NOTE: Speech in italics between Buffy and Spike is telepathy.

Buffy frowned in her sleep as she felt a chill sweep over her. Tugging the blankets closer around her, she snuggled into them and curled up. It had been hard trying to get to sleep in her mother's room-even harder due to the fact it was broad daylight outside.

"Buffy…"

She wrinkled her nose up and pouted, not wanting to come out of her restless slumber but feeling like she was being dragged out of it no matter how much she protested.

"Buffy…love…wake up sleepy head."

Opening her eyes, she expected to see Spike in front of her; his voice still rang in her head.

Nothing.

Just a dark room.

"Mmm…" She rolled over and curled up under the blankets again. "…Weird dreams…"

"Not dreaming, kitten."

"Spike?" She frowned as she sat up, looking around the room and trying to discover where the voice was coming from. "Where are you…quit hiding…it's not funny."

"Not hiding from you…not unless you want me to…"

There was a distinct purr to his words that made her think of perverse hide and seek.

"Where are you?" She scrambled out of bed and started to look behind the curtains, the sunlight that streamed into the room told her that he definitely wouldn't be hiding behind there.

"Your bedroom."

"Huh?" Buffy walked out of her mother's room and down the hall. Pushing the door open, she peered around it at him where he was laying on the bed.

Spike grinned.

"Morning, sweetheart."

Buffy looked confused.

"What's going on?"

He crooked his finger and she walked into the room, closing the door behind her and then turning to face him. As the look in his eyes turned hungry, she dropped hers to her clothes and looked mortified.

She was standing in front of Spike in nothing but a camisole and panties.

Hurrying across the room she grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it around herself to cover her body.

Spike pouted.

Buffy surmised he was definitely feeling better today.

"Not like I haven't…" He was going to say 'seen it before' but quickly reconsidered-the last thing he wanted to do was dredge up memories of that night.

"What's going on?" Buffy stood next to him and frowned as she repeated her question.

Spike caught hold of her arm and tugged her down so she was sitting next to him on the bed. Her eyes dropped to rest on his exposed chest and she swallowed noisily as they traced the smooth curves on his torso, his wounds now barely scratches on his skin.

"Pay attention, love." He placed his finger under her chin and raised her eyes back up to his face.

"I was paying attention." She half frowned, half pouted at him.

"Hey."

"What?" She frowned, not noticing that his lips hadn't moved.

Spike rolled his eyes and tried again. "Hey."

Buffy let her eyes widen as she realised what he was doing. She concentrated hard. "Hey back."

Spike smiled. "You're cute when you concentrate, love. Get this little wrinkle between your brows."

Reaching his hand up, he smoothed the wrinkle out and watched her smile.

Buffy concentrated again. "This is fun…kinda hard…this one of the perks?"

Spike nodded. "Telepathic communication. Distance it works over depends on just how strong the tie between us is."

"If I could feel you all the way in LA…must be strong, right?" She spoke out loud and watched him nod again like she'd said exactly what he'd wanted her to. "Spike?"

"Yeah, love?"

She took hold of his hand, her fingers brushing against the hard pads of his fingers as she looked down at them together.

"I wanted to thank you, for what you did for me…looked after me. I know that you kidnapped me in the first place and I know that should count against you, but thanks for being there…for saving me…for comforting me…"

Spike tried not to flinch at her words. They were a pointed reminder of what he'd done and how he was responsible for what had happened to her. Her thanking him for something felt more like stabbing him in the chest. His demon revolted against the way it ground in his ears and reminded him that he was going to be fighting alongside her now for the good of the world. He almost felt like telling her never to do it again.

Almost.

"No problem. Was protecting my interests." He smiled through the desire to put her in her place and cupped her cheek with his free hand.

Buffy smiled and looked him over. She had sensed his feelings go off the Richter scale when she'd thanked him but she wasn't sure why. He'd seemed pained. "Feeling better today?"

