Spike shifted in his sleep, stretching an arm out around the cool body next to
him. He sighed lightly, snuggling into the hard back he was pressed up against.
 His hands traced softly along the hard muscles, fingernails dragging over the
cold skin. 

{Cold…hard…}

“Aaagghh!” The blonde groaned, pulling away from the body he had only a few
moments before been cuddling with.  He glared over at his Sire, a mixture of
indignation and embarrassment passing over his features.

“That’s not how you used to react when you woke up next to me,” Angel chuckled.
He rolled over, staring into the whirling blue eyes of his favorite and most
annoying Childe. There was a familiar twinge in his stomach at the sight of the
blonde sans shirt, laying in the bed in a manner that was bound to be
interpreted as sensual by anyone who saw it.

“T’was a long time ago, Peaches. You’re not the same and neither am I.”

Angel nodded, sighing. Why had he even tried to have this one moment with the
blonde? He should have just gotten out of bed the second Spike had started
cuddling him in his sleep. Should have just walked away instead of leaning back
against the hard body of the creature he had created so many decades past. But
he didn’t. He had laid there like the poof that same Childe always called him
and allowed himself to be cuddled – to feel the things he had pushed aside the
moment his soul made its ways home.  

Pulling himself from the bed, Angel grabbed his clothes from the day before,
stalking off into the bathroom and muttering to himself. Spike watched on with
wonder. For sure his Sire hadn’t actually said what he thought he said. There
was no way in hell he had whispered, “Doesn’t mean we can’t have what we used
to have.”

Was there?

No. There was no way in Hell he was going to go there again. No way after
eighty bloody years that he was going to let that tosser back into his life as
anything other than a mortal enemy. Even if he still had feelings for him. Even
if the wanker would look damn good in bed with him and his mate.  With a mind
of its own, he felt his cock stir to attention, becoming rock hard underneath
the covers.  He groaned, closing his eyes and praying to whatever demons might
be listening for his Sire not to come out before his hard-on went down.  He
tried hard to think of anything other than his Sire and the witch, both
pleasing him and being pleasured by him – to no avail.

It was going to be a long night.

** ** **

“Do you think they’ll be back tonight?” Willow asked, trying to keep the hope
out of her voice. The part of her that was mated to Spike was craving his
company, longing for his touch and needing it with every moment that passed.
The other part of her was still furious with him, screaming for her to just
leave – to forget that anything ever happened and go back to Sunnydale without
him.

It was very annoying having that kind of argument with one’s self.

“Probably.” Cordelia conceded, still worried about her friend. “I can’t see
Angel spending more than one night in a hotel.” She grinned. 

The red head snickered. “That’s true. He doesn’t really seem like the type to
sit in one of those fake cheerful rooms. Just not the right atmosphere for
brooding.” She forced a smile across her face, a nervous flutter in the pit of
her stomach. Something was buzzing at the back of her mind and she knew without
a doubt that he was there – her Spike. {Not –MY- Spike!} she corrected herself
angrily.
 
She stared in the direction of the door, hearing the knob twist and the slight
woosh of air as it opened. Her entire being screamed for her to run to him,
throw herself in his arms and beg him to make love to her over and over again,
to do anything to be with him. She forced down those urges with a mental act of
will, focusing instead on how she had been used and the fact he had gotten her
into something a lot more complicated than sex when he had bit her.

“Red…” Spike purred, stepping into the room like he owned it. He ignored
Cordelia, crossing the length between him and his mate in a few quick strides.
“Baby….”

“Don’t…” Willow sighed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Don’t ‘Red’
me or ‘Baby’ me. I don’t mean anything to you. Don’t try to act like I do. You
only wanted me for blood and sex – its all really clear to me now. “ 

“Is it?” Spike growled softly. “How can something so wrong be bloody ‘clear’ to
you?” He glared at her. “Fine. If you want to spend the rest of eternity
thinking I don’t care about you and I am –just- using you then go right ahead.
I. Don’t. Care. You are still mine and I am still yours whether you bloody well
like it or not.” He stood, glaring down at her before turning and storming out
of the apartment.

