Blinking sleepily, he scooted up until he was sitting against the headboard. He yawned and absently scratched his head, his fingers tangling slightly in the messy curls that he had no doubt were wild and sticking up in weird angles. Normally, he would be panicking at the thought that someone might see him so unkempt, but all he could really muster was a mild shrug of indifference.
And there was something very liberating about not giving a damn.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched out his tight muscles. It felt like he had just run a marathon for seven hours, but the reward had been so sweet that the ache was almost delicious.
Searching the floor, he found his jeans stuffed halfway under the bed and couldn't stop the silly grin when he thought of how they had gotten there. He pulled them up his legs and after a moment of contemplation, he slid the zipper up and purposely forgot about the button.
William, Sex God. At your service, he leered at himself in the mirror above the dresser.
As he sauntered out of the room and down the hall, he felt a new confidence surging through him. It was intoxicating and powerful, drugging him, making him feel invincible. His whole body hummed with it, all at once grounding him and setting him free.
It was her. Buffy. A woman that he had absolutely no right to have but who had opened herself to him nonetheless. She was a goddess, shining and shimmering golden, blinding him with her brilliance. And she had made him feel as though he could fly.
She had giggled a little over that last part when he'd told her in between their lovemaking last night. She had giggled and at first, he had been hurt that she mocked him, just as Cecily had when he had recited his poetic words for her. But then a warm realization washed over him. Her laughter wasn't meant to ridicule him at all. She was genuinely flattered by it and, in fact, had even blushed slightly from his grand description of her.
He all but bounded down the stairs and quickly went in search for her, knowing full well that she was most likely in the kitchen as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee hit him like a jolt to the senses.
Her back was to him when he passed through the doorway and it took a lot of restraint on his part not to rush over and swing her up into his arms. Instead, he struck a pose against the framework and threaded his thumb through one of the belt loops on his jeans.
"G'mornin', luv," he drawled.
She jumped slightly before turning around to face him. "Geez, Will! You scared me."
He poked his lip out in a pout. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay," she told him with a smile. "Do you want some coffee?"
Nodding, he pushed himself away from the doorway and walked to her, watching as she poured the hot, aromatic liquid into a ready mug.
William's brow furrowed as he studied her. Sadness covered her like a veil, the corners of her mouth drooping, her normally bright eyes glassy and dull. Gone was the sparkling personality that had so captured him and in its place was a mere shadow, dark and gloomy.
Had he done something wrong? Maybe she regretted their time together. Maybe she had changed her mind in the face of the bright morning light.
"Buffy, are you all right?" he asked with soft hesitance.
She seemed so far away. Her mind must have been elsewhere because she blinked and shook her head before replying, "Huh? What did you say?"
He tentatively reached his hand out to her, his fingertips whispering over the smooth skin of her arm. "I asked if you were all right."
"Oh, Will," she began, her gaze falling into the depths of her coffee mug. "I'm sorry. I'm being such a downer, huh?"
Tilting his head to one side, he gave her a curious look. "Do you want t' talk about it?"
"I just..." She sighed, then glanced up. "I just really miss my kids, you know. This is the first Christmas that they haven't been here and I'm just..."
As happy as he was that her sadness hadn't been caused by him, it was short lived when he realized just how miserable she was. It wasn't right that she was suffering. Her sod of an ex, Angel, didn't deserve to have those children, not when it had been made very clear to William that the man hadn't been much of a father the other three hundred sixty-four days of the year. The sprogs should be here with their mother. And him.
Honestly, he hadn't given much thought to Buffy's children and how they fit into all this. Hell, for the better part of last night, he really didn't think he'd be in a position to even warrant a what if. Of course, now, there was a very real possibility that he would be involved in their lives.
He wasn't quite sure what his opinion on that was at this point. Sure, he liked kids and Buffy's two bits were beyond cute, but was he ready to step in and be... something to them? Did Buffy even want him to be? After all, in the end, it was her choice, not his, to include him into their family unit.
"Hey," he began, his fingers tilting her chin up to meet her gaze. "It's just for a coupla days. They'll be back before you know it."
She nodded. "I know."
