Faith threw herself onto the bed and stretched. It had been a long day, with a lot of time trapped in a dirty pickup truck. With Lindsey. The Lindsey part had been surprisingly pleasant, although she'd never admit it to his already overinflated ego. She felt comfortable with him in a way she hadn't with anyone else -- even Angel. She knew they were on the same level, and that made her wonder whether he was getting better or she was getting worse.

Faith took off her denim jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair. She'd intended to practice her Tai Chi, but Lindsey kept creeping back into her awareness. Angel had seemed surprised at her protectiveness of the former Wolfram & Hart employee, and, frankly, so was she. It wasn't like they could sit and reminisce about the good ol' days. But something still made her angry at the way Angel had treated him. She rubbed her eyes and tried to put it out of her head. There was no point in torturing herself with it tonight.

She slipped into her black pajamas and was about to crawl beneath the covers when something caught her attention. It was a subtle sound, and anyone but the Slayer or a vampire would have missed it. Someone was lurking outside.

Gripping a stake in her hand, she tiptoed to the door. She opened it slowly, carefully, preparing to kill anything that wasn't human. She stopped suddenly when she saw Lindsey staring at her. She dropped her hand to her side and released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"Can I help you, McDonald?"

"I didn't expect you to answer the door."

"So you were going to stare at my doorknob all night?"

"No, I." He faltered, searching for words, then he looked up sharply and caught her eye. "I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me in front of Angel today. You didn't have to, but you did anyway. So thanks."

"Are you done?"

"Yeah." He turned to leave, but she caught him by the shoulder and pulled him close, dropping the stake and picking up where they'd left off in the truck. He placed his hands heavily on her hips, pressing his body even tighter to hers. Finally, he pulled his lips away, but their foreheads still touched.

"This is getting dangerous," he said softly.

"Yeah, that's me." She pulled him inside, slammed the door shut and pushed him backward onto the bed. He was silent as she straddled him.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Totally," she murmured, her lips centimeters from his. "But say the word and I'll let you leave here with your virtue intact."

He laughed hollowly. "It's way too late for that."

Faith held his arms above his head and pinned him to the bed, covering the length of his body with hers. God, it had been a long time she'd gotten laid. She didn't even care if it WAS Lindsey McDonald. Her main concern was how quickly she could get his pants off.

Lindsey wasn't surprised to learn that Faith was aggressive in bed. He'd even had a fantasy or two in the car about what kind of lover she'd be. He'd imagined leather and chains and a startling array of toys would be involved. The last truly memorable encounter he'd had was with Darla -- another woman who liked to be in charge. He'd done things with Darla he hadn't done with any other woman. But Faith wasn't a vampire. She was a Slayer. Where Darla's skin was cold and unyielding, Faith's was searing and surprisingly soft. She was on top of him and slowly rubbing herself against him, making him insane before he'd even gotten his clothes off. He knew she could tear him apart before he'd even know what hit him, but damned if he was going to be her bitch. He rolled over smoothly until he was on top, and slid her pajama top over her head. Damn, she was beautiful, he thought. Even more beautiful than his fantasies had allowed.

Faith was surprised by the fluid motion with which he'd placed himself over her. She'd always been the dominant one in any sexual encounter, but, for some reason, this time she didn't mind sharing. She clawed at the button on his jeans while he nibbled at the skin on her neck, and her skin burned. Within moments they were both naked and sitting up, with Faith's legs wrapped around his torso.

Lindsey ran his fingertips slowly down her body, followed by his tongue. He explored every inch of her body with both as she continued to rub against him. She sank her teeth into the skin on his shoulder, and he let out a strangled scream, but he didn't pull away.

"Again," he whispered.

She bit him again, this time on the other shoulder, and blew softly on the raw skin. This was crazy, she thought. Sex was usually a wham-bam procedure, and foreplay was something of a new experience for her. She wasn't sure she could stand much more.

Then they were one, and thought abandoned her. Their bodies moved together as if they'd been designed just for this experience.

Lindsey bit back the waves of heat and pleasure that coursed through him. He didn't want this to be over too quickly. He wanted her to moan as loudly as he was moaning, to keep whispering his name like a mantra. He wasn't disappointed. She dug her nails into his back and let loose a scream that made him shiver. He held on a little longer, and she followed with another. Then he let go, and the world dissolved until there was nothing but Faith clinging to him, her heat and her sweat and all that amazing wild hair.

They held each other for a moment after it was over. They were done, but he was reluctant to pull away from her. Finally, he did and reached for his pants.

"Wait," she whispered. He turned back to see her staring at him, her head on the pillow. She raised herself onto her elbows.

"No strings attached," she said. "I was looking for a fuck friend, not a dog and a white picket fence. But it wouldn't be so bad if you stayed the night."

He looked at her for a long while and then dropped his pants to the floor and crawled back into bed. An irrational part of him was disappointed that this was just a casual encounter for her, but he hadn't even expected her to open the door, let alone drag him inside for what had transpired. Besides, she was right. White picket fences weren't his thing, either.