Chapter 11

Willow was holding so tightly to Spike's hands that her fingers started to cramp, but still she didn't let him go. The noise of the others around her faded to a dull roar that was blocked out by the thump of her heart in her ears; she couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from his face and that was worrying.

She should be up and about, gathering books, researching on line, she was research girl after all, she always found the answers. But Willow couldn't bring herself to move, to let go of his hands.

The jangle of the bell above the shop door sounded, Willow heard it but she paid it no mind, she was trying to figure out what that expression was in Spike's eyes, they had turned soft, softer than she had ever seen them or had ever thought the eyes of a demon could look, and they seemed to caress her face as gently as the first rays of morning light.

Spike saw her visibly tremble and he could hear her heart stumble in her chest before losing control completely as though it were being prompted by an electrical current. It did his heart good to hear it; the scorn of both Cecily and Dru were hot on his heels, forever present; Spike was soothed to know that he was right, that Willow had feelings for him even if she hadn't spoken them allowed yet.

He had wanted a look from her that was just for him and he was getting more than that now, right now he was experiencing a moment; a moment that was for him alone. He lifted their joined hands, bringing her fingers closer to his lips for a courtly and gentlemanly kiss, Willow would like the Victorian gentleman in him, but all too soon that moron Xander had to go and ruin things by jarring Willow's shoulder causing her eyes to leave his as she returned to the world around her.

"What is it, Xander?" Willow blinked rapidly.

"Tara," Xander said with a small frown on his face. He pointed towards the door. "Tara's here."

Willow finally turned her attention to Tara, the girl was white as a sheet and Willow was on her feet immediately. "What's happened? Tara?"

Spike rose too extremely annoyed that Tara had shown up. What possible reason could she have for being at The Magic Box after Willow had broken things off? When he looked at her properly however Spike could see that Tara was very upset and she returned Willow's hug and clung on to her.

"Something awful has happened. I… I think demons are involved," Tara took a steadying breath. "At least I hope they are, I … I don't like the thought of a human doing this."

"Doing what?" Faith had a feeling she knew exactly what Tara was going to say.

"Do you remember Penny Adams? She came to the wicca group for that first meeting," Tara released Willow but stood close to her. At Willow's nod of confirmation Tara continued. "She had an apartment off campus, they found her this morning. They say she'd been dead for two days, her heart ripped out."

"Damn! That's three down," Faith ran a hand through her hair. "We have to find something about this ritual to call the Blood Guard and find it fast if we're going to locate the last member."

"Here, sit down sweetie," Willow guided Tara into a chair and patted her shoulder reassuringly as she explained that Penny Adams was not the first to be found in this way.

Spike took a seat at the table, his jaw tight and his temper straining like a wild animal. It seemed quite clear to him now that Willow wasn't in the least bit surprised that Tara had shown up there was no reason why Tara shouldn't be there; their relationship was obviously unaltered.

He shot Willow a disapproving and aggrieved look, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy fussing over Tara. Spike just didn't understand, Willow was obviously as affected by him as he was by her and she had been the one to make the first move back in L.A. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't have made his move, she just beat him to it.

She had done it of her own volition too, there had been no demands made by him, Willow had been free to make her own choice and she had chosen him. Although now it looked as though she was choosing Tara and Spike couldn't make sense of her.

Willow was not the type to use him and she was not the type who would find perverse pleasure in manipulating him into feeling something for her just to reject him. Spike's mind rebelled loudly at that last thought. Willow had not rejected him, only mere minutes ago she had been locked in a secret world of understanding with him; her eyes, her heart beat told him things were not the same between them as they had been.

Her heartbeat could not lie to him.

Her scent could not lie to him.

"Do we know anything about witch hunters?" Tara asked, pulling a book towards her. "Are they human?"

That was a bloody good question and Spike was suddenly all ears. He needed to know what he was up against if he was going to protect Willow. He would be in a spot of bother if the witch hunters were human, he couldn't take on a human and win anymore. His temper went up a couple of notches.

"I think they look sort of human but I don't think they're completely human," Anya said.

Tara considered for a moment. "If their sole purpose is to kill witches it makes sense that they aren't human. They'd need some sort of magic to even be able to fight with a witch, wouldn't they?"

"Makes sense," Faith agreed.

Spike agreed too, and he liked the sound of it. He could fight something that wasn't totally human. He could keep Willow safe.

Spike didn't bother to question his feelings, to wonder why after engaging in one sexual act with this girl he was suddenly obsessed with having her for his own and protecting her from the evil that hunted her. He didn't question it because he knew that he wasn't as random as all of that. Things between he and Willow hadn't miraculously changed in L.A, their relationship had come to a head in L.A. The visit to Angel was merely the catalyst; the change between them had been growing for some time, their feelings towards each other gradually shifting and shaping their relationship to what it was becoming.