A wave of determination washed over him and he grabbed a hold of her hand, gently pulling her away from the counter. If her kids couldn't be here, he'd just have to make the best of it and help her take her mind off missing them.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a coy smile as he towed her to the living room.
"Lots of presents under that tree, pet. Maybe you should open some of them," he replied, grinning back at her.
They stopped at the makeshift bed Buffy had made last night and William tugged at her arm to get her to sit down with him. He winked at her before crawling the short distance to the tree, plucking one of the prettily wrapped gifts from under the thick, lush branches.
"This one is from your Great Aunt-" He squinted down at the tag, rolling his blue eyes when he realized that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't read the flowing script. Standing up, he gave Buffy a sheepish smile. "Be right back, luv."
He jogged to his coat hanging in the foyer and searched its pockets for his glasses. Normally, he was okay without them, but reading was always a problem. Slipping the small silver rims onto his face, he made his way back to where he had been sitting.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Buffy remarked.
He rumbled deep in his chest, leaning forward a little. "Lots o' things you don't know about me, kitten."
The surprise on her face matched the shock he felt. Where had that come from?
"I guess not." The sadness in her eyes was slowly beginning to seep away, a brand new sparkle emerging.
"Right then." Picking up the present again, he reread, with much more ease this time, the name. "Great Aunt Ester wishes you a very happy Christmas," he said, handing the bright green package to her.
Buffy ripped into the wrapping paper with glee, bits of shiny paper and ribbons flying every which way. When all was said and done, Great Aunt Ester had decided that Buffy and her children were in great need of a giant pastel pink doily for the couch.
After ten minutes of uncontrollable laughter, they had calmed down enough for William to reach down and get another gift from beneath the tree. This one was from Rupert and Joyce.
"Oh my God!" Buffy exclaimed as she opened the small, flat box, her eyes widening.
"What is it, Buffy?"
She glanced up at him then back to the contents of the box. "It's..." Reaching down, she pulled out a slim envelope and waved it in front of him. "Plane tickets to Hawaii."
"Now that's a bloody brilliant gift!" William announced enthusiastically.
"'To our daughter, who works too hard. Take a break already! Love, Mom and Dad'," she read outloud, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe they did this. It's too much."
"You deserve it, luv."
"No, I don't. It's too-"
The quickness with which he moved amazed him, but there he was, kneeling in front of her, his long index finger hushing her. Sweeping his hand over her blond waves, he couldn't stop the whispered groan of pleasure he got from touching her again.
"Baby, you deserve everything," he rasped, his voice suddenly not supporting the intense feelings surging through his body.
Buffy stared at him, her lower lip trembling slightly as they locked gazes. "When do I get to open your present?"
Confusion coursed through him. "I... Buffy, 'm sorry, but I didn't-"
"You didn't get anything for me?" She looked as though she was about to cry.
"No, I-"
"So this..." Suddenly, her hand slid down the front of his jeans and cupped him, a wickedly innocent pout forming on her pink lips. "Isn't mine?"
He inhaled sharply, his eyes squeezing shut as she began to massage the rapidly growing flesh. "Buffy..."
"I can't wait to see what it is. I bet it's something really good." Smirking, she let her thumb trace the hard outline of his cock against his zipper, the metal digging into his sensitive flesh. "Something big and delicious."
Perhaps it was wrong of her to love how helpless he looked under her touch, but she was becoming addicted to his responses. How he choked on his own breath, his mouth gaping open in silent pleasure, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as his hips jerked and the muscles in his arms twitched. It was so very wrong to want him begging, but the moment a strangled 'please' was ripped from his throat, she wanted more.
It was really his fault anyway. She had finally gotten a glimpse of the strong, aggressive male inside his seemingly demure shell and it had set her on fire. Now, there was certainly nothing wrong with his sweet side, in fact, that was what first drew her to him and she relished every soft caress, each kind word and all of his adorable, albeit very shy expressions, but it was the man inside that inspired a white hot passion within her.
She moistened her suddenly-parched lips as she took in the sight of him. His back was arched like a heavy bow, muscles tense in restraint as he held fast, not wanting her touch to disappear. He was beautiful in a way she hadn't thought even existed, all masculinity and vulnerability, wrapped into perfect form. It wasn't more evident than now as he openly gave himself over to her, never questioning, never demanding.
