Buffy only smirked at Anya as she leaned forward towards the bathroom mirror and finished re-applying her make-up. “Yeah, like you wouldn’t have done the same thing if you had a man like Spike waiting in bed for you.”
“So not the point,” Anya grumbled.
“Then what is your point?”
“That you’re rubbing it in my face that you’re getting sex and I’m not,” Anya replied, her voice rising in pitch as she stomped her foot. “It’s very unfair.”
Buffy put the cap back on her lipstick and dropped it into her purse. “Hey, I had to sleep with Riley for seven years. I think I deserve some good sex.”
Anya thought about that for a moment before she sighed. “Okay, fine. You have you’re own point there. But I’m still insanely jealous.”
“Fair enough.” Buffy turned towards Anya. “So how obvious is it that I…”
“Had yourself a little afternoon delight?” Anya supplied for her. “Very. You’ve got total JBF hair, for one thing.”
“Yeah, I tried to work on that, but Spike has very busy fingers.”
Anya shrugged. “At least it’s hot JBF hair. It just makes you look all sultry.”
Buffy chuckled. “Okay, good.”
“You’re also limping,” Anya added, a definite tinge of petulant jealousy in her voice. “But you’ve been doing that all day. Did you skip work yesterday because he fucked you so hard you couldn’t get out of bed? And just so you know, if you say yes, I will have to go out tonight and pick up the first guy who buys me a drink.”
“Well, you better head out to someplace that’s got hot guys then, because yes.”
“Frick,” Anya said, stamping her foot again. “So where did you find Spike?”
“The Bronze,” Buffy replied with a laugh.
“Really? Usually the guys there are so lame. Or, you know, twelve.” Anya looked down for a moment before she glanced back up at Buffy. “Do you know if maybe there’s some other vampires there?”
Buffy’s eyes widened before she said quickly, “I already told you, Anya, Spike isn’t a vampire. And no.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She shrugged. “It’s cool. With my luck, I’d probably just end up being lunchmeat anyway. So are you thinking about letting him turn you?”
“Anya!” Buffy exclaimed, coughing. She was glad they were the only two people in the bathroom. “No!”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s not a vampire,” Buffy said, though she didn’t even sound all that convincing to herself.
Anya pointed to Buffy’s neck. “That isn’t a hickey, Buffy. Those are very definite puncture wounds. So unless Spike likes to do something kinky with a barbecue fork, you’re banging the undead.”
Buffy blushed and looked away. “Can we just not talk about this?”
“Personally, I think the whole idea of spending eternity with someone is very romantic,” Anya said, as if Buffy hadn’t said anything at all. “You know, if it’s someone who’s as good at giving orgasms as Spike seems to be. I’d totally let him make me his eternal undead love slave.”
“It’s not that simple, Anya,” Buffy replied, though she wished it could be.
“I don’t see why not. I mean, for one thing, you’d have superhuman strength, right? You wouldn’t have to be all limpy.”
Buffy shifted uncomfortably, wishing Anya would just let the subject drop. This was not usual office watercooler gossip. “Look, Anya, I’ve only known the guy for like, a week and a half. I’m not quite ready for an eternal commitment.”
“Suit yourself,” Anya said with a shrug. “I should get back to work anyway. Snyder’s been riding my ass about those damn reports. Miserable little troll-man. He’s someone who seriously needs to get laid. I mean, if there was a woman in the world desperate enough to actually touch him.”
Buffy smirked a little at that. “I’ve got work to do, too. I, um, haven’t been quite as productive today as I wanted to be.”
“Uh huh,” Anya replied with an arched eyebrow. “Hussy.”
Buffy chuckled. “Right now, I’m really not going to argue with that one.”
Anya smirked at her before she left the bathroom, and while Buffy started to follow her right out, she stopped and checked her reflection one more time instead. The marks on her neck did look pretty bad – worse than they had when she’d first started sleeping with Spike. Was that the combined effect of all the times he’d bitten her? And if it was, was it just going to get worse? Spike had been able to lick the wounds closed to keep her from bleeding out during sex, but what if all the biting was doing more damage than that?
Buffy got the feeling Spike had never taken a human as a long-term lover before. Did he even know what frequent vampire bites would do to a human? She put her hand against the wound, wincing when she realized it was sore to the touch.
Was sharing Spike’s bed putting her in more danger than she realized? She still didn’t believe Spike would hurt her on purpose, but what if he didn’t know he was doing something that could seriously damage her? What would happen if one of these days, he couldn’t get the bleeding to stop? Or he got too into what they were doing and tore something in her neck? Or her inner thigh? He’d bitten her there a couple of times, and she knew it was possible to bleed out from the femoral artery in a matter of minutes.
Buffy didn’t want to give up what she had with Spike and she didn’t want him to have to hold back with her, but she couldn’t help but wonder if what she was doing was overly foolish. Was it worth risking her life just to be with a man?
And if not, then what were her other options – and was she willing to take them?
She turned away from the mirror, unwilling to allow herself to think about this anymore now. If it was an issue, well…she didn’t think it was pressing right now. She could think about it later, when her head was clearer. Right now, she should just focus on the job she’d been sorely neglecting.
Determined to shift her focus, Buffy went back to her desk.
Spike knew as soon as he heard someone coming up the elevator that it wasn’t Buffy. His body tense and on alert, he found his jeans at the end of the bed and put them on, managing to get the last button snapped before the elevator doors slid open.
