Buffy felt deliciously warm but at the
same time quite cold. She shifted slightly and was rewarded with her cold side
getting some warmth. But her feet still were cold. She twisted and snuggled
deeper towards the source of her warmth, until her feet were warm. An arm hugged her tighter. Smiling sleepily
Buffy let the sleep wash over her, until the last observation hit her sleepy
brain. ‘Arm!’
Her eyes shot open, quickly. She looked around her for any sign of
life. Still somehow too lethargic to move any other muscle in
her body. But the morning light was too much for her still sleepy mind.
Opening her eyes slower now the scene in front of her focussed. There was a
wooden leg? Stone floor. She was asleep on the floor,
‘No an animal skin it seemed.’
Buffy closed her eyes again and breathed deeply. ‘What was she doing
here?’
Lifting her head gingerly she slowly turned her head, so slowly it was
as if time had slowed down her mind as images flashed in front of her. Splashes of red, with overtones of passion. Feeling
light-headed at the ball, the hallway, searching for the library, being
interrupted by-
‘No, it wasn’t true!’ Buffy clenched her eyes shut tightly searching
for the oblivion of her unconscious mind.
‘It was just her mind playing tricks on her.’ But the gate had been
flung wide open and the memories came rushing forward clearer than ever.
Opening her eyes Buffy turned slowly, knowing her inner denials would
only be satisfied by the sight of the man that lay pressed against her near
naked body. Her movements were jerkey as her eyes
lighted on her recent guardian.
Closing her eyes yet again she cursed herself every name under the sun.
She had proven herself to be of the lowest of low character. ‘What had
possessed her?’ Clutching to a last desperate straw she hoped that this was
nothing more that those beguiling dreams she had been plagued of late. She bit
the inside of her lip hard, hard enough to draw blood.
Opening her eyes she found herself still in this twisted reality and
her eyes still showed her the same man. ‘William.’ No, she corrected herself, ‘Lord Ripper.’
Mentally and physically she tried to resurrect the barriers that had
been pulled down by their sinful acts last night. ‘She had to get away before
he awoke or worse before anyone alighted upon them.’
Slowly she raised herself up but the
heavy feeling she experienced before was obviously not her mind playing tricks
on her but an arm! A heavy muscled
and possessive arm! It wrapped firmly around her middle making her his prisoner
even while he slept.
Trapped she had no choice but to face him
again. This was unfortunate as she found that looking at him in this early
morning light made him even more handsome than before. ‘Yes handsome!’ Buffy came to a truce with her body and that traitorous part of her
heart that had fluttered furiously as soon as it had gazed down on him that
day.
Even from that staircase and the
circumstances that stood between them, she had known somewhere deep down that
this man was someone ….unique.
Her lack of true respect for her father
due to his weaknesses and Anya’s insights into the
male of the species and her readings had made her think she was beyond the
innocent infatuations that girls her age indulged in. Her circumstances alone
countered her being so foolish as to follow her heart. ‘What had Anya always told her?’ Purse strings should be tugged
before those of the heart. It was not that Anya was
heartless far from it but her life experiences had taught her that a broken
heart was far better for a woman than having no home.
Buffy had accepted these harsh realities
and buried her true feelings beneath her anger for her situation. But now no
amount of self-pity could disguise that she was as much a slave to her emotions
as the silly girls in those novels she often read.
The rose tinge of the impending sunrise
touched the room, falling on the man lying below her. The light softened him,
made him appear younger. His responsibilities and position had made him appear
harder and more arrogant, but now he looked almost…. innocent. His lashes were
darkly fanned out against his pale skin, his full lips in this state of repose looked more sensual. The perfect
proportions of his face and those sharp chiselled cheekbones. He looked
like a fallen angel in the glowing light.
Buffy sighed softly, but despite these admissions to herself nothing
had changed. She had still made a terrible mistake and it would affect her
future indefinitely. She must not make matters worse by lingering and eyeing
him as if he were some luscious delight.
Although… some of the more scandalous moments of last night surfaced in
her mind’s eye and Buffy reddened to her toes at the memories.
She had to stop daydreaming. She must find a way to return to her chambers.
‘Oh Lord’, Buffy raised her eyes heavenward as she remembered that Tara would
know she had not returned to her bed. She hoped Tara would have not have
informed any other servants yet.
With more resolve Buffy shifted herself and his arm from her with
infinite care so as not to wake him, until finally she was free. However, it
seemed her dress was partially trapped under him still. Sending a silent prayer
up, she neared her shaky hands close to his flesh, trying to evade touching his
body and still retrieve her hateful red dress.
At first the dress slipped out easily at her small careful tugs but a
large portion of the fabric was still trapped under his heavy form. Growing
impatient in her urgency she tugged hard, but still is did not give. She tugged,
harder and harder until finally the dress was free in her hands but a soft
grunt from the waking man ruined any satisfaction she might have gained at the
victory.
Scrambling to cover herself and escape Buffy was edging as fast as she
could away until a strong hand caught her wrist and held her still.
Looking back it was clear that he wasn’t fully awakened yet but
conscious enough to understand that the woman next to him was leaving and he
didn’t seem to want her to leave. His eyes were still closed but the grip on
her wrist tightened painfully tugging her back to his side.
“Cold” that was all that he said but it was strong and insistent and
Buffy felt that now familiar feeling in her stomach that left her powerless to
struggle against him. Despite all her self-discovery and understanding of the
danger of this situation, she couldn’t help herself. She returned to his side
tugged closer by both his arms until she was pressed flush against him again.
