Repercussions, Reactions, and Retaliations Book IV

“Do you really imagine that this mad scheme of yours will bear fruit?” a dark, rasping voice rumbled through the room like a winter wind rustling through dead leaves.

“What are you doing here?” a woman’s voice rang out, surprise and annoyance coloring her tone.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you ... watching you plan and plot against the slayer and her circle,” the malevolent voice responded.

“Why?” the woman demanded. “You’ve already made it very clear that you won’t help me.”

“Why? For the sake of my amusement, nothing more,” came the derisive reply. “The sheer complexity of your plan nearly guarantees its failure.”

“It’s not as if I have anything better to do with my time,” she grumbled bitterly.

“I wonder if you truly grasp the danger you court?” the voice wondered aloud in a mockery of paternal concern.

“Either way, I’m sure you’ll derive amusement from the result,” she said. A note of calculation entered her tone, “And, just think if I were to succeed–”

“Hmm.” The voice hummed for several moments, as though weighing its options.

Though she managed to wait silently, the anticipation rolled off of her in palpable waves.

“If you did ... I might be willing to give you back what you so desperately desire,” the voice allowed. “However, should you fail — as I believe you will — I will take great pleasure in finding other ways to use you for my amusement.”

A sinister laugh was all that remained of the voice as she gasped and shuddered in dread.

Quentin Travers looked up from his newspaper with a disapproving frown. “Jeremy, if you cannot calm yourself, I shall have you checked in with the rest of the luggage,” he said to his nervously pacing assistant.

The younger watcher immediately dropped into a seat, his hands clutching together. “Sorry, Mr. Travers,” he apologized. “I’m afraid I’m a bit anxious about our trip,” he added unnecessarily.

“Anxious?” Travers questioned in what — for him — passed as an innocent tone.

“Yes, well ... after our last visit, and the, um, extraction attempt—” Jeremy stammered.

“The slayer and her little group are aware of our impending visit. This is merely an opportunity to assess the current state of the junior slayer’s emotional and mental stability, with no action to be taken regardless of our findings. We aren’t there to incite any trouble or discord. What possible reason could you have to be anxious?” Travers said in a schoolmaster’s condescending tone, deliberately baiting his assistant.

“I, uh ... well ... that is,” Jeremy babbled incoherently, a bright flush coloring his features. “Yes, of course you’re right,” he managed to spit out at last.

“Then stop flailing about like an addle-minded child,” Travers snapped, needing the gruff reaction to cover his near-smile. ‘I am enjoying this too much, perhaps,’ he mused, lifting his newspaper to block out the sight.

“Okay, tell to me again why we don’t just eat her?” one vampire asked impatiently.

The leader of the group backhanded the questioner with a meaty-sounding thwack. “You idiot!” his annoyed voice filled the air of the small, low cavern — only about seven meters across.

“Vampires, always thinking with their teeth!” came the annoyed mutter from the only female — as well as the only human — in the room.

“Tell me again about this ... libertarian amulet ... thing,” the leader of the vampires ordered in what was obviously an attempt at a commanding voice.

“Libitinan, not libertarian!” she exclaimed in annoyance. “Libitina was the Roman goddess of death; libertarian is a highly rational, though poorly accepted, political ideology.” she explained in a tone of voice that one might hear from someone speaking to a very young — perhaps even retarded — child.

“Right, death-goddess, whatever,” the vamp leader said dismissively. “Get back to the good part.”

“Look, it’s old, it’s powerful and any vampire that wears it will be basically invulnerable,” she blurted exasperatedly.

The vampire that had espoused eating her earlier was sitting on the floor, looking sullen. “If it’s so friggin’ powerful, why’s she giving it away?” he muttered.

The look on the vampire leader’s face made a glacially slow transition from a cocky smile to a confused frown as the concept of a possibly nefarious motive made what was clearly its very first appearance in his mind. “Hey—” he began, no doubt about to ask the same question.

