Chapter Six
Buffy emerged from the bathroom a half hour later, rubbing a towel over her still damp hair. She had decided, while she washed her tired and sore body, just to act like nothing had happened. She couldn’t remember it, and HE couldn’t remember it, so what was the point of acting all awkward? Of course, it didn’t help that her overactive imagination kept conjuring images of what could have happened. And it certainly didn’t help that the first thought that passed through her mind when she had seen him in all his glory was ‘yum.’ *This is getting you nowhere, Buff. Just go out there and act like the calm, cool, collected Slayer that you wish you were and get over it.*
He was standing by the table, silently inspecting the pizza while sipping from a Styrofoam cup. He turned toward her when he heard the door and smiled. Picking up the other cup, he crossed to her and held it out.
“Here ya go, luv. Drink that and then come eat some pizza.” She dropped the towel on the bed then took the proffered cup from him, turning slightly away. Once she wasn’t facing him, she pulled off the lid and downed the contents as quickly as she could. Wiping her mouth, and cringing inwardly, she faced him once again, to find him regarding her with an interested look.
“What?” she asked self consciously. She usually didn’t like to feed in front of people. It made what she had turned into seem to real. If she didn’t think about it, she could forget about it. But, two things kept thrusting it glaringly back into her face. Her need for blood, and the fact that she would never get a sun tan again.
“I used to feel the same way.” He answered quietly, taking the cup from her hand. A thousand questions ran through her mind as she met his eyes. There was so much about how him that she wanted to know, but she didn’t know if she had the right to ask.
“I thought vampires couldn’t consume garlic?” she moved around him to the table, breathing in the delicious aroma of sauce, bread and cheese.
“Who told you that rot?” She just shrugged a shoulder, grabbing a soda.
“Thought it was just known.” He made a face and grabbed a slice, taking a huge bite.
“Not a thing to worry about, pet. That’s just an old wives tale.” He told her, taking a long pull off his beer. “So, what do you want to know? I can see all the questions dancing around in your head.” He said, settling on the bed. She hadn’t realized she was being so transparent.
“You don’t mind?”
“You’re stuck here for the day, and I’m not really good at small talk, so, ask away.”
“Why do you have a heartbeat?” she asked quickly, afraid he might change his mind. She sat cross legged on the bed in front of him.
“You can hear it?” he seemed surprised. He looked down at the necklace he was wearing, drawing her attention to it for the first time. It was a medallion, no bigger than a half dollar with, what looked like to Buffy, a bunch of squiggly lines on it.
“Am I not supposed to?” She looked at him quizzically.
“No. It’s kinda hard to stay alive in the Big Bad if your ticker is tocking, if you know what I mean.” He told her. “Can you hear it now?” She stopped a second to listen, realizing she couldn’t.
“Nuh, uh. Why? And how do you have one?”
“I wasn’t turned to conventional way, pet. I didn’t die. They injected the Masters’ blood into my system and forced my body to accept it. So, the heart didn’t stop. I’m not a reanimated corpse.” she shuddered a bit at his term, not liking that SHE was exactly that. Spike noticed her dismay and offered her an apologetic smile. “As for the why,” he tapped the medallion laying against his pale chest. “This little trinket is supposed to mask the beat and my body temperature.”
“You’re warm?”
“If I take this off, yeah.” She looked at him with wonder in her eyes.
“So, you ARE human?”
“And vamp.” To prove his point, his game face surged forward. She shrank back a bit, but she wasn’t really afraid.
“But you can go out during the day?”
“Yeah. I have to do everything that any normal bloke has to, but, I have to drink blood. Violence is part of my nature. I have a nasty temper, and I never get sick.”
“Doesn’t sound to bad.” She said, sipping at her soda. She noticed his eyes grow distant as if thinking of a different time.
“It can be.” he answered. He shook off the melancholy feeling and looked at her. “What else?” She smiled at him, glad he was willing to talk.
“How did they fool Angel into thinking he had sired you?” He chuckled at that, letting his mind drift back to that time.
“Well, that was an interesting bit. Seein’ as how it was his blood they stuck in me.”
“WHAT?! How did they do that?” She was shocked.
“They nabbed him. Bled him a time or two, then released him.”
“Uhm, wasn’t he the Scourge of Europe?” He gave her a ‘DUH’ expression. “Then, why let him go?”
“Because, in order for the ruse to work, they needed the vampire that donated the blood. If I’d just gone round acting like some Big Bad without being introduced by my sire, no self respecting Master vampire would take me at face value. I needed to be apart of his fold.”
“How would they know?”
