Chapter 10
Dawn woke up with her head pounding. She rolled over with a groan.
"You okay, Niblet?" Spike asked.
She shook her head and knew instantly it was a mistake. The room tilted and started spinning. She heard Spike chuckle. "Just lay still, close your eyes."
Spike got a cool, wet washcloth and pressed it to the back of her neck. She scooted back a bit, pressing her body against Spike's. She could feel his coolness against her skin and it was a better balm then the washcloth. She fell back asleep with her back pressed against his bare chest and his arms wrapped around her body.
When Dawn woke up again Spike was gone but she felt better. She smiled as her eyes fell on a black rose lying on the pillow next to her. She picked it up and ran the petals along her cheek. She unfolded the slip of paper that had been underneath the rose.
Whiskey burning amber
Sliding down my throat
Holds no comparison
To your lips on mine
Sweet smoke
Tickling my nose
Holds no comparison
To your scent on our sheets
Through time and years
I've had passions and loves
That hold no comparison
To you, my sweetest addiction.
She took a deep breath and smiled, holding the poem close to her heart. Dawn blinked back the tears but couldn't contain the smile that was fixed on her lips. She got up slowly and took a hot long shower, letting it wash away the residual effects of the hangover. She got out, brushed her teeth and looked at the pile of clothes, black pants, red baby tee that she'd been wearing for almost week. She wrinkled her nose and shunned the idea of putting the clothes on just now. Her leather pants were draped over a chair in the room. She should have had Spike steal a shirt too. She wrapped her body in a white hotel towel and grumbled. Hotel towels were never really big enough. The edge of the towel just covered up her butt. She opened the bathroom door and steam rolled out.
She walked into the room humming to herself. She froze and stopped humming when she saw Spike sitting on the bed drinking a mug of blood. He stopped drinking and stared at her. A predatory look swept over his face and Dawn gulped.
"Uhm, didn't know you were back. Just getting these." She said in a rush as she picked up the leather pants and dashed back into the bathroom. She leaned back against the door, her breath coming in fast pants. For a moment her mind wandered, exploring the idea of what if she hadn't dashed back in here. Part of her wanted to open the bathroom door and walk back in there, the other part trembled at the idea, remembering the hungry look that had come over him. Neither part won. She tugged on her leather pants and pulled the red baby tee on. She might be tired of wearing the same clothes, even if they were rinsed out in the sink nightly, but the other choice was to parade around in the camisole she slept in.
She walked back into the room, still blushing pink. Spike had finished his blood. He stood up when she walked in the room.
"All done in the bathroom, Bit?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Goin to take a quick shower then and we've got places to go." He said and disappeared into the bathroom.
Dawn stood in front of the double sinks putting on her makeup. She dropped the mascara and bent to pick over. When she did she noted the cold air coming underneath the crack in the bathroom door and grinned. Spike came out of the bathroom several minutes later dressed. She noted steam did not cloud the mirror she was using. She ran her fingers through her still damp hair.
"So, where are we going?" She asked.
"To see a lady, guy at the front desk did some research for me. There's this old lady, witch or something, she knows things and can hopefully give us a clue about who hired the Order of Tareka. "
"Okay. That would be good. I'm beginning to miss things like a change of clothes." Dawn said.
"I thought the towel looked good. You could always go with that." Spike grinned that wicked little grin of his and her stomach flipped over.
Dawn blushed. "Yes and that would get me arrested on the street."
"You wouldn't need to go any further then the bed there, Luv." Spike said and it sounded husky, seductive and thoroughly wicked. Dawn blushed to the roots of her hair. Spike laughed and took her hand and walked her out to the car.
Spike parked the car off Melrose. They walked hand in hand. Spike was alert, looking for something. He'd stop ever now and then, nod and pick up walking again.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Dawn asked.
"Remember that sorcerer Red was into visiting back in Sunnydale, Rack?" Spike said.
Dawn nodded. "Please don't tell me that lady is anything like him."
