I rolled over in bed, yawning as I slowly awakened. Mmm…comfy… I curled back into the body that was wrapped around me, burying my face in the chest beside me…the very well-defined, male chest that was just above room temperature…What??

My eyes shot open, and I jerked into wakefulness. Spike gazed down at me, amused. “Morning, pet.”

I gaped at him. “W-What are you doing?”

He stretched. “I’m trying to get some kip here. Up all night, vampire, remember?”

“Oh. Okay.” I sat up and turned back to stare at him as it slowly processed. “Wait. Not okay. Get out of my bed!”

“But I’m so cozy,” he protested, smirking at my utter disorientation.

I remembered with glee that he couldn’t hurt me, and shoved him off the side of the bed. With quick reflexes, he landed on one bent foot and one knee, and rose again, landing back on the bed with ease. “Now that’s just unfair. Defenseless, remember? And I’d never hurt a girl, anyway.” At my scowl, he remedied, “Unless I’m eating her. Or she’s a Slayer. Or if she wants me to.” He curled his tongue over his front teeth in a way that oozed sex, and I shuddered.

“Spike…”

The standoff between us was interrupted by Willow’s arrival. She was toting a large paper bag that she handed to Spike. “This is all I could find,” she said apologetically.

I peeked into the bag, and looked up, outraged. “You bought him blood?”

“Red, you’re a goddess!” Spike grinned, grabbing a packet and tearing it open. “Well, a goddess for the unholy, so maybe a goddess of hell, and…” Ignoring my disgust and Willow’s bemusement, he sucked up the packet in moments, and then spat it out all over my bed.

“Hey!” I snapped, staring at my bedspread in horror.

“What is this rubbish?” Spike demanded. “Are you trying to poison me?”

Willow frowned. “It’s pigs’ blood from the butcher. I wasn’t going to pump someone dry for blood for you, you know.”

“Can’t you just wave your hand and make it human?” Spike asked plaintively. “I’m not drinking pigs’ blood!”

Willow shrugged helplessly.

“Maybe just drain a few people a little?” he suggested. “Or…I know! The morgue! You can bring me a fresh body, and-“

“We are not your minions!” I said, my face scrunching in disgust. “And you’re not feeding off of corpses!”

“I wonder if I’d be able to take blood from you if it were given willingly,” Spike reflected.

“Alright, that’s it!” I grabbed Willow’s hand. “Let’s talk. Far away from the vampire with super hearing.” We left the room. “First of all, why didn’t you wake me up this morning?”

Willow shrugged sheepishly. “You looked really cozy…”

“With the master vampire in bed with me. Oh, that’s absolutely great!” I hissed.

From inside the room, Spike called out. “I was a perfect gentleman! Didn’t even scream out loud when I tried to bite you again…”

I sighed. “Rope. We need rope.”

Willow raised her eyebrows. “We’re tying Spike up?”

“YOU BLOODY WELL ARE NOT!”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Or he’s going to try seducing some poor coed out of her blood.”

Willow giggled. “You were right. He really is that sexy…”

“Will!”

The door flew open, and Spike grinned down at me without a saying a word. He didn’t need to.

I tried glaring back, but was suddenly face with a sculpted, pale white chest that Greek statues had nothing on, just a few inches away from me. I desperately tried to resist the urge to trace the lines of his muscles, and lean forward just a bit and…

“Buffy? Buffy?” Willow’s voice jerked me out of my ogling, and I flushed, avoiding Spike’s smirk.

“What?”

Willow held up a length of rope. “Got it.”

Spike just grinned as I tied him to my bed. “So, bondage’s your kink, pet?”

My mouth hung open for a minute, then I snapped it shut. “You’re a pig, Spike,” I told him definitively.

“And damn well proud of it,” he leered, doing the tongue-curly thing again. He reached out with the still-untied hand, and ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek, stroking it with unusual gentleness.

I felt myself softening at his touch. Wait. No. What is wrong with me??? “S-stop that.” It came out in a squeak, and Spike smiled, leaning forward slowly, just inches away from my mouth…I wet my lips almost unconsciously…

…And I grabbed his wrist and pushed it back against the bed, tying it tight. “Right. You’re all tied up. Because that’s what we were doing, that’s all!”

Spike curled his tongue over her teeth.

Willow shook her head.

I went to the closet and refused to look at either of them as I gathered up my clothes and left the room.

