Temptation

(A/N: Characters belong to Joss, we're just playing with them)


Dawn heard the sounds of other students chattering along the girls’ hall, and blearily yanked herself out of bed, still half-dazed by the dreams she’d had all night long. She kept waking up, sure she felt Spike’s naked skin sliding along hers in her narrow bed. She’d turn and reach for him, but her eager hands only encountered air and clean, slightly coarse, institutional sheets.

Groggily, she brushed her hair and teeth, washed her face, and dressed in the totally clichéd school-girl skirt and blouse. Knotting the tie gave her some trouble, though, and she finally gave up and left it dangling in two navy blue strips on either side of her open collared white blouse. Just then, Jeanine knocked on the door. “Dawn, breakfast time,” she called, and Dawn opened the door and followed her downstairs, mildly resentful at just how perky her classmate was.

They fell into line in the enormous dining room, loaded their trays, and looked for seats. Dawn spotted Paul and Joshua over at the side of the room, and led the way toward them. They looked even less comfortable than she felt in the unfamiliar uniforms, ties neatly knotted and wearing pants that actually fit them. She giggled, and said, “Morning, you guys. Hey,” she added, noticing a third tray already on their table, “making new friends already? Cool.” They sat and began to eat. She wondered who the third tray could belong to. If God or the crazy monks who made ancient Keys into little girls was smiling on her, it would be Spike’s.

Spike collected their schedules and headed back toward the group he was to mentor, at least until they were acclimated to the school environment. Then he saw her, and stopped mid-stride, almost pouring the steaming hot coffee from the mug he held in his hand.

His heated gaze lingered on her mouth, before traveling down the curve of her throat... to the creamy swells of her breasts... only just visible, and framed by the length of the blue tie hanging loosely down her chest. Even if she hadn't dominated his every one of his bloody dreams, dressed as she was, he had no chance of escape.

Taking a steadying breath, he continued to the table and put his mug down. "Good morning. I hope you all slept... better than I did anyway?" He turned inquiring eyes to Dawn.

She grinned up at him, delighted to be living a life that had Spike back in it. “The bathtub was amazing, but I kept waking up all night long. Kinda felt like something was missing.” She paused a beat, licked her lips. “Maybe traffic noises.” She shrugged, laughing at herself. “Who knows.”

Jeanine interjected crankily, “Well, I think the walls must be extra thin or something. Or someone was having a nightmare. Weird sounds, you know?” She slathered butter on her cold toast, and bit down fiercely.

“Log,” said Paul.

“Logs,” confirmed Joshua. “Sure some girl on your hall wasn’t snoring? Maybe sneaking in a boyfriend?”

Dawn flushed, and paid strict attention to her scrambled eggs.

Fucking hell... all he could think about was the sight of her with steam rising from her skin. Someone better talk to her about closing the blinds... or people like himself... people twice her age, or more if he counted his vampire years... would be watching and fantasizing about her.

Taking a swig of his steaming hot coffee, he swallowed it... enjoying the burn, using it to think of anything but what she looked like under her clothes.

"Boys aren't allowed in the women’s dorm after hours," he reminded them. "That's a serious infraction, one that could get you thrown out of school. The same goes for you boys, mind." He gave them a warning look. He'd been a boy once... never mind that his hormones were making him feel like one now.

Dawn thought her blush had faded enough now that she could look up at Spike again without making a total ass of herself. “What if you’re needing to study late with a tutor?” As if she’d ever hit the books that hard! Well… maybe if she could find the right tutor. For the right subject. She caught her lower lip between her teeth. Where were the flexes in these rules? Where could she bend them so far they whimpered, but didn’t break? At home, she’d have known better how to handle a raging crush of this type… if she’d ever had one that wasn’t already about the evil demon undead Big Bad, now just as human as she was…. Warm and strong and touchable and soo very hot. Who cared if he was twice her age? Or more like ten times, if you counted vampire years and rounded down a little?

"Late study..." he faltered, but hoped they didn't notice. Clearing his throat, he tried to avoid her gaze. "The library is open late, and there are study rooms that can be used. What sort of tutor do you expect to require?"

