It was a little after two in the morning when he decided to call the night a bust. He wasn't getting anywhere, and he could feel Buffy's anxiety through the claim, making him want to get back to her. At least he'd had the chance to scope out the area, get a feel for what had changed and what hadn't since he'd last been in Los Angeles. Maybe that would give him more of an advantage tomorrow.
He was afraid that when he got back to the motel he'd have to deal with putting a look of disappointment on Buffy's face. He hated to even think about that, hated to let her down. But instead, she jumped up as soon as he came through the door and ran to him, welcoming him back with a kiss.
"Buffy, I didn't…" Spike began when she pulled away.
"I know," Buffy said. "I could get a sense of what you were feeling when you were gone, and most of it was frustration. And at one point, a whole hell of a lot of annoyance. What was that about?"
Spike groaned. "This Kaliash demon I ran into. Little bastard had nothing of importance to say, but he wouldn't bloody shut his gob. If it wasn't for that acidic blood of theirs, he so wouldn't have a head right now."
Buffy tried unsuccessfully to hide her grin. "I'm sorry, baby."
"Could've been worse," Spike said with a shrug. "Could've followed me home. Kaliash have been known to do that."
Buffy started to respond, but then stopped and blushed as her stomach rumbled. "Sorry. It's been a while since I've eaten, I guess. But there's some cold pizza in the mini fridge."
Spike paused for a moment, his head cocked, before he said, "You know, there's still a few more hours before daylight. Why don't we go find you something other than pizza to eat? Can't promise anything too good at this time of night, but at least it would be a change."
"I am so good with that," Buffy replied. "I feel like all I've eaten for days is hamburgers and pizza. Just let me put my shoes on."
"All right, luv."
Buffy kissed Spike on the cheek before she went to find her shoes.
Buffy stared across the table at Spike, her own plate of pancakes untouched. After a moment, Spike looked back, his eyebrow raised. "What?"
"You're eating."
"Well, yeah. What did you think I ordered the food just to stare at it?"
"I don't know. I thought maybe you just didn't want to call attention to us by not ordering anything or something. But you're actually eating it."
"And this is somehow shocking because…"
Buffy leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Because you're a vampire."
"So? That doesn't mean I can't eat regular food, Buffy. It just means it doesn't really give me any nourishment. I still need the blood for that," Spike explained.
"Then why eat it?"
"Because I like the way food tastes," Spike replied with a shrug. "Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't enjoy an actual meal now and then."
"Do all vampires eat human food?" Buffy asked.
"No. Some of them are very against it, thinking it degrades what it means to be a vampire, or something crazy like that. Personally, I don't care. I do what I want, and at the moment, that's to eat pancakes."
Buffy chuckled. "You rebel, you."
Spike smiled in response, his tongue curled against his teeth. "Never have been one for rules."
Buffy started eating her own food then, taking several bites before she spoke again. "So are there any particular foods you like?"
Spike swallowed what he had in his mouth. "Why do you ask?"
"I just figured I should know. I mean, with this whole claim thing, I'm sorta like your wife or something, so I guess I should know what you like to eat."
"You mean other than you?" Spike asked, his eyebrows wagging.
"Yeah," Buffy replied, her face flaming red.
"You're cute when you blush," Spike remarked. "I like spicy things, mostly. My tastebuds aren't quite like a human's, so spices keep the food from tasting bland. Spicy Buffalo wings are a personal favorite. And I also like those fried onion things that look like flowers."
"I thought vampires were supposed to stay away from onions. Like garlic. And speaking of garlic, isn't it usually in Buffalo wings?" Buffy questioned.
"And what, are you going to expect me to stop and pick up any seeds you throw on the ground, too?" Spike asked.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know that one isn't true. Well, except maybe if the vampire is obsessive-compulsive. But I'd heard the garlic thing was more than a myth. It isn't?"
"I've heard of it affecting some vampires myself," Spike admitted. "But it's never been a problem for me. Maybe some vampires are so convinced that garlic hurts them that it's just psychological." He grinned. "Or they've had a run-in with holy garlic."
