A/N: This is the way I would have ended 'Harsh Light of Day'

-Part One-

Still reeling from Spike's last punch, Buffy staggered backwards and fell to her knees. Flinging her hair out of her eyes, she glared up at him.

"So, tell me" he said, turning to face her with his hands jammed in his front pockets. "What did it take to pry apart the slayer's dimpled knees?"

Not much at all, Buffy was ashamed to realize. A bit of loneliness, a practiced line of bullshit, and an air of phony sensitivity had caused her to make the second stupidest decision of her newly begun sex life.

"You're a pig, Spike," she spat venomously.

Of course, Parker is a pig too. Maybe a bigger one than Spike. At least Spike never flew under false colors. He was what he was, and never pretended differently.

God, she was so fucking sick of men! Mortals AND vampires, the whole gender could
go to hell on a shovel as far as she was concerned.

"Wonder what you did wrong?"

Spike was speaking again, sensing that he'd lost her attention.

On her knees, Buffy backed up a few feet, though he made no aggressive moves towards her. From a distance, she imagined they appeared to be friends making casual conversation.

She wanted badly to scream a denial at him, to ask him just what made him think that SHE had done anything wrong, and, just maybe, it was Parker who'd messed up; that she'd had her fun, but was now done with him.

But, she couldn't say any of that. Not when Spike had witnessed the whole ugly little scene, including her own nauseating behavior as she'd trailed after Parker like a lost puppy, practically begging him to acknowledge her.

Her worst enemy had watched, and laughed, as she had every shred of of her pride and self esteem trampled into the dust.

As galling as it was, though, she couldn't help thinking that she'd deserved to get punched in the face.

Perhaps it would teach her to use better judgement with men in the future.

Angel and Parker. Not exactly cut from the same cloth, but still, one night with her and it's Bye-Bye Miss American Pie...don't call me and I won't call you.

Much as she'd rather bite off her tongue than admit it, Spike had been right...she HAD been pathetic.

But knowing that he was right just didn't sit well with her.

She had to give the bastard credit for one thing...HE hadn't run out on HIS lover. No, he'd stuck to that dingbat girlfriend of his like a mustard plaster, for over a hundred
years.

Probably still be with her if it hadn't been for him throwing in with the slayer to rid
the world of Angelus...which was also Buffy's fault, since she'd been the one to fuck Angelus back to life in the first place.

"Were you too strong?" Spike leered at her. "Did you bruise the boy?"

Continuing to glare at him, Buffy didn't reply.

Spike shrugged. "Oh, well...maybe you're just not worth a second go."

<don't push me, Spike...>

"Come to think of it," he said with a pensive look. "Somebody told me as much. Now, who was it..."

She knew what was coming.

"Oh, yeah...Angel."

<oh, THAT does it! NOW I'm pissed!>

It was a moment of crystal clarity in an otherwise muddy day.

<not worth it, huh? not WORTH it?>

She stood up slowly and placed her hands on her hips. Locking her eyes on his, she moved just a step closer.

She tilted her head slightly and looked up him from beneath her bangs, giving him the most seductive look she knew how to give.

Moistening her lips with her tongue instantly riveted his attention on her mouth.

"Not worth it?" she asked, wide-eyed. "Doyou really think so, Spike? Because," she shook her hair back out of her eyes, "it's kind of funny that you'd say that considering
you've never...tested the theory."

Spike narrowed those gold colored eyes of his, watching every move she made.

"You know, I've only had two lovers. And both of them were," she cringed inwardly, hating to say it, "one night stands. So, you can just imagine how tight I am...down there."

Buffy allowed one hand to drift over her thigh, her thumb barely brushing the zipper
of her slacks.

"I'm sure you know that a normal human temperature is 98.6 degrees, but, personally, I feel a lot hotter than that..." she lowered her voice and whispered..."between my legs."

Although he said nothing, her last comment provoked a visible reaction, an involuntary
push forward of his hips. When she snuck a quick peek, she saw a definite and hefty bulge in the front of his jeans.

