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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hmm - apparently some of these chapters are too short to go up alone, so I guess I'll be doing two at time.
Chapter Two

Several Weeks later


Riley glanced at the blond man at the back of the room and forgot about Buffy’s accusation against Maggie Walsh for a moment.

“That’s Hostile 17! We’ve been searching for him for weeks.”

Spike’s attempt to pretend he was a friend of Xander’s was obviously not going to work with him back in his own distinctive black clothes and he quickly gave up. “Yeah, I’m your guy,” he agreed with a shrug.

“Why have you been hiding a hostile from us?” the soldier demanded, turning to Buffy. He went on at some length about their having hidden one of the Initiative’s escaped prisoners from him until Spike got tired of the tirade and interrupted,

“A little off-topic there aren’t you, Capt’n? Your sleazy boss tried to kill the Slayer and you can’t think of anything to do about it except yell at her about me? The important thing is she could’ve been killed by a couple of your tame demons!”

“You’re a vampire. What do you care what happens to her?”

“I care because she’s mine,” Spike growled with a hint of yellow in his eyes and a furrowed forehead.

Every eyebrow in the room went up as high as was physically possible when they all turned to stare at the vampire incredulously.

“Yours?” Riley said coldly. “You think she’s yours?”

Buffy’s stomach clenched as she waited for his answer, knowing it could reveal much more than she wanted Riley or her friends to know about her.

(Bloody Hell! Did I say that out loud? How do I get out of this one?)

“To kill, I mean. She’s mine to kill.” Spike amended quickly as he felt the hostility in the room increase tremendously. “It’s what I do. I kill Slayers and this one is....is...on my list. Just waiting to get this soddin’ chip out.”

Riley looked at Buffy who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Spike’s stammered explanation.

“Buffy, he says he wants to kill you. Why would you shelter something like that?”

Buffy rolled her eyes again and asked, “Spike, how many times have you tried to kill me? Rough estimate.”

“Uh- don’t rightly know, Slayer. Let’s see, there was Back to School Night, then the Judge and ......bugger all. I don’t know. Lots?”

“Am I dead yet?”

“Obviously not,” he grumbled. “Only a question of time, though, Cutie. Only a question of time.”

Ignoring the implied threat, Buffy turned to Riley and said, “See? What he wants to do is irrelevant. It isn’t going to happen. He hasn’t been able to kill me yet and I doubt he’s gotten any smarter or stronger lately.”

“Hey! You take that back!” The indignant vampire jumped up, rushing to glare at her from close range.

Standing toe to toe and meeting him glare for glare, the Slayer snapped back at him, “I don’t think so! Who was so stupid he got himself captured and chipped, huh?”

Riley gaped at the two blonds standing so close they were practically touching while they glared at each other and exchanged insults. To his surprise, no one else seemed particularly interested in or bothered by their behavior. “Uh, guys? Shouldn’t we...” He gestured at the two arguing killers and looked to the Scoobies for help.

Anya looked up briefly and shrugged, “No, we shouldn’t get in the way. They do that all the time. One of them will get really mad and stop in a minute. There! See?”

Riley turned back to see that Buffy had thrown up her hands and stamped away growling “Moron!” over her shoulder at the equally disgusted vampire who was stomping in the other direction and snarling, “Bitch!”

Buffy was still breathing hard when she turned back to Riley and said, “So, you see, Spike is not nearly as dangerous to me as your boss is.”

Riley refused to let it go, asking, “Well, if he’s tried so many times and hasn’t been able to kill you, why isn’t he a pile of dust? Isn’t slaying the vampires you fight what you do?”

Buffy blinked several times as she struggled for an answer that made sense.

(OK, there are some perfectly good reasons why Spike isn’t dust. I just have to think of them.)

“Well,” she started, “I....I....guess I just had more important things to worry about at the time, so as long as he wasn’t a danger any more...... Look, he just got away a lot, OK?”

(Good job, Buffy. He got away a lot. That’ll show him!)

