“Freakin’ dom,” Spike muttered again.  He spread his legs wider to give his sire easier access, then dropped back into an easy sleep.

*   *   *

They’d been at it for over five hours, but nothing had materialized in their attempt to find a spell that would increase Angel’s strength during tonight’s ensoulement.  They’d pretty much agreed an hour ago that they would just have to toss the dice and do as they had with Maria and the Magdala, but it was barely nine o’clock and since the Aurelian’s would not start to gather for another hour or two, just prior to midnight, they really had nothing else to fill these last hours with but more of the same, and so the research continued.

Angel spent as much time watching his team as he did on the books, enjoying their easy camaraderie.  Wesley was finding his way back to the strong counselor he had been, while keeping that aspect in line with his new role of pet – it was quite a joy to watch, Angel thought to himself, his eyes twinkling with pleasure.  Illyria had changed dramatically.  Tonight she would appear naked for the reveling – appropriate for a clan’s succubus pet, although they had agreed that during the ensoulement, she would be clad again in her body armor, just in case.  Both deferred to the Master of their House, who strangely enough focused more intently than anyone else on the stack of books before him.  It reminded Angel as nothing so much as how he’d always envisioned the scholarly William to be, before his turning.  Once his attention was focused on his childe, he couldn’t seem to withdraw it, images from the night before pushing all other thoughts insidiously aside.

“Take a picture, peaches – it’ll last longer,” the blond murmured in the sub-audible tone that only another vampire would hear.  He kept his eyes pinned on the open book below him, seemingly still engrossed in the words there.

Angel frowned.  Take a picture?

Spike sighed and looked up with a grin.  “Let it go, mate, before your head explodes.”

The older vampire shook his head, but smiled in turn.  He was in an incredibly mellow mood.  For the first time in recent years, despite the very dangerous event looming ahead, he didn’t have the least inclination to brood.  He wondered if he was perhaps too happy, but was in fact too mellow to give it much thought.  Just to be sure, however, he did a quick internal check, which told him that since he had no overwhelming urge to rape, kill and turn Wesley and attempt the same with Illyria, his soul was still intact.  He grinned again, satisfied with the outcome of that check and Spike, reading his sire like the book beneath his fingers, smiled ruefully and shook his head.

“All systems go, then mate?”

“I’m fine,” Angel replied, getting the general gist of the question, even if he didn’t understand the origin.

Spike’s smile turned to a wicked smirk, and his own followed, both clearly remembering the events of the hours just past.  Angel did have an almost overwhelming urge then to kiss the blond menace sitting across from him, something that would certainly land him in hot water with his prickly childe.  An outright public fucking would probably be more acceptable to Spike than anything he would no doubt refer to as ‘poufy snogging,’ given the presence of two of their pets in the room.  Luckily at that moment the third pet unexpectedly arrived.  Angel regretfully put the kiss on hold, and turned to the naked black man, who immediately chose a spot on the floor between his Clan and House Masters and sank into obeisance.

“Thomas returns this pet to his Masters with his compliments and thanks,” Gunn intoned, no doubt repeating word for word the instructions given him by Jardin’s trusted minion.

Angel glanced at Spike, who nodded.

“Inspection, Charlie-boy,” the blond said, pulling his chair over until he sat directly next to his sire.

Gunn stood up, locked his fingers behind his head and settled his feet shoulder length apart.  He still wore the cock harness, and it was clear it had not been removed during the last twenty-four hours, the erection caught in its restraints purple and angry looking.

Spike wrapped a hand around the shaft and critically inspected that organ, probing with a finger at the red-lined slit then reaching below to cup and fondle the pendulous balls.  While he did that, Angel stood up and ran his hands over the black man’s legs, flanks, belly and chest, checking for any injuries.

“Tell us how you were used, Gunn,” the dark vampire commanded, now checking the upraised arms, shoulders and neck.

“Right after I was given to him, Master Jardin told him to take me so that he and his childe could watch,” Gunn choked out after a minute.

“Course he did,” Spike murmured, releasing the black man’s genitals.  “I would have done the same,” he added.  “Turn around.”

Gunn turned so that his backside was presented for the vampires’ inspection.

“How did he take you?” Angel asked, already running his hands along the pets back, while his childe started from the other end, inspecting the long muscles and bones of his legs, starting from the ankles and slowly working his way upward.

“On the floor, on my back, with my legs over his shoulders so that the other two could see everything,” Gunn replied hoarsely.

Spike glanced under his lashes toward his sire, looking a bit chagrined, and glanced as quickly away when he found the older vampire smirking at him in turn.

