Title: Just a Summer Romance (1/6/05)

Author: Slaymesoftly

Rating: NC17 (at some point)

Season: Between Season IV and V, but totally non-canon as it moves into Season V

Disclaimer: Just playing with characters that belong to Joss, ME, etc.

Summary/notes: A sequel to my (Are We Friends?) Challenge 31 fic for the Bloodshedverse - Buffy and Spike deal with the consequences of their night together.

JUST A SUMMER ROMANCE

Chapter One

Buffy awoke gradually as light from outside filtered into the crypt, chasing away the gloom and forcing her out of her peaceful sleep. She started to stretch, and found that she was sore in several places. She was also somewhat pinned down by a muscular arm across her waist.

Memories of the previous night came flooding back as she noticed the black-painted nails on the hand at the end of the arm. Her heart raced and her breathing became faster as what she’d done and with whom she’d done it became perfectly clear.

(Oh my god! I had sex with Spike! Spike – sex – words that should never be used together. I had sex with him. That is just...okay, want to say disgusting, but it wasn’t. It was...unusual. Yeah, that’s a good word. Much better than mind-blowing, wonderful, want-to-do-it-again sex. It was unusual sex.)

Beside her, the increase in her breathing and heart rate woke Spike from his normal, heavy, early-morning sleep. He remained still, judging from her body’s responses that she wasn’t necessarily happy about finding herself in his bed, but unwilling to give up the physical contact until he had to.

Unfortunately for his attempt to remain inert, one body part woke up immediately when it noticed Buffy’s warm rear end tucked up next to it. As soon as it poked its way between her thighs, she gasped and sat straight up. Spike opened his eyes unwillingly and saw what he’d been afraid he would see – Buffy staring back and forth from her own naked body to his and clearly getting close to hyperventilating.

(Guess a morning shag is out of the question, then.)

When she grabbed the quilt and yanked it up to cover her chest, she accidentally pulled it off him, leaving his lean body and eager cock completely exposed. She moaned and tried to pull the bottom of the quilt back over his lower body without exposing more of hers. Deciding he’d have a better chance of calming her down if she wasn’t so worried about what they weren't wearing, he took the edge of the quilt and carefully spread it out across both of them. The way Buffy was clutching it to her chest made it impossible for him to cover his chiseled chest and muscular shoulders, but he did the best he could.

He rolled away from her onto his back and crossed his arms under his head as he waited to find out if he was going to be adding his dust to that already on the floor of the crypt. He tried very hard to keep his expression bland and respectful, knowing one sign of cockiness or smirking on his part and the previous night’s beating would seem like a massage.

(Was hopin’ she’d wake up happy to be here, but I guess that was too much to wish for. Bloody William tryin’ to make last night more than it was. We had a good shag, and if I don’t bollix it up too badly, we might be able to come out of this still friends.)

He carefully suppressed the demon that was insisting he had no desire to be friends with the woman he’d tried to claim.

Buffy ran her eyes up from his chest to his face, pausing to wince at the tooth marks she had clearly left near his neck. When she got to his face she suddenly chickened out and looked down at the quilt, her face flaming.

With a resigned sigh, Spike rolled off the bed and pulled his pants on, keeping his back to her as he did so. When he had them zipped up, he collected her clothes from the floor and silently handed them to her before going over to his “kitchen” and opening the refrigerator.

As soon as she realized he was giving her some privacy in which to get dressed, Buffy jumped off the bed and pulled her clothes on haphazardly. She glanced at him once or twice to see if he was peeking, but he was always turned away, his pale back the only part of him visible back in the dark corner.

Finally she put her head up and said softly, “I’m dressed. You can turn around now.”

She put her chin up and for the first time since she awoke she looked him in the eye. She couldn’t interpret the look on his face. It wasn’t the smirking self-satisfaction she had expected to see, but neither was there anything apologetic about it. The vampire was just looking at her. He seemed to be calmly waiting for her to tell him where they stood.

There was no way for Buffy to know that there was a war going on behind the impassive face across the room from her. William wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg her forgiveness for presuming to touch her, and the demon wanted to push her back onto the bed and take what he now considered his.

None of that showed on Spike’s face as Buffy studied him carefully, looking for some clue as to his reaction to the night before. Finally she gave up trying to read his blank expression and admitted in a shaky voice, “I don’t know what to say to you.”

“ I’m guessin’ ‘it never happened’ isn’t gonna get it this time,” he responded with a rueful smile.

“A world of no, ” she agreed, rolling her eyes. Her hand went to the bite marks on her neck and she rubbed them absently as she stood there. Somehow, now that they were dressed again, it was easier to remember that they were friends who could talk to each other and she closed the distance between them until they were only a few feet apart.

She looked up at him anxiously and said, “You know this can never happen again, right? I mean, I’m the Slayer, you’re a vampire. I have a boy friend...oh my god! I have a boy friend. I cheated on Riley! With you!”

She was so wrapped up in her own sudden dismay that she didn’t catch the pain that went across the vampire’s face at her words. Nor did she see his hands clench into fists as he struggled to control himself. By the time she looked back at his face, there was no sign of the ache that had taken up residence in his unbeating heart.

Moving a little closer to her, he rubbed her arms in what was meant to be a comforting manner as he said soothingly, “Nobody knows about this except us, love. By the time anyone is here to see you again, those bites will be gone and...and last night will be just a memory.” (A wonderful, once in a lifetime memory)

Without thinking, Buffy moved into his comforting embrace and rested her head on his chest as she said, “I suppose you’re right. If nobody finds out about it, nobody will get hurt.”