“The nose knows, luv. I could tell you who your sire was the second I was within fifty yards of you. That, and the blood bonds.”
“I don’t understand. What blood bond?”
“You see, Angels’ blood runs through you, and me. Since you were created to be a childe, and not a minion, you were given more of his blood after you woke, right?”
“Yeah.” she shuddered at the memory.
“I feel a connection with you that I don’t feel with any other vampires because we share his blood. Same with Druscilla. You will always be able to tell when one of us is near.” She stopped and thought a bout it for a minute. He was right, she realized. The night she had drugged him, she had known that Angel was outside. And she had felt him leave. The feeling had come back when Spike had come to the door.
“Wonderful.” She muttered miserably. Just what she wanted, to be linked for eternity to Angel and Queen Looney Tune. Could her life get any weirder? “So, how’d they get a round the whole, being bitten then rising from the grave thing?”
“Well, the way it was told to me, the same blokes that fused Angels’ and my blood together worked some spell to implant the memory into his, Dru’s and Darla’s head. Made me some poncy poet that got rejected by some bint, and had the misfortune of meeting up with Angelus.” He stopped a moment to snicker at that.
“Who were you really, then.” She asked him, finding that she really wanted to know. What kind of man would willingly give up a part of himself to walk among vampires? He looked at her, his blue eyes unreadable as he considered her question. She felt herself growing uncomfortable under his stare. It seemed he could see right through her with those eyes.
“I wasn’t a love struck poet, I assure you.” He started, reaching for his cigarettes. He lit one, breathing the smoke in deep. “I was just a man. My father had been a Watcher, so, it was natural that I would become one too. I mean, how can you just stand by and do nothing once you’ve learned that the boogie man was real?” He paused to take a drink of blood, followed by a swallow of beer. Buffy rose off the bed to grab a piece of pizza, before he continued. She nibbled on the slice, noticing that it didn’t taste the same. She couldn’t quite place why, but the flavor almost seemed muted.
“So, you were all set up for your life in tweed?” He snorted, grateful that he had saved himself from that fate.
“Yeah. But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I was more interested in the fightin’ than the watchin’. I was also to curious for my own good, wanted to know the ‘whys’ and ‘what fors.’ Didn’t understand how one girl was supposed to keep all the evil in the world in check.” Buffy mumbled her agreement around a mouthful of pizza. “Then, one day, I get my chance to fight in the war, instead of sitting on the sidelines. So, I took it.” He swallowed the last of his beer, and crushed out the cigarette. “Didn’t really understand what it meant at the time. And, I lost my way for a bit, after I hooked up with Angelus and Druscilla.” He noticed her shudder at the mention of her name.
“How?” She polished off the crust, then drank the last of her soda. Tossing the can in the trash, she turned her wide, questioning eyes onto him. He loved her eyes, and how expressive they were. He could tell from one instant to the next exactly what she was feeling. Now, he saw curiosity, a touch of fear, and just the faintest hint of trust. It stunned him to realize that he didn’t want to do anything that would put that trust into jeopardy. He had been a loner for so long, he had all but forgotten what it was like to have someone to talk to. Granted, his isolation was self imposed, but he felt it was the least he could do after his fuck up. He’d only sought out company when he needed to scratch an itch, usually bolstered by a cloud of alcohol. But those interludes had left him strangely unsatisfied, and he hadn’t looked for it very often.
“It’s not pretty, pet. Sure you want to hear it?” *No* her mind screamed. He didn’t look like he wanted to tell her, anymore than she wanted to hear it. Maybe this was too much too soon, and she decided to let him off the hook. He watched the play of emotion cross her face and found himself smiling sadly. He could tell she knew it was bad, but didn’t want to test the boundaries of this new found. . .friendship.
“No. I don’t need to know. It’s the past, right?” She let out a self conscious giggle, and plucked aimlessly at the comforter. He leaned forward then, his fingers brushing across her knee. Her eyes shot to his when the light touch sent a bolt of electricity coursing through her.
“I wasn’t myself then, luv. They had warned me of the risks, that I could turn into what I was supposed to fight. I was arrogant. Thought it couldn’t happen to me. But it did. And I’ve paid for it every date for the last eighty years of my life.” His gaze burned into hers, begging for the forgiveness that he didn’t feel he deserved. Without thinking, she raised her hand to his face and cupped his cheek, gasping when he closed his eyes and turned to place a kiss in the palm of her hand. Little darts of fire traced up her arm. When he opened them a gain, his eyes were burning for a different reason.