“Did you behave, Gunn?”  Angel asked, trying to school his features, but still grinning inside.

“Yes, Master Angelus,” the pet agreed.

Angel had to smile at his choice of his older name; he’d been feeling particularly Angelus-like for the last few days, and it felt strangely right at the moment.

“Good, but I’m not surprised.  I knew you would represent Spike’s House and my Clan well,” he praised.

Spike cleared his throat, clearly a bit embarrassed by the recent Big Bad lapse, and tried to make up ground.

“What else, pet?” he demanded, scowling in order to cover his chagrin.

“Then he had me clean him up, and he came again, in my mouth.”

“Spill any?” the blond asked curtly.

“None, Master William,” the pet answered quickly.

“Good.  You did well in the Hall, Charlie-boy,” he said, finally recovering a bit as his sire’s attention was refocused on the matter at hand.

“Thank you, Master,” the black man said, somewhat embarrassed by the questions, but also clearly pleased by the praise.

“And after?” Angel urged.

“Master Jardin and James shared the main bedroom of their suite, and let Thomas have the smaller room to himself.  He tied me to the bed, on my belly, hands and feet to the corners,” Gunn explained, blushing.  “He took me before he went to sleep, then again a few hours later – though I don’t think he was actually awake when he did that,” he added, still flushed.  “When he woke up he used me again, then had me clean him up, then he sent me back to you with his instructions of thanks.  He made me repeat them until he was sure I’d remembered them exactly, then used my mouth once more, before sending me back to you.”

“Hmm,” Angel said, leaning in to sniff at the pet’s underarms, then lower, at his anus, even as the blond probed there, slipping a finger in while his sire held the dark cheeks open.  “Any damage?” the darker vampire asked as his childe probed deeply.

“No, he’s intact.”

“Thomas wasn’t as big as either of you,” the pet added hesitantly.

Angel simply nodded, but Spike smirked.  “Few are, Charlie-boy.”

Angel continued to sniff at various parts of their friend’s body as Spike finished up the internal inspection.  “You smell like him.  That won’t do.  Wesley, take him upstairs and scrub him down.  The cleansing spell won’t be enough to eliminate the scent of someone not of his clan – he’ll need an enema.  Then bring him back here to us.  We’ll mark him again before the gathering tonight.”

Heat flared on both the human’s faces, but Wesley nodded and headed for the door, and Gunn quickly followed him, glad that this part of his release was over, but anxious about what was to follow.  Getting the scent of the Jardin Clan off him was a welcome thought, though, and he found he wasn’t anywhere near as uncomfortable with the thought of Wesley administering an enema as he was sure he should be.

Throughout the interlude, Illyria had watched with interest.  She hadn’t said anything upon Gunn’s return, but her nod of acknowledgment spoke volumes to those who knew her.  She watched as her two peers left, then turned to the two vampires.

“Charles has become a good pet.  I am very pleased with his progress.”

“You’ve set a good example, Blue,” Spike deadpanned, entertained by her take on things.

“Thank you,” she said, taking his praise at face value before turning her attention back to the book in front of her.

Angel and Spike exchanged another glance, both smiling fondly, then turned back to the books themselves.  It was nearly ten o’clock before Wesley and Gunn returned.

Spike looked up at their entry, closed his book and set it on a smaller table beside a chair behind him.  “Books off the table, Blue,” he instructed.  As soon as the table was cleared, he waved Gunn toward it.  “On your belly, Charlie-boy.”

Gunn blushed again, but laid down on the small round table.  His torso rested on the surface, but his legs draped fully off one edge, and his arms and head off the opposite side.  Gunn stared down at the floor, trying to ignore how he was exposed to not only the vampires, but to the other pets as well.

Spike nodded to Angel who moved between Gunn’s legs, spreading them open wider, then calmly probed at the pink anus nestled between the brown cheeks.  He leaned down, his nostrils flaring as he drew in a deep scent, then nodded with satisfaction.

“Good job, Wesley,” he praised the other pet, who stood with Illyria nearby.

“Thank you,” the ex-Watcher murmured.

“Did you enjoy it?” Spike asked with a smirk.

“Enjoy it?” Wesley asked, his brow furrowed.

“Giving Charlie-boy the enema.  Kinda kinky, wasn’t it?”

“Um, yes, I suppose it was,” Wesley slowly replied.

“Suppose nothing, Watcher,” Spike replied, his smirk now a full-scaled grin.  “It’s kinky and you know it.  Nothing wrong with that.  As pets of a vampire household, best you get used to kinky, learn to enjoy it, yeah?”

Wesley blushed a fiery red but nodded.

