Title: Blood Loss

Author: KeepTheFaith (Laura)

Feedback: May be provided here or sent to aeryncrichton@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Buffy is owned by Joss Whedon and ME, I'm just borrowing them

Spoilers: Set during season 4, after "Fear Itself"

Pairings: Buffy / Spike

Rating: R

Subject: More dancing between Buffy and Spike as they try to deal with the consequences of their attraction, Sequel to Here and Now

Blood Loss

Chapter 4 - Answer to the Claim Question

"Will you accept the claim?" Spike asked.

His question stabbed at something in the vicinity of her heart, wrenching her emotions as she looked into his earnest eyes.

Buffy reached down to cup Spike's cheek with her right hand. He tipped his head fully into her tender embrace, as though drawn by its warmth. "Yes, I will."

Then Buffy was winding her arms around Spike's neck and pulling him close. She desperately needed contact with every precious inch of him she could reach. He bent forward to touch her lips to his in a soft kiss that made them both tremble in reaction.

What they were contemplating was no mere alliance. It was a joining... a blending that would make them both a part of each other. Forever.

Now that Buffy took a second to think, it seemed a little strange that during their conversation about the claim, she'd agreed to it without one word of love passing between them. Then again, sometimes words got in the way of feelings. There'd be time enough for that when they told her mom, Giles, and her friends about the claim. Although the words she expected from most of them would be cautions, warnings and recriminations. Spike had tried to kill them all before and... what exactly made her think this time would be so different? Their taunts rang in her ears already, like an early warning system.

Buffy pulled back to look into Spike's eyes, her arms as taut as a trip-wire, while she held him at arms length.

"What is it luv?" Spike asked.

She looked deep into his eyes, fathomless pools ready to suck her deep into the undertow. "Why are you doing all this?"

Spike rose on his haunches, then sat back down with his legs spread, so he could pull Buffy closer. "I'm doing all this, quite simply 'cause I love you pet."

"Everything... all of this... it just seems so sudden," Buffy replied quickly. "How can you be sure? That it's love?"

Spike raised his hand to Buffy's cheek, cupping it gently in the palm of his hand. "I've felt a connection to you since the first time I saw you. At the Bronze."

"When exactly?" Buffy asked.

"It was a couple of years ago. Right before the first time I watched you kill a vamp in the alley outside the Bronze. I taunted you that you'd find out who I was when I killed you on St. Vigeous, but I couldn't wait that long to see you again. So I crashed Parent - Teacher night at Sunnydale High instead. My heart was already ruling my bloody head where you were concerned. Even if I could have seen it then, there was no way I'd bloody well have admitted it. Not then."

"You were such a pain in my ass. Full of yourself... posturing and taunting. I didn't love you then. How could I?" Buffy asked rhetorically. Then she continued, finding herself on a roll, since they were exploring the past and being open about their feelings. "I've tried to convince myself what we had between us was purely physical, but it's more than that. Otherwise it wouldn't have been all but impossible for me to push you away. I... I...."

Spike placed his index finger across Buffy's lips. "No need for any declarations you're not ready for pet."

Buffy pushed his finger away. "Spike, I have no intention of saying anything I don't mean. I... I care for you Spike. More than I ever thought possible. And I trust you, enough to say yes to the claim."

"I love you so much Buffy. More than you'll ever know. You're a bloody miracle, you are. Summers, you are the self-same sunlight that lights my dark, dank world from the inside out."

"That was almost poetic Spike," Buffy teased.

"Don't know about that luv. It's simply the bloody, awful truth."

***

Giles paced the length of his living room, unsure what exactly had him as nervous as a mother hen, but something was most definitely plaguing him. He just needed to figure out what it was and put it to rest, so he could get a good night's sleep.

Buffy was fine on her own. She needed to learn to find her own answers. When she walked away from the Watcher's Council and their appointed Watcher, he'd realized she no longer needed him as a teacher, or... a father figure.

Giles had learned to heed his finely honed Watcher's intuition over the years, so he pulled out a copy of Reardon's Guide to Demon Behavior and sat down on the couch. He might as well read since sleep was far beyond his ability.

After an hour, he still felt no more tired than when he'd begun. He set aside Reardon's Guide and pulled his own journal out of the bookcase. A hollow thunk drew his gaze to the bookshelf. Several books were canted at a 45 degree angle. That was odd.

