Title:Best in the Business

Author:Flurblewig

Pairing:Gwen/Spike

Rating/Warnings:PG13

Timeline/Spoilers:Set mid AtS S5

Length:1,132 words

Disclaimer:Not mine. We all know that.

The first thing he'd noticed about her – well, no, not the first; that honour actually had to go to the red latex hotpants – was her absolute confidence. She wore it like a second skin, and it certainly covered more of her than the latex usually did. It was the confidence of someone who was pretty sure they were going to be better looking than most people they ran into – and very sure they were going to be more dangerous. It was a feeling Spike was well acquainted with himself.

She walked into Angel's office like she owned it, lowering herself gracefully into the chair opposite his desk and swinging her booted feet up onto its polished surface. "So. I hear you're in the market for some stolen spellbooks."

Angel frowned at her boots, but she just smiled at him and crossed one over the other. He shook his head slightly. "And you can get them, I suppose?"

Gwen gave him a bright, professional smile. "I'm the best in the business, you know that. I can get anything. If the price is right."

"Price? You expect me to pay for something that already belongs to me? Those scrolls were stolen from here."

Gwen shrugged. "And now you need someone to steal them back from their new, not-so-rightful owner. That's going to cost you. I don't do this for the fun of it, you know. Well, okay, maybe I do. But not just for the fun."

The office door suddenly flew open and a flustered-looking Harmony stormed in. "Hey! I said he's busy. And I don't know what you just did to me but if it's made my hair go frizzy you are just in so much trouble."

"Take it easy," said Gwen. "The hair looks great. And don't worry about Angel. We go way back. He won't mind me dropping in, especially when it's to talk business"

Angel nodded to Harmony, who backed out of the office with obvious reluctance and a final resentful pat at her hair, then turned back to glare at Gwen. "This isn't business, it's daylight robbery."

She raised her eyebrows. "You say that like they're two separate things."

Spike stood up slowly, reaching for his coat. He smiled at Gwen. "You've got yourself a deal, I reckon."

Angel stared at him. "What? Since when did you make the decisions around here?"

Spike grinned. "I don't. But I know you, and I know Wes has been bending your ear for the past six hours solid about the dangers of forbidden knowledge getting into the wrong hands and all that hand-wringing stuff. So what say we skip all the righteous posturing and let this nice lady go do what needs to be done, huh?"

Gwen looked him up and down, then smiled. "Good to see someone round here has a grip on the practicalities of the business world. I'll need an associate," she said to Angel. "He'll do."

Angel opened his mouth, then paused as the door flew open once more. "Angel," said Wesley. "I've just had a call from one of our informants. The black market is going absolutely crazy. A tribe of J'heset demons are already offering twenty freshly killed virgins for the least of the grimoires. We have to do something."

Angel sighed and nodded to Gwen. "You've got yourself a deal."

Spike examined the little control switch inset into Gwen's belt with interest. "So this operates your gizmo, huh? Lets you turn it on and off when you want?"

Gwen stretched languorously. "Yep. And right now I'm firmly in the off position." She patted the bed beside her. "Wanna come do something about that?"

Spike dropped the belt and dived onto the bed. "At your service, ma'am. Angel did say to offer you any assistance necessary, after all. And who am I to disobey orders?"

Gwen laughed. "Oh, right. Yeah, I'm sure you do everything Angel tells you to do."

Spike grinned at her. "Sometimes, I do. In the right circumstances, I don't mind taking, uh, instruction."

"Is that so? Well then, let me give you some." She raised her arms above her head, angling her body towards him. "Touch me."

Gwen rolled over, reaching out for the champagne bottle. "Oh, " she said, turning it upside down. "No more. I'll call room service, get another bottle. Another couple of bottles. It'll all go on Angel's invoice. Disbursements, you know."

Spike straddled her, leaning down to press a line of kisses down her back. "Mmm," he said. "And some blood. I have a feeling I'll be needing to keep my strength up."

"You can get blood on room service?"

He nuzzled the nape of her neck. "I stole Angel's company credit card. You can get anything if you work for Wolfram & Hart."

Gwen laughed. "So we pay for it with his money, and then bill him for it as well? I love it. Should have got into the con game a lot sooner. It's way more profitable."

Spike lifted himself up, allowing her to roll over onto her back again. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "We've only put in nine hours so far. That's not much of a bill. I think we're going to have to work a bit harder."

Gwen sighed as his fingers traced lazy circles around her nipples. "A criminal's work is never done."

Spike grinned. "It'll probably take us at least another couple of days to get those scrolls."

She nodded. "Definitely. It's a long way from the bed to my briefcase. I left it all the way over the other side of the room."

"That's at least twelve feet away. Maybe three days."

Gwen moaned softly as his hands travelled lower. "Four. And then we need to sit down and decide what's going to go missing from Wolfram & Hart next."

"That guy Knox has some seriously interesting toys down in his lab. And he's really sloppy about leaving them lying around. Asking for trouble in these untrustworthy times, that is."

She arched under his touch. "Maybe we ought to leave it a while before the next job. We don't want to rouse any suspicions."

"As if. You're the best at this thieving business, remember?"

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him off, then flipped him over so that she was on top. She gave him a wicked grin as she settled herself into place. "I'm the best at everything."

Spike grinned. "Can't just take your word for it, pet. What kind of conman would I be if I were that trusting? No, I think you're going to have to prove that statement." He reached out and placed his hands on her waist, caressing the skin as she began to move. "A few more times."

-end-