When they returned to the hotel Buffy was amazed to see that Spike was right, the concierge merely nodded at them as they walked past and she supposed it wasn't really his place to question guests about why they looked like they had been dragged through hell and back.
On entering their room, Buffy went straight into the bathroom and turned the shower on. She filled the basin with hot water and walked back out into the main room, stopping in front of Spike she pushed his duster off his shoulders and looked at his wrist--the leather seemed to have absorbed the brunt of the impact of the werewolf's teeth.
Spike stared at her with an incredulous expression as she pulled his duster away from him.
"In." She pushed him towards the bathroom. "I'm not sleeping next to you when you smell like that."
"Like what?" Spike looked offended.
"Somewhere in between blood and wet dog." She shoved him into the bathroom.
"I'm going, I'm going…no need for the rough stuff."
"And leave your clothes on the side." Buffy called out as he closed the door.
She listened to Spike muttering as he undressed in the bathroom and when she heard the shower cubicle door slide open then shut she peered around the door. Buffy held her breath as she watched him for a moment; she could make out his shape through the misted glass and could see him running his hands over his body. She felt a longing inside her to feel those hands on her and she sighed.
"Buffy?" Spike paused in the shower--now that he was concentrating on her, he could feel her standing only a few feet away. He heard a splash.
Pulling the cubicle door open a fraction, Spike peered out and gave her a puzzled look. Buffy smiled at his dishevelled hair and boyish expression.
"Hey. Blood's a bitch to get out if you let it dry." She dunked his t-shirt back into the water in the basin and squeezed it, willing her heart rate to slow down as he frowned at her.
"Love, you don't have to do that." Spike's tone was gentle as he watched her wringing his clothes out and dunking them again, he didn't like the thought of Buffy being his housemaid.
"I want to…now get back in there and clean up." Buffy let her eyes slip to the section of wet naked torso that was visible to her.
Spike watched her as she stared, her eyes flickering about his body, when they finally met his again, he could see the desire flaring up in them and he took a deep breath in an attempt to get the scent of her arousal. He grinned.
"Sure you won't join me?"
Buffy walked over to him and let her eyes remain locked with his-- however tempting he was, now wasn't the time for it.
"Some other time…" She gave him a sweet smile and pushed him back under the water then added for good measure. "Maybe."
Closing the door, she heard him growl in frustration and went back to cleaning his clothes.
"Bu-ffy…" Spike cooed from the shower.
"Yes, Spike?" Buffy said resignedly.
"I can't reach my back." He stuck his head out of the shower again and pouted at her.
"Yes you can, Spike." Buffy ignored him and continued to wash his clothes.
"You won't sleep next to me if I'm dirty." Spike pouted his lip out further.
"Yes I will, Spike."
He flicked water at her.
"What if I made you wet? Will you come in then?" Spike grinned.
"Someone has to wash the werewolf out of your clothes, Spike." She walked back to where he was leaning out of the shower and looked up at him. "I'm kinda tired, tonight was meant to be all about the relaxing and it was, in a weird way…it was a nice night, in spite of the fighting and the whole Riley catastrophe--thank you."
She tiptoed and kissed him tenderly, letting her tongue play with his as their mouths met briefly. When she pulled back, Spike was blinking languidly, a wide smile stretching its way across his face like he'd just been sedated.
Spike ducked back into the shower and slid the door closed as he started singing.
"Aa-ee little girl, I wanna be your boyfriend…puh-lease little girl, I wanna be your boyfriend…"
Buffy giggled as she hung his clothes up, a warm feeling spreading through her as she listened to him singing happily in the shower.
By the time he came out of the shower, Buffy was busy chatting on the phone to someone. Raising his brows as she looked over at him, he padded across the carpet to his pile of clothes and grabbed a pair of boxers. As he turned his back on Buffy, he slipped his feet into them and let the towel around his waist drop away just before he'd managed to slip them on fully.
Buffy smiled at the brief flash of his curved, peachy backside. She shook her head as he turned around and gave her an innocent look, she knew full well he'd done it intentionally, showing her what she'd missed out on in the shower. Rolling her eyes at him, she watched him grin at her as he slipped into a pair of jeans.
Spike slouched into the sofa near her and Buffy turned her attention back to her call.
"So we're going to Venice tomorrow sometime, the council has apparently arranged a compartment for us on both trains but I don't really feel comfortable with it, I mean…how do I know who I'm supposed to trust anymore…the people I thought were there for me…turns out I got it all wrong…"
"You can trust the guy sitting next to you, Buffy, I know he did some bad stuff to your before…" Dawn's voice was deadly serious. "…But he loves you now, he's bought you this far…"
"I trust him Dawn, he's the one person in all this that has been steadfast, it's the others I don't know about…do I trust the council and Giles to arrange travel for us, after what they did…and Riley…I don't even know where to start with that one…"
Spike blinked as he realised she'd been talking about him when she'd said she could trust someone, at first he'd thought she'd meant Giles but he knew she was still unsure about him--to hear her openly admit to trusting him made feel warm inside |