Author’s note: This is actually meant as a one chapter story, but it just wouldn’t all fit on one ‘page’. If the cut seemed a little off, I’m sorry, but I tried to chop it where I thought best. Happy reading...

***

He backed up into the pool first, mainly to show her that there was no danger, but also to watch her as she gingerly glided into the healing waters. He sat her on a stone at one end of the pool and watched her close her eyes and sigh as the pool began to cool her skin down. "Now," he announced to no one in particular, "back to business."

When her skin made contact with the pool's cool water, Buffy immediately felt a change in her burn. It was almost as if it had mysteriously vanished. She knew it was still there--the rock she was leaning against seemed a little rough at first--but the pain was all but gone. Add her slayer healing powers to that of the water, and Presto!--instant comfort. She opened her eyes when she heard a faint 'sploosh'. Panic hit her as she saw that Spike was no longer in the pool with her. Maybe he'd gone back to his jacket to get his smokes or something. She called his name out and nearly jumped out of her skin when his head and shoulders popped out of the water just in front of her.

"Don't worry, pet. I'm just finishing what I started. Don't like to leave this sort of... project... incomplete." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Although this kiss wasn't as chaste as their first had been, it was nowhere near as passionate as he wanted it to be. He wanted to devour her, pour all of his emotions into it, make her come with just the one kiss.

Lips tangled, tongues dueled and teeth nipped as the two blondes became more aggressive with their embrace. Spike pulled back and stared at Buffy, who lay back, eyes glazed and lips slightly parted, her heaving chest creating little ripples on the pool's surface. He gave her a quick wink before disappearing under the water.

As she felt his hands spread her thighs, all Buffy could think of was how nice it was to have a lover who didn't need to breathe. As far as she was concerned right now, breathing was way overrated.

Even in the water, the scent and taste of her arousal overpowered him. Sliding his tongue along her folds, he marveled at how wet she was--and not because she was immersed in water. He imagined himself sliding into her tight channel, the heat engulfing him, and he wondered just how experienced she was. He knew there was the poof--he'd bragged enough about popping her cherry that half the town's vamp population could tell the story by rote. But had there been anyone since? Curious, he slid one finger, and then another one, inside of her and began to pump slowly, just as he bit down lightly onto her clit.

Oh, fuck, he thought, as his fingers were gripped by her internal muscles. She couldn't possibly be that tight. He wouldn't last five minutes inside of her, unless he brought himself off before hand. Slipping one hand down to his erection, he began to pump it at the same rhythm as he was finger-fucking the Slayer.

Buffy could feel the pressure in her center building rapidly. The sensation of being licked and penetrated at the same time drove her to distraction. 120 years, was all that she kept repeating in her head. 120 years of practice... Her body tensed as her climax hit, every nerve on end, every muscle flexed. She laid both hands on Spike's head as she ground out the last of the orgasm, pressing herself as far as she could into his face. As she calmed down, she felt him tense up as well, gripping her thigh in a bruising grasp and piercing her other thigh with his fangs. The sensation of the other penetration, riding on the ebb of her initial climax, caused her to have a second, mini-orgasm.

He hadn't meant it to happen that way, but when she began to rub her pussy on his face, writhing in the throes of passion, Spike lost all control. He'd felt his face shift to its demon visage and he began to pump himself even more vigorously, coming so hard he'd seen colors. He hadn't even noticed that he'd bit her until he felt the Slayer come again.

She lay back, panting and trying to catch her breath. It was funny, if she thought about it--all she'd done was lay back, but she was as winded as if she'd taken on a nest of vampires on her own. Spike resurfaced and took her in his arms. They fit so well, she thought, it was as if their bodies were made to be together. She felt him pull back a little, so she looked up. He tilted her chin so they were looking eye to eye. His gaze was so intense, but so naked at the same time. It was as if she could read his every emotion: lust, confusion, elation, worry...

