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Spike stood in the shower, his hands braced against the wall. It had been all he could manage to keep from touching Buffy himself, and then it had been even more difficult to walk away. But he'd had to. The moment he'd slid inside her, he would've lost all control, the feel of her always enough to push him over the edge.

He moved one hand from the wall to his aching cock, desperate for some release. His body screamed for his mate, but he'd have to make do with this now. Buffy would stop this insane denial of hers soon enough, give into the inevitable the way he had, and then he could have her anytime he wanted.

He came quickly with a strangled cry, the release enough to ease his physical tension, but not his mind. Buffy's anxiety was screaming at him through the claim, and Spike grimaced at the stab of guilt feeling that gave him. She was distraught, and it pained him.

She did, however, fully believe that he was capable of stripping her of her free will, and for that Spike was slightly grateful, even though the relief he felt there was tainted. He had hoped that threatening her with making her no more than his puppet would've been enough, but as she continued to try him, he knew he was going to have to take more drastic measures. He had thought quickly, taking a gamble, and it seemed to have paid off. Spike only hoped she didn't push him any further, didn't call him on his bluff and make him lose what little power he did have over her.

Since he had been the one to initiate the claim, Spike did have the upper hand in the relationship, being able to control Buffy physically though his mark—to a point. He could influence her movements for a short while, using what was essentially an altered version of the vampiric thrall. But as far as stripping Buffy of her free will, he could no more do that than he could style his hair in the mirror after he finished his shower. What was important is that she believed that he could.

The stunt he'd just pulled back in the bedroom had been a huge risk, but one he had been certain he would come out on top in taking, if Buffy reacted the way she normally did—which she had. She was still refusing to believe that anything she felt for him was coming from her naturally, that she felt anything except what he was apparently "making" her feel. He'd tried to explain to her otherwise, but she hadn't listened, so he'd decided instead to use her stubbornness to his advantage.

The desire he felt for her combined with his to increase its strength, sure, but were she to feel no desire for him at all, then it wouldn't matter how much lust was coming from his side. Buffy wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. Granted, his deeper understanding of the claim allowed him greater ease in filtering some of the effects, giving him the ability to push down a portion of the overwhelming emotions that surged between them, but it was still difficult and something else he couldn't hold on to for a long period of time.

He had stopped actually controlling her shortly after ordering her to stop going towards the door, relying instead on her to act under her own desire, but to place the blame for it on him in her on-going struggle to deny her own feelings. It seemed that she'd rather believe she had no free will than to accept that she wanted him, that his words and his touch had made her burn with need in mere moments.

She also didn't seem to realize just how much power she had over him, for which Spike was grateful. She could crumble him with just a look. And her touch…

While claims had once been the norm for vampires, they had fallen to the wayside in recent centuries, more modern vampires resenting the ties to someone else that a claim created. Taking a mate meant losing a degree of one's own freedom, and that was something newer vampires detested, no longer being the social creatures they had once been. Nests had once been formed for something other than protection and easier hunting, or at least Spike had been told.

While Angelus had spoken of claims with disgust, they had always intrigued Spike. He had longed for a connection that deep even in his human days, and that desire had strengthened with his turning, not weakened. He had wanted for quite some time to claim Drusilla, but her status as his sire had not allowed him to do so, since he wore her mark, not the other way around. He was subordinate to her; therefore, she would have to be the one to initiate the claim, and Spike had eventually accepted that this was something Drusilla would never do. He had given very little thought to claims since then, until Buffy Summers had slammed into his life, turning everything on its head.

Spike still wasn't sure why he'd made the move to claim Buffy, only that he had seemingly acted on instinct in doing so. Seeing her in the grasp of Angelus had set him off, but he feared now that there had been more to it than a need not to lose another woman to his grandsire. The connection he'd felt with Buffy had been instantaneous, something inside of her calling to him even when she'd stood with a crossbow pointed at him. He'd craved her before the claim and now…

She was consuming him. She was all passion and fire his mate, possessing a strength that seemed almost out of place in a seventeen-year-old girl. She shook him to the very core, making him feel in a short time things Drusilla hadn't in a century. It was as frightening as it was alluring.

