The night was dry and warm, as many nights were for them, living in a place like Sunnydale. The only noise that broke the still air of their street was the muffled giggle his girl emitted whenever he’d whisper something particularly dirty in her ear. Angel was behind them, his face stuck in that permanent scowl of his as he plodded along like a dog who’d lost a fight. Spike smirked and looked back at his old friend. It was only his pride that was wounded tonight. The poor sod had made a solid effort, but by the time the bars had closed, he’d not managed to pique the interest of a single woman enough to talk her into his bed. Not even Drusilla it seemed, a fact that he was very pleased with. Also one he intended to take full advantage of while he could, before her ‘daddy’ managed to worm his way between them again.
When they reached the front door, Spike wrapped his arms around Drusilla’s waist and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her neck and flashing his eyes to the approaching Angel in unspoken triumph. The look did not go unnoticed by the other man, who responded with a dark look before pulling out the house key and unlocking the door. Angel walked in first, glaring at the couple as they laced their fingers together and made their way to Spike’s bedroom without a word.
Once they’d entered his room, he spun around, a hungry, fierce look in his eyes. He lifted her into the air, and slammed her against the door, effectively cutting off the giggle that escaped her at his behavior. He gazed into her eyes for a moment before smashing his lips against hers with a force that threatened to tear flesh. He paid the pain no mind, though, knowing the more it hurt, the more she’d love it. The harder it would be to forget whose she was.
He didn’t know what she saw in their brooding lunk of a housemate. The man had never shown more than physical interest in her, and yet he held power over her that Spike had never been able to. He’d worshipped her since he laid eyes on her, cared for her after she’d taken ill. He showed her pleasure in ways he was positive that Angel’s cement block of a brain wouldn’t even be able to imagine. And yet, he had to fight for her attention, for her love.
He knew she cheated on him. Not just with Angel, but with other men, even women at times. It humiliated him, stripped him of his pride when he’d hear her cry out her pleasure in the middle of the night by someone else’s hand. But, on nights like tonight, when it was the two of them together, she’d look into his eyes, and he knew she saw him. He knew she loved him. On nights like tonight, he could forgive her. But he wasn’t so naïve as to think it would last. So he’d make the most of it, make her scream his name until he’d exhausted her. Make sure the world knew whose she was, even if by morning she’d forget again.
With a growl, he tore at the fabric covering her flesh from his seeking hands. She whimpered and wrapped her legs around his waist, rolling her center across his hardening bulge while he tore her blouse open. Though the room was near black, he could see her uncovered breasts, nipples taught in her excitement, chest heaving. Groaning, he took one nipple in his mouth, suckling lightly, then with unrelenting harshness until she cried out and pushed him away.
He grinned, chuckling with pride when he saw the look in her eyes. She wanted him. And she was going to have him. She rushed toward him, placing both hands on his chest and shoving him down onto the mattress behind him. She crawled on top of him, ripping his shirt open and leaning over his chest. He closed his eyes, feeling her hot breath whisper across his left nipple. He moaned at the gentleness of the sensation, then screamed when he felt her teeth bite hard enough to draw blood. His erection strained painfully against his jeans, and he opened wild eyes to look into her smirking ones. She gave him a playful look and shook her finger at him.
“Naughty Spike. I shall have to punish you.” She smirked again, and began to slide down his body, until he sat up, and threw her to his side, rolling on top of her with a cocky grin.
“Ladies first, pet.” With that, he licked a path from one nipple to the other, then down her torso until his lips met the zipper of her leather pants. With his teeth, he pulled it down, yanking the legs down so he could come eye to eye with her glistening pussy, already wanting his cock. He eagerly lapped at her juices, running his tongue between her pussy lips, stopping when he reached her clit. He fixed his eyes on hers, seeing her fascinated blue eyes sparkle in anticipation of his next move. His own eyes smiled in satisfaction. Yes, she really was his girl tonight, and when he fastened his lips around her sensitive little bundle of nerves, she made it known to the world with a shriek of his name.
~*~*~*~
“Spike?”
Kissing his love‘s forehead, he slid his arms around her and spooned against her back. “Dru, love, you should be resting. Go back to sleep. I’ve got you.”