"Not at all, but she'd got her place hidden like that. You don't just happen to find this lady." Spike said. He stopped in front of a brick wall in a tiny, crooked alley. He put out his hand and rested his palm on the wall. After a moment it gave and his hand slipped through. He stepped into the wall, pulling Dawn with him. She felt a resistance and then it gave. They emerged in a room that looked much like everyone's Grandma's room. There was a recliner with a knitted afghan thrown across it. The television was an old console model. An elderly woman with white hair piled on her head walked in from another room. She smiled at them.
"Hello, I'm Matilda. I've been waiting for you two." Her voice was cheery and aged with time. She smelled like lavender and White Shoulders.
"You have?" Dawn asked.
The elderly woman nodded. She beckoned to them. "Come on, we might as well get on with this then."
They followed her into the room she'd just come from. It was a kitchen and in many ways resembled every grandmother's kitchen. The linoleum on the floor was ivory, gold and brown. It was cracked and peeling in some places. The smell of cookies baking surrounded them. The smell of dried rose petals and sage wafted underneath the cookie smell. Matilda bent and took a fresh batch of cookies from the oven. She transferred them to a plate to cool. She sat down at the table and indicated they should sit as well.
Matilda folded her hands and put them on the table. "Well go ahead. Ask what you've come for."
"You know the deal then?" Spike said.
"I know some of it. It's better if you tell me." Matilda said.
"Until a few years ago Dawn was a ball of energy, a key to a hell dimension-"Spike started.
"I know what she was young man, jump to what you want to know." Matilda said.
"Who hired the Order of Tareka to grab her?" Spike asked.
The woman smiled at him. She stood up and walked over behind Dawn. She rested her hands on her shoulders and closed her eyes. She hummed softly to herself. Dawn looked questioningly at Spike, who shrugged. When Matilda was finished her eyes snapped open. She took her seat again, folded her hands and sat quietly a moment before speaking. "The sorceress guards herself well. I can not tell who she is or where she is but she is near. The power to open dimensional portals is gone, but a great power still resides within you, Child. Every part of your being is in danger. Unlike the last power, this one wants your blood, your soul and your body. All parts will bring a power to the sorceress."
"She's not going to bloody get them." Spike growled.
"Uhm-I-what do I do? Maybe if I fought her. I mean I have the key powers and the slayer skills." Dawn stumbled over her words.
The woman shook her head. "You are still young in your power. You would not be able to use it effectively against this foe. I can give you some form of protection."
"Ok. What is it?" Dawn asked.
The woman smiled. "An ancient Celtic protection symbol, it must be ingrained, tattooed into your skin. You may place it anywhere on your body that you wish."
"I'm so going to get murdered, but at least it's for a good cause." Dawn said.
"No, you are not going to mark your skin up like that. It's too pretty." Spike protested. The idea of a permanent mark marring Dawn's perfect skin rankled him in ways and for reasons he couldn't begin to explain. "I'll protect her."
"You already do, but you can only protect her body, the physical manifestation. I can protect her soul and render it useless for any magic." The woman smiled at Spike.
"Spike, it's okay. I want a tattoo. I just never had a good enough reason to keep Buffy from murdering me over it." She said. Dawn turned to Matilda. "Can I get it on my hip bone?"
"You can. If you will go in the bathroom just down the hall there, you will find a pair of loose, draw string pants and a tank top of virgin cotton. Put them on. Your outer garments must be as pure as you are for the protection ritual to work." Matilda said.
Dawn got up and walked down the hall. She found the bathroom easily along with the clothing.
Matilda turned her attention to Spike. She glanced at his hand on the table. "May I?" She asked.
He nodded. She took her hand in his and closed her eyes. She smiled, eyes still closed. "You love her."
He nodded after a moment, aware the woman could not see him. It didn't matter. She wasn't looking for a confirmation. She knew the answer.
"You are a creature at odds with yourself. A demon resides in you, a constant battle for the human left inside of you. You do not have a soul, yet there is much humanity left in you. As a mortal your character must have been strong." The woman said.
Spike chuckled. "Sorry lady, you're wrong there."
The woman smiled again. "I am not. There was never time for it to develop. That does not mean the potential was not there." She opened her eyes and patted Spike on the cheek. Dawn returned shortly. The cotton pants she wore were very low waisted, exposing the sharp ridges of her hip bones. The tank top was snug and rode just above her belly button. Spike tried not to focus on the expanse of white, smooth skin in between.
