The Clockwork Vampire


by Spirit


 
*


'So this is your place then, huh?' asked Cordelia looking over Doyle's messy front room.
'It's.........homey.'

'You hate it,' grinned Doyle. 'Not everyone can afford a place with their very own ghost you
know?'

She looked at him and put her bag down on the sofa.

'It's not as dumpy as I expected.' 

She ran a hand along the back of the table. It was clean.

'Wesley?'

Doyle nodded.

'He likes things tidy.'

'So I see.'

She smiled up at him and Doyle wondered how long his luck was going to hold out for. Surely it
wasn't possible to have the girl AND an empty apartment all in one night? Nobody was that
lucky, and Doyle knew he wasn't that lucky. And yet, here he was, long night out with the
woman of his dreams and she'd followed him willingly back to the apartment he shared with
Wesley and the ex-watcher wasn't in.

Could fate be that generous?

He reached for the bottle he'd been saving.

'Do you drink whisky?'

She raised an eyebrow.

'Not in this lifetime. Is that all you've got?'

He inclined his head and she grinned.

'It's okay,' said Cordelia, 'I wasn't all that thirsty anyway.'

She tilted her head up and as he bent to kiss her, Doyle wondered why he felt so uncomfortable.
This was what he'd wanted for so long. Wesley had graciously taken defeat, albeit in defeat of
whom, Doyle didn't know. The place was theirs for the asking and Doyle couldn't relax. What
was with him?

'Cordelia?' he said before his lips met hers. 'There's something I wanna tell you.'

She leaned back a little and looked solemnly up at him.

'This isn't another bit of demonology I'm not familiar with, is it?'

He laughed and shook his head.

'No, you're clear on that score. Half Bracken is all I am.'

'And a seer.'

'That too.'

She shrugged.

'So what's the big?'

He sat down next to her and drank from the glass, steeling himself.

'You know, Princess, that I've wanted to have you in my arms from the first moment I met you?'

She nodded. Naturally.

'And you know Wesley had the hots for you too.'

She nodded again. Even more naturally.

'Well I think.........'

'Yes?'

'I mean, I know.........'

He sighed. Just how difficult was this to tell her? 

Okay, it's very difficult, but if I want anything with this girl she has the right to know that I kissed
Wesley. 

Oh man.

And her reaction is going to be what?

Abject hysteria?

Disbelief?

Humiliation?

Disgust?

Does she really need to know?

He sighed again.

'Nothing, Sweetheart, nothing that matters.'

She looked at him for a moment, waiting for the explanation she as sure was coming, but he
settled back and seemed to push his troubles away. She leaned back against him and Doyle
grinned at her in that amiable Irish way of his.

'Come here and kiss me, Princess.'

'Glad too,' she murmured, leaning in for another of those alcohol tainted kisses.

It was the sweetest kiss she'd had in a long time. With Xander it had always been about the lust
thing. There was plenty of that here, no question, but this wasn't playtime for school kids. They
were talking about a whole grown up section that she wanted to explore. It was like a big map on
which most places were charted and she and Doyle had just passed the sign entitled, 'Here be
Dragons'. Or here be demons.

Either or.

Whatever it was, it felt just right.

'Argh!'

Doyle pulled back, shaking and shuddering and for a moment Cordelia wondered if she was
cursed.

'Doyle?'

He shook in her arms a moment, his head swirling with the images and feelings in front of him.
His head pounded, his heart pounded, and Doyle slipped down further in the sofa as he came out
of it.

'What? What did you see?'

He felt the sweat drip down his forehead.

'It's Angel.........'

'Yeah?'

'He's in trouble.'

She got to her feet.

'Right, so we go get Spike and Wesley and find him.'

Doyle shook his head.

'They're already down there with him. And a girl.'

She blinked at him.

'So what do we do?'

Doyle got unsteadily to his feet.

'Go raid his fucking armoury.'


*


Spike was used to commanding troupes of vampires. He'd led them through Hell and high water
to achieve things to entertain his Princess.........well, not literally Hell. He'd left that one to Angel.
But he had been there, in charge of demons and vampires and all manner of things that went
more than bump in the dark. Being on the other end of a pointy demon tooth was quite the new
and unwelcome experience.

'Er, Dru, Pet. Mind calling off the bloody cavalry?'

Drucilla ignored him completely, her attention gathered by something quite new. She was
unperturbed by Spike now, as though he and Angel no longer mattered. If the demons were
holding them too tightly, well then it was all just in fun. They weren't her playmates anymore and
she would have to invent new ones.

And that was all fine with her.

Angel looked left and right, aware he could break the grip of the demon holding him, but even
more aware that Wesley wouldn't be able to break free fast enough to prevent his head being
ripped off by the hungry looking fyaral demon that held him. Spike was another concern.
Although Angel was pretty sure that his lover could handle himself well enough against any one
of the local demon populace, the room was crowded with several who held more than a fleeting
grudge against the English vampire. 

