She swallowed hard and nodded, letting her eyes rest on the menu. Who could think about food when the heat of Spike's gaze was still burning her body?
She ended up ordering some sort of crab salad that she was sure she wouldn't finish. Her stomach was doing somersaults as Spike continued talking to her about the beach, the club they'd be going to later that evening and the town in general.
"You okay, Sunshine?" he asked, becoming concerned when he noticed she'd barely made a dent in her salad.
"Yeah," she smiled weakly. "I'm good. Just listening."
Something about his voice enthralled her. It was deep. Certainly masculine. It was friendly and upbeat sometimes; the way he sounded on the radio. And at others, it was soft and intimate. The accent didn't hurt, either. It breathed over her in a silky caress that made her lips tingle.
"I'm really glad you came," he said, his voice dipping down to that intimate octave. "And... I'm sorry I coerced you. I was afraid you wouldn't have come if I had just asked."
"I might not have," she admitted. "But I'm glad that I did, all the same."
His hand slipped over hers and squeezed it gently. He stared down at her bare ring finger as his thumb swept over the back of her hand.
She felt her cheeks color when she guessed what he was thinking.
"I... I just thought that..."
"No need for explanations, Buffy," he assured her. "I don't care if it condemns me to Hell... but I don't give a damn whether you're wearing another man's ring or not. All I care about is that you're here and you're with me."
He pulled her hand to his lips and turned it over, pressing a chaste kiss to her palm. Everything inside of her went liquid as her eyes rolled closed.
"Tell me..." she tried, forcing her mouth and brain to connect against their will. "Tell me where we're going for dinner."
He smiled and leaned back in his chair.
"You're having a hard enough time getting through lunch," he teased her.
She looked down at her plate and smiled.
"It must be the sun... and the heat," she fibbed.
Sure, it was the sun and the heat. It was the way the sunlight reflected off of his hair and the way his voice made her temperature rise of its own volition. It had a certain amount to do with the proclamation he'd made about kissing her and a little to do with the way he was brushing her hand with the tips of his fingers.
"Do you, uh," she cleared her throat and started over. "Do you treat all of your traffic anchors this way?"
His face became very serious even as humor still danced in his deep blue eyes.
"Which do you want?" he asked. "A lie or the truth."
When she didn't respond, he leaned in closer to her. The sweet coconut oil didn't cover the lush honeysuckle that enveloped her. It was a scent that he hadn't forgotten since the last time they were together.
His eyes impaled hers and she shivered involuntarily. She could feel his breath as he studied her intently.
"The truth is, you already know the answer to that question," he informed her. "You knew it was rhetorical even as you asked it."
She was still watching him, waiting for him to make his move.
"Close your eyes, Buffy," he told her.
He loved the look of confusion on her face. Her brow furrowed as her lip came out in a pout.
"Trust, Love," he implored her. "You've got to have trust."
Trust hadn't ever exactly been at the top of her agenda. She waiting another moment, trying to find the duplicity in his eyes, before she consented.
She closed her eyes and was surprised to see the honest blue of his still burnt into her memory. She felt his hand gently ghost over her cheek.
"Just relax, Kitten," he said softly. "Be that girl who shoots me dirty little messages every day. Let down your guard and let me in."
She felt his nose skim over hers as his lips touched hers. She could feel her heart kick into high gear as she fought to keep her eyes closed.
"If we were sending each other little messages, probably I'd say something like..."
He took a very slow, deliberate breath in through his teeth and moved his other hand to her thigh. It was warm and smooth under his palm. He could still feel the silky slip of her suntan oil.
"I've missed you," he whispered. "Especially when I'm naked."
"I've never been around you when you were naked," she contradicted as the smile pulled at her mouth. "How can you miss what you've never had?"
His mouth was near her ear. She felt his tongue flicker across the tender lobe and she was pretty certain that she moaned.
"That's not entirely true, Love," he continued, teasing her earlobe with his breath and his tongue. "We've spent a lot of time together in my mind. And most of it... naked."
"No wonder my parts would just start tingling out of the blue," she said shakily, playing along.
"Uh-huh. How does that make you feel?" he wanted to know.
"Well... tingly. Duh. Uh, in a very warm kind of make me want to take my clothes off way," she quickly amended.
"That's what I was going for."
His mouth had found its way down to her jaw and he was making a production of nipping at the sensitive skin there.
"You know," she continued, trying to ignore the way he was kissing and nuzzling her.
It was nearly impossible. Between his mouth and his hands, one playing with the soft hairs at the nape of her neck, the other riding dangerously high on her leg, she was quickly becoming unglued.
"You really need to stop thinking dirty thoughts while I'm at the grocery store. People are starting to stare."
He bit back a chuckle and continued kissing her until his lips were once again on hers. He brushed his lips over hers, teasing her until she let out a soft sigh. He pulled back to look at her face. He wanted to take in the full effect. Her eyes were still closed, but they weren't squeezed tight. She was beginning to relax. He wasn't sure if her cheeks were pink from the sun or from his touch and suggestive words. He was close enough to see that she wore no makeup. She was simply natural. Beautiful.
She wasn't the kind of girl he normally fell for. She wasn't polished and gelled and styled and glossed. And he loved it. He wouldn't want her any other way.
"Then you should probably stop molesting the produce," he suggested.
She grinned, a brilliant, open-mouthed grin full of laughter. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"I can't help it, Bleach Boy," she said huskily. "The cucumbers... they just... they just do something to me. And the zucchini? Don't even get me started."
He'd promised himself he'd wait until dinner to kiss her. He swore he'd give her time, but the way she played along with him just pushed him over the edge. His lips found hers and with little coaxing, his tongue had slipped inside of her mouth. She tasted just as sweet as she had the last time he kissed her. She kissed him back just as fervently, her tongue dueling with his, until she had to breathe.
When she pulled away, her eyes went wide and her cheeks a shade of pink the sun had little to do with. She couldn't believe she had been so bold or so open. She'd wanted him to kiss her. And she'd wanted to kiss him back.
"Why don't you follow me over to your hotel," he told her, watching her face curiously. "And you can get settled in. Maybe take that bubble bath and pretend I'm the sponge. Catch a little nap. And then I'll be by around 6 to pick you up."
She nodded and reached for her bag. He was already pulling bills from his wallet when she looked up. He left a couple of twenties on the table and stood up, offering her his hand.
The Adam's Mark wasn't too far from Joe's. It was a shell colored building with a huge circular drive facing the roadway. She watched as Spike pulled around the circle and stopped at the valet desk. He said something to the attendant, handed him a couple of bills and walked over to her car.
She watched him, wondering if he was going to invite himself up. Then she felt the panic rise in her throat as she wondered if she'd be able to tell him no.
"Alright, Love," he told her, squatting down beside her door. "I took care of your valet."
The top was down and the sun was making her glow. He couldn't stop himself from touching her one more time. He leaned in a kissed her quickly before standing again.
"Be ready at 6," he told her. "And I meant what I said about calling me from the tub. I'll be waiting."