Just forty-eight hours ago, Buffy had been in surgery having her nose skillfully repaired, as well as work done to her facial lacerations. After a grueling half a day spent in surgery, her surgeon had beamed and exclaimed that everything was a success when she woke up and promised her that there should be little to no scarring. However, Buffy couldn’t help but be wary of his promises when she looked into the mirror and saw her bandaged face staring gloomily back at her; the formerly creamy and smooth skin of her face still battered and bruised, and now puffy from surgery, thanks to the abuse it had suffered over the past several days.
Sighing, Buffy carefully leaned back into the plush leather back seat and gently laid her weary head on Spike’s shoulder. “Ugh…that was a total nightmare! Why can’t they stop hounding me? How is what I went through, what Dawnie went through, any of their dang business?”
Spike wanted to pull her closer, but settled for simply holding her hand and kissing the top of her head. “It’s not any of their sodding business, but it’s juicy gossip and they’re a bunch of vultures that feed on that nonsense. Sooner or later, pet, they will move on to another bit of hot gossip. For now, just remember to keep your chin up and do your best to ignore the whole lot.”
“Well, at least I got a super duper sexy body guard out of the whole deal.” Buffy pointed out, only partially joking, as she angled her head so she could look up at Spike. Just one glance at Spike had her body heating up and her heart thumping just a little bit faster, and she hated that her body was in no condition to act on the desires that he provoked. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have a few moments of alone time with him to reenact their time together in the bathroom at Caritas, sans the shrill interruption of his cell phone. Okay, and maybe moving the whole thing to a more sanitary location instead of a bathroom at a bar, no matter how clean the particular bar was.
“That you did, love. Lucky for you, yeah?” Spike chuckled, more than pleased Buffy was in the frame of mind to make a joke. The media coverage of her attack had spread like a wild fire with reports online, magazines, radio and several television talk shows; further embarrassing her with each and every mention of the incident. Unfortunately, only about half of the reports were correct in what had actually happened that dreadful night, claiming that the assault was actually Buffy’s fault thanks to Riley flying off the handle when he caught her in bed with another man. In lieu of the events over the past week, being assaulted and then having her life dragged through a bed of hot coals, Spike had expected her to be downright gloomy.
The rest of the drive was done so in silence, only because about five minutes into it Buffy fell asleep and snored softly the remainder of the way; the surgery and bandages on her nose inducing quite the stuffed up nasal passages. About an hour later, the car came to a stop at a large gate and Spike was forced to wake her up; doing so by peppering her forehead with kisses and softly lulling her out of what seemed like a peaceful slumber. Buffy yawned and attempted to stretch her arms, wincing from the stab of pain from her ribs and giving up on the good stretch her sore muscles desperately desired. He watched as she tried to shake off the fog of a slumber cut short and he wondered if anyone else looked as adorable as Buffy did when with mussed hair, heavy lidded eyes and a smudge of drool at the corner of her mouth.
The gate slid open slowly and allowed them passage to the Chase’s vacation home, or rather, one of their vacation homes and Buffy’s mouth gaped open when they pulled up to the beach house. Cordelia had repeatedly bragged about her parent’s vacation homes in high school, but obviously never invited Buffy to visit since they hadn’t hung out back then. Since they’d become friends, Buffy had been flown out to stay with Cordy and Angel at the vacation home in Aspen, but had yet to make it out to the somewhat recently purchased sprawling home in Malibu. Of course, Buffy didn’t really get why the Chase’s needed to have a home in Malibu since they lived in Marina del Rey, but had never thought to ask. She was in awe as her eyes took in the expansive gardens, the palm tree lined drive and perfectly manicured green grass that led the way to the house that had her jaw dropping in surprise. Composed of light gray stone and statuesque gleaming windows with stone columns that framed the heavy wooden and glass door on the front porch, giving sight to the flowing staircase just inside the marble coated foyer, the so called vacation home could have easily fit half of the houses on the street she grew up on inside of its walls. Her eyes were wide in wonder as she crawled from the car, and she was glad that Cordelia wasn’t there to witness her slack jawed enthrallment as she headed around back to explore while Spike assisted the driver in unloading their bags. Following the winding stone walkway around back, she found herself in the midst of tropical paradise. A lazy waterfall plunged into an Olympic sized swimming pool which was surrounded by lush foliage and trees, and the best part was that everything was secluded, bordered by a cliffs and a private beach.