Add to that the fact that Drucilla seemed to have completely forgotten about them and things
added up to one corpse and two very big piles of dust.

Not good odds.

Drucilla smiled beautifically at them all, waiting for an applause for the performance she'd given.
Insane she was, had been so for so many years now that her sanity was but a fleeting
remembrance. But she was also a gifted predator and she had made her own decision for the first
time, able to act out her own wants and desires in this place.

Since Spike had betrayed them all to the Slayer, she found she could no longer trust in his
undying.........undead love and had rejected that unsurety. Angel was once again lost to the
powers of good and had replaced the Slayer in his heart with her own paramour.

Such things should not go unpunished.

She was lonely, wanting someone who once again only existed for her. Only believed and loved
her. Was bound to her through blood. She had made a playmate once and Angellus had taken
him from her, giving him back only as the gypsies cursed his unholy body. For a century, she
had been contented, knowing, in her own way that she was beloved, prime empress in his heart.
She needed someone to fulfil that role and who better than the one she had chosen.

'Megan,' purred Drucilla. 

The girl stood in front of the vampire, trying hard to not fall to pieces in the face of her fear. She
was doing well, so she believed. She'd not given in to tears, or tremblings, and only Wesley
noticed how tightly she was gripping her fist, driving her fingernails deep into her skin. He willed
her not to, knowing that the scent of blood would only rouse the vampire more.

Drucilla stroked down the side of Megan's face with her long fingernails, sniffing the air and
grinning at the girl's fear. It had felt so long, without Spike at her side and she was hungry for a
new start, a time when she and her companion would once again reign supreme. When she
would be Princess and her love would bring her presents and pets, all to please and appease her.

Megan stared at Drucilla for a moment, sensing her time was growing short. She shifted her
vision to Angel and Spike, wondering if they'd be able to free her before the vampire had drunk
her dry. Angel could only offer her a pitying, sorrowful look and Spike was too busy glaring at
Drucilla to meet her gaze. She was alone in the spider's web and waiting for the killing blow.

'Mine,' said Drucilla playfully, 'When this is done, we'll play together.'

She moved in close to whisper in the girl's ear.

'I'll let you have that one as your first dinner, if you'd like.'

Megan shivered then, looking at Wesley. She gathered what was left of her strength and heard
herself panting, struggling to calm down.

'I would rather be dead, than spend a single second of eternity as your companion.'

Drucilla drew back as if she'd been hit. She didn't understand. Didn't this human know what she
was giving? Didn't she know that life as a vampire was eternal bliss, a freedom from the
constraints of mortality and a succulent pleasure given over and over with each kill?

Spike looked up at Megan's words. If that bloody human could say something, even if it did go
down as wishful bloody thinking, then he was fucked if he wasn't gonna go down fighting. So
Dru wanted someone like him, to do just what he'd done for a century. If she turned the girl
before he managed to get to her, then Spike would stake the fledge himself rather than let Dru
have her. Family wasn't always cosy, but it was what you have. They were the people you stayed
with, the ones you look after and, Spike admitted to himself, they weren't the same people as he'd
once believed.

He turned his head slightly to Angel, waiting until the vampire caught his eye. The dark head was
turned away from him, staring at the wall, contemplating the guilt that had arisen from meeting
Dru again and the knowledge that he would be unable to do anything to stop the next events.
When he finally shifted his gaze to Spike, it was as though he'd heard Spike's silent calling, and
the subtle nod he gave left the blond with hope. Something could be done and the bloodier the
better.

What he wasn't prepared for was to feel the same mental tug from his other side. Wesley was
staring at him, a look of fierce determination on that often worried brow. Spike grinned,
wondering where this mental connection had come from and then dismissing the thought. If they
got through this.........when they got through this, there would be time enough for asking
questions then. He'd just have to trust that whatever it was, it would stay with them long enough
to get away and get everything that needed to be done, accomplished.

Drucilla watched Megan, seeing in the line of her jaw an obstinate set that Spike had often worn.
It will be only for others after you've turned her, some voice whispered. Just do it and she'll be
yours forever. Spike was mine forever, she protested, Angel was mine forever.

Forever didn't last long enough.

Then take care of this one, be protective until she can.........will protect you. Just take her now and
let her become. Let her taste what you are.

Drucilla smiled again and shifted into her vampire face. Megan shuddered, but kept staring out
the vampire Princess.

'It will all be over in a little while,' murmured Drucilla, 'All mine, soon.'

She grasped the girl by her shoulders and buried her face in her lean neck, seeking out the pulse
that thrummed in her head. It smelled so sweet, the blood that flowed through it and as her fangs
grazed the skin, both women groaned in unison. Megan cast her mind back, trying to recall
everything she lived for, everything she believed and wondered why she had resisted this obvious
fate for so long. As the fangs pierced her skin and Drucilla began to drink, she cried out, the pain
overshadowed by a sense of loss.

I will not be the same after this. I am Megan McGill now, but things will be different ever after. I
will never know a sunrise or the pleasure of a warm Spring day. I never finished my course, or
climbed that damn mountain. 