Grateful that she couldn’t see his face, the vampire squeezed his eyes shut as he kissed the top of her head softly and agreed, “That’s right, pet. Nobody will get hurt.”

She pulled back from him, frowning slightly as she found that inexplicably difficult to do. For some reason the bite marks on her neck started to ache as he dropped his arms and let her go. She reached up to touch them again and shuddered as he ghosted his fingers over hers, immediately replacing the ache with a tingle that went all the way down to her toes.

“Spi—what...what did you do? Why do I feel like this? I’ve been bitten before – it never felt like this.”

He sighed and took her hands in his as he braced himself for a storm.

“Are you holding my hands so I won’t hit you?” she asked with a worried attempt at a smile.

He laughed gently and squeezed them a little as he admitted, “Well, maybe that’s one reason. But not the only one,” he added, moving his thumbs softly over her palms. He brought one hand up to his mouth and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

“Jus’ let me tell you what’s goin’ on before you decide to beat me up again, okay?”

She looked at him dubiously, but nodded her head. “Okay, ‘splainy, please.”

Shaking his head at her abuse of the English language, he began hesitantly, “When I bit you – the second time. While we were mak-“

“Having sex,” she interjected. “We were having sex. I remember.”

“Right, then. While we were having sex, I might have said...something...that made my demon think I wanted to claim you. What you’re feelin’ is just the effects of the partial claim. It’s not a big deal. It’ll go away as soon as the marks do. I promise. It’s not permanent.”

He waited anxiously as she digested the information, absently rubbing the marks again as she did so. Her knowledge of vampire lore was not as great as it probably should have been, but she had some idea what he meant. She thought back to the night before and tried to remember what he’d said when he bit her. She could remember that he had murmured things in her ear almost the entire time they were making love, (having sex! We were only having sex.) and she really had no idea which endearment might have been the trigger.

“So, you didn’t mean to do it, then?” She cocked her head at him and waited impatiently as he took his time coming up with his answer.

He gazed back at her and decided to go for complete honesty.

“My demon did,” he said flatly. “I didn’t expect to lose control of him like that, but when you bit me...”

“Are you saying this is MY fault?” She fixed him with green lasers as she waited for an answer.

“No, pet. No, no. Not saying that at all,” he hastened to assure her. “I’m jus’ explainin’ why it happened is all.”

Somewhat mollified, she poked her lip out in a pout and relaxed.

“Well, okay then. I guess I’ll just have to wait for them to heal up. It shouldn’t take that long. Slayer healing and all that.”

“No, pet, it won’t take long.” He tried to keep the sadness out of his voice as he agreed with her.

Buffy shuffled uncomfortably for a minute, not sure if she wanted to know why he didn’t seem happier about losing the claim quickly.

“I guess I’d better be getting home,” she finally said quietly. “Mom will be calling as soon as she gets to New York.”

“Alright, pet. I’m jus’ goin’ to get some more kip. I’m still a little knackered from last night.”

She shot him a guilty look as she remembered the beating that had led to the rest of the night’s events, but he wasn’t looking at her as he climbed back onto the sarcophagus. She decided she really didn’t want to know specifically what had made him so “knackered” and held her tongue. When he was lying down again on his back, bearing an uncomfortable resemblance to the corpse that he actually was, she walked over and pulled the quilt up over his immobile body. She ran the back of her knuckles over his cheek before she turned to leave.

As she went to go, she was reminded of how fast vampires could move when his arm shot out and grabbed her hand. She raised startled eyes and found him looking at her intently.

“I’ll see you tonight, love.” It was a statement, not a question and she felt a bolt of anger shoot through her. The anger quickly dissipated when she saw the fear on his face.

“Yeah, Spike. I’ll see you tonight. You promised me double the slaying, remember?”

“Double it is, Slayer.” He let go of her hand and closed his eyes again, not wanting to watch her walk out the door.

Chapter Two

When Spike showed up on the front porch just after sunset, Buffy tried to tell herself the stab of happiness that went through her was a result of the claim, but since the bite wounds were completely closed and already well on their way to being invisible, it was a hard sell.

They began walking toward the nearest cemetery, an uncomfortable silence taking the place of their usual bantering conversation. Just when the silence was getting to the point that almost any sound would be welcome, a piercing scream saved the day. The two blond super beings sprinted toward the source of the sound and found a young couple pinned against the side of a crypt by two fledgling vampires.

Spike pulled the first one off the screaming girl and tossed him toward Buffy who was holding her stake out for the vamp to land on. As soon as the dust cleared, she lifted the stake a little higher so that the slightly taller second vamp would hit it in just the right spot. She saw his eyes widen as he found himself moving through the air toward a smiling blond girl holding what appeared to be a piece of sharpened wood. With a “thump” he hit the stake perfectly and exploded into dusty particles.

Spike was glaring at the two teenagers in disgust.

“I hope you two morons are usin’ some kinda birth control,” he growled at them. They blinked at him in confusion and looked at Buffy for clarification.

“He thinks you’re too stupid to be allowed to reproduce,” she said sweetly as she pushed them toward the gate. “Stay out of cemeteries at night. ‘K? Bye now.”

The burst of speed and the brief interaction with the teenagers broke the ice, and Buffy and Spike were soon walking around their usual patrol areas with the same comfortable camaraderie that they’d had before. Unfortunately, the two fledglings were the only evildoers they found all night and they were soon back at Buffy’s house, both filled with pent up energy.

Spike was bouncing on his toes and shadowboxing around her back yard, trying to entice Buffy into sparring with him.

“Come on, Slayer. You know you want to dance with me. Let’s go.”

“Don’t be silly, Spike. You know you can’t hit me back – and if I can’t go all out, it won’t be any fun.”

