Escape

Slowly, very slowly, Buffy opened her eyes, wincing at the intense throbbing that exploded in her skull. It felt as though there were a midget inside her head going hog wild with a sledgehammer.

Squinting against the darkness, Buffy tried desperately to remember where she was, how she'd gotten here. But the sudden ache at the side of her neck came as a harsh reminder of the night's events. Buffy shuddered as she thought of Spike's fangs in her neck, sucking the blood from her veins and savoring it like a fine wine. It disturbed her, disgusted her... and what disturbed her even more was the fact that a small part of her had enjoyed being bitten.

'Get a grip,' She silently scolded herself.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings as the fog lifted from her mind, Buffy noticed she was lying on what appeared to be a bed, the mattress soft and yielding under her back. As she sat up to look around the room, however, she realized her hands were bound by metal chains. Giving a sharp tug, she heard a dull scraping sound on the cement floor. The thick chain appeared to be anchored to something on the ground, several feet from the bed. It was strong and wouldn't budge, but the chain had enough leeway that she could get up and walk around the bed. Though she couldn't stray farther than maybe five feet from her spot, the metallic rope acting as a make shift leash.

Buffy stood slowly on shaky legs, the pounding in her head unrelenting as her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness around her. The only lighting was provided by a lantern that burned brightly on top of a rickety looking table across the room from her, the flames casting eerie shadows along the walls. Some moonlight streamed through a high, narrow window, spotlighting what appeared to be a gray sarcophagus. Or at least, it might have been gray, but the color was hard to determine as it was covered in a layer of dust and cobwebs at least an inch thick.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes."

Buffy's head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice, first noticing the dull orange glow of a cigarette that seemed to float disembodied in the air. As Spike stepped out of the shadows, he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and shook some burning embers on the floor, grounding them out under the toe of a black Doc Marten. Letting out a stream of smoke, he stopped when he was just in front of Buffy, though still outside of the chain's radius, and thus out of her reach.

"I was beginning to think you'd sleep forever. Was about to call you Rip Van Winkle."

"Thought I was sleeping beauty." Spike grinned at that. As he snuffed the cigarette on the stone cold floor, Buffy scowled at him.

"This place yours?"

"Temporarily." Spike answered, looking about the room as though recalling a fond memory. "Quite posh, don't you think?"

Ignoring him, Buffy shook her head, her tone bitter. "A vampire living in a crypt. How very cliche."

"What can I say, luv? Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Studying him across the room, Buffy narrowed her eyes, tugging on her chains once more for good measure. Spike laughed, placing two hands over his unbeating heart in mock hurt.

"Oh my, if looks could stake."

"You bit me," She accused, her voice venomous.

"That I did." Spike hoisted himself up on the rickety table supporting the lantern, sitting so that he was facing her, arms braced at his sides. "Took a hell of a lot of will power to stop, too," He continued. "Blood of a slayer tasted a lot sweeter than I remembered."

"You didn't kill me," She stated, as though she'd only just come to realize that fact. Spike shrugged.

"Didn't intend to. I just needed to make you weak, knew you wouldn't come here without a fight."

Buffy, realizing she wouldn't be able to break through the heavy chains and was still too weak to try, finally gave up and took a seat on the edge of the bed. Heavy silence enveloped them, seeming to almost suffocate Buffy as she stared across the room at Spike, who gazed back at her with his head tilted slightly.

Even in the darkness, he couldn't help but admire her. Her beauty was captivating to him. Despite being slightly jaded, she still shone with a brightness that was undeniable, that seemed to radiate from her, and it reeled Spike in hook line and sinker. She was all sunshine; golden hair, lightly tanned skin, petite with curves in all the right places and eyes of sparkling emerald. Spike's mouth suddenly felt dry, and he licked his lips, recalling her taste hungrily. Despite the years of seclusion she'd forced herself to endure, she still had a spark, a spirit, warm and feisty. He wanted to be near her, to soak in her sunshine, to exchange blows with her.

'In more ways than one,' Spike thought with an inward grin.

He'd dedicated years to tracking her down, and now that he finally had her in his grasp, he was intrigued, obsessed. She was a walking contradiction; sunshine and rain, vulnerability and strength, physically petite with a massive attitude. Spike knew she'd be different from the others, he could feel it. With her, it was somehow more personal, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, knowing he could have fun with this one. He wanted her all to himself; his to spar with, to test her and push her limits, find out what made her tick.