There was a sense of completeness about being this way with him. It
seemed to her that in this moment, in this place nothing could hurt her and
that she would always be safe. The intoxicating emotion had the power to lull
her into complete compliance. No struggles, no intentions to leave, she just lay
against him until his hands crept up into her hair. He turned her gently,
though she knew what he wanted, what she too wanted.
She lifted her mouth and kissed him. A soft kiss,
still hesitant. But the slight taste wasn’t enough for her and she
kissed him again and he returned her caresses with his own. Tracing the lines
of her face, he familiarised himself with her again by touch and his hazy
sight. The kisses grew deeper, the hunger returning in them both. No denial,
they both knew.
Her breasts ached as if they were suffocated by the lack of his touch, but not
for long as his hands returned to hold them, caress them. He ran his thumbs
over the aureoles but teasing her by not touching her nipples. Round and round
those clever fingers rubbed. Her mouth showing her
desperation as she thrust her tongue to take part in the duel between their
bodies.
There was a part of her mind that was shocked, in fact screaming at
her, insisting she leave but that part of her mind was trapped on some remote
island as her stormy emotions carried her further and further way from that
voice of reason.
“Oh”, a shocked sigh filled the air as he had finally relented and
touched her nipples. Swollen and sensitive his light touch made her reach a
peak of pleasure; her eyes wide open from the sensations. Staring into his
wakened and sober eyes, the sharp blue colour darkened, as he became drunk in
the sight of her.
Pure passion, the red of her lips, the tongue he had to taste and he
did. It tasted like sweet nectar to his starved senses. He crushed her nipples
hard and to her, the pain was more welcome that his light touches. But he was
quick to soothe as his mouth and tongue lathed any hurt he may have caused.
The length of him grew large and insistent against her stomach. Instinctively
she brought him close, her hands hot and slightly moist. But that was naught
compared to the heat and wetness that lay within her as he ushered himself in.
They both groaned simultaneously, mouths meeting as the dance began
again. Slow and measured but no less insistent it continued endlessly. Buffy
remained lost in its vortex as she reached bliss time and time again until he
too joined her in oblivion.
They lay wrapped tightly in each other, still joined by flesh, he
within her, listening to their slowing heartbeats lulling them to sleep.
Lord Angelus was both disappointed and pleased with the events of the
night before. He lay resting in his luxurious chambers pondering the events.
He had spent several hours avoiding the gaze of Lord Ripper at the ball
the night before. Wesley had managed to gain them invitations to the ball from
Lady Chase but he knew that Spike would not be pleased with his presence. So he
kept himself hidden from the host, hating the advantage the other man possessed
over him. His search for Elizabeth’s company had been hampered by the stupid
oaf that had seemed to take possession of her as soon as she entered the
ballroom.
It had been hard to keep away especially seeing her in that delicious
ripe red dress she had worn. Her innocence made the revealing dress even more
tempting, like a tasty morsel of red meat. But he had noticed Spike’s eyes
following her with Captain Finn and decided to create an opportunity later in
the night so as to get the girl alone.
It still stung that Spike had managed to take her from him. He had had
her at his mercy finally for all too brief moment. He wanted to taste that
power again. In fact, it would give him all the more pleasure to do so now that
she was under Lord Ripper’s protection. There was the added pleasure of
teaching his old duelling partner a lesson from a master. That diminutive
nickname ‘Spike’ had been his gift to William when he had been still young and
inexperienced. Over the years, through the determination of that runt, that name had made him famous
among the gentlemen’s clubs in London. Lord William ‘Spike’ Ripper was one to
be feared once he had sword in his hand.
Angel had never had the opportunity to test the budding swordsman on
his skills but it was Spike’s luck with the dice that pained him now. ‘He hated
losing!’
Finally the opportunity had been created with Wesley distracting the
soldier boy so he could whisk Elizabeth away from view. He meant to have some
satisfaction that night. Frolicking with the girl would have been enough to
take the edge from his hunger for her till he could be fully satisfied by her.
But far from having his fun, he had been frustrated from seeing her
again that night. She has seemed to have disappeared from the ball. Suspicious he
had searched for her but no sight of her or Lord Ripper was seen for the rest
of the night.
His anger had grown and his suspicion too. The coincidence was too much
to believe. But Angel was certain that Spike was too moralistic to interfere
with his own charge. The night though had shown that there were plenty of men
who appreciated her charms as well and he would have to act fast.
His plan foiled, the boredom with the night soon set in and he was just
about to leave when the perfect opportunity for revenge presented itself. In
fact she approached him.
Lady Drusilla Ripper had always cut a swathe in society. A commoner who
was widely regarded as a social climber by marrying into nobility, she was
still a figure that Angelus recognised as a like soul. A wolf
among all these sheep.
Her speech and conversations were not so easily understood by Angel,
but it was clear that she was not happy with the new resident in her home.
Something about dreams she was having? The conversation was completely unorthodox
but Angel clearly understood two names, ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘William’. This was the
opportunity and an unexpected ally.
It was clear the woman was batty but she disliked the connection
between Spike and Buffy as much as he did.
“The girl is poison.” Lady Ripper snapped out of whatever trance she
seemed to be in. “She will cause upheaval and death. She must go.”
Now this Angel did understand. He smiled and patted the woman’s hand
sympathetically. “I agree totally my lady. Perhaps we can arrange a solution
that would satisfy us both.”
She smiled a thin, cold smile and displayed the charm that had brought
her to this position in life, “What do you suggest Lord Angelus?”
‘Yes’ Angel mused, ‘it had been a most interesting evening’.
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