Spike took the stairs two by two heading straight toward the third floor to the room he shared with Drusilla. Having expected to find her eagerly awaiting his return, he felt an acute sense of loss. True, he had not given her a second thought while out on patrol with the slayer, but now that he was back at the mansion, he was ready for some TLC. He deserved it what with all the hospital patients he helped rescue tonight considering he might normally grab the opportunity for a quick bite.
Drusilla’s kisses and cuddles were part of his daily routine, and he hoped to find her curled up in their bed ready to provide them. She could look so innocent, his Dru, soft eyed and smiling sweetly, untouched by the evils of the world. Such a contrast when the demon in her reveled in wicked games riding the edge of pleasure and pain.
He loved her soothing strokes and blunt little nips when she was playful, but knew a fine line existed between her gentle warmth and the icy demeanor that sometimes took its place. Spike rarely knew when it was coming, but he half expected it now because she had not met him at the door.
Ever since they had returned to Sunnydale, she had been a bit off. More off than usual. Hinting at a future without him. A decision that was somehow his fault as if he would ever let that happen. He had followed her all the way to Brazil for fucks sake. She had to be wrong about that one. Just her sensitive nature with all of the wonky goings on around this place.
Could be she was pissed off at him patrolling with the Slayer. Wasn’t his idea if the bloody Watchers or Angel thought they teamed up well. What was it the cheerleader called her patrols with Angel. . .Team Chase? Always on about them winning some prophecy hunt.
Bugger if he’d let Angel beat him at anything. He was good with calling it Team Spike. Slayer might have a problem with that, he figured. Team Bikey? No. Team Spikey? Rubbish. Team Spuffy? Argh.
What the blazes was he doing?
Spike tried to shake thoughts of the Slayer out of his head. Here he was hoping for some tender cuddles—or a good hard shag—from his sire, and he was thinking up poncey names for his patrol team. Probably a once-off anyway. So why the bleeding hell should he bother naming it?
Pushing thoughts of the slayer out of his head, he gave the wooden baseboard a hard kick just for the hell of it as he walked down the hall toward the old servants’ quarters. Small and sparsely furnished, their room was fine for now. Spike figured Dru wanted to stick close to Angel not that he deserved the attention. They had never been overly picky about where they slept as long as they had a roof of some sort over their heads. Still, once this crisis was over and the Watchers were gone, Dru might like more space in one of the fancier bedrooms.
The other Slayer’s room was across the hall. Supposedly close enough to keep tabs on them. Faith was the one who needed looking after. Always sneaking out. Spike had no idea what she was up to. Didn’t much care, either, as long as she stayed out of his business.
Spike stopped short of the bedroom door. Even before he turned the knob, he knew the room was empty. Where the deuce was Dru? Not up here. Trying to focus, he sensed she hadn’t been upstairs for hours. Her scent was faint. Could she be down in the basement with the girl? Angel trusted her to follow his order to leave her be, but that never stopped Dru from disobeying Daddy. Not if she thought it might earn her some attention.
He took his time heading back downstairs, already aware that whatever Drusilla was doing it was going to fall on him to defend her actions. That girl was chained up for a reason—keeping her out of Kalesh’s hands. It all boiled down to Cordelia’s safety. If Dru did something to screw with that, Angel would not hesitate to take it out of their hides, no matter the soul.
Reaching the second floor landing, Spike noticed muffled sounds coming from the direction of Angel and Cordelia’s bedroom. He cocked his head, listening intently for a hint of what was going on. Not the usual bedroom romp that went on in there for hours at a time, he quickly deduced. He knew that sound all too well. His mouth twisted into a raw smirk as he vividly pictured the chit being thoroughly shagged. Such a ripe little piece, it was a wonder Peaches ever managed to find time to do anything else.
Knowing that Angel was making a final round of the mansion’s extensive grounds, he realized the sounds coming from the bedroom could not be the vampire and his sexy pet making up for the interruption of their date night. Not unless Cordelia was getting a head start on the action. Spike could not blame himself for imagining that one. Pretty little brunette, spread out on the bed, all lonely for her lover, soft hands smoothing over that warm golden flesh, rubbing at the tender bits.