"Lie down on the table." Matilda said. She folded a clean white towel and laid it at the head of the table. Dawn laid down, her head cushioned by the towel.
Matilda lit a stick of sandalwood incense. She sat a small bowl of sage next to the incense. She lit white candles and set them at the corners of the table. Matilda took a redwood box from a cabinet. She brought it over to the table and positioned a chair so that she sat parallel to Dawn's right hip. From the box she withdrew a standard looking tatooist's needle set. She filled it with a vial of ink so deep purple it was almost black.
"The ink is very special ink. It is imbued with magic and protective properties. It has been blessed by Cerridwen. It will not fade through the years even a bit. It will remain dark and true and protect your soul as long as it survives, long past the time of this physical manifestation." Matilda explained.
Spike sat in a chair on Dawn's left. He laced his fingers with hers. "You know this is going to hurt like bloody hell, don't you?" He said.
She shrugged. "I know."
"Alright then."
She bit her lower lip until it bled, refusing to actually scream out. Spike could not help himself. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, lapping the blood from her lip, thrusting his tongue in her mouth and soothing away the pain. Dawn sighed, feeling the pain slip away. It was erotic in ways she could not identify, in ways she had never felt before. She wanted to protest when his mouth left hers. The pain returned and her protests were bitten off as she went back to gritting her teeth.
When she was done, Matilda anointed the tattoo with oil. She helped Dawn to sit and handed her a cup of water.
"Hold this, when I am done you may take a sip." She instructed. Dawn nodded.
Matilda placed her finger tips, still anointed with oil, on Dawn's forehead and begin to chant. "Water and earth where you are, cast no spell or adverse purpose, Haste if not in complete accord with me, as my word so mote it be." Matilda opened her eyes and lowered her hand. She nodded at Dawn and Dawn sipped from the cup of water. She placed the cup on the table beside her. Spike dangled his fingers centimeters above the surface of the water. The tingling told him it was holy water.
"You are done. "Matilda handed Dawn a small bottle of oil. "Use that twice daily to keep it well moisturized. It may seep blood more then a usual tattoo and for a few days longer. That is normal do not worry. The time is near. You will not have to run for long." She said with a pensive look. She rested her palm against Dawn's cheek and gazed deeply into her eyes for a moment. Then the pensive look was gone and she smiled, lowering her hand.
"You must go now. Here are your things. Keep the clothing." She handed Dawn a cotton book style bag with her pants and tee shirt and boots in it. Dawn put her leather jacket on. The night air was cold. Matilda led them to the living room and nodded at the wall in front of them. "Just walk through, you leave the same way you entered."
Spike and Dawn emerged into the alley. Spike looked down at Dawn's bare feet and scooped her up in his arms. He snarled at the passer bys that looked at them oddly as he carried her back to the car. He drove back to the motel, neither of them speaking. The air felt thick, almost tangible somehow.
He got her out of the car and carried her into their room. He placed her gently on the bed, locked the door and returned to her side. His eyes lit on her lips. The bottom one was bruised damaged from the abuse her teeth had done to it when she was in pain. He bent and covered her mouth with his. His tongue, cool and wet, laved over the bruised, swollen flesh. Dawn made a breathy little moan. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue in her mouth, absorbing the warmth there. She arched up into the kiss, deepening it even further. He tilted his head to the side and slid his body over the length of hers. She twined her arms around his neck, bringing their bodies flush so that there was no place they were not touching.
He placed a string of kisses along her jaw, pausing at her ear to suckle on the earlobe. She let out a sound that was half giggle, half sigh. He smiled into her skin and moved down to her neck. He took little bites of flesh with blunt teeth. He paused for a long time over the pulse in her neck. He nuzzled it with his nose, breathing in the scent of her blood, the scent of her, sweet and spicy. He nipped the arterial vein with his blunt teeth and then licked at it, apologizing for the red marks he'd left there. He took a deep breath of her skin and blew it out, tickling the sensitive skin.
"Oh, God," Dawn breathed.
