Buffy awoke the next morning feeling like a new woman, refreshed and contented as she stretched out like a cat on her bed. The sun’s rays streamed brightly through the window, warming her from the inside out, and she yawned widely as she peered over at her alarm clock, shocked to learn it was already almost 10.
Pulling herself out of bed at a leisurely pace, she smiled as she recalled the events of the previous night, remembering what a great time she had and immediately wondering when she could see William again.
With pleasant thoughts drifting through her mind, Buffy shuffled towards the bathroom to begin her morning routine, still slightly groggy in her state of waking.
However, when she was halfway there, she abruptly halted her movements, an uncanny notion that something wasn’t quite right sending up a red flag in her mind. The unnerving feeling that she was being watched chilled her to the bone, goose bumps prickling along her skin as she was suddenly very alert, and very afraid. She stood completely still for several moments, straining her ears to hear anything out of the ordinary.
‘I’m probably just being paranoid,’ She tried to assure herself, rather unconvincingly.
Forcing herself to shake it off, she bypassed the bathroom and instead walked to the kitchen to make herself some tea in an attempt to cure her persistent grogginess with a jolt of caffeine. However, when she reached her destination, her eyes were immediately drawn to the table. In the middle sat the vase, right where she had left it the night before with the rose William had given her placed inside. Only, something was different. The flower looked almost forlorn within its encasement, completely bare, the stem being all that was left.
All of the petals were missing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riiiiinng!!
Buffy reached over and picked up the phone from its cradle, lifting it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Gorgeous,” The husky voice purred from the other end.
Buffy’s face immediately lit up with a bright smile, feeling the familiar warmth inside at the sound of his voice.
“Hey, yourself,” She replied, settling herself into a more comfortable position on the couch.
“So, any Big Bads get ya last night?”
Silence.
Buffy hesitated to respond, not really wanting to tell William about what had happened that morning, knowing it would only cause him to worry.
“Nope, no baddies,” She finally responded.
A brief pause on the other end of the line, then, “Buffy, is something wrong?”
“No” She answered, too quickly, nervously biting her lip as she tried to keep any offending emotion out of her voice, “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Buffy . . . . .”
She closed her eyes momentarily. Why did he have to know her so well?
“I’m fine, Will. Really,” She tried to reassure him, hoping he wouldn’t pry any further, “Just, uh, still a little paranoid from the whole unlocked door incident last night.”
He let out a loud sigh. Buffy quickly interjected before he could say anything else about the matter.
“I can’t wait to see you again,” She said.
“Hmm, I can’t wait to see you either, Kitten. I thought about you all night.”
A huge grin appeared on her face. She couldn’t help herself, he made her feel so giddy, just hearing his voice enough to brighten her day.
“You did, huh?”
“All night long.” His tone was seductive, low, practically caressing her ear through the phone.
“So, then, when do I get to see you again?” She quipped, switching the phone from one hand to the other as she waited for his response.
He let out a breath, “Well, I don’t know . . . .” He paused, “How about now?”
Buffy frowned, “Now?”
William chuckled, “Open your door, pet.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow, another smile overtaking her features as she made her way over to her door. Quickly undoing both locks, she swung it open to reveal a smirking William, cell phone in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. He snapped his cell phone shut and grinned at her, looking utterly delicious as always in his trademark black ensemble.
“Couldn’t wait,” He stated matter-of-factly, “Thought I’d come over and make us some dinner.”
Buffy’s smile instantly faded. “Oh, God Will, I’m a mess!” She exclaimed, hands working overtime to try to smooth down her hair and wipe any traces of paint off her face. After the morning incident, she had been in the studio painting all day to try to calm herself down. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and she wore faded jeans and a plain white fitted T-shirt, most of it splattered with various hues of paint.
He closed the door behind him, set down his bag and grabbed both her wrists, halting her movements. “No, you’re not,” He leaned towards her, “You’re beautiful.”
Catching her lips in a heart-stopping kiss, she instantly responded and twined her fingers through his soft hair. William gently backed her against the wall, holding her in place as he broke off the kiss to breath in some much-needed oxygen before continuing his assault on her mouth.
Tongues collided, igniting the fire deep in her belly, every nerve ending in her body tingling in a demand to be touched.
William once again broke off the kiss, his lips abandoning her mouth to nip along her jaw line. He placed wet, open-mouthed kisses in a trail down her slender neck, his eager hands exploring her body all the while, grazing the sides of her breasts. Buffy moaned when she felt his teeth lightly sink into the crook of her neck, his tongue instantly darting out to smooth the small indentations he left behind on her soft flesh.
“God Buffy,” He rasped between kisses, “You’re all I bloody think about, dream about . . . .” Nibbling lightly on her ear lobe, “I’ve been wanting to do this all day.” He pinned her arms above her head as he continued to torment her with his lips and tongue.
“Will -” Buffy gasped, unable to form a coherent thought while his mouth devoured her hungrily, teasing her heated skin. When he released her arms they instantly wrapped around his neck of their own volition, holding him tightly to her, begging him to continue his delicious torment. Feeling herself being lifted, she wrapped her legs around his waist without hesitation while he pressed her harder against the wall, her arms tightening around his neck as their mouths collided. She could feel his hardness grinding into her, which only heightened her desire.
Reaching between them with one hand, Buffy pulled back from the kiss momentarily to meet his eyes, finding them stormy and dark from his rising passion. She frantically fumbled with his zipper, needing to feel all of him, desperate for completion, until –
Riiiiinng!!
William groaned loudly, visibly irritated by the interruption.