God, this was fun! Getting a reaction like this from a vampire who claimed to hate
everything about her was more than a little exciting. It was actually giving her back her sense of feminine power.

And it sure didn't hurt that the vampire in question was extremely good looking and wickedly sexy.

He was watching her now, like a cat with a mouse. "Do tell, luv," he murmured.

Although who was the cat, and who was the mouse was up for grabs at the moment.

"Being new at it and all," she went on, moving her hand to the back of her neck and lifting up her hair as though to expose it to the cool breeze, then dropping it again, "I've gotta say that it's a good thing I get so amazingly wet...otherwise having sex might be kind of...uncomfortable if a man is...well endowed."

She glanced at him, highly pleased with the way this encounter was turning out.

<if he needed to breathe, he'd be hyperventilating...>

Turning to face him fully, she let her eyes move slowly, appraisingly, up and down
his body, zeroing in on the ever growing hardness in his pants.

She was surprised to feel her own juices heating up. Her breathing was a little
more rapid, and her skin felt...tingly.

A lot more so than it had with Parker.

<so, what the hell does THAT mean?>

She shook her head, trying to concentrate. "Of course, how wet I get really
depends on how well a man can do his job...doesn't it?"

By now, Buffy was fairly certain that if he chose to, Spike could make her wetter
than an amazon rain forest in the middle of the monsoon season.

She had to wrap this up, before things got out of hand.

"Still," she shrugged her shoulders, "you might be right. Maybe I'm just not worth it."

Bending over to pick up her book bag, she couldn't resisit giving him a look down the
front of her shirt. When she straightened, she went up on her toes to whisper in his ear, letting him feel the warmth of her breath.

"But maybe...I am."

She dropped back down to her feet, smiled and winked at him saucily, then turned to
leave. She felt so good about herself again that she had no interest in continuing the
fight or in getting hold of that stupid ring.

<let him keep it for now, there's always tomorrow...>

Buffy had gotten less than ten yards away when she felt a hand catch hold of her arm. Turning around, she saw Spike standing there, no longer wearing his game face.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to take you up on your offer." His fingers slid caressingly down her arm and
took hold of her hand.

Buffy was surprised, both by his words and by the fact that they sounded so appealing.

"My offer? I made an offer?"

Spike lifted her hand and kissed her fingers.

"For me to...how did you put it...test my theory."

The tender gesture made her breath catch in her throat, and the expression in his dark eyes caused a twinge in her vitals.

She found herself noticing things about him, as though she was seeing him for the first time.

The seductive smile; the aggressive body language that blatantly announced his
attitude towards life...'if I want it, I take it' ; the startling contrast of dark brows against pale skin; the deep blue eyes that saw right through all her bravado; the face that was so perfectly made that only the scar on his eyebrow, and the cocky expression he usually sported, kept if from being described as pretty.

<and the body...let's not forget the body>

A little over average height, he was leanly built and she had personal knowledge of
how strong he was.

Although she'd never seen him without layers of clothing on, she felt certain that
a body corded with hard muscle was hidden beneath all that cotton and leather.

Buffy felt his hand tighten around her fingers.

Great. NOW what was she gonna do? She'd started this. Did she have the guts to see it through to its conclusion...did she want to?

Looking up at him, she tried to stall.

"But I thought you hated me."

He smiled. "Yeah, I thought so too." Placing his free hand on her waist, he pulled her closer.

Buffy gasped out loud when she felt an impressive erection rubbing against her.

Moving his hips, he adjusted his position and ground his sex down on hers. When
he found the right spot, he placed both his hands on her rear and squeezed, pushing her even more firmly against his hard length.

"Oh..." Her eyes drifted slowly closed as she struggled for a little self control. "Stop
it," she whispered.

Spike just grinned. "Make me," he invited.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. She wasn't gonna be able to do it...to make him stop. Her brain told her to use any means necessary to push him away, but her body had staged a revolution and was taking over.