But I have lived. 

God Dammit I have lived more than this harpy would ever have believed. And I am more than
damned if I let her have this now!

She thrust at Drucilla's shoulders and dislodged the vampire with a painful yelp. Dru was
snarling, her feral side to the fore, unheeding any danger signals, accepting that the price to pay
for taking a life was steep, but that she was giving something even more precious in return. She
leapt forward and knocked the girl to the floor, reaching for the wound in her neck and trying to
sink her teeth in once more. But Megan had found something to fight for and, despite the heavy
blood loss, was making it hard for the vampire to find her mark.

Spike watched the melee with more than a note of admiration. Apparently his line had all been
fighters he was glad to note. Shame to let it get fucked up now. He nodded to Angel and felt the
agreement in both men's minds.

Now.

Angel grasped the demon who was holding him and flung his grip off, aware that the other two
were doing the same. Everyone had been so preoccupied with the floor show that their grip had
loosened and attention was lacking. The fyaral snarled and Angel smacked him upside his jaw,
pleased as Hell to be able to hit something without feeling bloody guilty! Spike seemed to be
having a whale of a time, knocking out demons left and right, punching and kicking with a
vengeance that both pleased and excited Angel. When I get you out of here, he thought to
himself as he delivered a particularly well executed roundhouse. I'm going to shag you up against
a wall and I don't care who sees.

Well I do a bit.

Only if they're people I know.

Bang.

The demon hit him hard and Angel pushed down his erotic thoughts as he went thoroughly to
town on the fyaral. Spike grabbed anything within reach and punched, kicked and obliterated his
way through the demons. They did, it was true, have size and strength on their sides, but as their
intelligence wasn't all that high, (they had been hanging out with drucilla, after all) Spike was
having great fun dodging and appearing just where their fists weren't.

'This is the bloody life!' he yelled cheerfully.

'This is Megan's death,' shouted Wesley from beneath one of his captors. 'We've got to help her!'

Spike snorted and headed over to where Drucilla had forcibly pinned the girl to the ground. He
was as pissed off as he'd ever been and she was causing him the biggest problems he'd seen in a
good while. More than that, she was standing between him and Angel getting their rocks off with
the aftermath of a good fight.

'Dru, just get the bloody Hell off her.'

Drucilla ignored him and started to drink form the struggling woman. Spike met Megan's eyes
and saw the blatant message in them.



Spike bent down to pull her away, but only succeeded in pulling them both upright. Megan was
fading fast, but her gaze never left Spike's.



Angel stepped forward, his opponents dealt with but unable, somehow to finish off drucilla, no
matter what it cost them. There were some things he knew he couldn't do, and had it been for
Spike, he would have snatched a stake and plunged it in her evil heart. But it wasn't Spike and he
knew that her heart had once been as pure as daylight before he had corrupted her.

Spike grabbed at the girls, trying to separate one from the other.

'Damn it, Dru! Let the bloody girl go! Find someone else!'

She kept drinking and Spike could feel the last of the girl's blood seeping away. Her eyes closed
and Spike knew he had only one option. But he didn't have one. He never wielded one normally
and he had never envisioned in his wildest dreams that he would be plunging one inside Drucilla's
chest.

He felt something against his shoulder and turned quickly to see Doyle's face, a stake pressed in
his hand.

'You don't have to do this, man.'

Spike looked back at the women.

'I fucking started it.'

He snatched the stake up.

'So I'm the one who bloody ends it.'


Impact


There was a brief moment of stillness and then, as though she had never been between them,
Megan fell forward into her ancestor's embrace, the dust of the woman who had been his beloved
settling over both their bodies. Spike cradled it against him, softly stroking the dark hair, for a
moment wishing it was his Princess, that it had never come to this.

But he was a realist and in under a moment he had let the girl fall into Wesley's arms, turning and
facing the only man who understood. The man he loved. The man who had made everything
possible.........and everything painful. The one who made his existence worth bearing.

Angel met his gaze as Cordelia and Doyle looked at the carnage inside the room, glad that there
had only been a few stragglers on its exterior. The sorrow in that look was all too clear and Spike
shed one solitary tear for the vampire who had been his mate.

Nothing can last eternity.

Angel stepped forward and let Spike hold him, caressing his body, as though he were making
sure the dark vampire had not vanished along with Drucilla. Angel knew that within days,
perhaps less, Spike would be his usual self again.........the vampire wasn't given to brooding, he
half-smiled. But for now, he offered the best comfort he could, wanting to take him home and
show him that love lost, is never unworthy and that there could be another option.

'I love you,' he whispered against Spike's neck.

Spike closed his eyes and squeezed his lover.

'You're not brooding are you?'

Angel half-laughed.

'No, just letting you know it's okay.'

'Cause if you were bloody brooding, I'd have to take you home and shag you until you couldn't
remember your name, if that's the way of things.'

Angel smiled and stroked Spike's hair. If that's the way you want it, Love.

