The Substitute

Spike looked down at the fallen woman and did his best not to laugh his head off at her and her festive knickers. He heard several others laughing nearby, and quickly moved up behind her, blocking their view of her ass as he shot them a withering glare. He grabbed the hem of her skirt and yanked it down to a respectable level with a firm tug that made the girl squeak with surprise. Then, slipping an arm around her waist, he began lifting her out of the man’s lap, finally standing her upright. However, the moment he let her go, another sharp stab of pain shot through her ankle and she let out a shriek of pain as she started to topple over again. The blonde vampire grabbed her before she ended up in the lucky sod’s lap again, and held her upright, pressed against his body, looking down into her green eyes with confusion. He had thought that she was drunk, but if that were the case he would be able to smell the alcohol on her. Was it possible the chit had simply forgotten how to walk? ‘Hmmm, she smells nice,’ he thought distractedly before snapping his attention back to the issue at hand.

“I twisted my ankle. I can’t walk,” Willow said weakly.

‘Bloody hell! Since when did I start feeling the need to save damsels in distress,’ Spike thought in disgust. He scooped the redhead up in his arm and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Willow let out a squeal as she became airborne, frantically grabbing at her top to keep it from riding up, or would that be falling down? This was so NOT what she had in mind. To top it all off, she could barely even see his ass with his damn duster in the way. Spike was out of the club and heading toward his motorcycle when it happened. Willow could no longer resist temptation, reaching out and squeezing his butt. The blonde vampire jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the girl on her head.

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing, Red?!”

“Sorry, my hand slipped,” she said with a coy giggle.

“Well make sure it doesn’t slip again,” he replied with a growl.

‘What is this loony chit doing?! Grabbing my bum like that, talk about nerve!’ he thought in frustration, plopping her unceremoniously on the back of his bike. He hopped on and kicked the mechanical beast to life, which roared beneath them and peeled out into the night. Spike was truly in a foul mood. He had had another run in earlier that evening with Buffy while she was on patrol, and had come to the Bronze to drink himself into oblivion, but then Willow had to go and ruin it for him. True, watching her fall on her face and moon the bar had been highly amusing, but now he was stuck taking the girl home. With any luck he could just drop her off quickly and get back to the bar, hopefully without running into the slayer again.

‘Okay, things are really going bad here,’ Willow thought as she put an arm around Spike’s shoulders and limped heavily toward the house with some help. He hadn’t offered to carry her again, and she didn’t ask. She figured he didn’t want to risk it after she had groped him, and now he seemed mad as hell. So much for her powers of seduction. Maybe this whole thing wasn’t such a good idea after all. But then she thought of the raw aching feeling that she had inside, and the way it constantly gnawed at her. She looked up at the sharp profile of the man helping her into the house and decided to throw caution to the wind and give it one more try.

As Spike turned to help her onto the couch, the redhead locked her other arm around his neck and pulled him down on top of her, crushing her lips to his. The blonde vampire struggled momentarily in shock, but soon gave himself over to the sensation of her lips on his. Willow brushed her tongue along his lips, seeking entrance, and he granted it, thoroughly aroused by her timid probings. She quickly pushed his coat from his shoulders, and onto the floor, grateful that Dawn was spending the night at a friend’s house. She ran her hand up his back, and under his T-shirt, thrilled by the feeling of his tight muscles beneath her fingertips. She raked her nails across his back as he devoured her mouth, causing Spike to moan in pleasure and grind his jean clad erection against her.

“Spike,” Willow gasped for breath, pushing him back slightly, “Let’s go upstairs.”

He looked back at her with lust-filled eyes, and grinned evilly at the thought of thoroughly debauching the sweet girl, who was until recently gay. Hey, wait a minute! Why was Red comontoonto him like a drunken prom date all of a sudden? Something was up. ‘Oh balls,’ he thought, ‘she’s probably fallen off the wagon and cast another one of her bloody spells that always backfire.’ This thought sobered him considerably, driving the lust back down somewhat.

“What’s happening here, Red?” he asked, pulling farther away from her, “have you been messing with the dark mojo again?” Willow pulled back as if she had been slapped.

“Why would you even ask that?” she asked not trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

“Because, last I checked, you liked chatting up birds not blokes. And I love Buffy, yet all of a sudden I find myself on the couch with you, wanting to shag your brains out. Seems a bit off to me.”

“Oh, I see. You would have to be under some kind of spell to find me attractive, is that it?!” Willow asked, her eyes filling with fire, “It couldn’t possibly be because I’m desirable and charmed you with just my feminine wiles.”

“Is that what you call your little display at the club, throwing yourself into someone else’s lap and showing everyone your knickers? Here I thought you were just clumsy or possibly some kind of nutter, but now I know it was just you playing the temptress, silly me. But it still doesn’t explain why. Since when do you have any interest in me at all?”

“What can I say, I was lonely,” she answered with a pout, “with Tara gone and not being able to do magic anymore, I just wanted something to take my mind off of things for awhile. I figured with you being evil and all that you wouldn’t mind a bit of a fling.”

“Excuse me?! What is it with you women?! You were just wanting to use me to get over your shit?! What do I look like, some kind of vampire shag toy?! I can’t believe this, b tre treated like a piece of bloody meat, AGAIN! You know, it’s no wonder you and that bitch, Buffy, are such good friends, you two are just alike,” he raged at her, jumping to his feet and throwing on his duster.

“Wait, Spike, I’m sorry! I didn’t think…”

“That’s right, you didn’t think. See you later, Red.”

Spike stormed out the door, shoving past a startled slayer who was just arriving fro from patrol. She watched his retreating form, feeling his anger like a wash of heat over her. She continued to watch as he jumped on his bike and sped away. ‘Maybe I went too hard on him earlier,’ she wondered momentarily, ‘Nah.’ She headed into the house and quickly noticed Willow’s disheveled look and teary eyes and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. Now that she had dumped the bleached wonder, he was clearly coming on to her best friend just to piss her off. Well she was going to have a thing or two to say about that. Without a word of comfort to Willow, she turned on her heal and headed out to Spike’s crypt.

To be continued…