Spike landed on his back and she was on top of him in a heartbeat. He could only lie there, confused while she aimed the stake eerily close to his heart. He reached up immediately to try to fend her off but pain shot through him like hot irons in his brain. Moaning weakly, he stopped struggling and his assailant relaxed a little.

"Now I could stake you right now. I'm not even really sure why I shouldn't.something tells me you're more interesting than the last guy who showed up in here. You can't even hit me. Why is that?"

"Who are you?"

"No. See..I don't think we're understanding each other." She sucked on her teeth and traced the stake along Spike's tense chest, grinning.

He was numb with fear. He had never intended to die like this. There was no flair. Hell, there weren't even any witnesses. He would be dust. Just like that. How pitiful.

"What do you want?"

"I want lots of things, little man. What do you want?" She was shifting around now. Moving, squirming, making Spike more than a little uncomfortable. He didn't like this. Her eyes were not as hard as he thought they should be. They looked vulnerable. In their vulnerability there was weakness, but more than that. There was desperation.

"I want you to bloody well get offa me. Or."

She was moving down his body now, straddling his hips, she moved back and forth slowly. The denim of his pants and the leather of hers creating friction and heat.

"Or what? What else would you like me to do?"

Spike grimaced. He wanted to push her away. He wanted to draw her in closer. He watched her throat as she tossed her hair, obviously posing for him. He wanted to bite her, feel the tear of her soft skin beneath his teeth, the sound of her coursing through his veins refracted in his eardrums. He sighed.

"Is it me? Or are you this tame with all the girls?" She bared her throat and offered it to him, her eyes turned up in the corners with confidence. She was mocking him.

"Stop playing me and kill me already. If that's what you're planning." He leaned back, stretching his chest in front of her. This was no game. He didn't care. She could stake him, for all he cared. Bloody well served him right anyway.

"Little pup's lost his bite. Too bad. It could have been a blast. So tell me."She paused, still on top of him but now she'd set the stake aside and was running her hands along the sides of his face. "Who are you?"

"No one." Who was SHE? She couldn't be more than nineteen or twenty and she certainly smelled human. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a lighter. She lit it and held it near his hair. She waited till a few strands began to hiss before she asked him again.

"Spike. I'm Spike. Resident pet vampire. Who're you?"

"So what's with the weak incisors? Gypsy curse get you too?"

"American science."

"Uh huh. Where were you headed before your little detour?"

Spike jumped a little. The lighter was still hovering dangerously close to his hair and this bitch's questions were getting a little too precise.

"I was out for a walk. Just gettin' some air."

"Sure. And I was out shopping for scented candles. Where were you going?" Her voice was low and ridiculously pleased. This was fun for her. It would have been fun for him too, once.

"I was meeting some friends." Friends. Hah.

"Friends. Hah." Spike glanced up sharply. What was she laughing at?

"I'll bet a guy like you is just what they were looking for after Angel left. I always thought useless vamps were Buffy's fetish. I know who you are, you know." She was glancing coyly down at him. He'd stiffened. He suddenly knew who this had to be. He understood her strength, her confidence.

"Faith."