“And you couldn’t be bothered to chase him down?” her boy friend asked suspiciously.

“You know what, Riley? Spike really isn’t the topic we need to be discussing here. Your boss and whatever she’s hiding in room 314 are what need to be investigated, not my decisions to slay or not to slay.”

While Buffy had Riley’s attention as she argued for an investigation into the hidden parts of the Initiative, Spike took the opportunity to slip out the door and run away. Buffy tried very hard to convince herself that she hadn’t been worried about him and wasn’t glad that he had escaped.

(I’m just worried about him because he’s helpless. This has nothing to do with the fact that he’s the best kisser I’ve ever met.)




Chapter Three

“Giles! This is not fair. I’m perfectly capable of handling whatever I find in those tunnels all by myself. I got out okay the first time, didn’t I?” The Slayer glared at her Watcher and stamped her stylishly clad foot.

“Yes, you did, but just barely as I recall. Having Spike with you means an extra set of eyes and ears – enhanced ones, I might add – as well as back up that is almost as strong as you.” Giles shook his head slightly and pleaded with his slayer, “I’m not trying to insult you, Buffy. I’m just trying to ensure that you have help with you in the event that the tunnels are guarded.”

Buffy snorted in disgust, but silently admitted that Giles was making sense. He was beginning to look at her with real curiosity as she argued against taking Spike with her and she knew it was time to stop arguing.

(Telling my Watcher that I’m afraid to be alone with Spike because I might jump his bones again is definitely of the bad. Better to just do what he wants and exert some self control. I can do that. I’m all about the self-control. Slayer strength and all that....)

Her thoughts became less coherent as the blond topic of discussion came into the room, pulling on his duster. She was grateful that he insisted on wearing the billowing coat everywhere as it covered his lean, muscular body and helped her avoid un-Slayerly thoughts.

(Okay, I can do this. As long as he keeps his coat on and doesn’t give me any of those sexy smiles, or .......)

“Hey, Slayer. You ready to go kill stuff? The watcher tells me I get to go along this time. You don’t mind, do you pet?” he asked, giving her one of those smiles.

“If I have to, I have to,” she said haughtily. “But don’t get in my way; and you have to do what I tell you.”

“I’ll be your willing slave, love.” He smirked at her, managing to make it sound like it had nothing to do with killing demons.

Several hours and a few dead demons later, they were no closer to learning more about the Initiative’s secrets then they had been when they went in. They were also, apparently, lost.

Buffy groaned as she sank down with her back against the wall, stretching her legs out in front of her.

“Note to self. Do not wear new boots with heels for cave exploring.” She tried to rub her foot through the leather, then flinched when Spike reached for her foot and pulled it into his lap.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to sound angry but too tired to bother yanking her foot back.

(It’s just a foot. What can he do to a foot? This is perfectly safe.)

“Relax, Slayer. Jus’ goin’ to help those cute little feet feel better,” he murmured as he slid his hand up her leg and unzipped her boot. Buffy’s brain was telling her not to let him touch her, and certainly not to let him start removing items of clothing, but her body was sinking into a pleasant stupor as his talented hands began massaging her foot.

Against her will, a moan of pleasure slipped out of her mouth as he rubbed the ball of her foot, massaged each toe, gently caressed her arch and worked his fingers into the soft areas on either side of her Achilles tendon. She didn’t even stir as he set that foot down and began to unzip the other boot.

Time seemed to stand still as the vampire worked both feet until they were warm and tingling with renewed vigor.

“Is that better, love?” he asked softly as he planted a gentle kiss on her big toe. She noted that she was no longer wearing socks and wondered when he’d taken them off and why she hadn’t noticed. In response to his question, she just slid a little further down the wall and murmured, “Oh yeah. You could do that all night.”

Spike gave a soft chuckle and kissed her other toes. Buffy struggled to sit up, groaning, “Tell me I didn’t just say that out loud.”

