Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN et al. own Buffy. I do not.
Title: The Prices We Pay
Author: Paradigm Shifter
Rating: R. Oh, and this chapter definitely earns that rating…
Feedback: Please?
Thanks: VegaKeep. Oh, and Teri. I know this you don't like stuff like this.
Notes: You're all going to hate me at the beginning of this. [Grin] Jeez, I'm embarrassed to even call this mine… you think Guilt and Betrayal was mushy in places. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
ms8309: Which homepages did you mean, exactly? Do you want Jason Thompson's site (which can be found by typing 'slayer psycho vamp zeppo' into google) or my site (which can be found on my author page) or something else?
Bit busy also at the minute… I'm getting to grips with Cinema4D. It's not as easy as it looks, boys 'n' girls…
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Darla brushed her fangs slowly over Xander's exposed neck. Seconds ago, she the inches between then had been all that separated her from giving Xander the 'gift'. Now as she felt the blood surge under his skin, and the hot flush of arousal obvious in both his body and his smell, she wasn't so sure.
Almost trying to convince herself, she continued to lick and suckle at his neck for a few seconds more, making both of them moan with pleasure.
Darla gently pushed Xander onto his back in the middle of the floor, and straddled his waist. Her body was moulded to his, and she continued to nip his neck gently. Sliding her tongue down to the edge of his shirt, Darla smiled to herself at Xander's unconscious gasp. Nuzzling the shirt to the side, she bit his collarbone. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to cause a small amount of pain.
Xander gripped Darla by the hips and ground against her ever so slightly. His voice came out like a whisper, laden with desire, but both heard it as loud as a shout. "Stop…" Darla's eyes widened at the word, and she drew in an involuntary breath at the shock of not being wanted. Then Xander finished what he was saying. "Stop… teasing… me, Darla. I…… want." He swallowed, and Darla breathed again. "This."
Darla closed her eyes again as Xander slowly ran his hands up her body, bring hot flashes to flesh that had not felt warmth for many centuries. She let a moan slip though her lips as his scorching hands roamed over her breasts and squeezed gently. Darla let Xander take the lead for a few important seconds, and his hands drew quickly to her shoulders and pulled her down, bringing her face up to his neck once again.
"Do… it…" he hissed through clenched teeth.
Darla felt the desire rush through her again, stopping only for a quick break at her heart.
For no reason she could discern, as she lowered her mouth the final few millimetres to Xander's skin, her demon retreated of its own will.
She found herself biting Xander's neck with a passion she had never before displayed, but with the blunted, ineffectual teeth of her human mask.
Sense snapping back after the raging flames, Darla levered herself up on her elbows, to look down into Xander's face.
What am I doing? She asked herself. This boy trusts me completely, even though he knows what I am, and I want to do this to him?
Using all her supernatural strength, she pushed herself off of Xander, who was still gripping her tightly, prepared for her.
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Xander opened his eyes as he felt Darla pull out of his arms. The blonde vampire looked away from his brown eyes, confused and uncertain.
She was on her feet and the other side of the room before Xander even knew what was happening.
"Darla?" he asked with a hint of hurt in his voice. "What… what's wrong? Is it… was it me?" he sounded so plaintive that Darla couldn't help but smile slightly at him.
"No…" she breathed. Then she spoke more firmly. "It isn't you, Xander. It's me. You may be ready for damnation, but I'm not yet selfish enough to give it to you…"
Xander was standing now, still looking unsure. "Selfish? Is it selfish to give something if the receiver wants the gift? I love you, Darla. And I want this…"
Darla looked away from his eyes, painful in their sincerity. "You think you do, Xander, but what about later… when you can no longer see the sun? When you can only meet your friends on a battlefield?"
Xander stepped toward her. "It's my choice." He said in a voice a firm as he could manage. "And I have made it." He took her shoulders gently, turning her to face him.
Darla couldn't look in his eyes. She held her head low. "Xander…" she said softly. "It isn't only your choice to make. Once given, there is no turning back." She looked up and finally was able to meet his eyes. "You must make sure that it isn't a mistake…"
Xander enveloped her in his arms. He held Darla tenderly, burying his face in her hair, and speaking to her through that curtain. "If it is a mistake… then it's my mistake to make." He pulled her back slightly, so he could touch noses with her. "But I don't believe that it is." He smiled at her.
Darla couldn't help but smile back. "I… need some time to think for a while, though, Xander. OK?"
Xander smiled at her. "Hey," he said, his trademark grin coming back, "the one thing we will have lots of is time… take all you need, just… don't leave it until my deathbed, hmm?"
Darla smiled back at him, his humour infectious. "Right."
Xander tilted his head until his forehead was resting on Darla's.
Darla spoke softly to him. "Hold me?"
"Always…"
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Buffy returned to the library to see Giles. As she had detoured and done her evenings patrol at the same time, she was more than a little late.
"Hi, Giles!" she said as she walked in the door. "I've done the normal route, and there is absolutely nothing to report. No vamps above normal, and no evil 'I-must-have-an-apocalypse-now-redux' demons or other nasties lurking."
Giles looked over his glasses at her sternly. "I take it Xander got home safely, then?" he queried.
Buffy flicked her hair, unconcerned. "Oh, yeah, sure. He ran straight to this absolute babe…" she looked embarrassed for a second. "I mean…" she stammered for a moment, "uh… not that I'm any judge of these things…"
Giles looked worried for a second. "He didn't go home, then?"
"No. Why?" asked Buffy.
Giles' worried look got more pronounced. "I… um, I believe that that blonde you saw was a vampiress named Darla…"
"Vampire?" asked Buffy. "I left Xander alone with a vampire?!"
"It appears as though that is a distinct possibility…" said Giles to himself as he retreated back into the stacks.
"What should I do?" Buffy almost gibbered. She came to her own conclusion. "Must go and slay the evil vampire!"
Giles rushed back out of the stacks. "No!" he shouted, before he calmed down slightly. "It's too late now. If Xander is in any danger, it has already happened. We must wait until morning, and see if Xander comes to school."
Buffy stopped at her watchers sensible reasoning. "OK. And… if he is alright… I can get Angel to watch them, can't I?"
"If he agrees, certainly. But make sure that both of them are unaware of his presence. You know how much Xander dislikes Deadb… I mean Angel." Giles shook himself, before returning to the books muttering about Xander's corruption of his vocabulary.
Buffy sighed, and left Giles to his research, heading home to a much-needed bed.
A thought struck her…
Bed, but first, some quality Angel/Buffy time…
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You all thought I was going to turn Xander, didn't you? Didn't you? Come on; fess up! Oh, and review at the same time…