Unable NOT to, she returned the pressure he was applying, copying him by reaching
behind him and taking a hold of his backside.

"Slayer," he said softly. "You never stop surprising me."

"Likewise," she murmured, lifting her face and moistening her lips.

Spike paused just long enough to say, "Open your mouth, kitten," before he lowered his head and took what she was offering him.

Sometime during the longest, hottest, most penetrating kiss she'd ever been on the receiving end of, Buffy's arms crept up around Spike's neck, tightening as she felt her feet lose touch with the ground.

Spike suddenly pulled back. "Let's go," he said, lowering her back to her feet and tugging on her hand.

Buffy was still trying to clear her head. "Sure, okay...let's go...let's go where?

He didn't stop to answer her, just kept hauling her along behind him. "I'll be damned if I'm gonna take you right out in the open and give all these idiots a good look at you."

She smiled as she stumbled along after him. <fine by me...>

Spike stopped abruptly, not even swaying when she plowed into him. "Where's the
witch?" he asked.

"What witch?" She looked at him, a little confused, her mind still fuzzy as she tried
to concentrate on something besides the four alarm fire that was racing through her
body. "Oh, you mean Willow? I dunno, I guess she's in class."

"Not in your room?"

"I don't think so."

Spike nodded. "Then that's where we're going.

-Part Two-

Buffy had a little trouble getting her key to work in the lock, and the fact that Spike was standing directly behind her, so closely that she could feel his erection pressing against her, wasn't making it any easier.

When she was at the point of seriously considering kicking the door down, the tumblers finally clicked.

The door flew open, and they both nearly tumbled into the room.

"Come here," Spike said, shutting the door with his foot as he yanked Buffy into
his arms.

She went willingly, and they fell into an ardent kiss, attacking each other with open
mouths and eager tongues, as they tugged at each other's clothes.

Shrugging out of his coat, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and lifted
her, carrying her to one of the unmade beds.

He dropped her on it, then followed her down. Kissing and nuzzling her face and throat, he made sure to keep his fangs to himself.

Buffy pushed weakly at his shoulders, wondering where all her 'slayer strength' had
suddenly disappeared to.

"Wait...this isn't my bed," she panted.

"Who gives a shit? Come back here." He reached for her as she finally broke free.

She eluded him easily and jumped off the bed, turning to face him with a 'Come
and get it' smile.

Spike growled. "Come here, little girl."

"No," she laughed, feeling playful. "YOU come HERE."

"Why should I?" he asked, lounging back against the pillows.

"Because, if you don't..." She began to pull her blouse over head. "you can't touch."

He watched her, eyes hot with lust. "Take it off," he demanded.

Buffy complied, whisking the light blue silk over her head and tossing it carelessly
to the floor. She toed off her shoes and stood before him, clad in her slacks and
a baby blue lace bra.

"God, you ARE pretty," he said, taking her in with an avid gaze.

The compliment startled her, jarring her out of her 'oh, why the hell not?' frame of
mind.

"Do you mean that?" she asked, for some reason wanting his approval...needing it.

Her question made him pause.

<Christ...I really do mean it...how's THAT for a revelation...>

To be honest, he wasn't completely bowled over by it. If he forced himself to go toe-to-toe-with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but, he'd always thought that she was pretty, right from the start...pretty, and sexy as hell.

In fact, one of his clearest memories was of the night he'd seen her for the very first
time.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

He and Dru had been in Sunnydale less than one day before he'd gone looking for the slayer he'd been hearing so much about.

All he'd planned on doing that night was sizing her up, studying how she fought, and watching for potential weaknesses.

That had been the extent of his interest when he'd first entered the Bronze; to get things moving so he could focus his attention on caring for Dru.

But when he'd spotted her, when he'd seen that pretty, babyish face and luscious body, his thoughts had taken a whole new direction.

He had circled the dance floor, watching every shimmy of her shoulders, every sway of her shapely ass, every thrust of her pelvis, and every teasing smile.