He took her in his arms once again, sure that she wasn't going to stake him. "I'm sorry, luv. I really didn't mean to bite, but when you started bucking, well..." He smiled and turned to look at her. "You're an amazing woman, Buffy, and you make me absolutely crazy. I just couldn't stop the demon from coming out."

He'd called her by her name. Not Slayer, not bint or any of the other stupid British swear words. It felt so right, hearing it roll off his tongue. She took his head in her hands and stroked her thumbs along his sharp cheekbones. "It's ok, Spike. I understand. And, well, it wasn't all that bad, judging by my body's reaction..." She shimmied closer to him, drew her tongue along one of those cheekbones and whispered in his ear. "...and my body seems to be saying 'More Spike goodness, now!' so maybe we can keep it happy, hmm?"

Buffy watched as the vampire leaned in, kissed her cheek, and walked out of the water. Good going, Buffy. Your sex drive has even driven a vampire away. Can you say 'ho' much? She was surprised, though, when she saw the flame from his lighter illuminate and transfer to a row of candles. Spike brought the half-dozen candles closer to the pool, setting them on flat rocks here and there. The young woman couldn't help but appreciate the sight of the naked vampire--he was even more beautiful than she'd let herself imagine (now that she could admit to herself that she had imagined him naked). He had the body of a swimmer: broad shoulders, muscled back and a well-developed chest. She almost had to keep from drooling as he slowly let himself back into the water.

Spike decided not to call her on her little ogling session--best to let her believe that he hadn't noticed. "I brought the candles last time Dru and I were here. Vamp sight is well and all, but there's nothing like a bit of candlelight to be able to see one another even better." He leaned back across from Buffy, and held his hand out for her to join him.

He looked so beautiful--she couldn't help but use that word when it came to Spike, there was no other word that described her vision of him so accurately--in the dancing light of the candles. They lent his pale skin a golden hue, and accentuated the sharp angles of his face. When he held his hand out to her, she didn't hesitate. She knew she wanted this, this something that even that same morning would have seemed deranged and vile, as much as he did.

Buffy sat herself on his lap, feeling his arousal press into her belly. She giggled lightly. "Guess little Spikey is ready to play again."

Spike smirked and raised his scarred brow. "Naming him already, are we? And luv, he was ready to play right after the last game ended." He growled playfully, pulling her close to him, their bodies slick with the pool's water and the Slayer's sweat. "Vampires, pet, have a refractory time of oh, zero. Get us eager enough and we don't even soften up." He felt the young women in his arms stiffen at something he'd said. Leaning back so he could look her in the face, he quietly asked her what was wrong.

Usually, Buffy would have said 'nothing' and pretended that she'd had a cramp or a hiccup or something. But something about this bleached vampire, who was so open with her, made her feel like she should share. Sighing, she leaned in and put her head on his shoulder. "If vamps are so virile (yeah, surprise him with big words), then why did... why did Angel only want to do it once?" Her voice had lowered to almost a whisper, and her shame could be clearly heard.

The vampire's blood boiled at the mention of his grandsire, doubly so in the context in which they were discussing him. "'S 'cause Angel's also Angelus, Buffy. As Angelus, there was no foreplay--unless whips and sharp instruments are your idea of nice pre-shag fun. So the demon part of Angel doesn't have compassion, doesn't feel like the other party should enjoy it--it's just out to relieve some pent-up sexual tension. And the souled part of him? Betcha you were its first time, too. He spent over a hundred years livin' in alleys, feeding off rats. Doubt he even thought about sex before meeting you." He pushed a strand of golden hair behind her ear, letting his finger slide down the side of her neck, before continuing. "Then, he's got you... wherever..."

"His apartment."

"Ok, so he's got you at his apartment, and he doesn't know what to do with you. Somewhere inside of him, Angelus is screamin' at him to tie you to the bed and bleed you to death--get off on your fright and your pain like he's so good at. Then he's got Angel, virgin extraordinaire, who probably wouldn't know that tab A fits into slot B without a bleedin' correspondence course. So he probably did what he thought was best. Gave you a nice plain human first time, was probably very gentle, in the missionary position at that."