“I could make it fun, pet,” he said, curling his tongue against his front teeth and wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes at his blatant innuendo and smacked him on the head.

“Speaking of dancing...”

He stopped clowning and looked at her intently.

“You still want to go clubbin’, Slayer?”

“Yes. You promised me a night in LA – and you told me you always keep your promises.”

“Ok, then. I’ll pick you up as soon as the sun goes down tomorrow. Wear somethin’ sexy, “ he added with a leer.

“Oh, to accompany somebody in jeans and a tee shirt?” She sneered and rolled her eyes at him.

“Jus’ do what you’re told, you silly little bint, and don’ worry about me.”

“Someday Giles is going to tell me what a bint is and I’m going to have to hurt you for that, “ she grumbled.

He just laughed and danced out of her reach when she swatted at him.

“You’re full of energy tonight,” she laughed, shaking her head at him from her seat on the back porch.

“Had Slayer blood last night. Feel like I could take on the world.”

“Yeah, well, you’d better try to make it last, vampire. It’s not like you’ll be getting more any time soon,” she snapped at him, angry that he had reminded her of what he was.

Spike’s good mood vanished and they were suddenly once again uncomfortable with each other, and he mentally cursed himself for bringing it up. When he saw that her face had settled into unhappy lines, he sat down beside her and reached for her limp hand.

Holding her hand in one of his, he used the other to turn her face towards his.

“I also got to make love to a beautiful woman, and that was much more important than anything else that happened,” he said with complete sincerity as William took control of the conversation.

Buffy blushed and ducked her head. “More important than Slayer blood? I find that hard to believe, Spike.”

“Believe it, love. Your blood made the demon roar, but kissin’ you, feelin’ you around me... that’s the memory I’m taking with me to my dusty end.”

Buffy was left completely speechless by his confession of what the night meant to him. His words gave her a warm glow inside, at the same time that her brain was screaming, <I>“Vampire feelings! There will be no vampire feelings. They have no feelings. He can’t mean what he’s saying. Not listening. Nope, not listening. La, la, la, la...”</I>

Her internal monologue was interrupted by his hand waving in front of her face.

“Slayer? Buffy? You in there?”

He wasn’t sure how to take her reaction to what he’d said. The expression on her face and the increase in her heart rate said one thing, but the way she leaned toward him and the way her fingers curled around the hand still holding hers said something very different. His interruption brought her attention back to him and she met his worried gaze with an embarrassed shrug.

“Sorry, Spike. I guess I zoned out there for a minute. I’m not used to hearing you say such nice things to me.” She raised her free hand to touch the side of his face. “I’m not sure I know how to react,” she added, stroking his cheek softly.

“I’d say you’re doing just fine, love,” he whispered, leaning into her hand and closing his eyes.

The sound of the phone ringing inside the house jarred them out of the moment, and Buffy dropped her hand and moved away from him quickly. She avoided looking at him as she stood up and prepared to go inside, missing the disappointment that flashed across his face when she broke contact.

“I...I guess I’d better go in. That might have been an important call. Could have been Mom, or Dawn, or...” She stopped herself just before she said Riley’s name, but the amber eyes flashing at her told her it didn’t matter. They both knew who was likely to be calling her this late at night.

“Right,” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t want to be missing any important phone calls, do we, Slayer?”

“Spike—“ She hesitated, not sure exactly what she wanted to say, but knowing it was important to remind him that she belonged to somebody else.

“Don’t,” he said flatly. “Just bloody don’t, alright?”

“All right,” she said meekly. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow night?”

The fact that it sounded more like a question than a statement, made him realize how close to the surface his demon was and he forced it back as he tried to look nonchalant.

“Oh, yeah. You’ll see me tomorrow. And I’d better see you dressed to impress, Slayer.”

He lifted his eyebrow at her and ran his eyes up and down her body, trying to get back the easy bantering they’d enjoyed earlier in the evening.

Buffy was grateful to have the tension relieved and immediately responded with a huffy, “As if I need fashion advice from you! I just hope you don’t embarrass me, Spike.”

He studied her for a minute, then smiled his cocky smile and said, “I’ll do my best, pet. See you tomorrow,” he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness in a swirl of leather.

Buffy sighed at the mercurial changes of which the vampire was capable, and opened the kitchen door to go in. The phone had long since stopped ringing, but she was pretty sure she knew who it was and that he would call back soon. With a guilty start, she realized that she hadn’t talked to Riley in several weeks, and hadn’t been the one to initiate a call since the first week of his leave. She vowed silently to be a better girlfriend to him for the rest of the summer and went upstairs to shower and get ready for bet.

She was just finishing brushing her hair and preparing to climb into bed when the phone rang again. She picked it up as she slipped into bed, piling pillows against the headboard and pulling the covers up.

“Hello?” she said into the phone as she squirmed into a comfortable position for a long talk.

“Buffy? Where’ve you been? I’ve been calling all night.”

“Uh, well, I was patrolling...you know, Chosen One and all that. Vamps to slay, demons to hunt. The usual. I did hear the phone the last time, but I was still outside and couldn’t get to it in time. I knew it was you, though,” she finished brightly. “That’s why I came in.”

“You wouldn’t have come in anyway?” Riley asked in surprise. “It’s the middle of the night, Buffy. What were you doing still outside?”

Opening her mouth before she had totally engaged her brain, Buffy responded cheerily, “Oh, Spike and I were talk—“

“Spike? Spike was there? Did he bother you? Did you have to stake him?” She could hear the anger in his voice and the trace of hope as he asked about staking.