'In due time, slayer, we'll dance'

Buffy noticed the way he was looking at her, and she shifted uncomfortably. Unsure of what to do next, Buffy finally decided to break the deafening silence, her voice piercing through the night.

"So which is it first? You gonna fight me, or kill me?"

Spike cocked an eyebrow at her. "What about the fucking part?"

"You wish," Buffy spat, the vigor returning to her voice.

"Careful. Wishes happen to be horses today, slayer."

Clenching her jaw, Buffy inhaled deeply, desperately trying to soothe her frazzled nerves.

"Stop calling me that."

Spike stood suddenly, approaching her with confidence. "Why not? It's what you are."

Buffy looked away, not answering. Determined, and feeling the need to goad her a bit, Spike pressed on. "You can run all you like, pet. But you can't hide."

When Buffy still refrained from speaking, Spike sighed, deciding it was time to get the truth out in the open. She'd need to hear it sooner or later.

'No time like the present'

"You want to know why I'm here?"

Buffy looked up at him with eyes full of hate. "Number one on a long list."

Studying her, Spike paced the room slowly, looking something akin to a vulture circling in on its prey.

"I was sent by the council."

"The council?" Buffy snorted. "You're full of it. The council would never trust a vampire."

Spike shot her a knowing look, as if to say, 'how would you know? You ran away, remember?' Buffy suddenly felt like a fly under a microscope in his intense gaze, and averted her eyes while Spike continued to leer at her, clucking his tongue softly. The corner of his mouth tugged upward slightly in a lopsided smirk.

"Ah, but they would. I told you, desperate times call for desperate measures, pet. And the council is pretty sodding desperate right now."

"Because of me?" Her voice was quiet and the question came out more as a statement, since she already knew the answer.

Spike nodded slightly.

"They wanted me to find you."

"Well you're obviously not on your game. It took you three whole years to find me."

Spike smiled, and what irked Buffy even more was the fact that his smile seemed genuine. He was enjoying her misery.

"You were hard to find, sweet, but not impossible. You'd fallen into the woodwork, true, and the only thing I had to go by was your scent and a picture. Needle and haystack, luv. But I do have my ways, and I guess it's a small world after all," He paused, "You like my friends I've been sending you these past few months?"

Buffy's eyes widened. Biting her lip, she thought hard, realizing it was true, the demon attacks had started only a few months ago. For two whole years before then, she'd lived in peace… well, as much peace as she could get with her increasing loneliness and conscience weighing heavily on her. But she'd thought that she had at least managed to give the council the slip, hoping against all odds that they'd eventually forget about her, would understand that forcing one person into single-handedly defending all humanity was wrong. They had infinite knowledge, even powerful magic, all at their disposal. Why force one girl into a life of violence she didn't even want in the first place? Super powers or no super powers, she was still just one person against an entire world filled with evil. It never made sense to her, it didn't seem right.

So she'd fled, mostly fulfilling her mother's wishes, whom she'd told about her calling right away. Joyce had refused to accept it, wanting a better life for her daughter. She didn't trust the council, thinking they seemed too shady, too mysterious and self righteous. Now, Buffy figured her mother had been at least partially right, since the council was, after all, trusting a vampire.

However, after years of solitude, Buffy now almost wished she'd accepted her calling. A life of anonymity was nothing but a life of loneliness, and Buffy felt as though she'd spent the past three years doing anything but living. But she knew that if she offically accepted her calling, her life would be cut drastically short, perhaps by an outraged council, and almost certainly by some nameless demon or vampire some years down the road. Either way, her future looked grim.

So Buffy had been living in a podunk little town in Illinois, not all that far from Chicago. It wasn't exactly the hellmouth, located far away from Sunnydale, and she'd thought the chances of someone finding her, whether living or dead, were few and far between. But thanks to Spike, she'd been proven wrong.

"You son of a bitch," She muttered fiercely.

"Had to keep you on your toes luv. I wanted to soften you up, make you realize you can't hide from your calling," He continued to circle her as he spoke, "It follows you everywhere you go, it haunts you."

Involuntarily, Buffy shivered. It was as though he could see into her mind, reading her like a book and voicing her thoughts in his cool, calm voice.

"And why would the council trust you with this?"

"They're willing to trust me, because they haven't got a choice. I'm the best at what I do."

"And that is?"

"Hunting slayers, killing them. Done in two in my time."