"Holy garlic?" Buffy asked with a giggle. "Do you throw it in with holy oregano to season Blessed Spaghetti? Sounds like vampire heartburn just waiting to happen."
"I'm pretty sure that can be fixed with Rolaids of Evil," Spike replied.
Buffy laughed. This was nice. And not only because she was finally somewhere other than a motel room—even if it was just a twenty-four hour pancake restaurant—but it was nice being there with Spike. He was being pleasant company, and when they weren't fighting, he wasn't a bad person to talk to. She stabled her pancakes with her fork, noting how they'd grown soggy from the syrup. She didn't mind that, though. She liked them that way.
"Something wrong, pet?" Spike asked after watching her for a moment. "You started looking all serious all of the sudden."
Buffy glanced back up at him. "Oh. No, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"'Bout what?"
"You. Us. I like it when it's like this, when we're kidding around instead of fighting. You're nice to have around then."
"That so?" Spike asked her, his eyebrow arching.
"Yeah. You're… I don't know, you can sometimes be like…a sorta decent boyfriend, I guess."
Spike knew that in most instances, being told that you were "a sorta decent boyfriend, sometimes" would be insulting. But coming from Buffy, he could count it as one of the sweetest things she'd ever said to him. Even that much from her was nothing short of a miracle to him.
Although not quite as much as what she did next. Buffy reached across the table and took his hand, linking their fingers together before she started eating again. Spike stilled completely, staring at where their hands were joined. It was a small gesture, but it was such an intimate one that he didn't know how to react. She was holding his hand because she wanted to, and in public no less. Could he take it for what he wanted it to be—a sign that she really had come to accept what they were to each other now?
He kept thinking maybe she had, but he was afraid to get too comfortable with that assumption. She no longer fought him at every turn and no longer tried to deny their physical connection. Often times, she was actually warm to him, like that night, when she had kissed him as soon as he'd come back to their motel. She'd often cuddle up next to him when they were in bed, and more than once he'd caught her doing things like stroking his hair when she thought he was asleep.
Spike wanted to call it acceptance, though his fear was that it was actually just resignation. What if Buffy was only forcing herself to like him to make the fact that she was stuck with him a little easier to handle? He didn't want that. He wanted her concern for him to be genuine.
He watched as she began to absent-mindedly stroke his hand with her thumb, and really hoped it was.
By the time they got back to the motel, Buffy was obviously tired. She'd yawned several times on the drive back, and her eyes were looking bleary. Spike knew he should just let her get some rest, but he was also still feeling the tensions from the night, and needed her to help him relax. "Kitten?"
Buffy looked up from where she was seated on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes. "Yeah?"
"Are you too tired for a shag, or…"
She frowned slightly, the question surprising her for a couple of reasons. For one thing, she'd never known Spike to ask for sex. Usually he just pounced on her if he wanted it. And furthermore, she wasn't feeling much lust from him through the claim. Not that there was none there—she didn't think Spike was ever not at least a little horny, even when they'd been at it for hours—but it wasn't as high as it normally was when he wanted to begin. "Why?" she asked.
"I need a release," Spike answered honestly. "Dinner with you was nice, but I'm still feeling all tense and frustrated from the rest of the night, and I just need…" Spike trailed off and looked down, suddenly feeling overly needy and a little pathetic for asking like this. "Never mind."
Buffy rose to her feet, walked over to Spike, and wrapped her arms around his hips. "Don't worry that you didn't find anything out tonight, honey. It was only your first time out. You didn't let me down."
"But I didn't get anything, not even something that could possibly be helpful, and… Wait, did you just call me honey?"
"I might have," Buffy said with a teasing grin. She pulled back and took his hands. "Come on. Let's go take care of that tension of yours."
Spike smiled and let Buffy lead him closer to the bed. She stopped just shy of pulling them both down and let go of his hands. Spike was about to ask what she was doing, when she pulled his t-shirt out from the waistband of his jeans. He raised his arms and let her lift the shirt of his head and toss it to the ground. As soon as she had his chest bare, Buffy's mouth went to the skin she'd revealed, covering him with kisses, licks, and nips. Spike groaned, his hands balled in tight fists at his side as he fought to keep allowing her to move at her own pace. It felt too good to rush.
