Title: WILD TOUCHING (1/2)
Series: S4 Behind The Scenes
Author: spikeme4now4200
Email: spikeme4now4200@yahoo.com.au
URL: http://au.geocities.com/spikeme4now4200/index.html
Copyright: January 31 2003

Spoilers: You'll be spoiled if you haven't seen Season 4. The episode
"Where The Wild Things Are" forms the background of this fic.
Everything up to and including this episode is fair game for spoilerage.
You'll also be a little spoiled if you haven't seen the season 5 episode
"Family"

Pairing: Willow/Tara
Category: Missing Scenes / Romance

Rating: Strong R – Borderline NC-17 (US)
Rating: MA-15+ (AUS)
Rating Disclaimer: Wild Touching – The title says it all ;-) This has an R
rating, but on re-reading the story, I realised that some scenes are a
little more detailed and steamier than my other stories, so this R is on
the borderline of being NC-17 – so take caution. I'm an Australian, and in
my terms I've labelled it MA-15+, as I'm more familiar with this system,
and I feel it most accurately describes the content of my story.

Disclaimer: This Story is mine. However, I don't own the Buffyverse or
any of the characters created by Joss Whedon et al . . . You all know who
they are. I don't wish to harm them; I simply want to play with them a
little :-)
Feedback: Yes Please!!!! I live for feedback!!!! It keeps me writing, and
I'll reply to anyone who emails me. ^_^
Distribution: Everywhere and Anywhere, just let me know where.

Summary: A behind the scenes take on what happened between Willow
and Tara during the Season 4 episode Where the Wild Things are.

Author's Notes: This is in response to the challenge I posted on the
[willowtarafanficstation] mailing list early October 2002. I thought it
would be cool to remember how the Willow/Tara relationship first
started. This is the 8th in a series of 9 (now changed to 10) behind-the-
scenes stories that deal with the start of the W/T relationship. The
series starts with the episode "Hush" and ends with the episode "New
Moon Rising" (now ends with "Restless"). Each story can be read as a
standalone, and goes behind the scenes of one episode. I'll try to have
one up every week or two.

STORY NOTE:
The second part of this story borders on NC-17, and since fanfiction.net
guidlines do not allow such ratings, I wasn't sure if my story would abide
by the website's rules. Therefore I've only posted the first part of my
story. If you are of age, and want to read the story in it's entirety -
Here's the direct link to it:
http://www.peccath.com/extraflamey/vault/archive/2/wildtouching2.shtml

***


As Willow woke up that morning, she took in her girlfriend's slumbering
form, and realised that today was exactly two weeks since Tara had
officially become her girlfriend. She smiled at the thought, and pressed
a soft kiss against the girl's cheek. What a fortnight that had been, she
thought – with the making out; the spending of quality time together; and
the whole Jonathan spell thing – Tara getting mauled by a monster about
a week ago . . .

Willow sighed at her last thought – the sight of Tara in distress still
haunted her; and she had the bad dreams to prove it. Ever since she'd
come across Tara's shock-induced state, Willow had been having the same
dream every single night. Although, it wasn't the only dream she had
(good dreams crept in as well) – but it did leave her shaken . . .

***

They were on Tara's bed – kissing, touching, making out - when suddenly
she felt as if things were becoming too heated – they were verging on
naughty touching here, and she was starting to panic. She didn't know if
she was ready – to take that next step; to let things progress, and to let
herself become even more intimate with her girlfriend . . . Besides, it was
late, and she needed to get back . . .

Pulling away, Willow said goodbye, and headed out the door. She was
halfway down the hallway, when some ugly-looking apocalypsey-type
demon came at her – bowling her over. She landed on the floor with a
thud – closing her eyes in pain. A second later she opened them again –
only to see her girlfriend being carried off by said demon. Ignoring the
sharp throbbing in her skull, Willow stood up and began chasing after her
girlfriend.

She was screaming for the demon to stop – screaming for it to let go of
Tara. She ran after it wildly; her mind searching for a good spell, but
nothing would come to her – she was pathetic. She – Willow Rosenberg -
was a pathetic; useless; powerless; wannabe - witch, and she was letting
this demon run off with her girlfriend. Why couldn't she stop it? Why
was it – that no matter how fast she ran; or how hard she tried – Tara
just seemed to get further and further away from her?

What's more, it was her fault - her fault the demon had her girlfriend.
If only she'd stayed with Tara; not been in such a hurry to leave – maybe
she could've done something; could've helped Tara – used her magick in
combination with her girlfriend's to stop that thing . . . Alone she was
useless - but with Tara . . . with Tara she could do anything – only with
Tara – she and Tara together – were unstoppable – a force to be
reckoned with . . .

They were off-campus now – running through one of Sunnydale's many
cemeteries. Willow could see the demon in front of her; could hear
Tara's screams – as it continued to carry her girlfriend further and
further away from her. She should run back, Willow realised – run back
and get Buffy; the Slayer would help her . . .

Not wanting to leave her girl alone, but knowing she had no choice, Willow
turned around. She ran back to the campus as fast as her legs would
carry her – stumbling over her own feet a few times in her haste. When
she finally reached her room, Buffy was nowhere to be seen – as usual,
the Slayer was with her boyfriend. Cursing herself for not realising this
sooner, Willow rushed back outside, and headed towards Lowell House.

When she reached Riley's room, Willow attempted to burst right in –
urgency making her forget about such niceties as knocking. However, the
door wouldn't budge – it was locked. With a groan of impatience, Willow
began knocking – she banged on the door as hard as she could, not even
caring that her knuckles were beginning to bleed – she needed the Slayer
to help rescue Tara, all else was irrelevant. So why wasn't anyone
answering? Why wasn't the Slayer stepping out to help her?

She called out her friend's name: "Buffy! Buffy it's me – Willow. I need
your help – Tara's in trouble! Buffy!!! Buffy – answer the door!!! I know
you're in there! Why won't you answer me? Buffy?"

It was no use – the Slayer wasn't going to help her; she needed to rescue
Tara herself. With a few final knocks for prosperity, Willow turned
around and headed back to the cemetery – Only, when she got there; the
demon and Tara were nowhere to be seen. What was she going to do
now? In her rush to get help, she'd forgotten that the demon would
continue moving – that she wouldn't be able to find them once she came
back.

Suddenly, she had a thought – The Goddess Aradia. With renewed
determination, Willow stopped running, and plonked herself down onto the
ground – crossing her legs in a meditative position. She turned her palms
upwards and rested her hands on her knees, as she summoned the
Goddess.

She was now following the light – letting herself be guided towards Tara.
After a while, she could see the demon; could see Tara. She started
running towards them – moving her legs faster and faster, but for some
reason she never seemed to get any closer – her girlfriend was always
just out of reach.

It was then that the dream would end – during her Sisyphus-type chase
of her girlfriend. She'd either wake up and start shivering, or everything
would fade to black, and she'd soon find herself dreaming about
something else. Either way – she never rescued Tara; never got to her in
time, and she was always left feeling both guilty and inept.

***

As she continued to gaze at her sleeping girlfriend, Willow wondered
about the meaning of her dream. She knew it was a result of Tara's
attack – her subsequent guilt at leaving Tara alone that night. However,
it was also symbolic of something else – but of what? Could it be that a
part of her was telling her to give in – to stop holding back? She knew
she wanted Tara; wanted to touch her – and not just in safe platonic-like
places.

She wanted to feel the weight of the girl's breasts in her hands, to feel
the hardening of the girl's nipples as she squeezed them – teasing with
her fingertips. She wanted to let her hands slide down Tara's back, let
them go lower and lower, until she was cupping her ass – caressing her in a
very naughty way. She wanted to run her hands down Tara's thighs, to
slip between her legs and cup her intimately – to rub her fingers against
the girl's throbbing sex, and do everything she could to make her happy.

Willow could still remember how Tara looked during their Nether Realms
spell – all hot, and sweaty, and aroused - and the way they'd finally come
together would forever be etched in her memory. There had been no
physical touching then – except for the link between their palms, and
Willow couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to make Tara come
for real . . . with her fingers . . . her tongue . . .

However, despite her fantasies – Willow was scared. She was frightened
to take the next step, because she'd never been with a girl before –
never been in a gay relationship, and making with the gay-love would
finally 'seal the deal' – so to speak. She knew she'd fallen in love with
Tara, even if she couldn't say it to her yet, but her love was more
spiritual than physical. She'd read things, heard things – knew what gay-
love entailed . . . and she wondered what Tara tasted like – what she felt
like . . . She was pretty much inexperienced when it came to what a girl
felt like inside; what a girl tasted like . . . What if she touched Tara
intimately – knelt between the girl's legs; inserted her tongue between
her folds; tasted her, and didn't like it? What would she do then? What
would it mean?

