| RED HOT |
| by Mazzy |
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| PART V |
| It was mid-afternoon and the shop was blissfully busy. Having slept better the night before, Giles was more than prepared to greet the bustling crowd. He almost wished he hadn�t thought to install the shopkeeper bell, but he knew it proved its usefulness in alerting him of someone�s presence. He kept feeling like his mind was shorting out and he was finding himself a bit dazed as well. The jingle of the bell announced Tara�s appearance in the Magic Box. She was full of energy and came barreling directly toward him with a questioning look on her face. �Giles, has Willow stopped by here today?� It was then that Giles realized he hadn�t seen her since she had scurried away from the shop on opening day. �No, I actually haven�t seen her in several�� But the sorceress continued without hearing further explanation, �Because I�ve seen her only briefly in the last couple of days, and both times she�s seemed a little scattered. And at night, after my evening class, I find her already asleep in bed!� Giles face seemed a bit curious. �And nothing I do seems to rouse her from sleep.� �Ah, what do you mean �nothing you do�?� Tara gave him a look to indicate what she meant and Giles felt it best to move on. �Oh, I see. Well, I haven�t really experienced her quite like that. Perhaps she�s just very busy with schoolwork and all. You know her Aunt is in town. Maybe she�s been busy entertaining her?� Tara moved from the counter and plopped herself down on a wooden chair, her hand played self-consciously with her hair during Giles supposed explanation. She stopped at the mention of Willow�s aunt. �But she never mentioned anything about a relative visiting.� �Really?� Giles said in surprise. �Well, her Aunt Shannon is in town.� Giles smirked at his own mention of her name. �I met her in the shop just a few days ago. She�s a very charming woman.� Tara showed no sign of recognition. �And Willow didn�t mention this at all?� Tara looked hurt. �Maybe she just didn�t want her to meet me, or me to meet her?� She couldn�t make sense of it. �But you say you haven�t seen her?� Giles tried to assure the young woman. �I�m sure everything�s fine. She�s probably just trying to deal with her family issues quietly. You know her mother isn�t very supportive of all her endeavors.� Giles busied himself with the changing of the register�s receipt tape. �Yes Giles,� she said with conviction. �I do know�all too well.� Tara walked up and began to leave the shop. �Maybe Buffy knows what�s going on. I think I�ll try to find her.� The girl waved goodbye meekly and left, disappointed. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Twenty minutes later, after Giles had locked the display cases for the night. The Magic Box�s door closed with the usual jingle, but also with the sound of the slam and an all-consuming flash of white light that nearly blinded him. Giles instinctively put his hand up to shield his eyes. There was another flash, but it was of a different sort, it lit up the sky. He was outside and it was storming, the sky filled with thunder and lightning. His glasses were off and rain drenched his hair and the simple white button down shirt he wore over deep denim blue jeans. Palm trees swayed in the distance and a trail of torches lit a path toward a small bamboo hut. Curious and in attempt to shelter himself from the storm, Giles walked along sandy terrain, his face lit by the flame of the torch and the sparkle of night. The hut was empty, save for a few lit candles placed around the room and some big velvety cushions on the ground. He also noticed that it didn�t offer too much in terms of shelter, as one huge window was completely open and drips of rain were pouring in. He listened for a moment to their constant rhythm, and something about their natural and predictable sound comforted him. As he scanned the room, he turned and noticed that Shannon had also entered from outside. She stood in the open threshold, equally drenched. Her long red hair looked almost black. She wore a white nylon gown that clung to each curve of her body with wetness. Through the material, he could see her nipples erect with the excitement of seeing him. Her breath was heavy with desire and she stood there awaiting his approach. He walked a few steps and the wind whistled as soon as he was before her. He sunk to his knees and grabbed her around the waist. His cold hands wrinkled the material of her dress as he ran his fingers alongside her body. She scratched long fingernails through his hair as he did so. His hands traveled up and found the round of her breast, his fingers lightly touching each erect nipple through the material of her soaking wet gown and circling the bumps �til they grew even stiffer. She moaned in delight. His touch was soft and exciting, and he became instantly aroused. Drips of water came pouring in on them, making her dress stick to her body like the way honey coats a dripper. His hands crept down again and pulled at her gown, lifting it up above his head so that he could kiss the wet warmth between her legs. His tongue and lips explored the folds of her skin, tickling her clitoris and penetrating her warm desire. She moved her legs a bit apart and he sank deeper into her. Her hands guided his head�s movement. It revolved in a fury beneath her. She clenched the strands of his hair at his delicious wickedness. She lost her breath and gasped when her swollen parts released and then went numb. She was ravaged and he looked up at her with glee on his face. When she regained her composure, she tilted her head down and put her hands on his shoulders, moving him down onto the ground where the soft pillows lay. He lay back and his shirt became undone by her exploring hands. She tickled his chest hairs and pranced cat-like on his body, crawling up toward his face. She planted herself on top of him so he could give her one last deep kiss in her sacred spot. She rubbed her lower body back down across his chest, spreading her renewed craving along the length of his upper body. Outside the rain grew more furious and the wind howled deeper. She landed above his bulge and he reached for her outstretched arms, with strength many didn�t know he possessed. He moved her hand down toward his stiff rod and motioned for her to set him free. She quickly unbuttoned his pants and exposed him to her delicate touch. She marveled at his girth and ached for it to be inside her. �I want you to take it,� he commanded. �Take it now.