Chapter 12 - Paths of Darkness
Stepping out of the shower, Buffy sighed, wishing there had been more of a hot water supply. Her entire body ached from the near-miss earlier that night, and her neck was swollen a garish shade of red as a result of the vicious bites she’d suffered.
Wrapping a towel around her damp body, Buffy grabbed a comb and ran it through her hair, the tension slowly easing out of her body with the relaxing gesture.
“What the hell happened?”
Buffy jumped and whirled around at the combination of the angry voice that appeared from nowhere and the bathroom door slamming into the wall, cracking the plaster. Unconsciously tightening her grip on the towel, her eyes widened as she met her lover’s sharp gaze.
“Spike?” she whispered in disbelief, taking a hesitant step forward. “What’re you doing here?”
“What the hell happened?” he repeated slowly, his voice bordering on a growl as he stared at her.
Hearing the accusation in his tone, the tentative smile that was forming on Buffy’s lips immediately disappeared. Straightening her spine, she crossed her arms over her chest, taking a deep breath to calm her rising temper.
“Hello to you, too,” she replied.
Spike tensed, obviously preparing for a fight as he closed the distance between them, seeing Buffy flip her damp hair over her shoulder, baring her throat.
Wincing at the snarl, Buffy turned more fully toward him, refusing to cower as he continued assessing the damage done to her. “Seen enough?” she asked in a clipped tone, her green eyes practically shooting sparks as she stared at him.
“Buffy, I’m not going to ask you again,” Spike said in a low voice.
“What’s there to know?” she replied, jerking away from his touch. “I was out. Stumbled upon a vamp. Almost became a midnight snack. It’s a pretty cut and dry story - I would think you’d be used to it after all these years of being a vampire.”
“I didn’t want you out at night-”
“Oh! Don’t even try pulling that shit with me!” she cried, throwing her arms up in exasperation before shoving past him and walking into the bedroom. “You don’t control what happens in my life, just like I obviously can’t have any power over you. And besides,” she added, spinning around to face him as Spike followed her into the room. “If you hadn’t closed yourself off to me, none of this would’ve happened.”
“And what in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you want to play Mr. Secret Agent with me and just check up on me from time to time. Well, guess what? When you check up on me in the middle of a fight, it kind of makes me lose my concentration,” she replied sarcastically. “It’s not easy maintaining focus when someone randomly pops into your head. Maybe I should give you a taste of your own medicine. You know this claim works both ways.”
“That right?” Spike replied in a dangerously low tone. “And what excuse do you have for the other one?”
Buffy froze, fighting every natural instinct to bring her hand up to her neck. She knew better than to play dumb when he was in this kind of mood.
“It was from earlier,” she said quietly, refusing to break eye contact with him.
“Earlier,” Spike repeated slowly, his body looking as if it might snap from the tension. “And what, may I ask, were you doing out earlier?”
Buffy nearly cringed at the underlying threat in his voice. “I wasn’t feeling good,” she said, taking a deep breath as she averted her eyes, not wanting to get into the real reason she was sick earlier. “Decided to go the Hyperion, but I didn’t exactly make it.”
“What happened?” he asked, calming slightly.
“Ran into a vamp. He got the higher hand for a minute, but I dusted him. Everything’s fine… It was just a scratch, anyway,” she muttered, looking at the floor.
“If you weren’t feeling good, why did you go out the second time?”
“Why are you even here?” Buffy asked, her eyes raising to his. “You’re obviously not concerned about me since I’m standing right here. You just want to vent because you’re pissed off that you don’t have any control over me. You’d rather be off playing the hero role instead of staying here.”
Spike‘s eyes darkened as he took a step toward her. “I’m doing this for you-”
“Fuck the martyr speech! You’re not doing this for me anymore than I went patrolling tonight for you, so don’t give me this line and expect me to buy it. If you were really doing this for me, you would tell me the truth from beginning to end and not paint this blurry watercolor of what you want me to believe is happening. And if this is the only reason you came here, you can turn around and go running back to my dad right now because I don’t really care to discuss it,” she finished, turning away from him and absently toying with the objects on her dresser.
“I want you to move into the Hyperion while I’m gone,” Spike said, obviously not expecting her to argue, seeing Buffy‘s eyes raise to where his should have been reflected in the mirror. “You don’t patrol, you don’t go out alone at night, and you sure as hell don’t let another vamp get close to your jugular!”
