Loathed and detested the little bitch with every fiber of his being. Spike felt the annoyance well up inside of him again at the thought of her sneering face as she’d walked away with her cardboard cutout of a boyfriend.
Stupid shampoo-commercial haired Buffy Summers with her bitchy little face and upturned little nose.
And her…perfect little body that he just wanted to grab a hold of and ravage with pleasure every time he was in a ten mile radius of her,
God, why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
It was really all the witch’s fault. Ever since she’d cast her dumb spell the previous year, Spike hadn’t been able to purge the thoughts of making love with Buffy from his head.
And that was what it was. Making love.
No matter which way he tried to spin it, they’d done more than emotionlessly fuck that night. It had been warm and beautiful and absolutely the opposite of what a vampire like William the Bloody should indulge in. Especially with a Slayer.
Especially with Buffy.
He sighed again and rose to his feet. It was still several hours until dawn and he figured that he could get in a spot of violence or a game of poker before sunrise.
The vampire grabbed his duster and headed out into the muggy night. Vampires didn’t tend to feel the heat or the cold but Spike had a chill in his bones despite the warmth of the night. He knew why, of course.
The dream.
It was something that he’d studiously avoided thinking about since it had happened. Even when he’d come face to face with the object of his nightmares, he had somehow managed to pretend that he hadn’t caressed and tasted every inch of her body in his subconscious .
He planned to go to Willie’s. He really did. Yet somehow, before he realized what he was doing, his feet had carried him to Revello Drive. He glanced up at the darkly shadowed window of the front bedroom where he knew Buffy slept.
During the first days after he came to Sunnydale, he’d staked out her house a few times. He was obsessed with getting to know his enemy. So many nights he’d watched her sleeping from the tree outside her window. His mind was filled with images of tearing her throat out. However, he couldn’t deny that even back then he wanted to sink his cock into her at the same time as his fangs pierced her milky neck.
But since the Willow’s spell he’d thought less about sinking his fangs in and more about sinking his cock in. Oh, it wasn’t that he would turn down a taste of Slayer blood during a good fuck. After all he was a still a vampire and biting enhanced sex for his kind. But the thought of having access to his little cunny was almost an obsession for him.
And then the dream happened.
Since then every moment had been painful for him. His mind and heart felt like they were being torn into two. Part of him wanted Buffy so badly he couldn’t breathe and part of him wanted to wait for the sun at the thought of loving the Slayer.
Of course, Drusilla had known that he wanted the Slayer. Thinking back it was easy to see that she knew way before he did. His former paramour might have been mentally unhinged, but she was intuitive in many ways.
Before he could delve more deeply into his thoughts, Spike was distracted by the sound of a front door opening. Seeing that it was Buffy’s front door, Spike dived behind the large tree, keeping himself obscured in the shadows.
The blond’s eyes narrowed when he saw the Slayer’s oversized boyfriend stalk out of the house. He couldn’t help but wonder why Finn would be running around in the middle of the night. Something didn’t smell right to the vampire here. He knew that he probably shouldn’t care at all. Sense told him that things could only end badly if he interfered but something inside of him warned him to follow the boy. For a moment curiosity and common sense warred within in and finally curiosity won out.
Keeping to the shadows Spike stealthily tracked the younger man. Once again he started to get a bad feeling as the man descended to the bad side of town. This part of Sunnydale was mostly populated by the scum of the demon community as well as a few human lowlifes too.
Finally the former commando stopped and ducked into an old warehouse. A smirk formed on Spike’s face as recognition struck him. He knew exactly what that place was.
Not needing to see anymore, he turned back toward Revello Drive. There was something he needed to show the Slayer.
She was about to see just what her perfect boyfriend really was.
Buffy sat up with a start, clutching the cool white sheet to her chest and staring at the blonde vampire in front of her with an astonished expression.
“Spike?” she asked blearily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Hello, love,” he smirked, lustful eyes caressing her half naked form.
Buffy tightened her hold around the top of the sheet and glared at the vampire. “What the hell are you doing? And here?”
“Needed to talk to you, pet.”