Spike grinned at the way she slipped into telepathy. "Much. Still weak but I'm getting there. Hungry though…was thinking a little Scooby snack."

She swatted his arm and frowned. "Rule number one, no eating my friends…or my mother…or me."

Spike pouted and caught hold of her wrist. "There are other ways to eat you, pet…way's that'll make your toes curl."

When she blushed violently he smiled wide and tried to think of something else that was naughty so he could say into her head.

"Don't." She arched a brow at him.

"Suit yourself." Spike sighed and eyed her neck again. "Am hungry though, but I get the feeling I'm not going to be sending you out for human blood."

"Afraid not." She gave him an apologetic look and then bit her lip.

Staring down at her wrist, she considered it for a moment. Her giving blood to him was starting to become a habit and no matter how many times she told herself it was just giving him blood to make him strong again-she couldn't convince herself wholly. Part of her actually enjoyed the sensation, the pleasure pain that accompanied his sharp bite and the hard pull on her blood that made her head spin.

Holding her wrist out she met his eyes and gave him a look that said she was serious.

Spike didn't need to be told.

Taking hold of the arm she proffered to him, he licked her wrist and placed a soft kiss against it before letting it go.

Buffy frowned.

Spike knit his brows as he thought over what he was about to say-he was going to sound like he'd gone soft.

"Not there. I can't bite you there…damage…tendons, bone. Understand?"

Buffy did understand. If he sank his teeth into her wrist there was a high chance of him doing some serious damage to her. He could snap some of the tendons or break her wrist.

She walked over to her wardrobe and rifled through the kit bag she kept in there.

Spike watched with interest as she bent down and searched through something in the cupboard. He wasn't sure what she was looking for but when she turned around with a large knife, he wasn't surprised in the least.

"Suits you." Spike grinned at her as she walked back towards the bed in her bathrobe, carrying the large knife in her hand.

Sitting down beside him again, she held the knife shakily in her right hand and took a deep breath as she sliced a thin line over her wrist. Her heart hammered hard as she watched the blood begin to spill from the wound. She knew he wouldn't let her die but cutting her wrist seemed so suicidal, so much like death.

Spike's eyes widened and he knocked the knife from her hand as the blood began to quickly run from her wrist, trailing around to the underside of it and dripping onto her bathrobe.

He didn't know what he'd expected her to do with the knife but it hadn't been this.

"Stupid bint." He growled and pulled her legs around.

Wrapping his left arm about her waist, he moved her onto his lap. He held her tightly to him as he took hold of her left wrist in his hand and bought it up to his lips. The sight of her hurting herself forced his hunger from him.

Buffy watched him blankly as he wrapped his lips around her wrist, sucking on the wound and running his tongue against it. She waited for his face to change but it remained human; his brows knit tightly and his eyes closed as he attended to the wound she'd inflicted upon herself.

Her stomach heated through as she felt the feelings inside him, he was conflicted. Part of him felt like it wanted to change into demonic form but it was being held back by a part of him that felt like it was concerned, focused wholly on trying to heal and clean the cut.

She moved a shaky hand up over his shoulder and let her fingers slip into the hair near the nape of his neck; it felt soft under her touch. As he sighed out through his nose she watched him again, his expression full of pleasure as he continued to drink from her wrist. Her thighs ached, her abdomen warmed and her heart raced.

Spike knit his brows tighter as he felt it inside her and her blood spoke it clearly to him.

Desire.

He opened his eyes and stared down at her exposed thigh, her backside slowly warming his own thighs and her body painfully close to his.

Flexing his fingers, he grasped her waist tighter and drew her closer to him still. He felt her heartbeat accelerate and inhaled deeply, catching the sweet heady scent of her arousal as it hung in the air between them.

"Spike…" Buffy leant her head forwards and nuzzled just above his ear as he continued to drink. "…Don't stop."