“Oh, we’re dictating each other’s lives now?” Buffy replied, her voice threaded with sarcasm as she spun around to face him. “I must’ve missed the memo. Well, let’s see, in that case, there’re a few stipulations that need to be put on you,” she continued, her voice turning harder as she walked toward him. “For starters, the fact that you can’t pull this disappearing/reappearing act and expect to run my life anymore. Doesn’t work that way, Spike. I will go wherever, with whomever, whenever I want. Got me?”
“You’re walking a very thin line, princess,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing as he approached her.
“That’s all I ever walk with you,” she said, her body going rigid as she tried to control the trembling when Spike pressed both hands against the surface of the dresser, blocking her in.
“Haven’t even offered me a proper welcome,” he continued in the same calm voice that made her even more nervous. “That any way to greet your lover?”
“I can think of a few ways to greet him,” she retaliated, her eyes flashing as she let him know exactly what she had in mind - and the fact that they weren’t synonymous with what he was thinking.
“Haven’t missed me at all, baby?” he murmured, his lips moving closer to hers.
Buffy wasn’t fooled by his somewhat passive actions. She knew that he was trying to retain control over the situation, and this was his way of doing it. “No,” she said in a strong voice, shoving him away. “This isn’t happening tonight. Go back to Sunnydale, Spike. We‘re not doing this.”
Turning away from him, Buffy gasped when his hand fisted in her hair, pulling back until the fresh puncture wounds on her neck were exposed. “Oh, I think we are,” he whispered, his voice cold and menacing.
Trembling when he ran his tongue over the gashes, Buffy jumped when he practically spat at the taste of the other two vampires on her skin. “We’re definitely doing this,” he growled, ripping the towel away from her body, the need to reclaim her allowing the demon to take control.
“No!” Buffy yelled, swinging around to face him, gasping in surprise when he slammed her against the wall, one hand against her throat, the other brutally holding her hip. Her eyes widened as the demon stared back at her. Her heart slammed against her chest as she tried to catch her breath. “Spike,” she whispered, searching his eyes for some semblance of the man she knew.
“Doing this one of two ways, little girl,” he whispered. “On your back or on your knees. Choice is yours. Don’t like it and I can always get the chains.”
Realizing that he was losing control, that he felt threatened over the potential loss and actual violation of his mate, Buffy relaxed. William the Bloody was looking at her as another vampire at that moment and not as a human. Running a hand along his brow, she watched his eyes, not seeing the usual spark of humanity. “I’m yours,” she whispered, moving her other hand up to his, taking the slight pressure away from her throat. “You don’t have to do this,” she said, keeping her tone soft as she watched him. “You don’t have to hurt me.”
Spike stared at her for a long moment before taking a small step back. “Make a choice.”
Buffy took a deep breath as she inched her way toward the door. “You don’t want this,” she said, keeping her eyes level with his. “You don’t-”
Landing on the floor with a sharp cry, Buffy gasped for air as Spike clawed at his belt. Realizing that there was no way she was going to get through to the man she loved, she grabbed his hands, jerking them away from his belt, not backing down when she heard his warning snarl.
Swallowing nervously when he pinned her wrists above her head, she moved slightly, somewhat dislodging him from the cradle of her thighs. “This is how you tell me you love me?” she asked, breathing heavily when Spike stopped, his gold eyes turning back to hers, staring at her for a long moment.
Her eyes widened before closing as she relaxed slightly when his lips brushed over hers, his fangs leaving tiny scratches around her mouth before he pulled away.
“This is how I tell you I need you.”
Buffy arched her back, convulsively crying out when he slammed his cock into her. Panting and gasping for air, she blinked to refocus her eyesight, staring into the somewhat familiar gaze.
Spike smiled, obviously knowing that she had been ready for him, the sight of the demon instinctively turning her on. Bending lower, he inhaled the flowery scent of her hair, his hips churning with hers before dragging one of his fangs along the sensitive skin behind her ear, leaving a light trail of blood in his wake. Feeling Buffy shiver beneath him as he lapped it up, Spike nuzzled the unharmed side of her throat. “You want me,” he whispered, angling his thrusts until he was grinding against her clit, hearing her moan in response. “Even now… even with the demon taking you… you love it… crave it.”