Buffy was staring at the ocean, her feet submerged in the warm water of the pool as she stood on the stone step while she stared out at the crystal blue water, when she felt Spike’s strong arms snake around her shoulders. She leaned into him slightly and turned her head towards his so she could place a soft kiss onto his chiseled cheekbone. Content for the moment, they stayed there and held onto one another, simply enjoying the peace and solitude while staring out onto the horizon.
Eventually, Spike coaxed her into the house since her friends were scheduled to arrive after lunch to drop off her belongings from Riley’s. Faith, Tara and Willow had dutifully went to Buffy’s old residence to pack when news had spread that Riley had been arrested late last night; figuring it would be better to go when they knew for certain that he would not be making any appearances and causing trouble.
Once inside the massive home, Buffy headed upstairs in search of the master bedroom and its spacious bathroom Cordelia had mentioned the night before, while Spike went into the kitchen to see about lunch. By the time Buffy came back downstairs after a quick shower, although she fully intended on visiting the swimming pool sized bathtub before bed, Spike was setting the table with a plate of sandwiches, chips, drinks and an assortment of fruit and seemed to genuinely enjoy the look of surprise that spread across her face at having a man prepare a meal for her; even something as simple as what was presented. Time passed quickly while they ate and talked about everything and yet, nothing at all, but their relaxed conversation didn’t get to last as long as either of them hoped when the shrill buzz of someone arriving at the gate signaled that her friends had arrived.
Buffy greeted her girlfriends, their boisterous chatter echoing in the foyer, and introduced them to Spike, who immediately excused himself to start unloading the van, which was on loan from Oz. The moment the door closed behind Spike, Faith pounced on Buffy with her eyebrows wagging devilishly. ”Mmm…that is one fine piece of ass you’ve invested in, B! Gotta get me some of that!” Noticing her friend’s unpleased expression, Faith shrugged and smiled slyly, “Unless maybe you’ve already claimed him for yourself?”
“Well,” Buffy began, raising her eyebrow at Faith, “let’s just preface that with a stern warning to keep your claws away from him. I am paying him good money to stick to me like glue and I fully intend to keep it that way.”
“Hot damn! You dirty dog, B!” Faith exclaimed a little too loud for Buffy’s tastes and she prayed that Spike was nowhere near the front door to hear their exchange.
“Umm, Buff?” Willow said nervously, the skin on her normally pale skin flushed to a bright red that rivaled her hair in intensity. Her eyes were wide as she fidgeted, wringing her hands together as she dipped her head to stare at the floor before continuing, “Do you think being with Spike is such a good thing right now? With all the news stuff going on?”
Buffy was at a loss for words, utterly speechless since she had assumed that her friends would not judge her like the media had been relentless at doing for the past few days. Her mouth open and shut repeatedly, reminiscent of a guppy, as she struggled to figure out how to respond to Willow’s questions.
“Willow, s…sweetie.” Tara interjected, her soft gentle voice stuttering as it typically did when she was nervous. She placed her hand on her lover’s shoulder and continued, “W…what kind of relationship would we have if we had let other people’s opinions make our decisions?”
Buffy smiled at Tara, grateful to have someone on her side. Finding her voice, she said, “Wills, do you remember that story I told you about last summer? The hot guy in the bathroom?” She paused and waited for Willow to respond, a simple shake of her best friend’s head prompted Buffy to continue. “Spike would said hottie.”
