“Is this some sort of ruse?” The Pelorak stared intensely at the blonde vampire, trying to read his expression. Surely he must have been joking.

Spike’s face was set like stone, clearly indicating to the other demon that he was indeed serious. “Sorry to disappoint you, mate, but it’s not a joke. One last hand. You win, you get back everything I’ve won and you get my pet. I win, well, you haven’t won much of mine” might as well bait the bear, make him see red “but I get your girl. Simple deal, don’t you think?”

“Well, yes. It’s fairly straightforward. I must admit that I’m curious, though.” He sat straight on his chair, pulling it closer to the table. Leaning his elbows on the hard wooden surface, he leaned in. “You seem oddly... attached... to your slave. I’d almost be led to think that she wasn’t really your ‘pet’, as you call her. She doesn‘t seem to be very submissive.”

Spike was incredulous. Of course, she wasn‘t a true slave, and he‘d wondered whether or not they‘d both acted their parts convincingly. Guess this is your answer. Now all he had to do was make sure that Buffy‘s drama queen would show her face. In a loud enough voice that he was sure the Slayer could overhear, and which could double as ire, he argued. “Are you insinuatin‘ that I haven‘t done a proper job at breaking her? You want me to prove that she’s my slave, or something?” That’s it, mate. Throw the ball back in his court. Maybe if you sound insulted he’ll back down. However, he had no such luck.

The purple demon’s face contorted in what looked like a grin.

“Yes, actually that would please me. If I’m to play for her, I want to make sure she’s submissive. I just broke in a new slave, I don’t want to have to expend the energy so soon again.” He stared at the blonde vampire, gauging his reaction.

The master vampire rolled his eyes and turned to Buffy. Sure enough, her attention was piqued, and she seemed poised to act. If he had the physical ability to, he would have been sweating and his heart would have been beating quickly. They needed to pull this off, but would the Slayer just come over and let him prove her submissiveness? He called out to her, and when she looked up he told her to join them at the table.

Buffy had to get Hilary out, even if it meant debasing herself in front of Spike and his demon entourage. She was comfortable enough in her new relationship with him to know that he probably felt bad about this (although she was sure a small part of him was snickering a Simpsons’ ‘ha! ha!’). Keeping her eyes cast to the ground, she walked over to the blonde vampire and spoke up, in a monotonous voice. “Yes, master?”

“Well, pet. Seems that your quality as a slave has been questioned. It‘s been implied, as silly as this sounds, that you‘re not a submissive bird. Is there any truth in that?” Please, Slayer, play along with this... The hardened features of his face belied the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. This whole charade depended on Buffy’s ability to wing it as a slave. Something she obviously hadn’t done very convincingly up to date.

“No, master.” Buffy allowed the Slayer to take over--its instinct for self-preservation would lead it to do a much better job than Buffy the bad liar ever could.

Spike leaned back in his chair, wheels turning in his head. He had to ask the right questions, ones which wouldn’t seem like he was leading Buffy to the right answers.

“So, pet, tell me--as my slave, what are your top priorities?”

Huh? Shit, think fast! “Why, to serve you, master.”

The vampire groaned inwardly. This wasn’t going where he wanted it to go. “And how do you serve me, slave?” He took his beer in hand and brought it up to his lips. He hoped to hell he could keep his hand from shaking.

Something evil deep inside of Buffy poured the words out of her mouth before she could stop them. “By providing you with oral pleasure.” It was a good thing she was staring at the floor--she was sure that she would have laughed out loud if she’d seen the look on his face. It was hard enough just hearing his reaction.

What little beer Spike had in his mouth sprayed all over the table. He tried to gather his wits, as well as his self-control as he wiped the spit off the cards. Now not only did he have to act as the Slayer’s master, he had the image of her performing lewd acts on him burned in his mind. Bloody, buggering fuck. With an air of authority that came from God knew where, he nodded. “That’s right, and what else?”

“I provide you your drinks... and your food.” She wondered if Spike would catch on to the meaning she was trying to relay. What better way to convince them of the slave-master relationship by having him drink from her, right in front of the other demons? She’d really have to kick his ass to kingdom come for putting her in this position...

Of course he knew what she meant. He couldn’t believe, however, that she was implying that they... Right there in the middle of the Nex, of all places. What if either of them showed one eighth of the pleasure they had felt the only other time she’d allowed him to taste her? To pierce her sweet flesh and to pull, into him, her life force? Great, he was getting hard just thinking about it. “Yes, you do--provide me with nourishment. Come to think of it, I’m feeling a mite peckish right now. A spot of O-Neg might do me a bit of good.” He smiled at the Pelorak and winked. “Maybe even give me a spot of good luck.”