He slid his hand down her body, brushing her breast, naked under the cotton tank top and she sucked in her breath and held it until his hand came to rest on her hip. The hip she'd had tattooed. His fingertips noted the liquid stickiness there and he glanced down. The tattoo was seeping blood. He pushed himself down her body, blowing out an unnecessary breath as he went, tickling all of her nerve endings. He hovered over the tattoo and looked up at her, trying to gage her reaction. Her eyes were clouded with desire. He lapped at the seeping blood and her hips arched off the bed. He suckled, licked and lapped at her hipbone. His cool tongue soothed the pain away.
"Oh, God, Spike, please." Dawn moaned. She wasn't sure what she was begging him for but she needed it now or she would die. She knew this as she knew she needed air to live.
He slid back up her body and suckled at her bottom lip. His hand slid up her body, stopping at the edge of her tank top. He took a deep breath, scenting her for fear. The only thing he smelled was desire and need. He slid the tank top up her body, brushing her nipples with his thumbs. Spike pulled the shirt over her head and threw it somewhere. Her hands roamed over his back, tugging at his shirt, frantic to feel his skin against hers. His shirt fell somewhere alongside hers. She took a deep breath and then exhaled it contentedly. She relaxed against him a moment, enjoying the feel of his cool skin against her over heated skin. This was right. This is what the monks made her for, not dimensional portals or blood rituals, just this.
She lowered her lips to his neck, mimicking the ministrations he'd performed on hers. She suckled the skin where his pulse would have been. She nipped at it. He tangled one hand in her hair and pulled her closer. She bit him hard enough to leave a mark and he rumblegrowled deep in his chest. She could feel the vibrations ripple through her body. She slid her hand down his chest, still nipping and licking at his neck. Her fingertips flirted over his hard stomach and brushed the waistband of his jeans. She paused, holding her breath. He was still, almost as if he too were holding his breath. He took a deep breath, scenting her again. Time trembled on the edge with them and then it fell over. Her fingers fumbled with the button on his pants and then the zipper. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, through her and down to her core. She looked away and swallowed thickly. The air crackled with intensity. Spike grabbed her chin gently and turned her eyes back to his.
"Dawn, if this isn't what you want-"
"I want. I'll die without this." She whispered.
"I love you, I don't know how but God help me, I love you." He said.
Dawn woke up with her head pounding. She rolled over with a groan.
"You okay, Niblet?" Spike asked.
She shook her head and knew instantly it was a mistake. The room tilted and started spinning. She heard Spike chuckle. "Just lay still, close your eyes."
Spike got a cool, wet washcloth and pressed it to the back of her neck. She scooted back a bit, pressing her body against Spike's. She could feel his coolness against her skin and it was a better balm then the washcloth. She fell back asleep with her back pressed against his bare chest and his arms wrapped around her body.
When Dawn woke up again Spike was gone but she felt better. She smiled as her eyes fell on a black rose lying on the pillow next to her. She picked it up and ran the petals along her cheek. She unfolded the slip of paper that had been underneath the rose.
Whiskey burning amber
Sliding down my throat
Holds no comparison
To your lips on mine
Sweet smoke
Tickling my nose
Holds no comparison
To your scent on our sheets
Through time and years
I've had passions and loves
That hold no comparison
To you, my sweetest addiction.
She took a deep breath and smiled, holding the poem close to her heart. Dawn blinked back the tears but couldn't contain the smile that was fixed on her lips. She got up slowly and took a hot long shower, letting it wash away the residual effects of the hangover. She got out, brushed her teeth and looked at the pile of clothes, black pants, red baby tee that she'd been wearing for almost week. She wrinkled her nose and shunned the idea of putting the clothes on just now. Her leather pants were draped over a chair in the room. She should have had Spike steal a shirt too. She wrapped her body in a white hotel towel and grumbled. Hotel towels were never really big enough. The edge of the towel just covered up her butt. She opened the bathroom door and steam rolled out.
She walked into the room humming to herself. She froze and stopped humming when she saw Spike sitting on the bed drinking a mug of blood. He stopped drinking and stared at her. A predatory look swept over his face and Dawn gulped.