Even as he enjoyed the dirty direction of his thoughts, Spike realized with sudden clarity that Drusilla was also inside that bedroom. Detecting her soft, earthy scent concentrated in the same direction as Cordelia’s he knew something else was up. With an exasperated sigh, he loped that way, wondering whether Drusilla had spent the evening organizing another tea party.
Considering the location, he wondered if she was hoping for a little slumber party instead. Smirking again, he reached for the ornate handle, pressing his ear against the wooden door to catch a hint of things to come. If Cordelia was being subjected to sharing a bedtime story with Miss Edith, he might just head straight to Willy’s Place to catch the last round of kitten poker, assuming someone would spot him a tabby or two.
The dulcet tones of his sire scolded softly, “Don’t wiggle so much. It will only hurt more if you wiggle.”
Spike jerked his head away from the door. Bloody hell. What was going on now?
Thoughts racing for an explanation that wouldn’t result in Angel ripping out his spleen, a few wild ideas came into play. Maybe Cordelia had a splinter. Maybe Drusilla was helping her pluck her eyebrows. Women did that sort of thing, he supposed, hopefully. Or even better, it might just be that Dru was talking to Miss Edith, but the dead silence that usually followed the doll’s inability to respond was filled by a quickly muffled scream.
“Oy!”
To this point, Drusilla had been protective of Cordelia having saved her from that demon and treated her more like a younger sister than a rival for Angel’s affections. She wanted to ensure he was happy, which Spike had thought was a euphemism for helping him to lose the soul, until finding out it was permanent. That nixed his let’s-bring-back-Angelus theory and left him without a clue as to Drusilla’s intentions.
A jolt of excitement hit the moment he burst through the door, quickly followed by the realization that Angel was going to blow a fucking gasket when he saw this. “What the devil, Dru?” It certainly was not a tea party.
The four-poster iron-wrought bed was the room’s most prominent feature, or it would be if not for the sight of a very naked Cordelia Chase bound and gagged upon it. Kneeling on the cushioned bench at the foot of the bed, her upper body was bent over face down on the mattress. It gave him a perfect view of her gorgeous arse and sweet little snatch, a sight Spike was certain was not meant for him despite its obvious charms.
Drusilla looked a little flustered as she finished tightening Cordelia’s bindings to the headboard. It was more difficult to arrange your plaything when she was not being submissive, Spike knew from experience, but he had to give his sire kudos for ingenuity. Having no rope to bind her, it seemed that Dru had stolen all of the ties from the Watchers’ rooms. That’s what they got for leaving her alone in the first place, he reasoned, still wondering if he should be completely outraged on Angel’s behalf knowing that he wouldn’t want his pet trussed up—not by someone else at any rate—or if he wanted to lean back against the door and watch where this was going.
The multicolored collection of silk ties bound Cordelia’s wrists together, stretching her arms out in front of her with the makeshift rope attached to one post of the headboard. After thrashing around for a few moments, Cordelia stilled, her forehead resting on the bed, even as the scarf stuffed into her mouth muffled her angry little curses. The respite was brief because she craned her neck up the moment Spike spoke, her expressive eyes conveying all of her hope, fear, and anger.
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”
Easy enough to guess what that meant. Something along the lines of, ‘Help, me Spike,’ or ‘Don’t you dare touch me,’ or maybe, ‘Stop staring or I’ll scratch out your eyeballs.’
Spike edged a bit closer, his gaze switching to his sire’s startled expression. Clearly, she had not expected him at all. “Looks like you’ve been caught with your hand in the cookie jar,” he chortled still trying to figure out the whys and hows of this little display. “A very sweet cookie it is.”
“My Angel needs some fun. He’s too tense and growly.”
Even though he knew this had to be for Angel’s benefit, it irritated the hell out of him. “You looking for some real punishment, Dru? Angel is gonna rip you a new one for this. Right after he blames me for letting it happen.”
Dru pouted, head tilted down, but looking at him with big doe eyes, as if he was spoiling her plans. She kept staring until he could feel himself wearing down, the need to please his sire overwhelming any other concerns. “We’re gonna catch hell for this,” he groaned.