His eyes narrowed at his unwelcomed visitor, and Spike fought to reign in his demon, forcing the beast to merely howl beneath the surface. “Finn,” he said, his voice clipped. “Should’ve known you’d manage to find me. What did you do, stalk Buffy?”
“I did what I had to to protect my marriage,” Riley replied as he stepped into Spike’s apartment.
“You should’ve thought a little more about protecting your marriage before you fucked whores, you tosser,” Spike growled. Then, a slow, predatory grin spread across his face as he stuck his thumbs into his beltloops. “Although I have to say, I’m grateful to you for being such a stupid arse. Buffy’s one hell of a woman.”
“She’s my woman,” Riley snapped.
“Yeah, I’m thinking not so much,” Spike replied. “Not anymore. You gave her up, and I found her, made her mine.” His grin widened, and if Riley had any sense at all, he would’ve been backing up. “Marked her inside and out, I did.”
“Look, asshole, I don’t know what you think is going to happen between you and my wife, but I’m here to give you one more chance. Get out of Buffy’s life before I have to take you out of it myself.”
The grin fell from Spike’s face, morphing into something much darker, more sinister. His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, managing to look imposing despite being much smaller than the other man. “That’s not your call. It’s Buffy’s. She wants me in her life, and that’s where I’m going to be. You’re the one who isn’t welcome.”
Riley glared at Spike for a moment, as if debating his course of action. When he finally moved, he proved he hadn’t put as much thought into it as he should have.
He grabbed Spike by his shoulders and spun him around, holding him against the wall with his forearm pressed beneath Spike’s chin. “Look, you little shit, I really don’t think you’re as tough as you think you are – and I’m certainly not going to back down just because you’ve got a bad attitude. Buffy is my wife. She promised to honor and obey only me. And I don’t care who or what you think you are, you can’t change that.”
Riley leaned in, his face inches away from Spike’s. “And it doesn’t matter what you do, she’s not going to stay in your bed. She’ll see what she really needs and come back to mine soon enough.”
At that, the demon had had enough. It was bad enough that this oaf had barged into his home and threatened him, but for the worthless bastard to claim he would take the demon’s chosen mate from his bed? No one was going to lay his hands on that woman but Spike. No one.
Spike roared as the bones in his face shifted and his fangs broke through his gums. He broke free of Riley’s grip with ease and pushed the larger man backwards, sending him careening onto the floor. “You’ll never touch her again,” he snarled, his voice filled with inhuman rage.
Riley scrambled backwards on the floor, looking up at Spike in shock. “What the hell are you?”
“I’m the man Buffy chose,” Spike replied, his yellow eyes flashing as he stared Riley down. “Now get out before I really lose my temper.”
“You’re…you’re a monster!” Riley yelled as he got to his feet, stumbling slightly as he did. “You…you’ve done something to Buffy, haven’t you? That’s why she wants you and not me!”
Riley’s accusation gave Spike pause, the sheer absurdity of it pulling him temporarily out of his rage. He shook his head, his human features taking shape again. “Yeah, that’s it. I had to put Buffy in some sort of thrall for her not to want your precious self.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re so deluded it’s really pathetic.”
“You can’t have her…you…you freak!” Riley replied before charging at Spike, knocking him back against the wall. Spike’s demon immediately rose back to the surface, and he blocked Riley’s next attack, doing everything he could to keep the other man back without actually hurting him.
It wasn’t easy. Spike wanted nothing more than to tear Riley’s over-inflated head from his beefy body, but he tried to keep Buffy in the front of his mind, reminding himself that while her marriage may be over, she still probably wouldn’t be too happy about Spike murdering her husband. However, Riley kept coming, not knowing when to simply give up. He came at Spike with everything he had, even as sweat broke out on his face and he panted from the exertion.
Spike was certain he could keep this up all afternoon if he had to, though he was already bored with it. Riley couldn’t seem to figure out he was no match for Spike, despite the difference in their sizes.
Until Riley caught a lucky break. Spike miscalculated by only a fraction, giving Riley just enough time to grab him again, this time throwing him towards the window. Spike’s hands tangled in the blackout curtains, bringing them down, and he let out a yell as the sun hit him, burning his bare arm and chest. Quickly, he rolled out of the way of the light, but not before Riley realized what had happened.
“What, you’re like a vampire?” Riley asked, his expression making it clear that he didn’t seem to believe he could really be seeing what he was seeing. “Does sunlight kill you?”
Spike glared, the burn on his arm making him all the more angry, and said nothing.
Riley charged at Spike, tackling him and pushing him back towards the sun. Spike struggled to stay out of it, but Riley took advantage of Spike’s sudden vulnerability and pushed his head into the rays, holding him there as the sun scorched the side of his face.
Spike grit his teeth in pain, fighting to keep it together. He took a deep breath then rolled, kicking Riley off him before he jumped away from the sun.
Riley jumped up, yelling as he charged Spike, preparing to knock him full-body back into the sunlight. Spike was faster, however, and he knocked Riley down instead, falling with him to the ground and pinning him beneath him. The pain and anger he felt enraged his demon even further, and Spike roared before he lowered his head, his fangs ripping into the larger man’s neck, savagely tearing the flesh.
It took only a few moments for Riley to stop struggling, and when Spike pulled away, the eyes staring up at him were lifeless.
I know you’ve got to have something to say about that chapter… C’mon…leave a review. *wink*