“No, Riley,” she said with a sigh. Deciding it was safest to go with as much truth as possible, she went on, “Spike isn’t bothering me. He’s been helping me patrol and keeping me company while everyone is out of town for the summer. He’s been very helpful, actually.”

There was a tense silence from the other end of the line until Riley finally asked, “And does your mother know you’re spending time with another soulless vampire?”

Buffy was astonished that Riley would think that her mother would be upset, and angry that he would obliquely refer to Angel as though he had a right to comment on that relationship.

“Angel has a soul,” she said shortly, making it very clear that was going to be the end of that subject. “And my mother happens to like Spike. A lot.”

“Well, doesn’t know him like I do,” he muttered, sounding very much like a spoiled child. “She wouldn’t like him so much if he didn’t have that chip,”

“On the contrary,” Buffy said sweetly. “She’s known him for years. He’s always been welcome in my mom’s house.”

“Spike’s been in your house? Before he was chipped? What the hell were you thinking, Buffy?”

Riley’s righteous indignation reminded Buffy of how little he really knew about her life before she met him and how complicated it could get, being a Slayer on the Hellmouth.

“Long story, Riley. I really don’t feel like going in to it right now, okay? I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.”

“All right, Buffy. I’m sorry I yelled. I just...I miss you, you know? And I worry about you when I’m not there.”

She could hear the affection in his voice, and smothered the impatient sigh that wanted to sneak out of her mouth.

“I’m sorry, too, Riley. Let’s just forget it, okay?” She forced herself to sound interested as she asked, “So, how is your visit going? Are you catching up with lots of old friends?”

“Oh yeah. Having a good time. We had our high school class reunion and I got to see all my old buddies. We’ve been fishing and just riding around in the truck. It’s been great.”

“Well, that sounds...great. I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

“I am. But I miss you. I’ll be glad to get back. Getting really horny... I hope you’ll be rested when I get back.”

Buffy smothered her laugh, but did roll her eyes since he couldn’t see that. The idea of Riley being horny enough to wear her out was even funnier now than it would have been two days ago.

“Uh, yeah, I think I’ll be okay,” she said with a smile in her voice, trying to ignore the little one in her head that was saying, “unless you let Spike wear you out in the meantime...”

(Bad voice! Bad, bad. Not listening to bad voice. La, la, la...)

For the second time that night, someone had to bring her back from la-la land as Riley said, “Buffy? Buffy are you there?”

“Oh, yes. I’m here. Sorry, guess I just got carried away thinking about when you get back.” She winced at the blatant lie, but when she heard the happiness in his voice she decided it was a good lie.

“Well, on that happy note, I guess I’ll let you get to sleep. I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Love you, Buffy.”

“Um, okay. Bye-bye,” she chirped, hoping he wouldn’t notice the lack of “I love you” on her part. She told herself it didn’t mean anything. “I just didn’t feel like saying it right now, that’s all,” she mumbled to herself as she slid down on the bed. “Doesn’t mean a thing.”

Which would have been a lot more convincing if her dreams hadn’t been filled with piercing blue eyes, smooth alabaster skin and a very talented tongue...

Chapter Three

Buffy started worrying about what to wear by noon the following day. She stood in front of her closet and tried to think about what to do. Yes, Spike had said she should look good, and she had told him she wanted to dress up, but the idea of appearing in public dressed in her best and accompanied by someone in jeans and a tee shirt was not appealing. Finally she just decided to trust him not to embarrass her too much, and she pulled out a little black dress that she’d been saving for something special.

A leisurely bath, time spent drying and curling her hair so that it hung around her shoulders in golden waves, a half an hour at her dressing table working on make-up, and she was ready to get dressed. She stood in front of the mirror in a black lace thong and held the dress up to her. It came up high in front into a halter top, and was cut low in the back. A bra was obviously not an option, but she looked at her perky little breasts and decided it was OK. She pulled the silky fabric over her head and settled the swirling skirt around her hips. The hem just brushed the top of her knees and when she had added thigh-high black stockings and strappy little black sandals with three inch heels, she stepped back to evaluate her hard work.

Staring back from the mirror was someone she almost didn’t recognize at first. Gone were the pretty, young co-ed and the flinty-eyed slayer, and in their place was a beautiful, sophisticated woman. She worried for a minute that she looked too good for what Spike undoubtedly had in mind for them, but when she heard the car pull up outside she knew it was too late to change. She heard the front door open and voice calling up the stairs, “Oi, Slayer. You’d better be ready. It’s a long drive and we’ve got reservations for 8:00.”

(Reservations? We have reservations?)

Buffy went to the top of the stairs and yelled back at him, “I’m almost ready. Try some patience for a change.”

She quickly grabbed an evening bag from her mother’s closet and filled it with her wallet, lip-gloss, a comb and, as an after thought, a stake. She hung it from her shoulder and with a sense of trepidation that surprised her she started down the stairs. She was almost to the bottom when she saw an incredibly good looking blond man, wearing an expensive black suit and dress shoes staring up at her with his mouth hanging open.

By the time she registered that she was looking at Spike, she was frozen on the stairs unable to do anything but gawk. He was wearing a blue shirt that matched his eyes exactly, and a tie that she was pretty sure cost more than her dress. She wanted to accuse him of killing someone for the clothes, but the way the suit fit, as though it had been tailored just for him, kept her mouth shut.

Spike couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to. The woman standing on the stairs looking down at him was a vision in black and gold that he wanted to remember forever. He was grateful that he didn’t need to breath, as he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to and would have passed out on the floor.

Time dragged on as they stayed rooted to their spots, both lost in the sight in front of them. The sound of a door slamming next door broke the spell and Buffy shook herself and came the rest of the way down the stairs. The vampire moved forward and took her hands, helping her down the last two steps, but never taking his eyes from hers.

