Spike watched his witch from the shadows. He was quite surprised that the Slayer hadn't sensed him, what with him being a vampire and she being the Slayer. < Such a daft chit! I hate that I have to share my Red with her. Why can't she just leave, so I can have the witch all to myself? >

Spike glared at the back of the Slayer's head angrily, before turning to Willow. She was sitting on the bench with Buffy, giggling. He focused on her, listening to her words travel on the hot Sunnydale night.

"Gosh, Buffy, that's so romantic, you and Riley making love by candlelight. I need something romantic like that."

< Red wants romance? I'll sweep her off her feet, > Spike thought.

"Yea, I guess it is kinda romantic, isn't it?" Buffy smiled. "So, what did you do last night?"

Spike perked up. What would Willow say about her night of claiming him?

Willow looked at Buffy with a serious face and said, "I shagged Spike, carved my name in his chest and claimed him as mine. Then I bit him and drank his blood."

Buffy stared at Willow with shock. She blinked her eyes a few times, then started laughing. "Oh, god, Wills, I thought you were serious for a minute there!"

Willow stared at Buffy, then frowned. "You don't believe me?"

"Come on, Willow, *seriously*. You and Spike? What could he possibly see in you? Not that you aren't a wonderful person, but he's a killer! He's Spike, for Christ's sake! How many times has he tried to kill us in the last two years? Besides, I seriously doubt he'd let a human claim him."

Willow's lips were a thin line of anger. "It *could* happen."

"Yea, Willow, right. Seriously, what *did* you do last night? Just lay there in the heat of your house?"

"Yea, that's it," Willow said, crossing her arms.

Buffy didn't even notice the anger in Willow's voice. "Well, you should get out more. Meet someone. I mean, I have Riley and Xander has Anya. . .hey, Wills! Maybe we can set you up with Spike!" Buffy almost fell off the bench at her funny joke.

Only Willow didn't find it very funny. She stood up. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I need to go home."

"What?" Buffy asked, looking up. "Why?"

"Now that the electricity is back, I have to go back to my house, where I will be alone, and clean," Willow said coldly.

"God, Wills, be bitchy, why don't you?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Bye, Buffy." She turned and walked away from the Slayer.

"What?" Buffy asked no one. "What did I do?"

< Daft chit. Someone should really kill you, > Spike thought angrily, leaving the muttering Slayer alone with her thoughts.

*-*-*-*

Willow stormed to her house, angrily shutting the door with a slam. "I can' t believe her! The. . .nerve! How dare she think that it couldn't happen! That Spike wouldn't be happy with me?" She stormed upstairs to her room and looked around. She grabbed the picture of Oz and threw it against the wall with a low scream.

She stared at the broken glass, breathing hard. "That felt good," she said. She smiled, systematically going through her room and throwing things against the wall.

*-*-*-*

Twenty-five minutes later, all of the lights were off in the house and she had the radio blaring Creed. The loud rock music was helping take her aggressions out. "DAMN IT!" she screamed, flinging open the French Doors. "I am more than a mousy helpless little girl!" she yelled into the night. She stalked back into her room and picked up a heavy schoolbook. With a triumphant yell, she threw it out the French Doors.

There was a thud, then "Bloody Hell, pet! That effin' hurt!"

"Spike!" she gasped, running to the balcony. He was clutching the guardrail, one leg thrown over to come onto the balcony. He looked at her, his yellow eyes glaring at her.

"That was my bloody head you hit with that book!"

"Goddess, Spike! I'm so sorry! I'm just *so* angry!"

He slung his other leg over the guardrail and walked to her. "Why, pet? What happened?"

"Buffy," she growled, turning around to storm back into the house. She threw herself on the bed and crossed her arms. She was pouting.

Spike walked in and smiled, his mood lightening at the vision of loveliness sprawled on the bed. Her lip was poking out and she was definitely pouting. She looked like a little kid. "Red," he growled, "I'm gonna get that lip. . .gonna get it. . ." He paused, thinking for a moment. He shuddered. "Never mind."

She frowned, sitting up. "What?"

"Bad Spell flashback."

Willow frowned. "Huh?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Spike said. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "I'm taking you out."

"Out? As in out of this house?"

"Yea, why?" he asked curiously.

"Spike," she whined, "it's too hot outside!" She tugged on his hand, pulling him back towards the bed.

< Picnic, bed. Picnic, bed. . . sleeping with her at the picnic. . . > "No," he said sternly. "We are going out."

She stared at him through angry eyes. "Fine. When I melt, and there's nothing left of me, I hope you enjoy the puddle at your feet."

"Don't worry, pet, I'll keep you cool." Spike said. At her glare, he grinned. "Personal air conditioner, remember?" He guided her out into the night.

*-*-*-*

"So," Spike said casually, as they walked towards their destination, "what did Slutty say to you?"

"I told her about us, last night. That I claimed you."

Spike raised his eyebrow, pretending to be surprised. "Really? And I'm not dust yet. What a shock."

"She didn't believe it. She thought I was joking. Me! She thought that. . .that you wouldn't want me to claim you."

Spike wrapped his arm around Willow's shoulders. "She's a daft girl, Willow," he said softly. "Don't let her get to you, because she is too blind to see what's between us. Besides, if she doesn't know, it will keep her from interfering in our relationship."

"But I like the idea of yelling to the world that you're mine."

Spike shrugged. "So do it. I don't care. I'm yours, remember? You can do whatever you want to with me." He grinned.