“Finally!” she said with a shake of the head. “Two reasons: One, it’s an amulet that belonged to the goddess of death and corpses. That means it only works on vampires — well, I suppose it would work on zombies too.” She pondered that for a second, then shook her head dismissively and continued. “Anyway, I — not being a corpse of either, or any sort — can’t use it. Two, I also can’t kill the slayer, which is what I expect you’ll do once you are free from the threat of being dusted.”

“Hey, I’m not afraid of the slayer!” the vamp leader exclaimed, clearly offended by the implication.

A chorus of agreement rose up amongst the rest of the vampires, though their darting looks somewhat belied the veracity of their fortitude.

“Of course not,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You live in a tiny cave in the middle of the forest by choice.”

Another look of consternation came across the vampire leader’s face and she quickly reiterated, “I give you the amulet, you kill the slayer; deal?”

She closed her eyes and gave serious thought to reconsidering the plan ... for about a second. Then she remembered what was at stake. With a resigned sigh, she pulled the amulet out of her bag and underhanded it across the small cave. Quickly she spun on her heel and walked out of the cave and into the sunlight before any of them might figure out that she no longer had any value to them beyond the intrinsic value of a tasty meal.

“Morons!” she groused to herself on the way out. “Men, vampires, and certainly men that are vampires! They’re all idiots!”

‘Man, this relationship stuff is getting seriously unreal,’ Faith thought with a slight smile on her face. After an afternoon Scooby meeting, she was returning to her lovers’ house. ‘Just walking up to this house is making me feel better about stuff; how weird is that?’

‘All day, all I could think about was freaking Council guy coming to see me, and now all I’m thinking is I’m about to get some food, and some fun!’ she thought with anticipation.

‘Well, almost all,’ she added with a frown as a pang of worry caused her stomach to tighten, though to less of an extent than it had been during the meeting. “Least I don’t feel like puking again,” she muttered as she approached the door.

Warm feelings again washed away the worry as she fished her key ring out of the snug pocket in her leather pants. Holding it up in front of her face, she stared at the two keys: one to her practically abandoned apartment, the other to the door before her. ‘Jeez, I still can’t get over this.’ she thought, awash in a recent memory.

========== BtVS ==========

“Here, Faith. I wanted to make sure I gave you this before you went out tonight.”

Beth’s voice attracted the slayer’s attention from the comic book she’d been reading. “What’s this for?” Faith questioned, seeing a shiny brass key dangling from Beth’s outstretched hand.

“It’s for you, silly,” Beth said with a wide smile.

“We wanted you to have it,” Alex said, his voice almost hesitant. “We know you have your own place, but—”

“We just wanted you to know that you’re welcome here anytime ... all the time,” Beth completed his thought.

“Our house is your house,” Alex had added, the cliché overridden by the deep emotion in his voice.

“Our home is your home, Faithy,” Beth said with equally deep emotion.

========== BtVS ==========

Memories of the sex that had followed caused Faith’s breath to quicken and the only tightness was in her loins as she opened the door. ‘Home,’ she thought, as though trying the word on for size. “Hey, guys,” she called out as she entered, still not completely comfortable with the concept.

Faith smiled. “Damn, that smells good!” she said, food hunger rising to compete with the ever-present sexual hunger.

“You’re just in time. Bethy’s making Polack Pasta,” Alex said teasingly as Faith entered the kitchen.

“Hey!” Beth immediately protested, looking up from the sauce she was stirring to glare at her husband. “Polish pasta!” she corrected.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Alex asked Faith, his expression and tone portraying innocence.

“You should know better than to make fun of the woman who cooks like a fricken chef,” she jokingly chastised. “And can cross her legs behind her head without using her hands!” she added in a stage whisper to Alex.

Alex stepped toward her, sliding one hand around her waist and the other up into her hair at the nape of her neck. He pulled her sharply toward him so that their pelvises thumped together.

Faith’s eyes slipped half-shut when his hot breath washed over her lips as he said, “Mmm, you say the sexiest things, lover!” She moaned her response into his mouth as he punctuated his statement with a deep, soft, searching kiss.

