Somehow they find themselves underneath the bed covers, tangling around each other tighter and tighter. However much Buffy had pondered on it, guiltily dreamt on it, the reality was completely different. He wasn't cooling her down at all. Instead heat seemed to wrapping around them in a suffocating delirium. Either from the burning of her skin, the panting of her breath, or the friction of their bodies pressed against each other, she feels more on fire with every touch. Every kiss.

Their re-instated game of who would cry out first has stopped being a simple challenge and is rapidly becoming an unbearable edge over which they are both trying to topple the other.

Three more love bites decorate Buffy's shoulder and collarbone, and a host of deep scratches flourish over Spike's chest and back.

One of his arms is pinned underneath her, gripping her round the waist as he grinds gently against her hips. He unlatches his mouth from her neck, licking the welts he's left behind, breathing hard in her ear as his free hand slips down between them.

He brushes a hand against the inside of her thigh, pushing her open further as he slips two fingers inside her. Pumping in and out of her with a torturously slow rhythm. Moving further in, curling slightly up. He hits the spot almost immediately as soon as his fingers move up and is rewarded with the fingernails of her left hand sinking into the flesh of his arm. Buffy's face turned into his neck as she shivers uncontrollably.

She turns her head to his, moves her mouth up towards his and he pulls back out of her reach, curling his fingers up into her more cruelly, building the momentum. A hard gasp escapes her and she lifts her head to his again, begging for a kiss, begging for something to muffle the scream that's building up, echoing up from inside her.

He can feel her starting to breach the edge, feel all those slithery, slippery muscles inside her starting to contract.

Just a bit more..

Buffy's holding her breath, trembling underneath him. He pushes her right to the brink of it-

and pulls back.

She catches the yelp just before it spills out of her mouth, eyes lit like fire in the gloom. She bites her tongue hard, almost losing control and cursing him out for being a tease.

She can feel rather than see the smirk on his lips against her neck. Two slick fingers trail over her stomach, trailing over her hip. Excessively light, barely there at all.

He shifts the arm out from underneath her back, sliding it under her neck. With his other hand he catches her wrist, pulling her nails away from his bicep. Gently pushing it down to meet the bed, passing her wrist from one hand to the other.

With her hand held firmly in his, his fingers brush over her neck, up towards her jaw, turning her head into his to catch her lips in a kiss. Slow at first but turning into a burning brutality, tongue slipping over hers. His hand travels back between her legs, grazing her clit, pushing her open before slipping back inside her.

She tries to pull out of the kiss for air but his lips are locked over hers as fingers knead her back up to the edge in seconds. She tries to cup his face, pull him closer, but her hand is still caught in his grip and he holds on tighter, hard fingers digging into tendons, his chest crushing the breath out of her.

Going to faint...

Oh God I'm going to faint. I'm going to come and then I'm going to faint.

He bites her lip and she gasps, feeling his fingers curling further up, bearing down on the spot inside her all over again, still quiveringly sensitive from the assault on it moments earlier.

There's a fluttering between them and she realises it's the air in her lungs, the panting building up and up into a scream. There's a trembling moment of clarity in which she can hear herself moaning before she tumbles over the wave, all but howling into his mouth, the walls of her baring down in a bone crushing grip around his fingers.

He pulls his fingers back from her slowly as the pressure subsides, leaving a last kiss on her lips and releasing her wrist from his hand.

"One all."

Buffy nods, eyes still unfocussed, and he rolls off her to give her space to breath.

Spike lies on his back, one hand over her chest feeling the jumping underneath as her heart tries to kick its way out through her ribcage. He licks the palm of his hand up to his fingers, sucking off every trace of her.

"You taste so sweet." He murmurs, feeling her prickling next to him, green eyes watching him in the dark. "I could drink you dry, pet."

"You better not be talking about blood, Spike." There's a hard edge under her whispers and he grins at her.

"I wasn't. Well... maybe a little but I still can't bite you. I'm happy to wait another," his eyes flick up, counting on his fingers, "...ten days is it?"

Buffy freezes.

"You're- please tell me you can't tell when-"

"Blood's blood, sweetheart."

"Oh my God. That's so disgusting."

Entirely mortifying. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop thinking about that now. Three days a month I'm going to be completely self conscious...

...Might have to get the gang to patrol. Unless it's an emergency...

"Don't be such a prude. It's barely different from what you did to me earlier." He turns on his side, pulling her in closer. "I bet you'd taste so nice. Say you'll let me."

"NO!"

He clamps a hand over her mouth too late, laughing.

"I think that's the last point to me."

She bites at his palm.

"We weren't playing."

He straddles her, lazily, slowly like he's got hours now. Nothing to rush. Wrapping her legs around his hips.

"We're always playing, Buffy. I've never stopped playing with you."

He ruts against her, pulling her hand down and wrapping it round the tip of his cock as he glides it over her clit. Buffy moans, hips joining in with his.

"Really think you need to concede now, pet."

"Spike-"

Everything is shivery and sensitive and soaking wet. He leans over her, covering her mouth with his hand again as he pulls down a little and glides into her. She bucks underneath him, back arching as he slides over her G spot in one fluid motion setting every nerve blazing again, groaning into his palm.

"Two, one."

She nods, pulling him closer, arms wrapping around his shoulders. Disappearing into a deep well of black and stars underneath him. He cups her face, releasing her lips from his hand so he can push his against her, soft and kind and warm.

"I love you, Buffy."

Everything goes cool. Cold as all her nerves humming with energy slam to a halt.

She takes a shivery breath, trying to keep all the memories back a little but there's too many and they rush her-

-in Giles' chair -the look in his eyes when she agreed to marry him- the feel of his hand on the back of her neck after she'd nearly thrown up, seeing Riley in the vampire den- the coy flick of his smirk that makes a knot in her stomach- soft cool hands brushing the hair out of her face- punches and kicks thrown under an onslaught of want and lust- his fingers over her skin as he carried her to his crypt, melting over hers in the bronze, soft and breath stealingly slow, bandaged her stomach, held her hand as she cried over her mother in hospital...

I love you-

Spike freezes, pulls back to look her in the eyes.

"What?"

Buffy blinks. And realises she spoke those words, not thought them.

"I love you too."

He grins, catching her lips in another kiss.

"No more fighting it then, luv?"

Buffy wraps her arms around his back, dragging him down into her, nuzzling his neck.

No more fighting it...

Something cool slides down her finger, nestling against her knuckle. She rubs her other fingers against it, centring Spike's ring over her finger as he wraps a hand into her hair, holding onto each other, breathing each other in.

No more fighting it.