Buffy danced ahead of Spike as they cut through the cemetery on the way home. Her blue jeans fit like a second skin, and the red lace camisole was perhaps his favorite bit of useless lace in her collection. She bounced along, occasionally jumping up on a gravestone and tossing coy looks back in his direction. He laughed at her antics, until she turned and he saw the playful glimmer in her eye. Tonight's minions had been no challenge, but Buffy was ready to give him one. He smiled, quirked his scarred eyebrow at her in challenge, and gestured with his fingers.

She flung herself at him with a joyful cry, ferocity and finesse in action. He whirled out of her reach and managed to get her in the back of the knee with a quick kick. She turned her fall into a roll and popped up three feet past him.

His girl, always turning straw into gold, he shook his head and ducked low as she sprang for him. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and smiled as a familiar scent spun through his nostrils. She was incorrigible, incredible, and insatiable. He was one lucky bloke. He grinned and bit her denim-clad thigh with his blunt teeth. She smacked his head away from her and wiggled free. They were both breathing heavily and he was about to get to his feet when every nerve in his body tingled. He gulped as Buffy whirled about.

"Having problems, Spike?" A tall, dark haired vampiress stepped into the space between Spike and Buffy. "I'll handle it for you."

"She's not a problem. I'm just enjoying the battle," he said, letting her hungry eyes take in his pale midriff.

"You and your slayer obsession. Nest was never very pleased by it." She tapped one long dark painted nail on her chin.

"Well, Nest is gone. The Order belongs to Angelus now. Are you here to challenge him?" Spike moved to his side trying to figure out the best way to extract Buffy from this mess. She wasn't running. He could see her moving behind them.

"I may hate him, but he has his uses. My sister was good at picking the right vermin to turn." Her voice took on a hard edge.

"Not your sister, no matter how you play it. You are a minion. Darla was a childe." Spike smiled.

"I'm a free minion, now. No more Master, no more oath." She laughed derisively.

"Do you want to be claimed?" Spike rocked his hips and looked her square in the eye. "He will force you to your knees. I might be willing to let you stay on your feet."

"He's nothing more than a sire killing waste of dust and you are the childe of a mad thing." She snarled and stepped toward Buffy.

"Angelus wants her, Rebecca. Don't involve yourself." Spike stood up and righted his shirt, covering his abdomen with a smooth gesture. He could sense three of Rebecca's brood approaching. He was going to be busy.

"She killed the last master, my master. Nest was all that is evil and dark. Angelus is welcome to her corpse." The new vamp rushed at Buffy and tried to wrap her arms around his mate. He bit back the urge to fight Buffy's battle.

Buffy spun away. Keeping herself free from the vampire's grasp. She yanked a stake out of her pants and felt her senses flare as she noticed more powerful presences.

Buffy chanced a look at Spike and saw him scanning for the unseen vampires before she turned toward the beautiful creature preparing to attack again.

"I'm going to paint your blood on my brood and let them wear you as we tear this little town to bits."

"Not really the most appealing accessory. Why not get them matching jackets? Give them some real team spirit. You could design patches for them." Buffy giggled. "A set of fangs, some weird ass squiggly emblem. Your type goes for that stuff."

"I'm going to wear your entrails like a pearl necklace," Rebecca smiled.

"Good luck with that plan. I'm guessing you were never Daddy's favorite. He skipped out on the presents. No virgin blood for the homely minion. Did you have to sit at the kiddie table for the chanting?" Buffy braced herself on a slightly raised grave marker and baited her opponent. "I mean you were probably all the rage until he found Darla. He really did love her, didn't he?"

"He loved us all. We were his children." Rebecca tossed her dark hair over her shoulder.

"Nope, you're a minion. I mean I can sense it. See it, too. Darla packed a bit more punch, and she was prettier, too. I just bet old bat face liked that, liked her youthful, pretty face more than your devotion. Don't feel bad. She was a whore. Probably knew all kinds of tricks to keep him happy." Buffy smiled as the vampiress charged her, and sprang up off the solid marble under her feet. She twisted in the air and landed with her feet square in the back of the larger female, driving her to the ground.