“Like I said, it’s the past. Everything that happened then, made you who you are today. And I like who you are.” *Wow, Buff. Where did the new found maturity come from?* She asked herself. Her voice was husky, and she was very aware of the heat in the atmosphere around them. And when his lips touched hers, she felt it practically sizzle. Her hand slid from his cheek to the back of his neck, her fingers playing with the soft ends of his hair. His mouth played softly across her, his teethe gently nipping at her bottom lip. She tasted so sweet, so innocent, and he felt his body respond instantly.
His tongue darted out to tease the opening of her lips, groaning inwardly when she parted them on a sigh. The kiss changed then, from soft and restrained, to hungry and demanding. She whimpered as his tongue tangled with hers. He tasted like tobacco and beer, with a trace of blood, and something so wildly male it made her dizzy. It was amazing how a kiss could start this raging inferno blazing within her, sending sparks of arousal straight to every nerve in her body. She felt her panties grow damp, and her breasts peak, and he hadn’t touched her other than the kiss. She found herself pressing closer to him, needing something but knowing what or how to ask. Surprisingly to her, he seemed to know. Her moan was swallowed by hi plundering mouth when he reached up to cup her breast through her t-shirt, his thumb brushing across the swollen nub.
She arched into his hand, pulling her mouth away from his. He took the opportunity to sweep kisses across her jaw, down to her throat. She jumped a little when she felt a fang scrape a throat, but not from fear. When she felt the soft rasp of his tongue across the shallow gash he had made, she practically leapt into his lap, straddling him. His arm banded around her waist, holding her close, as his mouth and hand continued their ministrations on her. She didn’t take the time to think that Angel had never made her feel this. With his hand sliding under her shirt to take possession of the soft mound of her breast, and his thumb and forefinger pinching and teasing the nipple, their was no room for thought. There was only room for him. He had completely taken over her senses from the first brush of his lips across hers.
He pulled back from her for long enough to pull her shirt over her head. He took a moment to memorize the shape and swell of the dual mounds, each topped by a erect pink nipple. Looking up to her eyes, he searched for any sign of hesitation from her. When all he saw was her answering desire, he dipped his head to capture one hard nubbin in his mouth. Her fingers fisted in his hair, pressing hm against her cool flesh, a sob ripping from her throat. When she arched back to give him better access, she unconsciously pushed herself against his erection. Instinctively, her hips began to shift, begging for friction. Before she knew it, she was on her back, with Spike nestled securely between her legs. His mouth had never left her breast, and his left hand had unsnapped the top of her jeans. As he switched his attention to the other mound of flesh, his hand snaked down her pants to tease the curls at the apex of her thighs.
Her head thrashed on the bed, her hips surging up to urge him on. He allowed on finger to slide along the wet slit, gently running over the tight bundle of nerves.
“Oh, God.: she gasped, nearly jumping off the bed. He raised his head to smile at her, dipping a finger into her hole. Her teeth ground into her lip, her body knowing what she wanted, even if she didn’t She thrust against his hand, groaning once more as he slipped another finger inside her.
“You’re so tight, luv. So bloody tight. And you smell so sweet.” he whispered, leaning in to press a kiss against her stomach. “Cor, I have to taste you.” Before she could grasp what he meant, he slipped his hand away, making her hiss with disappointment. Next, she felt her jeans slipping down her hips, followed closely by her panties. A protest was forming on her lips, the instant before she felt his tongue penetrate her folds. Her hands once again found their way to his hair, as he lapped eagerly at the juices pulled there. His hands slid under her undulating ass, lifting her so he could access her quivering mound with more ease. Her knees were flung wide on the bed, allowing him to feast at his leisure. Heat suffused her while his tongue explored every dip and crevice of her sex, plunging every so often inside. Animalistic cries surrounded them as she felt the ball of tension begin to uncoil in her stomach.
Once his talented mouth closed around her engorged clit, gently sucking, the world exploded around her. With a harsh cry of his name she arched fully off the bed, riding the exquisite waves as they coursed over her. He continued to lick and suck at her trembling nether lips, drinking in the nectar that spilled from her. He didn’t stop until her hands fell limply to the bed, and she collapsed into a bundle of quaking nerve endings.
It was then that he released her, crawling back onto the bed to pull her into his embrace. Her sleepy eyes met his, a mix of contentment and confusion in their depths.
“What about you?” she asked in a shy voice. He smiled down at her tenderly, the taste of her blood and her spendings lingering sweetly on his tongue.
“I’m alright, luv. Take a little nap, there’s plenty of time left to the day.” he whispered, dropping a kiss to her forehead. She stared at him for a second more, before snuggling comfortably in his arms. With a sigh of unneeded air, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.