Subversive

Disclaimer: If I were Joss Whedon, I would own the characters and make money off of them, but I am not, and I don't.

I stared in the mirror, watching myself. Turning to the side, I traced circles over the bruises that decorated my body. My ribs were a piece of work. So was my neck. Gods, it looked as if I’d been attacked by an animal or a strangler, dark purple bruises shining against my pale skin. Bite marks were everywhere. I couldn’t help smiling a quirky grin as I examined my injuries. Every part of me was still sore as all hell, markings of a very intense workout. Every time Spike and I had sex, I came out of it looking like the victim of an assault.

Sighing deeply though with undertones of fond exasperation, I turned to the closet and began sorting through my outfits. Working for Wolfram and Hart had certainly expanded my wardrobe. Not to mention the fact that they offered killer opportunities. While some folks were having brain upgrades or x-ray vision installed, I was just pondering if they could do something as simple as liposuction. Ah, well.

Finally choosing a black dress with silver and diamond pins on both thin straps, I dressed, threw on a knee-length silk jacket, and, grabbing a cigarette, made my way to the door. Spike was becoming a very bad habit, and a few things about him were rubbing off on me. As I made my way outside I lit the cigarette and inhaled that first rush of nicotine, I felt my heart race. The cool evening air was a refreshing change from the heat of the day. My thick heels hit the concrete in a rhythmic clacking as I made my way down the street towards the nearest cab.

It was a half-moon night, the silver orb barely getting through all the neon and fluorescent lights of the city. Los Angeles never failed to amaze me in its disconnection to nature. Sure, the residents all loved the palm trees that were all over the damn place, but one could barely get a glimpse of sky that didn’t have helicopters hovering aboveground or the fluorescents were too damn bright to even see it. Hailing a taxi, I slid in and directed the man where to go, while struggling to ignore the very protuberant smell of pot. I hastily lit another cigarette and opened the window, allowing the breeze to wash through my hair.

At long last, we arrived at my destination. I paid the man and stepped out onto the sidewalk a short distance away from Club Viper, as opposed to the Viper Room. No, this place was a supernatural joint, where all sorts of little demons and humans could mesh and none were the wiser. Only those who knew about it had the gumption to try it out. According to Lorne, it was actually a fairly decent place to go. Of course, Lorne also liked to belt out Gloria Gaynor on command, and he did think that Angel could sing decently on occasion, so his taste could be questionable.

Gripping my purse, I made my way towards the line and stood behind a pair of very tall women in catsuits who were speaking low in a garbled noise that I was sure was a form of demonic language. Oh, well. As long as they weren’t hurting me, I didn’t care.

I sucked on my cigarette, wondering how I had let myself get so drawn into a man whom I had only been seeing for a few weeks. It seemed like a year ago that Spike had drawn me to his place and initiated me into his world. It made me warm to remember that first night. And the day after at work. Spike was an enigma. He was so tough and masculine and pompous. He could be as rough as they get, or he could be surprisingly tender and considerate. Either way, he was a drug to me. I always wanted more. It made me tingle to just think about him.

Shaking my head to try and clear my thoughts, I shuffled my feet and sighed as the line moved slowly forward. I hated coming down here by myself, but supposedly others would be along sometime soon. Maybe they were already inside.

I tossed away my cigarette and held onto my purse tightly, absently reaching for money for the cover. As I made my way up to the bouncer at the door I felt his eyes appraise me as he looked at me. With a small smile he motioned for me to go on in.

The club was very posh. It was dark, lots of black and red curtains hanging all over the place, nearly obscuring the black metal tables scattered throughout the very large room. Somewhere off to the side was a dance floor in front of the stage, where an all-male band was playing. I didn’t quite know what sort of band would play a demon club, but hey, I supposed everyone needed a gig.

The bar was long and florescent, with a long line of chairs that were already occupied by a host of various demons. I was sure there was a smattering of normal humans such as myself, but I was still adjusting to trying to pick them out from the posers, the vampires, the demons contained in human form. It was obviously a popular place to go.

I glanced around, searching the crowd for any signs of my coworkers. There was a raised tier off towards the left that led to a back room of some sort, perhaps a VIP of the demon variety. Demon nobility, perhaps? Secluded feedings? I didn’t really care to know. It was something I had grown accustomed to: don’t ask, and the answer won’t hurt as much.

Lighting another cigarette, I scanned the rest of the crowd, still adjusting to the lighting and trying to blend in as much as possible. At last I spotted Fred and Gunn sitting at a table, talking quietly between themselves. Sighing in relief, I began heading over towards them.

“Eva!” Gunn looked up, offering a welcoming smile. “Glad you found it.”

I shrugged, taking a seat at the table. “Thanks for inviting me. It’s not every day that I get invited to a demon bar. And may I take a moment to congratulate you on your stunning choice of establishments.”

Fred sipped at her drink, looking around. “It’s actually not that bad… if you can put up with the company and the way they like to try to score dates.”

I raised an eyebrow as she motioned towards a couple of chaos demons in one corner of the bar. My mind went blank to protect myself.

