Love In Vein: Book Two - Chapter 36

Angel kept his eyes fixed on the door as he knocked again, this would be the third time he’d attempted to get someone to answer it and it wasn’t like no one was home--the lights were on and he’d heard Buffy’s distinct giggle.

As the light emanating from the three rectangular windows dulled, signalling he was about to get his wish and someone was finally going to let him in, he smoothed down his jacket and preened his hair. He took a long deep breath as the door swung open, revealing Buffy to him and his eyes skipped past the wide smile on her face as they flew directly to her neck.

“Christ, Buffy, what the hell happened?” He saw her eyes widen slightly as her fingers moved to caress the wound on her throat.

“It’s nothing, Angel, really it isn’t. Besides, the other guy came off worse.” Her tone was reassuring but it didn’t soothe the sudden anxiety he felt in his gut on seeing the ragged marks that marred her usually smooth golden skin.

He was about to ask who the guy in question was when he noticed Spike slowly descending the stairs, rubbing a towel to his hair and conveniently drawing attention to his neck. The marks were clearly visible, the black patterned shirt he was wearing not hiding them because the collar was unbuttoned far enough that they were proudly on display.

Buffy was right about one thing, the wound in his neck looked ten times worse than the one that adorned hers. Moving his gaze back to the girl in question, he realised that her hair was wet too and the feeling of sickness went straight to his stomach.

All the signs were there in front of him, large enough for a blind man to read. His old flame and his grand-childe had just mated and then showered, presumably together.

“Where’s Giles?” He asked and tried to draw his eyes away from the marks on their necks as Spike came to a halt behind Buffy and slipped his arm around her waist. The move was protective to say the least. A smirk settled on the blond vampire’s face as he caught the flicker of hurt in his eyes.

“He’ll be here soon, along with the gang.” Buffy peered past Angel as something moved in the darkness and she frowned slightly. “Coming in?”

She couldn’t miss how badly he hesitated.

Angel tried to find the right words to keep her calm and tell her about the people he’d brought with him. He knew the history between her and one of them, and if he knew Buffy then she wasn’t going to take it well when he introduced him.

“What’s wrong?” Buffy leaned back slightly into Spike’s embrace, suddenly needing the comfort it offered her as she waited for Angel to make a move. There was something about his hesitancy that made her stomach squirm and instinct told her it had nothing to do with the marks on hers and Spike’s necks.

“Just don’t overreact.”

Buffy felt like retaliating to that statement by saying that now she was sure to overreact because he’d set her nerves alight. Not knowing what to expect, she was slightly taken aback when Cordelia appeared and she wondered if this had anything to do with her new visions. Did Angel think she’d be jealous?

She closed her eyes as Angel stepped into the house, Cordelia in tow behind him, and then smiled as Spike’s fingers brushed against her stomach. She was amazed by how he always managed to get skin on skin without her even noticing, he had to have lifted her beige top slightly in order to reach her stomach and she’d not even felt him move.

When Angel appeared beside her, holding the door and stopping her from closing it, the feeling of curiosity in her grew. Clearly, Cordelia wasn’t the thing she was supposed to not overreact to.

Her eyes widened as the person in question appeared out of the shadows, a nervous smile plastered on his lips as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

“Oh no…no, you don’t…I’m not having him in my house!” Buffy backed into Spike and stared accusingly at Angel as Wesley stood on the porch, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Spike eyed him curiously, his brows arching as he looked him over and sized him up. He could easily take him in a fight. If Buffy said the bloke wasn’t invited then he’d make sure he didn’t get in.

“Buffy, please.” Angel tried to keep his voice calm and gentle as he looked down at her where she was seemingly trying to bury herself in Spike’s embrace.

“Have you forgotten what he did? He wanted you dead, Angel, and you’re doing what now, working with him?” She spat the words at him angrily, reminding him of the hell she’d gone through in order to save his life and protect him from the now ex-Watcher.

“He’s not a Watcher anymore…”

“I know that! Quentin told me. You think that makes a difference? Giles isn’t a Watcher either but instincts are instincts, they always remain the same.”

Angel looked from her to Wesley.

Seeing the look in Angel’s eyes that told him it was time to level the playing field and calm Buffy down, Wesley turned slightly to reveal the charge he was holding softly in his arms.

Buffy stopped her tirade the instant her eyes settled on the dark haired girl that was hiding in the ex-Watchers arms. She looked so frightened that it reminded Spike of how Buffy had looked when they had been in the caves and he squeezed her waist slightly, getting her attention.

Looking up into Spike’s eyes, she could see what he was trying to tell her and she nodded. He hadn’t been the only one who had instantly thought of the caves and how she’d been so withdrawn.

“Who’s she?” Buffy nodded toward the girl as she looked at Angel.

“Fred…she’s, um…been through a lot.” Angel offered as way of an explanation, hoping that Buffy would remain as calm as she now appeared to be.

“Explain ‘a lot’ to me, Angel, because from where I’m standing she looks petrified.” Buffy slipped her hand into Spike’s, threading her fingers into his as she tried not to think about what things had been like with her only a few weeks ago.