Likewise – what if she did like it? There were times when they were
making out – when things started to heat up between them, and she could
actually smell Tara's arousal. The smell was intoxicating, and if Tara's
taste was anything like her scent – then Willow knew she definitely would
like it. This didn't scare her almost as much as not liking it, but it still
scared her. She knew there was nothing wrong with being gay - that
these feelings were all natural; however, a very small, very miniscule part
of her – couldn't help but be aware of social mores. She knew that not
everyone approved of this kind of relationship; that some people thought
it was wrong and disgusting, and even though she didn't agree with that,
she couldn't help being a teensy bit affected by it.

That was the reason she hadn't told Buffy yet – why she hadn't told any
of the Scoobies. She knew they loved her, and would support her – but
would they get freaked - look down on her – lose respect for her? She
didn't want to be different – didn't ask to have these feelings for a girl,
but she did, and would never renounce them. Tara meant the world to
her, and in her book, loving someone was never wrong – no matter what
the world thought. She just wished she had the courage to deal with the
world, or at the very least – her friends. This was why Tara had gotten
hurt, why she'd let her spend that night alone, and why she was afraid to
make love to her.

She was afraid to accept the truth – about herself; about who she was,
and about what she really wanted. Also, there was a part of her that
remembered Oz – remembered what they had, how much she cared for
him, and wondered what it meant to have had feelings for him, and then
to have feelings for Tara now. Oz was a guy – if she were gay, then why
had she been with Oz? Why had she been in love with him? Had her
whole relationship with Oz been a farce? Did she even know what she
wanted? How could she be sure of her feelings for Tara, if she wasn't
even sure of her feelings for Oz anymore? She also wondered if it was
okay to let him go. There hadn't been much closure – Oz had left
abruptly, and she hadn't heard from him since. Was it okay for her to
finally put aside their relationship – to give herself completely to Tara?

Willow suddenly had a revelation – about the meaning of her dream.
Could it be; that the dream was telling her it was time to move on – that
she and Tara were a team now, and that it was wrong to hide? Maybe it
was finally time for her to accept her gayness; to tell her friends the
truth, and not go into recoil-mode the next time she had the urge to
touch Tara intimately. It's not like the girl would back off . . . right?
Even though Tara hadn't made a move towards naughty touching –
towards taking the next step – it didn't mean she didn't want to . . . Tara
was just shy . . .? Willow put on her resolve face. That's it, she thought
to herself – it was time to heat things up. If Tara was too shy to make a
move towards intimacy, then she'd have to be the one to do it herself.

Willow cautiously pulled off the covers from Tara's sleeping form, so that
she could get a better look at her girlfriend's body. The girl was wearing
her usual shorts and tank top, which (luckily for her), exposed quite a bit
of Tara-flesh. This particular tank top was fairly low-cut, and seeing as
the girl was lying on her side, Willow could very easily look down her shirt.

Feeling a little naughty, Willow decided to do just that. She leaned
closer to Tara, and brought her eyes down to rest on the girl's chest.
She had a pretty good view from where she was looking, and could clearly
see the outline of her generous cleavage; could see the perfectly shaped
mounds of flesh that protruded from her top, and could almost make out
the point of her nipples against the fabric of her shirt – as they started
to stiffen from exposure to the cold morning air.

Tara had the most beautiful breasts she'd ever seen. As she continued
to ogle her girlfriend, Willow couldn't help but wonder what it would be
like to touch them; to hold them in her hands; to kiss them; to run her
tongue over them . . . Willow had never given much thought to another
girl's breasts – until she'd met Tara. For some reason, she was fascinated
by Tara's breasts – by what they looked like; felt like, and just couldn't
stop fantasising about them. What was it about Tara's breasts that had
her so enthralled? Looking at Tara now – she had to restrain herself
from reaching out a hand and actually touching them. It wouldn't be right
to touch Tara intimately while she was asleep. Although, the more she
continued to look at her – the harder it became to resist the lure of her
girlfriend's body.

Lifting a hand to Tara's cheek, Willow decided it was time to wake her
girlfriend up – to remove herself from temptation. She tenderly
caressed the girl's skin with her fingertips – wanting to gently bring Tara
to wakefulness. Her girlfriend began to stir after a few seconds, and
Willow chose that moment to lean over and press their lips together – she
loved waking Tara with a kiss.

"Mmmm," Tara moaned as Willow pulled away.

"Morning," Willow greeted, smiling at her girlfriend. She then leaned
back over and kissed her again – she just couldn't get enough of Tara-lips,
especially after all those wild and naughty thoughts she'd just had. Now
that Willow had decided to make a move towards greater intimacy, she
couldn't wait to get started.

Tara loved waking up to Willow-lips in the morning – especially when
Willow-lips became Willow-tongue as well. As her own tongue reached out
to duel with Willow's, Tara was surprised to suddenly find herself lying on
her back – with Willow lying on top of her. She wasn't complaining though
– the feel of her girlfriend's body against hers was amazing. Going with
the moment, she reached out her arms – wanting to wrap them around
Willow's back, and pull the girl tighter against her.

Willow had other ideas however – she wanted to let Tara know of her
decision; to show Tara she was ready to move on. Which is why she lifted
her hands, intercepted Tara's movements, and laced their fingers
together. She then guided Tara's hands back down to the bed; untangled
their legs, and pulled away from the kiss.

Willow hoped she knew what she was doing, as she straddled Tara's hips
and sat up in her lap. Looking down at her girlfriend now, she felt a little
bit embarrassed by her bold actions. Sure, she wanted to take the next
step – but did she have to do so in this position – astride Tara's lap?
Although, straddling Tara was definitely making her extremely wet, and
extremely aroused – and if she were ever going to make a move, what
better time than when she was all hot and bothered . . .?

Tara was utterly taken aback by Willow's actions – but also incredibly
aroused. What was Willow up to? Why was she straddling her – looking
at her with what appeared to be determined arousal? What was going on
here - was she still asleep? If so, she didn't think she wanted to wake up
– Willow's actions were totally turning her on. Maybe she really was
dreaming – and in dreams, anything goes . . .

Before she did something untoward though, Tara looked up at her
girlfriend with a question in her eye – silently asking her what was
happening. Just in case this wasn't a dream, Tara didn't want to do
anything that she'd regret later – something naughty that is . . .

Although, if this wasn't a dream – why was Willow acting so – playful?
She'd never done this before – been all sexy and stuff – with the
straddling . . . It was almost as if Willow wanted to take their make-out
sessions to the next stage. With that thought, Tara's heart began to
race. She'd been wanting to move things along for over a week now – but
she'd never be so bold as to make the first move. Willow had to be the
one to set the flow of their relationship; Tara was too shy, and too
insecure to have it any other way. Therefore, the thought of Willow
finally deciding to take the next step brought about a whole new feeling
of excitement within Tara.

Looking down at Tara, Willow could see the girl's confusion. She knew her
actions had taken Tara by surprise, but it pleased Willow to realise that
she wasn't putting up a protest. In fact, taking in the girl's heavy
breathing, her dilated pupils, and her slightly open mouth – Willow was led
to believe that Tara might actually be a little turned on by her behaviour.
Spurred on by her girlfriend's apparent state of arousal, Willow leaned
down to kiss her lips. However, just as her lips met Tara's - the ringing
of the phone startled her.

"Mmmm," she let out a disgruntled moan – pulling away from Tara's lips.
"Phone." She smiled at her girlfriend, and moved off her lap.

Tara smiled back, also feeling annoyed by the phone's interruption – at
least it hadn't been a dream though . . . Impulsively, she sat up and leaned
towards Willow, kissing her lips softly. A second later, she pulled away –
feeling all flushed, and headed towards the phone. She wondered who
would be calling her; the one person who usually called her was already in
this room with her.

"Hello," she spoke into the receiver – turning around to face Willow. She
smiled at her girlfriend while she waited for a response – Willow smiled
back.

"Hey Tara," Buffy's voice answered. "I just called our room and got the
machine – is Willow with you?"

"Hey Buffy," Tara replied – saying the girl's name for Willow's benefit.

Willow's ears perked up at the mention of her friend's name. What did
Buffy want? Dragging herself off the bed, she quickly made her way
over to Tara's side.

"She's right here," Tara continued – handing the phone to Willow.

Willow covered the phone's mouthpiece with her hand, as she took it from
Tara. "Thanks," she said to her girlfriend, before pressing a brief kiss to
her lips.

"Mmm," was all Tara said as the kiss ended. Moving to take a seat on the
bed, she flashed her girlfriend a huge grin

Smiling back at Tara, Willow spoke into the phone. "What's up Buff -
Where you at?"

"Riley's," the Slayer replied.

Willow grinned at Tara and mouthed Riley's name – Tara giggled in
response.