“You look absolutely stunning, Buffy,” he said with a slightly different accent than she was accustomed to hearing from him. The look on his face left no doubt as to his sincerity and she blushed slightly as she replied, “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”

They were standing at the bottom of the stairs, only inches apart and Buffy suddenly felt very warm as he devoured her with his eyes. She colored again, and gently took her hand out of his as she moved toward the door.

“So, reservations, huh?” she asked as she went out the door. “What’s that all about?”

He slipped in front of her and ran to open the door on the passenger side of his old Desoto. He couldn’t resist touching her hair as he waited for her to get in the car and she smiled up at him almost shyly as she felt his hand brush her head.

By the time he was back around to his own side and had slid behind the wheel, he was back to his old cocky self; and he ran an appreciative eye up her nylon clad legs, sayin with a leer, “I hope those aren’t panty hose, pet.”

Buffy flushed, but snarked back at him as she flashed him a glimpse of lacey tops and silky golden skin. “Do I look like the pantyhose type?” she asked innocently.

He swallowed hard and suddenly wished he was wearing his usual tight jeans as his cock sat up at attention in the lightweight dress pants. He peered sideways at her to see if she noticed, but she was looking out the window, watching Sunnydale disappear behind them.

By the time they got to LA, they had relaxed back into their usual comfortable camaraderie and Buffy was beginning to wonder what he had in mind for them.

“Where are we going, Spike?” she asked, looking around but not recognizing where they were.

“Right here, love. “ he answered, pulling into a curved drive in front of a very expensive hotel and opening his door. Before she could ask what they were doing at a hotel, the valet was opening the door on her side and handing her out of the car. His appreciative look at her legs as she swung them around to get out didn’t pass unnoticed by the vampire, and his eyes were briefly flecked with gold as he handed the key to the oblivious boy.

“Take good care of her,” he growled, gesturing at the car and taking Buffy’s arm. “We’ll be a while.”

They entered the hotel lobby and Spike immediately guided her toward an elevator set off from the others. A small tasteful sign indicated it was a direct elevator to the “Top of the World” restaurant.

When they emerged from the elevator into the restaurant, Buffy gasped involuntarily. The room was huge and dominated by the floor to ceiling windows surrounding it. When Spike gave the hostess his name, she smiled coquettishly and escorted them to a table for two, right next to a window.

Buffy was entranced by the view from their table, but not so entranced that she didn’t notice the woman looking Spike up and down and licking her lips. Buffy surprised herself by giving a low growl that fortunately no one heard but Spike. He cocked an eyebrow at her curiously, but continued to talk with the more-than-attentive hostess about a wine list.

When she finally walked away, swaying her hips provocatively, Buffy huffed, “Well, you’d think a nice place like this wouldn’t have such a ‘ho as their hostess.”

The blond vampire gaped at her and said, “Uh, Slayer? Not sure I’m followin’ you here. What did the poor bint do to bring that on?”

“She was ogling you,” she snarled. At his amused expression, she snapped, “And you were ogling back!”

He looked at her in annoyed surprise for a second, then burst into a big smile.

“You’re jealous!” he crowed.

“Wha-? As if! I am not!”

Buffy rolled her eyes and huffed in disgust. (I’m not jealous! Am I? Oh my god, I am. I’m jealous. Argh!)

“Yes, you are. You’re jealous.” He was so delighted that he was practically singing it.

“Fine, I’m jealous, Mr.-I’m-going-to-eat-the-parking-valet,’” she growled back at him. “Thought I didn’t notice that, huh?” She stuck her chin out at him combatively.

Instead of arguing with her, he reached across the table and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. Warmth shot through her body when his soft lips touched her sensitive palm and he smiled when he felt her heart rate go up.

“Suppose, just for tonight, that we agree that there is nobody else in the world except us? We don’t have to worry about anybody ogling anything, because they aren’t really there. There’s just Spike and the Slayer.”

He looked at her with soft blue eyes that pleaded with her to agree. When she shook her head, “No”, he started to shut them, but she stopped him with a light touch on his face.

As soon as he was looking at her again, she said softly, “There’s just William and Buffy.”

A smile that lit up his whole face was his only response, as he kissed her hand again and rubbed his cheek against it before giving it back.

“William and Buffy it is.”

While the waiter was pouring the wine Spike had ordered, a pretty girl carrying a camera came up to them and offered, “Would you two like a picture as a souvenir of the night? You look so wonderful together.”

Before Buffy could respond, Spike jumped up and said, “Absolutely, luv. We’ll take two or three.”

He pulled Buffy to her feet and got behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. Buffy settled for wrapping her arms across his, when she couldn’t find anything else to do with them. They took another one of them standing side by side with Spike’s arm around her waist, and a final one of them sitting at the table, leaning toward each other and smiling happily at the camera.

After giving the girl Buffy’s Revello Drive address and a nice tip, Spike once again took his place across the table from her. The menus came and they ordered, Spike having a New York Strip “very rare” he instructed carefully while Buffy rolled her eyes. They ate a leisurely dinner, talking about where they would go after they finished and what time they would have to leave Los Angeles to get home before sunrise.

Buffy tried not to wonder how much the evening was costing, or where Spike was getting the money for it, but she knew it was beginning to add up and they hadn’t even gone dancing yet. When she ventured a question about it, he gave her a hard look and said evenly, “Don’t worry about it, Slayer. I didn’t steal it and I didn’t kill anybody. That’s all you need to know.”