Spike pulled his chair back, and sat up straight. Buffy knew that this was her cue. She walked over to him and for a split second wondered how they were going to do this. She couldn’t really just lean in, as that would be A) very uncomfortable, and B) very impersonal, as if they’d never done this before. They had to act as if this was something that was done on a daily, if not more often, basis. That left one possibility.

When the Slayer sat down on his thighs and straddled him, Spike thought he’d gone to heaven. She leaned in, always keeping her eyes downcast, and bared her neck to him in the most submissive way he’d ever been offered. She had the act down so well, that for a short moment he almost forgot that this was for show. Circling his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer, until their bodies were pressed one against the other. His demon could feel the rapid beat of her heart, the blood pumping furiously through her veins and arteries. It could smell the fear and the arousal coming off the young woman in waves.

As he placed a hand around her neck, pulling it in closer to his mouth, Spike whispered so softly that he knew only Buffy could hear him. “So sorry, luv...” With that, he sank his teeth into her neck and took small sips. God knew he wanted to drink her all, the life force of a Slayer, of this young woman that he’d come to have intense feelings for. But he didn’t want to kill her, didn’t want to lose the companionship he’d come to appreciate. So he drank slowly and shallowly, giving the puncture marks a final lick to help close them off quicker. He pulled back, and removed his hands from her.

“You may go back to your seat, pet.” He wiped at his mouth, although he knew that not a spot of blood had been wasted. When she walked away, not looking back, he turned back to the Pelorak. “Any more doubts as to her submissiveness?”

The purple demon pulled his chair back to the table and took the cards in hand. As he began to shuffle, he spoke clearly. “None, vampire. Now let’s establish the rules for this final hand.”

***

Buffy sat back in her chair, gently dragging her fingers over the still-tender bite marks. When she saw the Pelorak begin to shuffle the cards, she knew that their act had been convincing. Turning towards Hilary, she dug into the remaining nachos. “Ok, you totally have to trust me on this, ok, Hilary?” At the brunette’s doubtful look, she elaborated. “Spike and your master are playing for us. Yup. Purple guy wins, I go home with you two. Spike wins, you come home with me. Thing is, Spike is going to win no matter what. When he stands up, we both move to his side. Don’t worry, you can stay by my side. I’ll make sure you’re ok. Do you follow me?” She tried to convey her best comforting-good-friend smile, and waited for Hilary’s response.

She didn’t have a choice, did she? Hilary had never been much of a gambler, but she only stood to win if the blonde vampire came out victorious. Yes, she trusted Buffy, which meant that in some strange way she trusted... Spike--that was his name, wasn’t it? She looked at Buffy and found her once again watching her ‘master’, all the while tracing the mark he’d left on her. Not what she’d expect from someone who’d just been used as a human sippy cup. There was obviously more than met the eye in their relationship.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Yes, I follow you, and I trust you, Buffy. When your... Spike... gets up, we go to him, and...” And she looked hopeful at this point, like one of those dogs at the Humane Society, when you looked at it longer than you looked at the others. “... and I’m free?”

Buffy gave her new friend a heartfelt smile. “Yeah, then you’re free. We’ll make sure you’re on your way home, all safe and sound.”

She’d hardly had the time to turn around to watch Spike play before seeing him get up off his chair, and shake the Pelorak’s hand. Buffy took Hilary by the hand and both women walked up to the table, eyes cast to the peanut-shell littered floor of the Nex.

Spike walked to the two girls and stood between them, an arm around each slender waist. Buffy automatically leaned into his easy embrace, but the other girl, the one who looked like she needed a meal or five, stood stiffly on the spot.

He wanted to high tail it, before the Pelorak lost his good nature. Its kind wasn’t used to losing and might not be so gentlemanly about having lost his new slave. “Well, it’s been a blast, but I’m gonna take my winnings and head off. You know, quit when the going’s still good an‘ all...” He nuzzled Buffy’s ear, and whispered. “Come on, Slayer--let’s get the hell out of here before he finds those cards I hid under the table...”

When the meaning of what the vampire had whispered in her ear--and she knew she’d never get enough of him whispering in her ear, as it made her feel all weak-kneed--Buffy’s head snapped up, and she had to fight the urge to look him in the face. Letting him pull her along at a faster clip than either she or Hilary would usually take, she began to muse over all the things she’d say... no, yell... at him when they were a fair distance from this godforsaken night club.