“No way! What are the odds?” Willow exclaimed, her eyes as wide as possible as she stared at Buffy and then glanced back at the closed front door that Spike could open at any given moment. Sobering, she turned back to Buffy and said, “I’m happy that you guys finally found one another, but, seriously…I’d maybe be careful about how you guys handle this. It could get way out of control for the both of you, especially with how the media concocted that whole sham about how you cheated on Riley. What if they think Spike was the guy you did the whole made up dead with? Just promise me you’ll consider what could happen?”
Buffy nodded in agreement, her stomach churned with newly fed anxiety as she considered Willow’s words. How had she never thought about Spike’s roll in the whole situation? If Willow was right and the media did turn their fledgling relationship into a three ring circus, how would it affect Spike and his job? How would they be able to muddle through the treacherous waters of tabloid gossip and survive without tarnishing or destroying their new relationship?
Dusk was rapidly approaching as they stood on the front steps and waved goodbye to her friends as they headed down the driveway. Spike stood beside her, only slipping his arms around her for a hug when the van was out of sight, as though he sensed there was a reason to keep his gestures of affection secret. He dipped his head and nuzzled the delicate skin at the curve of her neck, sending shivers through out her body with each caress of his lips and nibble of his teeth. As she melted into his warm embrace, Willow’s doubts plague her mind and the reality of their situation snapped inside of her about the same time as Spike’s hands slid underneath her shirt to skim over her lower back. Halting the embrace, Buffy slithered out of his hold and took a step back. “We need to talk.” She said cautiously, a dark shadow falling over Spike’s face at the statement that was never said in a good situation.
“Go on then.” He said slowly, cautiously as he cocked one scared eyebrow at Buffy and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly. The cocky nature that disguised the soft hearted man that lurked inside of him slipped into place to protect himself.
“Maybe we should move slower. Um…you know, just keep this more on the friendly side until things cool down with the tabloids.” Buffy explained, a lump forming in her throat as she watched his reaction to her words. ‘This will be better for him.’ She reminded herself and made a vow right then to not let her personal drama affect Spike and his life in the slightest. He didn’t deserve to be dragged down by the turmoil that was her personal choices in life. “I’m not saying it will be forever and all. Just until things die down some?”
Spike stared at Buffy in silence and fought to keep his emotions under control. It had taken them over a year to find one another and now the crazy bint just wanted to be friends? An angry flood of words were about to flow from his mouth, until he looked into her eyes and saw the struggle that was there. Deep in the shimmering green depths of Buffy’s eyes, he saw that she wanted him but could not deal with that pressure right now; not with everything that had happened to her as of late. Sighing in defeat, Spike slipped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Fine, pet. You win, for now.” He could feel her tears dampen his shirt as she leaned against his chest. “I bet you are worn out, yeah? How would you feel about a bubble bath?” She pulled away and glared at him. “I mean a bubble bath for one, kitten.” Laughing softly, he felt her relaxed in his arms and he held her for minute longer before ushering her up the stairs towards the bedroom he had hoped to be sharing with her.
While Spike drew her a hot bath in the enormous master bathroom, Buffy wandered into the bedroom in search of pajamas, which took a while since all of her clothes were still in boxes. Finally locating some cotton pajama bottoms, a camisole and some underwear, she headed back to the bathroom just in time to hear the water stop running. Standing near the tub, she realized that because of her ribs and collarbone she would have trouble undressing, when she was in the hospital a nurse or her mother helped her change. A deep red flush covered her face when she realized that she would need Spike’s help to remove her clothes.
As if he sensed what was running through her mind as she clutched her night clothes to her chest, Spike reached over to help with her top. “Don’t worry, pet. ‘S nothing but a friend helping a friend.” He assured her when he felt her muscles tighten. “Promise I won’t look.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew that resistance would be futile and vowed to be as discreet about the glances he did take. He slipped her shirt over her head carefully and bit back a curse when he saw the full extent of the damage Riley had inflicted on her petite body; plum colored bruises covered her torso, marring the creamy skin. Shaking off his anger momentarily, he helped her slide her jeans down her legs and damn it, but he couldn’t help the reaction his body had to the sight of Buffy clad in nothing but a matching set of lace and silk dusky pink underwear.
