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| RED HOT |
| by Mazzy |
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| PART IV |
It was 10:15 when Rupert Giles finally entered the Magic Box. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there were no customers there waiting for him, but he did find one very angry blonde prot�g� there, hands on her hips, impatiently stomping her foot, and ready to fire. �Where have you been? You�re an hour and fifteen minutes late. LATE Giles! And I know it wasn�t �cause you decided to walk here from home because you NEVER went home last night.� She began pacing and the Watcher let her continue with her rant. �And I had to hear it from Spike? I�m sure something really big must be going down �cause why else would Spike be wanting to talk to you and why else would you be out all night and then not show up for training and not try to call me or talk to me. Are you trying to protect me? Cause we�ve been down that road Giles, and if something�s happening, it�s better you tell me now.� She stopped her incessant walking and faced him directly. � I want to be prepared Giles. I want to fight whatever evil�s hitting town.� Giles approached her and touched her shoulder paternally. �Now calm down, Buffy. It�s not as bad as all that. What�s this business about Spike?� �Spike?� she said, annoyed, �That�s not even the point. The point is that I was counting on you, and you weren�t here.� �Buffy, why don�t we talk about this rationally. I�ll just put on some tea.� He moved to find the pot. �No,� she huffed away from him. �It�s too late now. I have class in twenty minutes. We�ll have to talk about this when I come back.� She grabbed her bag and headed toward the door, �Ya got that? You? Me? Mucho talko about the bad thingos-a-coming? And don�t think you�re gonna get away with that tardiness Mister.� The girl slung her bag over her shoulder and bolted out of the shop. The bell jingled and the door slammed, echoing her departure. Giles grabbed his throbbing head and held it for a moment. Then he regained his energy and went to put on a kettle for much-needed tea. When the whistle finally blew, he noticed his day�s first customers emerging from the street. *~*~*~*~*~*~* A spotty older woman who smelled of paint thinner and mothballs held up the blue glass vase and inspected every inch of its dimensions. �Are you sure this is a one-of-a-kind piece?� she spoke in a mildly crotchety southern accent. Giles pulled down his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. �Yes, I can assure you that that piece came directly from Venice, shipped to me by a dealer I�ve know for almost twenty years. He blows all his own glass. I�ve even seen his shop.� �Well, it does look like it has some imperfections in it,� she nasalized to him, her voice full of doubt. �That�s how it supposed to look. It�s hand blown-glass Madame. Mr. Santopietro is a top craftsman. I promise you.� She walked over to the counter and put the vase down. �Well, okay, but I want a gift receipt and a guarantee that I can return it.� �Absolutely, you have my full guarantee that you will be satisfied.� Giles began to ring up the purchase and smiled generously at the woman through his clenched annoyance. The day had been a bit rough, though the hard living of the night before and his lateness hadn�t exactly brought him the best start. He couldn�t complain though. Many people had come in to shop and gaze at what they called the �quaint little antiques.� Some had actually purchased a few rather expensive items and none, but this woman, had really given him too hard of a time. He would be happy when the day was through and he could just go on home. He assumed that Shannon had left his car in the municipal parking. Shannon! He remembered with a gasp. �Is something wrong? You�re not charging me sales tax on that are you?� The old hag (yes, he would admit it; she was a hag) wore a pained expression. �No, everything is fine, and as a special bonus for new customers,� he sighed heavily, �I will waive the sales tax.� The hag smiled and he felt relieved to almost be done with her, but what of Shannon? In haste, he�d told her to come by the shop and that they could go out again, but he was only trying to appease her at the time. It wasn�t that he didn�t find her charming, but after the night and day and the upcoming training session, all he fancied to do was have a nice stew for dinner and lie lazily on his couch. He handed the woman her change. She turned to go, then hesitated and faced him again. �I don�t suppose you could gift wrap it?� She was pushing it now. Giles put on his most magnanimous smile and bit his tongue. �My dear woman, nothing would give me greater pleasure, but I�m afraid the designer gift wraps from my supplier have not yet arrived. They should have been here this morning, but the truck never appeared. In fact, thank you so for reminding me, I�ve been meaning to call my supplier all day. Thank you for your business and good afternoon!� She smiled at what she felt was her significant contribution to his day and then proceeded to leave the shop. When she had gone, he finally breathed deeply, as if he had been holding in air the entire day. He glanced at his watch. He had an hour before Buffy would arrive. He wouldn�t disappoint her again today. Best to tidy up things as neatly as possible, and avoid thoughts of Shannon as well. He would think of some way to explain to her. As he picked up the jewelry display to lock it behind the counter, his hand accidentally grazed the setting of the malachite stone. With an inexplicable slam, he was thrown back into the wall, and suddenly everything went black. *~*~*~*~*~*~* He smelled strawberries and felt sheets of satin engulf his body. He was naked and his skin felt cool, but there was an incredible heat within his body. A soft hand with long fingernails ran down the length of his body and tickled the short hairs of his chest as it traveled down his torso. He became aware of warm flesh beside him, the female body slid on top of him and his own heat grew stronger. A head traveled down the same path the hand had made and a tangle of wispy hair danced across his lips, his neck and then his nipples and stomach. Her head drew down further and further and further. He gasped as he felt her soft warm lips around the tip of his manhood and her nails tickled the folds of skin that belonged to its companions. He groaned deeply as she stroked his shaft with a hand and licked the end with a pointed tongue. Her other hand climbed back up the length of his body, One outstretched finger aimed toward his mouth. He lashed out his own tongue and met the finger�s reach. Her finger plunged in and out of his moist lips. Her other hand reached again to tickle him below as her mouth opened wider to take more of him in. She sucked hard and deep and hungrily, and he echoed her hunger with the thrust of his pelvis and the vacuum of his mouth. He was rock hard and ready to climax when she climbed on top of him. He could see the shimmering softness of her skin and the long tendrils of her flaming her, but not much beyond that. It was almost as if she was faceless, but he couldn�t focus on her appearance, his body was enraptured with longing. Her knees were at his sides and he could have sworn he felt pointed heels digging into his shins. It was the pleasure of pain and he ached for more. She moved on top of him like a determined rider on a raging bull. Her hands pinched the flesh of his upper body, and he held her round hips in his palms. Desire welled up inside of him and he reached for her mane. He began to pull at the locks, when he felt them slipping off her head. Were they not real? When the hair began to fall from place, her hands suddenly left his skin and reached up to catch the moving tresses. *~*~*~*~*~*~* An annoying bleeping sound woke him with a start. Instinctively he reached over and shut off the alarm, glancing at the clock as he did so. 7:30 am�plenty of time to get ready for the day and make it for training. He did a double take. 7:30 am? Then he thought of a song he once recalled hearing in a London pub �Who Know Where The Time Goes?� Indeed. Hadn�t he just been in the shop? He was sure he had closed things down, trained with Buffy, and graciously explained to Shannon that the evening was a busy one for him. Yes, he even remembered apologizing profusely and arranging a more appropriate date night for the two of them. Hadn�t he? Then why did it feel like it was all just minutes ago? He felt remnants of a dream. It left him with a delightful feeling, and a hunger as well. But things seemed quite muddled. He lay in bed to try and recapture the dream and sort the events of the past two days, but he couldn�t grasp them all. In his mind, he felt certain that all had gone accordingly, and ultimately there was no point dwelling on his foggy time frames. But he knew something was off. Something he couldn�t quite put his finger on. |
| NC-17 Warning! |