He'd dropped the subject, though even now as they rode towards the party, he had a nagging feeling it was a lot more than she was trying to let on. He knew her—better than she was currently giving him credit for—and knew when something was genuinely upsetting her.
"Kitten, tell me what's wrong," Spike implored softly as he reached across the seat and pushed a lock of her long, blonde hair behind her ear.
Buffy tried to smile at him, though he could tell it was at least partially forced. "It's nothing, really. I'm just tired. Sick of dealing with all of these paparazzi assholes."
"I'm really sorry about all them," Spike told her. "I hate that they're putting you through this, and I'd do anything if I could just make it end."
"I know. But it isn't your fault."
"It is in a way," he replied. "They wouldn't be doing all of this if I wasn't who I am."
"That doesn't make it your fault," Buffy insisted. "They're the ones who have nothing better to do than to chase us around with cameras. I mean, in need of real lives much? Did you know we've been mentioned on the CNN news ticker? It was like 'Coup in small South Asian country,' 'The DOW dropped,' 'Rock star dates step-sister.' How in the world are we news worthy?"
"Like you just said, it's people with no lives to speak of, having to make their own selves seem more interesting by living vicariously through someone else. But I do hate it, Buffy. You're a good, kind person. You don't deserve to have your name dragged through the mud."
"Honestly? I don't care what strangers think of me, Spike. The people who really matter know who I am and what we are together. The rest of them can just piss off."
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "Starting to talk like me, are you?"
"You're corrupting me."
His grin grew wider and he wagged his eyebrows. "Baby, I corrupted you a long time ago."
Buffy giggled, then glanced up at the dark glass separating them from the driver. "He really can't see back here, can he?" she whispered.
"Nope. All the glass around here is tinted. No one can see what goes on," Spike replied, really hoping she was going where he thought she was going with this. He could definitely use a release with as tense as he was currently feeling.
"I've never had sex in the back of a limo," Buffy said, her tone conversational, though the twinkling in her eyes was teasing.
"Well then, I think that's a dilemma we need to rectify."
Buffy knew this probably wasn't "appropriate behavior" for a high school guidance counselor, and should the media find out about it, they'd make it into some huge, sordid deal, but at the moment, she didn't care. She was stressed to her limits and tired of thinking about what she'd have to do tomorrow. Right now, she wanted to pretend none of it was happening, and just enjoy this night as if nothing was weighing her down.
And she knew no better stress relief than Spike.
She moved across the seat, opening up the fly of his pants to pull his cock out into her hands, finding it already semi-erect. She wasn't sure she could ever remember a time when he'd been completely flaccid, and she wondered if he was always like that or if it was just a reaction to being around her.
She hoped it was the latter…
Buffy dipped down, grasping his cock tightly in her hand as she swirled her tongue around the head. Spike whimpered, fighting to keep from being too loud with the driver not far away. The less attention they called to themselves right then, the better.
Still, it was difficult to remember to keep quiet with Buffy's head between his legs. She'd always been so good at this…
Then, she slid down as far as she could, filling her throat with him before she swallowed. He couldn't help the hoarse cry that came forth from him then, and Buffy giggled around his erection in response, making him moan.
She slid back up and wagged her finger. "Shh. You gotta keep quiet, or I'm not gonna do this anymore."
Her flushed cheeks, smudged lipstick, and wicked-looking expression were almost enough to make Spike moan again, but he nodded, forcing himself to remain quiet. Satisfied with that, Buffy went back down, and as she swallowed him a second time, Spike bit his lip and grasped the seat, fighting to stay quiet enough that she'd keep doing what she was doing.
Spike trembled, nearing the edge, when Buffy came back up, wiping at her mouth. Before he could ask what she was doing, she'd straddled his hips, her dress coming up and her panties going over before she slid down, taking him into the warm haven of her body.
His arms encircled her waist as Buffy moved, bouncing up and down, adding a little hip shimmy now and then to make him whimper. The look in her eyes was smoldering, and Spike knew she was letting her inner vixen out to play.
He'd always loved it when she was like this. He'd seen his first glimpses of it early in their relationship, when he'd woken up to her sucking him off, then ended up tied to the couch. Buffy had never been a passive lover—far from it—but at times, something seemed to click inside of her, making her extra aggressive.
It always led to the best sex.
Now, that part of her was back in full force, spurring her to ride him for all he was worth. He fought to hold on to his control, wanting this to last. She was amazing, a sight to behold, and he didn't want to let go.
Buffy, on the other hand, apparently had ideas of her own. She leaned down, licking her way from his neck to his ear, then whispered, "Don't scream." Before Spike could say anything in response, she moved back to his neck, biting down just as she tightened her inner muscles around him.
He cursed loudly, unable to stop himself as he came hard. Buffy moved quickly to kiss him, swallowing any further sounds from him as she came right behind him.