Something that wasn't just friends.

Something that was infinitely more.

XxXxX

They worked in silence for hour's, occasionally sharing passages of books with each other and Willow would read allowed from the lap top screen.

Finally Faith stood up and stretched out her back, her eyes were beginning to cross and she was getting restless. "Sun's set, I think I'll do a quick patrol."

"I don't think we're going to find much here," Anya admitted tossing her book on to the table. "Everything I read says the same thing, the history of the Blood Guard but no way to contact them."

"Shall we leave it for tonight then? Try again in the morning? I don't see what pulling an all nighter is going to achieve, like Anya says, we're going over the same stuff. There's nothing new."

Xander glared heatedly at Faith. "The last member of the Blood Guard could be dead in the morning. She could be dead right now for all we know and the witch hunter could be coming after Willow and you want to just leave it?"

Faith shifted her weight from one foot to the other very aware of the angry look that was also coming from her left where Dawn was sitting. "That's not what I meant. We just aren't getting any where, Xander. Re-reading the same stuff would be ok if it helped us figure out a way to beat the witch hunter but it doesn't! What good are we doing sitting here?"

Xander rose to his full height and glowered at Faith. "My best friend's life is in danger. I don't intend to sit back and do nothing but you do what you want to do."

Faith scowled. "I'm not talking about sitting back and doing nothing, but doing what we're doing isn't actually helping, is it? We've been here all afternoon and we're no closer now than when we started. I want to stop this witch hunter just as much as you do but I can't do anything until someone tells me how and these books just aren't doing it."

"Well that's not good enough," Xander snapped. "You should be looking for a way to keep Willow and Tara safe, after all, Willow's the one who got you out of prison and she's the only one who wants you here. I think you owe her, don't you? Without Wills you'd still be rotting in a cell."

Faith was furious, her eyes darkened and her hands closed into fists at her side. She had the satisfaction of seeing an uncertain look cross Xander's face as he eyed her fists. "I want to stop the witch hunter. I want to make sure that Willow and Tara are safe, but I have a responsibility to the other people living in Sunnydale too."

"Xander, enough," Willow stood up and closed down her lap top. "Faith's right, Tara and I aren't the only ones in potential danger here. What about the others, the innocent people walking the street at night who don't know what's lurking out there? Faith has to protect them first and foremost, that's her job as a slayer."

Willow was annoyed, she didn't for one moment doubt Xander had genuine concern for her safety, but she felt he was using it as a way to needle Faith and to show his utter distain of her. True she wasn't Faith's biggest fan, Faith had hurt her too, but Willow was able to put her own feelings aside, she was moving on from them and willing to give the slayer another chance just as she had done for Angel. Faith might be a slayer but she was a woman first, she was human and being human, as she had told Dawn, meant making mistakes. Willow herself was far from perfect, so was Xander come to that but she didn't throw his past in his face and she could, quite easily. The hyena incident sprung to mind.

"Half those people wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Xander pointed out. "It's you who save them it was her who tried to destroy them. The Ascension ringing any bells with you?"

"Buffy's dead, deal with it, Harris." Spike didn't mean to upset Dawn or Willow but Harris was driving him nuts with his hostility towards the slayer. He knew a lot of it stemmed from his feelings for Buffy that had never totally gone away and the boy couldn't bare to see an old enemy taking her place.

Dawn sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes tightly taking comfort from Tara's warm hand that curled around her trembling fingers.

"Who asked you? No-one cares what you think, you aren't even a real vampire any more," Xander snapped scowling at Spike.

Willow swallowed and squared her shoulders. "Spike's right, Xander."

"Spike's what?" Xander looked momentarily stunned.

"He's right," Willow repeated. "We won't forget Buffy, not ever, but you have to let her go. We need to move on and do what's best for Sunnydale, for the world and that means working with Faith. It's what Buffy would want, she wouldn't want the world she died saving falling to rack and ruin because we couldn't put our differences aside. That would be the ultimate insult to her."

Xander fumed silently. He was left with no argument against Willow's cool voice of reason and that infuriated him even more. "Figures you'd side with him." It was a petty, childish response, but Xander had no other to give.

"What does that mean?" Willow demanded. The moment the question left her lips Willow wished she'd said nothing at all, she didn't need to draw attention to her relationship with Spike in any way.

"You figure it out!" He had no actual answer to give, expect that Willow didn't seem to be siding with him much lately but saying that would just make him look even more ridiculous than he already did. "I'm going home," Xander snatched up his jacket and stormed out of the shop. The bell above the door jangled violently at his exit.