She flinched a little when he called her Slayer, and wondered if she had spoiled the evening for them, but he soon bounced back and was anxious to move on to the next part of the night. Buffy refused to be rushed through her chocolate mousse dessert and by the time she was done, he was practically jiggling with impatience.

They walked past the hostess without even noticing the wistful look she sent after Spike, and managed to get back into the car without risking a Spike headache for punching the valet.

The next stop was a well-known club on the other side of town and Buffy was flabbergasted when the owner came over to greet them, telling Spike how good it was to see him again, and offering a bottle of champagne on the house.

“How...what...who...” She fumbled for the right to question to ask as Spike just smirked at her smugly.

“I’m an important man, love. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“You’re not a man, you’re a vampire. And you live in Sunnydale. How does that man know you?”

He laughed and finally admitted, “Spent some time in LA off and on. Especially after Dru sent me away and before I came back to Sunnyhell. Got drunk here one night and passed out. Came to just in time to see a couple of vamps trying to take the night’s receipts and have Jake for dessert. Couldn’t tell you why I didn’t just kill them and drain him myself – but I didn’t. Dusted both of them, then passed out again. When I came to, I was lying on a couch in his office and he was telling me my money was no good in here for as long as he owned the place. Decided havin’ someplace this nice to go to whenever I wanted was more important that eatin’ him, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

“Does he know what you are?” she asked dubiously.

“Can’t imagine he doesn’t,” he said. “I’m sure it was my demon whipped those two thieves. I was too pissed to be much good in a fight. He’s never mentioned it, though.”

While Buffy tried to digest that their host knew what Spike was and liked him anyway - (Kinda like my mom) -- he was taking her hand and pulling her toward the dance floor. The two lithe blonds attracted a lot of attention as their natural athleticism and sense of rhythm quickly made them the most watchable dancers on the floor. After several fast songs, the band dropped into a ballad and they melted into each other as though they’d been dancing together for years.

Spike’s arm was around her waist and his hand was on the small of her back as he guided her around the floor. After several circuits that let her know he was probably one of the best dancers she’d ever been with, he slowed down and they found themselves in one place swaying gently to the music flowing around them. He moved both hands around her waist, pulling her closer to his body and she snaked her arms up around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her herbal shampoo. He could smell and hear the blood rushing through the artery in her neck, just below his chin. When he couldn’t resist it any longer, he put his head down and licked the pulse pounding there. As soon as Buffy felt his lips on her neck, she shivered and moved closer to him. The vampire groaned as her warm body pressed up against his and he began nibbling on the warm skin on her neck and murmuring in her ear when he worked his way up to her ear lobe.

When the evidence of what her nearness was doing to him became impossible to deny, Buffy reluctantly pushed herself away slightly and shook her head.

“What’s wrong, love?” he whispered in her ear, trying to pull her back against him. He missed the warm body he’d been pressed up against, even thought she had only moved an inch or so away.

“What’s wrong is the whole club is going to know what you’re doing,” she hissed at him, turning a bright shade of red. “Those pants don’t hide a thing.”

“They won’t see anything as long as you’re in front me,” he grinned. “The only way to protect your virtue is to stay right here.” He pulled her back against the even larger bulge in his pants and she felt it twitch against her hip. She had to admit he was right. As long as she was plastered up against his body, no one would be able to see the hard object in front of him.

“See, love,” he whispered in that deep tone that sent shivers down her spine, “you need to be here. “S where you belong.”

Buffy let the soothing sound of his voice and the feel of his arms lull her back into the pleasant daze she’d been in when they first started dancing and she felt herself melting back into him. She smothered the little pang of disloyalty she felt when she couldn’t keep herself from comparing how well their bodies fit together with how awkward it was to dance like this with Riley.

The other patrons all noticed that the two beautiful dancers were now lost in their own world and they smiled with appreciation or wistful envy as they watched the couple swaying to music only they could hear. Spike and Buffy were so wrapped up in each other that neither one noticed when the music ended, nor that after a short pause in which the owner gestured to the band for another slow song, it began again.

As they danced, Buffy felt the little tingles on her neck that told her there was a vampire near. The tingle was almost familiar, but she shook it off, figuring Spike must have done something to trigger her radar.

(Maybe he nibbled too hard on my neck or something.)

Suddenly, he was ripped out of her arms and she opened her eyes to see him sprawled on the floor, eyes flashing yellow as he snarled at a large, dark haired man looming over him. Buffy could see the bouncers headed in their direction as Spike kipped back to his feet, preparing to launch himself at the man in front of him.

Buffy had run to his side and whirled to face his assailant, fully prepared to disregard her normal reluctance to hurt humans. One look at the furious face of the interloper and she froze in place.

“Angel?”

Chapter Four

Although neither vampire had gone totally into game face, both sets of glaring eyes were flickering yellow as they moved up to stand face to face. Buffy moved quickly to get in between them, and pushed Angel back toward the rapidly approaching bouncers.

“Stop it!” she hissed at him. “You’re going to get us thrown out of here!”

“Us? What us? Are you here with him?” Her ex stared at her in disbelief and dismay. “You’re out with Spike?”

“Yeah, Peaches. She’s out with me. An’ you’re makin’ a scene in my friend’s club.”

Angel turned to stare at Buffy incredulously.

“What the hell are you thinking, Buffy? It’s Spike!”

“I’m thinking that everybody except me is having a fun summer and I deserved a night off from babysitting the Hellmouth.” She stuck her lower lip out and glared at other vampire. “And you’re trying to ruin it.”

By this time, Jake and his bouncers were surrounding the small group, which, Buffy suddenly noticed, appeared to include Cordelia.

“Is there a problem here, Spike?” Jake asked as he motioned for his bouncers to take Angel’s arms.