Willow's eyes lit up as she thought of all the things she could do to him. "So. . .if I wanted to. . .say, throw you down right here and ride you like a stallion, I could?"

Spike's grin grew. "Yea, pet, I'm completely yours."

Willow walked ahead of him, her face lit up with a grin. She stopped and turned around, laughing. "If I wanted to. . .strip all my clothes off, seduce another man and make you watch, I could?"

Spike clenched his teeth in anger at the thought of her with another man. "If you wanted to," he growled angrily.

She walked to him, trailing her fingertips down his chest. "Don't worry, lover, I'm not going to. I just wanted to know if I could."

"You can do anything."

"Make you put on a suit?"

"Anything but that," Spike said, grimacing.

"But you would look wonderful in a suit," she giggled.

"Nope." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, luv, if we don' t hurry, my surprise will be ruined."

Willow looked up at him, remembering her surprise from the night before. "Does it involve me and a knife?" she asked, with a slight hint of fear in her voice.

"No, luv, I'd never take a knife to your lovely skin." He ran his fingertip along her jawbone. "I couldn't scar nature's beautiful artwork."

Willow's blushed deeply as she ducked her head to look away. "Thanks," she whispered.

The two walked in silence. Spike was enjoying the hot night with his love. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Every so often, he would lean down and inhale her scent. On the hot sultry night, her scent was stronger, smelling of vanilla and cinnamon. It amazed Spike how with arousal her scent changed to the scent of vanilla and roses. It was intoxicating.

Willow sighed happily, moving closer to him. She had pushed the duster to the side so her body was against his own clothed body. The coolness of his body was making her feel less hot than she normally would in the night air. "I wonder how long this heat wave will last," she murmured.

"I wouldn't mind if it were forever," Spike said. "Once it gets cold, your personal air conditioner will be too cold." He said it jokingly, but he was worried. What if Willow tired of him over time? He knew he loved her, and would have no problem with being with her for eternity. However, as she was human, her concept of a long relationship might only be a year or two. She was so young. . .she had so much life to live, so many things to see. . .

She grinned at him. "That's where my warmth comes in."

"What?" he asked, not understanding.

"I will keep you warm on those cold winter nights." She leaned up and kissed him softly.

Spike slipped his tongue in her mouth, causing her gentle kiss to turn into one of searing passion. He wrapped his arms around her petite waist and pulled her against him, letting her know how much she affected him. Her hand traveled down their bodies, cupping his hard erection. She pulled away, breathing hard. "Amazing how I can affect you with just a kiss," she murmured breathlessly.

He thrust his hips towards her. "Pet, anything you do affects me."

She laughed, her eyes dancing with merriment. "Come on, let's get to where we are going."

They walked for a few minutes more, finally arriving at a cliff overlooking Sunnydale. "Spike?" she asked. Then she spotted the white and red-checkered blanket, the basket, and the cooler on the ground under a tree. "Spike!" she squealed, running to the picnic.

Spike smiled. He strolled to the blanket and dropped to his knees. "I. . .wanted to do something romantic for you."

She looked up at him. "It's wonderful!"

He grinned, his eyebrow cocking. "Romantic enough for you, pet?"

She giggled. "I love it!"

"Ok, start pulling everything out of the basket, and I'll get everything else ready." He stood up and walked around the small clearing. He turned on a radio. With joy, Willow realized he was playing 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy' by Sarah McLaughlin. He started lighting candles around the blanket.

Willow giggled as she pulled the things out of the picnic basket. It contained glasses, plates, forks, and napkins. "Spike, there's no food! You have to have food for a picnic."

"Hence the cooler, luv." He nodded at the white styrophome cooler. "Didn't want it spoiling, did I?"

Willow crawled to the cooler and opened it. She squealed with delight. It contained strawberries, whipped cream, and a bottle of wine. She studied the bottle. "Merlot?" she asked, looking up at him.

"My favorite," he said, kneeling next to her. "I don't know if you will like it, it is a touch bitter, but I hope the strawberries and whipped cream will cancel out the bitterness."

She smiled. "I trust you."

Her words made his heart swell. He knew she was only talking about the wine, but he also knew that she was speaking in general. She trusted him. It was more than he could ever hope for.

He opened the whipped cream. "Come on, luv, let's eat, before the heat spoils everything." He pulled out a plump strawberry and dipped in the cream, holding it to her mouth. She giggled and bit into it.

Some of the red juice dribbled down her chin. Spike blinked, his earlier erection returning full force. The idea of blood running down Willow's chin turned him on more than he thought possible.

"Pet, what am I going to do with you?" he asked, huskily.

She licked her lips. "Make me yours." She flashed him a beautiful smile.

Spike took the bottle out of her hands and popped the cork. He poured two glasses of wine and handed her one of them. "To. . .hot Sunnydale nights," he toasted.

"To you and me," Willow added.

"To you and me shagging blissfully in the hot Sunnydale night," Spike amended.

Willow giggled. "I like that one." She clinked her glass to his and threw her glass back, taking a much bigger gulp of the wine than she probably should have.

"Whoa, pet. . .slow. . .down. You have to savor, not gulp. . ."

Willow blinked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Goddess. . ." she whispered, shaking her head. "That is. . .good, in an odd way."

Spike chuckled. "If you drink too fast, you will get drunk faster."

Willow's giggle filled the air before she tipped back the rest of the glass. "I need more, please."

"If you say so, pet," he chuckled, pouring her more. He sat back and sipped his glass of wine, watching as Willow ate cream covered strawberries and drank her wine.