But it was the frightening part that had him worried. Something had happened last night, and it was still there, like a piece of her inside of him, taking hold and making him face things he never should have to. He felt a niggling sense of guilt over what he'd done, not only for how he'd tricked her in the bedroom in order to make her submit, but also for what his feeding had done to her as well. Guilt wasn't something he should be feeling. It wasn't something he should be concerned about without a soul.

A thought entered Spike's mind then that he didn't even want to entertain. He knew that mating bonds between humans and vampires were rare, and while he'd believed it was simply because the circumstances needed to facilitate such a pairing were not ones that could easily be accomplished, he had heard rumors that claiming a human without turning them had been known to drive vampires insane. Since he'd never seen evidence of this, he'd written it off as an old wives' tale. However now that he was experiencing a vampire/human claim firsthand, his knowledge of them had certainly grown and he couldn't help but wonder…

A mutual mating claim like the one he'd formed with Buffy was the strongest form of demon bond, something that could not only never be broken, but also served to merge the mates together, shaping them into two halves of a whole. They experienced everything together, shared everything. Did that mean he would now share her…

No. Spike cut that thought short right there because it was utterly ridiculous. He wouldn't even think the vile word. What he was feeling probably wasn't really guilt anyway, just a desire to protect his mate mixed with her feelings about the whole thing. He had to make her accept who and what he was, and what that meant for her now, and then it would all go away. He didn't like being cruel to her, but it seemed to be the only way he could get anywhere with her, and he would do what he needed to make sure she understood her place. This was a transition period for both of them, and while he'd come to accept that it was Buffy and not Drusilla who would remain by his side now, she would come to accept that as a vampire, he would have to feed.

Spike turned off the water, stepping out of the shower and toweling off. He eyed his jeans where he'd wadded them on the counter and decided to slip them back on, knowing he needed a physical barrier between himself and Buffy. It had been over a day since he'd had her last, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to remedy that while she was still being so defiant. Being with her made him lose all control and he couldn't afford to do that when so much rested on her believing he could always be in control.

He was pleased to see when he left the bathroom that she'd stayed on the bed like he'd told her to, even if she did look miserable about it. Spike sat on the edge of the bed and turned towards her. "Are you hungry, pet? We can't go anywhere right now, but you could order something if you'd like. A pizza?"

Buffy glared at him. "Stop acting like you care," she said through gritted teeth.

"I care what happens to you, Buffy," Spike said with a sigh. "You're my mate, and it's my place to take care of you."

"No it isn't," Buffy replied. "And you don't care. All you want to do is hurt me."

"That isn't true," Spike insisted.

"Wait, sorry. Hurt me and fuck me. Although with you it's the same thing anyway," Buffy said, her expression cold.

Spike actually started a little at that before his face fell back into the cocky mask he wore. "Come on now, pet, don't try to lie to me like that. Those screams of yours—they're all from pleasure."

"Only in your sick mind."

Spike used what little self-control he had to hold back, stop himself from proving to her just how much in pleasure those screams were. He could tell that she wasn't as in control of herself as her expression and body language would suggest, and he couldn't slip any now, not when he had worked so hard to get this far with her. He had to wait until she gave in, until she realized there was no point in fighting and finally submitted to her mate. It would happen soon, Spike was sure.

So for now, he'd play her game, just see to it that he had the upper hand. He stretched his arms above his head, fighting the grin that threatened to spread across his face at the way her eyes darted to his bare chest as he did, her little pink tongue poking out to wet her lips. "Right then. Not a scream of pleasure in the bunch. Wonder what's on the telly." He got up and took the remote control from the top of the television before flopping back on the bed, resting against the headboard with his feet stretched out in front of him. "Oooh, haven't caught this show in awhile," he said, stopping on a channel.