"Uhm, didn't know you were back. Just getting these." She said in a rush as she picked up the leather pants and dashed back into the bathroom. She leaned back against the door, her breath coming in fast pants. For a moment her mind wandered, exploring the idea of what if she hadn't dashed back in here. Part of her wanted to open the bathroom door and walk back in there, the other part trembled at the idea, remembering the hungry look that had come over him. Neither part won. She tugged on her leather pants and pulled the red baby tee on. She might be tired of wearing the same clothes, even if they were rinsed out in the sink nightly, but the other choice was to parade around in the camisole she slept in.
She walked back into the room, still blushing pink. Spike had finished his blood. He stood up when she walked in the room.
"All done in the bathroom, Bit?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Goin to take a quick shower then and we've got places to go." He said and disappeared into the bathroom.
Dawn stood in front of the double sinks putting on her makeup. She dropped the mascara and bent to pick over. When she did she noted the cold air coming underneath the crack in the bathroom door and grinned. Spike came out of the bathroom several minutes later dressed. She noted steam did not cloud the mirror she was using. She ran her fingers through her still damp hair.
"So, where are we going?" She asked.
"To see a lady, guy at the front desk did some research for me. There's this old lady, witch or something, she knows things and can hopefully give us a clue about who hired the Order of Tareka. "
"Okay. That would be good. I'm beginning to miss things like a change of clothes." Dawn said.
"I thought the towel looked good. You could always go with that." Spike grinned that wicked little grin of his and her stomach flipped over.
Dawn blushed. "Yes and that would get me arrested on the street."
"You wouldn't need to go any further then the bed there, Luv." Spike said and it sounded husky, seductive and thoroughly wicked. Dawn blushed to the roots of her hair. Spike laughed and took her hand and walked her out to the car.
Spike parked the car off Melrose. They walked hand in hand. Spike was alert, looking for something. He'd stop ever now and then, nod and pick up walking again.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Dawn asked.
"Remember that sorcerer Red was into visiting back in Sunnydale, Rack?" Spike said.
Dawn nodded. "Please don't tell me that lady is anything like him."
"Not at all, but she'd got her place hidden like that. You don't just happen to find this lady." Spike said. He stopped in front of a brick wall in a tiny, crooked alley. He put out his hand and rested his palm on the wall. After a moment it gave and his hand slipped through. He stepped into the wall, pulling Dawn with him. She felt a resistance and then it gave. They emerged in a room that looked much like everyone's Grandma's room. There was a recliner with a knitted afghan thrown across it. The television was an old console model. An elderly woman with white hair piled on her head walked in from another room. She smiled at them.
"Hello, I'm Matilda. I've been waiting for you two." Her voice was cheery and aged with time. She smelled like lavender and White Shoulders.
"You have?" Dawn asked.
The elderly woman nodded. She beckoned to them. "Come on, we might as well get on with this then."
They followed her into the room she'd just come from. It was a kitchen and in many ways resembled every grandmother's kitchen. The linoleum on the floor was ivory, gold and brown. It was cracked and peeling in some places. The smell of cookies baking surrounded them. The smell of dried rose petals and sage wafted underneath the cookie smell. Matilda bent and took a fresh batch of cookies from the oven. She transferred them to a plate to cool. She sat down at the table and indicated they should sit as well.
Matilda folded her hands and put them on the table. "Well go ahead. Ask what you've come for."
"You know the deal then?" Spike said.
"I know some of it. It's better if you tell me." Matilda said.
"Until a few years ago Dawn was a ball of energy, a key to a hell dimension-"Spike started.
"I know what she was young man, jump to what you want to know." Matilda said.
"Who hired the Order of Tareka to grab her?" Spike asked.
The woman smiled at him. She stood up and walked over behind Dawn. She rested her hands on her shoulders and closed her eyes. She hummed softly to herself. Dawn looked questioningly at Spike, who shrugged. When Matilda was finished her eyes snapped open. She took her seat again, folded her hands and sat quietly a moment before speaking. "The sorceress guards herself well. I can not tell who she is or where she is but she is near. The power to open dimensional portals is gone, but a great power still resides within you, Child. Every part of your being is in danger. Unlike the last power, this one wants your blood, your soul and your body. All parts will bring a power to the sorceress."
"She's not going to bloody get them." Spike growled.
"Uhm-I-what do I do? Maybe if I fought her. I mean I have the key powers and the slayer skills." Dawn stumbled over her words.