Incredible. Spike had just made sense out of all the jumbled pieces that had been floating in her mind since that fateful night. She wanted to thank him--an equal gift to the one he'd just given her. She slid off his lap, and pat the stone behind him with her hand. "C'mon, Spike. Sit up here for a sec." She saw his confusion, but he acquiesced nonetheless. When he was sitting up out of the water, with only his legs dangling in the pool, she asked him to close his eyes.

Wonder what she's up to... "Oh! Bloody fuckin'..." The words caught in his throat at the shock of the Slayer's hot mouth around his cock. He worked hard at controlling his demon--she didn't know what she'd let loose when she wrapped those luscious lips around him. Instead of bucking up, he concentrated on spewing a constant stream of praise. She couldn't have too much experience, based on what he'd sussed out. "God, Buffy yeah, like that, just a little lower, oh..."

Up until this night, the idea of fellatio disgusted Buffy. Who in their right mind would want to put their mouth on some guy's you-know-what? Ugh, with a capital ugh. But... after how much pleasure she'd derived from Spike's ministration, and after seeing the bleached vampire in all his natural glory, the idea was no longer repulsive. More like 'bring it on'. Which led to what she was doing at that moment, that little tongue thing that he seemed to like so much. A little flicker, followed by a hard flat-tongue lick--she could swear he was actually purring, if it wasn't for the continual chattering. Not that she minded, not at all. It just bolstered her self-esteem to find out just how she was affecting the vampire--she'd reduced him to a babbling mound of Jell-O.

She took him as deep as she could, pressing the base of her tongue against the sensitive spot on the underside of his cock, all the while massaging his balls. Feeling him tense up, she heard him warn her.

"Oh, Buffy, I'm gonna... it's..."

With a split-second decision that she wasn't quite ready for swallowing yet, she replaced her mouth with her hand and pumped furiously, watching with interest as strings of milky white fluid squirted out from him. He leaned back as far as he could, trying to catch his breath. Buffy wondered why he breathed at all. Have to remember to ask him, sometime... When he looked like he was back under control, she spoke up. "Spike?"

"Yes, luv?"

"I'm sorry about, you know, not... not finishing the job."

Spike sat back up, and looked at her strangely. "What do you mean 'not finishing the job'?" Pointing to the mess on his lap, he chuckled. "I'd call that finished."

He was going to make her spell it out. Stupid male vampire. "You know, I didn't... swallow."

The bleached blonde slid back into the water, washing himself off. "Buffy, you did great. That was absolutely the best blow job I've ever got in my unlife. So you didn't swallow--so what? I'd give almost as much for a nice sloppy hand job, so color me happy. Now c'mere."

Satisfied with his answer--he hadn't lied to her yet, why start now?--she slid back onto the comfort of his lap, feeling, once again, the hardness of his shaft. "Gee, you really weren't joking about that refractory time, were you?"

"Would never lie about that, pet. Look, Buffy, how're you feeling, with the sunburn and all?" He lightly traced a finger down her shoulder, along the length of her arm, trying to gauge her reaction.

Buffy had been so immersed in the make-out session with the undead that she'd forgotten why they were there in the first place. She rolled her neck and her shoulders, testing her skin's sensitivity. With a great big smile, she happily announced that she was no longer in any pain.

Spike's eyes darkened until they were almost black. "Good, 'cause I've been wantin' to do this all night." He grabbed her roughly, and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. There was no more holding back, no more being careful--the Slayer was back to full strength and he could finally take her with unrestrained passion. Well, with as much as she'd let him...

Almost as soon as their lips crushed together, Spike's tongue sought entrance into Buffy's mouth. Her hot mouth took him in, her own tongue dueling with his. She moaned into him, taking nips at his lower lip, biting almost hard enough to draw blood. Pulling back so the Slayer could catch her breath, Spike's mouth latched on to her neck, sucking, kissing, biting. He gauged her reaction to each of his ministrations, and found out--surprise, surprise--that she groaned loudest when bitten. Well, more like nibbled. He wasn't too sure if she was ready for the biting yet, although she hadn't minded the bite on the thigh...