"Should've guessed," Willow teased, forcing down her own giggles. Before
the Slayer could say anything in response though, Willow asked her
another question. "So anyway, how was patrol?"

"Pretty much routine - " Buffy responded, deciding to ignore Willow's jibe
" – except for the whole tag-team thing."

"Tag-team?" Willow asked, wondering what the Slayer meant.

"I'll explain later," Buffy returned. "I've called Giles, and we're meeting
at the student lounge in about an hour."

"Cool," Willow smiled. "We'll see you then." With that, she hung up the
phone, and turned her attention back to her girlfriend.

"Scooby meeting," Willow explained – walking towards Tara.

Tara stood up as Willow reached her side, and walked into the girl's
embrace. She wrapped her arms around Willow, and rested her head
against her shoulder. "Thought so," she whispered dreamily – inhaling the
scent of Willow's hair.

Tara realised she was becoming accustomed to early-morning Scooby
meetings, to late-night Scooby meetings, and basically any-time-of-the-
day Scooby meetings. After her attack, when Willow had told her she'd
stick to her like glue – the girl had really meant it. Willow had barely left
her side all week, and made sure to take her wherever she went –
especially to Scooby meetings. Needless to say – Tara had thoroughly
enjoyed this past week.

"I'm gonna have a shower," Willow said softly – her breath playing against
Tara's neck.

"Me too," Tara returned, shivering slightly. Willow's breath on her skin
never failed to bring a tingle down her spine.

Willow slowly pulled her head up, as Tara did the same. She gazed into
her girlfriend's eyes, and realised that maybe she owed her an
explanation – for her earlier behaviour.

"Um, Tara . . ." she began – smiling shyly. "I'm sorry about before . . . with
the you know . . . I didn't mean to be so um . . . so . . . well – you know . . .
okay?" She looked at Tara expectantly, hoping she hadn't freaked the
girl out by coming on too strong. She knew her words had come out
sounding like gibberish, but hopefully Tara had gotten the message.

Tara couldn't help smiling at Willow's nervousness – especially at her
inability to formulate a proper sentence. Lucky for Willow, though - she'd
understood what the girl had been trying to say.

"It's okay," Tara reassured softly. "I uh, d..didn't mind – really."

"Cool," Willow replied, feeling slightly better now. She'd been so caught
up in her notions of taking the next step, that she hadn't bothered to ask
if Tara was ready too. Sure, she'd seen the girl's arousal; seen how
turned on she got during their make-out sessions – but that didn't mean
she wanted to act on her desires – that she was ready . . .

Smiling warmly at her girlfriend, Willow realised that they needed to talk
about this. If they were to actually move their relationship up a notch,
then she couldn't just jump in and make it happen – she needed to ask
Tara what she wanted first. Now was not the right time to talk about it
though – they had a Scooby meeting to get to – Maybe tonight?

Pressing a quick kiss to Tara's lips, Willow pulled away from their
embrace, and located something to wear. Tara followed Willow's lead, and
within minutes, the girls were heading off to the shower block.


***


The girls walked back to Tara's dorm together – having finished their
showers simultaneously. Upon entering the room they placed their dirty
clothes and towels in the hamper.

"You're hair's still wet," Willow noted, as Tara took off the towel around
her head.

Tara grinned back at her girlfriend. "Yeah," she replied. Tara knew what
Willow wanted, but chose to playfully bend her waist and make like she
was about to towel-dry her own hair. This had sort of become a morning
ritual with them – the playfulness, and the mutual grooming.

"Can I do it?" Willow asked sweetly – reaching for the towel.

Tara smiled at the redhead in response, and straightened herself up. "Of
course," she replied – handing over the towel.

Tara loved it when Willow dried her hair – a task that Willow also seemed
to enjoy. In fact, over the past week, Willow had made a habit of drying
her hair; of brushing her hair – grooming it, of applying her makeup, and
pretty much doing lots of intimate little tasks for her. All this had
helped to further cement the bond that had been developing between the
two young Wiccas.

Accepting the towel, Willow pulled out a chair from Tara's desk, and
motioned for the girl to sit down. She smiled at her as she complied, and
pressed a soft kiss to Tara's cheek. She towelled the excess moisture
out of her hair first, and then finished up with a hair dryer. Fifteen
minutes later, Willow turned off the appliance, before locating a
hairbrush, and a hair band. It was now time to brush Tara's hair, and put
it up somehow.

When Willow had finished with her hair, Tara stood up, and placed her
arms around her girlfriend's neck. "Thanks," she said – kissing her cheek.

"You're welcome," Willow replied, as Tara pulled her lips away. She put
her own arms around Tara's waist, in order to prevent the girl from
moving. "More please," she requested with a smile, pulling their bodies
closer together.

Tara giggled – she'd expected the request. This was a scenario that had
occurred quite frequently this past week. Whenever she gave Willow a
chaste kiss, the girl always asked for more – wanting to feel the lip-to-lip
sensation instead. Likewise, Tara had started doing the same thing. It
was fun to play around like this – it just meant more kissage – although, it
also meant that they were usually late for everything . . .

"More smoochies?" she inquired playfully.

At her girlfriend's enthusiastic nod, Tara pressed a soft kiss to Willow's
other cheek, and not her lips – like she knew the girl wanted.

Willow chuckled as Tara pulled away again – so that's how it was going to
be then? Well, turnabout was fair play. Leaning in, she brought her lips
towards Tara's, stopping just before they met. She let her breath mingle
with her girlfriend's, blowing some air onto her lips - teasing her a little.
She then leaned in even closer, so that her lips were practically touching
Tara's – only barely making contact – enough to leave her wanting more.

The second Tara leaned in to complete the kiss; Willow turned her head –
denying her girlfriend the satisfaction. If Tara wanted to kiss her cheek
– then Tara would get to kiss her cheek. She flashed Tara a grin, as the
girl pulled back from her enforced chaste-type kiss. The girl was pouting
playfully, and it took all of Willow's willpower not to lean in and capture
that pouting lip. They were playing a game here, and Willow didn't feel
like losing this morning.

"You want more?" She asked Tara with a smile.

Tara nodded, still pouting. She knew how much Willow liked to suckle at
her lower lip, and hoped that by pouting, she could entice her to give in.

"Is this what you want?" Willow asked, kissing Tara's left cheek.

Tara shook her head as Willow pulled away.

"How about this then?" Willow continued, pressing a kiss to Tara's right
cheek.

Tara shook her head again.

"What about this?" she asked, brushing her lips against her forehead this
time.

Yet again, Tara shook her head.

"Still no?" Willow inquired playfully. "Then tell me – what do you want?"

Tara's skin was tingling from her girlfriend's kisses, so she decided to let
Willow win this round. "Willow-lips," she replied with a smile.

Willow grinned – sensing victory. "Where do you want Willow-lips?"

Tara giggled before responding. "Willow-lips," she explained. "On Tara-
lips."

"Well," Willow drawled, moving in towards Tara. "Since you put it so
nicely . . ." Having won the battle, Willow bridged the final gap between
them, and captured Tara's lips with her own.

Tara moaned at the contact, and tightened her arms around Willow's
neck. Even though Willow had won, Tara didn't really feel like she'd lost
either. How could she lose when she'd gotten what she wanted in the end
anyway – Willow's lip on her lips? As she began to open and close her
mouth against Willow's, Tara started to feel the need for Willow-tongue
as well. The next time she opened her mouth; Tara chose not to close it
again – letting Willow know what she wanted.

Willow closed her mouth against Tara's, expecting the girl to do the same
thing. When she noticed her lips were now inside Tara's still-open mouth,
Willow knew what Tara was asking. The girl had kept her mouth open –
wanting to feel her tongue inside. With all the practice she'd gotten
these past couple of weeks, Willow was getting very good at knowing how
Tara wanted to be kissed. Seeing as she'd won the battle, Willow decided
to let Tara have what she wanted.

As soon as she felt Willow's tongue enter her mouth, Tara let out a soft
moan, and met it with her own. She began swirling her tongue around
Willow's, initiating one of her favourite pastimes – duelling with Willow's
tongue. The battle continued for a few minutes, until Willow
remembered the Scooby meeting.

"We're late," she said softly, pulling away from her girlfriend's lips.

"Mmm," Tara sighed – smiling at her girlfriend.

"And we haven't even put on our makeup yet," Willow pointed out.

"Yeah," Tara agreed. "Makeup." This was one of her favourite parts of
their morning ritual. She didn't normally wear a lot of makeup, but ever
since Willow became her girlfriend, her opinion of the stuff had changed.
Maybe it was because Willow insisted on applying the makeup herself.

Pulling out of her girlfriend's embrace, Willow located Tara's makeup kit,
and moved to sit on Tara's desk – her legs dangling over the edge. She
smiled at Tara, and motioned for her to come over. As soon as Tara was
standing in front of her, Willow pulled out some foundation and began
applying it to her face.

