Title: Place Your Bets Author: Pattyanne snapkik@yahoo.com Disclaimer: None of the BtVS characters belong to me. Feedback: Love some, thanks! Rating: Up to NC-17 Summary: Spike and Buffy have a bet going as to who can last the longest with- out sex. Part eleven: And The Winner Is...? Well, there'll be no living with him now! But, as the old song goes..."You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." Those words keep running through my mind while I lie in bed waiting for pancakes and strawberries. There's something deliciously decadent about breakfast in bed. First, there's the working up of the appetite, then there's the appeasing of said appetite. It's all great fun, let me tell you. Last night was great fun, too. I'm soooo much more relaxed. ************************************************************************** I'd been pissed as hell as I'd marched down the stairs, unable to believe he'd found a way to circumvent me once again. All my plans, all my carefully constructed plans, just went pffft! He was standing in the front room when I'd hit the bottom step, and he'd actually backed away a couple of feet when he saw my face. "What's wrong with you?" he'd asked. I couldn't take it anymore. I cracked. "Get out of here!" I'd hollered at him. "Get out! Get out of my house and don't ever come back! Ever! Go! Now!" He'd had the nerve to look surprised. "What's eating you?" he'd demanded, staying just out of hitting range. "What did I do now?" I was breathing so hard that my chest was heaving up and down, a fact he definitely noticed. "Stop staring at me like that!" I'd yelled. Okay, I was slightly irrational, I admit. I'd had my hands on my hips as I'd paced him around the room, he backing away as I advanced. "You are an inconsiderate pig! Look me in the eye when I'm yelling at you!" "Look, Buffy," he'd said quickly, raising his hands in what I guess he thought was a 'calm down and lets talk about this like two fairly rational people' gesture, "I don't have a clue as to why you've suddenly gone round the bend, but I'm willing to listen if you'll just...settle down." I didn't want to settle down. "I don't WANT to settle down!" I'd shouted, stamping my foot....which was a mistake, because it hurt. "I want to...I want to KILL you, that's what I want to do!" "But why, luv?" he'd asked, neatly putting the dining table between us. "Tell me what I did. Ain't exactly fair for you to have all the information when my life's the one on the line." "You didn't DO anything!" That was the problem. "You're just...just here!" "Here?" he'd asked, looking mightily confused. "Here...in the house? You're mad because I'm here?" "Yes!" I know I was sounding like a deranged lunatic but I hadn't been able to help it. Frustration had finally pushed me over the ledge I'd been teetering on for days. "I don't want you here! Never...ever...again!" "Buffy, come on..." Then, I'd said it. I didn't mean to say it, but it came flying out of my mouth anyway. Something I hadn't said to him in years, something guaranteed to hurt. "I hate you!" I knew right away just exactly what I had done when I saw his expression change before my eyes. The look on his face was identical to the one I'd seen when he'd discovered that I'd had Willow revoke his invitation into my house. My hand had flown up to cover my big mouth, but of course it was too late. He'd backed away a step or two, then turned around and walked towards the front door. I'd expected him to keep on walking after pulling it open, but he'd paused and turned back to me. "You sure about this, Slayer? If I go now...I'm not coming back. For real, this time." My brain couldn't even begin to process the notion of Spike leaving and never coming back. It was such an absurd idea that my mind rejected it utterly and shut down for a moment. Then, he'd turned around and walked out the door. Fortunately, my brain switched back on and I'd remembered what my feet were for. By the time I'd reached the doorway, he was almost to the sidewalk. I'd run out onto the porch and watched him go. Well, I had to stop him, didn't I? So, I did the only thing I could think of. "Spike!" I'd yelled after him. "I...I love you!" He must have thought of me as very insane. First "I hate you!", then "I love you?" Yeah, I'd said it. Finally. Right out there in front of....well, in front of nobody, but I still SAID it. And it sounded good. So, I'd said it again. "I love you." It worked. He'd stopped. He'd turned. He'd been smiling. "I know." So...when you meet halfway, does that count as a tie? ************************************************************************* Spike nudged the bedroom door open with his shoulder and brought my breakfast tray in. As I scooted up in bed, he placed the tray over my lap, then sat down. "Someone's a hungry girl this morning," he observed, watching me make quite the little pig of myself. "Best be careful, luv. Remember how tight your pants are." "Oh, shut-up," I