As always, a boatload of thanks to my lovely Im_bloody_english for her patience, her time and her amazing beta skills. It truly isn't the same when you're not around, cariño. *smooches* And to Tammy, for listening to my muse's crazy ideas and fueling her on. ;)
This story is nominated for Most Original Plot at the Feeling Love Awards. And if you feel inclined to vote for it, or for any of the amazing stories nominated you can vote here. (You don’t need to have a livejournal account to vote.)
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Chapter 6. Romanticism (Part One)
Time had never held much importance to him. It was inconsequential, he had eternity after all. Now, however, time had acquired a different connotation. Where before it had been everlasting, endless; now it was momentary, finite. And it was because of her. Buffy.
Two weeks. He had two weeks to create memories that should last him forever. Two weeks after which he would have to renounce her. However—even knowing this—he couldn’t, wouldn’t, bring it to an end. Not yet. Not until he absolutely had to and… perhaps, not even then.
The fates had put her in his path for some reason, be it to punish him for his past sins by knowing that she’d never be his or for whatever insane motive only they understood. Even knowing this dream had an expiration date didn’t stop him from wanting to live it to the fullest, though. On the contrary.
He’d been merely existing for the past two hundred years, going through the motions, living—if one could call that living—only to paint, without any regard for the outside world. Now, today, for two weeks, he would have the opportunity of experiencing what life could truly be through the eyes of the lovely woman that had brought so much light into his life. Could he in good faith let a chance like this pass him by?
No, of course he couldn’t.
There were no doubts in his mind that she wouldn’t be opposed to them spending time together. Call him pretentious if you want, but Buffy had made her personal interest in him known in many ways since they’d met and he reveled in each and every sweet gesture, look, smile or touch for small it was that she threw his way.
It mattered not what would happen after these two weeks were over. They would still have this time and he had to convince himself that it would be enough.
*****
“Two hours is perfect, I’ll be ready by then… yeah, right!” she scoffed as she hurried from her room to the bathroom to inspect her latest attempt at dressing herself up just right. She’d already tried the majority of the clothes she’d brought with her for the second time and had just two more outfits to try.
She glanced at the clock on the nightstand when she returned to the room and wished time would stop yet hurry up all at once, if that made any sense at all. On one hand, she needed more time to get ready, wanting to look perfect for Spike, hence the wanting time to stand still. But on the other hand, she also wished time would go by faster, since she couldn’t wait to see him again.
How could anyone feel such a strong connection with a person, a man they’d just met? She didn’t know, but she did. She’d never felt anything quite like this for anyone before. She’d had a few boyfriends in the past to be sure, but nothing serious. She hadn’t felt this all-encompassing need to be with any of them, to spend as much time with them as she possibly could. Did Spike feel the same way as she did? Oh God, she hoped so. He was interested in her, otherwise he wouldn’t have shown the day before and his earlier call had to mean something as well, hopefully that he was as eager to see her again as she was to see him.
She snapped out of her musings when she noticed that she only had fifteen minutes left, picked a white sundress from the growing pile of clothes over her bed and dressed quickly. Walking back to the bathroom, she applied some mascara, lipstick and brushed her hair until it shined under the fluorescent light. Content with her appearance, she grabbed her purse and left the room.
As soon as the elevator door’s opened, she advanced to the front desk and smiled at the receptionist.
“Good morning, do you know if there’s anyone waiting for me… Elizabeth Summers?” she asked; anticipation, excitement and anxiety filling her as she waited for the answer.
“Yes, Miss Summers.” She made a signal to someone at her right and shortly after, a forty-something man dressed in a black uniform appeared by her side.
“Good morning, Miss Summers. My name is Rupert Giles and I’m Mr. Wellington’s driver,” he said with a small bow.
“Good morning, Mr. Giles.” She smiled at the kind man who was looking at her with barely concealed curiosity.
“If you’re ready to leave, I will bring the car to the front and wait for you there?”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll be right out.”
She turned back to the receptionist, giving her the keycard to her room and was about to follow Mr. Giles when someone blocked her way.
Someone was waving a huge bouquet of roses in front of her face as if it were a flag. Or rather a red cape being swung in front of a bull since she hardly managed to hide her annoyance when she realized it was Riley. She sighed dejectedly. Leave it to him to ruin what had painted up to be a wonderful day.
