Chapter 13
Buffy couldn’t believe Angel had duped her yet again. Even worse than his betrayal was that Harmony let her know the truth. She didn’t understand why Angel and Spike just couldn’t be honest with her? Mostly Angel, but Spike knew and had chosen to remain silent. She’d come to them with the purest of intentions only to be let down repeatedly. It was enough. No more games.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” Buffy asked in her iciest bitch tone. She could hear Spike wince behind her. He knew every pitch of her voice, but she doubted Angel did. Her one time hero and prince charming had never given her cause to be so hateful. “Doesn’t the almighty CEO of Wolfram & Hart have any explanation?”
Angel drew himself up to his full height. The look he directed toward her was pure Angelus, but she refused to be intimidated or even frightened by him. “No, Buffy, I don’t. There was too much at stake to let anything slip. I’m sorry if you’re angry, but I needed to know for sure what side you were on.”
“You couldn’t trust me?” She hurt. It tore through her heart with the quickness of a freshly sharpened knife. She also knew it came through in the tone of her voice. That she hated. To show him any kind of weakness. Yet, despite her wishes, she sounded like the little girl in the tunnel. “After everything we have gone through you thought I’d lie to you?”
“Buffy, I do trust you.” Angel gently took her by the upper arms, stepping forward to place a kiss on her forehead.
Buffy didn’t let him.
She jerked back as the anger returned.
How dare he try to patronize her?
“You’re an asshole, Angel.” She
poked a finger into his chest several times to make sure it hurt. “I think I need to call
Somehow, as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Buffy knew she’d crossed a line. A big one, too, from the expression on Angel’s face. First, there had been a stark fear that quickly changed into fury. His hands turned painful as he jerked her closer to his body. She made a small sound in the back of her throat as she glanced back at Spike. He was hovering on the edge of his chair. The war between anticipation and readiness to assist her was evident on his face. She just hoped he didn’t need to decide.
“Do not ever threaten me, Buf,” Angel said so calmly that it was frightening. “You knew the rules when you brought your sweet little ass to my bed.” He let go of her to let the fingers of one hand caress the waves of Buffy’s hair. “We don’t want to fight now, do we?”
Buffy still wanted to scream all her anger out on him, and the urge to punch him hadn’t gone anywhere either. It took everything she had, but she managed to stifle the impulse. It was clear that Angel was hiding something. Something she suspected Spike knew nothing about. Her curiosity was running on overtime as to what could be so big that it would cause such a torrent of emotion. How could he carry something like that without sharing it? Yet, she also knew Angel could do it easily behind his normal broody behavior without anyone suspecting. She wanted to know what it was, and if she was going to do that then she was going to have to keep him happy.
Praying she could pull it off, she forced her body to relax. “I like being in your bed, sweetie,” she purred. “I would never put a spell on you.” She walked her fingers upwards along his chest. “Don’t be angry at me….please.” Adding a little pout, Buffy leaned against him while stroking his lips with her finger.
“Good girl,” Angel whispered. “Now, why don’t you run on home and wait for me?”
“Of course, Ang.”
“Spike, why don’t you go with her?” Angel didn’t need to say it. He wanted Spike to keep an eye on her until Angel got home.
“Of course, Angel,” Spike mimicked. “I’ll keep an eye on our girl for you.”
Buffy couldn’t say another word for fear she would choke. She stood on tiptoes, placed a chaste kiss on Angel’s lips before she moved over to Spike. He saluted Angel before taking her hand to lead her from the office. No, she wasn’t going to say a word. Let them come to her first.
~~~~~~
Buffy was truly and completely ticked off by Angel. She’d sat in the car, staring determinedly out the window with her hands clenched together in her lap. Spike wisely kept his mouth shut on the ride. She didn’t even wait for him to dash into the lobby before she was already stepping into the elevator. He had to sprint so he could jump in before the doors closed.
“Thanks, slayer.”
It was then that he noticed she was quivering with the emotions churning inside of her. She was on the verge of bawling, which only served to make him feel like an oaf. “I’m sorry.”
“What the hell do you have to be sorry for?”
Spike sighed. “For a lot of things.” Like never finding her before, or never warning her about the Immortal, about letting Angel seduce him and for falling in love with his sire, and lastly for bringing Buffy into the mess they were in now. She didn’t deserve any of this. It also wasn’t why he’d died in that cave. She was supposed to have found a nice guy, gotten married and had a brat or two. Yet, Spike had to admit that she was once again surprising him with her grit. Buffy may get down, but she never stayed there.
“Forget it.”
He couldn’t tell if she meant it or not. She was already out of the elevator and striding down the hallway with the words still flying out behind her. With a shrug, he followed her hasty but very luscious body as she tried to make her escape. He decided following her really wasn’t that bad as he noticed the way the jeans cuddled her ass in their softness. It was hypnotic watching the sway of her hips. His own stride matched hers just so he could maintain the best view.
The door closing in his face broke the spell and he brought a hand up to stop it. “Hey, this isn’t your room.”
“It is tonight. Move it.”
“Why are you in here?”
“Andrew is in the middle of having my bedroom redecorated.”