A flicker of fear flashed in Buffy's eyes. "So they sent you to kill me?"

Spike shook his head. "No, they sent me to convince you to accept your calling."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "And if I don't?"

"Then, I get to kill you."

Buffy swallowed hard at his words, meeting his gaze with a glare of defiance despite the fear and uncertainty that threatened to consume her.

"If I can't convince you," Spike continued, cutting into Buffy's thoughts, "Then they want me to kill you, so the next in line can be called. Hopefully, someone who actually cares about humanity, and all that rot."

Buffy hung her head. "I care," She murmured, mostly to herself.

"Got a funny way of showing it."

Buffy pursed her lips, letting out a chortled laugh as she shook her head.

"This is great. So now I have a vampire lecturing me on morality?"

Spike raised a scarred eyebrow at her, giving her a sidelong glance, but didn't answer. He seemed so calm, so at ease. It infuriated her, and her anger seemed to only fuel his amusement.

"So the council sent you," She repeated, as though needing to hear the words again out loud. "But you're evil, why are you following their orders? Why don’t you just kill me now, so I can't become the slayer again?"

Spike had stopped pacing the room now, having resumed his previous positioning standing directly in front of her but just out of reach, arms crossed over his chest.

"Because either way I get to kill you, so it’s pretty much a win win situation for me."

Buffy inhaled sharply, the mere act of drawing a breath seeming to pain her.

"I knew it!" She accused, jumping suddenly from her position at the edge of the bed, the chains clinking on the floor loudly. "So you did come here to kill me!"

She pulled the chains taut, leaning forward and looking almost menacing despite her small stature. Spike knew she wanted a piece of him, and he'd like to give it to her, in due time. As she struggled with her bonds, now only a mere foot away from Spike, he shook his head very faintly from side to side.

"If you accept, then not now, no…" He answered casually, "Actually, I'd prefer to let you refine those moves of yours, to off you when you're at your peak, like I offed the first two slayers. See, I like challenge, goldilocks. And right now you haven't got much fight in you. You're desolate, lonely, broken and weak. Bet you haven’t even had a good shag in years," Buffy grimaced, not wanting to let him know what he said was true. It made her uncomfortable, how he seemed to have her pegged. It pissed her off. Clenching her fists against their cuffs, she shook her head to clear it as Spike continued. "You've got none of the proper training or skills a slayer needs. No," He shook his head again, "I'd rather meet you again a few years down the road, pop up when you least expect it, when you feel all high mighty and invincible. I'll enjoy taking you down a notch or two. And then, I'll get to kill you."

"You get to try," she retorted.

"You're forgetting luv, I've got this," He waved his hand at her, the ring in clear view. "And you can bet I'll be wearing it."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "So?" She challenged, "All I have to do is rip it off your finger, and you're back to being dustable. It's cake."

Spike snickered. "Only if you've got the stones, lamb." Pausing suddenly, he shot her an inquiring look. "So, does that mean you're accepting, then?"

Buffy fell silent. She thought hard, about the past three years, about wanting another life, about her mother, her family, wondering and hoping that they were ok. It was time to stop running, to stop being afraid. She'd already come to terms with the fact that she could never have a normal life, no matter how she tried. She might as well just embrace it, if for nothing else but the fact that it meant she could come out of hiding at last.

Taking a deep breath, she bowed her head.

"Yes," She whispered with a certainty that surprised even herself.

There they stood, studying each other and waiting for either to make the next move. Buffy couldn't bear the silence anymore, couldn't bear being there, stuck in some cryptic limbo with this loathsome vampire who left her more flustered than she cared to admit.

"Soo… what happens now?" She inquired.

"Now," Spike whispered, drawing closer to her until his face was mere inches from hers. Slowly, very slowly, he leaned in until his lips were nearly touching her ear, his cool breath tickling the lobe.

"Now," He repeated solemnly, "I want to fuck you."

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A/N: *Ducks* Ok, so I'm REALLY evil. Hmm, I wonder what could happen next chapter?... *Grins evilly* Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging too long with this update (partially in fear of the angry mob that'll knock down my door if I do? lol) I'm still a bit of a blushing virgin when it comes to writing smut, but I guarantee it will be smuttier (and probably kinkier) than anything I've written before. The next part will be posted either tonight or early tomorrow at the latest. But until then, please review and let me know what you think :-)

And Special thanks to Fifi and Michelle for your reviews!