William let it drop, but he didn't push it out of his mind.
After breakfast, she'd brought up going swimming again, and William hadn't tried to get out of it this time. He wished he could get control of his hormones, but since he couldn't, then he was just going to hope he got the chance to touch Buffy again.
He did. She wasn't wearing the red bikini today, though the dark green one she wore in its place was good enough for William. It went so well with her eyes.
She'd splashed him and swam off again, and like before, he'd chased after her.
Only this time, when he caught her, he'd wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and started tickling her with his other hand.
Buffy squealed in protest even as she laughed, her bottom squirming tantalizingly against him under the water. William moved his hand up, "accidentally" brushing the underside of her breasts as he continued to tickle her.
When she didn't call him on it, he did it again.
Finally, Buffy managed to wriggle her way free, and she swam off again, casting a daring look over her shoulder, leading William to chase her some more.
When he caught her again, he pinned her against the pool wall, the diving board looming over head and casting them in shadow.
Buffy's breath caught as she looked into his eyes, the lust there as evident as his erection nudging her through his swim trunks. Her breath came in short, harsh pants, and William's gaze flickered to her breasts, watching them unabashedly as they moved up and down.
Buffy had played this game enough to know if she didn't make a move, the line was going to be crossed.
And part of her really wanted to cross it…
She couldn't. She knew it was bad enough she was playing with William at all, but she didn't feel she'd done anything yet that would be a danger to her marriage. She had to keep things that way.
So with a smirk, she reached out and tickled him, making him push away. "Oi, now!" he protested, returning her smirk with one of his own.
Buffy stuck her tongue out. His eyes darkened again.
With a teasing grin, she swam away.
William leaned with his right hand against the shower wall, his left hand soapy as he reached for his cock. He'd stayed in the pool with Buffy for close to two hours, his erection plaguing him the whole time.
He wondered how he'd managed to move, never mind swim, but the urge to go after Buffy every time she'd slipped from his grasp had kept him going.
His orgasm hit him in under a minute, and he cried out with relief in the shower stall.
With the water rushing over him, William continued to lean against the wall, panting.
"This show bites. Give me the remote."
"No way! All My Children sooo does not bite. And you're not getting the remote."
"It does. Bloody tripe. Now if you want to talk about a good soap opera, that's Passions."
From across the couch, Buffy looked at William, her eyebrow raised. "Passions? You have got to be kidding me. That woman has demons living in her basement! And I'm sorry, but the whole idea of people living in a town controlled by evil mystical forces is just ridiculous."
"No, see, that's the beauty of it," William argued. "It doesn't take itself too seriously."
Buffy's lip quirked up. "I'm starting to think maybe there's more to you than meets the eye," she teased.
"I'm a man of many layers," William replied, smiling back.
"Well, fine. How about this—you let me watch All My Children, and when it's over, I'll switch over to Passions. Deal?"
"I can live with that."
"Good."
Buffy set the remote control on the coffee table, then laid down, situation her head in William's lap. Again, the rational part of her brain told her this was not something she should be doing, but she was quite comfortable now where she was and decided rationality could take a flying leap.
William stared down at her, his breath catching as he wondered what he should do. The position seemed so intimate, and he couldn't figure out why she was doing this sort of thing with him.
Maybe, he thought, she merely felt comfortable around him. Someone like him could never seem to pose a threat, anyway. It wasn't like she just wanted her head nestled against his crotch.
It took William a moment to realize he'd begun stroking her hair, but when he did realize it, he didn't stop. Buffy hadn't called him on it, so it must be all right for him to do it. She'd tell him if he was doing something inappropriate, wouldn't she?
He was beginning to think Buffy wasn't the sort of person who had a lot of personal boundaries. Maybe that was what all of this was—she was just the touchy feely sort. She'd probably be completely shocked to know he'd been reacting to her sexually.
Not that the thought did anything to change how he reacted.
Buffy had grown completely still at the first touch of William's hand against her hair, even her breath catching. This was yet another thing she shouldn't allow to happen, yet she couldn't seem to make herself want to stop it either. His hands were shaky, yet his touch felt nice.
Liam never just held her like this.
Neither her early courtship nor her actual relationship with her husband had been like what she was used to, yet Buffy had written that off to it being her first—and only—real adult relationship. Every other date she'd had had been with someone she'd met in either high school or college. Liam, however, was a grown up, so of course he was going to act differently from what she was used to.
Liam often reminded her she was younger than him and, therefore, not as mature. She knew she should be grateful for how patient he was with her instead of lamenting the things he didn't do.
Yet she couldn't help but enjoy how it felt to share a moment like this with William now.
She tried to concentrate on the show, even though her thoughts seemed to remained focused on the trail of long fingers through her hair.