All the men in the room had wanted her, and he'd been no exception.

"That's mine," he remembered thinking, "That's for me."

In the alley behind the Bronze, he'd waited in the shadows, watching her fight and
wondering if she fucked with the same kind of passion.

When it was over, it had been all he could do to keep himself from picking her up,
carrying her to the nearest available bed, and pounding into her with everything he
had.

He'd NEVER wanted a girl as instantly, and as badly, as he'd wanted this slayer.

The events of the next few months had sharpened his hate, but done nothing to
dull his desire.

He'd spent a fair amount of time idly contemplating fantasies of bedding her. Whenever Drusilla had lapsed into bouts of weirdness that even HE wanted no part of, he would find himself thinking about Buffy.

He would imagine himself grabbing her and throwing her to the ground. Falling
on top of her, he'd plunge between those strong thighs and fuck her until she screamed, then rip her throat out after he'd made her come.

And he would make her forget that Angel had ever existed...which was only fair.

When his sire had returned to them sans soul once again, Spike had been forced
to watch as the faithless bitch he'd loved crawled into Angel's bed.

The two of them had gone at it night and day...only surfacing to work on Angel's moronic plan to drop kick the world into hell.

The fucking idiot had never glommed on to the fact that if the whole world went to
hell, THEY'D be going right alone with it.

Drusilla, being the intellectual whiz kid that she was, thought everything Angel did was brilliant, fucking poetry in motion.

She'd done anything he'd wanted, anytime, anywhere, for any reason. World's going
to hell? Count me in!

Spike had less than zero interest in being cast into hell. He didn't care WHO was in charge, or who would be Satan's new best friend.

He was quite happy where he was, thanks all the same.

It had been so incredibly galling to sit in that wheelchair and watch Angel pawing Drusilla morning, noon, and night, taunting him with daily reports of their latest marathon fuck fest.

When he'd begun to make sneering comments about his superior skill in bed, Spike had finally been pushed too far.

With his male pride on the line, he'd sacrificed his vampire pride. That son-of a bitch had to go...permanently...and there was only one person who could help make that dream a reality.

Plans made, he'd gone looking for Buffy.

The truce he'd hammered out with her had been the beginning of the end, he just
hadn't known it at the time.

He'd kept his promise and taken Drusilla to South America to start a new life.

Things had gone sour fast, and he had learned the hard way that he'd never be able to pry Angel out of Dru's mind.

She'd wanted no part of him. Nothing he did for her, no amount of lavish gifts or declarations of love had made her happy.

Angry at Spike's role in Angel's betrayal, she had punished him by spreading her
legs for every sodding demon that crossed her path, no matter how disgusting it was.

It had gone on for months, a never ending cycle of torment, until the night he'd come
home and found her gone.

With no idea where she'd disappeard to, and with nowhere else to go, he'd returned
to Sunnydale.

To say that he'd been shocked to find Angel back in the land of the sort of living, would be the grossest understatement ever uttered.

Since the world hadn't been sucked down the drain into hell, Spike had assumed
that the slayer had won her final battle with Angelus.

It hadn't taken him long to realize that Angel had, once again, been slapped with
a shiny new soul.

Somehow...someway...the fucker had gotten it back.

And he'd gotten the slayer back as well.

The cosmic injustice of it was staggering. Angel had stolen Drusilla away and tried to
end the world, and instead of being punished for his crimes, he'd been rewarded for them.

It was all so fucking unfair!

If ANYONE should have rewarded with that juicy little slayer, it should have
been him.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

<Well...better late than never..>

Spike sat up and tugged off his boots. Crossing the room at an unhurried pace, he unbuttoned his shirt and let it drop to the floor.

"Come on now, Slayer...you know you're gorgeous."

Sliding his fingers into the waist band of her pants, he pulled her close.

Buffy inhaled sharply when their lower bodies made contact. "Still...it's nice to hear."

