God, I love the weekend. Tomorrow is usually my catch up on lj day, but it's cold, I have a fire and a cake in the oven, and sitting in front of the computer doing nothing has got to be somewhere this side of heaven.

Being the weekend, it also means I get to post more story! I know we write these things for ourselves, for the most part, but I do love hearing people's reactions. *g* So, to everyone on my friendly list and everyone else who felt commenty, thanks and hugs and chocolate cake! and ... Lindt? Best damn chocolate in this country.

Okay, this is just making me hungry. Back to the point, which was, I think, I love lj.

With that in mind, I'd just like to apologise in advance for part 12. *g* I love that part. The shit hits the fan, folks, I'm telling ya. I know, I know. ::is an angst junkie::

I am going to past part 13 tomorrow, promise, but I have just *got* to see how people react to my attempt at a cliffhanger. Please? ::puppy-dog eyes::

Aaaand, for part 11 I give you ... prepare to be astonished ... non-truncated sex warning. That's right, it's the bit that might possibly justify the nc-17 warning.


A Harsh Master

And Xander nodded as everything fell into place. He wasn't sure he _liked_ being bossed around like that, but that was an argument he couldn't fault. "Fair enough." He got to his feet, swaying a little. Spike was there in a heartbeat, hands gripping his biceps hard enough to bruise, but certainly keeping him from falling. Xander just smiled through the pain and said to the two faces regarding him with some concern, "I'll give you a call tomorrow, guys, we can go somewhere with Giles and Dawn and Angel and the team, maybe."

And they said goodbye and watched as Xander was marched firmly out of the bar.


Spike didn't say anything the whole drive home. For once, Xander didn't feel the urge to fill in the silence. He still felt ... annoyed, torn, uncomfortable, like something bad had happened but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. His arm was bothering him where Spike had gripped hard enough to grind into his bones.

So he just glowered and sneered when Spike slammed the door and stalked into the apartment without looking at him. He didn't care if it was childish. Spike was being a jerk for some inexplicable reason and to be honest he was getting just a little sick and tired of these damn mood swings with Spike lording it over him and just expecting him to jump every time he crooked a finger.

Well, not tonight, buddy, he thought rebelliously, deliberately not looking at Spike as they walked inside. He carefully hung up his coat, got himself a glass of water from the kitchen and only after making a point of drinking it with a couple of aspirin and washing out his glass turned around to face Spike.

Who wasn't even in the room. Xander felt another surge of childish irritation and stomped into the bedroom to find Spike pacing in the shadows, his duster thrown over the chair beside the bed, but otherwise fully clothed. Which was good. Yeah, he wasn't putting out 'till he at least got an apology.

He barely got time to open his mouth to issue the ultimatum before Spike was pinning him to the door, devouring his mouth hungrily, angrily, gripping his biceps and pulling his hair, points of pain that stood in stark opposition to the pleasure that was spiralling through him as Spike ground into his hips and his groin and ran his tongue over his gums and his teeth and his chin and made him wonder if he'd played hard to get long enough.

Spike didn't even give him the chance to reciprocate. While he was still reeling from the first kiss, Spike had him tossed onto the bed, just barely managing to not knock him unconscious on the headboard. Xander opened his mouth to comment on just how pleased that made him, but Spike was faster. There was a tongue in his mouth and hands opening his zipper and rubbing his hard-on through his pants and all those exceptionally witty things he'd had lined up would just have to wait for another time.

Spike apparently wasn't in the mood to take the time to make sure all their clothes weren't ripped to shreds, but one glance at the intense, almost angry expression on his face convinced Xander that maybe he didn't want to bring that up either. However, the expression itself was unfortunately not to be ignored. "Spike--" He broke off with a sharp cry and arched up off the sheets as Spike leaned down and wrapped his lips around the head Xander's erection. Then he could only hold on and hope that Spike didn't suck what was left of his brain out as Spike lavished the sort of attention on his dick that he normally only reserved for Passions and bitching about Angel.

It was only when his hand found its way into the crunchy mess that was Spike's hair that Spike let up. He raised his head with a growl and jerked his head out of Xander's grasp. It brought him back to himself enough to notice that although Spike seemed to have relaxed a little, he was still looking more pissed off than anything else. Shaking his head, he reached up and touched Spike's cheek. "Okay, blondie, what's wrong?" he demanded, slightly breathlessly and possibly with less enthusiasm than the situation warranted, but hey, he was a guy in the middle of having sex, he was doing the best he could.

"Nothin'," Spike stated shortly.