The woman shook her head. "You are still young in your power. You would not be able to use it effectively against this foe. I can give you some form of protection."
"Ok. What is it?" Dawn asked.
The woman smiled. "An ancient Celtic protection symbol, it must be ingrained, tattooed into your skin. You may place it anywhere on your body that you wish."
"I'm so going to get murdered, but at least it's for a good cause." Dawn said.
"No, you are not going to mark your skin up like that. It's too pretty." Spike protested. The idea of a permanent mark marring Dawn's perfect skin rankled him in ways and for reasons he couldn't begin to explain. "I'll protect her."
"You already do, but you can only protect her body, the physical manifestation. I can protect her soul and render it useless for any magic." The woman smiled at Spike.
"Spike, it's okay. I want a tattoo. I just never had a good enough reason to keep Buffy from murdering me over it." She said. Dawn turned to Matilda. "Can I get it on my hip bone?"
"You can. If you will go in the bathroom just down the hall there, you will find a pair of loose, draw string pants and a tank top of virgin cotton. Put them on. Your outer garments must be as pure as you are for the protection ritual to work." Matilda said.
Dawn got up and walked down the hall. She found the bathroom easily along with the clothing.
Matilda turned her attention to Spike. She glanced at his hand on the table. "May I?" She asked.
He nodded. She took her hand in his and closed her eyes. She smiled, eyes still closed. "You love her."
He nodded after a moment, aware the woman could not see him. It didn't matter. She wasn't looking for a confirmation. She knew the answer.
"You are a creature at odds with yourself. A demon resides in you, a constant battle for the human left inside of you. You do not have a soul, yet there is much humanity left in you. As a mortal your character must have been strong." The woman said.
Spike chuckled. "Sorry lady, you're wrong there."
The woman smiled again. "I am not. There was never time for it to develop. That does not mean the potential was not there." She opened her eyes and patted Spike on the cheek. Dawn returned shortly. The cotton pants she wore were very low waisted, exposing the sharp ridges of her hip bones. The tank top was snug and rode just above her belly button. Spike tried not to focus on the expanse of white, smooth skin in between.
"Lie down on the table." Matilda said. She folded a clean white towel and laid it at the head of the table. Dawn laid down, her head cushioned by the towel.
Matilda lit a stick of sandalwood incense. She sat a small bowl of sage next to the incense. She lit white candles and set them at the corners of the table. Matilda took a redwood box from a cabinet. She brought it over to the table and positioned a chair so that she sat parallel to Dawn's right hip. From the box she withdrew a standard looking tatooist's needle set. She filled it with a vial of ink so deep purple it was almost black.
"The ink is very special ink. It is imbued with magic and protective properties. It has been blessed by Cerridwen. It will not fade through the years even a bit. It will remain dark and true and protect your soul as long as it survives, long past the time of this physical manifestation." Matilda explained.
Spike sat in a chair on Dawn's left. He laced his fingers with hers. "You know this is going to hurt like bloody hell, don't you?" He said.
She shrugged. "I know."
"Alright then."
She bit her lower lip until it bled, refusing to actually scream out. Spike could not help himself. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, lapping the blood from her lip, thrusting his tongue in her mouth and soothing away the pain. Dawn sighed, feeling the pain slip away. It was erotic in ways she could not identify, in ways she had never felt before. She wanted to protest when his mouth left hers. The pain returned and her protests were bitten off as she went back to gritting her teeth.
When she was done, Matilda anointed the tattoo with oil. She helped Dawn to sit and handed her a cup of water.
"Hold this, when I am done you may take a sip." She instructed. Dawn nodded.
Matilda placed her finger tips, still anointed with oil, on Dawn's forehead and begin to chant. "Water and earth where you are, cast no spell or adverse purpose, Haste if not in complete accord with me, as my word so mote it be." Matilda opened her eyes and lowered her hand. She nodded at Dawn and Dawn sipped from the cup of water. She placed the cup on the table beside her. Spike dangled his fingers centimeters above the surface of the water. The tingling told him it was holy water.