replied with a wave of my hand. "My man likes to see a little meat on my bones." "He does, indeed." Spike watched as I drizzled syrup over the pancakes. "Anyway," I said, "I can't resist. Who knew you were such a good cook?" He laughed a little. "Doesn't take a lot of skill to fix microwave pancakes." We sat there for a while, not saying much of anything. It was a perfectly comfortable silence, and when I.was finished, he set the tray on the floor and moved a little closer. I know what's coming.... "I fulfilled my end of the wager, luv," he said, smiling wickedly. "Now it's your turn." There will be no getting around it. This I know. Believe me, I've tried. *********************************************************************** I'm not sure which one of us moved first, but we came together in the middle of the lawn. Needless to say, we were all over each other like a cheap suit. It didn't take long before my head was spinning clean off my shoulders. Finally...after an eternity...things were going my way. Spike's hands moved restlessly up and down my back as we kissed. Those hands knew every last inch of my body in- timately, and he used that knowledge to seduce me into a state of mindless abandon. I'm not kidding! My mind was gone. A.W.O.L. It had to be, because I'd been ready to do him right there on the front lawn. Boy, THAT would give the neighbors something to talk about at the next pot luck dinner. He'd broken our kiss, and I'd used the opportunity to drag a little oxygen into my lungs for the next round. "You naked under that robe, Slayer?" "Stark." "Gonna let me see?" "Gonna let you do more than see." We did a little more kissing, and I couldn't keep myself from bumping and grinding against him. His hands had moved down over my butt and squeezed me. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around him, and he carried me back into the house. With a well placed kick of one size 13 combat boot, he closed the front door so hard that the windows rattled. I was a little surprised when he didn't take me right upstairs to my bedroom. Instead, he pulled back and looked into my eyes. "Well?" he wanted to know. "Well, what?" Oh, I KNOW "well, what?" "Are you begging?" he persisted. Not if I can help it! "Why don't YOU beg?" I suggested. He thought about it for a minute. "At the same time?" That seemed reasonable. "Okay." "On three, then. One...two...three." Hoping to get out on a technicality, I kept my mouth shut and waited for him to say it first. But, apparently, he was reading my mind and he said nothing either. "Hey!" I complained. "You didn't say it!" "Well, neither did you." "Okay, this is getting stupid." "Tell you what, luv. Why don't we just consider it said and go upstairs to play?" So that's what we did. ********************************************************************* "How badly is it gonna hurt?" "You're the slayer. You can take it." Yeah, I probably can, but I like to milk my little aches and pains with him. He takes such good care of me afterwards. For a demon, Spike is surprisingly nurturing with the people he cares about. I've always thought he'd make a good father. "You know, a diamond ring will send the same message." My suggestion cuts no ice with him. "That'll come later," he assured me. "It'll be expensive," I informed him. "I want a great, big one." "I can afford it, luv." He can, too. Guess which 'bloody awful poet' recently dis- covered a talent for writing fiction? Not that it's actually fiction, but his publisher thinks it is. Yep...he's writing his life story. The first part of which hit the New York Times bestseller list about three minutes after it was published. Mother always wanted me to marry a man with the means to support me in a manner to which it's easy to become accustomed. I don't think she had a vampire in mind, but no one's perfect. "You'd best get ready to go." How can he be so calm? Oh, yeah.....because it's me. Spike being calm. That's an oxymoronish type thing. He wasn't calm last night, though..... ********************************************************************** He set me on my feet and turned to close the door. Quietly, as though there was someone in the house besides the two of us that might overhear and come on the run. Then he turned around and started across the floor, shedding his coat as he came. He didn't stop until he had me pressed up the wall. I placed my hands on his chest, reacquainted myself with the hard muscle beneath his thin cotton shirt. For a minute, I was afraid I might be dreaming the whole thing. It wouldn't be the first time since this bet was placed that I'd had an erotic dream about him...and me...doing un- believably naughty things to each other. But no, it was really happening. His hands were actually reaching for my hips and pulling me close to him. That bulge beneath his jeans was rubbing against me. Glory, hallelugha! He leaned closer and kissed the side of my face, then whispered in my ear, "D'ya