"Nothing," Xander scoffed. "Right. Seriously, Spike--"

"Shut _up_, Harris," Spike growled. "Only thing that's wrong is you keep interruptin' me fucking you."

Xander blinked, surprised. "Geez, sorry," he muttered. Well, fine, Spike wanted to have non-talky sex, he could do that.

Spike took Xander's hands and thrust them above them his head. "Keep 'em there." Xander obediently wrapped his hands around the bars of the headboard and kept his mouth shut. Spike almost smiled at that, although it wasn't a particularly nice smile. But then there were three lubed fingers shoving into his ass and Xander pretty much forgot that there was something he was supposed to be concerned about.

He cried out at the sensation--which was apparently okay, because Spike didn't mention it--the burn eclipsed when Spike found his prostate. His fingers tightened around the headboard compulsively and his eyes fluttered shut. They flew open again when Spike raked nails down his chest, across his nipples and wrapped fingers tightly around his cock. Spike was hovering over him now and Xander was momentarily distracted by the thought that for someone who was about to have their dick up his ass, Spike didn't actually seem to be looking at him. Then his hips were being lifted up, the fingers were gone from his ass and Spike shoved into him, hard and fast, barely giving him the time to get used to this new, bigger, sensation before he was thrusting, pounding into him, grunting in his ear and digging rough fingers into his hips.

Xander gave up thinking then and just held on for the ride, letting the always unbelievable feeing of Spike inside him drive him closer to the edge. The muscles in his arms were screaming from the effort of hanging onto the rails of the bed head, from the effort of not reaching down and pulling at the erection that Spike was still ignoring. He was just about to break this self-imposed little silence and voice his displeasure when Spike finally got a clue and pried a hand from the bruises he was undoubtedly leaving on Xander's hips and started fisting his dick as his thrusts became harder and more erratic. Xander shouted out his orgasm just as Spike finally lifted his head up far enough to look him in the face for a moment before lowering it to his shoulder once again.

Xander cried out again as Spike bit harshly into the fleshy part of his neck. It was almost equal parts surprise and pleasure, but in the heat of the moment the pain didn't register until Spike threw his head back and growled as he thrust one final time and came.

He waited a moment for Spike to slip out of him and fall to his side before he raised one arm heavily and placed his fingertips over his pulse. He was aware of his heart racing, the rapid pounding just under his skin, then there was a sharp pain and when he moved slightly he became aware of the slick sensation under his fingers. Without really thinking about it, he pulled his hand away and saw the little drops of red that could be nothing but his blood.

He just stared at it as he tried to process this. Spike had bitten him. Bitten him right over his jugular, hard enough to draw blood. Spike was a vampire. If he'd been wearing his fangs Xander would probably be dead right now. It was a seriously disconcerting thought and he felt his breath hitch in is chest, his fingers curling involuntarily.

On the other hand, Spike hadn't been in game face. That had to mean something, right? He'd found out ages ago about Spike's little neck fetish, hadn't thought much of it, truth be told. Biting went on during sex all the time, it was just ... kinky. Wasn't like Spike was _trying_ to rip his throat out, no matter that he _could_, given the incentive. Spike would never hurt him.

He shook his head, confused. The movement apparently disturbed Spike, because the next thing he knew, there was a "Fuck," and Spike was sitting bolt upright, staring at his neck. There was blood on his chin.

Xander lowered his hand slowly. He still felt kinda ... disconnected. He looked at Spike. "You bit me."

Spike eyed him warily. Rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, looks like. Uh, sorry about that. Got, you know, caught up, I guess. Vampire thing. You, ah, you alright, then?"

Xander shrugged. Vampire thing? What did that mean? Spike didn't want to turn him into a vampire or something, did he? "Why ... ah, that is, you wouldn't ..."

Spike's gaze hardened. "Wouldn't what? Wouldn't drink you? Mark you? Make you mine?"

"Accidentally kill me." He tried to keep it light, but Spike stiffened.

"No." He looked at Xander so steadily that after a moment Xander dropped his gaze and shrugged again. There was that tiny niggle in his brain that was shouting, 'deliberately kill me', but he ignored it. Spike would never do that. He wasn't sure what to think about ... marking, was a little disturbed to find it didn't actually disturb him as much as it probably should, but he was the king of denial.

"Well, long as you don't do it too often, it's no big deal, right? Doesn't mean anything, we'll just add it to our repertoire of kinky sex." He grinned.

He didn't realise he was holding his breath until Spike said shortly, "Yeah, sure, no big deal."

Spike was up and off the bed in a blur of pale skin, disappearing into the bathroom.

Xander lay there and wondered just what, exactly, he had been holding his breath for.