Leaning forward, she licked from one nipple to the other, causing a particularly loud groan from deep inside his chest. He tasted salty and warm on her tongue and she couldn't wait to find out how the rest of him tasted.
Her fingers played with the button and corresponding hole of his jeans, tugging at the two ends so lightly that the straining zipper opened tooth by tooth rather than a smooth slide. Soon the tension was too much, though, and the zipper fell in one quick motion, his hard cock bobbing out.
"Oh, Buffy...god..." he choked out.
His eyes were squeezed shut as he gulped down air, trying to steady himself, and Buffy slowly skimmed over his sharp hipbones and underneath the waistband of his jeans to grasp the firm buttocks hidden beneath. Gently, she slid the thick denim over his perfectly round backside until she could caress the skin there uninhibited by his clothing.
She ran her nails down his thighs, earning a fierce shudder, little goosebumps rushing over his skin. It was a tentative brush against his engorged flesh at first, a knuckle, then the back of her hand, but she couldn't contain her need to touch him for long and soon she was grasping him at the base of his erection.
And then her mouth descended over him.
Was she trying to kill him?!
William gulped hard as she swallowed him whole, trying the repress the wracking shudder that started at his spine and spread through every nerve ending. His fingers dove into the softness of her hair and he had to stop the automatic reaction of pulling her head closer even though he desperately wanted to feel more of her.
Her tongue swirled around the sensitive head of his cock and a fire rushed over his skin, burning him with lust and need. She moaned around him, vibrations scorching every nerve ending in his body and he threw his head back, groaning in a guttural, passion-drenched language.
"Fuck!" he shouted. His hands grasped her hair tighter, making her head jerk back a little. He was about to apologize for his roughness, but when he looked down at Buffy, all he saw was her devious grin around the hard length of his shaft and a sparkle in her golden-green eyes.
Something inside of him snapped. Maybe it was the expression on her gorgeous face or perhaps the intense feelings running like a river through his veins, but whatever it was it had him reacting so violently he felt like jumping out of his skin.
He pushed her away from him, her body rolling back against the soft blanket. Not giving her a moment to question him, he reached under her oversized sleeping shirt and dragged her lacy blue panties down her legs, tossing them over his shoulder before covering her body with his own.
She was hot and panting beneath him as he guided himself to the entrance of her pussy, her soft, wet folds teasing him. Pausing for a second, he glanced at her, needing her acceptance before he could go any further.
"Do you still think you can fly?" she asked with a sensual smile.
That was all the assurance he needed and he thrust into her hard, causing her to cry out in pleasure. Her walls fluttered around his cock, threatening to shove him over the edge, but he tightened his jaw and fought his way against the urge to come. It was too soon and he wanted this to last.
Grabbing the backs of her knees, he drew her legs up and threw them over his shoulders, allowing him to sink even farther into her delicious heat. He felt the head of his shaft brush up against a spongy wall, but he had little time to ponder this new sensation as Buffy released a litany of dirty words and squeezed him to the brink.
"Oh, yes, Will! Do it harder! God, fuck me!" she screamed, her fingernails digging into his arms.
More than willing to comply with her wishes, William slammed into her, their bodies coming together in a slap that echoed in the spacious room. Pressure continued to build up inside of him as he drove his hips faster and harder, but he refused to let go. Not yet.
Suddenly, her hands left his arms and fell to the floor. Her palms pressed down as she leveraged her hips up and pushed into him, throwing any resistance he had held into the wind. He shouted as he careened into his orgasm, his cock pulsing in harsh beats as he shot his completion within her.
“I love you, Buffy!”
And then everything went black.
Moments later, William came to and realized that Buffy was hovering over him with a worried expression on her face.
“Are you okay?” she asked, a little crease line appearing between her perfectly-shaped eyebrows.
“I’m... What happened?” His head felt like someone had filled it with helium and was trying to escape into the atmosphere.
Buffy slipped his glasses off of his face and set them on the coffee table. “I think you might have blacked out.”
“Is that normal?”
She giggled. “Only for some people, I guess. It just means you had one hell of an orgasm.”
