Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.
Part eight....
Pushed up against the car door as she was, Buffy was intensely
aware of his lower body pressed to hers. Once again, her dream
from the night before began running flashbacks in her head, this
time coupled with various works of fiction that she'd read. One line
in particular from the dream just wouldn't keep still....
"Biggest in three galaxies..."
She wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that the claim was true!
"There you go again," William said, his lips nearly touching her
ear. "Blushing, I mean. And you with no steam table to blame it on."
"I'm not blushing," she insisted, then threw every scrap of caution
she had to the four winds. "Now do you want that kiss or not?"
"Want," he murmured, his mouth trailing from her ear over her
cheek. "Want bad."
Buffy gathered up her courage and placed her hands on his cheeks,
guiding his mouth to hers. She heard him take in a deep breath right
before their lips met, and his own hands came up to plunge into her
hair, mussing the neat ponytail she'd tied it back in.
Her hands released their hold on his face and landed on his
shoulders, then moved down the front of his chest. Her fingers touched
solid muscle beneath the faded blue cotton shirt he wore, and she fiddled
with two of the small white buttons.
His tongue probed delicately between her lips, coaxing them apart
for him. He obviously knew what he was doing, because he didn't try
to shove his entire tongue into her mouth and down her throat. Instead,
he stroked lightly, taking teasing tastes of her inner cheeks and ex-
ploring the edges of her teeth.
Buffy's head was getting dizzier by the second. Fortunately for her, he
knew when to put the brakes on.
Breaking their connection, he rested his forehead against hers and
swallowed hard. "Wow," he panted. "I definitely want more of that."
"Oh...I...we have to stop," Buffy replied, her voice sounding weak and
breathless to her own ears. "Melanie will...get the wrong idea."
"Mmm...no, she won't," he protested, keeping her in place. "There is no
wrong idea here. It's all....very right." Pulling back, he looked into her
eyes to gauge her response. "Don't you feel it?"
She wasn't going to pretend that she didn't know what he was
talking about. "Yes, I feel it," she said quietly. "But there's more to
it than just that...just feeling it."
William nodded. "I know. But that's where it starts. Feeling it....and
wanting it. Then everything else falls into place."
Buffy placed her hands back on his chest and nudged him away. "Not
always."
He said nothing more, but unlocked and opened the door for her. As
he walked around the back of the car to the driver's side, Melanie turned
her head to watch, a fact that didn't escape Buffy's notice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drive back to her house was made in near silence. Melanie
was falling asleep as the large, comfortably riding vehicle ate up the
miles without jostling it's occupants.
William unfastened the child from her car seat and carried her
into the house. Handing her over to the her mother's care, he went
back to his car and transferred the booster seat back into Buffy's
car.
By the time he came back into the house, Melanie was waking up
and had no interest in being put to bed. Buffy excused them from
the room and took the little girl upstairs. She gave her a quick bath,
then put clean pajamas on her. After supervising the brushing of her
teeth, she allowed Melanie to go back down to the front room for a
while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With his hands pushed into the front pockets of his jeans,
William wandered around the small living room. He stood in front
of the mantle, studying the collection of photographs displayed there,
smiling at the ones of Melanie at different stages of her development.
There were no pictures anywhere of her with her father. With Buffy, yes,
and with people he assumed were her grandparents, but nothing with a
man anywhere around Buffy's age. This had to indicate that she was
divorced, and that it hadn't been a peaceful break up.
He honestly couldn't begin to imagine why any man would turn
his back on the two ladies who lived in this cozy little house. Had to
be blind or just plain stupid was all he could deduce.
Just look at what was here. A beautiful little girl, sweet natured and
innocent and just aching to be loved...and her mother, also beautiful.
And sexy...and desirable...and....everything.
Well...if the elusive "ex" didn't want what was here, then HE most certainly
did.
It was the strangest thing. Life had been good to him, and he hadn't
felt like anything particular was missing from it...until he'd laid eyes on
Melanie and her mother...and then he knew. Somehow, he knew.
When the elderly woman at the restaurant had made the comment
about 'his' adorable little girl, he'd felt a warmth race over him. He
had almost corrected her, but the warm feeling was so pleasant that
he let it go, let her go on thinking that they were a family.
That he was.....a father.
A tiny sound from the doorway caught his attention, and he turned
to see Melanie standing there. She was dressed for bed in a pair of
yellow footy pajamas, and had her face freshly scrubbed and her hair
brushed into neatness. In her hand, she clutched a piece of paper.