Spike tilted his head as he watched her breasts rising and falling in rhythm with her breathing which was coming in rapid spurts after her marathon run.
“Oh god, you’re a pig.”
Buffy pushed on the door after noticing where his eyes were focused, but he wouldn’t let it close.
“Come on, let’s talk.”
“Yeah, that’s what you want to do.” Buffy’s hand swept through the air with the precision of a sharp knife in the direction of his crotch. She’d noticed his erection, too.
“Yes, I can’t help it that you look like sin and pleasure and all scrumptious,” Spike teased hoping it would gain his admittance. “You know how I feel about you.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Those emerald eyes glittered with evil as she brought her foot back with deadly aim. Spike yelped as he jumped back to save his manly bits from serious harm.
“Go to hell.”
The door slammed shut, rattling the walls of the old hotel. He banged his head back into the wall behind him. Instantly, regretting it as it added to the throb of his already hurting head. “Ow,” he muttered, rubbing the sore spot.
He wanted to blame Buffy, call her a bitch, and start a huge fight. However, she had a right to be pissed. She had a right to many things.
“What did you do to her now?” Dawn asked, from where she’d apparently been watching the show with Andrew. She was definitely Buffy’s sister, Spike decided, as she stood with arms crossed and one hip jutted out. No longer the kid sister, but a woman in her own right. Knowing he was out numbered and probably out classed, Spike decided to be humble. Or at least try.
“All the wrong things.” Admitting it actually made him feel better. Not much but a little. Spike shook his head. “Wish me luck. Going to see if I can make it up to her before you decide to find a lighter.”
“Glad you haven’t forgotten.” There was a little admiration on Dawn’s face as she nodded. “Come on, Andrew.”
“But shouldn’t we stay and help the lovebirds make up?”
“No. I think Spike has the right idea.” Dawn smiled as she grabbed Andrew’s hand and dragged him away even though he was still protesting.
Spike appreciated that Dawn was going to give him a chance to make it up to Buffy before she pulled out the stakes. With a shake to put himself mentally back into place, Spike stepped across the hallway, and gently knocked on the door.
“Pet, can I come in?”
There wasn’t any answer even though he could hear rustling in the room. Sighing, he pushed the door open.
“Go away, Spike.”
Buffy was stretched across the bed, staring at the ceiling as if it would give her all the answers she needed. It wasn’t there. He’d done plenty of the same since he’d come back. No easy answers to anything in this life. She lay unmoving with her hands clasped on her stomach, and he winced. It was as if she was posed for a casket, making him ache with memories he didn’t want to deal with now.
Gingerly, Spike placed his knee on the edge of the bed. She didn’t react so he fell to his hands and knees, crawling up beside her. Wanting to comfort his girl, he buried his face in the curve of her neck with his arm around her. It surprised him when she moved toward him, curling until they were tight in each other’s arms.
“Is he so cold to you?” Buffy asked. Her question barely heard, so softly she whispered it. “Does he shut you out, too?”
“No, Buffy. It’s different now between us. There was a lot of fighting and fucking in the beginning, and then things slowly changed. We came to realize that we were all we had.”
“Is that why?” Buffy shifted so she could look into his face. Her fingers caressed his arm while she waited. “Is there no room for me here?”
“Yes, there is.” That he was sure of despite all the problems they were having. “It’s been a long time. A lot of things have changed…we’ve changed.” He sighed, squeezing her tighter.
“Spike, what is Angel’s secret?”
“I don’t know.” It was one thing that did confuse him. From the expressions on Angel’s face there was definitely something he was hiding from not only them, but also it seemed from everyone.
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
“It makes me worry that he is carrying something alone.”
“Bullshit.”
They both laughed. “Okay, I give. Yeah, it bothers me, but I’m going to trust him to tell me when the time is right.”
“You are so full of it.” Buffy cupped his face, smiling before she kissed him. It was one of those kisses that were full of promise. Slow, sweet, and Spike could feel the love and need for him as her lips caressed his.
“I love you, Buffy,” he whispered, before he claimed her mouth again.
He didn’t give her a chance to respond, because he knew she wouldn’t say the words back. Not now, not until she felt safe in their relationship.
~~~~~~~~
Dawn stepped away from the door, being quiet as a mouse so the couple inside wouldn’t hear her retreat. She’d found out what she needed to know. Why Buffy was upset? It angered Dawn that Angel was treating her sister with such indifference. Buffy deserved more, so much more than what the two vampires were giving her. She intended to make sure they knew that Buffy wasn’t alone, that someone was willing to fight on her side.
Slipping inside Angel’s study, she took a seat in one of the chairs set up for reading in the corner to wait for the vampire’s return. Shadows stretched across the floor by the time the shutting of the front door announced his presence in the penthouse. Andrew was in the kitchen cooking dinner, Buffy and Spike were sleeping, and Dawn hadn’t moved. She listened to Angel’s footsteps as they came closer; waiting until he’d stepped into the room.
He stared right at her, watching as she unfolded herself from the chair. Dawn stood to her full height, with her chin defiantly in the air, and said, “I know you’re secret”
to be continued…
