Chapter Three

A/N – BIG thanks to Marsters’ Girl who beta-ed this chapter!

Spike woke up with a mouthful of hair. Blinking his eyes wildly, he tried to focus on what had woken him. His eyes widened at the sight before or more accurately, on top of him. The slayer, in all her bronzed naked glory, was asleep on his chest.

She stirred slightly, as did a certain lower part of Spike.

Buffy shivered. Damn it, I forgot to close the damn window again! Opening her eyes, she saw what appeared to the bluest eyes she ever accounted for. They could only belong to one person, Spike. Her eyes bugged as Spike's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"SPIKE!" She squeaked, she was about to say more when he clapped his hand over her mouth.

She glared at him, about to hit him when the hand was removed, "Shhh! Do you want the whole bloody world to know your here?"

"What the hell am I doing here?" Buffy asked as Spike as asked,

"Where the hell did the kitten go?" He actually liked the ball of fluff and, though he asked his question, he had a fair idea where the kitten had gone, or rather what the kitten had actually been.

Buffy, confused by his question was shocked from her own questioning, "Huh?"

Spike was about to answer when there was a timid knock on his bedroom door, he looked at Buffy who was still lying on top of him. Then removed his arm, which had found itself around her naked form to retrieve his duster.

He passed it to her whispering, "Get under the bed."

Buffy, too confused, and upset at the loss of the surprisingly gentle embrace to argue, wrapped the coat around her, not noticing Spike's appreciative gaze, and scurried under the bed.

The timid knock came again, punctuated by a quiet murmur that only superior hearing would have picked up, "Master Spike?"

"What?" Spike said in as bored a tone as he could muster as he glanced at the clock; there was about four hours until sundown. He wasn't sure if he was happy or not about this knowledge.

"Drusilla is upset, one of her teacups has been broken and she wants another.” the quiet whisper continued.

Spike heard Buffy snigger under the bed but said, "Well, go and get her another one you bloody idiot!"

"Yes, Master Spike, of course." And with that the minion left.

Spike took a deep unneeded breath and spoke, "You can come out now, kitten."

Buffy carefully stood so that she was still entirely wrapped in the leather coat, an amused smile on her face. "A teacup?" she asked with a giggle.

Spike frowned at her, "She's crazy, you'd be upset over a teacup if you were crazy."

Buffy's giggle turned to a full-fledged laugh and Spike found he was having trouble containing his own smile at her humor.

Calming, Buffy recollected her location and clothing or lack there of.

"What am I doing here Spike? And what does a kitten have to do with anything?" She too had trouble maintaining her angry facade and the last few words came out in a laugh.

"What do you remember?" He asked instead of answering.

She frowned, "What do I remember?" She asked to herself, "I was, um... oh, I was working and stretching...um..." she thought for a moment, "I remember being happy over something, I think I was purring!" She said more to herself, with an amused smile. "I killed a...a...thing." She turned her scowling eyes back to Spike, "And then there's the part where I wake up on top of you, naked I might add."

Spike chuckled and said, "You were a kitten."

She gave him a 'Is that the best you could come up with?' look but he continued, "Kitten came in - when I woke up it smelt of rats blood - it had recently ate. The bit curled up on my bed, it purred for a while in my lap. Then it fell asleep on my chest." He gave her a pointed look, "I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say - that was you." He drawled condescendingly.

As Buffy tried to take all the information in, Spike's voice rang out again, "Must say love, I'm flattered that you liked me so much."

Buffy gave him a disgusted look, but ruined it with the blush that stained her cheeks.

"Cat-me, Spike. Not me-me."

Spike smiled at her discomfort. "We'll see." Then got off the bed, crossing to the dresser at the other end of the room. Buffy took a few steps back, shocked and slightly scared.

"You can walk?" She blurted out. A slow predatory smile crossed Spike's features and he changed course, walking over to the slayer. She moved back. As he closed in she bumped into the wall. She was trapped. But this was a different type of trap.

Spike leaned into her, their mouths almost touching, "Not all I can do." He whispered into her open mouth seductively, before claming it in a passionate kiss.

Buffy broke away, "You bastard-” She was interrupted by Spike's lips crashing down on hers once more. She pushed at his shoulders with fisted hands. He didn't budge.

Buffy stood shocked, then gave a moan; finally giving into the sensations that his talented lips and tongue were invoking. She moaned throatily and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing the duster to fall open. Spike growled deep in his chest and moved his hand that wasn't in her hair, to her body. He gently massaged her breast, rubbing his thumb over the tightened nipple.