"I'll shut the shop and come with you, Faith," Anya stood up wearily and began to prepare to close up the shop.

"I have some books at home that Giles left for us," Willow said, if Anya was ignoring the Xander storm out then she would follow Anya's lead. "Maybe there's something more in those."

"I'll help you look," Dawn's voice quavered slightly but she wore a determined look on her face.

"I suppose I'd better go with Faith," Tara stood up and headed towards the back room for a weapon. "Your shoulder's are still sore and we need everyone patrolling who's able."

Willow sent her girlfriend an appreciative smile. Tara could always be counted on to do the right thing, she had such a good heart and a quiet strength inside her that other's didn't realise was there. Tara was like the beauty of the dawning of a new day, the babbling of a little brook and the sun glinting through a crisp autumn leaf; she was quietly beautiful and strong in her own way and Willow adored her for it.

"Thank you."

The words were softly spoken but to Tara they spoke volumes. She knew that Willow had taken a big risk with Faith and that she needed support from her friends right now. Tara knew that Faith's ways would be vastly different to Buffy's, she knew that Faith had something to prove both to herself and to those she had hurt and wronged in the past and Tara so no reason as to why Faith should not be given a chance, she was big on not judging and no-one was perfect.

She was working hard to apply her no judging rule towards her girlfriend right now. Tara understood Xander's bitter parting shot where Spike was concerned. Xander was hurt that Willow had chosen to confide in an evil vampire, a demon rather than her own friends. She had gone to Spike for help instead of turning to her friends as she should have done and that both bewildered and hurt Xander.

Tara knew that because it both bewildered and hurt her too. Just as it hurt and bewildered her as to why Willow hadn't told her about her two evening jobs; Tara knew that Spike knew all about them. She struggled to understand why Spike was privy to certain information and secrets when she was not.

Tara supposed that Willow had her reasons, but what they were she couldn't even guess at. She was however glad that Spike did know, he always brought Willow home safely even if he didn't come into the house, Tara knew because she always watched for Willow from one of the upstairs windows. It was important to her that Willow was safe and she was glad of Spike's presence in their lives.

Retrieving a gun of holy water from the shelf Tara winced, she would have to be extra careful not to get Spike tonight. He helped them, he kept Willow safe and while Tara was not exactly comfortable around him on her own and had the distinct feeling that he could take her or leave her, she rather felt that she owed him for Willow's safety if for nothing else and she resolved suddenly to try being nicer to Spike and to definitely make sure he was out of range when she fired this gun again.

Faith and Anya came into the room then and began to arm themselves; stakes and an axe for Faith, stakes and holy water for Anya. Anya was silent with a determined set to her jaw and Tara gave her a reassuring smile. Xander would cool off by tomorrow and Anya was doing the right thing, protecting the streets of Sunnydale.

"Spike's right," Anya said securing a stake in her belt. "Xander can be a moron sometimes."

"He'll come round," Tara promised.

Anya beamed then, her eyes fairly glittering. "Yes he will, think of all the make up sex we can have after this fight."

Faith groaned quietly. "I'd rather not if it's all the same to you." If everyone else was going to carry on as normal and pretty much brush the Xander incident under the carpet she figured she had better do the same.

Willow and Dawn were all packed up by the time the three women came back and they all left the shop and waited for Anya to set the alarm and lock the door.

Willow shifted the strap of her bag it was resting heavily on her shoulder and rubbing against the sore skin. "Guess we'll head home then."

"I'll take them," Spike said. "I'll meet you at the cemetery when I'm done."

It surprised him that no-one argued with this suggestion, it was a matter of course that anything he said was met with fierce resistance. Of course now the Watcher was gone, the Slayer was dead and Harris had stormed off in a sulk only people with common sense were left. It was a strange experience to have people treating him as though he actually mattered and had something of value to input into the proceedings.

"Fine," Faith swung her axe with a sense of purpose. "I'm sure you'll find us alright, just follow the sounds of fighting." She turned then and headed down the street flanked by Anya and Tara. They didn't look like much, but Spike had seen them in action, seen them working together and he felt he would rather be on their side than against them.

He fell into step beside Willow matching his longer strides to her shorter ones. "The moron will simmer down by tomorrow. Might be good for him to stew in his own juices for a bit."

"It might," Willow agreed and winced as the strap of her bag rubbed again at her shoulder.

"Give it to me," Spike snapped his fingers and held out his hand. "We'll be here all night if we have to wait for you to keep rearranging that thing," he said to forestall any protests.