� She smiled gleefully at his wonton yearning. *~*~*~*~* Buffy barged into Spike�s crypt determinedly and blinked twice when she saw the candles lit all around the room, thinking for the briefest of moments that the place actually looked kinda comfy. Spike who lay half naked on his bed with a quill and what appeared to be a journal in his hands, tore his eyes away from his so-called work to consider her combustible entrance. �Well, look a visit from Sister Golden-Hair Surprise.� �OK, Spike. What do you know?� She came at him with force and a rather pointy stake, pinning him to the bed as he lifted his hands up helplessly, and the piece of wood pierced his exposed skin ever so slightly. �If you wanted to force me into bed, all you had to do was ask, luv.� He grinned in his seductive, knowing way, hoping to disarm her and maybe incite her as well. Disgusted, Buffy threw down her stake and took a few steps away from him, but her determination did not waver. �Tell me everything.� Spike reached over to pick up his red button down shirt and rose from the bed, putting his arms through the sleeves just to try to make her feel a bit more at ease, but he was very conscious to leave the shirt hanging open, just in case she had other ideas. He drolled lazily, �Everything, everything, everything.� He let his final word slip off his tongue like the way melted butter oozed out from a warm roll. �Ha ha!� Buffy mocked his joke. �Don�t be cute. I wanna know why you went to see Giles. What�s going on with him? And Willow! Have you seen her? Tara just told me that she�s going through this Robert De Niro �Awakenings� thing?� �Don�t get the reference, peach.� Spike took a step closer to the Slayer, �Not much of a De Niro fan.� Buffy sighed, exasperated at how difficult it was to have a straight conversation with the remote controlled vamp. �Not a De Niro fan? And here I took you for a high culture demon.� Spike rolled his eyes and squirmed ever so slightly at her calling him a �demon�. �Look, just because all the world thinks De Niro is bloody brilliant actor, doesn�t mean I have to go with the masses. I kind of like to make decisions for myself and take note of the less Oscar-winning gits. Oh crap, what in sodding hell are we talking about this for?� Spike strode over to his nearby makeshift marble-crypt shelf and grabbed a bottle of gin. He took a big swig of it. �You�re here for information, right?� Buffy nodded. �Well, I should tell you, this time, I don�t have all the answers. That�s why I was looking for your master mentor. See if he�d heard anything.� Buffy lowered her eyes in disappointment. �Here�s what I do know. The motley crew down at Willy�s has been rumbling about some minor shift in dimensions, something so slight, it barely makes a blip on the radar. What it has to do with Giles or Red or even YOU for that matter, is probably a whole bushel of nothing.� He held the bottle out to her, trying to entice her with the liquid courage. She ignored his gesture. �So, something�s changed? Something that�s affecting our behavior, like what happened with Jonathon?� Spike raised his head to heaven in exasperation. �I�m telling you luv--barely a blip on the bloody radar. You�d be surprised how often these little dimension shifts occur. Blip,� Spike made a quick motion with his hand, �there goes one�. Buffy watched him, a strange expression on her face. �Blip, blip, blip.� Buffy jumped at his quick little explosions. �There it goes! Again and again and again!� She knitted her brow at his nonchalance. �Buffy, do yourself a favor. Go on patrol, kill yourself a few cretins and then go get some sleep. You know I�ll be here if you�ve got any other troubles on your mind.� He inched slightly closer to her, his shirt seeming to open a bit more, revealing more of his oh-so-very-tight-abdominals that she couldn�t help but notice. Energy crackled around her and she worked hard to ignore it. He leaned into her. �Or, if you�re feeling the need to work off some extra energy, you can always come back.� He let his tongue rest idly on his pink bottom lip. Buffy stared for a moment into his seemingly endless blue eyes, hypnotically, if briefly, entranced. Without warning, she jabbed him in the gut. �You�re a pig Spike!� He doubled over in pain. As she marched out of the crypt, he grasped for some relief in the bottle of gin. *~*~*~*~*~ 4:00 am and Willow awoke with a start. She�d been out for God knows how many hours? �Tara, baby?� She rolled her body around in the bed and reached an arm out for her loving girlfriend. She stroked the other woman�s hair and nuzzled into her. �Oh baby, I�m sorry I missed you again tonight.� She leaned over and kissed her sweetie�s forehead. �I promise, things will be better soon.� She whispered, and closed her eyes again to sleep to dream. |
| NC-17 Warning! |
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