Buffy pulled away from the vampire's caresses and began to place hot, open-mouthed kisses on his face. The scar in his left eyebrow, his beautiful blue eyes, his sharp cheekbones... when she got down to his neck she decided to try one of his own techniques on him. She inched her way on his lap, trapping his swollen cock tightly between their bodies. Licking long strokes down the pale column of his neck, she bit down hard enough to leave a mark, but not enough to draw blood.

Almost immediately, she found herself hoisted out of the water, her back on the dirt ground of the cave. Eyes gleaming yellow, Spike hovered over her, obviously trying to reign in his demon. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again they were blue.

"You don't know how close you were to being dinner, Slayer. Never, ever, bite a vampire during sex unless you mean it to be reciprocated."

Dead serious, she held her gaze steady with his. "Maybe that's what I wanted."

***

Depending on how one viewed the outcome, that was either the right thing to say, or the wrong thing to say. Spike took it at face value and pulled her body closer to the pool, until her legs dangled in the water and her rear balanced on the edge. He gave her one last out. "Slayer, you know what you're saying, right? 'Cause you can't really chicken out half way..."

She knew this was wrong. So wrong, in fact that she almost listened to her inner Slayer as it shook her, screaming at her to smarten up. But it was so hard to ignore her gut feeling, the one where her entire being hummed with anticipation of what was to happen. She knew it would be a claim. Maybe she didn't really understand the repercussions, but she believed she did. With a calm belying her inner turmoil, she nodded. "I know about the claim, Spike. And, as strange as it sounds, everything inside of me is giving me the green light." So she lied to him--wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last.

Spike watched her eyes grow round as he let his demon slip to the forefront. So she believed that he was going to claim her, did she? He might as well go along with it.

When he'd asked her if she knew what she was getting into, he'd simply meant the biting, the feeding. He certainly hadn't meant a claim. To lay a claim on the Slayer would be to sign your own death warrant, especially when her ex was Angelus.

He stepped up onto a flat rock in the pool--the whole waterhole seemed chiseled into the rock, with all its ledges, all just at the right height. Watching her face, he slipped a finger in her quim and found it dripping. Imagine that, he thought, a Slayer getting off on the thought of a claim. He slid his digit back and forth a few times, pressing his thumb over her clit. He pulled his finger out, and pressed it to her other opening, just below her thatch of curls.

Buffy's eyes popped wide open as she felt him probing there. No, he couldn't mean... She gasped out loud as his finger, saturated with her own juices, slowly began to slide inside of her tight opening. She tried to sit up, to push his hand away, but he put his other hand over her chest and pushed her back down. "Spike, please... don't... not there."

"Don't worry, pet. Nothing bigger than my finger is going in there. Yet. Trust me on this, you'll come like you've never, ever, come before." He felt her relax a little as she stopped fighting. She still kept a wary eye on him, though, as he continued to slowly pump his finger in and out of her ass. It would be a slightly awkward angle for him, but it would bring her so much pleasure.

The Slayer closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling of his finger. It wasn't as bad as she would have expected--a bit of a surprise, but it actually felt kind of... good. She felt him move, but didn't look down until she felt the head of his cock slide against her pussy. He wasn't planning on... Oh! Yes he was!

Her eyes shot open, and she found herself staring into the blue depths of her vampire lover's eyes. He had changed back to his human features while she'd had her eyes closed.

Amber mixed with blue as his cock pushed all the way in. Buffy heard him groan, and he held still for a moment, leaning his head against her shoulder.

"Cor..." He knew she was going to be tight, and he knew she was going to be hot, but knowing it and actually feeling it were two different stories. Her muscles gripped him like a glove, squeezing his cock almost painfully as he began to slowly piston in and out of her, remembering to do the same with his other finger. "Oh, Buffy, you're so bloody hot and tight. Can hardly hold the demon back..."