Buffy quivered at his gentle touch, instantly reacting to the simple feel of the roughened skin of his palms sliding her clothes from her body. She glanced up and locked gazes with him, realizing that he was thinking the same thing and fought to maintain her composure under the weight of the desire in his icy blue stare. Inches away from his sensuous lips, Buffy struggled not to give in to her wanton needs and somehow managed to dig up some self-control as she stepped away from Spike, turned and slowly eased into the bathtub.
Since he wasn’t needed anymore, Spike excused himself to go search the premises and lock up for the night; leaving the door cracked slightly in case she needed him. After easing out of the bathroom, Spike rested his forehead against the door frame and sighed with frustration. He had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Buffy Summers, not even his first love, Drusilla, and he desperately wanted to throw caution to the wind, strip down and join her in that delicious bubble bath. He craved her touch, he was addicted to the taste of her skin, the smell of her perfume, the feel of her small body next to his. He wanted nothing more than to make love to her, to relish in the wonders of her body for hours until he’d pulled every ounce of pleasure from her. Something as simple as undressing her for a bath had sent his hormones into overdrive, hardening his cock to the point of pain, pressing the sensitive skin tightly against the zipper in his pants to the point there were likely indentations on his dick now. But, sadly, he could only imagine what he would do to her body if giving the chance to make his fantasy come true. He’d give Buffy the time she wanted, deserved, but he wouldn’t wait forever. She would be his, one day, Spike vowed as he took a deep breath and forced himself from her bedroom.
Surrounded by frothy bubbles and wonderfully hot muscles that eased the pain in her muscles, but not the throbbing between her thighs that refused to desist. Nope, that special ache was something that only Spike could attend to, but she’d gone and let her fear of hurting him in the future ruin the fun they could be having right now. Buffy’s eyes closed as she gave in to her need, her hand a pathetic consolation prize to the cock she’d felt pressed against her earlier, and slid her hand down her flat stomach until it reached the tiny patch of curls located at the apex of her thighs and slowly began caressing the sensitive nub nestled there. Pausing briefly, Buffy listened for any signs that Spike was near before pressing the pads of her fingers down a little harder and moving them a little faster; eager to achieve the release her body desired. Her breathy moans filled the tiled bathroom and threatened to give away what she was doing had there been anyone on the other side of the door to listen.
What Buffy didn’t know what that there was someone out there. Someone who’d returned but had not yet made his presence known. Standing on the other side of the slightly cracked bathroom door, Spike heard Buffy moan and instantly assumed that something was wrong. He honestly meant to only ease the door open a bit more to stick his head in and ask if she was okay, but instead he found that the moans he’d heard weren’t the result of pain. Spike stood motionless, not believing what he was seeing. Reason told him that watching Buffy masturbate was wrong, but he was unable to tear his gaze from her wet, naked body. Spike stifled a groan in his throat as her breasts bobbed at the surface, taut nipples peeked at him through the bubbles, teasing him. His cock hardened again, begging for attention. A slave to his own desires, he lowered his zipper and released his rock hard cock from the confines of his pants. Spike began stroking himself in rhythm with Buffy, imagining it was her tight walls wrapped around him, fucking him hard, instead of his own hand. Bracing himself against the door frame, he pumped faster when he noticed she was nearing a pleasurable end. Buffy’s head was thrown back against the tub, her pretty pink mouth open in a silent scream as her orgasm ripped through her body; her face a mixture of pleasure and pain. As he watched her twitch with aftershocks, Spike pumped faster until he shot his load into his other hand, the only receptacle he could think of at the moment. Leaning forward, he rested his swimming head momentarily against the door frame and somehow managed to use his free hand to tuck his softening dick back into his pants, although the button was a different matter and had to be left undone. Then, he quickly and quietly retreated to another bathroom to clean up before helping Buffy out of the bathtub.