--

When I returned later in the day, Spike was fast asleep on my bed, completely untied. I shook my head almost affectionately. No wonder he didn’t object much. Apparently, vampire strength is all it’s cracked up to be…

I let my eyes wander up and down his torso, wondering at the way his chest was rising and falling periodically. As far as I knew, vampires didn’t breathe. But Spike was clearly not your average vampire. The bags of blood Willow had brought were now empty and in the garbage, and my sheets had been changed. I marveled at that. Spike had a considerate side, after all. He wasn’t all evil vampire…

The next time I ran my eyes up Spike’s body, they met alert blue ones. “Hiya, Big Sis.”

“Hey.” I really wasn’t in the mood to fight anymore. “Sleep well?”

He nodded, offering me a brilliant smile. “Think I might come back here tomorrow, too, if I have no luck.”

“Back here?” I frowned, puzzled. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”

Spike stretched. “Dru,” he explained. “My dark princess is missing, and I’ve got to find her and save her before something happens to her!”

Oh. Right. The girlfriend. Probably some skanky ho vampire who was… Wait. Why is this bothering me? This isn’t bothering me! I endeavored to sound casual again. “Well, if she wasn’t picked up by whoever grabbed you, then I’m sure she’s fine. Good luck with that.” I turned away from him quickly. “Anyway, I’m just going to go out and…um…Riley! My boyfriend! He had to run out last night, and I should make sure everything’s okay now!”

I tried to move away from the bed, but Spike grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit beside him. “No, wait here. Sun’s not going down for another few hours. I’m going to be bored stiff without being able to watch Passions…”

I gaped at him. “You watch Passions? My mom watches that show!”

“Oh, it’s brilliant!” Spike responded eagerly, and launched into a convoluted explanation of the show. I shook my head and laughed at him, and he mocked me right back. Soon, Spike and I were discussing the differences between a Victorian education and school nowadays, fighting about our respective countries, and debating whether it’d be better to be alive or undead.

“See, your other senses are much more enhanced as a vampire,” Spike explained, popping a chocolate kiss into his mouth. “But taste just isn’t the same.” He shook his head sadly. “Blood, of course, is delicious, but chocolate? S’ barely better than bread!”

“So why do you eat at all?” I wondered.

“Most vampires don’t,” he told me. “They say it’s too human, and look down on it. But me, I’ve always kept a bit more of my humanity than most-“

“Like with the whole hanging out in a college dorm instead of a crypt somewhere,” I put in.

“Oh, I might get a crypt, someday,” Spike shrugged. “I’m not Angelus, with his mansions and castles. I like to live where I belong. Dilapidated building, old factories, crypts... But right now, I want to stay away from my kind until I can figure out what’s wrong with me. They won’t take in a helpless vamp out of the evilness of their hearts, you know.”

I smirked. “Guess you’re lucky you failed to kill me those first few times, then.”

He smiled back. “Guess so.” His hand brushed mine, and I felt a tingle go through me.

And that’s how Xander and a worried Willow found us a few minutes later when they walked in.

“And who is this shirtless male on your bed, Buff?” Xander said, frowning.

I turned. “Xander? What are you doing here?”

He looked offended. “I’m your friend, remember? I came to see how you were after the whole Datebust ’99 thing last night.”

Willow, from behind him, mouthed, “I tried!” and shrugged helplessly.

“So who’s this guy?” Xander asked, eyeing Spike, who was stretching out over my bed almost territorially.

“Oh! Xander, this is Spike. He’s, um…staying here for a little while.”

“You’re having a guy named Spike staying with you?” Xander repeated, his brow creasing.

“Oh, his bark is worse than his bite!” Willow said brightly.

“Oi!” Spike scowled, and Willow gave him an apologetic look. “I’ll have you know that I am still very dangerous!”

“Buffy, maybe we should talk about this,” Xander murmured to me. “Privately.” He shot a nasty glare at Spike.

Spike sat up and gave Xander a toothy grin. “So who are you, anyway? The unrequited love? Hanging out with the girls because-“

“Stop it,” I said tiredly, avoiding Xander’s eyes. We avoided the topic of Xander’s interest in me by tacit agreement, knowing that the awkwardness would ruin our friendship. It didn’t mean that it still wasn’t the elephant in the room most of the time.

“I’m sorry,” Spike said to me, gazing at me with earnest apology. I gave him a weak smile back.

“Can’t you stay somewhere else?” Xander asked, giving Spike a dirty look. “How do you know Buffy, anyway?”

“He’s my cousin!” I blurted out. “From England!”