He smiled. It had been a long time since he'd had to woo a girl with sweet talk and compliments, but it was a skill you didn't forget.

"Believe me, kitten. You are one delicious little package."

He undid the top button of her slacks.

"You've got that lovely hair, such a pretty color it is."

Her zipper slid down, revealing a glimpse of panties that matched her bra.

"Your skin is so soft and warm. Not a mark on it anywhere."

His thumbs hooked into the sides of her slacks and began to pull them down.

"And your mouth. So pretty and sassy...just begging to be kissed."

Her slacks dropped down around her ankles, and he took her hands to balance her as she stepped out of them.

"Your eyes are lovely. Green as the grass, with flecks of gold in them. They sparkle when you smile."

Tiny satin ribbons held her panties together on both sides. He tugged them loose, then pulled the blue lace from between her legs.

Her bra had a front closure that he opened easily.

"And you have a body that could stop traffic."

Placing his hands on breasts that were surprisingly ample for such a slender girl, he
fondled them.

Buffy murmured something he couldn't understand, closing her eyes and letting her head drop back.

Spike leaned down and whispered,"You are SO beautiful. I've always thought so, you know. Beautiful." He kissed the side of her face. "And sexy." His mouth moved to explore her throat. "And I want you so much it hurts."

Buffy's head was spinning. This was amazing! Where had THIS Spike been hiding all this time?

Squeezing her breasts firmly, he pushed them together and lowered his head to kiss the lush curves.

Tonguing her nipples to diamond hardness, he took one into his mouth and began
sucking on it.

"Oh...oh God..." Buffy whimpered.

Spike smiled against her skin. "Like that, do you?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"Want more?"

"Yes, please."

Smiling at her politeness, he took her hand and led her across the room.

He sat down on the side of her bed and widened his legs to position her between
them.

Desperate for further attention, Buffy leaned forward and placed her hands on his
shoulders, offering him her breasts again.

He placed a kiss on the soft skin between them, then began teasing her nipples with his tongue and teeth, keeping the touch light.

She looked down to watch, and was rocketed into the stratosphere by the sight of what he was doing. She'd never seen anything so erotic before.

Spike met her gaze as he suckled her. Without ever breaking eye contact, he moved from one breast to the other.

He moved his hands up her sides, pushing the mounds together again.

"These are really beautiful, Slayer," he said, releasing her from his mouth. "I want to lick them...suck them...play with them all day."

With his hands supporting her from beneath, he caught her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, pinching them gently.

"Then," he went on. "I want to lay you down and put my cock between them...and fuck them. Want to feel them squeezing around my dick when I slide it up and down."

Buffy almost cried when he suddenly stopped and nudged her away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he said, moving back on the mattress and pulling her along with him.

He rose to his knees in the middle of the bed, positioning her in front of him the same
way.

"Unzip my pants."

Buffy placed her hands on his thighs, then slid them up until she found the top snap.

Opening it, she reached for the tab of his zipper. It slid down easily, propelled both by her fingers, and by the pressure of his erection.

"Put your hand in and take it out...good girl."

Buffy's eyes became as round as silver dollars when she saw what he had for her.

<No way is THAT gonna fit...>

"Don't look so nervous," he said, seeming to read her mind. "It'll go all the way in.
I plan on making you very...very...wet."

She smiled. Apparently, he'd taken her teasing comment as a challenge.

Without warning, he inserted one hand between her thighs.

"Or, should I say...wetter?"

Buffy didn't think she could BE any wetter. The moisture her body was generating was flowing like a faucet.

What he did next only increased the flow.

After wetting his fingers with her fluid, he brought them to his mouth and licked them,
holding her gaze.

"Mmmm...this may be even sweeter than the taste of your blood," he said.

"YOU'LL never know," she replied tartly.

Spike just laughed. "Never say never, luv."

Buffy decided to knock him down a notch or two. She moved her hand up and down
his shaft, experimenting with pace and pressure. Using her thumb, she smeared the drops of semen he was producing into the tip of his penis.