Buffy moaned again, rubbing her hips against his in an unmistakable invitation. Spike removed his hands from her breast and hair to wrap them around her, carrying her bodily to the bed, their lips never leaving.

---

Hours later they lay together. Buffy spooned into Spike's chest as he nuzzled the tender mark on her neck, purring as he did so. There was still an hour until sunrise and no one would be up in the mansion until then. Both felt content and sated, neither wanting

Buffy to leave at sundown as they both knew she must. Spike understood that she would have to check in with her watcher, but he had no intention of letting her out of his arms until the last minute.

He was surprised at the sound resonating from his body, not that he was making it but that he wasn't making it. He'd purred with Drusilla but then he'd forced himself to - the sound that was coming from his now was an entirely unconscious reaction. He honestly couldn't remember a time when he'd been happier.

Buffy's thoughts were on a similar track to Spike's, although she was unsure of what the purring noise meant she had a feeling that it meant he was happy. She couldn't believe that her lover was a soulless vampire.

He'd been so tender, so gentle, so.... loving. She only wished she had a way to show him how happy she felt. She honestly couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier.

They lay like that for nearly the entire hour, but as their end time grew near and their strength and lust renewed, they made almost desperate love. Desperate for their time together never to end.

"Pet," Spike was saying, looking down Buffy's naked form as he trailed a finger down the valley between her breasts, "Much as I love you like this, I'd have to kill anyone else who saw you."

Buffy smiled, "Jealous much?"

Spike growled playfully at her, yanking her into his arms, "My Slayer." He whispered against her lips before capturing them in a powerful kiss.

"Your slayer, huh?" She asked, a cheeky smile playing on her lips.

"Yes." He growled, claiming her lips again. Wrenching free, Buffy took deep breaths to fill her oxygen-deprived body, the kiss leaving her without any doubt about to whom she belonged.

"Yours." She agreed, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. Spike purred once at her words, kissing her back. She pulled away, smiling, "I like it when you do that." She said stroking his chest as though he was a cat. He smiled back and tried to kiss her again but she put her finger to his lips.

"No." she said as firmly as she could, as he sucked her finger in to his mouth, biting it gently.

"I really have to go."

Spike kissed up her neck to her lips, pressing his gently against hers. His tongue darted out to touch her lips, they opened under his asking and he moved into her mouth, pulling her tongue in, to play with his. Cool met warm and they both groaned from the feeling. Grudgingly he broke away, allowing her to breathe.

He too was shaking ever so slightly from the intensity of the kiss. "I know love."

She looked into his eyes; both meeting, shocked at the emotion they saw in the others, unaware that their own eyes mirrored their partners. "Come by later?" Buffy whispered.

"Yeah." Spike answered.

*** *** *** ***

Dressed in a pair of Spike's sweatpants and one of his numerous black t-shirts Buffy carefully left the mansion.

She breathed in the night air as memories of that day filled her mind. She couldn't believe that she was even having these feelings for another vampire, but she was. But Spike was different from Angel, or Angelus.

Maybe today had just been all about sex, she thought, frowning. But it hadn't, they talked, laughed, joked in such a comfortable, playful manner that one would never have assumed they had been mortal enemies up to that day.

After her perfect day with Spike, Buffy no longer believed that Angel and Angelus were such different entities. In fact she was actually starting to believe that maybe the soul didn't leave the body, but it was just a matter of dominance.

She would have to talk to Giles about it. Another thing she wanted to find out about was the purring thing - what did it mean? With those thoughts she found herself in front of the school.

She walked slowly to the library, pushing open the doors to find her best friends all very worried,

"Hi guys, miss me?"

*** *** *** ***

Spike watched the slayer go, already missing her. Sighing to himself he moved into his bathroom, grateful not for the first time that day that it was attached to his room only.

He knew he had to wash the slayer's scent off him before his prick of sire came back. Spike had a feeling the knowledge that Buffy and he were together might just push Angelus over the deep end, if he wasn't there already, and he wanted to be at full strength to protect his mate.

With that thought Spike stopped. His mate? "Shit." He whispered.

He now knew what had been pressing at his thoughts all day; he wanted Buffy to be his mate. Now his own words of possession over her made more sense to him. The euphoric feeling he had felt at her ready acceptance of them was now understood - he was falling in love with her.

"Fuck!" he swore quietly. Continuing his movements to the bathroom, at least the slayer's blood had speeded up his recovery to full strength.

As he stepped into the hot shower his thoughts turned to the last time he'd been in here. She'd bared her neck for him, shown complete trust in him, shown.... love? He could only hope.

Part Four!