No one took any notice of the sexy bleached blonde with a good looking girl in each arm as they made their way towards the club’s exit. Singles met other singles, couples went swinging, heck--it wasn’t unusual for groups of partygoers to leave together. So when the vampire and the two girls walked out, the only one to take notice was Tony, the burly bouncer who’d given her the once over when they’d arrived.

“Well, Spike. I see that you haven’t lost your touch with the birds. Walk in with one, walk out with two...” He leaned in to drag a meaty finger down Hilary’s back, but Spike let out a not-so-subtle growl.

“Sorry, mate, but I don’t share. Thought I made that clear earlier.” He narrowed his eyes and hugged the two girls closer to his sides.

Tony took a step back, as if he was ready to fight for what he obviously wanted. But instead of snarling, his face broke into a huge grin. “S’always worth a try, though.” He held his hand out. “Been good to see you, Spike. It’s nice to know that the older ones are still around.”

Spike accepted the proffered hand and smiled back at the large demon. “Well, it’s been a blast once again, Tony. Hope to see you sooner than later. You be good to yourself.” He returned his hand to Buffy’s waist and turned around, the two girls having no choice but to turn with him.

***

When they were back on the street, Buffy turned to Spike and let all her anger out. She began to punch him in the chest, yelling at him. “You stupid undead jerk!! How could you cheat, with both of our lives on the line? You’re so full of yourself! You’re...”

Spike cut her rant off the only way he knew how--with a blazing, heart-stopping kiss. Sweeping the young blonde off her feet, his mouth landed on hers with ferocity, as if this embrace determined their fates. Almost as quickly as the kiss started, it ended. Buffy stood there, rooted in place, lips half open, eyes dulled over. Before she had time to snap out of it, the blonde vamp took his turn to speak.

“Now you listen here, Slayer. My luck ran out on the hand prior to that last one. I was dealt shit cards and would have lost. I cheated because it was the only way to make sure that you and she” he turned to point to Hilary “came home with me instead of with that Pelorak wanker. So shut your gob and just be happy that you don’t have to play slave anymore.” With a flourish, he turned away from the two girls, storming off in the direction of the car.

Hilary was truly confused. Ok, so they didn’t seem to have a normal slave-master relationship. It was possible that some demons didn’t treat their slaves poorly, that they actually treated them well. But when Buffy hit Spike--a big slave no-no--and when Spike kissed her like they did in the movies, all Gone With the Wind-like, their entire relationship became a big question mark.

And what had he meant by ‘you don’t have to play slave anymore’?

Buffy couldn’t believe it. When would she ever learn to keep her mouth shut when she was around Spike? She always seemed to assume the worst, and call him on it. “Spike! Wait!” She had to apologize, which just a few weeks ago would have been so wrong, but now seemed so necessary to keep what she and Spike had developed afloat. Turning to Hilary, she signalled for her to follow. “Come on! We have to catch up to him. He’s our ride home.” That, and so much more...

When he heard her call him, Spike wanted to keep walking. He wanted to keep being angry with her, with the way she lashed out at him, with so little faith in his actions and intentions. Couldn’t she see that he was smitten? That he would do anything to keep her from harm? Going against his better judgement, he slowed his pace to a near stop, letting Buffy and the other girl reach him.

When she reached him, Buffy didn’t know what to do. She placed her hand on his elbow and motioned for him to turn around. His face was patient, but weary. Weary of not being trusted, weary of always being second-guessed--that much she knew. She looked up at him until he returned her gaze. Staring into the blue depths of his eyes, she took his hand. “Spike, I’m sorry I lashed out at you. It was uncalled for, because you’re right. What you did in there, putting yourself in danger to get Hilary away from that Pelorak, it was... well, it was heroic. It might not have been smart, but it was brave. So...” she took a deep breath “I apologize for hitting you, for not trusting you.” She got up on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“S’ok, pet. We’ll just put it behind us.” He turned to the other girl, and offered her a genuine smile. “Hilary, is it? Why don’t we get you a nice bowl of homemade soup and a hot bath? I’m sure Buffy here wouldn’t mind sharing some of her girly bath stuff--you birds seem to like bubbles and flowers. We’ll worry about everything else after that.” He put his arms back around the two girls and led them to the car.

They had a long night ahead of them, with lots of bad memories to revisit, and plans to make.

And they had a young woman who needed to be returned to her family.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope the story's still got you hooked. We're apporaching the end of the already written chapters (I've got upto ch. 31 stored on my hard drive). After that, the updates will be posted less often (whenever my muse chooses). Thanks again to all those who review--you guys are the best!