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Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter is dedicated to Vette and Devin. Happy Birthday to you two!!! *throws confetti* I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Thank you, Elaine, Debbie, Vette, jt, Kimber, DaniD, SpaceLord, teasha, Amelia-Jane, Mali, Devin, Klai and Zari, for reviewing. I’m glad you’re still reading and enjoying the story, it makes a very happy girl to read what you like or not like, your questions and your ideas of where the story might be going. I’ve gotten very good ideas from your reviews, thank you for that. A big thank you to Evilawyer, too, for betaing this chapter for me. You’ve been an enormous help for me and I truly appreciate the time you’ve invested in this story.
Chapter 34

Oblivious to the tension that seemed to crackle in the air between Aimée, Spike and Buffy, Angel approached them with large strides and a bright smile.

“William, my friend!” he exclaimed, embracing the man he consider almost like a brother, patting him on the back. “I wasn’t sure when you’d come. I see you have already met my beautiful wife and my sister-in-law?”

“Er, sort of, not formally I mean,” Spike answered, risking a glance towards Buffy. She seemed to be struggling to put a brave façade as she faced Angel. He wondered if Aimée or Angel even noticed that she barely was containing her tears. It was quite obvious by the way she avoided looking at him that she had jumped to the wrong conclusion about Aimée and him and that was killing him. He wished he could say to hell with everything and grab Buffy, take her somewhere they could talk in private and convince her in any way possible that it had been her sister who had practically jumped into his arms, that she was the one he loved, that he’d never cared for Aimée at all.

Aimée wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not by the fact that it had been her sister who discovered her with William and not Angel. There was no way of knowing what little Miss Perfect could do to retaliate against her for robbing her supposed fiancée, particularly after the manner in which she had told Buffy about it, which even she had to admit was more cruel than necessary. And now she was in her sister’s hands and Elizabeth was refusing to look at her. She needed to gain some time so she could convince her sister to not talk about what she saw, but how?

Buffy could feel Aimée’s and William’s intense gazes fixed upon her. Why were they even looking at her? Shouldn’t they be worried about Angel’s reaction instead of hers? Maybe they were worried she was going to expose their affair to him? As if she would do that. Not even when the knowledge that William had played with her feelings hurt like a knife to her heart, she couldn’t wish him ill. She just knew that if she said anything, Angel would probably challenge him to a duel. Despite this revelation that he and Aimée were apparently still involved, despite everything, she loved William too much to bear the thought of anything happening to him.

“Well then, my friend, I have the pleasure of introducing you to the wonderful woman who became my wife yesterday, Aimée, and her sister, Elizabeth. Aimée, Elizabeth, this is my good friend, William, who from today on will be the new Administrator of Campo Real.”

Angel and William were friends? How the hell had that happened? And how was she going to get out of this now? Oh, God, she needed to do something now before Elizabeth said anything!

With a sudden burst of inspiration, Aimée moaned, putting a hand over her head as she shakily walked towards Angel and when she reached him, she fainted in his arms. Angel looked at the seemingly unconscious woman in his arms, then at Elizabeth and William, who looked as surprised as he did over Aimée’s fainting.

“I hope you’ll excuse me, I imagine that yesterday’s excitement proved too much for her,” he said, before taking his wife back to the house.

Buffy was about to follow him—refusing to stay in the same place with William any longer than she absolutely had to—when a strong hand clamped on hers.

“You and I have to talk.”

“I don’t think there’s anything left to say,” she said icily, glaring at him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he refused to release her, smiling at how beautiful she looked when her eyes threw daggers at him. “Let me go, you…you brute!” she gritted through her teeth.

“No.” He looked at their surroundings, noticing a garden to the left side of the house. ‘That’ll do for now,’ he thought, hauling a furious Buffy towards that place. “Come.”

“If you don’t let me go, I will scream!” She squirmed, trying to free her hand. Infuriating man! Why couldn’t he leave her alone once and for all?

“Well then I’ll have to silence you with my kisses, love, not that I’d mind a bit.” He winked at her as a scowl set in her features and a pout formed on her lips. His last comment seemed to have inflamed her fury even further, but at least she wasn’t fighting him anymore. Oh, God, he had missed her so much! He’d missed everything about her. It had been so long that he’d almost forgotten how magnificent she was when she was mad.

Buffy was practically seething with anger as she was pulled down a path to one of the gardens. How did he dare treat her like this? As if he had any right to give her any explanation after finding him in such a compromising situation with her sister. Argh! If he thought she was going to listen to him whenever they got to wherever he was taking her, he was crazy. She refused to be made fun of or to be a pawn in whatever game her sister and he were playing.