“Good morning, Buffy,” he greeted, lowering his face to kiss her on the cheek.
She sidestepped him just in time to avoid his lips even grazing her skin then freezing him with an icy glare. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I thought… you said that was the British way of—”
“Exactly, British, as in only can be used by the British. Now if you’ll excuse me…” She moved past him towards the front door.
“Wait a minute, where are you going?”
She turned around and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his demanding question. “Excuse me?”
“Where are you going?” he repeated, slowly enunciating each word as if talking to a small child. “It’s a simple enough question.”
What the— Outrage flooded her veins at the way he spoke to her. Who the hell did he think he was, first trying to kiss her and then speaking to her as if he owned her? She’d had enough of the troglodyte and refused to allow him to ruin her good mood, so instead of shouting like she wanted, she replied coldly, “Last I checked I didn’t have to tell you or anyone else for that matter where I’m going, so…” She pivoted on her heel intent on leaving, but was prevented from doing so when a hand grabbed her arm. “Let. Me. Go. Now!” she said through gritted teeth, attempting to pull away from him.
“Buffy, you have to talk to me. See? I brought you flowers and I have a wonderful day planned for— Ughh!” he was interrupted when she drove her knee to collide against his testicles with all her might, finally freeing her arm when he doubled over in pain and fell to the floor.
“Miss Summers, are you alright?” the receptionist asked worried as she appeared by her side. She noticed the man had grabbed the petite woman and called for help before coming out to the foyer to find the blonde had already taken care of matters by herself.
“Y-yes, I’m alright… now.”
“I’ve called security. Would you like to file a complaint against him?”
Buffy looked at Riley who continued to moan in pain while cupping his groin and sighed, knowing that he had taken up more than enough of her time already. “No, that won’t be necessary.” She neared him and added, “I should have done this a long time ago, but better late than never I guess. I’ve tried to let you down gently, however it seems you don’t understand that I don’t like you, I never did and I never will. There’s no chance of anything ever happening between us, romantically or otherwise. I never imagined it would come down to this, but I don’t want to see or talk to you again, not even if it has to do with the gallery. Consider our business arrangement, if you could even call it that, over. And if you ever try to contact me again, believe me… I won’t hesitate to involve the police.”
She stood as tall as she could manage at five foot two inches, held her head high and with as much dignity as she could muster after what just happened, nodded a silent thanks to the receptionist before walking out of the hotel without a backward glance. Her face flamed as she felt the looks of some of the hotel patrons following her, but she refused to even acknowledge them.
Once outside, she threw a grateful smile at Mr. Giles who was holding the back door open to a black Bentley. She climbed into the back seat, let out a long sigh and closed her eyes while reclining her head against the leather headrest.
She hated confrontations. Truly hated them; but she hated a controlling man even more, which probably accounted for why she hadn’t been able keep her temper in check. Still… it felt great, satisfying even to bring Riley to his knees. A smile bloomed on her lips at the thought of finally getting rid of the big oaf once and for all. Of enjoying what was left of her visit to London in the company of someone that was so much more to her liking. The smile was replaced by a frown then followed by a mortifying blush staining her cheeks when Mr. Giles clear his throat and a sudden realization entered her mind.
Uh-oh. What if he’d witnessed her… well, unladylike display? It was completely justified, but still… Oh God, if he had, what must he be thinking of her now? She dreaded opening her eyes for fear of finding sheer accusation in his, but she couldn’t keep them closed all the way to Spike’s house, wherever that might be, could she? No, she couldn’t, even if she really, really wanted to.
She finally focused her gaze on Mr. Giles, who was watching her from the rearview mirror, his expression not one of condemnation at her behavior, but rather amusement and was that… pride?
“You handled that very well back there, Miss Summers.” He winked at her and she couldn’t stop her smile from reappearing even wider than before when her fears were laid to rest. “I was about to go back inside and intervene, but then I realized you didn’t need my help.”
“Well, I usually avoid these kinds of situations, but sadly I don’t think Riley would have understood any other way.”
“I think you are quite right, Miss. Although if you’ll allow me, I would advise you to be careful in the future, who knows what that man might be capable of.”