You have no idea how right you are, she thought, meeting his brutal thrusts with each of her own.
“Tell me,” he whispered, brushing a kiss to the hollow of her throat.
“I want you,” Buffy replied in a breathy voice.
“Tell me,” he repeated, his hand tightening on her wrists.
“All of you,” she gasped, her hips arching, aching for more stimulation. “The demon, the man. The blood, the sex, the violence… all of it,” she whispered, the words spilling from her mouth without a thought.
The cool leather of his duster whispered along her skin as he moved over her. With that simple, feather-light touch, Buffy knew he was in complete control. As she lay naked beneath him, her wrists pinned by his iron-like grip, her legs spread, hips arching to meet his thrusts - Spike hadn’t even removed one article of clothing.
The knowledge of that nearly sent her over the edge, uncaring of the fact that he had taken her so viciously. She knew she would regain the upper hand when the time was right.
Buffy tensed as she felt her orgasm approaching. Gasping in relief when Spike let go of her wrists, her fingernails immediately clawed at his arms as she frantically met his thrusts.
Digging her nails into his shoulders, Buffy arched her back, screaming as her climax swept over her, vaguely feeling Spike’s forehead pressed against hers as he slammed his hips into hers.
Knowing that he was close, Buffy turned the scarred side of her neck toward him, expecting him to re-assert his claim on her. She tensed when she felt his hand grip her chin, turning her the other way until the wounded side of her throat was visible. “Spike, what’re you-”
Buffy screamed at the feel of his fangs embedded in her throat, covering the previous bite marks and tearing at the skin as he thrust into her one final time, spilling himself within her.
Weakly pushing him away, Buffy whimpered when he continued to drink from her, his fangs sinking deeper. Feeling lightheaded from the pain that was coursing through her, she felt the tears slip down her cheeks as the new feeling swept over her. Finally feeling her shoulder and neck go numb, Buffy fell back to the floor, rolling away when he pulled out of her and extracted his fangs.
Feeling the sobs catch in her throat, choking her, Buffy reached for her towel, pressing a corner of it to her swollen neck.
Closing his eyes as the demon receded, Spike hung his head, cursing himself for his lack of control.
“Buffy-”
“No more,” she whispered, her other hand coming up to protect the vulnerable side of her neck.
“Love, I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Turning her tear-streaked face toward his, Buffy relaxed to see his warm blue gaze staring back at her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, crouching beside her, hearing her soft sigh. “Let me help you.”
Staring at him for a long moment, Buffy finally nodded, closing her eyes when he lifted her into his arms, relieved that he seemed to be back to normal. Spike carried her over to the bed and covered her with a blanket, taking a deep breath as he tried to disassociate himself with the fact that he was the one to do this to her.
“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” he murmured, tenderly brushing the hair away from her forehead and leaving a soft kiss in his wake.
Running down the stairs, Spike grabbed an icepack out of the freezer and hurriedly made his way back to Buffy’s side, seeing her wince when he gently pried the towel away from her throat and replaced it with the ice.
Feeling at a loss, Spike slowly took a step back. “I can go if you want,” he said quietly, staring down at the woman he loved.
Looking up at him with sad eyes, Buffy took a deep breath, slowly reaching out and taking his hand in hers. “Stay.”
Carefully sitting next to her, Spike pulled her into his embrace, swallowing against the lump in his throat as he buried his face in her hair. “Never wanted to hurt you. I didn’t mean to lose control.”
“It was like you weren’t even you anymore,” she murmured, relaxing against him.
“It’s me now.”
“Now is good,” she whispered sleepily. “Be here now.”
Thanks so much to: Stephanie, PhotographyNut, PR, kargrif, Mali, shelly, SarahJamesFanatic, bite me, Cordykitten, Kate, & btvsfreak!
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Author's Chapter Notes:
An extra long chapter for those who have been so patient with me and are still reading and reviewing! Updates will be faster now - I'm actually going to work on it again today (although the next update might take a few days). Thank you so much for sticking with this fic!
NOTE: This chapter has a very dark content warning with violence/borderline rape.
NOTE: This chapter has a very dark content warning with violence/borderline rape.