'Maybe you'll have to tell me how that's done.'

Spike chuckled.

'I'll do better than tell you, Peaches.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah. I'll show just what I have in mind.'

They walked out then, Wesley and the others far ahead, carrying the nearly dead girl to a place of
safety. For now, neither vampire was concerned with anything else in the world. Lines had been
crossed tonight and they deserved their peace, taking time out from the good fight and searching
out their own personal battles.

Nothing lasts eternity.


*


'Well I'd say the butterscotch is a must have.'

They looked at Cordelia, amazed that she had any opinion at all on hospital food. Doyle
shrugged and looked at the list they'd been given, wondering how she could know all this stuff,
when she'd given the impression of never having touched an open ward in her life.

Angel hung uncomfortably by the door, aware that he hadn't tried to save the life of the chirpy
young woman in the bed. He hadn't wanted to come at all, preferring the solitude of his home,
liking the way he and Spike could spend literally hours with each other, with no need for any
other form of outside entertainment. But Spike had grinned in that oh so appealing way and
promised a type of bondage that involved strawberry liquorish and Angel had been lost in a
world of icy blue, his lust and his love compelling him to obey.

Spike himself was reading Megan's chart, wondering if they would mind if he altered one or two
stats and if they'd do something particularly nasty if he made out she was suffering from more
than just heavy blood loss. Wesley had brought her in here claiming that something had bitten
her and drained her blood and the staff, following that all too familiar, we accept this story
because the alternative is too out there, had treated her accordingly. Several pints later and Spike
was in possession of his only living relative once more.

'Put that down, Spike,' said Wesley. 'I'm sure the last thing the doctor's want is to find that you've
been altering things about.'

Spike grinned and placed it back on the bed.

'I think it'd probably brighten their bloody day up, actually, Ducks.'

Megan grinned and shook her head.
'They'd probably do all sorts of embarrassing tests, which is exactly what you hoped. SO no
thanks Grandad.'

'I told you not to call me that, Pet.'

'Get used to it.'

The nurse popped her head round.

'Visiting time's over. Move out people, there's only supposed to be two to a bed anyway.'

Spike winked lasciviously at the woman as they got up to leave.

'Always been more up for an orgy myself.'

Angel grabbed his hand and pulled him close.

'You'd better be kidding.'

Spike kissed him and grinned.

'Always you, Peaches. You know that.'

'Yeah, I know that.' 

They left quietly, except for Wesley and he dawdled by the bed, wanting to put how sorry he was
about this into words. How does one apologize and ask a girl out at the same time? It's hardly the
done thing, is it?

'Wesley, come sit down, please?'

He perched on the side of the bed.

'Anything you need, just ask.'

She grinned at him.

'Anything?'

Wesley blinked at the euphemism and was rewarded by a bewitching smile.

'I just want you to stay a half hour, is all.'

'But nurse said.........'

'She said you could stay when I asked earlier.'

He looked at her nonplussed.

'But, why?'

She kissed him firmly on the lips and leant back again.

'Because we had a date for dinner.'

The trays of steaming hospital food came towards them both and Wesley looked, amazed at the
woman. He turned back to Megan, but she was looking hungrily at the meal.

'Are you always like this with men?'

She grinned at him. A very Spike like grin.

'Only when I'm hungry.'


