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Author's Chapter Notes:
I am submitting this chapter, with fingers crossed. I had my husband install a new upgraded Office '2003' program with spellcheck.
I'm hoping to make my fictions more enjoyable to you readers.
Thanks,
Luv, Spuf
ALL MANNER OF MONSTERS




Chapter 2: ‘Never Tear Us Apart’


“This way,” Graham grunted at the two ‘new’ guys, Spike Sinclair and Alec Harrington. Graham had frisked the two men, carefully, checking for any guns, knives, etc. that might endanger their boss, Riley Finn.

Of course, Spike and Alec had been cleared, by Riley himself, long before they ever made an appearance here, at the Finn Mansion, in the Hills of Beverly, that is. However, Graham was Riley’s oldest, best friend, his right hand man, so to speak. There was no way that Graham would make a slip up, or be careless, not where Riley was concerned.

“Nice place,” Alec (Xander) stated, simply, his dark eyes taking in the lush surroundings.

“Yeah,” Spike (oh yeah baby!) agreed, with a shrug. Although, it was a bit too posh for his taste.

‘Buffy must really ‘hate’ living here,’ Spike mused to him, sarcastically.

Spike was more interested in meeting Finn himself, at this point. That and coming face to face with Buffy, finally.

Riley Finn swept into the front living room of his big, beautiful mansion (can a guy ‘sweep’ into anywhere?).

‘He’s not so fucking big or intimidating,’ Spike told himself, pulling himself up to his full 5’10” height.

‘He’s fucking huge!’ Xander (aka Alec) groaned, nervously, as he eyed the formidable Riley Finn. Which was saying something, since Xander was not small in frame himself?

“Hey dudes,” Riley greeted his new ‘men’ warmly.

‘Oh, Christ! Dudes!’ Spike grunted in disgust, ‘Finn’s a wanna’ be surfer?’

“Mr. Finn,” Alec nodded at the new ‘boss’ friendly enough.

“Finn,” Spike held out his left hand to shake his nemesis’ hand.

“You guys come highly recommended,” Riley gushed, eagerly, motioning the two men further into his home.

“After that fucked up mess, with Meers,” Riley began with a scowl, “I need some ‘good’ men around me,” Riley continued. “Men I can trust and you two come with the highest kudos,” Finn laughed loudly. “My man, Angel O’Connor, made sure that you two came highly recommended. I couldn’t buy a better man then O’Connor. Believe me, I’ve tried,” Riley finished with a deep chuckle.

Xander looked over at Spike and rolled his dark brown eyes.

‘Is this guy for real?’ Xander mouthed behind Riley’s wide, bulky back.

Spike shrugged, indifferently. Indifferently, that is, until he noticed the tiny, golden haired figure at the top of Riley Finn’s grand staircase.

‘Buffy,’ Spike gasped, inwardly; as he watched the girl he’d allowed to slip away, years before, descending down the long stairway. She glided, Spike noticed, like an angel with wings and…

‘Jesus,’ Spike chided himself, ‘she’s a fucking woman, not an angel. She’s Riley Finn’s bitch. His whore and a fucking deceitful little…’

“Here’s my baby,” Riley gushed, proudly, as the four men watched Buffy Summers glide down the stairs.

Buffy was wearing a short, simple black cocktail dress. Very basic, very deadly, Buffy's whole look was. Especially since the back of the dress appeared to be nonexistent, all the way to her tiny waist. Her long, golden hair fell down about her shoulders. All the men, present at the bottom of the stairs were immediately mesmerized by Buffy.

‘She could be a runway model, for as much as anyone knows. But nope, she’s not, she’s Riley Finn’s mistress, his whore and probably his future wife and the mother of his children.’ Spike tried not to allow his bitter thoughts to show.


“Buffy,” Riley greeted his girl warmly, “there’s a couple of guys. I want you to meet them,” the big man grinned as he held out his huge hand to escort his woman down the last few steps.

“Okay,” Buffy murmured, shyly, keeping her green eyes focused on the floor beneath them.

“This is Alec Harrington,” Riley pointed at Xander. “This is Spike Sinclair. Guys,” Finn continued with a smug, proud grin, “this is my girl, Buffy Summers.”

“Nice to meet you, Buffy,” Alec stammered, glancing at his partner, Spike, warily.

