under2

"How could you do that to me?" he asked. "How could you lie to me, steal my future, bind me to something like you?"

"I love you," she said earnestly. "I just want to be with you."

"You don't know what love is," he said passionately. "Love isn't about making people do what you want them to do." He paused. " I don't love you, Anya. I thought I did. But I don't have any respect for you." She stared at him, stunned. "At least now I know the truth," he said. "And the truth is that you may look like a human, but inside you're all demon." He slammed the door shut behind him.

Tara walked past the bar. A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Are you feeling better?" Willow asked earnestly.

"I need to be honest with you," said Tara. "I wasn't sick. I was doing a spell."

"There seems to be a bit of that going around," said the redhead. "You missed this spell, everyone was kissing..." She stopped and looked at the other girl guiltily.

"I did that spell." Tara took a deep breath and let go of Willow's hand. "And it wasn't the only one."

"You must just love living here," said Buffy. "It's so exciting. There's always something going on."

Aurelius took a sip of his champagne. "It's a vibrant place. That's one of the reasons that it attracted me. It's so vital, so flooded with life." Buffy looked uncomfortable and looked away. "I don't feed off the unwilling," he said softly. He looked at her with an intense brown gaze. "I'm sure that Spike already told you that, Slayer, or you wouldn't consent to be sitting here with me now."

"I'm sorry," she said awkwardly. "I'm not really used to socializing with vampires."

"And yet you've chosen to marry one," he said coldly. Spike looked back and forth between the two of them. Dawn kept her eyes focused on her plate as she separated a pile of caviar into rows with her knife. Giles walked over to the table, and Xander came in right behind him.

"Where's Anya?" asked Buffy as they sat down.

"She's..." both men began. They exchanged a look. Giles looked away and poured himself a glass of champagne.

"She's upstairs." Xander paused. "She's not feeling well right now."

"There must be something going around," said Buffy. Willow and Tara walked in and sat down at the table. "This is as good as it's going to get. Let's eat."

"Everyone, this is Marcus," said Spike. They introduced themselves all around.

"We've met," said Tara with a smile. "Mr. Aurelius was very helpful earlier." The dark haired vampire motioned to the waiter and he brought them each a large menu.

"Can you please bring me a Scotch?" Giles asked him.

"I'd like a double vodka on the rocks," said Xander.

"Rum and Coke," said Dawn. Everyone turned and stared at her. "I mean a diet Coke," she said lamely.

Buffy glared at her and then turned to Aurelius. "This is your restaurant, what do you recommend?" she asked.

"The prime rib is excellent, as is the osso buco. If you're in the mood for seafood the Chilean sea bass is quite good," he replied. The waiter returned with their drinks.

"You're the owner of the restaurant?" asked Giles politely. "It's very beautiful."

"Thank you. I wanted to capture the feel of a club in Paris I frequented back in the thirties."

Giles looked at him. "You're a vampire." Dawn turned and stared at Aurelius.