want this, Slayer?" and added a little forward momentum of his hips. This was no time to be coy. "Yeah, I want it," I whispered back, reaching down and squeezing him in a vulnerable spot that made his groan in my ear. "You gonna give it up?" "Oh, yeah." He laughed, but I didn't care. I was too happy. The sash of my robe fell to the floor, but he didn't push the garment off my shoulders. Instead, he slipped his hands in on either side of my waist and started caressing my skin. From my waist, to my back, over my rear end and back up, down the front of my thighs, then all the way up to my breasts. It was the most sensual thing I've ever felt. But I wanted more skin to skin contact. I pushed him away a little and skimmed his shirt off over his head. Our hands both reached for his belt buckle at the same time, but he gave it over to me. After that, it was easy work to shove his pants down, and as I bent over to push them all the way to the floor, he placed his hands on my shoulders and sent me down to my knees. So, I figured...as long as I'm down here.... I wrapped my fingers around his erection, amazed all over again by the size. He kind of grunted and jerked forward, so I began stroking up and down, up and down, soft and hard, fast and slow; I gave him a little bit of everything he likes. Then I took him in my mouth and he nearly went through the ceiling. He tasted hard and male, and I could have stayed where I was for a very long time and never gotten bored. His hands were tugging the pins out of my hair and dropping them on the floor, then he threaded his fingers through it. His hips moved slowly back and forth as he slid his cock in and out of my mouth, holding me still with his grip in my hair. When I looked up, I could see that he'd closed his eyes in ecstasy, and he was murmuring my name, telling me how much he loved what I was doing, the way my mouth felt, how hot and wet it was, begging me to suck him harder, oh, PLEASE Buffy, suck him harder. Ooh...tingles up and down my spine! I took him in as deeply as I could, which isn't all the way I'm sorry to report...he's just too big for that. But I could feel it pulsing and swelling in my mouth and beneath my tongue when I licked him from bottom to top. He must have been about to lose it, because he pushed me away kind of abruptly. "Not yet," he said in his 'bedroom' voice, the one that makes me shiver and shake. I rolled over on to my hands and knees, trying to get to my feet before my legs wouldn't allow it. Spike, in the meantime, had sat down on his ass and was kicking off his boots and jeans. Before I could get very far, I felt his fingers bracelet around my right ankle. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" he demanded, yanking me back down. I didn't even get a chance to say one word! He fell forward and straddled my upper thighs, holding me down on the floor as he flipped my robe up and bared my bottom. "Very pretty," he chuckled, in a kind-of-evil way. "Thanks. What now?" "Off with the robe," he instructed. "I want you completely bare ass." Okeee-fine! So, he peeled the robe off my arms and tossed it in the general direction of his own clothing. I sort of expected him to get off and let me turn over or climb up onto the bed, but he had other ideas. His hands...god, those hands...started at my shoulder blades and began slowly massaging all the tension that had been knotting me up for days. No one did this better. Every time he does it, I melt into a puddle of butter. I wriggled around to make myself a little more comfortable, and the movement forced a gasp from him when I rubbed against a very sensitive place. His erection was...well, there's only one way to describe it...enormous. He leaned forward until he was stretched out on top of me. My legs parted to let him lie between them, and so he could keep most of his weight off me. I don't know what he's so worried about. It's not like he's gonna hurt me by laying all the way on me, but that's just how he is. Starting at the top of my spine, he began leaving a path of kisses down my back. My skin was tingling with anticipation as he worked his way down. After he skimmed over the cheeks of my ass, he finally moved aside and turned me onto my back. I never knew rolling around on the floor could be so much fun! He didn't waste any time...thank God...and went after me like I was dinner and he'd been fasting, which is kind of how we felt. His mouth went straight to my breasts. All of his previous stim- ulation had already made my nipples hard and sensitive and he was now cashing in on it. His tongue felt like rough velvet as it slipped and slid all over the surface of my breasts before targeting the centers. It felt so good that my back arched violently, trying to get closer to that demonic mouth and tongue of his. Wet...wet...wet....that's what was standing out in my mind at the moment. His mouth on my nipples left them wet and when exposed to the air, I got goosebumps