The three vamps burst from their cover and Buffy sat poised with the stake pressed to the back of their maker. She looked at the three hulking males, and shook her head, clucking sadly with her tongue.

"Wow, Spike, is a minion's minion much of vampire? I mean fighting you is hard, but I'm guessing these guys are gonna be all trousers. Isn't that the way you say it?" Buffy smiled at him, carefully wording her questions to avoid revealing his allegiance. "These guys aren't going to survive if I throw a giant flaming organ at them, but you did."

Rebecca tried to buck Buffy off. She flailed about, but Buffy just grinned and dug the stake into her opponent's skin, letting the point slide between the ribs. She grinned at Spike and the other vampires.

"I feel like playing a game," Buffy chortled. "What with the lovely pony ride your Miss Minion is giving me. Spike, I know you, so you referee. Which is your favorite minion, Becky?"

"I will not play your game," the vampire screeched.

"Oh, you aren't the game. You're the prize." Buffy winked at the boys. "Having fun yet, Spike?"

"You do have a way of amusing even as you infuriate, Pet." He nodded and leaned back against a tree. He made a slightly pouty face. "This was our date. Now, I get a show before my meal."

"Well, here are the rules. You three fine young minions love her, right?" Buffy watched them nod with a smile. "Three strong males like you. It must be hard to be at her beck and call. I bet you don't like sharing her one bit. So, I'll give her to the one still alive in ten minutes time. She'll be your very own to do with as you please."

Rebecca bucked until the stake broke one of her ribs. Buffy giggled as the minions stared at her blankly. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Obviously you didn't pick them for their brains," he snorted. He walked over to them. "Let me get the game started."

He twirled a stake on the palm of his hand as he approached them. He staked the largest one and waved his hand in front of his face to dispel the dust. He smiled as the others turned to him.

"There can be only one, boys." He pulled a second stake out and moved to offer them the weapons. They stepped back from him and he spun the weapons again before driving them deep into each minion's chest. He spun about and looked over at Buffy.

"I think you'll like my game more." He smiled as Buffy nodded. "In thirty seconds, the one of you still alive gets me forever."

Buffy felt her knees hit the dust-covered earth a second before Spike knocked her to the ground, rolled her to her back, and kissed her. She pushed up into his kiss and rested her body weight on her forearms. When he broke the kiss, she cocked her head.

"She was too bloody dangerous to play with, Slayer. Plunge. Dust. Repeat." Spike glared at his mate. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Spike, she was a minion. I knew I could take her." Buffy cupped his cheek with her hand.

"She was an almost four hundred year old minion, one of Nest's first turns, his favorite for years. I won't lose you to carelessness and gaiety." His blue eyes flashed golden and he kissed her again.

She slid her mouth from his and pushed him back to stare into his eyes. She had seen and felt his panic.

"You were scared for me, not normal be careful Buffy fear, but big time terror." Buffy looked at him, waiting.

"She tried to kill me once, a long time ago. Said the prophecies were clear and I had to die. I was young, wasn't ready for her. Dru and Angel beat her back and Darla nearly drained her dry. I thought they loved me for about half a second, but it was just Darla flexing her power. No minion would touch a childe of her line. I was beaten for allowing her to hurt me. It didn't matter that Rebecca was strong. I've run across her a time or two in the last hundred years. I've always been aware of her desire to hurt me. I think she set the mob on Dru. Didn't want her to know how important you were to me." He gulped and a tremor ran through his body. Buffy tugged him back to her.

Their lips clashed, teeth and tongue, feeding on each other. Buffy let her body fall back to the earth and wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel his need thrumming through her body; feel the urge to celebrate their continued survival. He growled into her mouth and slid his thigh between hers.

Spike was lost in a lust driven haze until he felt her hands fumbling at his belt. He broke away from her mouth and took in their surroundings. They were out in the open for any demon to stumble upon. He shook his head to clear it. They needed to be somewhere safe.