Riiiiiinng!! The phone stubbornly persisted.
Buffy cleared her throat. “I, uh, better get that,” She said.
William nodded and reluctantly released her from his hold, letting her feet slide to the floor. Her legs felt like jello as she stood, grabbing the cordless phone from its receiver and facing away from William.
“Hello?” She said, her voice slightly hoarse.
Silence.
Buffy frowned.
“Hello?!” She tried again, slightly louder this time.
Still no answer.
Though this time she could distinctly hear someone breathing on the other end of the line. Deep, low breaths that came out as throaty rasps. Buffy knitted her eyebrows together as she awaited a response, receiving nothing but the same raspy breathing, sounding almost like hissing to her ears.
Click
She still held the phone to her ear, thoroughly puzzled, until a rather obnoxious busy tone clearly indicated the disconnection.
“Who was it?”
Buffy jumped when she heard William’s voice, having momentarily forgotten he was in the room in her state of confusion. She turned to face him, clicking the phone off as she did so.
“Uh, wrong number.” Buffy responded with a shrug, deliberately avoiding his eyes and earning a slight frown from William who obviously didn’t seem to buy her story. “Um, I’m gonna go freshen up,” She muttered, casually gesturing to her paint splattered clothes. “Why don’t you go start dinner and I’ll come out and help as soon as I’m done.”
She quickly left the room before he had a chance to respond.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minutes later, she stood in front of her bedroom window, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a white blouse, staring vacantly into the apartment lot. Her eyes narrowed and her stomach sank when she noticed the tan car parked across the street, obviously trying to remain inconspicuous. She couldn’t see who was inside, but she didn’t need to as her suspicions and fears were finally confirmed, much to her dismay.
She recognized the car. She knew who it was, and suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place, and panic began to rise within her.
When a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, she jumped, letting out a yelp as she was completely taken off guard and instantly fearing the worst. The arms wrapped tighter around her like a vice, pulling her flush against a warm body as she struggled to get free, her strength no match against his despite her best efforts.
“Easy, luv,” came the soothing voice, sounding like music to her ears, “Little jumpy tonight, are we?”
Buffy instantly relaxed in his arms, letting out a sigh of relief and closing her eyes. William planted a kiss on the back of her neck, causing her to shiver and slump against him, feeling safe in his welcoming embrace.
“Buffy” He purred into her ear.
“Hmm?”
She felt his breath on her neck.
“What were you looking at through the window?”
When he felt her tense upon hearing those words, he released her and turned her around to face him, his hands holding her firmly in place by her upper arms so she couldn’t move away. Noticing she was averting her eyes from his gaze, he cupped a hand under her chin and tilted her head upwards, forcing her to look at him. His blue eyes pierced through hers, searching for any explanation of her strange behavior.
“Buffy . . . . .” He prodded, his tone firm.
When she still hesitated to answer, he shook his head and released her from his hold, turning and exiting the room with long strides. Buffy hurried after him as he stooped to pick up his black duster and keys, but when he placed his hand on the doorknob she touched his arm, taking a surprised step back when he quickly slapped her hand away.
“Where are you going?” She asked quietly, as though afraid of the sound of her own voice.
“Out.” He responded harshly, still facing away from her.
“Will,” She began softly, placing her hand on his shoulder, which he again batted away.
“I can’t do this, Buffy,” His tone was somewhat gentler now, his voice wavering slightly as he battled his emotions, “We said things would be different this time. No more secrets, no more lies. Yet it’s happening all over again,” He paused, his jaw clenched tightly, “And I can’t go through that again.” He turned the knob and pulled the door open, needing to distance himself from the rapidly dissolving situation.
“Will, please don’t go!” Buffy pleaded, her voice cracking. This time when she touched his shoulder, he tensed, but didn’t push her away, slowly turning to Dace her when he heard the sadness in her voice. His expression softened when he saw the unshed tears pooling in her eyes, her chin quivering, and before he knew what was happening she was in his arms and clinging to him so tightly breathing became difficult. Her arms wrapped around him like a vice, unwilling to let him walk out the door.
“Please don’t leave me,” She begged in a whisper, “Don’t leave again.”
He sighed, his resolve crumbling, and kissed the top of her head. “I’m not gonna leave you, Buffy.”
She looked up at him then, her watery eyes holding a spark of hope, though her arms never loosened their death grip on him. When he felt her trembling, he couldn’t take it anymore.
Without a word, he stooped to bring an arm behind her knees, sweeping her legs out from under her while his other arm braced around her shoulders as he picked her up off the floor. He carried her to the sofa, where he sat down with her in his lap, his eyes looking intently into hers. He stroked her back gently until he felt her begin to relax against him, the tension slowly leaving her body, though her eyes never left his.
Once he was sure she had calmed down, he broke the silence.
“Now,” He said, his voice low and firm, “You’re gonna tell me everything.”
A/N: I know, I said the mystery would unravel in this chapter, but when I started to write it I realized it would be too soon. Bear with me though, I promise all will be revealed by the next update. I didn't actually intend to make a mystery at all in this story, which is why I don't want it to get too involved - the focus is still on William and Buffy rebuilding their relationship, and the point is that there are still things they need to work through and reveal to each other. The next chapter or two may be a little angtsy, but after that I promise things will definately start to go uphill - please keep the faith!
Thanks to all those who have been following the story and reviewing, especially dreamgirl4eva, Sevvy_O, Caitie, BuffyandSpikeForever, and Bint for your reviews. You guys are the reason I keep writing! :)
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