“Spike…” the red head whispered. Her heart ached from his words, and an almost
physical pain sped through her as the door to the apartment slammed shut. Her
mate had left. “Oh goddess, how can I go on like this?”

“Will…” Angel murmured, sitting down next to the sobbing red head. Cordelia
looked at the two of them and decided she wasn’t needed for the time being,
leaving them to their talk without even a ‘goodbye’. “It will get easier in
time. I promise.”

“How?” Willow whimpered. “I feel like a part of me is dying every time I am
away from him. When he’s here its all I can do not to jump in his arms and
throw him into bed. Goddess, I cared about him before this. How stupid could I
be? He just wanted a source of food and sex for the rest of his goddamned
life.” The tears spilling from her eyes ran in rivers down her cheeks, dropping
in hot splashed onto her shirt. 

The vampire sighed, leaning back into the couch. “I don’t know, Willow. There
has to be a way…”

“To what? Break the claim? Have you ever heard of one, Mister
Two-Hundred-Fifty-Year-Old Vampire? Hmm?” 

Angel shook his head. The truth was, there was no way to break the claim his
Childe had imprinted upon the red head in front of him. “I’m sorry, Wills. I’m
not going to lie to you…”

“Good!” Willow snapped. “Because I’ve had just about enough lying from
Blondie.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “I can’t believe he did that without
even talking to me. Just made me his. For all of eternity. Do you know how long
eternity is? Oh. I guess you do….” She sighed, brushing a strand of hair out of
her face. “I like him before this, Angel. As stupid as that may sound – I had a
crush on Spike.”

The vampire nodded. “Well he’s a very handsome creature, Willow…” Angel trailed
off, not wanting to incriminate himself anymore than his husky tone of voice
already did. Had he really just admitted to his Childe’s chosen mate that Spike
was attractive?

The red head chuckled under her breath, reaching over to pat Angel gently on
the arm. She hadn’t missed his discomfort. “S’ok Angel. I understand. The two
of you were together for a long time. He –is handsome. No need to deny it.” She
bit her lower lip. “If you ever want to talk about it, you know I am here for
you.”

He couldn’t believe that in the midst of her own pain and frustration, Willow
was offering to listen to him whine about his arrogant Childe. He smiled at
her. “Thanks, little one. When we get through your problems I might have to
take you up on that.”

{My problems…} The young witch’s brain reminded her. She sighed softly.
“There’s not much to do about ‘my problems’. He doesn’t care about me and now I
am stuck with him for the rest of my now-much-longer-life.”

“Is it possible that he really does care about you?” Angel murmured quietly,
looking into her eyes. He couldn’t believe that Spike would have done this if
he didn’t have at least a small amount of feelings for the red head. This bound
him to her just as much as it bound her to him. They were tied together for the
rest of their lives. 

The girl frowned. “I guess –anything- is possible. But he certainly doesn’t act
like it. I mean…after he bit me for the first time he chased me, trying to
scare me just so I’d taste like fear…Doesn’t seem like a very loving or caring
thing to do to –me-.”

Angel nodded. He could see where she was coming from. Chasing after her had
been a bad move on his Childe’s part. It was probably the one thing keeping the
red head from having any faith that he did want to be with her. The older
vampire could understand why Spike had done it though – the taste of fear in a
human’s blood was like ambrosia to a vampire. It was sweet and intoxicating. He
could almost picture his Childe chasing after Willow through the dark Sunnydale
streets – game face on and grinning like he had so many years ago. His mind
whirled with images of Spike throwing down the red head and ravaging her with
all the intensity a vampire could. He shifted, trying to disguise the bulge now
straining against the front of his pants.

{This isn’t good.} The vampire sighed mentally. {I spend one night sleeping
next to him and now I’m completely enamored of the blonde brat again.}  Aloud
he said. “I agree, that wasn’t very smart of him.”

Willow’s eyes narrowed at the strained tone to Angel’s voice, curious green
eyes traveling the length of his body trying to find the source of his
discomfort. She blushed as her gaze wandered over his quite obvious erection
and she licked her lips unconsciously. Though she hated to admit it, she had
been having feelings towards the dark haired vampire since she got there. His
proximity to her was almost the same as Spike’s – bringing about the more
wanton and carefree side of her. “So…” She purred, smirking. “What’cha thinking
about?”