"Looks like I'm not the ONLY wet one in the room," she said.

Her ministrations were having the desired effect. Spike closed his eyes, thrusting his
hips forward.

"Ahh...fuck," he muttered. "Yeah...do that. Tighter, kitten...squeeze my...yes...now,
faster...just a little...that's good..." He thrusted rythmnically into her wet little fingers.

Spike was a little surprised. Where the hell had she learned to do this?

Not from that boy she'd been with. He didn't look smart enough to organize a gang fuck in a Shanghai whorehouse, let alone teach a near virgin these kinds of tricks.

It was possible, he supposed, that Angel had instructed her on how to please a man.

Possible...but not likely.

His sire had not been 'Angelus' when he'd had his one night with the slayer. Which was just as well, since Angelus got off by inflicting pain. The harder he made a
girl cry, the better he liked it.

No, he'd just been plain old Angel, and plain old Angel probably wasn't the last of the
red hot lovers.

His worship of the innocent virgin she'd been would have prevented him from really getting down and dirty with Buffy. Maybe if they'd had more time...

He cut off that thought abruptly. Thinking about Angel in bed with the slayer was pissing him off for some reason.

<Screw YOU, Angel...you had your chance and you fucked it up...>

If it hadn't been either the boy or Angel who'd tutored the slayer in the art of foreplay, then it must be a natural skill for her.

His mind reeled at the possibilities. If she was this good after two brief sexual
encounters, he couldn't begin to imagine how good she'd be once she got a little
experience under her belt...so to speak.

<I'll do it....I'm gonna teach this girl things she's never even dreamed of...gonna
teach her everything...don't care how long it takes...>

-Part Three-

"I think this will be a lot more fun if you take these off."

Buffy's voice interrupted his carnal daydreams, and it took him a moment to focus and realize she was referring to his trousers.

"I think you're right," he said, with a smart ass grin on his face.

Although he hated having to pull his rigid shaft away from her warm little hand, he
forced himself to do it, then stood up on the bed and shoved the tight denim down
around his ankles.

Buffy pulled them off as he lifted one foot at a time, then threw them onto the growing pile of their discarded clothing.

Since he had an aversion to wearing any sort of underwear, there was nothing between his hard on and her eager fingers.

"Better?" he asked, caressing her hair.

She looked up at him and smiled. "All kinds of better." Taking a firm hold of him, she moved her hand slowly up and down, squeezing a little as he'd indicated he liked.

It was only a matter of moments before Spike felt the warning signs of impending
climax, and he pushed her hand away before something embarrassing could occur.

Buffy looked puzzled. "Did I do something wrong? Don't you like it?"

"Hell, yes I like it," he said. Taking her hands, he lifted them and pressed a slow
kiss into each soft palm, lightly touching them with his tongue. "But I almost came
in your hand. That can be a lot of fun, but I'm not gonna rush through this." He
gave her a lacivious wink. "There's lots more fun to be had."

Before she could say anything in reply, Spike slipped his arms around Buffy's slender waist and turned to lower her to the mattress.

Lying down next to her, he guided her into a position where she was straddling his waist, one knee on either side of him.

He slid down on the bed beneath her, until her sex was directly over his face, then
pulled her down to his hungry mouth.

Spike could tell by her reaction that this was a completely new experience for her.
Sparing a brief, contemptuous thought for the two idiots who'd neglected her sexual
education so shamefully, he slid his tongue up and down her cleft. Pushing it deeply inside her, he moved it around, then began slipping it in and out of her, in a simulation of intercourse.

Above him, Buffy was panting and squirming as he worked at her, gasping out little half formed words that made no sense.

When he located the sensitive button at the apex of her sex, he licked it and sucked at it, rewarded by her cries of pleasure.

He took hold of the firm cheeks of her ass, keeping her where he wanted as he ate her out, using every trick in his vast arsenal to drive her right up the fucking wall and back down again.

The kittenish sounds coming from her lips were music to him, spurring him on to make
this experience everything that it could be...doing it for her.