Tara closed her eyes at her girlfriend's ministrations – enjoying the
sensation of her touch. It always made her skin tingle to feel Willow's
fingers rubbing in the soft powder. A minute later, she opened her eyes
and smiled at her girlfriend.

"Your turn," she said softly.

Willow grinned, and handed over the foundation. When Tara had finished
her task, she grabbed some eye shadow, and lightly applied it to the girl's
eyelids. She then closed her own eyes, while Willow returned the favour.

"Mascara?" Willow asked.

Tara shook her head. "Not today."

"Okay," Willow smiled – reaching for the lipstick. "Now for my favourite
part."

"Mmm," Tara agreed. "Mine too."

"It's your turn to go first this morning," Willow reminded her.

Tara nodded, and parted her lips in response. Willow slowly applied the
lipstick to her girlfriend's lips, making sure that the layer was extra
thick. When she'd finished her task, she put away the lipstick, and
cupped Tara's cheeks. Parting her own lips, she pulled Tara's face
towards hers, and firmly pressed her lips to Tara's – making sure to have
complete contact.

She'd gotten this idea the first time she'd applied makeup to Tara. What
better way to blot the lipstick from Tara's lips, then by using her own
lips? This way, not only did she not have to use a tissue, but she also
didn't have to apply her own lipstick either. As she pulled away from her
girlfriend, Willow pressed her lips together, making sure the lipstick was
spread evenly – Tara did the same.

"All done," Willow grinned – hopping off the desk.

She wrapped her arms around Tara's waist, and turned the girl around –
so that she was pressed up against her back. She guided them both
towards the mirror, in order to admire their handiwork. She looked over
her girlfriend's shoulder, and met her eyes in the mirror. They smiled at
one another, and Willow couldn't resist pressing a sweet kiss to Tara's
cheek.

"You look great," she whispered into the girl's ear. "Beautiful actually."

"So do you," Tara returned – craning her neck. She briefly took Willow's
bottom lip into her mouth, before releasing it. "Very beautiful."

Willow once again met her girlfriend's eyes in the mirror. "Something's
missing though," she observed with a smile.

"What?" Tara asked – noting the glint in Willow's gaze.

"Stay here," Willow demanded gently, as she pulled away. A moment
later, she was once again standing behind her girlfriend, only this time
she had a couple of necklaces in her hand.

"Which one do you prefer?" she asked – resting her arms on Tara's
shoulders, and holding the jewellery out in front of her.

Tara thought for a moment, before answering. "I like 'em both," she
replied with a smile.

"Both it is," Willow grinned. With that, she quickly fastened both
necklaces around her girlfriend's neck. "There," she said. "Now you're
perfect."

"What about you?" Tara asked – turning around to face Willow. "I think
you need something too."

"Got anything in mind?"

Tara nodded, and located one of her own necklaces. "I think this'll look
great on you," she explained – walking back towards Willow.

"You think?" Willow asked. She turned her back to Tara, and smiled at
her reflection in the mirror.

"Definitely," Tara returned, as she stepped up behind Willow. She
reached around the girl's neck, and quickly fastened the necklace for her.
"What did I tell you," she observed. "You look great."

Willow turned around to face Tara. "Thanks," she said with a smile –
leaning down to briefly kiss her girlfriend's lips. "Ready to go?" she
asked after a moment. At Tara's nod, Willow took the girl's hand into her
own, and dragged them both out the door.


***


As Giles headed out of the student lounge, Willow turned towards her
girlfriend and smiled. "I guess it's just us now."

"Yeah," Tara agreed, smiling back. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know," Willow began. "I've got 20 minutes before class starts."

"Same class as Buffy?" Tara asked.

It was the same class, Willow realised. She giggled as she decided to
make a joke out of it. "Yeah," she replied. "Maybe we could make like
Buffy and Riley and . . . " she waved her arm as she spoke the last couple
of words, pointing in the direction of Tara's dorm room. " . . . you know . .
."

Tara chuckled at Willow's words, seeing where her humour was coming
from. "You mean do the thing?" she rejoined, deciding to play along.

"Yeah," Willow returned, glad to see Tara had gotten her. "The thing."

Tara smirked at Willow's words. "The thing we do."

"Like Buffy and Riley?" Willow asked, oh so innocently.

"Right," Tara agreed, smiling playfully. "That thing."

"The thing we could squeeze in . . . " Willow continued, using the same
word Buffy had.

" . . . Before class," Tara finished the sentence.

"Only not the thing," Willow pointed out mockingly.

"No," Tara agreed. "Cause we couldn't do that thing."

Willow chuckled. "We'd have to do the other thing."

"Our thing," Tara concluded.

"Right," Willow agreed, as they both burst into uncontrollable giggles.
They laughed together for a few minutes, before they finally settled
down.

"Um Tara," Willow began, once her giggles had subsided.

"Yes?" Tara replied.

"Wanna go to a movie tonight?" she asked. "To you know . . . celebrate."

Tara grinned at Willow's question – Did the girl mean to celebrate their
two-week anniversary? She couldn't believe Willow had remembered
that.

"I'd love to," she replied. "I didn't think you'd remembered . . . "

"How could I forget?" Willow replied.

Tara just smiled, resisting the urge to kiss her girlfriend – they were
after all in public.

"I hear Charlie's Angels is playing," Willow continued, forcing down her
own urge to kiss Tara. "It's meant to be pretty funny."

"Okay," Tara agreed. "Sounds good."

"Great," Willow smiled. "Charlie's Angels it is. I'll grab a paper after
class and find out what time it's showing."

Tara smiled in agreement. "We can work out a time at lunch then."

"Right, " Willow agreed. She suddenly realised she'd forgotten to go over
today's class topics. Willow always read up to one chapter ahead of what
they were discussing in class, so that she knew what the professor was
going to talk about, even before he talked about it. "My books," Willow
burst out – standing up quickly.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Tara asked softly.

"I forgot to read ahead," Willow explained – as if it were the most
important thing in the world.

Tara smiled lovingly at her girlfriend. "Oh," she replied knowingly. She'd
gotten used to Willow's obsession with class work. Standing up, she
grabbed her girlfriend's hand and squeezed it gently. "We should go
then."

Willow smiled at Tara, as they quickly made their way back to her dorm.


***

Late that night, Willow and Tara made their way slowly back to Tara's
dorm. They'd just had a very pleasant evening together. First, they'd
gone to the Café for some dinner, and had then headed off to a late-
night showing of Charlie's Angels. They'd thoroughly enjoyed the movie,
and since there hadn't been too many people there, and it had been very
dark – they'd been able to sit themselves in the back corner of the
theatre and occasionally make with the smoochies. Afterwards, they'd
headed off to the Bronze, we're Willow had shown Tara how to play pool.

They were halfway back to the campus, when they heard a rustling in the
bushes, and a vampire burst out from behind them. Tara jumped in shock
at the sight of the blonde vamp in game-face lunging at her.

"Spike," Willow said with annoyance. "What are you doing?" She turned
towards her girlfriend and smiled. "It's okay," she said reassuringly.
"It's just Spike."

Tara thought for a moment – why was that name so familiar? She then
realised that Spike was the vampire with a chip Willow had told her
about.

"Oh," she smiled in understanding. So this was Spike?

Spike turned back into his normal non-vampy self. "Hey Red," he drawled.
"Didn't know it was you – I just caught a look at the blonde over there,"
he continued – gesturing at Tara.

"What are you up to Spike?" Willow questioned him again.

"Hey," he began indignantly. "A fella's gotta make a livin' somehow." He
turned towards Willow's blonde friend and smiled devilishly. "No better
way to get me some blood and smokes," he explained, giving her the once
over. He then turned his attention back to Willow. "Who's your friend?"
he asked. "Haven't seen her around before."

Willow unconsciously reached for Tara's hand protectively. She didn't
like the look Spike had given her – it was kinda predatory, and a little bit
of a come on. What right did Spike have to look at her Tara like that?

"Tara's a really powerful witch," Willow said proudly. "And . . . if you're
not careful – she'll turn you into a frog or something . . ." She glanced
over at Tara and smiled. "Right?"

Tara giggled at her girlfriend, deciding to play along. "Right," she replied,
turning her head back to face Spike. She had to force herself to keep a
straight face though – the idea of her turning this vamp into a frog was
ridiculous at best.

Spike took in Willow's protective attitude, and noted the way she was now
grasping the blonde's hand. He sniffed the air for a second, and realised
that the scent of these two birds was kinda mingled. He felt a smirk
come to his lips as he figured out whom Red had replaced Dog-Boy with.
He looked at Willow and smirked.

"What?" Willow asked, seeing the leer in Spike's grin.

"So that's it," he began.

"What's it?"

