenaline.  Working together, it took them only a few minutes to reduce the number of foes to a very workable four remaining vampires and Buffy was able to take her time and work out her frustration on the large vampire in front of her.  She briefly noted that he was wearing camouflage and wondered if he’d been a commando before he was turned.

As she punched and kicked her opponent, telling herself she was not being more aggressive simply because he reminded her of Riley, she saw that Spike had finished off two of the remaining vampires, allowing the last one to run away while he leaned against a light pole to watch her.  He lit a cigarette and basked in the sheer joy of watching her fight.

A loud, “Buffy!” startled all three of them, and she quickly staked her distracted opponent before turning to see Riley running toward her.  He stalked right past the Slayer and loomed over the smirking blond vampire exhaling smoke in his face.

“Is this how you ‘watched her back’ all summer?” he demanded, poking the smaller man in the chest.  “She fights while you have a cigarette?”

He whirled on a completely bewildered Buffy and asked incredulously, “Is this what you call  ‘helping you?’”

Before Spike’s low growl could escalate into something that would give him a major headache, Buffy stepped up to Riley and said tightly, “I didn’t need help at that particular moment, Riley.  It was only one vamp and I was winning. Spike knows that.  He doesn’t help me if I don’t need it.”   (Like you do,) she added mentally.

“Then why is he even here?  If you don’t need help with one vampire, then you don’t need him.”

“There were a few more than that when we started, you stupid git,” Spike growled, straightening up and rolling his shoulders.

The big man looked at Buffy for confirmation and when she nodded and said, “He’s right, Riley.  I was way outnumbered and getting a little tired when he—“

“What the hell were you even doing out tonight? And by yourself?  Why didn’t you wake me up?  I would have gone with you.”

Buffy didn’t need the claim to know what Riley’s words were doing to the vampire.  She saw the pain flash across his face before he closed it down.  Except for the slight twitch she could see in his jaw, you would have thought he was completely bored by the conversation, but she knew he’d correctly interpreted Riley’s words.

They’d yet to be close enough for Spike to really scent her, but now that the excitement of the fight was over and she moved closer, he could smell the man all over her.  He could also still smell her arousal, which he attributed to the adrenaline-pumping fight she’d just finished.  He was shocked when she glared at her boy friend and muttered, “I didn’t want you with me.  I needed to work off some excess energy by myself.”

(Don’t tell me the selfish bastard didn’t get her off before he went to sleep on her!)

He was torn between righteous indignation that Buffy hadn’t been treated the way she should be, and delight that her boy friend was falling down on the job.  He remained as still as he could, waiting to see if the Slayer was going to go back with the still fuming man.  He had to smother a grin when she waved off Riley’s suggestion that they go back and “work on that energy problem.”

Apparently forgetting Spike’s presence, he tried to pull her into an embrace, whispering that he was completely recovered and ready to “go again”.  The vampire was dying to know what he was recovered from, but knew he’d be inviting a stake from one or the other of them if he asked.

Riley’ face darkened when she moved away from him and told him to go on home, that she wasn’t finished patrolling.  When he offered to stay and patrol with her, she dismissed the idea with a shrug, saying, “That’s okay, Riley. Now that Spike’s here, he can finish up with me.  You go get some sleep.”

Buffy’s back was to them and she missed the thunderous look Riley sent toward the vampire.  Spike kept his face impassive as he met the big man’s scowl with eyes of cold, blue ice.

He knew if the larger man charged him there would be little he could do except try to get out of the way, but he refused to let that knowledge show in his face.  For a tense few seconds it looked as though Riley was seriously considering attacking the vampire; then his expression changed from rage to one of calculation and he turned away.

He took a deep breath and asked Buffy coolly, “How long do you think you’ll be, baby?”

She blinked at his abrupt change of attitude, but accepted what she though was an olive branch, saying,  “Oh, I don’ t know.  I’m still pretty jumpy.  You should probably go on to your own room, rather than wait for me to get back. I’ll call you in the morning, ‘K?”

“Fine,” he agreed smoothly.  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  Let’s have a goodnight kiss then,” he added, pulling her to his chest and leaning down.