from head to toe. His tongue swirled around and around the tips, making me whine and twist under him. Then, when I was just about to expire from the anti- cipation, he sucked on them long and hard, over and over. God, I wanted to scream, it felt so good! Farther south, I could feel him rubbing against me. His cock was moist and I had to touch it. My hot little hand moved down and took a grip on him that made him grunt around the mouthful of me he still had. I pumped my hand up and down, making him groan...which felt really good on my highly sensitized tits. So, I kept doing it. When he couldn't hold out any longer, he raised himself off of me and balanced on his knees between my spread thighs. Let me just say THAT was a delicious sight. Looking down and seeing that man kneeling between my legs, his cock flagrantly hard for me...life just doesn't get better than that. He reached up on the bed and yanked a pillow off of it, then shoved it under my bottom. Sliding down my body, he looked up and winked at me...SO CUTE!...and then lowered his head to lick me right where I wanted it. My brain actually short circuited for a moment. Just blew a fuse! When I came back to life, I realized he was pushing my legs even further apart as he lapped at me. "You like this?" he asked. He KNOWS I like it. He just wants to hear me say it. "Mmm...I love it," I said, tossing in a heartfelt moan to really build his ego sky high. Well, he deserves it! He feasted on me, his mouth and his tongue kissing and licking me, cleaning up all the juice my body was producing, which was considerable, working me until I screamed. I couldn't stop myself from trying to get more, so I lifted my hips and planted my feet on the floor. "Come on," I begged, rather shamelessly. "Come on and what?" Oh, he just has to hear me say it! "Do it!" "Do what?" There's that evil chuckle again. Okay, he wanted to hear it plain and simple? I gave it to him plain and simple. "Stick something inside of me...your tongue....your dick...some- thing!" Couldn't get much simpler or plainer than that! He snickered again...I'm really gonna get him for that...but he gave me what I needed. His tongue.... It slid inside and went deep, as deep as he could make it go. Then he began to withdraw and thrust, withdraw and thrust...fucking me with it. In and out, that clever tongue of his danced on me like wet sin. My own hand started heading for my clit, but he anticipated it and knocked it aside. He grunted something that sounded a lot like, "Mine!" and began using his index finger to rub my clit. He circled it around and around, occasionally stopping to get it good and wet. I was thrashing around on the floor, panting and gasping and grinding myself against his ravaging mouth. He continued tongue fucking me, sliding it in and out of my pussy fast, then slow, then fast again. Then, when I was just about to come, he stopped. Rearing back, he flipped me over onto my hands and knees and mounted me from behind. I choked out a gasp when he sank his dick into my hot, willing flesh. He pushed it in all the way, superbly lubricated by his tongue. Once he was completely buried inside of me, he paused to let the sensation really work it's way through the both of us. My pussy tightened around him like a vise clamp as he pumped his hips, pounding his cock into me like a wild animal. Holding on to the side of the bed for balance, he reached around with his free hand and started playing with my clit again. He fucked me hard, his rough fingers hitting all the right places as his dick moved in and out with even more force and pressure. My arms were about to give out, so I folded them in front of me and rested my cheek on them, watching our shadows fuck on the wall. I circled my hips a little, wanting it really hard and fast, and he knew...he always knows...fucking ALWAYS! He started thrusting faster, still working my clit. "You okay, baby? I'm not being too rough, am I?" I was barely capable of speech, but I managed a teeny little "No." Close...I was so close. My hips slammed back against him, pounding just as hard as he was. He took a handful of my hair and tugged my head back just a little, then leaned over and began talking to me. "That's good, baby...move your pretty ass....come on...har- der...do you feel it?....feel me pounding my cock in hard...oh, fuck...it's good, isn't it?..." "Yeah," I choked out, with difficulty. "It really is." "You want more? You want it harder...deeper?...how's that?...is that good?" What a question? "I love fucking you like this," he said, ramming in again. "I love the way your tits bounce when I fuck you hard...when I really put it to you...oh, CHRIST!" What elicited that particularly blasphemy out of him was me rearing up on my knees, which pushed him to sit back on his heels. His hands reached for my breasts and squeezed them firmly, then tugged on my nipples. I tilted my head to one side, baring my neck for him, inviting him. He said