*



'I'm not playing.' They looked at him then, differing versions of the same expressions covering each face. You're being a stuffy old vampire. You won't have any fun. True. And then he risked a look at his lover and lost the fight in one view of those cold blue eyes. There were some things that passed between Spike and Angel that passed over the heads of even their closest companions. Spike was very vocal about what he'd like to do to Angel at any given moment, and in the aftermath of Drucilla's demise, had been more passionate than normal, quenching his desire for Angel's firm body any time he could. They'd barely got outside the hospital when Spike had dragged him away from Cordelia and Doyle and driven the dark vampire wild with desire as he trailed every finger over each and every inch of flesh that Angel owned. Back home, Spike had been even less restrained, demanding and giving with a lust that Angel struggled to equal. He understood that humans tended to reaffirm their vitality through sex after a bereavement. He could understand that. In the face of death they panicked, feeling the pressure of their own mortality. The number of babies conceived within moments of a loved one dying was something he could only guess at, but Angel believed it would be enough to convince a small jury. Procreation and sex were the strongest methods of defying the reaper.........even if the reaper had already visited. For the past week, he hadn't so much as taken a shower alone. Spike had come with him on the few pieces of work he'd had, even when it had involved nothing more than asking questions off a willing client. He wouldn't say that Spike had helped as such - looking as menacing as possible was something the English vampire could have turned into a league sport, but he had been there, passed a couple of witty and biting comments before accompanying Angel wherever the Hell he wanted to go. Angel had said nothing, not knowing quite what to say if he had spoke anyway. How do you commiserate with the man you love that he was forced to kill the women he had devoted most of his existence to? Now there was a hallmark moment waiting to be made. Spike hadn't said a single word about her, or how she had finally left the world. For now, Angel was going along with it, but he knew that it might be a long time before the Englishman would let him out of his sight. Spike protected what was his, and having failed with Drucilla, he wouldn't even contemplate a similar mistake with Angel. So when Megan had been released from hospital under Wesley's watchful and considerably amorous eye, Angel had suggested they join them for an evening. It had been met with both surprise and watchful enthusiasm. Whilst Spike was known for his party-loving tendencies, Angel was happier at home, alone with his lover and a good book. The good book this week was an advanced form of Tantric sex, but still, the point was the same. Spike liked to be with people, Angel liked to be alone. And so a compromise had been formed. Wesley, Megan, Cordelia and Doyle had arrived at Angel's apartment a little after seven, bringing wine, whiskey, two family pizzas and some board games. The board games had come courtesy of Wesley, unsurprisingly, but they'd been accompanied by a few new editions that Miss McGill had insisted on buying earlier in the day. Cordelia had balked at sexual charades, already envisaging Spike's gestures and her own misinterpreted impressions. Trivial Pursuits had been rejected after Angel and Wesley had argued about the exact date of the Irish potato famine. After five minutes of such riveting discussion, that one had gone the way of the pizza boxes, neither the vampire nor the demon hunter prepared to give on the details. Which had left them with this, a battered old English version of the game, which Wesley had kept neatly for most his life and replaced the little note papers when they'd become worn out. Angel sighed. 'Okay, but I'm not being Mrs White.' Spike grinned at him fiercely and tossed him the blue counter. 'It's all right, Pet, you can be the Peacock bird then.' Angel picked up the counter and placed it on his starting square. 'Why am I the only man here playing a woman?' He looked at them, daring them to make comment and Spike grinned wildly against his hand. Megan picked up Mrs White and gestured with it to Angel. 'Cause there's only two women here tonight and the game's geared up for an even split. It's not like anyone's suggesting you're a transvestite, you know?' Angel shrugged. 'I didn't say anything like that.' 'Cause most of them are straight, anyway,' concluded Cordelia. They looked at her and she put Miss Scarlet on the grid. 'I saw it on Jerry, okay?' Doyle patted her arm and put Colonel Mustard in the near space. 'It's okay sweetheart, I know what you meant.' Cordelia snorted. 'Oh, they knew, they just don't like admitting they watch the same crap as I do.' 'That's not true, Pet. I admit to Jerry every time. Just wish that bastard Steve would let them tear each other's hair out every now and again.' Angel looked at him. 'When do you watch TV?' Spike grinned. 'When you're trying to recover from sex, Pet.' Cordelia stuck a glass of the good wine she'd brought into Spike's hands as Angel felt himself coming close to blushing. 'Here, try this and pretend it's someone's blood.' Spike winked at her. 'Sure, Love. Okay if I think of you?' She scowled at him and he knocked it back, licking his lips. 'So come on then, explain to me how this game works then?' Wesley placed Professor Plum on the board and left Doyle dealing out the cards. 'We have to deduce, through careful questioning, who killed Dr Black, where they killed him and what with.' Angel stared at him. 'This is supposed to be a non-work thing.' Wesley shook his head and pointed to the note-papers. 'You may only accuse someone when your counter is in a room, and if that person has one of the cards, they have to show you.' Spike grinned and ran his fingers over Angel's hand. 