“Pleasure,” Spike mumbled, automatically lifting Buffy’s tiny hand with his and placing it against his lips. His blue-eyed gaze never left Buffy’s face

Stunned, momentarily, Buffy stared, wide-eyed at this cheeky newcomer, Spike Sinclair. Her green eyes widened, even more, in shock, when she ‘recognized’ the man before her.

‘William!’ she gasped, silently, ‘oh dear God!’ Even beneath the unfamiliar bleached blond hair of this Spike Sinclair? Buffy recognized her William. He was there, hidden underneath this tough, thug like exterior.


‘Flashback…seven years earlier/Buffy’s POV’


“So, your name is William, huh?” Buffy asked the stranger who held her in his arms.

“That would be me,” this curly haired hunk replied, a slight smirk on his handsome face.

“Buffy, eh?” William asked, his left brow rose, slightly. He truly tried not to smirk at her rather odd moniker.

“Blame my mother,” Buffy giggled brightly. “She’s got a weird sense of humor, sometimes anyway.” Buffy’s expression suddenly turned quite ‘sad’ William noticed.

They, William and Buffy, were dancing to ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ by INXS. It was kind of weird, really, their technique of dancing. Not that the song was really rock, or wild, or punk or anything that could be construed as ‘fast’ dancing music. However, it was a song that William had picked, on the jukebox, overriding everyone else’s choice of music.

So, they danced, slowly, to the song that William had chosen for them. Even if the other party might be a bit put off by the slowness of the tune, or the heart stirring words.


‘Never Tear Us Apart’ (by INXS)


‘Don’t ask me
What you know is true
Don’t have to tell you
I love your precious heart


I,
I was standing
You were there
Two worlds colliding
And they could never tear ups apart…’

William held Buffy flush up to his body, his long arms tightly wrapped about her tiny waist and slim shoulder. The little red sundress she wore made it possible for him to ‘feel’ a lot of her silky, smooth skin. He certainly was taking advantage of that and his access to her long, gorgeous golden hair.

‘You’re falling way too hard, way to fast, mate,’ William warned himself. ‘Don’t be a fucking ponce, you bloody idiot and…’


“We better get something straight, Mr. William,” Buffy whispered into this Brit’s ear. “I am so not going to sleep with you, understood?” She had ‘felt’ the way William was touching the exposed skin of her arms, neck and back. That and the way he gently twirled her hair in his fingers.

William reared back from his little ‘treasure’ he held in his arms. He couldn’t help himself; he broke into a huge grin. Running his left hand down this Buffy’s warm cheek, and chuckling softly, he smirked, wickedly.

“Sleep is not exactly what ‘I’ had in mind, Buffy,” he murmured, even as he caught her green-eyed gaze with his. He tried very hard not to reveal his disappointment, at this revelation that the little minx in his arms had just spouted.

“You know what I mean,” Buffy giggled, saucily. “I mean I won’t be ‘shagging’ with you, at any time, well, at least anytime too soon that is. Shagging? Isn’t that what you Brits call, well, you know what I mean?” She finished, with her own version of a coy little smile.

“I see,” William sighed, dramatically, “but there ‘may’ be shagging, or uhm, fucking, between us? In the near future that is?” he finished with another raise of his left brow.

“Pig,” Buffy spat, with a scowl, but then giggled again. She made it clear that she liked this ‘naughty’ side of William.

“Oink,” William replied, smugly. He made it clear that he liked the fact that Buffy liked this naughty side of him.

“Okay, let’s get something straight,” the young man continued, seriously. “If I wanted to get a shag, a fuck a lay or whatever? I could, pretty easily,” William grunted, with confidence.

“Oh, I’m sure you could,” Buffy replied evenly, “but then again. So could I,” she finished with a naughty wink at him.

“Oh Christ,” William huffed, “I mean it, Buffy. If getting laid is all I wanted, I could. Just as you could, no doubt, but I think we both want a little something more here, right? At least, I guess I got these vibes, from you and…”

“Well,” Buffy hesitated, her lush lips in a cute little pout, “I’d say you are probably pretty right about ‘that’ Mr. William. About those ‘vibes’ as you called them,” She burst out into laughter, causing William to join in with her.