For the first time in a long, long, time, Spike found that he was losing control. As a master vampire, he had a good grip on his demon and was able to restrain it at will. But not tonight. The double penetration, which was affecting him as much as the Slayer herself, the blood pumping through her veins, her hot, wet channel gripping him like a vise--it would all be the undoing of his self-control. What didn't help things at all was that she'd agreed to a claim, which his demon would more than likely try to give in to.

"Then don't. Don't hold it back, Spike. It's part of what... of who you are, and I want all of you. The gentle, giving Spike. And the not so gentle, take-what-he-wants Spike. I trust you not to hurt me" she smiled, dragged a finger down his chest to his navel, playing in the dark curls that grew just below "too much."

In a flash, his demon was out. "All right, luv. We'll play it my way, then." He pulled loose from her body, dragged her even closer to the edge, and hiked her ankles over his shoulders. Cold, yellow eyes stared down at her as the demon harshly drove three fingers in and out of her sopping pussy. No gentleness, no soft words. He pulled the fingers out, forcing them into her other hole at the same time as he drove him cock back into her quim.

Buffy screamed at the sensation of being filled in both holes at once--it felt as if she was being ripped apart. One finger had been ok, but three was a big ouch. As Spike began to piston rapidly in and out of both holes, she realized that this was what she'd asked for. She wanted it rough, she wanted the demon, well, she was getting it. And then some. He leaned over her, groping at her breasts, licking them roughly and placing shallow bites here and there on the two mounds.

She felt herself being pulled closer to him, if it was possible. The fingers on his free hand went to her clit and began to stroke her closer and closer to climax. When her breathing became shallow and quick, he freed his fingers from her rear and used them to pull her up flush against him. Her legs fell from his shoulders, hitting the edge of the rock. Holding her by the neck, he twisted the bundle of nerves he'd been coaxing, causing the Slayer to scream in release. The demon let her ride the crest of her climax, and sank his teeth into her soft neck.

The sensations were almost too much for her to handle. The throbbing at the apex of her thighs, the pinprick bite marks on her breasts, and now the demon latched at her neck. Another climax hit her, harder than the previous one.

The more she came, the more excited she got, the more the demon got to drink. Had Spike not been a master vampire, there might not have been a chance to save Buffy. Pulling his teeth from her neck, the vampire felt a jolt of energy cruise through his veins. He'd forgotten the high that came after drinking Slayer blood. And this one was still alive, pulsating all around him, looking at him through hooded eyes that spoke of sexual contentment.

There was so much they both wanted to say, but all either of them could come up with were grunts. Spike pulled Buffy back into the water--maybe it would help heal her bruises and those bite marks on her breasts. As rough as the demon had been, it had been restrained. If not, the Slayer would be dead. Drained, fucked to death, one way or another she wouldn't have gotten out of this one alive.

Surrounded by the soothing cold water, Buffy felt her pulse slow back down to normal. She lay back, reclining in Spike's arms, as happy as a cat who'd been fed cream. The healing properties of the water calmed her down, and in the quiet of the cave--save for the hissing of the flames on the candles--she gave herself time to think of what had happened. "Spike?"

"Hmm?"

"That wasn't a claim, was it?" She didn't feel any more attached to him than before the bite, so she figured she'd ask him outright.

Spike sat up a little, pulling the Slayer closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the tip of her nose. "No, it wasn't. Pet, claims are lifelong attachments. They aren't something to be taken lightly. There's a lot of thought that goes in to making a decision like that. It shouldn't be a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. I know we're getting along right now" he chuckled "well, more than getting along, but when we're back out there, away from this cave, I don't think we'll be takin' pottery classes together, if you get what I mean."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean, and you're right. I think what we've got right now is kind of nice, though." She wiggled on his lap, looking for a sign of... yup--he was hard again. Turning around to face him, she eased herself on his erection. Both vampire and Slayer groaned at the intimate contact. They rested their foreheads together, and the Slayer's breath tickled Spike's lips. "Nice is just what I'm looking for at the moment. Nice, and slow, and gentle..." She leaned in and kissed him deeply and languorously.