“You think?” He nodded. “Nah, he’s just a big bully and after being humiliated like that in front of everyone at the hotel, I’m sure he’ll think twice before approaching me again.”
‘I do hope for your sake you’re right about that,’ Giles thought, wondering if perhaps he should tell Master William about the occurrence. Miss Summers seemed untroubled about the whole affair, but she hadn’t seen the man’s face as she walked away. He did however and he hadn’t liked what he saw, not one bit.
*****
Riley furiously paced the length of his office; the image of Buffy walking away from him and then climbing into that car fueling his rage as he did so. Did she honestly think he would stay away from her because of what she’d done to him? Never! She had a lot to learn and he would be forced to teach her a few things... namely that she was his. HIS and, no one else’s, now more than ever after her little display. And she would understand it soon, no matter what he had to do to convince her. Women like her needed to be put in their place and once he did, she would be compliant and grateful.
*****
“And here we are,” Giles said, stopping the car in front of a huge, black wrought iron gate before pressing a button to open it and driving through.
Buffy wasn’t sure what she’d expected to find when they entered the estate, but what she saw was so much more than she could’ve ever imagined.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the enormous garden surrounding the paved road to the house. It was filled with all kinds of beautiful flowers, plants, bushes and trees blending into an explosion of colors the likes of which she’d never seen before. And the house… God, no, not house, the castle-like mansion in front of which they were stopping now was magnificent. She could only imagine what kind of wonders its walls hid.
Completely in awe at the beauty of Spike’s home, she stepped out of the car with Mr. Giles aid and began walking up a set of stairs that led to a portico under which she saw Spike waiting for her.
*****
He stood in mute admiration as he watched her ascend the stairwell. She looked more radiant, more beautiful every time he saw her. How was that possible? Perhaps it had to do with the fact it was the first time that he’d seen her in the sunlight. Or perhaps it was just because it was her. As it was, she would have taken his breath away, if it were at all possible.
She saw him then and the light radiating from her smile made him feel as if his heart would start beating any minute now. Almost making him forget that he couldn’t join her where she stood under in the sun. Almost making him forget everything that wasn’t her.
He couldn’t forget, though. Not completely. He could pretend to be someone else, but he couldn’t forget what he was. He couldn’t forget what ultimately would separate them, would force him to give her up.
Buffy felt like she was soaring as she neared him, a smile illuminating her face. He was looking at her like… she was someone worthy of being cherished, someone worthy of being… dare she say… loved?
Was it possible to feel she was destined for a man she’d just met? Yes, her heart answered without hesitation though she had no reference with which to compare this feeling to. She’d never felt anything like this before, not once, not for anyone, not until she’d met him.
He remained where he stood and waited until she reached him to take her hand in his, bring it gently to his lips then placing the softest of kisses on it in a way reminiscent of their first encounter.
“’Lo, love. I trust you haven’t made any other plans, because ’m officially sequesterin’ you…” he paused for effect, looking as if he were considering for how long he was going to keep her here with him while delighting at her sharp intake of breath and quickening of her pulse. “At least for the day. I‘ve something very special planned for us. You don’t mind, do you?” He tilted his head to one side, watching her intently while awaiting her reply.
Mind? God, he could kidnap her for the rest of her life for all she cared. As long as he was right there with her, she wouldn’t want for anything else. Of course she couldn’t tell him that, so instead she replied, batting her eyelashes at him, “Well, that depends on what your plans are for me, Mr. Wellington.”
Saucy minx. “You’ll just have to wait and see then... won’t you, sweetheart?” He winked flirtingly.
“I guess,” she feigned indifference, all the while returning his smile. “I have no choice.”
“Then, by all means, allow me to escort you inside my humble abode so we can start our day?”
“Humble? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as magnificent as your house.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet, darlin’,” he said as they entered through the front door.
tbc
Like, dislike? If you feel inclined to tell me, I'll love to read your comments and answer them as best as I can. ;)
Also, I'm not sure when the next update will be. I'm awfully busy at work and my parents invited me and my daughters to spend the weekend in Antigua Guatemala, a colonial city in my country and just about my favorite vacationing spot, so I'll post as soon as the next chapter is ready. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for it.