"You are done. "Matilda handed Dawn a small bottle of oil. "Use that twice daily to keep it well moisturized. It may seep blood more then a usual tattoo and for a few days longer. That is normal do not worry. The time is near. You will not have to run for long." She said with a pensive look. She rested her palm against Dawn's cheek and gazed deeply into her eyes for a moment. Then the pensive look was gone and she smiled, lowering her hand.
"You must go now. Here are your things. Keep the clothing." She handed Dawn a cotton book style bag with her pants and tee shirt and boots in it. Dawn put her leather jacket on. The night air was cold. Matilda led them to the living room and nodded at the wall in front of them. "Just walk through, you leave the same way you entered."
Spike and Dawn emerged into the alley. Spike looked down at Dawn's bare feet and scooped her up in his arms. He snarled at the passer bys that looked at them oddly as he carried her back to the car. He drove back to the motel, neither of them speaking. The air felt thick, almost tangible somehow.
He got her out of the car and carried her into their room. He placed her gently on the bed, locked the door and returned to her side. His eyes lit on her lips. The bottom one was bruised damaged from the abuse her teeth had done to it when she was in pain. He bent and covered her mouth with his. His tongue, cool and wet, laved over the bruised, swollen flesh. Dawn made a breathy little moan. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue in her mouth, absorbing the warmth there. She arched up into the kiss, deepening it even further. He tilted his head to the side and slid his body over the length of hers. She twined her arms around his neck, bringing their bodies flush so that there was no place they were not touching.
He placed a string of kisses along her jaw, pausing at her ear to suckle on the earlobe. She let out a sound that was half giggle, half sigh. He smiled into her skin and moved down to her neck. He took little bites of flesh with blunt teeth. He paused for a long time over the pulse in her neck. He nuzzled it with his nose, breathing in the scent of her blood, the scent of her, sweet and spicy. He nipped the arterial vein with his blunt teeth and then licked at it, apologizing for the red marks he'd left there. He took a deep breath of her skin and blew it out, tickling the sensitive skin.
"Oh, God," Dawn breathed.
He slid his hand down her body, brushing her breast, naked under the cotton tank top and she sucked in her breath and held it until his hand came to rest on her hip. The hip she'd had tattooed. His fingertips noted the liquid stickiness there and he glanced down. The tattoo was seeping blood. He pushed himself down her body, blowing out an unnecessary breath as he went, tickling all of her nerve endings. He hovered over the tattoo and looked up at her, trying to gage her reaction. Her eyes were clouded with desire. He lapped at the seeping blood and her hips arched off the bed. He suckled, licked and lapped at her hipbone. His cool tongue soothed the pain away.
"Oh, God, Spike, please." Dawn moaned. She wasn't sure what she was begging him for but she needed it now or she would die. She knew this as she knew she needed air to live.
He slid back up her body and suckled at her bottom lip. His hand slid up her body, stopping at the edge of her tank top. He took a deep breath, scenting her for fear. The only thing he smelled was desire and need. He slid the tank top up her body, brushing her nipples with his thumbs. Spike pulled the shirt over her head and threw it somewhere. Her hands roamed over his back, tugging at his shirt, frantic to feel his skin against hers. His shirt fell somewhere alongside hers. She took a deep breath and then exhaled it contentedly. She relaxed against him a moment, enjoying the feel of his cool skin against her over heated skin. This was right. This is what the monks made her for, not dimensional portals or blood rituals, just this.
She lowered her lips to his neck, mimicking the ministrations he'd performed on hers. She suckled the skin where his pulse would have been. She nipped at it. He tangled one hand in her hair and pulled her closer. She bit him hard enough to leave a mark and he rumblegrowled deep in his chest. She could feel the vibrations ripple through her body. She slid her hand down his chest, still nipping and licking at his neck. Her fingertips flirted over his hard stomach and brushed the waistband of his jeans. She paused, holding her breath. He was still, almost as if he too were holding his breath. He took a deep breath, scenting her again. Time trembled on the edge with them and then it fell over. Her fingers fumbled with the button on his pants and then the zipper. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, through her and down to her core. She looked away and swallowed thickly. The air crackled with intensity. Spike grabbed her chin gently and turned her eyes back to his.
"Dawn, if this isn't what you want-"
"I want. I'll die without this." She whispered.
"I love you, I don't know how but God help me, I love you." He said.