A naughty grin spread across Drusilla’s red lips. “I know.” A delicious little shudder made her shoulders quake. Reaching down to smooth Cordelia’s wildly tossed hair away from her face, Drusilla ran the other hand lightly along her back until finding a convenient resting spot on her rounded little rump.
Those fingers had been wrapped around his cock earlier today, and Spike felt it stir as he watched Dru’s hand make a little circle over that cheek kneading it just enough to entice him forward. He stood on the opposite side, meeting Drusilla’s hot gaze across the divide created by Cordelia’s bare form. No matter that his hand itched with the urge to touch the warm human flesh on display, Spike wasn’t stupid. He had no desire to be parted from the family jewels, now aching for action.
“Fear keeps her on the edge, my Spike.” Roving her hand down the length of Cordelia’s taut thigh, Drusilla might have been teasing both of them, or maybe just testing the ties that held her knees open wide and kept her on display. “Do something to help,” she scolded him for just standing there. Urging him to use his talented tongue to, “Make her soft and creamy, a tasty treat for my Angel.”
Why the devil wasn’t she fixing him tasty treats? Spike found himself picturing someone else in those bindings and wondered if he would be able to resist playing out the fantasy.
“Mmph!” A little growl of complaint sounded from the young woman spread out between them. It only made his cock harden as temptations swirled in his head. He was going to feel the brunt of Angel’s anger over this, anyway. Might as well make it worth it, he toyed with the idea for a few delicious seconds.
Part of him wanted to take something from Angel the way Angelus had often taken Dru from him. The bastard had enjoyed proving his power over his childe, and consequently over Spike, by shagging her whenever the urge hit. Why shouldn’t he reap a little revenge now? His precious pet was splayed open just for him. She looked delicious. He could practically taste her already wanting to do exactly as he was told by burying his wet tongue inside that pretty pink slit until she was juicy with his scent and her come.
Spike was so busy enjoying his little fantasy that he almost missed the hint of arousal mixing with the scent of Cordelia’s fear. She was not quite as terrorized by Dru’s little plan as she might normally be. Maybe she believed Dru when she said this was all for Angel, or trusted her just enough to know she meant no real harm. Considering she was such a sexy young thing, could be she just liked what was happening.
“What’s this, pet? Getting turned on?”
Cordelia gave him an angry stare and shook her head, denying it vehemently. He knew better, smirking from his vantage point. His sire had given him a task and, bloody hell, he was going to handle it one way or another.
“Angel ever tie you up before?” There was a brief pause before Cordelia answered him honestly with another shake of her head, but there was a glint of curiosity in her gaze as if she was thinking about the possibilities.
Spike let out a low laugh. Lucky bastard, he growled inwardly, knowing there had never been a day in Angel’s life or undead existence when women had not fallen at his feet, but this one had somehow turned the tables. Angelus had always had some obsessive tendencies, but being an emotionless bastard, they had never involved his heart. This was different.
“Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia, you are in for a real treat tonight if you play along. He might try to resist temptation, but your favorite slice of beefcake has no restraint when it comes to you.” Not that Spike could blame him for it. Looking at her this way, he knew the bloody appeal all too well.
The sharp daggers shooting from her angry stare were enough to rev him up. Touching might be off limits, but he did like to tease, too. “Dru wants me to get you warmed up a bit. Gorgeous arse, pet. How ’bout a quick spank?”
Spike swallowed his laughter when a sea of white suddenly surrounded her irises, eyes about as wide as they could get. Behind the silk scarf gag, Cordelia defiantly replied, “Mmph Mmmmmph!”
Clasping a hand over his heart, Spike made a pained face. “Oh, that hurts. That really hurts. Don’t hold anything back.”
Drusilla giggled at his antics and left him to it, picking up her favorite wooden-handled brush. For a moment, Spike thought she had taken his joke to heart and was about to paddle the chit’s bare arse. A rush of…well, lust…followed quickly by panic caused his throat to tighten up until he saw her move up to sit on the edge of the bed near Cordelia’s head. She picked up a handful of damp chestnut tresses and began to brush her hair dry, her touch gentle stroke after stroke.