Moving one hand down, he carefully inserted his index finger inside of the tight warmth his tongue was playing in.

A few thrusts and one last hard suck on her clit was all that was needed to bring her
to a nerve shattering climax. Her hands slid into his hair, holding him tightly against
her as she ground herself down on his face.

Trying not to scream loud enough to let everyone in town know what was happening
to her, Buffy felt her body stiffen, then go limp as she collapsed beside him.

Spike wiped his wet face on the back of his hand as the slayer looked at him,
smiling like a cream filled kitten.

Before she could say anything, he reached for her, pulling until she was stretched out
on top of him.

"See how sweet you taste," he said, kissing her and sliding his tongue deeply into her
mouth.

When he broke the kiss to allow her to breathe, Buffy let her head drop down
on his chest. "Ooooh...my god."

He chuckled. "Did you enjoy that, kitten?"

"Enjoy," she moaned. "doesn't even begin to describe it."

Tangling his fingers in her hair, Spike made her look at him. "No one's ever done that for you before, have they?"

She shook her head. "No."

"I didn't think so," he said derisively. "Stupid fucks didn't know how important that is for a girl...that she needs that kind of attention."

Buffy grinned. "Isn't it important for a boy too?"

He smiled back. "Well, it CAN be...but we'll save that for later. Right now, there's something else I want."

"And what would that be?"

"That would be THIS." Rolling her over suddenly onto her back, he nudged her
legs apart and rubbed his swollen cock against the wet heat between Buffy's
thighs. "I want to be inside you...feel if your pussy is as tight as you said it is."

Buffy was just as aroused by the things he was saying as she was by his actions.

This verbal foreplay was another thing she'd not experienced with her two previous lovers. Angel had pretty much limited himself to tender vows of love, uttered over and over again. Though it had been wonderful to hear, it hadn't had the same effect that Spike's explicitly sexual comments were evoking in her.

Parker's sex talk, she now realized, wasn't even worth thinking about. He'd used a few
raw words, but they'd only embarrassed her.

At the time, she'd thought it was because of her own lack of experience.

Now, she knew that it was because Parker was such a "boy", compared to Spike.

And she didn't want a boy anymore. She wanted a man. One that knew what he was
doing.

No...not ' a ' man...she wanted ' this ' man. Wanted him now...the same way she'd wanted him when she'd seen him for the first time.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

She had been restless that night. Sitting in the Bronze with Xander and Willow, making stupid small talk and trying to at least look as through she was studying her French lessons.

She'd hated taking French. Hated it and resented it. When the hell was she going to need to speak French? It wasn't like she was gonna be off slaying vampires on the Champs E' lys`ees.

When she couldn't stand to sit still one more second, she and Xander had coaxed
Willow out onto the dance floor. As her body had moved and pulsed with the music,
she'd noticed someone standing on the edge of the dance floor, had felt his eyes
on her.

She hadn't been brave enough to stare back, but she'd purposely begun to dance
a little more enticingly.

When she'd turned away, she'd heard him say something about a girl being attacked
by a vampire in the alley. She'd been so pissed about being interrupted that she'd ran outside without a weapon.

After she'd dealt with yet another vamp that thought he'd be the one to bring the
slayer down, Spike had stepped out of the shadows, applauding her performance.

Since she'd been too shy before, she'd taken a good long look at him, and her
brain had instantly classified him as the hottest guy she'd ever seen.

After he'd issued his death threat and she'd known him for what he was, she
had wanted to stamp her foot in fury. It just wasn't fair...a face and body like that
belonging to a vampire. Something she couldn't have and would probably have to
kill.

No matter how many times they clashed, she'd never been able to shake that little
zing of sexual attraction she'd felt for him, making it damn difficult for her to honestly
want him dead.

And though she'd never admitted it to anyone, Spike had played the leading role in
many of her most erotic nighttime dreams and occasional daytime fantasies.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

<Which are finally about to come true...>