Spike arched a brow and sucked harder on her wrist, swallowing down the precious liquid as it flowed from her. He'd have to stop soon no matter how much she protested. He could feel her weakening as she leant into him, her thighs trembling against his and her breathing becoming rapid and shallow.

Reluctantly releasing her wrist, he licked the wound slowly to seal it and then wrapped his arms tighter around her as she slumped slightly. He frowned at the expression on her face, her eyes closed and brows furrowed as she curled up slightly. He could feel her desire had changed to drowsiness from his taking too much from her.

He'd seen that expression so many times on the faces of so many girls.

Usually it thrilled him to see them so weak, to know that if he took a little more blood there would be no tomorrow for them.

This time it scared him.

Holding her tightly against him he cradled her in his arms and smoothed her hair down with his free hand.

She whimpered quietly, her breathing and heartbeat still struggling to return to normal.

"I've got you, love." Spike whispered at her and for the first time felt like she'd got him. He let his feelings for her show on the surface as he watched her, the safety her room offered giving him the opportunity to let her see the man he held inside. Brushing the backs of his fingers against her brow, he let his hand open up and cupped her cheek. "I've got you."

Buffy opened her eyes and blinked into his, they were different now. All desire and lust, all coldness and violence was gone from them. They spoke of passion, of love and affection so strong that she felt overwhelmed.

Reaching her hand up she mirrored his actions and cupped his cheek, narrowing her eyes and letting her lips play into a tender smile.

"I've got you too." She whispered quietly and saw his eyes narrow with his smile.

Closing her eyes, she let her head rest against his chest and her arms circle his neck.

"I'm not hurting you am I?"

"No, love…not hurting me at all." Spike looked down at the top of her head and resisted the temptation to press a kiss to her hair. "Not at all."

"Can I stay a while?" Buffy raised her head up and looked into his eyes again. It wasn't that she was asking his permission to stay in her own room, she was asking if she could stay locked tight in his embrace, close to him. The feeling of safety it gave her was like nothing she'd experienced before and no matter how much her instincts still protested over being close to a master vampire, she didn't want to leave anytime soon.

"Sure, pet." Spike stroked her hair as she relaxed back into him. He knew she was feeling as conflicted as he was but he was quickly growing used to having her near him. When he'd awoken that afternoon to find himself alone he'd felt agitated, frustrated that she was no where to be seen and that he couldn't really feel her. He'd reached out his senses in search of her and realised that she wasn't registering clearly because she was sleeping. After feeling her sleeping for a while he'd decided to wake her and test their connection at the same time. It hadn't taken much to get her awake, it hadn't taken much to get her to come to him.

He blinked slowly as she closed her eyes again.

Deep inside he could feel William taunting him, saying that he'd been right all along and that he'd known that he had feelings for her.

Feelings.

Spike frowned slightly. He had feelings for her and he was now teetering on some kind of precipice, unsure of what to do. If he took the leap and made a fool of himself by confessing to her what he felt would she react well?

He shook his head.

The connection between them should have reassured him that she had feelings towards him but he couldn't bring himself to voice how he felt about her. The one in a million possibility that she wouldn't reciprocate or admit to her feelings was one too many.

For now Spike would win, William's need to declare his feelings to her would have to wait until he felt less confused and she had given him a sign that she felt the same way about him.

Buffy fluttered her eyes open slowly to find them settling on Spike's bare chest. She found his arms still holding her tightly and his breathing slow and steady. She frowned and pulled away from him, looking up at him with a sleepy expression.

"And she awakes." Spike smiled at her. "Nice nap, kitten?"

Buffy blinked and stretched carefully so she didn't hurt him.

"Sorry…dozed off I guess. How long was I?"

"Not long, couple of hours maybe." Spike waited for her to move, she did.

Sliding off his lap, Buffy stood up and looked down at the alarm clock on the bedside table. He was right; she'd been asleep for a few hours, curled up in his arms and now she felt strangely refreshed-like she'd had her first good sleep in weeks.