“You like being touched,” Spike said what he was thinking when he saw Cordelia’s lashes flutter closed at the sensation.
She squirmed against her bindings, the ties stretching just enough to allow her to wiggle around. It might have been a protest, a denial, but it was all too clear that it was an unspoken response. Oh, she liked being touched. A lot. Spike pictured himself doing the touching, but knew it was Angel’s big hands she wanted, and his job was to turn her on.
Angel was strong enough to break bones, but not with her. He had seen enough to know just how gentle the big lug could be with his precious little pet. “Does he hold you tenderly, stroke his hands across your skin, make you melt from his caress?”
Annoyed at getting poetic when his cock throbbed for attention, Spike made sure she was watching when he waggled his tongue up and down in a crude way. “That mouth of his gets you even hotter. I’ve seen you kiss. Can’t get enough. He wants to eat you up, pet. Won’t be long before he does, I’m guessing.”
Spike knew the cheerleader was not branded with Angel’s mark. He could see that for himself, and despite their frequent lovemaking, she did not carry his scent permanently as she would if Angel had officially claimed her. Had to have something to do with that bleeding heart soul gumming up his vampire instincts, he figured, feeling a bit sorry for Cordelia that her lover didn’t have balls enough to take what belonged to him, especially with that royal prick Nicolau coming after her.
“Maybe we can hurry things along.” Even as Spike said the words, he realized exactly what Drusilla was doing by creating this luscious display of flesh. “You are brilliant, my beauty,” he gave credit where it was due, “even if we’re still going to pay for it.”
Cordelia only looked confused, her brows arced upward as Spike’s hand moved toward her face. He flicked his thumb across her lower lip enjoying the sensation of its fullness. With a nod, he ordered, “Open up.”
Pinching the silk scarf curled up in her mouth, he pulled it out inch by inch until Cordelia was free of it. The grateful light in her eyes hardened into a glint, as she took in a great big breath and screamed for Angel.
“Now you’ve done it, pet,” Spike tutted and took a step back from the bed having fully expected her to call for help.
“Hah! Better let me go. When Angel gets here you’re going to get your ass kicked.”
Spike was fully aware he would try. “We’ll see about that, pet. He might be a bit distracted. Kill me. Save you. Fuck you. Decisions, decisions.”
“Language!” Dru censured him as she rose to her feet. She had finished her task leaving Cordelia’s hair a shining mass of silk. “Naughty boy.” Cordelia sniggered at that one and he gave her a hard stare. “You’ve spoiled my surprise. Angel will be here before we can show Cordy how to use her new toys.”
Trying not to laugh at his sire’s plans, Spike glanced at the small laundry basket perched on the floor, taking note of its contents for the first time. “Pretty certain we’d better let him do that himself.”
“Toys? What are you talking about?” Cordelia demanded details even while sounding apprehensive.
Smirking again, Spike crouched down next to the basket where there were boxes of new items. “You been shopping tonight?” He asked Drusilla, already suspecting the answer.
“No, you told me to stay at home.”
“Right.”
Cordelia looked back and forth between them as they were on either side of the bed. “So you’re saying they were already here? That Angel—”
“Or Angelus,” Spike cut in just to give her options to think about.
“Angel likes that stuff?”
Spike might get irritated about Angel, but he knew that whatever he had going on with Cordelia Chase was special, and that circumstances might end their relationship far too prematurely if the prophecy came to pass. He wasn’t going to screw with them just to give himself a thrill. Softly, he assured her, “Pretty sure you will too, pet. You know how Angel worships you. If there’s something in that basket that scares you, just tell him.”
“Who says I’m scared?” Cordelia snapped unwilling to admit any uncertainty, something Spike had to admire.
Just one more warning. No doubt her scream had reached Angel’s ears. Even with him on the edge of the property, his supernatural hearing would have picked that up. “Don’t be shocked if you get a few more rescuers,” Spike told her that there were other ears much closer than that. “Dru and I are family. No need to blush because we’ve seen your tender bits. Can’t guarantee that Angel will react well if Xander or the Watchers get an eyeful.”