Buffy rose on to her toes and moved her mouth to his neck, covering it with quick but sharp bites. Spike's eyes rolled back and he moaned loudly, her actions causing him to grow painfully hard in his jeans.
"Feeling any more relaxed?" Buffy whispered in his ear.
Spike nodded, not sure he could speak. Buffy hadn't done much at all, really, but what she had done had been exactly right. She had set the sort of mood he wanted, and her every touch, every kiss, had done exactly what it was supposed to do.
That knowledge brought with it the sudden realization that in a few weeks, Buffy had learned his body in a way that Drusilla never truly had, and somehow, he thought it was from more than just the fact that they had the claim between them.
"You do? But then what about this?" Buffy cupped his erection through his jeans and gave him a squeeze. "This doesn't feel relaxed at all. Whatever should I do about that?"
Spike shivered. "I think you know the answer to that, kitten," he replied, thick desire coating his voice.
She went to his neck again, giving it a slow lick before she asked softly against his ear, "Would it feel all better inside my pussy, baby?"
"God, yes," Spike replied with another loud moan.
Buffy pulled away from him and slipped off her clothes before lying down on the bed. She spread her legs without shame, letting Spike see how wet she was already. She glistened in the dim light of the bedside lamp, and Spike trembled with the anticipation of filling her. Quickly, he took off his boots and jeans, then joined her, pressing his body down on top of hers.
She hooked her legs over his hips, urging him inside of her, and Spike immediately took the invitation. He groaned low in his throat as Buffy's breath hitched, and he slid home.
Spike stilled for a moment, panting. The feel of her surrounding him always took a bit to get used to, the pleasure from just the first thrust almost too much.
"Feeling better now?" Buffy asked, her foot curling up to massage his calf.
"Yes…fuck, pet…feels so bloody good."
Buffy moaned and thrust her hips as much as she could with him pushing down on top of her. "You like how hot it is inside me, don't you, baby? You like how my pussy's all warm and pulsing…"
Spike nodded vigorously, hearing her talk to him like that turning him on immensely. Aside from her usual moans and screams, Buffy was never particularly vocal during sex, and he liked this bit of something new.
"Do you know what I like?" Buffy asked, her hands coming up to scratch long, red marks down his chest. Spike shook his head this time, wanting to hear her answer. "I like how cold you are. You make me feel like there's a fire inside of me, and only your cool, hard cock can quench it."
At that, Spike's control snapped completely, and he began to piston in and out of her wildly, grunting as he did. His nostrils flared, catching the heady scent of his mate's arousal, and it spurred him on, making him thrust harder. Still, Buffy kept up with him, her hips rising to meet his every time. Her fingernails scratched and clawed his back, and the pain mixed with the scent of blood made Spike's demon come to the surface, his amber eyes staring down at Buffy.
Buffy didn't shy away from his gaze, didn't care that the man on top of her was now visibly a demon. Instead, she urged him on, begged him for more.
"Spike! Yeah…fuck me just like that… Yes, yes… Uhn…there…yeah… Oh god, fuck me hard, baby, fuck me so hard… Oh, Spike!"
The last scream of his name coincided with the clamp of her inner muscles around his cock as she came hard. Spike thrust one more time before he roared with release.
They collapsed together in a heap, both breathing heavily despite the fact only one of them needed the oxygen. After a moment, Spike rolled them over, nuzzling himself against her side.
Buffy tenderly kissed the ridges of his brow. "Did that relax you enough?"
His features shifted with her question, human again. "Oh, yeah. Bloody hell, luv, you were hot."
"I didn't sound all cheesy? I'm always afraid if I talk dirty, I'll sound cheesy, but you seemed to like it, so I kept going."
"Buffy, sweetheart, any time you want to beg me to fuck you hard, please, be my guest. I'm a man. I don't give a damn about cheesy."
She smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."
Spike curled more against her, a small smile on his lips as his eyes closed. Buffy regarded him for a moment, deciding he reminded her of a big, contented cat. Like a tiger that was willing to let you rub its belly. She brushed a kiss against his hair, then lay her head down on the pillow and fell asleep.
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