"I have to say," Spike continued. "I like the blonde here a lot better than
Dog-Boy."

Willow sputtered at Spike's words – How did he know? "What do you
mean?" she choked out.

He turned away from Willow and smiled sexily at her blonde girlfriend,
making a note of running his eyes down her body. He knew his actions
were annoying the redhead, but more importantly, the blonde did have a
pretty good body – very curvaceous.

"A lot sexier," he observed, shifting his gaze back to Willow. "If you and
Blondie ever get bored with the gal-pal bit . . ."

"Shut up Spike," Willow burst out. She felt like doing massive bodily
harm to the vamp as he'd given her girlfriend the once over. How dare
he? Also, what the hell was he implying . . . Did he mean he wanted to . .
.? What a typical Spike thing to say. She knew he was just saying that to
get a reaction from her, but she did not take kindly to someone joking
about her relationship with Tara. A threesome . . . of all the nerve . . .

Spike lifted his hands up in mock defence. "Hey," he smirked. "It was
just a suggestion. A fella does get lonely . . . and two birds are always
better than one . . . You know," he continued. "Sometimes when Dru was
off alone on the hunt – she'd be gone for weeks – I'd go looking . . ."

"Stop," Willow burst out. "I don't wanna know. Whatever you did is your
business, and I have no interest in hearing about your sex-capades
Spike."

"Right then," Spike grinned, realising he'd taken things far enough. He
didn't want Red here to go complaining to the Slayer - sending her around
to give him a hard time . . .

"I'll be off then." He turned to the blonde and winked at her. "It's been
nice meeting you cutie," he drawled, before heading off.

Willow turned towards her girlfriend, hoping she wasn't too distressed by
Spike's actions. She was surprised to notice the bemused expression on
Tara's face. "What is it?" she asked Tara – curious as to her response.

Tara squeezed Willow's hand, as they continued back towards the dorm.
"So," she began. "That was Spike . . ."

"Yep," Willow replied. "Sorry you had to meet him."

"Oh, that's okay," Tara replied. "He was kinda funny."

"Funny?" Willow questioned. What was so funny about Spike? She'd
thought the blonde vamp had been infuriating, what with the way he'd
been staring at Tara and everything . . .

"He's like a big kid," Tara explained.

"What do you mean?"

"The things he was saying," Tara continued. "It's like he was doing it on
purpose . . . to make us angry or something."

Willow thought about Tara's words for a moment, and began to see the
truth behind them. Of course Spike had been having a go at her – he
always did that. Why hadn't she seen it . . .? Glancing over at her
girlfriend, Willow realised why she'd been unusually annoyed by Spike –
She hadn't liked the way he'd been ogling Tara, making jokes about their
relationship – everything to do with Tara was sacred to her – Tara was
hers and hers alone. Man, did she have it bad . . .?

When they finally reached Tara's dorm, Willow looked at her girlfriend,
and contemplated brining up the subject of their relationship. This
morning, she'd finally decided that it was time to move things along, to let
them enter the next stage, and now was the perfect time to say
something – on their two-week anniversary . . .

As Tara stepped out for a quick shower, Willow changed into her
pyjamas, and crawled into the bed. She spent the time mulling over in her
mind how she was going to bring up the subject – to ask Tara if she could
touch her. When the girl walked back into the room, Willow felt her
resolve fading. Tara looked so adorable and sexy, that Willow felt like
she couldn't handle being rejected by her at this stage. She didn't want
to do anything to risk their relationship, especially not on a day as special
as this one. Maybe tomorrow . . .?

"You tired?" Tara asked her girlfriend, as she crawled into bed with her.
She was surprised to come back from her shower and find Willow already
in bed.

Willow turned on her side so she was facing the blonde. "A little," she
admitted.

"Early night then?"

Willow leaned over and pressed her lips to Tara's for a brief moment.
"After smoochies," she said huskily – pulling away.

"Smoochies?" Tara asked, grinning at the redhead.

"Lots and lots of smoochies," Willow replied, leaning in for another kiss.

The two girls made out for about an hour or so, until things began to get
a little too heated. As usual they pulled away the moment their arousal
became too much for them to control, and they curled up in each other's
arms and drifted off to sleep.


***


"Buffy's going to kill me," Willow insisted, as she and her girlfriend made
their way back to her dorm after lunch the next day.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Tara insisted.

"She hasn't even really worn the blouse that much," Willow pointed out.
"I shouldn't have borrowed it."

Willow was right; she shouldn't have borrowed the peasant blouse without
asking, but pointing that out to her girlfriend wouldn't help ease her
distress. "Although," Tara interjected. "It wasn't your fault you got
grape jelly all over it. The guy came out of nowhere."

Willow opened the door to her and Buffy's room, stepping aside to let
Tara in first. "I don't think that'll hold well with Buffy though," Willow
sighed, making her way to the sink. She picked up a washcloth, and tired
to dab at the stain, but it only seemed to make matters worse.

Tara just stood there in silence, and watched her girlfriend adoringly. "I
don't think it'll come out with soap sweetie," she said after a few minutes.

Willow turned around to face her girlfriend and sighed. "No, I don't
think it will." She suddenly got an idea. "Hey," she burst out, heading
towards her bookshelf. "Maybe there's a spell we can do." She grabbed
the nearest spell book, and sat down at her desk. "One to remove stains
or something . . ."

"Maybe," Tara agreed reluctantly. She didn't like the idea of Willow
using a spell for something so frivolous, but chose not to make a big deal
about it. If Willow wanted to do a spell to hide her transgression – who
was she to complain about it? Glancing up at the wall clock, she took note
of the time.

"I've gotta go to class Willow," she told her girlfriend.

Willow looked up from the spell book she was leafing through. "Okay,"
she replied, standing up. She walked over to her girlfriend and gently
kissed her lips. "I'll pick you up at 7:30," she said as she pulled away.
"We can meet up with Buffy and Xander at the party."

"Great," Tara smiled. "Good luck with the shirt," she ventured, as she
walked out the door.

Once Tara had left, Willow turned her attention back to finding a stain-
removal spell. She researched for about half an hour, until she realised
her search was futile. Changing out of the offending shirt, Willow
decided she'd have to find a good way of breaking the bad news to Buffy.


***

Willow and Tara were now making their way through the crowded party,
searching for a comfortable place to sit and talk. Neither of them felt
very much like mingling, and now that Buffy had gone upstairs with Riley,
and Xander had gone off by himself, they were free to enjoy the party
atmosphere together.

For some reason, as soon as she'd entered Lowell house, Willow had felt a
sudden urge to grab Tara and drag them into a secluded spot so that she
could do wild things to her body. More than ever before, Willow felt
ready to let Tara know she wanted to take their relationship to the next
level. She'd chickened out last night, but today; in this house; she felt
surprisingly bold and . . . naughty.

Looking over at her girlfriend, she smiled at her adoringly. Tara smiled
back, and pointed to a nearby stairwell.

"How about here," she suggested.

"Great," Willow replied, taking a seat. She smiled at the blonde as she
joined her, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Why was she nervous?
What did she have to be nervous about?

Sitting down on the steps next to her girlfriend, Tara turned her head
and smiled warmly at the redhead. She too felt strangely nervous, and a
little uncomfortable. As she looked over at Willow, she couldn't stop
thinking the naughty thoughts that were beginning to manifest
themselves in her mind. Her mind started to flash images of her and
Willow making love; kissing; holding hands; touching each other intimately
. . .

Taking a deep breath, Tara decided to try and force the images out of
her mind. "Willow," she began, figuring conversation was her best bet.
"What do you think of horses?"

"Horses?" Willow asked. Why was Tara asking her about horses?
Fingering the edges of her jacket nervously, Willow questioned her
girlfriend. "Like . . . big . . . tall . . . teeth that could take your arm off –
horses?"

Tara processed Willow's words, realising the girl had a slight fear of
horses. She found the look on Willow's face utterly adorable. Forcing
down the urge to kiss her girlfriend's lips, Tara responded to Willow's
question. "Well sure," she began. "I used to ride when I was a kid. It's
fun." She smiled loving at her then, deciding to remind her that horses
weren't as bad as she thought they were. "And by the way," she
continued. "Most horses don't like arm . . . very much." Her grin widened
as she waited for Willow's response.

Willow wasn't too sure about that . . . but realised that Tara might
probably think she was a loon or something, if she didn't explain her fear.
"I had a bad birthday party pony thing when I was 12," she explained. "I
look at horses, and I see . . . really big ponies."

Well, Tara thought . . . the best way to get over a childhood fear is to
face it. "You should ride with me sometime," she suggested flirtatiously.
"I guarantee safety and fun."

"Well," Willow began, smiling at Tara's words. She could see the
flirtatious glint in the girl's eye, and suddenly felt her naughtiness
returning. "If you promise you'll look after me." She reached her hand
over towards Tara's knee, caressing her gently as she looked into her
eyes. Tara was so sexy, she thought – moving her hand slowly against her
knee.