“And whose fault will that be?” Cordelia complained and tried futilely to free herself from the knotted ties binding her to the bed.
Drusilla leaned close and playfully answered, “Mine.”
“That sounds about right,” Angel’s growling voice sounded from the doorway. “One of you better start explaining this right now before I remove your fucking heads.”
“Oy, leave me out of this. Innocent bystander here.” Spike dropped the package back in the basket fairly certain that he did not want to be caught red-handed. “I found Dru and Cordy. . .playing.”
Angel stalked forward looking thunderous, stopping at the foot of the bed right behind Cordelia, visually examining every inch of her golden skin for evidence of wrongdoing. As if tying her naked to the bed was the least of their sins. His hands curled into fists at his side, and though he maintained his human mask, it was clear that the demon within clawed for control.
Through gritted teeth, he demanded Cordelia tell him the truth. “Did he touch you?”
Spike noticed he was the only one getting accused of touching. Bastard. There had been plenty of time to touch his pet. “No,” he said at the same moment Cordelia answered the same. Only he was not finished. “Could have done. Dru has her all trussed up for your own very special party. Would have liked to lick the cream off the cake, too, but I left that for you.”
Before the last syllable was uttered, Angel’s fist crashed into Spike’s jaw knocking him to the floor. He towered over him like a two hundred pound gorilla ready to pound him into dust. Blaming his runaway mouth, Spike mentally geared up for the fight ahead. Fuck if he had not brought it on himself.
Angel’s chest heaved a few times as if he was trying to vent his anger. The dolt was so pissed he forgot that he no longer needed to breathe. “Get out, Spike.”
Surprised that he was getting a pass instead of a pounding, Spike shuffled back a few inches and scrambled to his feet. “I never touched her,” he assured him again, this time meeting his angry stare with a silent promise. This was never going to happen again.
Spike was perfectly willing to go, with one condition. “Gonna take Dru with me.” He motioned her to his side.
Drusilla seemed a bit hesitant to move. Her blue eyes darted between them, and down to Cordelia whose attention was focused only on Angel. A smile curled her lips, and she skipped light-heartedly toward them, skimming her fingers across Angel’s jaw as she went by.
Just before she was out of reach, Angel grabbed her by the wrist jerking her back to him. “Not so fast.”
Spike called out, “Oy! Not so rough,” even though her ecstatic look suggested she liked it.
Angel’s free hand cupped Dru’s face holding her steady as he forced her to meet his gaze. Though his voice gentled when he spoke to her, it sounded out with steely resolve. “Cordelia is mine. Anything she needs to learn will come from directly from me, understand? Be her sister, her friend, or her savior if need be, but never lay a hand on her again without my permission.”
Spike saw Angel’s hand tighten around the back of Dru’s neck even as his thumb gently brushed the curve of her jaw. “Are we clear, Drusilla?”
Saying nothing, Dru merely nodded. Spike wanted to pull her away from the angry bastard’s hold, but knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Angel honestly had a right to be pissed off, and any vampire would agree he was within his rights to punish them both. Guessing it was for Cordelia’s sake, he was letting them off easy.
“Go to your room,” Angel ordered gruffly, releasing her and giving her ass a hard swat as she moved away. Obviously, he did not care if it sounded like he was punishing a five year old.
Drusilla seemed to like it. She rubbed at the sore spot and sent her sire a naughty smile over one shoulder. “Have fun, my Angel.”
Uncrossing his arms, Spike made a move to follow her, pausing one last time to look at Cordelia sprawled out and exposed. Behind Angel’s back, she met his gaze and silently sent him a cryptic glare. What was it this time? Still planning to scratch out his eyeballs? Maybe just her way of telling him to get off. Or, maybe warning him that he should get out before Angel changed his mind.
Before he turned away, Cordelia stuck her tongue out and then smirked. Spike couldn’t stop himself from grinning back. She was quite cheeky, that girl, and in more ways than one. Lucky bastard, he thought again. Giving Angel a nod as he departed, he gave him some unwanted advice. “Try not to be too noble, Peaches.”