“So what? You just stopped by in the middle of the night to discuss the latest Paris fashions?”
Spike rolled his eyes at her. “No, Slayer. Got something important to show you. We have somewhere we need to be…and fast.”
“Why don’t we just not and said we did?”
“Summers!” Spike growled, his eyes flashing amber.
With a put upon sigh, Buffy finally nodded. “Uh, could you turn around?” she said as she picked up her sweater to slip on.
Spike leered at her. “Why? Naked under there are you? I’ve seen all your goodies before, Slayer. You shouldn’t bloody well forget that. In fact I’ve tasted them.” His voice was like molten chocolate as he spoke and Buffy had to take a moment to steady herself and resist being drawn in.
“Turn around or I will drop you out of that window, head-first.”
Reluctantly he complied but his dick had other ideas. It swelled in his pants, unhappily constricted by the tight denim. Oh how he would have loved to free it from its constraints right now and…
“Let’s go then.” Buffy hopped off of the bed, still sweeping her hair back into a makeshift ponytail.
“Bloody hell!” he muttered sotto voce, irritated that his daydream was just getting to the good bit when she’d interrupted. Still, he was determined that he would get to experience her again for real one day soon anyway.
Hopefully sooner than later once she saw what Mr. Not-So-Perfect was doing in his spare time.
The walk to the warehouse was made in tense silence. A part of Spike was incredibly excited about exposing Finn’s indiscretions. However, he was also fixating on the old adage of ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ which indicated that messengers could be in the line of fire. As messenger he really didn’t want to be in the firing line of a very angry, scorned Slayer. Especially one that he couldn’t fight back against.
“What is this place?” she asked, as Spike ushered her inside the old building. She threw him a suspicious look but the vampire merely rolled his eyes.
“Already told you, pet. Got something you need to see.”
She paused, studying him distrustfully. “How do I know it’s not a trap?”
“Bloody hell, Slayer! Give me some credit. I might not be the master of the diabolical plans but I have better planning skills than bringing you to a dirty old warehouse on the wrong side of the tracks to ambush you or whatever other nasty you’re thinking of.”
Buffy’s lips drew into a thin line but she nodded and allowed Spike to lead her up a flight of stairs. She kept herself fully on her guard though, refusing to trust the bleached vampire.
The inside of the warehouse was filled with what looked like crackheads. Except that they were seemingly of the undead persuasion. Buffy’s hand automatically drifted to the stake she’d tucked away in her waistband but Spike stilled her overeager slaying fingers.
“Not what we’re here for, pet,” he told her quietly. He didn’t want to start a massacre right now. Not when she had a difficult scene she would witness in only moments from now.
Buffy glared at him. “They’re vamps, Spike.”
“I know,” he hissed. “But you’re missing the bigger picture. Anyway, you might want to save them for something to kill soon,” he continued cryptically, urging her toward the rickety staircase.
Buffy shook her head but followed him to the upper level, walking down a dim corridor. The paint on the walls was peeling and the whole place had the feeling of desperation and desolation. The Slayer wondered exactly what kind of a place this was.
Moments later, she got her answer.
The supernatural pair peered through the partially open doorway to one of the rooms and they were confronted by the sight of what seemed to be a human allowing himself to be feasted on by two female vampires. She couldn’t really see his face properly because he was shrouded in shadows but it was clear from the man’s moans that he was thoroughly enjoying the experience.
The vampires that flanked him were both thin, almost emaciated looking. One had long dark locks that hung dully down her back. The other was an arrogant looking redhead with a pointed nose and thin lips.
The two female vamps were kneeling in front of the seated human. The brunette had her hands and mouth around his cock while the redhead’s fangs were embedded in his arm.
“Harder, bitch!” he commanded the redhead, grabbing her roughly by the hair.
At that moment she recognized him without question.
Her normal, sweet, loving farmboy of a boyfriend was allowing…no forcing two vampires to bite him.
Buffy thought that she might throw up right there and then.
“Oh my God!” gasped Buffy, unable to believe her eyes.