“Not sure yet,” she replied cheekily, then daringly added, “What do you teach, Mr. Spike?”

“Dawn!” Jeanine was turning practically puce. Silly uptight thing.

This time he locked gazes with her. She was teasing, the little minx. Right... girls this age did that, they tested their powers. He could joke as well as she did, it meant nothing.

"What would you like me to teach, Ms. Summers?" he drawled.

His lips extending the words, practically tasting them, made her whimper deep down in the naughty corners of her mind, took her directly to the very place she’d visited last night in the tub, imagining him looking down at her with that same lazy expression, lips quirking wickedly. Oh. My. God. Her brain went blank for a second as her breathing stutter-stepped, and then she smiled sweetly up at him.

“Poetry,” she said, remembering what William had done before he was turned. She’d read up on everything Giles had had on her dangerous guardian back when Spike was her ‘babysitter’, and even finagled the locked cabinet with the secret Watcher texts open to learn more. She might know more of his history than he did, at this point.

"Poetry. Fancy that..." he kept the smirk pasted on his face, never mind that it felt like he'd been sucker-punched right in the gut.

Lifting the mug to his lips, he fought of last night’s fantasy, poem and all. With his bloody luck, she'd start spewing it next. Already, he felt himself getting hard. Was it to be a perpetual condition? He hoped to hell, it was not.

"So you'll help me? When I need it?" Dawn looked directly up into his bluer than blue eyes. But he avoided her gaze. Damnit!

"I'm quite sure you are poetry in motion and won't be needing my help," his gaze skimmed over the rest of the kids. "Aren't all Californians?"

Jeanine perked up, having devoured her toast and started on some kippers. She clearly wasn't sure about the pickled breakfast fish, but was gamely giving them a go. "I play an awesome game of tennis," she announced. "Is there a team?"

"Football," grunted Paul around a mouthful of marmalade. "Not soccer though."

"Rugby looks like fun," Joshua offered. "If you don't mind scars," he added, shoveling in the bangers and mash.

"There are plenty of extra curricular activities to choose from, something for everyone." Why did she stare at him so? He felt his stomach clench, and looked away. "However, there is absolutely no soccer... that game is a figment of American imagination. It's called football here... use the term, and you'll have friends. Use 'soccer'... and I guarantee that you'll be in for a bit of hazing, if not something more serious. We don't have cheerleaders, though. A bloody pity, if you ask me." Hell yes... he'd love to see her bend back, shake her hips, make those little moves that cheerleaders made.

Dawn rose, her tray of empty dishes still on the table on front of her. "We're practically dressed for cheerleading already, Mr. Spike," she said, giving a twirl in her short uniform skirt. When her eyes locked on his again, she added, "See?"

The other three giggled. "Good skirts," said Paul.

"I like 'em," agreed Joshua.

"Used to be nice and long in the old days," Spike said through clenched teeth. He didn't know whether to wish for them or be grateful they were gone.

"Right... is everyone ready? Time for your classes," he said passing each of them a schedule. "I'll show you were the buildings are, and I believe one or two of you have class with me later in the afternoon."

When he passed Dawn her sheet of paper, she took advantage of the chance to touch his warm skin, something she'd been wanting to do again ever since the morning before, when she thought he was about to accidentally immolate himself. Her fingertips slid over his palm as she reached for the back edge of the paper instead of the front—and she made sure to watch his eyes as she did it. Please, let there be anything there but indifference!

His palm burned. His pulse kicked way up as his chest constricted. This was beyond ridiculous. As he tried to get a grip on his unwelcomed feelings, his nose flared. Abruptly, he got up and pushed his chair in. "Let's go to the Prince Albert building first."

Dawn offered a half smile to Spike, but wasn't sure exactly what his reaction had meant. He looked... almost angry. She hastily stacked her tray with the others, and said, a bit sulkily, "Didn't mean to hold up the program," over the whispers and vulgar giggles coming from Paul and Joshua.

Irritated, Jeanine turned to the two boys and said, "Quit whispering! It's rude!"