Correctly reading the barely suppressed rage on his grandsire’s face, Spike said soothingly, “”S OK, Jake. Just a misunderstanding. Peaches and I are old friends. His social skills just aren’t very good sometimes. Right, Peaches?”

“Angel, please,” Buffy added quietly.

He stared back and forth between his grandchild and his ex girlfriend for a second, then bowed to the pleading in Buffy’s eyes and shook the bouncers off with a, “Right. My apologies if my usual greeting was a little too rough for the time and place. I’m not used to finding Spike in such nice places,” he added with a growl.

Jake looked at them dubiously, but when Spike nodded his head, he directed the bouncers back to the door and went back to his office, leaving them in the middle of the floor.

“Care to join us?” Spike asked as he took Buffy’s arm and headed for their table. He didn’t look back to see if they were following, just pulled Buffy’s chair out for her and sat down himself.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at the still frozen Angel and walked over to sit down next to Buffy. She eyed Spike cautiously until Buffy snapped, “He’s not going to bite you, Cordelia. Relax.”

“Well, not unless you ask me to, Cheerleader,” Spike leered at her then winced when Buffy kicked his unprotected ankle under the table.

“Ow, Slayer! Knew I should have worn my boots. What’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t be ass, Spike,” she grumbled.

(Guess William and Buffy have left the building. It’s jus’ like Angelus to bollix things up for everybody.)

When Angel had recovered sufficiently to follow Cordelia’s swaying hips to the table, he grabbed the only chair left and sat down in it facing Buffy and doing his best to ignore Spike.

“Buffy? I don’t understand. This is Spike. What are you doing going out with him? And what about the soldier?”

It wasn’t lost on the older vampire that Spike’s eyes narrowed and flickered yellow when he mentioned Riley. He tried not to watch as the other vampire struggled to push his demon down, but he couldn’t help noticing that Spike was able to do it fairly easily. A twinge of envy went through him to think that his much younger grandchild was able to control his demon better than Angel could his own.

Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to be patient as she filled Angel and Cordelia in on the events of the past year. Angel had heard about Spike’s chip and his inability to hurt humans, but he was floored at the idea that the former killer of Slayers was now helping one.

He turned to look hard at Spike and growled, “Why, Spike? What are you up to?”

“Not up to anythin’, Peaches. Jus’ helpin’ the Slayer out while her little Scooby buddies are out of town and gettin’ in my spot of violence. Promised her a night out on the town before summer was over and I’m just keeping my promise.”

He clenched his jaw and glared back at the clearly distrustful, scowling vampire. The air was tight with tension, and for a minute Buffy was sure they were going to throw the table aside and tear the club apart. However the blond vampire was able to lean back in his chair and project an air of supreme indifference that gave Angel no excuse for violence.

Instead, he demanded that they pay up their tab and come with him. Cordelia rolled her eyes when he said, “We’re going somewhere else. I need some answers here.”

“Oh, wonderful,” she moaned. “You promised me a night out in a human club and now you want to go running back to Caritas. How perfect!”

“Caritas?” Buffy and Spike asked at the same time.

Angel sighed and, taking a more conciliatory tone, explained, “Caritas is owned by a friend of mine. He can...sense things about people and demons. I want him to read Spike to be sure there isn’t something evil going on here. I don’t trust him,” he added, throwing another glare at Spike.

“I do,” Buffy said quietly. Under the table she rubbed her foot against his ankle and saw him smile slightly in her direction before he turned his eyes back to Angel’s.

‘Well, then it’s probably a good thing we ran into you. Obviously he’s got you fooled somehow, Buffy. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of it as soon as we find out what’s really going on.”

He beamed at Buffy, completely missing the pissed off look on her face.

“YOU will take care of it? Because I’M being fooled?” The more she thought about his cavalier treatment of her belief in Spike, the angrier she got. “Have you forgotten who I am entirely? Slayer here, Angel. Pretty good at spotting evil when I see it, remember?”

He had the grace to look embarrassed, but stubbornly stuck to his guns as he said, “I’m not trying to insult you, Buffy. But I’ve known Spike for a lot longer than you have and I know –“

“You know nothing, Peaches; but I’m tired of this. Let’s go visit this friend of yours so he can do whatever it is he does and then Buffy and I can go back to enjoyin’ what’s left of our evenin’.”

He stood up and pulled out Buffy’s chair, asking, “You ready to go, pet?”

She focused glittering green ice on Angel as she reluctantly finished off her glass of champagne and stood up. She conspicuously ignored Angel’s outstretched hand and moved closer to her date. Spike smirked at the glowering older vampire and smoothly ushered Buffy toward the door. They paused to look in to Jake’s office and Spike thanked him sincerely for the champagne and apologized for Angel’s behavior.

“No problem, Spike. I’m glad you could smooth it over. I had a feeling my bouncers might have been a little out of their league there...” he said mildly as he gazed at Spike . He wasn’t demanding an explanation, but he was clearly curious.

“Yeah, Peaches might’ve been a bit of a handful for ‘em. Thought it would be better to let it go than to tear up your club. Woulda had a go at him myself, otherwise.”

It was as close as Spike was willing to come to admitting that Angel was also a vampire, but it was enough to satisfy Jake’s suspicions. He nodded his head and repeated his promise that Spike would always be welcome there.

“No fighting tonight!” Buffy poked him. “We’re on vacation,” she explained to the grinning club owner with a smile. He walked over and shook Buffy’s hand.

“Well, don’t wait till you’re on vacation again to come back,” he offered. “You don’t even have to bring him with you if you don’t want to.”

He laughed with Buffy at Spike’s indignant “I’ll be damned” and waved them away.