“Fraid so, pet. All night it is, then,” he said as he continued rubbing and kissing her feet. Suddenly, instead of putting her to sleep, his formerly soothing hands were causing unwanted sensations in entirely unrelated parts of her body.

When his hands moved up to start massaging her calves, she tried to tell herself to make him stop, but the gentle kneading of her sore muscles was too wonderful. When he got to her thighs and began smoothly stroking the aching muscles, she tried to pretend she wasn’t noticing that each stroke got closer to her now-damp crotch, but she knew the hitch in her breath every time his thumbs brushed against her was giving her away.

Buffy opened her eyes to tell him to stop and was paralyzed by the raw desire she saw reflected in his face. There was another emotion there too, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to identify. Spike held her gaze for just a moment, then quickly regained his usual cocky smirk.

“Somethin’ you want, love?” he drawled as his thumbs stroked her outer lips through her jeans. He gave up any pretense that he wasn’t trying to turn her on and slid closer to her. Buffy’s body was at complete war with her brain. Her senses were filled with him – his scent – cigarettes, leather and something that was uniquely Spike. Before she could succumb to her raging hormones, he suddenly stiffened and raised his head, listening.

“What it is?” The Slayer immediately took over and Buffy grabbed her socks and boots as the vampire stood up and stared intently down the tunnel.

“Let’s go, pet,” he said without any trace of affection or lust. “Now!”

Zipping up her last boot, Buffy took his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull her up. As soon as she was on her feet, he took off running, pulling her along with him. Using speed that no ordinary human could match, vampire and slayer had soon outdistanced whatever had been approaching them in the tunnel.

They stopped briefly so that Spike could listen. When he relaxed a little and started walking normally, Buffy finally ventured, “What was it? What did you hear?” They had gone some distance before she noticed that he hadn’t released her hand yet and they were basically strolling along hand-in-hand like a couple.

Buffy reluctantly pulled her hand out of his; smothering the little pang of loss she felt when her fingers were no longer linked with his. He sighed, then shook himself and answered her.

“Not completely sure, pet. Heard a lot of footsteps. Mostly human, but some were too heavy to be human. Maybe some of those tame demons, or something else heavy. Didn’t sound like anything we needed to be takin’ on by ourselves if we didn’t have to.”

Buffy nodded her head in agreement. “I guess that’s why Giles was so adamant that I take you with me. I never would have heard them in time...”

The vampire shot her a sideways look and murmured, “Almost didn’t hear them myself. What with being distracted.....”

Buffy blushed and looked away from him. She wanted to tell him there hadn’t been anything to be distracted by, but even her uncanny ability to live in denial wasn’t strong enough to ignore the truth in his words.

“Spike, about that.....”

(About that what, Buffy? What are you going to say? I wasn’t responding to you? I don’t want you touching me? I don’t want...)

To Buffy’s complete amazement, instead of the argument she was expecting about giving in to what her body clearly wanted, he tipped her face up to his and looked at her intently.

“I said I wouldn’t push you, Slayer. And I meant it. If you’re not comfortable with........with whatever it is between us, then nothin’s going to happen. I really didn’t mean for that to go where it did back there. You were in pain and I only wanted to make you more comfortable. Just don’t have as much self-control as I’d like to sometimes and I got carried away. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Buffy’s head was whirling. (Is this Spike? Evil, soulless, piggy Spike? He’s apologizing? To me?)

“Did we fall into an alternate dimension? Who are you and what have you done with Spike?”

The vampire snorted and shook his head. “You just don’t know me as well as you think you do, pet.” He shot her a look from under his thick lashes. “You don’t know me very well at all.”

Buffy was looking up at him with confusion, her full lips slightly parted and a small frown creasing her brow. For a second she was sure the vampire was going to kiss her. He leaned forward, eyes on her lips, then suddenly straightened and pulled away.

“Right then. That’s all settled. Let’s get out of here.”

She hastened to catch up with him as he strode off, duster billowing behind him. She was torn between being grateful to him for not kissing her and indignant that he was able not to when she knew she would have fallen right into his lips if given a chance.





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