It had taken her several moments to really register what she was seeing, and even longer to actually process it. Riley was supposed to be normal. He was supposed to be the one thing in her life that wasn’t screwed up by vampires or sacred destinies.
How could he do this to her?
Spike’s eyes widened as he watched the two skinny vampire girls service the commando. Each one of them was sucking on a meaty part of his body and the boy was groaning in pleasure at the sensations. He’d seen this kind of thing before, of course, but when humans asked vampires to suck on their various body parts he couldn’t help but question their sanity. Only a fool would do such a thing.
The blond vampire glanced at Buffy, feeling a pang of regret when he noticed the tears glistening on her face in the dim light. He was sure that the Slayer wasn’t in love with the Giant Oaf, but that didn’t mean that his betrayal hadn’t stabbed her right in her heart.
Then before he could stop her she was marching forward, dispatching the two vamps. They turned to dust before her eyes and when the dust cleared she was still brandishing her stake as she loomed over her boyfriend.
“Buffy!” Riley exclaimed, shock evident in his hazy eyes. He glanced to the stake that she was still wielding and for a moment the former solider thought she might actually use it on him. “What…w-what are you doing here?”
Without taking her eyes off of Riley, Buffy pursed her lips. “Get out of here, Spike,” she called over her shoulder. “I need to have a private little chat with my boyfriend.”
“I don’t mind staying for the show,” Spike laughed in response but the glare that Buffy shot him over her shoulder told him that she was deadly serious. “Fine. Be that way! Deny a poor vamp the chance to see Cardboard here get his wankersome arse well and truly kicked.”
“Spike!” she growled, rapidly losing her temper. Although her anger was Riley-shaped, Spike had the unique skill of pissing her off more thoroughly than any other being on the planet and she could feel her ire rapidly growing.
“Fine! Fine, I’m going, love.” He held up his hands and surrender and walked out into the warm night, a smile tickling his lips.
Once the vampire was out of sight Buffy turned back to Riley with a deathly expression on her face. The large man hadn’t said a word since he’d gotten caught but the Slayer was determined to get some answers.
“So,” she started, her voice way too cheerful. “What the hell was that?” The hard glint in her eyes belied the jovial tone of her voice and Riley flinched. For the first time he actually feared this tiny slip of a woman.
“Does it matter?” he asked sullenly.
“Are you kidding? I see you getting your groove on with vampire whores and you ask me if it matters? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You’re one to talk!” he exclaimed raking his hand through his sandy colored hair. “All you ever think about is vampires! First it was Angel and now you’re creaming your panties over Hostile 17!”
“I am not creaming anything over him. Spike is just a…” An enemy? An ally? A friend? A lover? “…Spike. He’s just Spike!”
“Is that why you call out ‘Just Spike’s’ name when we’re making love?”
“God Riley, that happened one time!” she exclaimed, relieved that she’d forced Spike to leave. That little tidbit was something that she never wanted the arrogant vampire to know. If he learned of it, she was sure she’d never hear the end of it. “You cannot blame this on me. You made the choice to be here, to let those girls do that to you. What if you’d gotten yourself dead? Or turned? How do you think it would have made me feel if I’d had to stake you?”
“Isn’t staking vampires in your job description? Not that you’d know it with all the evil little bloodsuckers you allow to stay undead. Or maybe you wouldn’t stake me. Maybe you’d finally want me then if I could chew on your neck with my fangs! That’s what you want, isn’t it? A cold dead body to hump?”
Her fists itched to punch him, to beat him into a bloody pulp but she restrained herself. After all, he was still a human and as such he was one of the creatures that she was meant to protect. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t unleash a verbal beating.
She looked at him with disgust in her eyes. “Don’t pin this on me. I do my job. I’m a damn good Slayer. I can’t understand what would make you do this.”
“I needed to know.”
“Needed to know what?”
“Needed to know why!” He drew in a deep breath. “I needed to know why you want those things. I needed to find out what it is that attracts you to undead flesh.”
This time the Slayer didn’t restrain herself, hurt by his brutal words. Buffy’s hand came up and slapped him across his face. She didn’t use her full strength but it still stung horribly. “How dare you! You don’t get to talk that way to me.”