He looked at the crypt five feet away. It was old, less chance of rotting flesh to stink the place up. He scooped Buffy up in his arms and kissed her as he strode toward the door. He kicked the door and heard the old bolt give. He grinned. Entropy and decay his allies in seduction. He looked around as he ducked in the door, one sarcophagus and lots of space. Not bad really, just the kind of fixer upper he would have chosen if he were on his own.

He let Buffy down and shrugged off his duster. He spread it on the ground and pulled Buffy back into his arms. He grinned as she pulled her shirt off and tossed it away. She was lovely in the darkness. He trailed tiny kisses along her neck and down her to the valley between her breasts. She groaned and wrapped her arms around him and pulled at his shirt. He could feel her nails digging into his flesh. He shivered and let her pull his shirt off. Then he knelt before her and kissed the tip of her nipple through the lace of her bra. He sucked it through the rough texture of the lace. Her fingers speared through his hair holding him in place.

He could hear her gasping, feel his own urge to breathe. He let her nipple slide from his mouth with a wet popping sound, and took in deep pulls of air as she pushed her own pants down. He smiled and rested his forehead against the skin of her stomach.

She sank down to her knees and kissed him, all hot demand and screaming need. Her nimble fingers made quick work of his pants. He smiled as they pooled at his knees. He felt her hands on his hips, kneading his flesh.

"You can get as loud as you want here," Buffy whispered against his ear. "You can make me scream as loud as you want, too."

She pushed him back onto his coat. He stared up at her with her golden hair wild and her eyes heavy lidded. She was beauty and joy, all the things that he had lost and she had returned. She stroked him with her fingertips, bent over his prone form, and kissed his chest. Her mouth was hot and wet as it slid on his smooth skin. She flicked his nipples and smiled at his groan.

"I want you louder. She slid her mouth down his torso and swirled it around his belly button in a circle before dipping it in. He jerked as he bit back a bark of laughter. She grinned up at him and dropped her mouth lower. He felt her hot breath on his cock and his world stopped.

The tip of her tongue traced along the velvety skin of his cock and then the hot cavern of her mouth enveloped him. She sucked tentatively, and he groaned. She pursed her lips around him and squeezed as she swirled her tongue against him.

He arched up under her and roared, his demon emerging. He pulled her up his body without thought and rolled her beneath him. The softness of her body and the welcoming heat of her touch entranced him. He looked down at her, golden hair spilling across the cold stone floor, and growled. Lowering his head slowly, he delighted in the fiery kisses she peppered on his ridges. He nuzzled against her jaw and purred.

Her legs wrapped around him as she pulled at his shoulders. She scratched and clawed at him, but he wouldn't move into her. He was fighting to regain his human face, and she didn't want that. She wanted to know all of him.

She reared up beneath him and struck. Her teeth sunk into the flesh of his neck, not breaking the skin. Another roar broke from inside him. He erupted in a flurry of motion, slamming her down hard onto the floor. He stared down at her, holding her down with one hand pressed to her sternum.

She felt something rising inside her. Her body was demanding, screaming for action. She growled, a deep and visceral sound.

"You are mine," she said through gritted teeth. "I want you, I want all of you."

He closed his eyes as a tremor ran through him. He lowered his body onto hers slowly and nuzzled against her neck. Gentle even as the demon screamed for more within him. He heard her frustrated growl as he licked her shoulder, and smiled.

Buffy felt frustration rising, and her body seemed to burn from within. Her vision improved as she felt a slight tingle in her gums. Instincts reared up within her. She looked at the curve of his neck and her tongue swirled around the two petite canine teeth that had somehow elongated. Part of her was panicking. She had fangs, even if they seemed more like Hollywood vampire fangs than Spike's. The other part of her didn't care. She licked his neck where a pulse would be and felt him shiver.

She struck fast, letting her instincts rule. She shuddered as his blood flooded into her. She could feel him struggling to break free, sense his shock. She clung to him until he went still. Releasing her hold on his neck was difficult. He tasted so good to her. She let his flesh slide out of her mouth and relaxed under him, licking at his wound with long, lazy strokes of her tongue.