Giles drew his index finger across the spines of the previous Watcher's journals, as he read the names on the volumes. There were at least three books missing, including his first journal. Who would want to read that?

Any of Buffy's enemies, of course.

It contained the type of information that could easily be used against his Slayer. Tried and true strategies she and Giles had employed to take down any number of vampire and demonic threats during the past three years.

Perhaps Buffy might know something about the missing journals.

He looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. Probably too late to call. Yet what if he didn't and information regarding the missing journals was a warning she needed?

Giles rang the number Buffy had given him when she moved into a dorm room with Willow.

"Hello," a sleepy female voice answered.

"Buffy?" Giles asked.

"No, it's Willow. What's up Giles?" she asked.

"Do you know where Buffy is?" he asked.

"Nope. Xander, Oz and I have been waiting for her half the night. I thought she'd be back from patrol by now. You haven't heard from her, have you?"

"No." Giles paused, then pushed on to reveal the reason for his call. "Some of the Watcher's journals are missing and I was wondering if Buffy knew anything about it."

"I don't know Giles. I'll ask her. Should I have her give you a call?" Willow asked.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"No problem. Goodnight Giles."

"Goodnight Willow." Giles hung up the phone and pondered what to do next. Since he had no idea where Buffy might be patrolling, perhaps pursuing some sleep might be for the best.

He yawned, put his books back in their rightful places and walked up the stairs.

***

"What about the fact that I haven't told you that I love you yet?" Buffy asked. "Will the claim be enough?"

"Enough for me luv," Spike replied, with a half smile. He'd heard it, even if she didn't realize what she'd said. She said she hadn't told him that she loved him - yet. That meant that she expected she would in time and even if she didn't, he could feel her heart. It most definitely was reaching out to him, more and more every bleedin' day.

"So what's the what on this claim thingy?" Buffy asked. "What do I have to do?"

"I'll have to bite you," Spike replied. "It won't take much blood, only enough to make a connection."

"When did you want to do it?"

"Tonight," he suggested. "After we make love. That will make it more pleasant for you."

"If you've never forged a claim before, how do you know all this?" she asked.

"I've read a bit about it." At Buffy's raised brows, he added, "Alright, I've read more than a bit. I've also talked to a few vampires who'd either been claimed or done the claiming. Only other vampire to vampire claims though. They all said they felt closer to their mates once the claim was in place. Wouldn't... couldn't let anyone or anything harm their mate or it'd tear them up inside. They had no desire to hurt their mate after the claim."

"So what about making love before the claim then?" Buffy asked.

"Just figured that a bite in the afterglow would be more pleasant for you luv," Spike replied. "Rather than just getting to the biting, we'll start with the shagging." Spike inserted another broad eyebrow waggle for emphasis.

After pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Buffy exposed the long line of her nape to Spike's view.

"You are pure temptation pet. Almost more than a man can stand," he admitted, with a bit of a growl. Spike fought back his game face, which surged to the forefront at the thought, sight, and scent of all that Slayer blood just rushing below the surface of her skin. It made him all tingly knowing that she had agreed to let him make the claim, giddy with joy like a schoolboy on an unanticipated holiday.

"I guess I'm lucky you're a vampire then," Buffy quipped with a smirk. "Aren't I?" She laughed in earnest as she darted just out of his reach, making him chase her. Turning their encounter into a game.

Just the way he liked it.

Spike vamped out before he gave chase, declaring, "I'm gonna get you good when I catch you pet." He finally caught her around the waist, just before she swung the crypt door open. Course he knew she wasn't really trying to escape. If she had been, he'd 'ave felt her boot in his gut or had her fist on his nose by now.

Buffy playfully swatted Spike in the shoulder, while she inquired in a half-mocking tone, "Oh my, the big bad has me. Whatever will he do with me now?"

"Wouldn't you like to know luv? You'll just have to wait and see what the big bad has in store for you. Might involve a little biting and such," Spike mock-threatened, still in vamp face.

"I thought you were saving the biting for later," Buffy said.

"Maybe, maybe not," he teased. After he pushed the demon down, restoring the smooth planes of his face, he bent toward her neck and proceeded to give her a series of blunt teeth bites from behind her ear all the way across her shoulder. There were so many more pleasurable things for them to explore before the biting commenced.