'You can show me anything you like, Pet.' Wesley ignored him and explained about the secret passages. Cordelia looked up at Angel. 'You'd know all about them, what with you being old and everything.' 'About what?' 'Secret passages. Didn't you have them in your house when you were actually, you know, young?' Angel laughed and Spike rolled his eyes. 'You think everyone in Britain lives in a bloody castle, don't you, Ducks?' She shrugged. 'Well not now, obviously.' Spike looked at her and she sagged. 'So they don't then?' He shook his head. 'And back in the potato people, they lived in fancy schmanzy cottages. Very rural.' 'Hey,' said Angel. 'We weren't that behind the times.' 'No? Well if you can rack your brains a minute, Pet and think about where I lived, your place looks like a fucking palace.' Angel cast his mind back to the tiny terraced houses that occupied London and shivered. Galway had been so much more simple and pleasant than the fuggy streets Spike had grown up on. He conceded the point and rubbed his leg against Spike's under the table. It had more of an effect than he was expecting. Spike, picking up his glass once more, showed nothing on his face, but his other hand slipped beneath the surface and started gently stroking a slow path from Angel's hip to his knee and back again. The pressure felt strange beneath his jeans and Angel looked quickly at his lover, wondering what kind of game this was. But Spike was wearing his usual amused expression, giving no indication that he was busy making Angel's cock stand stiff enough to prop up the table. 'Angel?' Angel blinked and looked at Wesley.' 'I'm sorry, what?' 'Your shake,' said the ex-watcher, proffering the dice. 'Oh.' They took turns moving around the board, but Angel couldn't concentrate. Spike had gradually increased the pressure, moving the tips of his fingers toward Angel's inner thigh and it was all the older vampire could do to maintain any kind of control. He was aware he was beginning to pant and concentrated hard to keep his breathing as silent as possible. It was hard.........oh God was it hard, and as Spike's fingers brushed against his balls, he let out an uncontrolled squeak. They all looked at him. 'Sorry,' he breathed, 'Thought I had who the murderer was.' 'It'll be me, Pet,' said Spike, without a trace of the desire he felt in his voice. 'The vicar's always the bloody killer.' 'Spike,' said Doyle, 'It doesn't quite work that way.' 'What do you mean?' 'Well,' said Doyle, gesturing to the enclosed packet. 'It's random, that's why you can play it again.' Spike looked puzzled and Angel bit his lip as the friction of fingers on his testicles increased. 'You mean anyone can do it?' 'Yep.' 'Even squeaky clean boy?' said Spike, gesturing to Wesley. Megan winked. 'He's not that clean.' Wesley blushed and hurriedly shook the dice. 'Shall we get on?' Spike grinned. 'Sounds like you're doing fine on your own, Pet.' They carried on and all the while, Spike started gently squeezing and caressing Angel's balls with one hand. Angel was vaguely aware that he'd started to sweat and wanted to tell Spike to stop. Wanted to tell him to continue. Wanted, quite frankly, to push Spike up against the basin and sink his throbbing cock inside his oh so biteable ass. But he took his turn with the dice and although he had to be prompted to ask questions, was able to pay enough attention to the game so that no one noticed. Wesley was making neat little marks on his paper and Megan was doodling what looked like an elephant on the back of hers. Cordelia had decided that she wanted a skirt in the exact shade of Doyle's counter and insisted that she borrow it afterwards to compare in the shop. Aside from his teasing fingers under the table, Spike was riling Wesley at every turn by refusing to play properly. Angel dragged his mind away from the vision of Spike's naked body and listened to the argument. 'Because,' Wesley was saying, 'There isn't a sledgehammer in the game.' 'There should be,' grinned Spike, 'Bloody effective weapon that is.' Wesley shrugged. 'I'm sure it is. But it's not one of the clues, so you can't use it.' 'Well I haven't got any sodding weapon cards,' said Spike with a trace of sulkiness. 'You lot did that on purpose.' 'Yeah, Spike,' said Megan with a grin. 'We're all terrified that you're going to use a piece of cardboard against us.' Angel laughed at that and Spike took his fingers quite off his leg. Before he could even think about what he was doing, the dark vampire grabbed Spike's fingers and slid them over the hard length of his cock. Spike instinctively curled his hand round the throbbing mass beneath Angel's jeans and stroked him decisively, feeling his lover pushing his hips up and try and get more friction. If only he could get that sensitive flesh into the open, he could give his foreskin the attention it deserved. What he needed, Spike thought as he shook the dice in one hand and took Angel in the other, was a distraction. A noise, something that would cover the sound as he unzipped Angel's pants. What he needed, he thought with a grin, was Wesley. He waited until the demon hunter took a drink. 'So Wes, you found the family birthmark yet?' Wesley choked as his drink went down the wrong way and Megan patted him hard on the back, stifling the giggles. Doyle laughed and tried not to, and Cordelia huffed and wiped up the mess on the board. And Angel's fly went steadily down, freeing the stiffened length into Spike's hand with a sigh from its owner. As soon as he was able, Spike wrapped his fingers round the shaft, teasing the flesh up and down with a steady intoxicating rhythm. 'So which birthmark's this then?' asked Doyle. 'Can we see?' Cordelia prodded him in the ribs and he held his hands up in defeat. 'Just out of interest, Princess,' he apologised. She wasn't placated. 'Yeah, right. Cause you had no desire to see Megan's naked flesh.' 'Who wanted to see my naked flesh?' 'Anyway,' said Wesley decisively, 'Shall we press on.' 'Keeping her all to yourself, eh Pet.' Wesley looked at Spike with what he hoped was a children-will-play expression. 