‘Never Tear Us Apart’ (continued)


‘We could live
For a thousand years
But if I hurt you
I’d make wine from your tears


I told you
That we could fly
Cause we all have wings
But some of us don’t know why…

I,
I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never, ever, tear us apart’


‘Present Day’


Riley eyed his ‘girlfriend’ carefully, a somewhat puzzled expression on his huge face.

“Uh, you two know each other, Buff?” Riley mumbled, stiffly at his lover. Even as he glanced, warily, at Spike.

“NO!” Buffy gasped, wildly, as she pulled her tiny hand from Spike’s. “Not at all,” she shook her head quickly, a slight frown on her pretty mouth.

“I kind of got thrown off, by Mr. Sinclair’s accent and when he kissed my hand,” Buffy’s voice trailed off.

“Sorry, Miss Summers,” Spike muttered, sheepishly, “didn’t mean to scare you and…”

Buffy shot William a ‘grateful’ look. A kind of silent thank you, for his discretion that is.

“Oh, I’m not scared,” Buffy interrupted him, “just a little unused to hand kissing stuff. In greeting someone, I mean,” she mumbled softly. She could feel a deep, hot blush creep up her neck, into her face.

Spike never took his eyes off of Buffy, just stood there, like a fool. Watching the love of his life try and cover her tracks, in front of her current lover, that is.

‘You don’t owe the prick a fucking explanation, luv,’ Spike silently told Buffy. With his eyes, that is.

“Not that you don’t look gorgeous, baby,” Riley began carefully, as he spoke to Buffy, but glared at Spike. “But for dinner in, with these two guys? You’re a little overdressed, sweetheart.”

Buffy flinched, visibly, but caught herself. “Dinner in?” she asked, somewhat confused herself. “I’m meeting Tara and Willow, at the Gallery,” she continued with a scowl. “Tara’s previewing her new show, remember? Willow begged me to come tonight, for the opening. Its cocktails and buffet,” Buffy explained, shyly to Alec and Spike.

“I promised by best friend, Willow, that I’d be at the opening, for her girlfriend, Tara’s sake. It means so much, to both of them,” she finished, weakly.

“Geez, babe,” Riley sighed heavily, “I know this ‘dinner’ here was kind of sudden, but I really need you around tonight. To entertain these two guys. They’ve come all the way from the East Coast. Can’t just leave them here, with me and Graham. Us? We're clueless at entertaining. You know what a moron I am at entertaining, without you by my side anyway. Can’t you call, beg off from the show?”

Spike began to feel very uncomfortable, for Buffy that is. He noticed that Xander looked pretty bloody uncomfortable too.

“Its okay, Riley,” Alec spoke up quickly, “Miss Summers doesn’t have to stick around, entertain us. We’ll be fine and if she promised…”

“Thank you, Mr. Harrington,” Buffy smiled at Xander, graciously. “But if Riley thinks I should stick around, help out here? I will,” she finished with a sad smile and a shrug.

“I’ll go change,” Buffy offered, half-heartedly. “Give Willow a call and be back in a second. First I’ll stop in and find out what the cook can whip up,” she half-smiled at Riley. “See you in a few moments, gentlemen,” Buffy mumbled, nervously.

After she had left their presence, Xander piped up, abruptly, “beautiful woman, Riley. Miss Summers, I mean. You are a lucky man.”

“Yes, I am,” Riley chuckled smugly. “Don’t you agree, Sinclair?”

“Of course,” Spike nodded his agreement. “You’re a real lucky man, Finn. Your girl seems to be a real treasure, mate.”

‘Asshole,’ Spike seethed inwardly. ‘Not that I wanted Buffy to go anywhere at all. But what a fucking bastard you are, Finn. You made her change her plans, for you. Selfish son-of-a-bitch!’

Later at supper, things got even worse for Buffy. She tried to just stay out of the conversation, between Riley, Alec and Spike, but found herself drawn into it. Time and again.

Over the filet mignon, Buffy finally broke down and looked at William, or Spike, or whatever the hell his name was now.

“Is your supper okay, Mr. Sinclair,” she asked, in an almost indifferent, polite tone.

“Please, call me Spike, Miss Summers,” he replied, curtly. “Yes, its fine,” he added quickly, without even glancing at Buffy.

“Please, call me Buffy, you too Mr. Harrington,” Buffy whispered softly.

“I’m Alec, Buffy,” Xander responded, hastily.