She pecked him quickly on the lips and backed up before he could turn it into anything more, telling him again, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The two blonds stood in uncomfortable silence for several minutes after Riley had marched off toward the campus, neither one quite sure what to say.  Spike wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss the taste of the other man off her lips, but he hesitated, not sure where he stood with her.  Clearly she was sleeping with the ex-commando, and for all Spike knew she had decided the whole summer was a mistake.

Buffy was not sure how to read the closed expression on the vampire’s face, so she resisted the urge to get closer to him.  She also remembered how sensitive his nose was and knew he would be able to tell she had just been having sex with someone else. 

As usual, it was the vampire who couldn’t stand the silence any longer and he finally asked, “So, how’ve you been then, Slayer.  All back at school?”

She started walking toward the nearest cemetery, knowing he would fall in beside her.

“Yes, I just moved all my stuff in today.”  She sent him a sideways look as she added, “I have a room to myself this year. No roommate.”

“That so, pet?” he said noncommittally. “Didn’t sound that way to me. Seems like you had one tonight. Even if he did leave you with ‘excess energy’.”

When she visibly flinched, he almost regretted saying it, but the solid ball of pain under his breastbone wouldn’t let him.

“That...that wasn’t very nice, Spike,” she said softly.

“Well, yeah. Vampire.  Evil.” He smothered the urge to drop to his knees and apologize.

“Guess I forgot there for a minute,” she responded, then was silent again until he asked quietly,  “Why WERE you out by yourself so late, pet?”

He sensed rather than saw her flush and she stammered as she tried to answer. 

“I...I just couldn’t sleep...and I was...restless...so I just decided to go kill something.”

“Uh, huh,”

“What, uh huh?  Don’t you believe me?”

“Oh, I believe you pet.  Just wonderin’ how somebody who’d just been shaggin’ her boy friend wouldn’t want to cuddle up and nap, that’s all.”

His tone of voice left no doubt that he knew exactly why she was restless and she responded with a curt, “Go to Hell, Spike.”

“Got that memo, pet. Pretty sure it’s a done deal.”

Buffy stopped and sat on a tombstone, sighing in exasperation.

“I guess I should go back...Everybody’s going to be home tomorrow and we’re meeting at the Magic Box in the morning.”

“Yeah, so I heard.”

She looked up at him with surprise, “You did? From who?”

“Your Watcher paid me a visit the other day,  Wants me to be an honorary Scoobie or somethin’.  Told him I’d come by but wasn’t makin’ him any promises.”

“I’m glad he came over.  I wasn’t sure he was going to.  He expected me to ask you...and I really didn’t want to go into why we were staying away from each other,” she said wryly.  “It was so cool that he wasn’t wigged by our patrolling together.  I really didn’t want to spoil it by telling him that wasn’t all we’d been doing all summer.”

The vampire gave her a small grin.  “And my unbeating and unstaked heart thanks you for that, love.”

She grinned back at him and just like that, they were back to the comfortable camaraderie they’d enjoyed before their enforced separation.  They strolled through the remaining cemeteries, staking a fledgling and having a good fight with another Faryl demon before Buffy began to yawn and had to admit it was time to go.

“So,” she said as casually as she could with her heart pounding so hard she was sure she could hear it, never mind the vampire.  “Do you think the claim is all gone?  Are you safe to be around now?”

“I’m never safe to be around, pet,” he growled as he moved closer to her. “And don’t you forget it.”

She just rolled her eyes and reached up to stroke his cheek, causing him to close his eyes and lean into her hand, purring.  He stiffened indignantly when she giggled at him, but allowed a small smile to curl his lips as he kissed her warm palm.

A bolt of pure lust shot through the Slayer’s body and she gasped in surprise.  “Okay...” she said in a shaky voice, “maybe not.”

The vampire smirked at her and put his hands in his pockets.  He did his best to look relaxed and cool, but inside he was fighting to keep his hands from reaching for her.

“Does that mean it’s still there?” she asked in a small voice.  “Cause I was really, sort of hoping...”

“It’s gone, love,” he said almost sadly.  “I can’t feel you anymore – and I haven’t been hidin’ my feelings from you for several days, so if you have to ask me, that means it’s gone.” He touched her chin and tilted her head to one side.  “And if I didn’t know where to look for the marks, I’d never know they were there.”