'Shall we stop with the silly comments and continue with the game?' Spike shook his head and felt Angel buck his hips against his hand. 'He hasn't got past first base.' 'Hey,' said Megan amiably, 'No discussing my sex life at the table.' 'It's a sex life,' said Spike with a grin. 'I'm impressed Wesley.' 'Leave him alone, Spike,' said Cordelia, 'I don't want to spend the next hour listening to him deny it when we all know he's boffing her.' Doyle spluttered into his drink and they missed Angel groaning. Wesley cast his scornful gaze on Cordelia but it wasn't working. 'Are we going to finish this tonight or are we going to discuss my sex life all night?' 'Sounds fine to me, Pet.' 'Granddad,' said Megan with a smile, 'If you're that interested, I'll give you a detailed account.........later.' Wesley blushed and shook the dice. 'Angel, are you okay?' asked Cordelia. 'You look a little.........' 'Dead,' said Doyle Spike dryly. 'Flushed,' said Cordelia pointedly. 'Is everything okay?' 'I'm fine,' said Angel quietly, struggling to not sound like a man who had his cock in the educated hands of an English vampire. 'It's just a bit.........' 'Hot,' finished off Spike. 'You're too hot?' asked Cordelia incredulously. 'You're a vampire, how can you have hot flashes?' 'Flushes,' corrected Wesley. 'Yeah, whatever. How can you get over heated?' Spike grinned and she shook her head. 'Okay, now there's a place I didn't want to go.' She gestured to Doyle. 'Come on, let's go get some fresh air. I'm suddenly *hot*.' Megan laughed and covered under her hand as Cordelia shot her a look. 'I can hear you two in the front room, you know.' 'What?' gagged Wesley. Cordelia picked up her purse as Doyle opened the door. 'And Wesley, I really didn't want to know that you yell 'Ride em Cowboy' when you.........' Doyle ushered her out of the door. 'Be back in ten,' he said apologetically. 'Just gonna get some fresh air.' Which left two vampires, a descendant and a demon hunter. Spike rolled the tip of Angel's cock between his fingers and drew a finger along the slit, feeling Angel tense and almost hearing the grating of his teeth. 'Ride em cowboy?' Wesley stared at his hands. 'I didn't know the walls were so thin,' he murmured. Megan patted his hand. 'Never mind, at least they didn't see what you were wearing at the time.' Wesley looked up into Spike's grinning face and then back to Megan's equally wicked one. 'I should never have got involved with this family,' he breathed. Megan kissed him and got to her feet. 'You're not involved. You're just distracted in a really interesting way.' Wesley huffed, but Spike guessed he was more invested in Miss McGill than his casual appearance would suggest. The English vampire didn't think Wesley actually did casual, in any shape or form. But especially not in matters of the heart. He goes on like this, thought Spike to himself with a grin, I may just end up related to the daft bugger! 'I'm gonna go order pizza,' said Megan. ''How can you still be hungry?' asked Wesley. 'You ate most of mine.' Megan shrugged. 'I got a healthy appetite. And I'm starving after those hospital portions.' 'They seemed quite ample to me,' said Wesley, getting up to follow her. Megan turned back and grinned at him. 'Someday I'll teach you how to ask for more.' She trotted off upstairs, a stunned Wesley following two steps behind. 'They all gone now?' asked Angel finally. Spike listened carefully. 'Yeah, it's just.........' Before he could complete the sentence, Angel was out of his seat and had Spike pinned on top of the table, his mouth repeatedly plundered by the vampire's searching tongue. Spike strained under Angel's long frame, feeling the freed cock pressing into his belly, wanting more, but unable and unwilling to move from this precarious position. Angel pressed down with his hips, desperate to fuck Spike into the table, wanting to make love to the man who'd brought him to a state of near orgasm and carried on a normal conversation with their colleagues. His hands slid up and down Spike's sensitive sides, searching, needing to find a way under the clothes, needing to feel that luscious flesh against his own. He broke away briefly from the kiss and ripped his shirt off, tearing buttons and seams in his effort to get naked with his lover. Spike looked up at him and grinned between panting, loving how animalistic his sire became under the heat of desire. Angel was reaching to pull off his T-shirt and Spike complied quite happily, his own thighs now tingling with anticipation. 'You know they could be back at any moment.' 'Ten minutes. Doyle said ten minutes.' 'Doesn't actually mean they'll be exactly that long.' Angel pulled the shirt free of Spike body and pinned him once more. 'Fuck it,' he said happily and kissed him. Spike trailed his fingers up Angel's bumpy spine, feeling the vampire's reflex as he thrust his unfettered cock against him. He slid his hands round to the button and unfastened it, listening with pleasure as Angel grunted and pulsed under his hand. He pushed the stiff material down and ran his hands over the soft flesh of the vampire's ass, teasing his fingertips against the dimples that formed in both cheeks. I'll never leave you, Spike thought as he felt Angel's fingers searching out his fly. I'll never let you go. I promise. Angel started licking his way down from the succulent mouth, down past the long neck, past his collar bone to a stiffening nipple, catching it between his lips and rolling it until Spike moaned. 'We don't have time for this, Pet,' Spike hissed, not really wanting Angel to stop. 'Not if you want the main event.' 'You are the main event, you bloody Englishman,' grinned Angel and caught the nub in his teeth, teasing it to a hardened lump, tangible beneath his fingers. Spike moaned and knocked his head back, banging it against the table, heedless of the pain. Angel's fingers seemed to be everywhere and he felt as though his body was on fire. Flushes, flashes, whatever the Hell they were called, he was having them and if he didn't get his cock......... .........Angel sprang the button fly......... .........Oh God that felt good. He could feel the Irish vampire's fingers straying down, pulling at the denim and teasing the jeans off. He hadn't worn shoes, seeing as they were at home, but he was unprepared when Angel stripped him completely naked and sat up, almost giggling as Angel regarded him hungrily. 