She lay still, the only proof of her awakened state being her softly spoken words. “Spike, I’ve had a terrible dream. You were reaching out for me, but then you flew away… and there was the most bitter taste in my mouth. I feared it was the end of our home… and us.”
He hugged her closer, feeling her tremble in fright from her nightmare. “I’m here, pet. We’re safe. We’re together.”
He coaxed her to face him, and he stroked her cheek, feeling the wetness of tears there. “It was just a dream, nothing more.”
She closed her eyes, and leaned into his touch, her worries remaining. “Oh, my William. I’m going to burn.”
He shook his head, “Never happen, pet.”
Her eyes opened, tears freely falling, though he was trying his best to calm her. “I’ve sinned, Spike. I tried not to, but I couldn’t get it out of me.” Her voice rose as she grew more and more upset. “And now I’ll turn to ash. Oh, the things I’ve done to you. I’m so sorry, William.”
Her body began to shake with her sobbing, and he held her closer, whispering in her ear, hoping that something he said would help her. It frightened him when she got upset like this. He was aware that long before she’d taken ill she’d had shockingly accurate dreams about things before they happened. When her mind began to fail her, though, it became difficult to tell whether she was predicting the future or reciting a poem. Though he believed in her ability, he couldn’t help but be skeptical about the dreams she had. After all, anyone could have a nightmare they felt was real.
After a few minutes, her tears subsided, and she looked up into his eyes, a sad acceptance in her gaze. She raised a finger to his unflawed left eyebrow, tracing it. “There was something here. A scar,” she said dazedly. He frowned in confusion, and she shook her head, as if clearing her mind. She spoke again, this time with more strength and conviction. “It’ll be all right, my love. You won’t be alone for long. She‘ll be here to care for you when I can‘t.”
The things she was saying… she’d never spoken to him like this before. He kept telling himself that it was just a bad dream, but there was something in the way she touched him… it felt like she was saying goodbye. Everything about this felt like goodbye. He refused to accept that, an angry resistance swelling in his chest. “Dru, I love you. Only you. I’ll never leave you.”
She nodded, smiling sadly. “And I, you, my sweet William. I’d like to stay here with you, if I could help it.”
At that, he smiled, feeling her love for the first time in a long while. He pulled her closer, kissing her lips. “Then so it shall be. Now get some sleep, pet, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”
She burrowed her face against his chest and twined her legs through his. He heard her let out a sigh against his skin, her lips brushing over him as she whispered to him. “Yes, I think I’d have liked to stay here.”
He couldn’t make sense of it, but she‘d already drifted back to sleep. The nagging feeling that this dream may have been real, that there was some sense in the things she was saying left a weight in his heart. He took a deep breath, telling himself they could just talk about it in the morning, and forced himself to sleep.
~*~*~*~
When he woke up, he knew he couldn’t have been out for more than a couple hours. The scent of burning plastic overwhelmed his nose, and he sat up, noticing Dru was not in bed beside him. It felt warm. Warmer than it should be, and the smell was making him sick. Kicking off the sheets, he pulled on his jeans and shirt, and opened his bedroom door in search of Drusilla. The hallway was smoky, and his eyes stung, but he forced himself to keep them open.
He called her name, making his way to the end of the hall toward the front of the house. The closer he got, the easier it was to see where the smoke was coming from. The most flames erupted from the stove, which made popping noises and spattered out sparks every couple seconds. The fire had already spread through the room, and into the living room. Fear gripped him and he screamed her name, frantically searching for any sign of her. He choked on the smoke, trying to use his shirt to filter his mouth. She emerged from the doorway to the side of the kitchen, an excited grin on her face.
“Look, William! It’s come to pass. See how beautifully it burns?” She looked at him, then at the flames coming from the stove.
“Dru! Come on, love, we have to get out of here. Where’s Angel?” He yelled, afraid to move closer to the flames, but trying to get her away from them.
“I’m up. I smelled the smoke. Come on, let‘s get out of here!” Angel appeared next to him, grabbing his arm and yanking him in the direction of the door. But Spike stood firm, watching Drusilla move toward the fire, fascination drawing her closer. Angel shook his head, watching the scene unfold, waiting for his friends to come to their senses.