“Well, good then,” she said dubiously.  “So you can come to the Scoobie meeting tomorrow without me having to worry about somebody staking you?”

“Guess so.  At least not for anything I’ve done to you.  You never know about the whelp – he always wants to stake me.” 

Buffy laughed with him and shook her head.  “With Giles all on this ‘Spike’s gonna be redeemed’ kick, l don’t think Xander will get much support there.”

“So,” she looked at the ground and shuffled her feet nervously.

“Yeah,” he agreed, resolutely keeping his hands in his pockets.

(I’m NOT gonna touch her when she reeks of that pillock’s spendin’s.  She could beg me and I wouldn’t touch her.)

“I’m just gonna head back to the dorm, now.”  She peered at him from under her eyebrows. “You could...I mean, if you want to...”

“You askin’ me to walk you home, pet?” he asked coolly.

Her pride kicked in and she tossed her head haughtily,  “No, of course not.  I can walk myself home.  I just thought you might want to know—“

“Cause that’s all I’d be doin’, Slayer,” he said flatly.  “I’ll walk you back, because I haven’t seen you for so long and I want to spend some time with you.  But that’s it.  Don’t be thinkin’ I’m going be makin’ up for soldier boy’s shortcomin’s. Not tonight.”

Anger flared in her eyes as she glared at him.  “I never asked you to, you arrogant pig!  I just thought you might want to know which room I was in.  Obviously, I was wrong.  I won’t make the same mistake again.” 

With a final toss of her hair, she turned and began marching off as fast as her Slayer feet could carry her with dignity.  Embarrassed tears were threatening to leak from her eyes as she realized that she actually HAD been thinking that Spike might be willing to finish what Riley started. 

(Oh my god. What kind of slut does that make me?  Two men in one night? And treating one who loves me like he was my own personal vibrator to use whenever I need it?)

She groaned softly and slowed down as she realized Spike wasn’t making any attempt to follow her.  Refusing to look back to see if he was watching her walk away, she continued toward the campus, her head hanging down as she continued to scold herself for her behavior.

As she approached the dorm, she thought she felt Spike and turned around to look for him.  She had just established where she thought he was and was starting to walk toward that spot, when the feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.  She turned back around, shrugging away her disappointment, only to see Riley just emerging from the shadows near the door.

“Riley?  I thought you went home.  What are you doing here? And why were you in the bushes?”

“I was just waiting for you to come back, Buffy,” he lied smoothly. “I thought I heard something in the shadows and went to check it out.”

“Why were you waiting for me?”

“Because I want to spend some time with my girl friend who I haven’t seen all summer.  Is that a problem, Buffy?”

She sighed heavily, “No, of course not.  It’s just...it’s late and I was really looking forward to getting some sleep tonight.  We have a Scoobie meeting in the morning and—“

“No problem.  I’ll just make sure you’re awake early and I’ll go with you to the meeting.”  As he spoke, he took her arm and smiled at her warmly, steering her toward the door to the dorm.

Buffy looked around anxiously before they went in the building, not sure if she’d felt something out there or not.  Riley waited patiently, holding the door open while she looked around the quad.

“Is there something out there, honey?  A vampire maybe?”

She shot him a suspicious look, but Riley’s face was the picture of innocence and concern.

(Way to be paranoid, Buffy.  It probably wasn’t Spike; and even if it was, there’s no reason for Riley to think so.)

Casting one last look over her shoulder, she moved reluctantly toward the open door, mumbling, “Might have been, I couldn’t be sure.  And I’m too tired to go hunting now.  I’ll just have to hope everybody stays in the dorms till morning.”

The morning’s news shows had the same lead story.  Vandals had gone through several of Sunnydale’s cemeteries, destroying granite tombstones, monuments and statues.  The authorities were sure it was a gang high on PCP as there was no way a normal human could have moved some of the objects that had been thrown around.

In a crypt in one of the cemeteries, a good-looking blond vampire was passed out on top of a sarcophagus, both hands torn and bleeding onto the dirty floor.