That he did. He’d never felt anything as powerful before and despite the burgeoning headache tingling in his brain, he wasn’t opposed to feeling that again.
A silly grin appeared on his face. That was bloody brilliant.
Of course, when he looked up and saw that the worried look had returned to mar her pretty features, he couldn’t help the swirl of confusion that mixed in with his headache. Had she not felt the same?
“What’s wrong, luv?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He didn’t believe that for a second. Sitting up slowly, he cupped her cheek in his large, calloused hand and searched her eyes. “Buffy, what’s wrong? Did I do-”
“No!” she replied quickly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Will. I just...it’s...well, we didn’t use anything.”
Blinking slowly, he tried to wrap his brain around what she was saying. Just as he was about to ask for further clarification, it dawned on him. They hadn’t used any protection. The condoms were still upstairs and he hadn’t even thought before plowing into her welcoming depths to go and grab them.
“Buffy,” he began, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. “I-”
He was abruptly cut off by a succession of loud car horn beeps and both he and Buffy popped their heads up to look out the front window.
“That’s Angel’s BMW,” she said, grabbing for her discarded dress from the night before. “I’ll be right back.”
Like hell she would! “I’m goin’ with you, luv.”
“Will,” she sighed, slipping the dress over her head and flinging her nightshirt on the couch. “I’ll just be a second.”
“No. I’m not lettin’ you deal with that tosser by yourself.” He yanked his jeans up and fastened them before turning his attention to the whereabouts of his sweater.
Buffy grinned, shrugging as she zipped the back of her dress up. “Fine, macho man, suit yourself, but I’m sure he’s just dropping the kids off. He never could handle them for longer than a couple of days.”
She gave him a wet kiss before running off towards the front door. He rushed to the kitchen, finding his sweater on the counter and pulling it on as he made his way outside.
As soon as he bounced down the few small steps to the concrete walkway, he realized the twins were quickly headed straight towards him. Figuring they would run into the house, William made a move to step out of the way, but instead of watching them go inside, he watched as they both latched onto his legs and held on for dear life.
What the bloody...
He kneeled down, slipping his arms around their shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
Neither of them said anything, but they didn’t need to. Dawn looked up at him and William had his answer. The poor girl’s cheek was swollen and bruised an ugly shade of purple and the corner of her mouth was crusted over with a bit of dried blood.
And suddenly, William was seeing red.
“What the hell happened, Angel!” Buffy shouted, her blood boiling as the image of Dawnie’s battered face continued to float in her mind.
“It was an accident,” he replied without much concern.
“An accident? What did she do? Run into your fist?”
“I didn’t hit her!”
She moved forward, standing up on her tip-toes to get in his face. “Bullshit! And you better be telling me what happened before I really lose it!”
“I told you. It was an accident.”
“How. Did. It. Happen.”
Angel crossed his arms over his bulky chest and glanced down the street. “Look, it’s not a big deal all right? They were just a little rowdy this morning.”
“And...?” Her patience was wearing very thin and she made Angel very aware of the fact by the death glare she was giving him.
“They shouldn’t just go barging into people’s bedrooms at five o’clock in the morning.”
Buffy practically growled at that. “You were with someone, weren’t you? That fucking bitch I told you I didn’t want my children around, right?”
“She’s not a bitch! And so what? It’s my goddamn house and I’ll have who I want there,” he told her, then leaned forward and gave her a nasty smirk. “And if I feel like fucking someone in my house, in my bedroom, I will.”
She shoved him away from her and pointed a long finger at him. “I told you I didn’t want her around them and you let her come over anyway and now my daughter has a bruise the size of Venezuela on her cheek, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the rest of this story. Let me guess, she got pissed because your kids came running into your bedroom to wake up their father on Christmas morning and interrupted your little fuck session. What I don’t understand is why you’re trying to defend someone who hit one of your kids, Angel.”
“I told you! It was an accident. If they would have just gone back to sleep like I told them to, this would have never happened,” Angel retorted.
“It’s Christmas morning!” she cried, throwing her hands up. “That’s what kids do when they wake up on Christmas morning. Of course, if you were a better father, you’d know that.”