"Feeling okay?" Spike frowned at her vacant expression and then saw her smile.

"Actually I am." She stretched again and looked down into his eyes. "You want to shower? Make you feel better…get you clean, dressed…wash some of the dried blood off."

Spike nodded and swung his legs over the edge of the bed before standing up slowly. As he wobbled slightly, Buffy caught hold of his arm to steady him.

"Communication breakdown with my legs." He raised his brows as he looked down at them.

"That'll happen…few days stuck in bed and a fat Slayer sleeping on your lap…"

Spike caught hold of her waist and span her to face him. "Not fat, love…trim…taut…" He purred down at her as his eyes fixed on her waist. "…Perfect."

Buffy blushed violently from head to toe and felt the sudden need to get the subject far away from her waist and how perfect it was. "I've got your clothes…your combats and shirt…mom cleaned them for you."

"Thanks, love…now show me to the shower." He wrapped his arm about her neck and leant on her as they started towards the bedroom door.

Buffy held his hand tightly as she led him down the hall to the bathroom. On entering it, she picked up the nearest towel and put it on the vanity unit for him.

"It gets a little hot sometimes. Does that bother you?"

"Huh?" Spike pulled a face that made it clear he hadn't quite followed what she was saying.

"Does the heat bother you? Like hot water? Do you really feel it?" As Spike nodded at her she smiled. "Then don't turn it up too high unless you feel like getting a little warm."

"Warm is good…tired muscles still like a long soak, pet, no matter how long they've been dead."

Buffy frowned at the reminder of his undead status. It was slipped in there in such a manner that she got the impression he was testing the water and seeing how she reacted to being reminded.

She just smiled and placed the clothes down next to the towel.

Turning back around to face him she couldn't help looking him over. He was standing in the middle of her bathroom dressed in nothing but a ragged pair of jeans shorts and running his fingers through his hair, tousling it further than it already had been.

She almost sighed.

Vampire as he was he still managed to push the right buttons inside her when she looked at his physique. His compact muscles barely hidden beneath his pale skin spoke words of power and strength to her. She blinked slowly as she took in the sight of him, his expression becoming almost awkward as he realised she was watching him. As his eyes narrowed she swallowed hard, the come hither expression that had surfaced in them made her knees want to buckle and her palms sweaty.

She rubbed them on the bathrobe.

It would be so easy. The door was locked, her mother was downstairs and thought she was asleep. All she had to do was step towards him, untie her bathrobe and let it fall off her shoulders and she was sure he'd do the rest.

Moving her gaze back to the towel and his clothes she shut down the feeling inside her. She still wasn't sure how she truly felt about him and if she was ready for a man to touch her intimately. Instigating a physical relationship with him, no matter how tempting it was, was only going to muddle her feelings up even more.

Spike arched a brow at her and as her eyes met his again he saw that she was in control again, all the fire gone from her beautiful green orbs.

Buffy paused for a few seconds before turning and walking out of the door.

He wasn't sure what he would have done if she had made a move. The sexual predator side to him had been clear about what it wanted to do with her but instinct told him it would be the wrong move right now. She was clearly still confused about what was happening and what she'd been through. She was unable to fully cope with the various feelings he'd seen in her eyes throughout the afternoon and to push her now was to inevitably push her away. He would think he was closer to her than ever but she'd slip free from his grasp.

It was probable that it was also an after effect of her relationship with Angel. She was now walking around wondering what she'd gotten herself into with another vampire, a soulless one this time. One that still desired the hunt, still bowed to the need for human blood over animal, one that still wanted her above anything.

Above everything.

Anything she asked he'd do if he could just stay with her.

To give her up would be like giving up heaven, bliss was being in her arms, nirvana was her touch, and ecstasy her blood.

Yet in order for him to have her, someone had given her up.

Spike snorted and slipped out of his shorts before stepping into the shower.

Angel was an idiot.