“Good boy,” his House Master replied, pleased with that response.  “No place for modesty here, not with vampires.  The sooner you learn that, the happier you’ll be.”

He didn’t wait for any further response, clearly not expecting it, but instead moved to Gunn’s head.

“Open up, Charlie-boy,” he said instead, cupping the black man’s chin and lifting his head, while with his other hand he guided his rock-solid prick, now poking through the opened fly of his leather trousers, to the pet’s waiting mouth.

“Good boy,” he murmured again as the pet began to fellate him.

That end taken care of, Spike watched as his sire spread the dark cheeks, positioned his own large cock at the waiting hole, then slowly forced the head in past the tight ring.  Gunn’s mouth tightened about him in response, and he sighed, appreciating the extra pressure.  A few more minutes of maneuvering and Angel was seated completely.  He set up a slow, steady rhythm, and Spike matched his motions, both cocks fucking the human in tandem.  When Angel nodded at his childe, Spike released with a groan, filling the human’s mouth with his seed and his scent.  Gunn swallowed it all, then sucked again to clean up every drop.

“Good boy,” Angel said, slapping a rounded buttock as he pulled his cock from the puckered hole.  “Now me,” he added, pulling the pet from the table and pushing him down to his knees at his feet.  Gunn quickly took the slick cock in his mouth and cleaned him up.

“Your turn, Charlie-boy,” Spike said once Angel was satisfied and had tucked himself away.  “Up on the table again.”

Gunn sat on the edge of the table and Spike pulled his chair up so that he sat between the spread legs.

“Looks a bit painful, pet,” the blond said, inspecting his erection again.  “Bet you’re anxious to get this taken care of.”

Gunn nodded, but he looked as though his anxiety was just as much for the anticipated release as anything else.

“Leave it to me, ducks, I’ll take care of you.”

The blond had the cock harness undone and off in seconds, then began to work the swollen prick with a forceful twist of his wrist.  “Like a band-aid, yeah pet?  Best get it done quickly,” he added, increasing the speed and power of his strokes.

Gunn groaned, trembling, and Angel nodded to Wesley and Illyria, who moved to either side of their friend and began to stroke soothingly along his arms and torso.  Angel himself stood behind Spike, arms crossed while he watched intently.

“Ready, Charlie-boy?” Spike asked.

Gunn groaned but nodded, and Spike dipped down to take the hard prick into his mouth and swallow it down.  The black man couldn’t resist the deep-throat action, nor the convulsions along his shaft from the preternaturally strong muscles of the vampire’s throat, and with a cry convulsed as the long-delayed orgasm was ripped from him.

“There, there, pet, it’s all better now,” he heard a minute later, opening his eyes to see Spike still sitting before him, but now rubbing soothingly along the still-trembling muscles of his thighs.  “Come on now, fun’s over.  We’ve still got an hour, so hit the books,” he said, pushing his own chair back so his friend could get off the table and onto unsteady legs.

Gunn eased gratefully down into a chair Wesley pulled up for him, and after a sympathetic pat on the back from the ex-Watcher, which he acknowledged with a wry smile, grabbed a book from a side table behind him and got down to business.

Spike nodded, pleased with Gunn’s quick recovery, then turned and stopped abruptly when he found Angel still standing behind him.

“Come here,” the dark vampire said softly.

Spike’s eyes narrowed at the obvious command in the softly spoken words and cast a veiled glance at the table behind him, where the pets were each busy again with their research.  He sniffed, hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and assumed his Big Bad persona before sauntering forward the few steps that separated them.

“Whadya want, ponce?”

A hand shot out and clasped around the smaller vampire’s neck.  Spike stiffened, but didn’t move.  The hand slid up and fingers twined in the short, blond locks at the back of his head.  He was pulled forward until his chest brushed that of his sire’s, then the fingers tightened and tugged until he was forced to stare upward at the taller demon in front of him.

“I don’t care if you think it’s poufy snogging, okay?” Angel said.

Spike’s narrowed gaze widened abruptly in confusion an instant before his sire’s lips claimed his own for a short, hard kiss.  When he pulled back a minute later, Angel held his childe still for his inspection.  He nodded, as though pleased with what he saw there, then released him and left the room.

It took a minute for Spike to regain his equilibrium.  Finally he did, sniffed again, muttered “pouf” under his breath, and turned back to the table, only to find the three pets there watching him.

“Nothing to see here, mates – back to work,” he commanded gruffly, a Big Bad scowl on his face.

Spike sat down abruptly and buried his face in the first book at hand, but the pets, who surreptitiously watched him, noticed that it was a full fifteen minutes before he turned a single page.