Willow sighed and handed the bag over to Spike, it was a relief to get rid of it. Her shoulders were much better than they should be, she had mixed herself a healing salve and it was doing wonders for her burnt skin. It wasn't as nice as Spike's hand had been, but it was a whole lot safer.

"Do you think a witch hunter would be able to track a witch?" Dawn asked suddenly.

"I don't know. It's a possibility, a pretty darn good one I would guess," Willow said. "Why?"

"Well, that would mean that a witch hunter could probably sense if a spell has been cast, right?" Dawn persisted.

"Get to the point, love."

Dawn sighed heavily and gave him a look that told Spike she thought he was being particularly dense. "It could be a good way to draw the hunter into a trap. The hunter is bound to go after a witch that was casting a spell at that moment, right?"

"Good idea," Willow agreed. "Although we need to figure out how to kill the hunter before we make the trap."

Dawn nodded but remained silent. She hadn't got as far as working out how to kill the hunter just yet.

They talked about inconsequential things the rest of the way home it helped take their minds off their immediate problems. There were always problems, their whole lives revolved around problems to be solved and Willow was fully prepared to spend the rest of her night looking for a way to solve this particular problem but she found her steps slowing the closer to home they got. Once they reached the door Spike would hand her bag back and be on his way to the cemetery.

She took a deep breath catching the scent of Spike on the night air. She shot a sneaky look at him out of the corner of her eye, the muscles between her legs clenching in response to what she saw. He had a good profile, strong and handsome which completely belied the cold killer beneath.

Dawn fumbled in her pocket for her keys as soon as the house was in sight. "I'm going to run the rest of the way."

"What? Why?" Willow was immediately on the alert, mentally chastising herself for lusting after Spike when she should have been keeping her eye out for danger.

"I need to pee, that ok with you?" Dawn asked crossly. She didn't wait for an answer and simply put out her tongue at Willow's smile before pushing off on her toes and running along the pavement to the house.

Alone with Spike. The one place she wanted and didn't want to be. Willow didn't trust him to behave himself and she trusted herself even less. She swallowed thickly and kept her eyes on the house. She was grateful that Spike seemed to be content to puff on his cigarette rather than talk.

"Bit makes a good point."

"Oh?" It was just her luck that she couldn't reach the safety of the house without some form of conversation with him.

"When your back to patrolling you can't use magic to defend yourself, it'll bring the hunter down on you like a ton of bricks."

Willow stopped hands coming to rest on her hips. "I'm not hiding away if that's what you're getting at."

"Not expecting you to," Spike said lightly. "Just thinking that you might need a bit of help in defending yourself is all."

"What kind of help?" he had her attention now. Willow understood that she couldn't use magic until they found a way to defeat the hunter. Tara didn't worry her in that respect, Tara never used magic if she could help it.

"You might want to learn how to fight a bit, pet, that's all I'm thinking. Just a few basic moves, for defense, you know." Spike couldn't watch over her every minute of the day, and he was realistic enough to know that the slayer couldn't either. This was the best solution in his eyes.

Willow considered the matter as she mounted the back steps. The pale light of the moon shone down on Spike's head causing his hair to shine like a silver helmet. He looked easy and comfortable against the backdrop of the night and it struck Willow how at home he was in the dark. The night could hide nothing from Spike, he had senses she did not possess and he was able to slip into the shadows and become one with the darkness, she had seen it with her own eyes. That was how he killed, how he surprised his victims. But Willow guessed that many of his victims had gone to Spike willingly. How could any woman resist a face like that?

Willow was suddenly struck by Spike as though she were seeing him for the first time. His eyes were so deep and blue that she could loose herself in them, the tips of her fingers tingled with the urge to trace his cheek bones and his lips, soft and full made her wonder what a kiss from Spike would be like and she experienced a sharp stab of disappointment that her opportunity had been snatched from her the previous evening.

Spike's senses were on overload, her heart beat wildly in her chest like a trapped bird and her scent was subtly changing to mark her arousal. Pinning her with his eyes he dropped the bag and advanced slowly up the steps towards her.

Willow automatically took a step back, Spike was both terrifying and exciting when he looked at her like that; his eyes flecked with the yellowish gold of the demon and the tiny point of his fangs just visible beneath his lip.

Instead of putting her off, seeing him like this just turned her on even more. Willow felt that probably said something deeply disturbing about her but she didn't have the ability to delve into that right now, not when he was leaning into her, his hands against the back door at either side of her head.

She should have pushed him back, she should have gone into the house and sent him on his way to the cemetery. But she didn't, instead Willow's fingers curled into the lapels of his duster and drew him closer, her body arching to meet his.