“It’s a long story. We found her on Pylea, she was a slave. We’ve been a little off dimension recently.”

“I know. The demon at the bar told us you had gone after Cordelia, and since when is she having visions?”

Angel hung his head slightly. “Since Doyle died.”

“I’m guessing there’s a lot you’ve neglected to tell me about.” Buffy answered curtly and then stepped onto the porch. “Right now let’s just get these two inside, we can talk about it all later when the gang’s here.”

Approaching as slowly as she could, Buffy bent over and smiled at Fred as the girl watched her. “Hey…I’m Buffy, this is my house. How about you come on in and we’ll get a nice cup of tea while we wait for the others to arrive.”

Fred nodded and smiled.

Buffy straightened up and watched Wesley leading Fred into the house, Angel following them into the living room, leaving her alone with Spike. She smiled at him as he stood watching her, his affection for her clearly written in the smile he was giving her--the smile he only gave to her.

Walking up to him, she slipped her arms about his waist and settled her head against his chest.

Spike pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent. He let his fingers gently stroke her arm as he felt her struggling to put her feelings back into place, and didn’t need to ask in order to know what had them in such disarray.

She’d been worried about how Angel would react to the sight of the marks they had made on each other during mating, and Angel had only worsened that feeling by bringing someone she didn’t like to Sunnydale as part of his team. All that coupled with the sight of a girl in clear distress, reminding her of how she’d felt after the minions had attempted to rape her, left her feeling bewildered.

“You alright, baby?” He drew back and tried to catch a glimpse of her face as she snuggled close to him.

Buffy tilted her head and looked up at him, not relinquishing her grip on him but holding on tighter. “I’ll be okay.”

“Good to hear.” Spike bent his knees so his head was level with hers and pushed her damp hair behind her ears, smoothing out her appearance as though she was a small child. He smiled as she watched him, her eyes telling him that she was all put back together again and ready to face Angel.

Bringing his lips to hers, he kissed her slowly, languidly as he poured out his feelings for her and let her experience every one of them.

Buffy smiled shyly as he broke the kiss. It felt comforting to know how he felt about her, even if he couldn’t put it into words and part of her loved the fact that he didn’t need to--he could really show her how he felt.

“I think I need a soda.” She pulled a face of disgust as her stomach bubbled and the memory of all the blood she’d swallowed came rushing back in.

She could taste it.

It made her want to gag.

Spike saw her face blanch of colour and caught hold of her waist, steadying her as she swayed slightly on the spot.

“Sorry, baby…you really went at it with gusto, didn’t think you’d be like that. You must have drunk almost a pint of me.” As her face became whiter than a sheet, he realised that maybe reminding her of how desperate she’d been for the taste of his blood wasn’t the best thing. “Let’s get you a drink, something sweet and fizzy so you can deal with this lot.”

Buffy nodded slowly, fearing that if she moved any quicker she’d throw up. She could feel the mucus in her oesophagus, could feel it building and she reflexively swallowed as her throat tightened up.

Spike rubbed her arms gently, trying to soothe her as she fought the desire to be sick. He was telling the truth when he’d said that he hadn’t thought there would be that much blood drinking from her. He’d never thought about that part of claiming and mating, and how it would affect her. To him it was sacred, the taste of her blood, the way it was freely offered to him as an exchange for his own.

Maybe that was why he’d not heard of many human/vampire claims.

They just didn’t have the stomach for it.

He growled quietly as he sensed someone was watching them. Buffy instantly drew her eyes away from Spike’s and let them settle on the intruder, barely stopping herself from growling herself over the interruption.

Angel just looked at them both, Spike where he was tenderly chafing Buffy’s arms and Buffy where she stood mute, her skin pale and her look drawn.

“Are you feeling alright? Blood’s got to make you feel a little queasy.” He asked and ignored the quiet snarl that came from Spike.

Buffy stepped nearer to Spike and swallowed defiantly, forcing herself to keep the blood down in order to show Angel that she was fine with what had happened between her and her mate.

“I’m fine, just thirsty.” She looked from Angel to Spike’s neck and let a smile weave across her face before she walked past him to the kitchen.

Spike smirked in Angel’s direction, delighting in the sick look that had settled on Angel’s face when Buffy had given a hungry look to the mark that she’d left on his neck. He was about to say something to spite him when someone knocked at the door and he thought the better of it.

Pulling the door open, he told himself it was better for all concerned if he lowered his side of the animosity that festered between himself and Angel. Buffy was well and truly his now, she’d shown to him in the moments since Angel’s arrival that she had no interest in the other vampire and that was enough for him.

“Lo, Red.” Spike greeted the redhead as she stepped into the house, quickly followed by her friend. “And hello Tara. How are our two little witches tonight?”

Willow noticed the presence of Angel and the mark on Spike’s neck and smiled knowingly. Deciding to make the most of how genial Spike was feeling, she turned and allowed him to remove her coat. She shot a glance at Tara and she followed suit, smiling shyly as Spike took her jacket from her shoulders and placed it on the rack next to Willow’s.