Sated for now, Buffy moved off of his lap, allowing Spike to tuck himself back into his pants. She made a face, squirming in the seat. "Are there any napkins or anything back here? I'm all sticky."
Spike searched around, frowning when he came up empty. "No. Sorry, luv."
Buffy shrugged. "Well, I think these are already stained anyway, so no loss." Before Spike could ask what she meant by that, she slipped off her panties, used them to clean herself, then wadded them up and shoved them in her purse. His eyes widened and he coughed.
"You know I'm going to be thinking about that all bloody night now."
Buffy rolled her eyes, though her mouth held the traces of a smirk. "You're sad."
"Oh come on now, you know I have that thing with panties. And now knowing they're in your purse instead of on your body…" He shivered. "Can we just call this thing off and go home?"
"Nope. You're just gonna have to wait until you can do more naughty things to me."
Spike's eyes darkened. "You do know you're getting it later, don't you?"
Buffy grinned wickedly. "I'm counting on it."
"You had sex in the limo, didn't you?"
Buffy turned to Mona as the auburn-haired woman sided up beside her and asked her question in a harsh whisper. "What's your point?" Buffy whispered back, her eyebrow arching.
Mona chuckled. "I'm not sure I had one. I guess you two are just as bad as you ever were."
"Oh yeah, like you and Rory are any better," Buffy said, pointing to Mona's pregnant belly as evidence of her claim.
"Well, I guess you've got me there," Mona replied with a genuine laugh. "It's hard to keep your hands off the sexy ones, isn't it?"
Buffy looked at Spike, watching him as he approached them. "Uh huh."
"Mo', you mind if I borrow my girl for a bit?" Spike asked as he took Buffy's hand. "There's someone I want to introduce her to."
"Sure thing, blondie," Mona replied. "I need to go make sure Rory's not doing anything stupid anyway."
As Mona went to search for her drummer, Spike led Buffy over to a man in a very loud green suit. "Luv, this is my publicist, Lorne."
Buffy winced. "Publicist? You must hate me."
"Not at all, cupcake!" Lorne replied, immediately moving to hug Buffy. He pulled back, giving her the once over. "Spike, this one is absolutely adorable. I love her already."
"And he's not just saying that because it's his job either," Spike said as he wrapped his arm around Buffy.
"No, I'm not. I never said nice things about Eve. But you—I like you. You've got a good aura there, princess. And the two of you together, well, it just lights up the whole room."
Buffy smiled. "Thank you."
"And don't you worry about all of this mess," Lorne said, laying his hand against Buffy's arm. "I've already started fixing it all. The sharks will be off your back and chasing the one they should be after soon enough."
Buffy glanced between Lorne and Spike. "What do you mean?"
"Lorne's working on turning this back around on Eve," Spike explained.
"Working on?" Lorne waved his hand. "It is done, my friend. Give it a week, tops, and she'll be up to her ears in misery. I can guarantee it. Besides, it's not like I had to do much anyway. Karma was just waiting to come and bite her too-skinny ass."
Lorne's words gave Buffy some degree of relief, though she knew she wouldn't feel it completely until she saw it happen for herself. "So they aren't going to be chasing us around forever?"
"Nah," Lorne replied. "I mean sure, you're going to run into them now and then, and I'd advise against doing anything too embarrassing in public if you don't want, say, a picture of you picking your nose to end up in Star, but it won't stay like this. That I can give you as a promise."
"Lorne's good, baby," Spike said, giving Buffy's hand a squeeze.
"I am well worth my paycheck." Lorne patted Buffy's arm. "I need to go mingle. I'll catch you two lovebirds later." He started to walk off, then turned back around and pointed to Buffy. "Seriously, lemon drop, I love her to pieces."
"Yeah," Spike said softly, leaning in to kiss the top of Buffy's head as Lorne disappeared into the crowd. "Me, too."
The party had gone better than Buffy had expected, with no one treating her as if she didn't belong there. From what she'd heard, apparently none of his friends had cared for Eve very much.
Go figure…
Once they'd gotten home, Spike had made good on his promise from the limo, though now he was asleep, curled up against her.
Buffy knew she should be sleeping as well. She had a big day ahead of her, and she needed to be well-rested for it. However, the dread curling up inside of her made sleep impossible.
Tonight, she'd tried to pretend the rest of the day hadn't happened, but tomorrow, she was going to have to face reality. She had to make a choice between two things she loved.
On the way out of the party, Lorne had pulled her aside and told her simply, "Make the right choice." Even though she hadn't told him what was going on with her job, she'd known that was what he'd meant, that somehow he'd just known. While with some people, that may have freaked her out, with Lorne, it seemed oddly fitting.
She'd told him she would, and in her heart, she believed had. After all, what choice did she truly have in the matter?
As much as it pained her, Buffy knew she had to leave.