"Buffy," Spike pulled back and looked down into glowing green eyes. She still looked just like his Buffy, his very human Buffy. He watched her quick smile and shuddered at the sight of the two petite fangs gracing her grin. Words fled.

She stared up into his eyes and saw him freeze. Rejection flared through her. He didn't want her like this, the wildness emerging. She wanted to scream. Her sudden twist and shove set him back on his heels, and she stood and walked away. She leaned against the sarcophagus, clawed at the stone as the sting of his rejection burned through her.

Spike watched his mate clinging to a sarcophagus. He could feel her desolation. He shook off his demon and approached her. What could he say that would comfort her? What apology would be enough? He stroked her back and tried to pull her against his chest. She growled and shrugged him off.

"Buffy, I'm sorry," he put a hand on her shoulder. "It never occurred to me that you might develop fangs. I shouldn't have allowed this mating without knowing all the consequences."

She whirled about to face him, her glowing green eyes narrowed, her nostrils flaring. Her growl was a deep rumbling sound. He felt his demon starting to rise to her challenge. He stepped back and she swung, one fist square to his shoulder.

"You don't want me like this," she snarled. "I get it. You just want the human."

"Of course I want you like this, Buffy," he said incredulously. "You're my mate. You are the most adorable, lovely, ferocious being in the world."

"Then, why won't you take me?"

"I never want to hurt you, Buffy. Tell me what you want."

"I want you, all of you. I love the human side of you and the demon. I don't want it to matter between us. You're the one with demon issues. I like my fangs just fine." Buffy tossed her head and flipped around, giving him her back once more.

He looked at her, naked and defiant. She was magnificent. He called forth his demon and stepped up behind her. Her warning growl amused him. He wrenched her back against him and grabbed her hair in one hand, pulling it lightly until her throbbing pulse was bared to him. She bucked her hips and her luscious ass back into him and he growled.

"I don't want some pity fuck. Let me go." She tried to break free from him.

"It's a good thing I don't do pity," Spike whispered against her ear as he pushed her lower body flush with the stone coffin. He felt her tense and then he struck sinking his fangs in deeply. He felt her flinch at the pain, but then her body went into a frenzy as she screamed her release as he pulled her warm blood into his body.

"Oh, please, Spike, don't ever stop." She reached behind her with her hands to clench his head to her neck. He took a long slow draw on her blood, stretching out the sensation for her. Her little mewing cries and the scrabble of her feet against the smooth stone fragmented what was left of his control. He released her neck and shoved her down with one hand between her shoulder blades. She writhed before him, lost in the demands of her body.

He could see tears sliding down her cheeks as he spread her legs and buried himself deep in her with one thrust. He pounded into her furiously. The sweet honey of her arousal flowed, drenching him and filling the air.

He pushed faster, harder, reaching for the precipice. Buffy was making inarticulate noises with every urgent glide of his body in hers. He could feel her need spiraling and focused on driving her higher. He pulled her up against his chest. Pulling her knees up to the top of the monument. He drove deep into her and caressed her breasts from behind. Her head fell back and she turned toward him. Her blazing eyes met his and he angled his head to kiss her. Their tongues rampaged. He relished the play of their fangs against each other. He pulled back and slid his fangs into her neck once more. He sucked one mouthful of her blood and let go. Buffy made small, helpless sounds as he held her at the edge of fulfillment. She clawed at him, screamed, and flexed her body around him. He could feel the rush of his own orgasm approaching. Her heartbeat hammered through him as he forced them both higher. Her muscles clenched on him as she roared and his body flooded hers, his own bellow drowning her out.

"I love you, Buffy." He gasped as he gathered her to him and coiled their bodies together on the top of the coffin. She turned and curled against him. Her human features returned. Her hand slid along his chest and paused.

"Spike, you said something about a prophecy earlier, right." Buffy asked as she pushed up to look into his eyes.

"We can talk about it soon. I just want to enjoy the moment, Luv," he muttered and stroked her hair. "Love the sound of your heart."

"That's not my heart, Spike." Buffy pressed on his chest. "It's yours."