Buffy lolled boneless in Spike's arms, breathy little murmurs escaping her cotton candy lips.

"Like that pet?" Spike drawled.

A low hum escaped Buffy's lips, as she murmured her agreement.

"How about this then?" Spike proceeded to untie and remove Buffy's halter top, with no struggle, only a half hearted attempt to help, which Spike managed to work around. The garment fell to the floor.

Spike captured one of her pert nubbins in his mouth and teased it with his rolled tongue. Buffy involuntarily arched her back, providing her nonverbal approval of his ministrations. First he licked one stiff nipple after biting it with blunt teeth, then he commenced to lave each mound with his agile tongue and eager lips. He moved from one to the other, to ensure each received equal attention. With his hands at her waist, he continued his erotic assault down her torso.

A pair of eager hands found their way under his tight black t-shirt, skimming over his washboard abs, until it was easier for Spike to simply pull his shirt over his head and toss it away. He wasn't going to argue with her desire to explore him the same way he was exploring her.

Once Spike made it to Buffy's belly button, he licked and nibbled at the sweetly dimpled depression. She giggled and her back arched granting him greater access, yet she made no move to escape his attentions. He felt the warmth of her skin, as his fingertips played over her golden hills and valleys.

"Too cold?" Spike asked.

Buffy shook her head, while shivers called her a liar.

His lips warmed with every kiss along her silky, smooth flesh. Touching Buffy, interlocking and twining his fingers with hers made him feel almost alive. As though his heart might start beating, while his lungs took in a real breath of air.

"Let me see what I can do to warm you up," Spike offered chivalrously. Although his hands were the same temperature as the rest of his body -- a good deal cooler than human hands -- friction could help warm Buffy's body upon contact.

The side zip of her black mid-calf skirt rasped down easily, allowing Spike to push it over her hips and send it slithering to the floor. She stepped out of it, her eyes wide and expectant.

In moments Spike gathered Buffy's lithe body in his arms and walked to the far corner of his crypt. He laid her on the black silk sheets of his queen size brass bed. Then he rolled her over onto her stomach. A brisk massage got her blood moving and raised her body temperature in short order.

This past week they'd only been apart the dozen or so hours between sunrise and sunset. Spike would either find Buffy in one of Sunnydale's too many cemeteries, or she'd make her way to his crypt when she was done patrolling. One night he'd simply watched her dispatch a trio of fledglings, one right after the other. Another night, he'd grown impatient with waiting, so he'd entered the fray himself helping her dust her opponents. He'd wanted her attention focused on him and afterwards it bloody well had been.

Finally, he rolled her onto her back. A teasing glint he immediately recognized shone in her grassy green eyes, as she held out her hand in silent invitation. Spike grinned in anticipation. He knew he was in for it tonight. Although that wouldn't make it much different from any night they'd spent together since they'd begun their crazy affair.

He unzipped his black boots and kicked them off, uncaring where they might land. Then he unbuttoned his black jeans and slid them over his narrow hips, before he crawled over to where Buffy lay in the center of his bed. They'd never actually made it as far as the bed before, usually they were in too much of a hurry to make it much past the door, which one of them would kick closed with a boot clad foot, before they got seriously physical.

Tonight was about more than just thrusting pelvises. It was about forging a link -- a blood bond -- designed to last for all time. The claim would be in force throughout Buffy's lifetime, as well as his own. The more he thought about it, the more Spike marveled that Buffy had agreed to it. She had said yes to his request for a claim.

Buffy's nimble fingers caressed his back, as she pulled him closer.

Scorching sapphires seared into velvet green depths as Spike surged into Buffy's drenched channel. Her legs locked around his waist, holding him fast, while her nails raked his back. The scent of his own blood almost caused him to vamp out. Pumping in and out of her warm and willing body, a tinge of vanilla overlaid her own powerful pheromones, inviting a tenderness he'd rarely felt capable of since before he'd been turned.

Buffy's eyes remained dilated to near black as she laid supine on the bed, while he caressed her glowing skin. Spike asked, "Are you ready for the claim?" He'd asked the question before, yet he felt obliged to give her one last chance to back out, despite the fact that it'd rip his bloody heart out if she denied him after their tender, yet passionate union.

To be continued...