She looked absolutely adorable, and he wondered yet again what
kind of man could turn and leave this child.
"What have you got there, pixie?" He slipped off his jacket and
sat down on the sofa, waiting for her to come to him.
"It's a picture," she said shyly, approaching him with her hand
held out in offering. "By me."
"A picture for me?" William took it from her hand, turning it
over to examine it.
It was a child's version of what he presumed was himself standing
next to the "Phoenix", his starship on 'Outpost: Space'. He had
to smile at the scale. The way she'd drawn in, it appeared that
he was larger than the ship.
Her name was written at the bottom, in the gold glitter ink of
from the pen he'd given her.
"This is very good," he said, smiling as she perched next to him
on the sofa. "If it's all right with you I'd love to hang it in my
dressing room."
Her curls bounced as she nodded.
"Melanie..."
They both looked over at the same time at Buffy, who was waiting
at the foot of the stairs.
"Time to be tucked into bed now, honey," she added.
"Okay." Melanie reached for William's hand and tugged on it. Her
intent was clear; she expected him to accompany her upstairs for
the bedtime ritual.
Without a word, he stood up and allowed her to lead him up
the stairs, with her mother bringing up the rear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her bedroom was exactly the sort of place he would have ex-
pected. Supremely feminine, it's centerpiece was a twin sized
bed covered by a pink spread with matching canopy.
The furnishing was all white and gold French Provincial. She had
a chest of drawers, and a dresser with a mirror mounted on the
wall above it. The little room was well stocked with all the sorts
of things a little girl treasured. Stuffed animals of different varieties
perched here and there, and in one corner there was a small table
with an elaborate doll house on it. Lined up against one wall, he
saw three or four tiny beds, each one with a baby doll tucked snugly
inside it.
Her walls were pale pink and, much to his surprise, there were
several pictures of him taped up. Some of them were the sort of
pictures sold at the convention, while others had apparently been
clipped out of magazines. On the wall directly behind her bed, was
the picture he'd signed for her.
"This is my room," Melanie said, climbing into her bed.
"So I see," he replied, making a show of examining all her
things. "I like it."
"Me, too," she said, laying back on her pillows. Her eyes were
heavy lidded as she watched Buffy pull up her blankets and tuck
them around her. She then switched on a small 'Winnie-The-Pooh'
night light that sat on the dresser and flicked off the overhead light.
"Charlotte's Web, Mommy," the little girl murmured sleepily.
"Not tonight," her mother said, leaning over to kiss her. "It's already
past time for you to be sleeping, pumpkin."
Melanie must have been tired indeed, as she gave in without a
word of dissent. After Buffy straightened up and moved away from
the bed, she wordlessly held out her arms towards William.
He felt his heartstrings being tightly wound around baby fingers
as he hugged and kissed her goodnight.
"Thank you for dinner," she whispered in his ear.
"You're very welcome, pixie," he whispered back. "You have sweet
dreams."
"Okay." She turned on her side and reached for a stuffed
lamb, snuggling her arms tightly around it as she closed her
eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Would you like some coffee?" Buffy asked, back down in the
front room.
"Sure." He couldn't have been less interested in coffee, but he
wanted an excuse to linger a while longer. Following her into the
kitchen, he sat down at the table and watched as she measured
the grounds into a white paper filter and dumped water into the well
of the coffee maker. She pushed the 'on' switch, then found two
mugs in the cupboard over the sink.
"It'll just be a minute," she murmured, sitting opposite him at the
table.
William scooted his chair closer to hers and reached for her
hand, a gesture that made her jump a little. "What's wrong?" he
asked, stroking the palm of her hand with his thumb.
"Nothing," she said, a little too quickly. "Um...thank you again for
dinner. Melanie really enjoyed it."
"And how about Melanie's mother?" he asked, tilting his head and
studying her face.
Buffy smiled. "She also enjoyed it. Very much."
Deciding that there was no point in being subtle, he lifted the
small hand he was holding and placed a slow kiss in it's palm,
maintaining eye contact with her. "I enjoyed it, too," he said, his
tone making it quite clear that he was not necessarily referring to the
meal. "And I want more of it."
Buffy felt her heart start that rapid beating it had been doing
earlier, but before she could reply, the coffee maker clicked off.
"Coffee's ready," she said breathlessly. She tugged her hand out
of his grasp and moved quickly across the kitchen.
William was right behind her, stopping her hand as it reached
for the glass pot. He stepped up close and placed his hands on
the counter, one on either side of her, effectively caging her in.
"I don't want any coffee," he whispered, pressing his lower
body against hers. "I want you."