“Absolutely,” Spike agreed. “I’m Spike Saunders-“

“Summers,” I corrected him swiftly.

“Summers, from England, here to visit my dear cousins, Buffy and Dawn,” Spike finished proudly.

“Buffy’s never mentioned you before,” Xander said doubtfully. “How are you two related, anyway?”

“My dad’s long-estranged brother is Spike’s father,” I lied quickly. “We met last summer for the first time. I didn’t even know he existed before then.”

“Oh.” Xander still looked suspicious. “I don’t like this.”

Spike vamped out at him for a second. “God, you’re annoying!”

My eyes widened, and Willow let out a frightened “eep!”.

Xander paled. “Did you see that? Just now, with his face, and the teeth…Do you guys know what this means?”

We froze. So much for secrecy…

“Your cousin is on PCP!” Xander exploded.

Willow laughed silently behind his back.

“Yes, of course I am, you dimwit,” Spike sneered. “Why else could I have wrinklies and fangs? Hey, maybe I’m an evil vampire!”

I poked him in the arm, but his smirk just widened.

Xander shook his head. “Man, those drugs can get intense. I don’t know if you should keep someone so dangerous around, guys.”

“You’re right,” Spike responded, deadpan. “I have a problem. But sometimes, it’s worth a little pain just to make it stop.” He licked his lips. “And even you’re beginning to look tasty.”

Xander’s eyes widened. “Um…I’m flattered, but I really, really don’t swing that way.” He looked at us helplessly. “I’m all for the girls, right?”

Spike’s face contorted in disgust. “Bloody- I’m not- You’re not-“ he sputtered. “I’d have damn better taste than you!” he finally spat out.

I grinned and patted his back. “Aw, poor Spikey. It’s okay, we’re your friends. You don’t have to pretend around us.”

Xander looked relieved. “So that’s why you guys are okay with him staying here. For a minute there, I actually thought that Buffy was having a sordid affair under Riley’s nose or something.”

“Xander!” I hissed, shifting from side to side so as not to betray the rush of heat that followed his words. I caught sight of a suddenly speculative glance from Spike, and blushed beet red. Am I that obvious? Or is it a vampire thing that…

Oh. My. God. He can smell that I’m all… I glared fiercely at my amused guest. He grinned back unapologetically.

“Hey, it’s getting dark,” I said quickly. “Why don’t you go check out the Bronze or something, Spike? See if you can find Dru there?”

“Right,” he said immediately, jumping up and grabbing his shirt. “I’m out of here.” He shot out the door, then came back and gave Willow and me each a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for all your help, girls.” Then he darted right back out.

Willow and I both blushed.

Xander glared after him. “I really don’t like that guy.”

Later that night, after Xander finally left, muttering to himself about annoying British cousins, I got a phone call from Dawn.

“I faced off against some crazy frat house demon last night, and these guys showed up at the last minute and tasered him,” she told me. “I think it’s the same guys from when we were fighting Spike.”

“Yeah, I also saw some of them last night, in the dorm,” I remembered. “Commandos of some sort. They seem to be around whenever there are demons.”

“There were demons in your dorm?” Dawn asked me curiously.

Damn! I wasn’t going to tell Dawn that the Slayer of Slayers was hanging out in my dorm! “Um, in front. Just one vampire. Named Rick!” I said brightly, remembering the one from a few days before. “I staked him!”

“You staked a vampire?” Dawn asked doubtfully.

“Is that so hard to believe?” I retorted, stung. “Just because you’re all Chosen, it doesn’t mean that you’re the only one who can stick a piece of wood into a vampire’s heart.”

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally, Dawn spoke wearily. “Buffy, please don’t go out there looking for trouble. A fledge or two is easy pickings. But there are some things out there you can’t handle. Like Spike, or even the demon I fought tonight. And especially the commandos. Until we know what they are…”

“I can take care of myself just fine,” I snapped. “Stop trying to protect me!” I hung up the phone angrily.

The worst part was, Dawn was right. Still. I wasn’t going to win all the time. Even she didn’t win all the time, and she had the strength and agility to take on the demons. Maybe if I had Spike backing me up… But he was probably going to find his vampire skank tonight, and I wouldn’t see him again. I trusted him to keep his promise about not hurting us, but it wasn’t like we’d be hanging out in his lair talking about TV anymore. The day had been fun, I realized with a sigh. I actually liked Spike.

Which was probably why, when he crept in through the window at dawn, rousing me just a bit, I pretended to be asleep when he curled up in bed next to me.