Buffy was sitting in bed painting her toes when Liam came home from work that night.
"I wish you wouldn't do that in the bed," he said gruffly as he went into the closet and started taking off his suit. "You're going to spill that fucking pink paint all over the place."
"I've never spilled it before," Buffy replied. "I'm careful."
"If you ruin the sheets, it's coming out of your allowance."
Buffy bit her bottom lip as she finished her last toe and recapped the polish, then placed the bottle on the nightstand. "Liam, I'm really sorry about this morning, honey. I know I should just mind my own business, and I feel bad about nagging you like that, especially when you were trying to get ready for work."
Liam stepped out into main part of the bedroom again, dressed only in his boxers now. "Are you fucking him?"
Buffy's eyes widened in shock and she gasped. "What?"
"It's a simple question, Buffy. Are you fucking William—yes or no?"
"No! God, Liam, I can't believe you'd even think… No!"
"I don't know why you're acting so outraged I'd ask. You're alone with him all day, and you've obviously taken an unusual interest in him," Liam said, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "Besides, it's not like you were exactly known for keeping your pants on before we were married."
Hot tears stung Buffy's eyes. "You…you know why I had to do that. I hated it, Liam. But I love you, and I've never been anything but loyal to our marriage."
"See that it stays that way," Liam said, his pointer finger trained on her. "If I find out you've been fucking anyone else, you're going to lose all these comforts I've spoiled you with real quick." He dropped his arm and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Buffy felt physically sick. She hadn't slept with William, hadn't done anything overtly sexual, but between the flirting and the dream, she knew Liam would have a right to be upset with her.
His words and tone had been sharp, but she couldn't fault him for that. After all, it hadn't been that long ago when he'd found out his last wife had been sleeping around on him. He was probably still hurting from that—even if he had moved on with Buffy—and it made perfect sense for him to be sensitive about the subject.
Buffy resolved right then to stop flirting and playing little games with William. No matter how much she was enjoying it, it needed to end. Liam was her husband, and she needed to keep herself loyal to her marriage in every way.
Starting right then, Buffy would keep her physical distance from William.
Buffy smiled coyly at William as he kept her loosely pinned against the wall of the pool. Her body was flushed, her breathing labored.
Hadn't there been some reason she wasn't supposed to do this?
She couldn't remember now…
William watched her intently, waiting for her to make a move. He'd already had her like this five times today, and every time, she'd managed to dart away.
This time, she wasn't moving. Instead, she was staring up him, her gaze not wavering. It was almost as if she were…
Challenging him.
His stint at an all-boys boarding school and his usual shyness had lead to an experience level with the opposite sex of roughly zilch. But over the past couple of days, he'd been unable to shake the feeling Buffy was playing some sort of game with him, one to which he instinctively seemed to know the rules.
She wasn't running—did that mean he'd caught her?
And if he had, what was he supposed to do with her?
His gaze was drawn down to her lips, and he marveled at how pink and moist they were. They were parted slightly and trembling.
William moved in closer, feeling a pull towards Buffy. She stayed where she was, even when his mouth first touched hers.
Buffy could tell this was either William's first kiss or at least one of only a few he'd ever experienced. It was a little awkward, as if he didn't completely know what to do with his lips. Yet there was a raw heat there as well, something simmering just below the surface.
The potential for so much more…
All thoughts of Liam were gone from her mind as Buffy tangled her fingers in William's hair and tilted his head, showing him a new angle.
Their lips eased into a better fit, and he kissed her with renewed fervor.
After the past few days of playing games of courtship, Buffy felt like she was on fire. She lifted her legs up, letting them float around William's waist as he moved closer to her, his erection pressing intimately against her.
She slipped her tongue into his mouth, gently coaxing William into slowing down when he first responded a little too eagerly.
The whole time, he rubbed himself against her through his swim trunks, and Buffy shivered at the delicious sensations it was sending through her clit. She'd forgotten how good it could feel to just make out like this.
Suddenly, William froze, his whole body shaking as he groaned into her mouth.
He pulled away sharply, looking positively mortified, and Buffy knew exactly what had happened.
"Buffy, I'm… Oh god, I'm sorry." William hurried out of the pool and ran into the house before Buffy could say a word.
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ABOUT POSTING:Due to real life issues (namely, a promotion that's going to give me less free time), I'm going to have to cut back on posting. I'm hoping I can still post once a week, and I'm planning to update this story on Wednesdays. Since I'm still not sure how much of my time the new position is going to take up, I can't make any guarantees right now, but I'm hoping to be able to get a chapter out a week. If I can't, or the chapter comes late, please be understanding. Fanfiction doesn't come first in my life, and I have to pay my bills. Do know, however, that I have no intention of abandoning my stories, and I will do everything I can to keep getting new chapters up in a timely manner.
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