'I've still got my bloody socks on!' Angel raised an eyebrow and pulled both items off. 'Your point being?' Spike grinned and reached up to caress Angel's neck. 'They're going to get a Hell of a shock if they come back early, pet!' 'Better make the most of it then,' kissed Angel, teasing the fleshy inside of Spike's mouth with his tongue. He pushed against his lover, feeling his cock rub against Spike's. As the younger vampire thrust up, Angel pressed down and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Not after the teasing Spike had delivered under the table. But he wanted to lose himself in that creamy flesh, wanted to feel a part of his lover, wanted to make love to him. But he wanted something different. With one movement, Angel rolled over, squashing a hard counter and pushing it aside as he pulled Spike on top of him. The blond's legs slid automatically apart and astride his own and Angel grinned against the tempting lips. He pushed upwards, feeling the tip of his cock brush against Spike's ass and the younger vampire twitched, realising what Angel had in mind. 'You dirty bugger, Angel,' Spike whispered, sounding much more like his native cockney background in this heat they generated. 'That's pretty much the idea,' said Angel, pushing upwards. 'Now if we only had something slippery.........' Spike picked up the wine they'd been drinking - a New Zealand white with a yeasty bouquet. 'A very good year,' murmured Angel. 'Nice nose.' 'Nose my arse,' said Spike, 'As long as it's slippery.' 'Nose your arse? Asked Angel, watching as Spike poured a good quantity into his hand. 'That's something I might do later.........' And then he couldn't say anymore because Spike was kissing him again, lathering his cock with the slightly stinging liquid. It felt so hot, making him throb and buck upwards. Spike anticipated his thrust and sat up, raising himself slightly onto his knees. 'If they come in, I'm not bloody stopping now.' 'Wouldn't expect you to,' said Angel, biting his lip as his cock teased open Spike's ass. 'As long as.........you know.........Pet,' breathed Spike and sank down, his hips pressed against Angel, his sire's cock buried inside him, his own stroked by Angel's diligent fingers. For a moment, neither moved, too caught up in the moment, trying to hold off from coming before they'd had the pleasure of making love. Slowly, Spike shifted and Angel groaned, squeezing the cock in his fingers, feeling the heat surrounding his own. He started to move up and down, groaning as Angel matched him move for move, teasing his sensitive glans with every shift of his fingers. They found a rhythm, thrusting and pulling at one another, flat out on the table with nothing on their minds except pleasure. Spike tilted his hips and found Angel's cock pressing up against the tingling gland in his ass, rolling the head one way and then the other as he felt his balls tighten in confident expectation. He could feel Angel's left hand on his hip, pulling against him as he fucked himself on his sire's cock. He picked up the pace, seeing the closed eyes and tense expression. Angel moaned deeply and bucked his hips hard, thrusting and panting as he closed in on the climax he could feel coming. Spike pushed harder, the pressure inside his ass pulsating through his hips, his cock tingling and spasming under Angel's hand. He could feel the first of the sticky fluid leak onto his sire's fingers and concentrated, wanting to come with Angel. But it was hard, so fucking hard and he bit through his lip with the effort. As soon as the smell of blood hit both vampires they shifted to game face and Angel sat up, his fingers working so quickly on Spike's cock that it was almost cramping his arm. He could feel himself begin to cum and sank his mouth on top of Spike's drinking his blood as Spike's fluids spattered against their bellies. He filled the blond vampire's ass with his own spend and groaned as every thrust seemed to pour more of the same into his lover. They leaned against one another, panting and sneaking blood kisses as the moment passed, locked in an intimate embrace, unaware, for the moment, that they had been seen. As they smiled at one another, the affection and closeness they shared was apparent and the audience closed the door and walked back upstairs. 'Okay, now that was something I never wanted to see,' said Cordelia with a flinch. 'I've heard them doing it before, but it's going to take me months before I get over seeing it.' Doyle shrugged and poured out coffee for the four of them. 'I don't know, at least they're in love.........or something.' 'Something,' agreed Cordelia, 'It's definitely something.' 'I think they're in love,' said Megan, a dreamy expression on her face, 'Which is kind of nice, seeing as they're almost family and all. No nasty divorce there.' 'Amen to that,' said Cordelia, clinking mugs with the English woman. Wesley sighed and sipped at his coffee, wondering why Doyle could manage to produce decent tasting coffee when Cordelia murdered the beans every time. 'We didn't even get to finish the game.' 'Yeah, we did,' said Cordelia. 'I'm not playing with a board they've had sex on.' 'Ewww, gross, never thought of that,' added Megan with a shudder. 'Still,' said Doyle cheerfully, 'at least.........no, it's too cheesy.' 'What?' asked Cordelia, with just a hint of impatience. Doyle grinned and looked at them all. 'I was just going to say we knew who did it.' They stared at him. 'And just how is that sentence going to pan out?' asked Cordelia. Doyle winked at her. 'Angel, with the Spike in the kitchen.' They groaned. *

Episode 17

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