Buffy sipped her wine, slowly, careful not to look at William. Careful not to alert Riley to anything odd at all.

She realized that William was being just as careful as she was, at ignoring each other, politely that is. However, something was nagging at Buffy. In the back of her mind, that is.

‘If William is so ‘into’ this world of Riley’s,’ she thought, with a slight frown. ‘Then he must have known I was in Riley’s life. Who I am to Riley, what I am? So,’ she continued her silent musings, ‘can I assume that one of the reasons Will’s here, in spite of me? Is ‘because’ of me.’

Or maybe, just maybe, she, Buffy Summers, was being totally egotistical. Maybe William was here, now, for purely business reasons and not because of her at all.

‘I hope so,’ Buffy thought, sadly. ‘I hope he’s here, for exactly the reason he claims. To help Riley in his business. At least, I think that’s what I hope,’ she reasoned, wistfully.

Buffy’s inner thoughts were disrupted, by the ringing of a cell phone. The theme from ‘The Godfather’ played out, in two full verses.

“Sorry,” Alec Harrington blurted out, embarrassed. “I have to take this. It’s my fiance,” he explained, briefly.

Alec excused himself from the dinner table and hurried out onto the first floor patio.

“He’s whipped,” Spike chuckled, snarkily. He watched his partner scurry onto the patio. “Nothing will ever tear Alec and his girl apart,” Spike added, almost glaring at Buffy.

“Aren’t we all?” Riley responded with a loud laugh. “And happily,” he added, warmly as he gazed at Buffy.

“Not me,” Spike snorted in reply to Riley. However, the blond male’s gaze fell on Buffy, also.

“I think it’s kind of sweet,” Buffy sighed softly. “I mean, that Alec is so attached to his fiancé that is. It’s refreshing, you know? To find a man that really connects with his woman?”

“I connect to you, baby. Don’t I?” Riley murmured, silkily, as he took Buffy’s little hand in his.

“Yes,” Buffy responded, a little too abruptly. She smiled at Riley, yes, but it seemed a bit false to Spike.

‘Christ,’ Spike groaned silently, ‘I think I’m going to throw up!’

“My Buffy is a real Renaissance woman,” Riley stated, the affection in his voice reaffirmed Spike’s need to hurl.

“She is artsy, that’s for certain. All culture and class, that’s my baby,” Riley gushed, “a real treasure. I’m lucky to have her,” Finn repeated his earlier statement, staring straight at Spike.

“That you are,” Spike whispered in reply, trying to keep the resentment in his voice from showing.

“Sorry,” Alec rejoined the small group at the huge dining table. “My fiancé, Cordelia? She gets a little antsy when I’m away, for too long that is,” the dark haired man finished with an embarrassed shrug of his massive shoulders.

“I think it’s nice,” Buffy said, her voice quiet and subdued. “That you and your girl are so close, I mean,” she added quickly.

“Yeah,” Alec (Xander) blushed bright red, “that’s Cordy and me, all right. We…”

Suddenly, the sound of another cell phone, Riley’s this time, interrupted the conversation.

“Yeah, what?” Riley answered the cell, gruffly.

“Shit!” Finn cried, causing Buffy to flinch, while Alec and Spike glanced at each other.

“Okay,” Riley shouted into the cell phone.

After clicking it off, Riley looked at Buffy, with true remorse.

“Gotta’ go, babe,” he sighed heavily. “There’s an issue, at the office. I have to take Graham, get down there.”

“Andrew!” Riley bellowed.

A slight, but good looking young man hurried out of the kitchen, into the dining area.

“Yes?” Andrew asked, nervously, of his boss.

“I’ve got to leave, for a while. Make sure that Sinclair and Harrington are taken care of. Drink wise and all. I’ll be back, later. Baby?” Riley gazed at Buffy, his dark brow raised.

“You’ll be okay, right? For a while?” Finn smiled, charmingly at his mistress.

“I’ll be fine, Riley,” Buffy replied meekly. “Just fine.”



A/N: Okay, so…I wanted to write a heck of a lot more into this chapter, but thought I’d better let up, for now. Next chapter? Spike and Buffy ‘will’ talk, privately, believe me. (Why do you think Alec/Xander got that convenient phone call???)

Thanks for reading, please review. I need reviews, desperately. Luv, Spuf





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