Tara's smile widened as Willow touched her knee, and she felt an instant
shock of arousal seep through her body. Willow-hand on Tara-knee was
definitely sexy, and Tara couldn't help wondering what Willow-hand on
Tara-thigh, would feel like; on Tara-stomach; Tara-breast; Tara-crotch . .
.

YOU'RE DISGUSTING – DIRTY – BAD – EVIL – NAUGHTY –

Tara was shocked by the voice in her head. "Don't touch me," she heard
herself saying, as she backed off from Willow. "That's dis…disgusting."
She suddenly felt as if she couldn't get far enough away from Willow, and
it scared her. She pressed herself against the wall, and stared in shock
at her girlfriend. What the hell was going on here?

Willow felt as if she'd been swallowed up alive by the pits of hell. Tara
had just done the one thing; said the one thing – which she'd been afraid
of for some time. Had she heard right – had Tara just said she was
disgusting? Why had Tara said that? Did she really think that. Standing
up, she took in Tara's demeanour, and noticed that the girl seemed
slightly unnerved about something. There was a look of shock in her eye,
as she breathed heavily, and trembled slightly.

"Tara," she began, suddenly feeling worried about her girlfriend. "What's
the matter?"

Tara had no idea what was wrong. All she did know, was that she
suddenly felt very dirty; very unclean; impure – a way she hadn't felt in a
long time – not since she'd come to Sunnydale – away from her Father.
The voice in her head had sounded exactly like her father's. What was
going on? Had they followed her here? If so, how was it possible for him
to project his thoughts into her mind? Her father didn't have any
magickal ability – did he? Had he read her mind – heard what she'd been
thinking about Willow? Oh god, she really was bad . . .

VERY BAD

Tara was startled when the voice agreed with her. "I don't," she began,
choosing to answer Willow's question. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry," Willow insisted. She hadn't meant to do anything to upset
Tara. "I…I didn't mean to . . ." she trailed of as she noticed the distress
in Tara's eyes getting even more pronounced. What was going on here?
Was Tara all right? "Are…are you feeling okay?" she asked her girlfriend
in concern.

Tara couldn't take it any longer. The voice was telling her she wasn't
okay, that she was:

WRONG;

BAD;

DISGUSTING;

A CHILD OF PURE SIN;

GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL;

EVIL;

EVIL;

Tara could tell the girl was hurt by her behaviour, that she felt rejected,
and she hated to see her in so much pain – hated to realise that she was
the one responsible for Willow's look of distress. However, she couldn't
control herself – and what made things worse, was that even though she'd
just hurt Willow, the girl was still worried about her. She didn't deserve
Willow's concern – she didn't deserve anyone's concern.

"I'm f…fine," she insisted, feeling the need to be by herself. She needed
to get away from Willow for a bit – to compose herself, and to figure out
what was going on. "I just wanna . . . " she pointed upstairs towards the
bathroom. "Go to the bathroom," she explained. With that, she rushed
up the stairs without a single glance back at Willow – she needed to clear
her head a bit.


***

Willow watched in shock as Tara disappeared up the stairs. She couldn't
believe what had just happened. One moment, she was talking to her
girlfriend – flirting with her, and the next . . . BAM . . . she was being
rejected. What was going on here? Why had Tara rejected her? She'd
touched Tara's knee before; in fact, during some of their more heated
make out sessions – she'd even touched Tara's ass on occasion; only
briefly though, she'd pulled away as soon as she'd realised what she'd
been doing.

Maybe she'd pushed things too far the other morning – with the
straddling? Maybe this was Tara's way of letting her know they should
back off a bit? That didn't make total sense to Willow though – if Tara
had been uncomfortable the other morning – If she'd been uncomfortable
with their relationship - she'd have said something sooner right?

After a few minutes of pondering her actions, Willow decided to get up
and go look for Tara. She was starting to get worried about her – the
girl had been gone for a while now, and she needed to sort things out
between them. The longer she let it drag out, the worse it would become.

***

As Tara entered the bathroom, she suddenly sensed a disturbing energy
emanating from the walls. It felt the same as the voice in her head . . .
This made Tara feel somewhat relieved. It wasn't her father saying
these things to her – the voice had come from the house itself. She
wasn't disgusting – it was something else . . . something about the house;
but what? She decided to walk around and investigate, hopefully she'd
figure out where this energy was coming from – what it all meant.

***

Once Tara had finished her tour of the house, she'd gone back
downstairs to find Willow. Shortly after locating her girlfriend, they'd
gone back upstairs to get Buffy to help them – she wasn't the only one
who had noticed something was wrong with the house; there were many
strange things going on, and they needed the Slayer to help them.

The Slayer was busy however – trapped in a bedroom; making love with
her boyfriend. Tara had sensed a sudden disturbance as Willow and
Xander had knocked on the Slayer's door, and she'd gone to the balcony
to investigate. She hadn't been mistaken, because moments later, there
was a large quake, and pretty soon everyone had left the house.

Once they too had left the house, they realised that The Slayer and her
boyfriend were still trapped inside, and they needed to figure out a way
to get them out. Which is why they'd gone in search of Giles – seeking his
help to find out what was going on, and to think of a way to rescue Buffy
and Riley. They'd found him at the Espresso pump, and after his singing
performance, they'd quickly filled him in on what was going on. They then
headed off towards the college library, so that they could do some
research on the house.


***

AT THE LIBRARY


"So, she's alive," Giles commented. He was referring to Genevieve Holt –
the house director of years past. "Maybe we should pay her a visit then."

"I'm down with that," Xander interjected – standing up.

"Yeah," Anya agreed. "We might find something useful from the old
woman." She stood up and joined Xander – looking down at the rest of the
group.

Giles stood up as well, and looked towards Willow and Tara. "You
coming?" he asked the two witches.

Willow and Tara looked at each other – both thinking the same thing.
They needed to talk about what had happened; they'd been on edge
around one another ever since the stairwell incident, and they just
couldn't take the awkwardness any longer.

"Um," Willow began – glancing at Tara for some support. "We, uh . . ."

"We thought we could do some research," Tara let out.

"Yeah," Willow agreed – smiling at her girlfriend's ingenuity. "I've got
some books at the dorm. We might be able to find a spell or something –
to help . . ."

Giles nodded – seeing the merit to their plan. "Okay then. We'll come by
when we're done."

The girls shared a look, and smiled at one another. "Great," they both
said.

With that, Giles turned around, and headed off with Xander and Anya.

"So," Willow began, suddenly feeling awkward again. "We should, uh . . .
go."

"Okay," Tara said softly, giving Willow a shy smile.

With that, Willow grabbed her jacket, and followed Tara out of the
library. They walked to Willow's room in silence, unsure of what to say.
Willow knew that Tara's actions and words had been a result of whatever
was haunting Lowell house, but they'd still cut. She also didn't know
exactly what Tara had been thinking when she'd said them, and hoped to
god she hadn't really meant them.

Upon reaching Willow's room, the two girls entered silently and took a
seat on opposite beds – facing one another. They smiled nervously at
each other, as they alternated their gazes between the floor, the ceiling,
and their girlfriend's eyes. Neither knew where to begin, but after a
minute of uncomfortable silence, Willow finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry," she let out gently.

"Oh no," Tara was quick to interject. "I…I'm the one who should be
sorry."

"No," Willow shook her head – entering babble mode. "It's my fault – I've
been rushy girl lately. What with how I acted yesterday, and then today
. . . just because I wanted to, doesn't mean you do to – and I haven't even
asked – I totally freaked you out – I shouldn't have been so insensitive . . .
but the dream . . . and the rightness . . . and I didn't want to hide anymore
– and then at the house – talking to you – I just wanted to . . . and you
looked so sexy . . . and I was all with the naughty thoughts, and you were
talking about riding together . . . the look . . . and I was flirting – never
been good with the flirting – but with you . . . I couldn't help myself –
you're smile was just . . . and the moment felt right . . . and I'm sorry –
really – I'm so sorry . . . I was bad – really, really bad . . . bad, naughty
Willow . . . with the naughty thoughts – wrong; sexy; lusty; naughty
thoughts . . . How could I be so . . .? I bet you never have thoughts . . .
and I'm . . . "

Tara couldn't take it any longer – what was Willow talking about? She had
thoughts – naughty thoughts? What did she mean about a dream – what
dream? Willow was not making much sense to her, but if she wasn't
mistaken – Willow had called her sexy. Did Willow mean what she thought
she meant? When she said she had lusty thoughts . . . did she mean she
wanted to . . .? Tara's mind was buzzing with both hope and excitement
over Willow's words. Standing up, she moved quickly towards her
girlfriend, and sat down on the bed facing her – one knee bent; leg under
her thigh.