Spike smiled fondly as he continued walking. Even if it was directed at him at the moment, it was so much easier to contend with her anger than her sadness. Plus, the fact that she was so furious meant that she cared for him. He’d been half-afraid that she had forgotten him during the three months they spent apart, especially after Mr. Giles’ misunderstanding, but her jealousy told him that her feelings ran deeper. Dare he hope that they ran as deeply as his?

But even if he loved seeing her angry, it was high time to clear the air about Aimée once and for all. After what he’d just heard from the redheaded girl, he didn’t think she’d be too happy when she found out that he was in love with Buffy and that he would marry her in spite of everything. Aimée would probably move heaven and earth to thwart their marriage and he had to make sure that his lady love knew what they were going to be facing soon, although he really wasn’t sure if he should tell Buffy to what extent he’d been involved with her sister.

When he found a secluded spot in the garden, he directed her to a bench and helped her sit before sitting by her side, still holding her hand in his.

She looked at him and, unable to contain herself, she said almost in a whisper, “Why? Why did you do this to me? What did I do to you that you had to treat me like this?”

He ran a hand over his hair, mussing it even more than it already was. “Buffy, you have to believe me, what you saw wasn’t really what you think.” She snorted disbelievingly. “I promise you. I came to Campo Real looking for you.” He sighed. “Mr. Giles told me that you had married Angel yesterday and I just went crazy—”

“What?” How in all that was holy could Mr. Giles make a mistake like that? It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t. William had to be lying to her.

He exhaled, relieved that at least she was listening to him, so he decided to start from the beginning. “I got back from my trip today and the first thing I did once I was on terra firma was visit Mr. Giles to see if the paperwork for me to become his son was ready. I wanted to know because I had decided that today he and I were going to ask your mother for your hand in marriage. But when he asked me the name of my intended, he said that you were already married to Angel.”

“And you believed him?” She tried to take her hand out of his once more.

“I…I didn’t know what to think. I thought maybe your mother had forced you to marry him or something,” he said sheepishly.

“So what? Since you thought I had married Angel you decided to continue your relationship with my sister?” she asked contemptuously.

“No, never. I came to Campo Real to steal you away from Angel. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being his wife when you belong to me. You are mine and, even if you decide you don’t want to see me again after today, I’ll be yours forever.” She shivered at the possessiveness of his tone. “And about Aimée, well, that really wasn’t my fault, love. She threw herself at me as soon as I got down from my horse. I was trying to push her away when you found us.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. He sounded sincere, but could she trust him? She wanted to believe in him so much. She wanted to love him, to trust him, to be his as he’d said.

“It’s the truth, even if you don’t believe me. I was about to tell her that whatever we had was over, that you’re the one I love, when you found us.”

“And I should believe you, why?” ‘Give me one reason, William, just one reason. I don’t ask for much, I just want your love, I just want to be able to trust you and know that you’re only mine, that no one, not even my sister would ever be able to break us apart.’

“You want a reason? I can give you more than one: Because I can’t live without you. Because my life without you in it would as empty as a starless night. Because I love you so much that I haven’t been able to think of anything or anyone but you from that first day we met. Because there’s no one else I could feel this much for. Because I know you were made to be my love, my mate, my everything, my whole world. You know it, too, don’t you, love?” He kneeled in front of her, gazing into her green eyes adoringly, trying to convey in that look all the love that he felt for her, baring his soul, his whole being for her to decide if she would take him back or crush him with her refusal to believe in him. Not that he could blame her, considering the circumstances. He hadn’t trust her. He believed what Mr. Giles had said, even when his heart told him otherwise. So why should she accept his word about what she had seen with her own eyes?

Buffy felt as if she was drowning as she looked into his bluer than blue eyes. She could see the love shining in his eyes, but was their love strong enough to slay all the demons that they would find in their path? ‘Mine is,’ came the resounding answer, and he’d come for her. Even thinking that she had been married Angel, he’d come for her, not Aimée. She nodded, tears shining in her eyes at his declaration. “Yes, yes, I know it.”

He let go of her hand to thread his hands in her hair and pull her closer until she was practically sitting in his lap on the grass, their lips barely a breath away. He brushed his lips over hers, once, twice, before moving a little away and bringing one of his hands to her face to caress her cheek with his fingers. Getting drunk in the feeling of having her in his arms once more after so long, until he felt he would die if he didn’t kiss her, and his mouth covered hers in a searing kiss.

tbc





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