“I think I’ve just learned what it means to draw a complete blank,” I commented.

Fred looked at me sympathetically. “It is hard to get used to,” she admitted. “Hey! You want something to drink, Eva?”

“Um, okay.” I glanced around once more, suddenly nervous about being with my coworkers. I had never really spent much time with them before, and the fact that they had asked me to join them both excited and anxious. I couldn’t deny that I felt out of place there, even though they were both quite friendly to me.

“I’ll get it. What do you want?” Gunn offered.

I paused to think. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

He grinned. “Be right back.”

As Gunn got up and left the table, Fred turned to me. “So how are you liking Wolfram and Hart?” she asked.

I met her eyes, so wide and inquisitive. It seemed like she was a near genius, with all the eccentricities that came with the package. She was wholly interested in what I had to say. Shrugging, I replied, “It’s… a lot different than what I thought, not that I really knew what to expect.”

“I know what you mean,” she agreed. “I mean, I’ve been with Angel for awhile now, and when we got offered the place at the company, it was a huge leap. We’re all just trying to do some good, and being in that environment makes it all seem so… daunting.”

“Sounds about right.” I glanced around the club once more, thankful that the chaos demons seemed to have made a discreet exit. “Sometimes I wonder what I got myself into, you know? Aside from the typing and filing and answering phones, I knew there was more to it than that. But if I could count the amount of times I’ve had to go pick up pig’s blood or gnarl venom, I’d be quite rich.”

Fred chuckled. “Don’t worry. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve had to scout out the whereabouts of demons from other dimensions and then try to kill them. Or lived in another dimension, for that matter.”

That made me raise an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

She suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed and glanced away. “Oh. Um, it’s a bit complicated. But it comes down to that I was living in this other dimension, and that’s actually where I met Angel. He was the one who got me out of there.”

“What was it like?”

She paused for a heartbeat, toying with her fingers. “Well… it was a world where humans were called cows, and were used like animal labor. I had managed to hide out in a cave and was never really put into service, but all the same…”

My eyes drifted over to a few vampires in heading back towards the VIP section. At least one of the people with them was human, and it looked as if the vamps were salivating over the blood. I watched as one drew a finger over one girl’s neck and drew a line a of blood. Then a tall, stocky male vampire leaned down and began licking at it. The girl threw her head back as if in the midst of an orgasm, clutching him to her for all she was worth. Part of me wanted to jump up and stop it, and part of me was just fascinated. I had never really watched a vampire take blood from a human. Angel made sure all his employees had a diet of pig’s blood, and were regularly tested for human blood. Seeing it in person made me confused.

“Eva?”

I snapped back to attention. “What? Sorry.”

Fred eyed me with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. It’s just… There’s a group of vamps in the back, and one of them just drank from a girl. I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t stop looking at it.”

She turned just as the vamps disappeared. “What?” She frowned, a pretty look even on her. “That’s kind of the downside of this place. It has some rules, but it doesn’t go against any feeding, so long as no one dies. You kind of get used to it. Unfortunately.”

“And we can’t just go stake them?” I asked.

“No. That’s something the owner’s very strict on. He wants everyone to have a good time and doesn’t want to deal with the mess.”

“Weird.”

Fred began to say something, then perked up slightly. “Oh. Spike’s here tonight.”

I immediately felt my heart begin to pound, as it always did when he was around. “Huh?”

She pointed towards the door. “Just over there. He just came in.”

I half-turned in my seat and saw Spike making his way through the crowds in his usual stride, half-ignoring everyone else as a look of boredom kept his face straight. I watched the way he carried himself: so full of himself, so sure of himself. He knew what he was, what he was capable of, and he did not suffer anyone to question him about it. I couldn’t imagine what he had been like before he got his soul, but I had a feeling it was quite different from this, and yet not. His platinum hair stood out above the rest. I knew the feeling of running my hands through it, of feeling that hair brush the insides of my thighs and down my back. I felt a flush enter my face as my body began to relive the naughty things we did and the way he made me feel.

As I watched him, I felt a curiosity overcome me. We had done quite a bit together already, but suddenly I was wanting more. I wanted to know what it would feel like to have him sink his fangs into me and to drink my blood. He had already nearly sunk fangs into me, but he had never taken blood. He said he didn’t think I could handle it, and he didn’t want to hurt me. But all at once I was overcome with the desire to explore that. I knew he wouldn’t kill me. He would hurt me only if I asked for it, and that was in the kinky fun way that he had introduced me to and I couldn’t get enough of. I felt myself getting wet just thinking about it.

Startling out of my reverie, I blinked as Spike strode up to the table, nodding to both of us. “Well, isn’t this a pretty picture,” he drawled. “And how are you lovely ladies doing this night?”

“Hello, Spike,” Fred smiled.

“Hi,” I ventured, pleased that I could now greet him without leaving the room in a flustered state.

Spike pursed his lips in that way that meant he was thinking of something naughty. Which seemed to be nearly all the damn time. “Having a girls night out, are we?” he asked, leaning against the table.