When they reached the sidewalk, Angel suggested they all go in his car, but Spike refused.

“We’ll jus’ follow you there, Peaches. Don’t want to leave my baby unprotected here on the street.”

Angel growled and made one last attempt to get Buffy to ride with him and Cordelia so that he could “talk to her”, but she shook her head and stepped through the car door Spike was holding open for her. In spite of Spike’s outwardly calm appearance, she could see that he was wound as tightly as she’d ever seen him.

Once they were alone in the car and Angel and Cordelia had gone up the street, she put a tentative hand on his tightly clenched leg and said carefully, “I’m really glad you didn’t let Angel make a scene back there, Spike.” She could feel the steel-like muscle as she touched him and marveled at how something so hard could feel so good when it was pressed up against her own thigh.

(Great, bloody, fuckin’ poof! Leave it to him to come ridin’ in like the Lone Ranger and ruin my night. If this ‘friend’ of his manages to convince her to leave with him, I’m gonna take this whole city apart, brick by brick.)

All he said aloud was, “I need to kill something.”

Buffy sighed and removed her hand, but stayed close to where he was sitting, resting her hand on the seat between them.

“I know what you mean,” she surprised him by agreeing. “I don’t know where he gets off thinking I can’t make my own decisions. He’s a stupid...poof!”

He shot an astonished look at her; then grinned with delight. “Right with you there, love,” he said and patted her hand where it was lying on the seat. When she turned it over and curled her fingers up into his, he swore his heart lurched. They drove the rest of the way behind Angel’s car, holding hands, but looking straight ahead as though if they didn’t see their hands, it wasn’t really happening.

As they slowed down to follow Angel into the parking lot, they could see the silhouette of Cordelia’s head and it was obvious that she was speaking very animatedly.

“Looks like the cheerleader has a few choice words for Mr. Tall, dark and forehead,” Spike pointed out happily.

Buffy examined herself internally, looking for the pang of jealousy that should be there, and was amazed to find that she didn’t mind that Angel seemed to be with Cordelia. In fact, she was happy that he had someone else upon which to lavish his protective urges.

She giggled and agreed, “Yep, looks like he might be apologizing for the rest of the night.”

Finding themselves in much better moods than they had been when they got in the car, Spike and Buffy decided to make the best of the new club and they eagerly followed Angel and a still-angry Cordelia through the door. They were greeted by a large green demon with red horns on his head and a frothy drink in one hand.

“Angelcakes! Cordelia, don’t you look gorgeous? And what is this vision in blondness I see behind you?”

He walked past the two brunettes to circle Spike and Buffy twice before announcing to all within earshot that they were the “best looking couple to ever walk in the door.”

“I’m Lorne,” he introduced himself, “And you are...? Other than drop dead gorgeous, that is?”

He looked back and forth from Buffy to Spike expectantly, but Angel’s voice interrupted his beaming perusal.

“This is Buffy, Lorne,” he said gruffly, ignoring Spike completely.

“How do you do, Buf—“ he’s eyes got big and he whirled on Angel. “YOUR Buffy? The Slayer?”

He whirled back as he heard the snarl from the blond standing beside her and, batting his eyes at Spike, he said quickly, “Didn’t mean it that way, Scrumptious. Just that he talks about her a lot.”

He looked back at Buffy in admiration and said, “Welcome to Caritas, darlin’. I can’t wait to hear you sing.”

“Sing?” Buffy whirled on Angel. “What does he mean, sing? I don’t sing. No singing.”

“How about you, Luscious?” he turned to the blond vampire. “Would you sing for me?”

“Maybe later,” he growled, still angry over hearing Buffy referred to as Angel’s. “Give us something to drink first.”

“Oh, of course! Where are my manners? Here you go.” He ushered them to a table near the karaoke equipment and waved a waiter over. “Whatever they want,” he told him. “Keep them happy.”

Buffy looked around the bar at all the demons and vampires and decided that a Diet Coke would be the best choice.

(No way do I want to be drunk in a place where I’m outnumbered by demons twenty to one!)

Spike looked disappointed, but settled for a beer himself, still somewhat angry over the turn their fancy night on the town had taken. After a round of drinks and some awkward small talk, he finally looked Angel in the eye and asked, “Alright then, your royal poofness, tell us why you dragged us away from a perfectly good time at a nice, human club to this place.”

Angel hemmed and hawed until Cordelia finally snapped and said succinctly, “Lorne reads auras when people are singing. Angel wants you to sing so Lorne can tell him what evil plans you have for Buffy and he can rescue her from your evilness and be the big hero.”

Buffy and Spike gawked at her while Angel glared around the room as though looking for something to hit. Buffy and Spike looked at each other and put their heads together, speaking so low that even Angel’s vampire hearing couldn’t pick it up.

“Do you think he’ll know we..?” she worried.

“Dunno, love. But he’ll know I don’t mean to hurt you. That should be enough for Peaches.”

Angel frowned at the two whispering together and leaned forward to try to hear what they were saying.

“Rude, much?” Buffy said as she pulled back, her lips pursed in a worried pout.

“It’s rude to whisper,” he snapped back at her, then looked away when he saw her flinch.

“I’m sorry, Buffy. It’s just that I know he’s up to something, and Lorne should be able to tell what it is. I’m just trying to protect you. Really.”

“I know you are, Angel,” she replied with a sigh, “but I’ve been the Slayer for over four years now. I really think I can handle Spike on my own.”

“Hey!” Spike’s indignant shout was cut off when Buffy looked at him with warm green eyes that said more than she intended about just what she’d like to be handling.

“Can’t I?” she said, holding his gaze until he thought the air between them was going to combust.