As the Slayer began to move up and down his shaft, Spike returned her kiss. It was a lazy kiss, the kind that you could spend an entire day on, in the arms of your lover, not caring for anything else in the world but you, her, and your mouths. He dragged his hands up and down her figure, tracing curves, kneading muscles, finding her ticklish spots. It was a tactile mapping of Buffy's body, and he was willing to commit it to memory. After only one evening their coupling was as comfortable as that of old lovers.

When they both finally came, they couldn't tell if they'd been at it for ten minutes or 2 hours. Lost in each other's arms, time had lost its meaning.

Buffy sat on the ledge beside Spike. "Spike? How long have we been here?"

The vampire paused to think. "I'd say about two hours, why?"

The young woman worried her lower lip. "Mom's going to freak, if she already hasn't filed a missing persons report. I was already out later than usual when we met up." She gave him another kiss, and pulled back. "I've really got to get home, I'm in enough trouble as it is. That and I'm beginning to prune from being in the water for so long." She pulled his hand and looked at it. "Why don't you get all pruny? How does that work?"

Spike shrugged, looking at his hand as if seeing it for the first time. "Dunno, luv. Maybe it's the strict diet of blood." He hopped out of the pool, helped the Slayer out, and began to look for his clothing. He made a mental note to bring towels the next time he came by--he could think of nothing worse than trying to shimmy in tight denim when wet.

The young woman made a face. "Eww... gross much? I doubt it's the blood. Must just be another of those weird vampire traits." She looked down at what she was wearing and frowned. "Thank God this sunburn is over and done with. I'm sick of looking like a Flashdance reject."

Spike handed Buffy a candle, and extinguished the others. "Well, pet, shall we be on our way, then? Before your mother thinks you've turned into a pumpkin?"

The young woman giggled and shook her head. "Don't be silly, the coach turned into the pumpkin--not Cinderella..."

The vampire smiled and took her hand in his. "I know that, pet. 'S just funnier that way."

As they made their way back out to the forest, a shroud of darkness followed their retreating forms, enveloping the cave in a quiet stillness.

***

Their walk back to town was uncharacteristically quiet. No banter, no insults, just deep introspection. They both knew that what happened tonight was a secret of gargantuan proportions. Although Dru might notice those hickeys on Spike's chest, and Angel might want to question the source of Buffy's new bite...

Spike accompanied Buffy back home, like a true gentleman. They both stood on the sidewalk, where the pathway led to her front steps.

They both spoke at once. "So..."

Chuckling, Spike signaled for Buffy to have the first word.

"So, um, do you want to do this again?" She looked up at him, and bit her lip.

That was not what he was expecting. To say that the vampire was taken aback would be an understatement. He squinted, looked her straight in the eye, trying to see if she was joking. When nothing short of brutal honesty stared back at him, he smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Slayer." Great, now he felt like he was in school again. Kicking the toe of his boot against the concrete, he asked her: "When would you like? I'll leave that up to you."

"How about next Wednesday? Or... we could make it every Wednesday... Wouldn't have to always be at the cave, though. Maybe we can find different places."

Not caring that they were in front of her house, fully illuminated by one of those ugly streetlights, or that they were supposed to be bitter enemies, Spike took Buffy in his arms and kissed her until she was breathless. He pulled back a little, until they were nose to nose. "Wednesday works for me. See you then." He took a step away, before turning back to her. With an evil glint in his eye, he teased her. "Maybe I'll bring a few toys along..." With that, he turned, duster billowing after him.

He'd disappeared around a corner when Buffy heard someone behind her. She turned, and gasped.

Angel stood behind her, staring at Buffy and the path that Spike had taken.

"Buffy, was that Spike?"