“Not quite. I mean, yes, sort of, but Gunn’s here too,” Fred said, motioning towards the bar. “He’s getting Eva a drink. Oh. Here he comes.”

I saw Spike discreetly roll his eyes as he turned to face Gunn, who looked less than thrilled with the vampire’s presence. Spike nodded to him.

“Spike,” Gunn greeted cautiously, handing me a drink. “Here you go, Eva. Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything’s sunshine and roses,” Spike answered. “I’m just here to check out the scene. It’s a little slow on the people in distress circuit, so I thought I’d get me a drink.”

“Do you want to join us?” Fred asked.

I didn’t miss the way Gunn’s face closed off, as if he was restraining himself from saying something nasty. I knew he didn’t care for Spike, but he didn’t hate him, as far as I could tell. He just felt that Spike was a big waste of time.

At length, Gunn nodded. “Sure. Have a chair, Spike. Let’s have a merry old time.”

Spike didn’t miss the beat. “Actually,” he said slowly, “I just need a word with Eva for a moment.”

I glanced around at the table. “Oh. Okay. I’ll be right back.”

As I stood up, Spike took my arm gently and motioned towards the back of the club, where the throngs had parted a little. “Don’t worry, I’ll just keep her a sec.”

The touch of his hand on my arm sent chills through me. I could feel the energy rolling off of him, knew that he had fed and that he was gearing up for the night. When we were far enough away from the table, I leaned up to him and whispered, “God, you look good right now.”

Spike smirked, running his hand over my hip and eyeing me head to toe. “I’d say the same about you,” he remarked. “What’s with the getup, planning on catching a few new toys tonight?”

I glared at him. “Yup. That’s the plan. I figured if I got all dressed up, then I could torment some other poor demons.”

He pulled me close to him, looking down on me with a mischievous look in his eye. “You don’t know the meaning of torment, pet,” he said. “But I do.” He slid a hand down my thigh and around towards my ass. “Figure you could use a little torment tonight, especially around the others. Maybe just give you something to think about before you go back to your friends.”

His hands pressed in on my skin, making me inhale sharply as my heart accelerated. Every touch made my skin burn. Even though his was cold, I felt as if I were beginning to be dowsed in flame. I inched closer to his body, unafraid to let the world see us together. I let my own hands drift up his chest, reveling in the feel of his body. I knew it almost by heart, what touch could do to him and where I liked to wander, just as he knew my body, which explained why he was breathing against my neck and brushing my hair back to expose my flesh.

“Well, well,” he murmured against my ear. “What’s got you all hot and bothered tonight?”

As he began laying kisses on my skin, I bit my lip to silence a moan. It was hard to come up with the words, and I almost couldn’t say them. Finally, I managed to whisper, “I watched a vamp drink blood tonight.”

“And what’s so amazin’ about that?” he whispered, flicking his tongue over my ear. “You’ve watched me drink…”

He broke off what he was saying, and I felt him chuckle against my neck. “You mean you saw one feed. From the living.”

I swallowed hard, half afraid of what he’d think of me. “Yeah.”

“So that’s it.” He came around to face me, his eyes amused and boring into me. I almost couldn’t look at him, but I forced myself to stay the course. “You liked it.”

“I don’t know why,” I confessed. “I felt like a voyeur, but I liked it. What does that say about me?”

Spike chuckled again and pulled me so close I felt his cock against my thigh, hard and begging for attention. I had a feeling that I would not be staying long. He looked deeply into me, keeping me close. “It says that you’re stepping into the darkness with me,” he said. “You’re starting to see into my world, and you like it.”

“What if…” I paused and took a deep breath, searching his face. He waited patiently for me to say what was on my mind. Exhaling shakily, I decided to just say it. “What if I want you to drink… from me?”

It appeared as if I had genuinely taken him by surprise. He raised an eyebrow and stared at me for a few moments, as if trying to decide whether or not I was joking. “Really,” he said at last.

I nodded. “I know we’ve sort of talked about it before,” I said hesitantly, “but neither of us thought it would be a good idea. Well… now I want to try it. I want to feel you do it.”

Spike again watched me, looking for any signs of a trick or a joke. At last he slid a hand down my leg and under my skirt. My eyes widened as his fingers deftly slid towards my panties and pressed against my very wet pussy. I moaned in spite of myself, wanting him to touch me again, to do it in front of everyone.

“You’re not joking,” he said at last. A mischievous smile spread over his face as he withdrew his hand with satisfaction. “The idea really does make you hot and bothered, doesn’t it.”

I couldn’t speak for fear of just uttering a squeak. Instead, I gazed up at him with all the lust that was building inside of me and the intense desire I had to please him in every possible way. Spike seemed to get the message.

“All right,” he said slowly. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

I nodded slowly, though my heart was hammering in my chest. “Yes,” I answered, pressing myself against his pelvis. “I want to try it. I want to give you everything that I have.”

For a few long moments, Spike seemed to deliberate. At last he leaned down and pressed his lips to my ear. “Then I suggest you bid farewell to your friends and meet me outside in a few moments.”