Chapter Fifteen
Spike reached her before she could land in the pile of ashes that was once Druscilla. Snatching her up, he cradled her tiny frame in his arms, and finally let go of the fear that had been seizing him since he had left the library. As soon as he had stepped foot into the mansion, the scent of her blood, and sex had nearly driven him crazy. But now she was safe, and he was pissed.
Ignoring Angel, he walked over to where his duster lay on the ground and kneeled down next to it.
“Baby?” he urged, keeping his voice quiet. He’d have it out with her later, when she was healed. Right now he just wanted to get her covered and out of there. The minions that were left in the room studied the trio with unease. Their mistress was dead, and something was very wrong with their master, and they didn’t know what to do. They weren’t very smart, made for muscle not brains, and they needed a leader. Wanting the room cleared, Angel let out a low growl that had them scurrying for the hills.
When Buffy flinched in his arms at the sound, Spike sent a glare over his shoulder.
“Mind not doing that?” he spat, coaxing her tiny arms into the sleeves of his leather.
“What are you doing? What have you done to her?” Angel asked, advancing on Spike. He merely quirked his scarred brow, and stood with the Slayer in his arms. He faced the now partially, dressed brunette, a low warning growl emanating from deep within his chest.
“You still don’t remember?” Angel looked at him quizzically, and tried to move to take Buffy away from him. Spike jerked back, game face shifting forward. “Don’t. Touch. Her.” he snarled, the fierceness in his tone startling the older vampire. “YOU did this to her. You turned her. YOU RAPED HER!!” He spat out, distaste tainting every word. Angel reeled back as if shocked, the fog finally lifting from his brain as images of the past two weeks came into focus.
“Oh, god.” he moaned, sinking to his knees. “Oh, god.” Spike looked down at him, contempt written allover his vampiric features.
“He can’t help you now.”
“Spike,” Buffy’s tiny voice drew his attention to her.
“What is it, baby?” He asked, looking into her bruised face. Anger suffused him again, and it was all he could do not to drop her and send Angel to hell.
“Stop it.” His arms tensed around her, and an unreasonable fear gripped his heart. She smiled softly at him, recognizing his plight. Her hand raised and traced lightly over his ridges, pleased when they melted under her hand. “Put me down.” He hesitated, not sure if he could take her flying into Angel’s arms, now that he was all soulful again. Setting her on her feet, he braced himself to have his heart broken. She stood facing him, her eyes willing his to meet hers. When they finally did, she smiled again, her hand cupping his cheek, her thumb tracing the sharp line of his cheek bone.
“I love you.” she whispered, her quiet words reaching both males in the room. Spike searched her face for a long minute, relief flooding his body with a force that staggered him. He shook his head, his throat tight with emotion. She leaned up to brush a soft kiss across his lips, before turning to face her sire.
Angel had sunk to his knees when her soft declaration had reached his ears. Even though he now remembered everything he had done, he had still had the slight hope that she would see past it. That it wasn’t him. Her words to his pseudo childe shattered that.
His head was hung low, guilt and shame and heartbreak warring for dominance in his body. He refused to look up when the sight of her tiny feet entered his view. He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t yet face what he had done. But Buffy would have none of it.
“Look. At. Me.” she said with deadly calm. She squashed the pity she felt when he turned his tortured brown eyes to her.
“Buffy, I’m sorry, I. . .” Angel started, only to be stopped by her hand raising.
“Don’t. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make it better. I loved you, Angel. And by doing that, I killed myself. NOTHING will take the pain of that away.”
“I didn’t know that I would lose my soul.” he insisted, hands clenching in his lap. She tilted her head a bit, her golden hair spilling across her shoulder. He flinched when the cuts and bruises along her face and throat came into sight.
“I know..” she said softly. She forced her hands to stay clasped around the leather, holding it closed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you did this to me.” her face morphed into that of it’s demon form. He tried to look away, and she reached out to cup his chin, forcing him to see. Forcing him to accept. “You can’t run away from this Angel. This is who I am now. Because of you. And whether or not you had your soul at the time is irrelevant. It’s not going to keep me from seeing YOU when I think of the things that have been done. It was your face that I looked into when you killed me. It was your face that I saw when you raped me, trying to dominate me. All I feel when I look at your face is pain.” His eyes were stricken as he looked at her. “All I see is the man who killed Kendra.” Her voice hitched on the name of her sister in arms. A small voice in her head told her she was being too harsh, but she ignored it. She wasn’t the same girl that fell in love with him, and she couldn’t afford to be forgiving. Not yet.
She continued to look down at him, feeling the anger build at the sight of shame in his eyes. She couldn’t have said why it infuriated her so much. Maybe she felt he was trying to emotionally play her. Maybe she didn’t think he deserved to feel something so banal as shame. A fierce need to hurt him overtook her, and she rolled with the feeling.
With a suddenness that surprised all of them, the hand cupping his chin reared back and punched him squarely in the jaw. Angel reeled back from the blow, his shock filled eyes coming to rest on the tiny woman dressed in only Spike’s leather duster. Spike took a step forward, not wanting her to do anything she might regret later. He was stilled by the slight shake of Angel’s head, the motion telling him to stay back, and let her get it out. Nodding once, Spike took a step back to give her room.