"Spike…." All coherent thought left her when his lips brushed across her forehead, his nose bumping her temple before he dropped his face into the crook of her neck.

Willow shivered, gooseflesh rippling over her skin, her breasts fell full and heavy and her nipples had turned into hard nubs. The less said about what was going on between her legs the better, she thought.

She was panting, her breath warm against his neck and she trembled uncontrollably. Her scent was pushing him over the edge; her skin, her hair, her arousal; it was all too much for him and not enough all at once.

Spike's fingers caressed her neck with gentle soothing circular motions, titling her head back so that he could press a kiss to her rapidly jumping pulse. His lips curled into a smile against her skin when she whimpered.

His voice was a husky rumble in her ear when he spoke. "Wanna taste you, pet."

It took Willow a moment to respond, words just didn't seem all that important when Spike was this close to her. "I…. I don't have the knife."

There was disappointment in her tone and Spike heard it loud and clear. He smiled again. "Just want a little taste," he said again. "It's only fair, after all pet, you've tasted me."

Willow's heart slammed against her breast bone and her breath left her in one fell whoosh. She could feel Spike's fingers plucking at her skirt, the material whispered against her legs as it moved and swayed its way upward.

Absolutely not.

This isn't right.

You're being inappropriate, Spike.

Are you mad?

I have a girlfriend.

No.

There were a million responses she could give to him, but none passed her lips. Willow just allowed Spike to curl her fingers over her skirt and hold it out of his way as he dropped to his knees.

The anticipation, the desire coursing through her was robbing Willow of breath and she panted harshly, her legs automatically parting for him, ready for him, inviting him.

Spike's hand was cool on her bare skin, moving slowly up her inner thigh until his fingers brushed against the lace seam of her underwear. She trembled again and Spike held her legs in a firm grip to ensure he would catch her if her knees buckled, the muscles seemed to spasm under his hands.

A pool of yellow light suddenly flooded the back porch as Dawn flicked on the kitchen light and came into the room. "Willow, what are you doing out there?"

Willow was so startled she lost her grip on her skirt and her body jerked from the door. Spike bent back a bit to stop himself getting tangled in the folds of her skirt and he growled, a deep annoyed, unhappy sound that Willow felt vibrate through her. A sound she could identify with.

Dawn pulled open the back door and stared in surprise at Spike who was now on one knee in the process of standing up. Her eyebrows rose and a grin crossed her face. "What are you doing down there? Proposing?"

"Tying my laces," Spike snapped crossly.

"I was just saying goodbye to Spike," Willow said, her voice was thick and clogging with lust but Dawn didn't seem to notice. She took them at face value, there was no reason why she shouldn't.

"Shall I order pizza? I'm starved."

"Fine," Willow tried to plaster a smile to her face but it didn't work.

Dawn bounced out of the kitchen in search of the phone. "Pizza, pizza, pizza," she sang gaily.

"I….. you…. Cemetery…." Willow stammered brokenly. Apparently she was inarticulate now, she'd be saying you Tarzan me Jane next. The image of Spike as Tarzan swept through her mind and Willow firmly clamped down on it. Now was not the time to indulge in Spike fantasies.

"Yeah," Spike agreed ruefully. She was looking at him with wide eyes, her desire poorly concealed. Probably just as poorly as his was, Spike thought. "Soon, pet." His eyes pinned hers for a long moment before he jumped off the back steps and melted into the night, his duster billowing behind him.

On shaking legs Willow entered the kitchen and sat down heavily on a stool. She was aching, she was aching all over. She wanted him like she had never wanted anything in her life before and Willow was terrified.

Tara. Her cheating mind focused on her girlfriend. Tara was good and decent and warm and caring. Tara didn't deserve to be treated this way and Willow had always thought she was better than Oz, that she would never behave the way he did, she was it appeared, worse. Oz had not been running around enjoying stolen moments with Veruca the way she was with Spike.

But it wasn't that simple, not when it came to Spike. When it came to Spike things were infinitely more complicated.

Willow held her head up high, she wouldn't let them get complicated that was all. She would cut herself off right now, cold turkey as they said. She would make sure that she wasn't alone with him and she would ask Faith to train her. Willow knew Spike had meant to take that job for himself but Willow could hardly stand thinking about it, cooped up with Spike getting all hot and sweaty with his hands on her all the time.

Things would evolve past self defence moves and Willow knew it, just as she knew that she would be the one left with feelings that were hurt and possibly even shattered beyond repair. She couldn't go through that again.

No more Spike, for her own protection Willow knew there couldn't be any more Spike.

Leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs to get the books Giles and left for her Willow could hear the traitorous little voice in her head telling her that things with Spike were not going to be that easy.