Angel’s eyes flew open. He took an unnecessary breath and met the red head’s
eyes. Her gaze flickered down to his crotch then back up to his face and he
knew she was aware of his rather ‘hard’ situation. Her tongue flickered across
her lips and the vampire groaned – his demon roaring to just take her there and
now. She was claimed by his Childe therefore she was as good as his, anyway.
Whether she knew it or not, the only reason she was acting like this was
because of the claim – the marks Spike had placed on her were leading her to
the next best thing than her mate himself – his Sire. “Little one….” He growled
softly. 

Her eyes opened wide – completely innocent and unassuming as she met his fiery
gaze. “Yes, daddy?” Again her tongue licked slowly along her lips. Wetness
pooled between her legs. Something she didn’t understand was pushing her
towards this creature sitting before her. She knew that he would treat her
right, make her feel like she was in heaven – be a substitute for the mate she
knew didn’t care one cent about her.

“You don’t want to play this game, Will…” He stopped his hand as he was about
to reach for her. This wasn’t good. Her arousal was thick in the air and his
demon was wailing for him to sink into her tight warmth. His Childe didn’t know
what a good thing he had. “Spike will get angry…”

“So?” She whispered, inching closer to him across the couch. Her eyes never
left his as she trailed her fingertips along his arm. “He may have claimed me
but that doesn’t make me –his-.” 

A low growl rose in Angel’s throat. She was right. His wayward Childe had done
little more than claim her and leave him and Cordelia to pick up the pieces.
His body shuddered as he let his demon’s impulses ride over him, giving in to
the urges that had been plaguing him since he entered the house. 

Cold lips met warm ones, the two people on the couch moaning as one as their
bodies ached to close the distance made by their clothes and join together as
one. “Need you…” Willow gasped, tearing her mouth from his to gasp for breath.
A thick sheen of passion hung before her half-lidded eyes and suddenly they
were both wearing way too many clothes for her tastes.

Angel nodded, picking her up and carrying her into the guest room. He kicked
shut the door with his foot, ignoring the loud bang it made as it crashed shut.
Setting her on her feet, the vampire ripped open her top, not caring if it was
important to her. It was all he could do to take this little bit of time. His
demon was screaming for her to be underneath of him – screaming in pleasure and
pain. He fumbled with the clasp on her jeans, finally giving up as she batted
his hand out of the way. 

“Strip!” Willow ordered, shimmying out of her pants and reaching behind her to
unclasp her bra. She held her breath as he removed his shirt, the muscles of
his chest tightening as the movement flexed them. When his pants fell to the
floor she almost forgot to breathe entirely, taking in the sight of his thick
cock for the first time. She fumbled, trying to hook her fingers into the top
of her panties to pull them down.

“Allow me…” Angel purred. Grabbing the top of the thin cotton in both hands, he
ripped them away from her body, smirking as she gasped. His fingers twined in
the cinnamon curls of her sex, swiping gently between her nether lips. He
brought his finger up to his mouth, licking her juices away with a long brush
of his tongue. “Delicious.”

The red head moaned, backing up until she hit the bed then sitting – hard.
“Goddess…I need you….” She laid back, spreading her legs as her eyes closed. It
was all the invitation she was going to give him.

“Last chance to back out of this. Spike is going to be furious.” Angel growled,
positioning the head of his throbbing shaft at her steaming entrance. He didn’t
know if he’d be able to stop even if she wanted to. His demon had way too much
control over him at that moment, urging him to fuck her until she couldn’t
walk. He still wanted to ask, though.  

“Don’t care about the Bleached Blunder.” Willow hissed, arching her hips up.
She cried out as his thick length slid into her, the coolness penetrating deep
into her very core as he stretched her to almost obscene proportions.  “Let’s
see what we can do to piss him off some more.”

Angel growled, capturing her mouth with his and knowing that’s exactly what
they were doing. 
Continue