“Drusilla! Get away from there!” Spike moved forward cautiously, the heat of the flames scalding his skin, slowing him as he fought his body’s natural reaction to move away from what was hurting him. But he had to get her away from the stove, knowing it could explode at any time. He tried to make his voice sound calm, even though he‘d never been more afraid in his life. “Come to me, love. We need to get out of here.”
She turned to face him, now as close to the flames as she could get without actually burning. She didn’t say anything, but she smiled at him, completely unaware of the danger she was in. He saw sparks fly from the burning appliance, and a low metallic groan sounded from it. Spike’s eyes widened, knowing what was about to happen. Not thinking about anything but getting Drusilla away, he leapt forward, crying her name, reaching out his hands to grab her.
But he never met her body. Before he could get to her, the stove exploded, sending him flying back into a bookshelf that was against the living room wall. His body slumped to the floor, unconscious. He never felt the weight of the heavy bookshelf crush his chest, nor did he hear the shrill sirens of the fire trucks as they approached.
~*~*~*~
Everything was a blur. He could hear people speaking, saying words he couldn’t quite put meaning to. He opened his eyes, but they stung so much that he had to close them again. He felt something heavy pressing down on him. He couldn’t breathe. When he tried to move, fire shot through his chest, all the way down to his legs. He screamed from the pain, but the effort of it caused it to burn even more. He quieted, tears spilling from his eyes. He tried to open them again, seeing yellowish blurs dancing around, moving toward him. The relief of the weight being lifted off of him did little to ebb the pain he felt. He heard voices again, so he tried to listen to what they were saying, but he could only catch a few words.
“Fire… any others?…ambulance..” He felt himself being lifted up, the shifting of his body’s weight causing a shot of white hot fire through his body. Fire… Dru… He shot up, injuries forgotten, looking back and forth with unseeing eyes for his lover. He cried out her name, fighting against the hands that seems to be everywhere, pushing him, trying to keep him down.
“Dru!” he shouted, doing his best to get away from the hands holding him down. But it was to no avail. His body was too weak, too injured. They finally managed to push him down against the gurney, and he barely felt the twinge of a needle being stuck in his arm. Within seconds, his mind was foggy, his weakness and pain overwhelming as the world faded away.
~*~*~*~
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The steady, high pitched sound of the heart monitor brought him out of his unconscious state. He opened weary eyes to the sterile white ceiling above him. There was a curtain hanging from a rod that surrounded him in a sickening off white color. He looked over at the machine next to him, seeing the little green line zigzagging it’s way across the screen. He took in the bed, with its side bars to wall him in, the food tray currently covered in little sticks with green foam squares on one end, and a pitcher of water.
His head hurt, like he’d been staring at the sun for hours. Groaning, he brought a hand up to his face, feeling the IV tubing come with it.
“Ah, I see you’re up. How are you feeling?” A kind looking woman pulled the curtains aside, bringing with her a couple of fluid bags. He watched her with confused eyes, not answering.
“You’ve been out for about a day, so I know Dr. Rainer will be glad to know you’re up.” She made quick work of replacing the bags on the IV rack before turning to him. “Let’s take a look at your cast.”
He frowned. “Cast?”
She nodded toward his leg before leaning over him to lift the blanket up. He hadn’t even noticed how wrapped up he was. He couldn’t really feel any pain, a dull throb now and then, and his chest hurt when he breathed. But he could feel the bandages wrapped around his torso, his thigh, and his right leg was covered in a white cast.
The nurse gave him a knowing look while she fluffed the pillows under his leg, . “You’ve got a couple burns on your face, but if you take care of them, I’m sure they won’t scar. And the hair on your arms will grow back, too. Not sure how you got yourself burned. They said you were nowhere near the fire when they got you out.”
Spike looked up at the nurse. “Where’s Dru? Angel? When can I see them?”
She paused, her pleasant expression falling. She looked down, not meeting his eyes. It was enough expression to ignite the feeling of dread in his system. A cold chill ran down his spine, and an emptiness filled his chest. All the air left the room when she told him.
“I’m sorry, sir. You were the only survivor.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is my first story, and I'm a little nervous about it. But the excitement to finally be on here is well worth it! I hope you guys like it. I'll try to keep posting as much as possible.
Chapter End Notes:
So? Whadja think? Is it worth continuing? Any comments are more than welcome, and much appreciated!