“Why not?” He smirked nastily. “You’re just a whore for the undead. Why shouldn’t I talk that way?”
Buffy clenched her jaw. She had the urge to do her boyfriend some real damage but desperately reined in her temper. “You need to leave. Get out of town Riley, out of my life and I don’t want you to come back. Not ever!”
“I’m not leaving until that bleached piece of shit is dust!” he spit back earning himself another sharp glare.
“No!” Buffy cried, her heart clenching at the thought of Riley hurting Spike.
She wasn’t sure why the thought of anything happening to the vampire cut her so painfully, but it did. She should hate the vampire, but her mind flashed back to the tenderness he showed her as he rocked against her body under the Will Be Done spell, and a brief smile drifted over her lips. He wasn’t a normal vampire and he was defenseless against a human. In that moment Buffy decided that if anyone was ever going to slay the bleached vampire it would be her.
Because Spike was hers.
“You don’t touch him,” she warned.
“I see,” he spit nastily. “You’re protecting that evil piece of shit.”
“Yeah, I guess I am. And I swear to God, Riley, if you so much as harm one hair on his head, I will take you apart piece by piece. Don’t forget, I used to date the most notorious vampire in history and I saw him at his worst. A girl can pick up a few tricks along the way. So if you want to put yourself at my mercy then just try it.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me,” Riley said, although his confidence was faltering. “I’m human.”
“Barely human,” she muttered. “And if you keep on letting vamps suck on you then I’m gonna take a guess and say that you won’t stay human for much longer. But if you want to see how serious I am about you not making with the Spike-icide, then just try me.”
Riley drew back in fear, finally realizing that she was serious in her threats. He would have loved to unleash the worst kinds of torture on his peroxide nemesis but he really didn’t want to find out what Buffy would do to him if he disobeyed her.
“So that’s it then is it?” he asked. “We’re done?”
Buffy looked down sadly. “I don’t think we should ever have gotten started. I wanted something normal in my life but it was wrong. You and me…we don’t fit, no matter how much I wish we did. We’re wrong for each other, Riley. Because I’m not normal and I’m never gonna have a normal life. I’m the Slayer and that’s not just what I do, it’s who I am. You need to leave. Get as far away from here as possible.”
Riley nodded sadly. “Graham’s been asking me to go re-join the troops for a while,” he admitted. “I never thought about it until now because I thought you and me were…But clearly we’re over.”
“We are over,” she replied definitively, her tone brooking no room for discussion.
“Right. I guess I’ll go then.” He started to walk out of the room, and Buffy felt strangely emotionless about it. She was sure that when she awoke the next morning, the pain would no doubt set in over the loss of her one strand of normality. But right now it didn’t hurt at all.
“Goodbye, Riley,” she called. But he didn’t respond. He just walked out of her life.
A sense of sadness settled on her as she watched him leave. He wasn’t the first man who’d walked out on her and even though she’d told him to go, in some ways it felt like she’d just failed with another man yet again.
Her father had left, Angel had left, Parker hadn’t even stuck around for more than one night and now she’d managed to push away the sole morsel of normality in her life. Buffy gritted her teeth as several fat tears slipped from beneath her eyelids and rolled down her pallid cheeks.
Suddenly filled with the need to kill something, Buffy’s Slayer senses took over. In only seconds the crying little girl disappeared and was replaced by the fiery spirit of a warrior. She gripped her stake tightly and moved from room to room, slaying every animated corpse there as well as issuing a moral lecture to every human patron.
It didn’t take long before the whole of the warehouse was covered in a fine layer of vampire dust. Most of them hadn’t even gotten a chance to fight back and the ones that did only found themselves on the wrong end of a beating before they were consigned to Hell. When she was plunging stakes into unbeating hearts she could ignore the ache that throbbed deep within her own beating heart. She was learning that embracing her nature actually made things easier.
Twenty minutes later she watched with a grim smile as the whorehouse burned to the ground.
She couldn’t help but feel that any chance she’d ever had at normality burned along with it.
But worst of all, she wasn’t even sure that she wanted normality any longer.
She wanted something more.