“You know what? Fuck you, Buffy! You don’t have a say in what I do with my life. We’re leaving now!”
“You are not taking... Wait a minute. You brought her!” Her eyes widened as her fury rose to a fever pitch. She pushed Angel out of the way and stalked towards his black BMW where she saw the distinct outline of a person behind the tinted windows. Flinging the door open, Buffy didn’t waste another minute before yanking the bleach-blonde bitch out of the car.
“Buffy! Goddamn it!” Angel yelled as he tried to pull her away from the fallen form of his girlfriend.
Buffy shrugged his meaty hand off of her shoulder and threw her fist back, slinging it forward to collide with the girl’s face. “You like to hit people, you skank! How’s it feel!” The girl was shrieking, but Buffy didn’t let up, landing a few more punches and a couple of backhanded slaps.
All of the sudden, she felt a solid arm wrap around her waist and pull her away. There wasn’t any way she was going to get loose now, but that didn’t stop her from kicking the bitch in the stomach with a resounding swoosh. The girl screamed in pain and grabbed her middle, rocking on the hard concrete.
Spinning around, Buffy was about to beat the hell out of Angel when she realized that it was William that had pulled her away. Her fist hovered in the air for a moment before she finally relaxed and let her hand fall to her side.
“Where are they?” she asked, out of breath from the beating she just laid down.
“They’re in the house, luv. Safe an’ sound.” His voice instantly soothed her and she felt like collapsing in his arms right then and there.
But she had one last thing to take care of.
“I want you to give up your visitation rights, Angel,” she said as she turned to face him.
Angel glared at Buffy as he helped his girlfriend up. “No way. They’re my freaking kids, too, Buffy.”
Buffy nodded. “Fine, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer and you better believe I will bring up today’s accident. Now get the hell off my property.”
“You want a fight, Buffy? I will run your ass through the mud and you’ll be sorry after-”
All she saw was a flash of white as William shot past her and slammed his knuckles into Angel’s nose. The sound of bones crunching made her wince, but that was mostly from the gruesome noise and not at all out of sympathy. The bastard deserved to get hit and had she been just a fraction faster, it would have been her fist in his face instead of William’s.
“I believe you ‘eard the lady,” William began, his chest heaving from the rush of adrenaline. “Get the ‘ell off ‘er property.”
Once they were back inside, they found Dawn and Connor playing next to the Christmas tree. Dawn was wearing the giant pink doily on her head and twirling around as Connor rearranged the blanket and pillows into a fort.
“Mommy!” Dawn shouted as she ran towards them and hugged Buffy’s leg. Glancing up with her big blue eyes, she stuck her lip out into a little pout. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, baby. You’re not in trouble at all. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Buffy replied.
“Okay. Can I play?”
“Absolutely!”
Dawn grinned then took two steps over and grabbed William’s hand. “Wanna play?”
He was a little taken aback by the question at first. After all, Buffy’s kids barely knew him, but they both seemed to accept the fact that he was in their lives now. At least, that was the only explanation he could come up with for why they had run to him outside.
“Um, okay,” he said, letting Dawn lead him over to Connor’s lopsided fort. They sat down in front of it and Dawn promptly removed the doily from her head and placed it on William’s.
“Oh, that’s very attractive,” Buffy remarked with a chuckle.
“You know it, luv.”
Buffy moved to sit down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I could get used to this.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.”
William grinned. “So could I.”
She leaned into kiss him, her lips brushing against his. The feel of her sent shivers up his spine and he sucked her lower lip between his, his hand grasping hers and squeezing it.
“Ewww!”
They broke apart so fast it made his head spin. Maybe it was a little too soon to be kissing in front of the sprogs.
“Mommy? Who forgot their underwear?” Connor asked with a disgusted look on his face as he held up the blue panties between his thumb and forefinger.
Buffy turned bright red as she snatched the undergarment and hid it behind her back.
“I think they’re Grandma’s. Grandpa said he was going to dance her pants off last night,” Dawn announced.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Buffy asked him, her blush deepening slightly.
William looked at the twins for a minute then back at Buffy and smiled. “Oh, yeah.”
A/N: Just the Epilogue after this one. Woo-hoo!!!!