nothing further. No "What are you doings?" or "Are you sures" came from him. He figured I knew exactly what I was doing and exactly what it would mean. He was right. His fangs slid in smoothly, so smoothly that I barely felt the painful side of it, only the erotic penetration. He didn't drink long and deep, just enough to establish his claim and send me over the edge into the most powerful orgasm I've ever had. I screamed, not with pain, but with sheer animalistic pleasure as my lover...my mate...exploded inside of me, showering my womb with such abundant spurts of semen that it overflowed and trickled down my thighs. As I came down, he licked the punctures on my neck, soothing the sting. "I love you," he whispered. "God, I love you so damn much." He always knows the right thing to say. Okay, not always. But most of the time. ************************************************************************ "You look sensational, luv." I know I do. I worked at it. We have to meet everyone at the Bronze in twenty minutes, and I need to look my best so they don't think I've cracked up when they see what I have to show them. It's a warm evening, so I wore a light knit halter top with a high collar. My jeans are a freshly washed pair of snug denim hiphuggers. I mean, these babies hang lowwwwww..... I checked myself one last time in the mirror. Make up is perfect, ditto for the hairdo, an upsweep that took me fifteen minutes to get just right. I dilly and dally for as long as I can pull it off, but eventually there's just nothing more I can do except smile at my fate and climb into Spike's car. His car is a real beauty. A vintage 1968 Mustang Fastback, painted black...of course. One of the most perfect muscle cars ever to roll off a Detroit assembly line, this little jewel looks like it was made just the other day. Cherry is too pale a word to describe this car, and I'd give anything to drive it. Fat chance! Every time I suggest it, he practically kills himself laughing. He did promise to buy me a car...IF I ever finish a driver's education course. Something slow and easy to drive, but built like a tank so that when I inevitably crash into something, I won't be too badly injured. I spend the entire drive over to the Bronze mentally rehearsing what I'm going to say, how I'm going to explain the newest change in my life...how I'm gonna break it to them gently. But once I'm in the door and I see them all gathered at "our" table, everything I had planned to say flew out of my head and refused to come back. The music was loud, the words inviting me to "take a giant step outside my mind." I did that once. It was a bitch getting back in. The longer I stood there gathering my resolve, the more obvious it was becoming that words were never gonna cut it, and maybe it was best to just show them. Spike is looking at me, probably thinking I'm about to cut and run. I considered it for a moment, then rejected the idea. I was only putting off the inevitable. It was a permanent mark on my skin. Sooner or later, someone was bound to see it. Grabbing his hand, I dragged him across the room, zigzagging through the crowd of happy-go-lucky people who were NOT there set off a bomb. Greetings were exchanged and small talk was made. Spike brought me a glass of white wine. I practically threw it down my throat, then held out the glass for a refill. Here's another reason why I love him so much, more than I even thought I did; When he handed me the second glass of wine, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "S'all right, luv. You don't have to go through with it." I looked at him, and he smiled at me. He really meant it. That's how much he loves me. Now, no power on earth is gonna stop me. It's time. "Hey, you guys," I said loudly, cutting into whatever conversation I hadn't been paying attention to. "I want to tell you something, but before I do...there's something I want you to see." Four pairs of eyes looked at me expectantly. Willow...Tara...Xan- der...Anya. My four best friends, after Spike. Rising to my feet on perfectly steady and non-shaking legs, I turned around and lifted my shirt, exposing the small of my back. "Isn't it pretty?" Those same four pairs of eyes leaned closer, peering at my brand new tattoo; a delicate scroll of roses and thorns, with the word "Spike" in fancy Gothic lettering. Oh, I didn't show them my neck. That's none of their business. * * * * * They took the news much better than I'd expected them too. Xander looked at me like I was crazy, but then what else is new? Tara and Willow seemed to be finding it a little romantic. I think maybe they already knew about me and Spike on some sub- conscious level. Tara for sure, since she's the one who'd caught us with my hand nearly in Spike's pants the night of my birthday party. Anya asked me how much I'd paid for it. I'd paid for it with over a week of chastity, but I didn't tell her that. I doubt she could do the same. That's all folks.....