Buffy paid no mind to Spike. All that she could see was Angel. All that she could feel was the overwhelming desire to cause him pain. Her foot shot out, plowing into his chest. Fist to the face, punch to the chest, knee to the stomach. Every blow was delivered with a force that could warp steel. Blood poured freely from Angel’s nose, lips, and the cut above his rapidly swelling eye. Bruises blossomed on the skin where Spike’s punishment hadn’t fallen.
‘You bastard?!” She screamed, resorting to chick fighting when she felt he wasn’t bleeding enough. Nails raked down his face, his chest, his arms. Any where she could find an inch of unmarred skin, she struck. “How could you do this to me?” Her voice was hoarse with all the emotions she had been holding at bay. She held nothing back, even when Angel stumbled and fell to the floor, both eyes swollen shut. She quickly straddled him, her fists striking a sickening tattoo across his face. Then, her attack stopped, and she buried her fangs into his neck, taking his blood with deep, greedy gulps. She was doing something forbidden, drinking from her sire without permission. But she didn’t care. He had violated everything that had ever been between them.
“Buffy.” Spike called softly, moving behind her. He saw the tears pouring down her face, sliding down to mingle with Angel’s blood. “Baby.” he reached out and touched her shoulder, not even flinching when she reared back and roared at him. He merely stared at her, his blue eyes telling her to stop. She looked from him back to Angel, her face melting back to her human features. A touch of horror crossed her face when she saw the destruction she had done. Pushing it away, she crawled off of his unconscious form, and straight into the open arms of her lover. Gathering her close, he picked her up and strolled out of the great room. Neither of them looked back at the prone figure on the floor.
“Do you know how furious I am with you right now?” Spike asked her, holding her tight against him as the warm water cascaded over them. When they had left the mansion, he had put her in the car and driven straight to the hotel. He’d then carried her upstairs, managing to get the door open without having to put her down. They then headed directly to the bathroom. Sitting her on the closed toilet seat, he quickly turned on the shower, then stripped. Pulling her up, he pushed the duster off her shoulders, then assisted her into the tub. He fought back the rage that was threatening to consume him, as he washed the abrasions and burns. When he was done, she had taken the wash cloth from him and did the same, the combined blood from their bodies mixing with the water and swirling down the drain. She had then moved into his arms, as tremors racked through them both.
She hadn’t said a word since they had left the mansion, and he was starting to get worried. Her muffled laugh against his chest, relieved him.
“I think I have a pretty good idea.” she said, leaning back to look at him. She traced her finger over the lines in his brow, trying to smooth them.
“No, I don’t think you do. When I walked into the library and the first thing Willow says is ‘I tried to stop her.’. . . I almost died when I got that call from Angel. You should have waited for me.” he told her, his blue eyes darkening to sapphire as he thought of how close he had come to losing her.
“I knew you would come for me.” she said simply.
“That goes without saying, luv. I’ll always come for you.”
“Oh, really?” A wicked grin crossed her face at that, and she reached down and fisted her hand around his shaft. His eyes widened a fraction, and he found himself losing the fight to stay mad at her for a bit longer. He groaned as her water slicked hand slid over his rapidly, stiffening cock.
“Don’t try to change the subject.” He told her, trying to sound stern. She pouted and he gave in to temptation and leaned down to nip it gently with his teeth. She was smiling when he pulled back. She did turn serious again, her eyes staring deep into his.
“I did what I thought I had to do. Kendra. . .” she closed her eyes briefly, swallowing hard against the lump of grief in her throat. “I’m sorry. I know it was reckless. But, ask Giles, I’m often reckless.”
“Well, in respect to my heart, could you try to be a little less impulsive. I’m not ready to lose you.” he told her, his voice thick. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands.
“I’m not ready to be lost.” she replied, leaning up to kiss him, softly. Her tongue darted out to tease his bottom lip, tasting him. “The only thing that was keeping me together in there was the knowledge that you were coming for me.” She said in between the light touched of their mouths. “I love you.” She whispered, finally covering his mouth fully with her own. His arms tightened around her, tears seeping out of his closed eyes as he kissed her. He leaned down a bit to pick her up, turning them at the same time to lean her against the wall. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist, mewling softly into his mouth. He pulled away to look into her eyes as he pushed his length into her wet opening. Looks of wonderment passed between them as electricity shot through their bodies. Slowly they began to rock together, the sheer feel of their joining nearly enough to send them over the top.
Their eyes never broke contact as the fires smoldered and flamed between them. Buffy felt her undead heart swell at the look of pure love on his face. That look tipped her over the edge with a husky cry, and she pulled him to her bared neck, silently asking him to take. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his face into her neck. He growled as his own climax began, and he gently buried his fangs in her neck. She came again, her eyes flashing yellow. Leaning her head forward, she reciprocated te bite, the sting of her fangs propelling him the rest of the way. He thrust against her once more, pushing in to the hilt, his seed flooding the length of her channel.
He retracted his fangs and sliced his tongue again, mingling their blood once more. Pulling away from the puncture, he looked into her beautiful hazel eyes.
“Mine.” they growled together. He blinked at her, realizing immediately what she had done. Her smile affirmed it, and again their voices merged as they answered each other.
“Always.”