“Been experimenting recently?” He wriggled a brow at Willow and grinned as she and Tara blushed. Leaning towards them, he whispered. “Won’t tell a soul.”

Clearing her throat, Willow took hold of Tara’s hand and led her over to Angel. She hesitated for a moment, giving a cursory glance to Spike, before proceeding to introduce them.

“Angel this is Tara, Tara this is Angel. He’s, um, a vampire that Buffy knows.”

“L…like Spike?” Tara said with a nervous smile and jumped as the vampire in question raised his voice.

“No, I’m nothing like that poofter.” He growled and then gave her a sorry look as she pressed her hand against her chest.

“What’s wrong?” Buffy came rushing in, her voice laced with panic and her eyes wide as she held onto her can of soda tightly.

“Nothing’s wrong, just your vampire overreacting as usual.” Angel remarked and Buffy shot him a black look.

“Will?” She turned to her friend for the reason behind Spike’s outburst.

“M…me.” Tara piped up and looked briefly at Spike, who was muttering something under his breath.

“She might have, kinda, sort of compared him to Angel.” Willow offered and Buffy looked at Angel and then Spike.

Moving closer to Tara, Buffy squeezed her shoulder gently and smiled awkwardly. “He…there’s a bad history between them…and me…us, really. It’s, well, complicated. He just doesn’t like it when someone says that he’s like Angel.”

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” Spike looked sheepish as the blonde witch looked over at him. “Sorry.”

“Didn’t m…mean to…offend…you.” She said with a little smile and Spike smiled back at her.

“Let’s get you two something to drink, Buffy’s had her fill already.” Spike winked at Buffy and she rolled her eyes as she watched him leading the two girls to the kitchen.

She knew he was only doing it to show up Angel, but part of her liked that he was trying to get along with her friends. She also suspected that he was right about Willow and Tara. Watching the way they acted and reacted around each other it was obvious that they were more than friends.

Buffy smiled.

It seemed everyone was getting together these days.

Her eyes came to rest on Angel.

Well, almost everyone.

“I have to…” She went to move but found Angel’s hand on her arm stopping her. Revulsion lurched up inside her and she bent over double, clutching her stomach as her head span and pain rocketed through her. “…Spike!”

Spike was by her side in an instant, ripping Angel’s hand from her and cradling her as she fell into his arms.

“You know she’s weak…you know she’s vulnerable right now, you pillock. What’d you do that for?” He frowned up at Angel as he knelt on the floor holding his mate, listening to her harsh breathing as it scraped in his ears.

“I didn’t think.” Angel looked stunned as he shook his head.

Willow gasped as she saw Buffy laying in Spike’s arms, her eyes closed and a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

“She needs time…” Spike growled.

“I didn’t think!” Angel retaliated and then turned pleading eyes on the two witches.

“What happened?” Willow asked as she crouched beside Spike and looked down at Buffy.

“She’s still adjusting, Red, still coming to terms with the claim and the mating. Can’t digest it all yet, the way it makes her feel, the touch of another male, the blood…” He trailed off as he carefully wiped the trail of red off her cheek.

“You mated.” Willow breathed and looked him hard in the eye.

He nodded. “Earlier today. It’s still too soon for another male to be touching her, especially when she’s feeling a little fragile.”

He looked accusingly at Angel as he stood above them.

Buffy murmured something and frowned as she slowly came around, her eyes refusing to focus.

“You’re safe, baby, Spike’s got you.” He purred down at her and stroked her hair. “You’re safe.”

“Air.” Buffy whispered up at him and he helped her to her feet.

“Let’s get you some air then.” He scooped her up into his arms and closed his eyes for a second as her forehead came to rest against his neck, her arms looping around it and holding onto him. “Won’t be long, see that things don’t get out of hand would you, Red?”

Willow gave him a look that said she would and watched him walking toward the back door. She looked at Angel in a way that showed him how unimpressed she was with him and ushered him into the living room.


Buffy gasped at the cool fresh night air as Spike sat her down on the porch seat. She gave him a thankful look and watched as he began to pace the length of the deck.

“Did he hurt you?” He kept his eyes fixed on her each time he walked back toward her.

“No. Just the…it felt wrong before, but now it feels…it hurts.”

“It’ll calm down again, love, no need to fret. It won’t go away, you’ll never want to be touched by males other than myself, but then I’ll never want to be touched by females either. Not that I wanted to anyway.”

Buffy liked the sound of that.

“Can I touch them? I mean, you said that I won’t want to be touched by them…can I touch them?” She frowned as she tried to get her head around the ins and outs of their bond. She got the feeling that it was going to take a long time before all facets of it had been revealed.

“Yes, you can touch them, so long as you’re the instigator you’ll be able to handle it. Do you want to touch him?” It was Spike’s turn to frown.

“No.” Buffy answered quickly, making it clear that she had no interest in touching Angel.

“Feeling better yet?” Spike knelt beside her and smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, her look distant.

“A little, enough to face them again.” She listened to the sound of the front door closing. “Besides, I think the gangs all here.”

“Time to get this party started.” Spike smirked as she giggled at him.



To be continued...

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