Against her will, Buffy's eyes drifted shut. His voice had dropped
into a deeper register, and one hand moved up and pulled the
elastic scrunchy from around her ponytail. He dropped it on the counter
and used both hands to spread her hair around her shoulders.
"Beautiful," he told her, stroking the honey brown tresses, feeling
them slip through his fingers. "So soft."
She shuddered slightly, all thoughts of what she'd come over
here to do fading away from her conscious mind.
"Buffy." He placed his hands on her waist and turned her
around to face him. "Kiss me again. You kiss so sweetly."
She could have returned the compliment, had she been in
the mood to speak. As it was, all she wanted to do was exactly
what he was asking of her.
Twining her arms around his neck, she went up on her toes
and gave him her lips.
William wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, pulling her
closer as his mouth devoured hers with passionate intent.
He'd meant to go slow, to coax and cajole her into melting
in his arms. But the taste of her lips and the soft warmth of her
breath on his skin was quickly destroying all of his control. He
felt himself leaning into her, pushing her against the counter so
that he could feel the slender length of her body rubbing against
him, making him painfully hard.
When he finally was able to tear his mouth away from hers, they
were both panting for air. "Oh, God, I want you," he groaned in
her ear, shocked at how desperately needy he sounded.
Buffy was the one who put the brakes on. Even through the
rushing in her ears, she was attuned to the actions of her
child. When she heard a little creaking sound come from the
ceiling, she knew that Melanie had gotten out of bed and was
probably heading for the bathroom.
Pushing William away, she shook her head at his whispered, "Don't
stop" and placed her fingers over his mouth to shush him.
A minute later, Buffy heard the toilet flush and then the soft
padding of little feet back down the hall and into the bedroom.
The brief interruption brought her back down to earth with a
bang. Gathering up all her resolve, she moved out of William's
arms and sat down at the kitchen table.
He waited for a moment, willing his body to settle down before
he joined her. She was staring at her clasped hands, and
when he leaned forward to kiss her, she pulled back.
"What's wrong?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Surely he hadn't
misread her signals. She had been participating in that rather heated
embrace just as whole heartedly as he had. "Buffy? Talk to me."
Taking a deep breath, she went directly to her point. "I wanted it,
too. What was happening...just now. Please don't think that I didn't."
He smiled, obviously pleased at her declaration. "That works out
nicely then."
"But it's more than just that," she went on, trying to put her thoughts
in some kind of coherent order. "It's more than just me that's affected
by it."
Sitting back, William nodded. It wasn't difficult to follow her train of
thought. "You mean Melanie?"
Buffy laced her fingers tightly together to keep herself from reaching
out to touch him, to smooth the slight frown from his brow. "Everything
I do affects her...and I have to be so careful because...she's so tender.
You can't imagine...she's just the gentlest little thing and she feels
everything so....intensely. When she met you..."
"Buffy," he stopped her flow of words by placing one finger on her
lips. "You don't need to worry. I'm crazy about her."
"I know you are," she said, pushing his hand away. "I can see that.
And she feels the same way. I've never seen her take to someone
the way she has to you. That's why I can't help feeling a little...scared."
"Scared of what, honey?" Refusing to be put off, he took her hand
and held on to it.
"If....if something happened between us...if it didn't...go well...she
would be so hurt. If you..."
Knowing exactly where she was going with this, he was determined
to put a stop to it. "Buffy," he said firmly, making her look at him. "Only
good things are gonna happen between us....and I'm not going anywhere."
He sounded so certain...so sincere...that it make her heart turn
over.
Hooking his foot around the leg of her chair, he dragged it closer
to his. "I'm right where I want to be. From the minute I saw you,
heard your voice. I've never been so instantly attracted to a woman
like that. God...you just knocked me out."
Reaching for her, he pulled her onto his lap. "Why would I want to be
anywhere else? You're beautiful and funny, and sexy as hell. You
tease and tempt me...and you don't even know you're doing it. And
you taste like original sin. You're devil's food cake, baby...and I'm
starving for you," he said hotly, his lips close to hers.
She was drowning in him again, she could feel it happening. What-
ever spell it was he used, it was a powerful one and she was no
match for it.
They shared a soft, wet kiss. When he pulled away, he glanced
upwards. "And the icing on this cake is sleeping upstairs in a pink
canopy bed."
Any shred of resistance she might still have been able to summon
up disappeared like morning mist. Something wonderful was finally
happening...and this time, she wasn't going to let it slip away.
TBC.....
Feedback is welcome.
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