Grinning at each other over the short, muscular tennis player's head, the boys both mumbled, "sorry." Joshua continued on, "It's just a funny name for a building, don't you think?"

Dawn and Jeanine looked at him blankly. "Why, because it's a brand of chewing tobacco from back in the day?" Dawn had no idea what was so funny, either.

Taciturn Paul just grunted, "Piercings."

Still confused, Dawn looked at Jeanine, and then at Spike. Maybe he knew what the boys were finding so amusing?

"Don't look at me luv, I don't need one," he said, and rushed past them. Had he called her luv? That was just unacceptable. He knew better, but the word had just slipped from his mouth and felt right... as if he'd called her that so many times before. Maybe that was it, he tried to justify the slip. Tried not to think of Prince Alberts... or of teaching her where a piercing like that went, of letting her touch his cock at the tip... right where the piercing they were talking about would be.

Luv. He'd called her luv... before, it had always been Bit, or Nibblet. But luv... that gave Dawn some some serious warm twisties in her belly, and a feeling of nervous anticipation. She barely noticed as the other three Americans skittered off to their first classes. Luv!

"Classes starting with one hundred are on the first floor, classes with two hundred, upstairs," he pointed out the stairs, and watched the students disappear. Wouldn't you know it, Dawn was the only one left.

He glanced down at the schedule in her hand. "It’s across the campus," he walked toward the door and pointed.

Stubbornly, she ducked under his outstretched arm and came up facing him from about six inches away, where he had been looking over the campus. "You said you'd show us the buildings, not that you'd point and shoot! Come on, Spike. I won't bite if you don't want me to...." She blinked solemnly at him.

"What?" He blinked at her boldness. Before he could answer, he became extremely aware of how close she stood. With every breath, he took in her clean scent... strawberries and bubble gum, blast it.

This was so wrong... so wrong. He needed to pull back, to get her out of his personal space so he could bloody well think again.

"I know you won't," he muttered. "Just didn't think you'd need it. It's right over there." Lightly touching her back, he started across the campus. The quicker he dropped her off, the quicker he'd find some peace.

Just the hint of warmth, the light pressure from his hand in the small of her back, was enough to make Dawn go a bit weak in the knees, and she had to slow down a little, walk more deliberately. The subtle shifting of his hand over her back, its warmth, and the occasional brush of his suit-clad shoulder against her white blouse, were her entire focus. She was sure that, if he had cared to, he could have counted every delicate hair rising on her arms as a shiver ran along her spine.

He felt her shiver, glanced down to see what was wrong. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out... especially when he was having problems of his own. Pulling his hand back might be to concede that there was something... some sort of force between them. Instead, he kept his hand where it was, wishing he wasn't wishing he could just lean down and kiss her throat... just once. The view from above was just...

He took a deep breath. "Here you are. Have a good day, Dawn." Now that he moved away, he was able to smile. "Don't get into any trouble."
Even though she was pouting at the brush-off, Dawn couldn't help but respond to the pull of that smile, so familiar and yet all new. "Who, me? I grew up on the Hellmouth," she joked with a certain naive insouciance. "I had sleepovers with Trouble all the time!"

"Did you now? I'm not even going to ask who this boy named Trouble is," he grinned, then sobered. "Sometimes it drives me mad that I don't remember. If I seem different... you understand why?"

Touched, she nodded. It probably took a lot to admit that to someone whom he didn't really remember. Wait. He didn't really remember! Her eyes lit with mischief. "I'll talk to you about anything you want, Spike," she promised, turning to go into the building. As she opened the heavy door, long legs helping to pull its weight out of her way, she tossed him a grin over her shoulder. "Sometimes you were Trouble," she stated, and went inside.

His mouth dropped open... or would have, if he weren't quick to shut it. Damn her... now he was going to have to run back to his place and try to ease the strain in his pants to mental images of the sorts of trouble he might have brought her. Fuck... fuckity fuck... did she know what she was doing to him? Did she have an inkling? He let out another breath, and turned to go.


(A/N: So, anyone reading/enjoying this? Or is Spawn not up your alley? Love to hear back!)