Buffy's mouth fell open. He wasn't even going to try to seduce her? First he'd rather have her touch herself than do it himself and now he was completely ignoring the fact that she was in the bed and quite naked beneath the covers. Not that she wasn't grateful, she quickly added to herself. She didn't want to have sex with him anyway. She was just…insulted. Yes, that was it. Who did he think he was, ignoring her to watch… She frowned. "Is this a soap opera?"

"Passions," Spike replied without looking at her. "Bloody great show, it is."

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. How dare he be more interested in crappy daytime television show than he was in her? Especially after all he'd put her through. With a sound of disgust, she got out of the bed, snatching her clothes off the floor and putting them on angrily.

Spike watched her from the corner of his eye, fighting back the giddy laughter that threatened to rise to the surface. This had gone even better than he could've imagined. He could feel her fuming through the claim, his decision to pass her over in order to watch television infuriating her and wounding her womanly pride. Yeah, sure, she didn't want him. And he was next in line for the papacy…

Buffy sat down in the chair, her face turned from him and her nose in the air was she pointedly ignored him. Spike smirked slightly as he settled in to catch up on Alistair Crane's latest dastardly plot.

Oh yeah, she'd give in to him in no time at all…

*** *** ***

Buffy watched Spike as he laced up his boots. The sun had just gone down, and she had no doubt in her mind as to what he was doing. He was going to feed, and she was going to have to live through it all over again. Just the thought of it made her want to scream, and she didn't know how she'd bear it anymore.

"Please, don't. I'll…I'll let you feed from me. However much you need, you can take it all, I don't care, just please…don't do this."

Spike looked up, the desperate look in her eyes making him wish he hadn't. The sight of her made his unbeating heart clench, and for a moment, he almost gave in to her demands. But he couldn't. He'd considered holding off from feeding for the night to give her a little reprieve, but he decided that it was best to just keep his habits regular so she could get accustomed to it. It was bound to get easier for both of them as soon as she accepted it, and the sooner that happened, the better.

"I won't be gone long, kitten," he said, his tone gentle. "Then we'll head out, go someplace else."

Buffy jumped up from her chair, going to him and kneeling in front of him. She pushed her hair out of the way as she tilted her neck, offering herself to him. "Here. Just take this. I'm…I'm young, and it's warm and fresh. It has to be better than eating anyone else around here. Please, Spike. I want you to. I want…" She paused, swallowing before she said the next words. "I want to feel your fangs inside me."

His demon threatened to burst forward at that, but he shook it off. Buffy was right when she said her blood would be better than any other he'd find tonight, but feeding from her wouldn't allow him to accomplish what he needed to accomplish. "Maybe later, baby," he said, running a cool finger down her exposed neck before standing up, grabbing his duster from where it was slung over the table. "Wait here for me."

Buffy rose to her feet. "You monster!" she screamed. "I hate you! I wish you were dust!"

Spike turned on her, his eyes cold. "Listen here, you bloody little bint. I'm going out to feed now, and you're going to sodding deal with it. I showed you earlier what I can do to you. Do you really want to push me?"

Buffy shrunk back from him. "No."

"Good. Now stay here and wait for me." Spike turned on his heel, slamming the motel door behind him.

Buffy paced the room as she felt Spike begin his hunt, the bloodlust coursing through him reverberating in her. She let out a choked sob when he found his prey, experiencing the kill through him. She gasped for breath, her heart seeming to twist in her chest. It was even worse this time than it had been before, her mind and body fully awake now, and she also possessed the clear knowledge she had from the start of exactly what she was experiencing. She opened her mouth to scream but it came out as a sob, every bit of her in anguish as she stood there and did nothing as another person died.

She couldn't take this. It was too much to handle, and she had to get away, had to find someplace where she could breathe again. If she could just find a place where this hold of his was no longer on her, she could think clearly again, she could find a way to survive.

Without any thoughts towards the consequences, only knowing she couldn't be there anymore, Buffy ran.

*** *** ***

A bit of a twist there? What did you think?





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