"Willow," she said softly, taking the girl's hands in her own. "Breathe . . ."

Willow stopped her babbling. "Oh," she whispered, smiling at Tara.

Tara smiled back. "It's okay Willow," she said reassuringly. "You've got
nothing to be sorry about."

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning to face her girlfriend.

"I mean . . . I . . . I have thoughts too . . ."

Tara said the words slowly, shyly – her face turning redder with each one
– yet she forced herself to say them. Willow needed to know she wasn't
the only one who had lusty feelings – especially after how she'd reacted
earlier. She didn't want Willow to think she'd done anything wrong – she
needed to explain everything, and in order to do so, she had to reveal
what she'd been thinking.

Willow's heart skipped a beat at Tara's revelation. "Thoughts?" She
asked softly. "You mean . . .?"

Tara nodded slowly, giving Willow a shy smile. "W…when you t…touched
me," she continued. I . . . I had thoughts . . . I was thinking . . . thinking
n…naughty thoughts . . ." She bent her head, suddenly unable to meet
Willow's eyes.

"So you weren't . . ." Willow took a deep breath, finding it difficult to say
the hurtful word, " . . . disgusted?"

Tara lifted her head. "Oh no!" She exclaimed. "I wasn't . . . I mean – you
weren't . . . I…I was the one . . . not you . . ."

Willow looked at her girlfriend in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Squeezing her hands, Tara tried to explain. "W…when you touched me, I
was . . . I mean I got . . ."

"It turned you on?" Willow asked softly – seeing Tara's discomfort.

Tara's blush deepened at Willow's words. "Yeah," she admitted shyly –
her eyes falling to the floor.

"Oh," Willow whispered, not knowing what else to say. She turned Tara
on . . . the thought made her feel all tingly inside. "So, what happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Tara forced herself to look back up. "I heard a
voice, " she continued, " . . . In my head."

"What voice?"

"I…I don't know," the blonde replied. "I was having lusty thoughts . . .
f…feelings . . . and then . . . then this voice came to me – said I was bad . .
. disgusting. I c…couldn't control it, and it f…forced me to back up, to
s…say those words to you – But they . . . they w…weren't directed at you;
they were meant for me. I was disgusting . . ."

Willow squeezed Tara's hands. "That's terrible!" She exclaimed. "You are
so not disgusting. It must've been horrible to feel like that. The voice
must be a part of what's been haunting the frat house . . ."

"Yeah," Tara agreed. "It…it kinda freaked me out . . ."

Willow nodded. "I remember. What happened to you?" she asked.
"After you'd been gone for a while, I went looking for you – but you
weren't in the bathroom – all I saw there was a drowning ghost-boy."

"I felt something," Tara explained. "I went to the bathroom to clear my
head – to splash some water on my face – when I felt this energy. It was
coming from everywhere – from the walls; the ceiling; the floor – from all
over the house. The energy was so powerful, but I could sense a strong
pain coming from it – hurt and suffering, as if it were trying to break
free of something . . . it was freaky. I started walking around; trying to
find the source of it, but I couldn't . . ."

"You sensed all that?" Willow asked softly – impressed by her girlfriend's
ability.

"Yeah," Tara smiled.

"That's pretty cool," Willow continued. "I mean – your power. I love how
you can sense things like that . . . "

Tara blushed at her girlfriend's words. "I'm not that powerful – really,"
she insisted modestly. "It's just intuition . . . I think I got it from my
mom."

"Well, whatever it is – It's very cool."

The two girls smiled warmly at each other – feeling glad to have sorted
out their awkwardness. After a few seconds of deep eye gazing, they
started to lean in towards one another, until their lips eventually met in a
warm, reassuring, kiss.

As she brushed her lips against Tara's, Willow let go of her girlfriend's
hands. She wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders instead, and
pulled their bodies closer together. It felt good to once again be kissing
her girlfriend – it meant that everything was all right between them –
that she hadn't done anything to ruin their relationship.

Tara's hands were now pressed against her back, and Willow chose that
moment to deepen their kiss. Thrusting out her tongue, she brushed it
over Tara's lips – begging for entrance. The girl was not one to
disappoint, and instantly allowed her unrestricted access. She moaned
into the kiss, urgently seeking Tara's tongue – she loved the sparkage of
their tongue-wars.

She could feel the wetness building between her legs, as she continued to
play with Tara's tongue. Her escalating arousal suddenly reminded her of
something – she still hadn't asked Tara if she wanted to take the next
step. What's more, now would be the perfect time to bring the subject
up – seeing as they'd just revealed to one another that they had lusty
thoughts.

Bringing her hands up to Tara's cheeks, Willow forced herself to end the
kiss. She gently pulled Tara's lips from hers, and gave her a warm smile.
"Hey," she said huskily – her eyes clouded with desire.

"Hey," Tara whispered back – returning her girlfriend's smile. She
wondered why Willow had pulled away, but was reassured by the warmth
and arousal she saw in her gaze. "What is it?"

Willow pulled her hands down to her lap, so that she could concentrate on
her words. She was nervous about asking Tara if she could touch her
intimately – if they could move their relationship to the next stage. She
didn't know if she could handle two rejections in the one day – although,
in all fairness, Tara hadn't really rejected her – it hadn't been her fault –
but the pain was still there. Besides, she'd never have an opportunity
quite like this one, and if she didn't say something now – who knows when
she'd bring it up again . . .?

"I have to ask you something," she explained shyly – twisting her hands in
her lap.

"Okay," Tara smiled. She was curious about Willow's behaviour, and could
see that the girl was nervous about something. What did Willow want to
ask her?

"I've been thinking . . ." Willow began slowly, " . . . about us . . . "

"Oh?" Tara questioned – wondering where this was going.

Willow nodded. "About our relationship and stuff . . ." She paused then,
taking a moment to decide how to explain things. "You see," she
continued. "I've been thinking, that maybe . . . If you wanted to . . . I
mean, if you were ready to . . . if you wouldn't mind if we . . . you know . . .
with the . . . Oh, I don't mean . . . I don't think I'm ready for that . . . but
I am ready for . . . you know . . . stuff . . . if you want to . . . "

Tara took in Willow's babbling, doing her best to understand the girl's
words. She wasn't too sure on the details of Willow's proposal, but from
what she could make out, Willow wanted to do stuff . . . What exactly did
Willow mean by stuff? Tara's heart was racing now, as she began to
realise Willow wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Just
how far did she want to go? The answer was irrelevant to Tara – she
loved Willow more than she'd ever thought it possible to love someone,
and she was more than ready to make love to the girl. Therefore, if
Willow wanted to do stuff – she'd go as far as Willow wanted . . .

"I want to," she said shyly - a blush creeping into her cheeks, as her eyes
dropped to the floor.

"You do?" Willow asked – her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't
believe she'd finally managed to let Tara know what she wanted. She'd
chickened out last night, and to have asked her today – after practically
being rejected by her – well, she felt very proud of herself. She had to
be sure though – she didn't want to assume anything. "What exactly do
you want?"

"I want whatever you want; Willow," Tara explained – her face turning
redder by the second. She forced herself to look up, so that she could
meet Willow's gaze. "W…whatever you want to do . . . it's okay with me . . .
I'm . . . I'm ready . . ."

Willow couldn't help but smile at Tara's response. "Whatever I want?"
she asked playfully. Tara's confirmation had lifted a great weight off her
chest, and Willow suddenly felt free – free to be naughty, that is.

Tara felt her breath catch at Willow's words. Willow's playful expression
reminded her of the way she'd looked yesterday morning – when she'd
straddled her in bed. Tara's heart was racing, as she forced herself to
respond to Willow's question.

"Whatever you want," she confirmed – meeting her gaze evocatively.

Willow was breathing heavily, as she took in the full meaning of Tara's
words. By whatever – did Tara mean she was ready to . . . that if she
asked her to, she'd make love to her?

"Even . . .?"

"Anything," Tara said huskily, surprising herself with her own boldness -
She'd practically told Willow she wanted to make love to her . . .

"Oh . . . " Willow trailed off – completely flustered. Tara wanted to make
love to her . . . she was ready to . . . Wow! Willow didn't know if she was
ready to go that far just yet – with the gay loving, but at least she'd been
given a green light to make with the naughty touching. With that
thought, her playful mood returned to her.

"So," she began, placing her right hand on Tara's left knee – the one that
wasn't bent. "It's okay if I do this?"

Tara gasped at Willow's touch, feeling sparks shoot up her body. She met
her girlfriend's gaze, and could see she was up to something. Whatever it
was, Tara decided she'd play along – she was definitely getting turned on
by her actions, and was curious to see where all this was going.

"It's okay," she said throatily.

Willow smiled, pleased to have been given the go ahead. She then began
to slowly move her hand upwards. "How about this?" she asked – tracing a
seductive path along Tara's thigh.

At Willow's question, Tara could only nod in response. How was she
supposed to talk, when Willow's hand felt so good against her thigh?

Willow was pleased by Tara's response – and a little turned on by it.
Becoming bolder by the second, Willow continued her caress of Tara's
body. She moved her hand to Tara's hip; to Tara's waist; then back down
to the inside of Tara's thigh, coming to rest barely an inch from Tara's
burning sex.

Tara closed her eyes at the sensation of Willow's touch. She couldn't
stop herself from opening her mouth slightly, as her breathing began to
get heavier and heavier. What was Willow doing – What was the girl up
to? Did she know the effect she was having on her? The wetness
between Tara's legs was increasing rapidly, and now that Willow's hand
was so close to where she wanted it to be, Tara couldn't help but start
trembling with anticipation. Was Willow really going to touch her there?

Seeing the effect she was having on her girlfriend, Willow's own arousal
began to increase. She looked down to where her hand rested – on the
inside of Tara's thigh, and couldn't help feeling a little bit dizzy at the
sight of it. Seeing her hand in such an intimate position on Tara's body
was almost as erotic a sensation as actually touching her there. She kept
her hand perfectly still though, as she contemplated her next move.

She had two options – she could either pull away, or turn her hand around
and press her fingers against Tara's sex. Willow decided to go for the
second option – she was way too turned on right now to stop what she'd
started. Taking a deep breath, she turned her palm upwards, and moved
it in between Tara's legs, so that she was now touching Tara intimately.

Tara gasped in surprise when she felt Willow's hand against her sex. Her
eyes flew open in shock, and she met her girlfriend's gaze. She hadn't
actually believed Willow would take things this far – and now had no idea
how to react to it. She was completely aroused by Willow's actions, and
was a little afraid that her girlfriend would notice the wetness between
her legs.

Tara knew she shouldn't be embarrassed about her reaction. She knew
that it was only natural, but she couldn't help it. She felt slightly
vulnerable now – Here she was, sitting on Willow's bed, with Willow's hand
touching her between her legs, and she was completely at the girl's
mercy. The second Willow began moving her fingers, Tara knew she'd be
a lost cause. She'd be unable to restrain herself from moaning with
sensation; from bucking her hips into Willow's hand; from begging the girl
to give her some form of release. If she weren't careful, she'd be coming
from Willow's touch within minutes.

Sure, she'd let Willow know she was ready to make love – but being ready,
and actually experiencing it were two different things. Tara had never
really been intimate with anyone before, and was absolutely shy about the
whole thing. She really wanted to make love to Willow – to touch her
intimately – to be touched intimately by her, but a part of her was scared
and nervous about her own reactions.

Looking into her girlfriend's eyes, Willow could see the trepidation there.
She could see how aroused Tara had gotten, but also how scared she was.
The girl had probably never had someone touch her in this way before,
and that thought pleased Willow. The redhead liked the idea of being
the first person to touch Tara intimately – it kinda fed her possessive
nature.

For some reason, Willow had always felt protective of her relationship
with Tara, and also very possessive. From the moment they'd first met,
Willow hadn't wanted to share Tara with anyone – not even the Scoobies,
and to know that Tara was allowing her to do things to her – things that
she'd never allowed anyone else to do – well, it made her feel all warm and
happy inside.

She didn't want to push things too far though. They had plenty of time
together, and she wanted to make sure Tara was okay with everything.
The slightly anxious look she saw in the girl's eye, told Willow that maybe
they were moving too fast – that she should slow this down a bit.

"Is this okay?" she asked huskily – her eyes searching her girlfriend's.

Tara couldn't speak – couldn't do anything but remind herself to breathe.
How was it possible to be this turned on by a mere touch? Sure, the
touch was an extremely intimate one – but Willow's hand wasn't moving, it
wasn't even pressed very hard against her. Willow's hand was just resting
against her crotch, not doing anything – just resting. Tara shifted her
gaze from Willow's eyes, down to between her legs. The sight of Willow's
hand cupping her intimately, brought an intense rush of desire straight
through to her centre. She gasped in surprise from it, her mind racing
with how erotic it looked.

Willow followed Tara's gaze downwards, and let out a gasp of her own. If
she'd thought the sight of her hand on Tara's inner thigh had been erotic
– well, this was 100 times sexier. She could feel the wetness between
her own legs rapidly escalating, letting her know exactly what her body
thought of this situation. Suddenly, she wanted to feel what Tara was
feeling – she wanted to feel her girlfriend's hand against her own need.
That would be a little difficult though – seeing as she was wearing a skirt,
and if she asked Tara to touch her . . . well, the girl's hand would have to
reach underneath her skirt – she'd have to touch her through the fabric
of her panties, and not through the safety of denim . . .

Willow's arousal began to soar at her thoughts. Would it really be so bad
to have Tara touch her like that? What would it feel like, to have Tara's
hand touching her through her panties? How sexy would it be? She could
just imagine how crazy with desire she'd become from Tara's touch.
She'd be instantly yearning for more – wanting not just a simple touch,
but also the movement of fingers. She'd want Tara to seek out her
clitoris; to press her fingers against it; to rub it sensuously, and to give
her release.

Willow suddenly realised what her touch must be doing to Tara. She was
probably driving the girl crazy – not moving her hand – just touching her
there. Maybe it was time to rectify the situation . . . Just as she was
about to apply some pressure, to where she thought Tara's clitoris might
be – she was startled by the knocking at her door.

"They're back," she gasped – pulling her hand away from Tara guiltily.
She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about the Scoobies; about Buffy and
Riley . . . How could she have been so caught up in things? Smiling
ruefully at her girlfriend, she got up off the bed – moving into panic
mode.

"Research," she whispered – frantically looking around for some books.
"We're supposed to be doing research."

Tara could only nod, doing her best to compose herself. She was still
under the effects of Willow's sexy-touching, and could not really
formulate any coherent thoughts. Reminding herself to take deep,
calming breaths – she watched in silence as Willow quickly located a
couple of spell books, and tossed them onto the bed. She reached for
one of the books and opened it up, as Willow walked to the door – they
needed to appear as if they'd been researching the whole time.

As the Scooby members piled into the room, Willow had to keep
reminding herself to relax. She felt extremely guilty over her behaviour
– and guilt was never a good emotion for her.

"Find anything interesting?" Xander asked – pulling up a chair.

Willow shook her head, as she sat down on the bed next to Tara. "Not
really," she replied. "You?"

Giles responded to her question. He explained about the old woman's
behaviour, and about the disembodied spirits and stuff.

Tara's ears perked up at the mention of disembodied spirits. She'd read
about such things in one of her mother's books, and realised she knew of
a way to help Buffy and Riley.

"Did you say disembodied spirits Mr Giles?" she asked.

Giles turned towards the blonde witch and nodded. "I did."

"I . . . I think I might know something that could help," she explained.

Willow smiled proudly at her girlfriend. "Really?" she asked.

Tara grinned at the redhead. "Yeah," she nodded her head. "There's a
spell . . . I read it in one of my mom's books . . . it could b…bind the spirits
long enough for someone to reach Buffy and Riley. I think I've seen the
same book here as well." She stood up and walked towards the bookshelf.

"That'd be great," Willow burst out – looking over at Giles. "Right?" she
asked him.

Giles nodded in agreement. "It could work," he said cautiously.

"Then I can go back for them," Xander pitched in.

"If you go – I go," Anya insisted.

"Fine," Xander replied.

"I found it," Tara interrupted – handing the book to Willow. "Here," she
pointed out the passage.

Willow accepted the book from her girlfriend with a smile. She began
reading over the passage, and Giles stood up to read over her shoulder.

"It should work," he said a moment later – "it doesn't seem too difficult."

"Right," Willow agreed – standing up. "Lets set it up then." She looked
over at Tara, and the two smiled at each other – it was time to light all
the candles.

While the witches set up the room for the spell, Xander decided to go
raiding Buffy's weapons chest. Anya started giving him a hard time about
it, but he ignored her protests. He didn't care if these spirits had no
bodies – a weapon always made him feel stronger – manlier.


***


After the spirits had dispersed, they'd quickly cleaned up the room
somewhat, and then headed off towards Lowell house – to make sure
everyone was okay, and to find out what had happened. On their way to
the frat house though, Giles and the two witches came across Xander and
Anya. Xander explained what had happened, and said he'd left a note for
Buffy to meet them at the café in the morning – so that they could fill
her in on the goings on. The Scoobies then all went their separate ways –
with Willow and Tara deciding that Tara's dorm would be the safer one to
sleep in that night.

END OF PART 1
You can find part 2 at:
http://www.peccath.com/extraflamey/vault/archive/2/wildtouching2.shtml