Amongst the erotic visions that filled Faith’s mind whenever he kissed her was the routine amazement, ‘Damn but can he kiss!’ Her breath came heavy and her eyelids slowly fluttered open when he finally released her. “You keep that up and dinner’s gonna get cold,” she exhaled in a lust-thickened voice.

Soft, feminine hands gently turned her face to the side as Beth playfully warned, “Oh, no you don’t! You’re going to need to eat now if you want to keep your strength up later.” Again, any possible response from Faith was cut off by an ardent kiss.

Her hands made their way to Beth’s hair as she kissed back with all of her passion and desire. She was gratified to see a similar reaction to her own when the kiss ended.

Beth took a deep breath and licked her lips before rasping, “Now, be a good girl and help Alex set the table. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Bossy little thing, isn’t she?” Alex teased lightly as he opened up a drawer and began pulling out the flatware.

“Dunno, I kinda got the impression you liked bossy, stud!” Faith teased right back, rubbing her body up against his as she passed to get to the plates. ‘Oh yeah, like putty in my hands,’ she thought with feminine pride as Alex sighed and the clear evidence of his arousal bulged the front of his slacks.

Faith polished off her third helping of pasta as Alex and Beth finished their second and first, respectively. “Man, that was fricken good!” she complimented with satisfaction. “It tasted really different than what I expected ... I mean for pasta. I dunno, it’s like it ... felt different on my tongue?” she said, trying to describe her experience.

“Vodka?” Faith asked in surprise. “You mean you put booze in the sauce?”

Alex laughed while Beth tried to explain; “There are certain flavors in the tomatoes that don’t come out with water or oil, only with alcohol. That, plus the vodka breaks down the tomato’s flesh, giving it that texture; like silky and grainy all at once.”

“Huh,” Faith grunted. Shaking her head, she said, “Well, whatever it does, it must fricken work, ’cause that tasted amazing!”

“Thank you, Faith,” Beth said with a warm smile. “I’m really glad you enjoyed it.”

Alex’s smile dimmed somewhat when he broke the silence. “Faith, can I ask you something?” he said, reaching over to take her hand.

“Shoot,” Faith said with a shrug, a bit of a chill feeling forming inside her.

“Well, I wondered if there was something bothering you,” he began. “It’s just ... several times during dinner you seemed to get this pensive, worried look on your face....” He trailed off.

“Did something happen at your meeting?” Beth asked when Faith didn’t immediately respond.

‘It’s times like this when it’s still hard,’ she thought introspectively. ‘I still have a fricken hard time opening up about feelings and stuff ... I so want to just blow it off.’ Looking into the eyes of her lovers, Faith saw only concern and caring. ‘Trust, trust, trust; remember?’ she asked herself. ‘You can trust them.’

She took a deep shuddering breath and spoke. “Okay, you remember when I told you about the watchers and stuff?”

Dark looks crossed both Alex and Beth’s faces. “They tried to kidnap you and take you back to England.” Beth said with a seething anger that seemed foreign on her normally sweet face.

“Yeah, that’s them,” Faith said, her heart warmed by her lover’s reaction. “Anyway, it’s just that one of them is coming here and I’m supposed to talk with him.”

Identical looks of incredulity came over both Alex and Beth, jaws dropped open and eyes wide with shock.

“Hey, it ain’t as bad as it sounds. It’s just one guy and his toady assistant. It’s not like they’re sending a hit squad like last time.”

Beth’s hand shot out to grip Faith’s free hand and it looked like she wanted to say something, but no words came out of her gaping mouth.

“Seriously, guys, it ain’t that big a thing. Scoobies got it covered. Watcher-man’d have to be wicked stupid to try and pull anything. ’Specially after what happened to the last guys they sent.”

A slight grin overcame their looks of shock. ‘Yeah, that was pretty fricken funny,’ Faith thought, remembering the looks on their faces when she’d told her lovers about the ‘gift-box’ that Buffy, Willow and Tara had sent back to the council.

“Sorry,” Alex said, chagrinned. “It’s just ... the thought of them ... hurting you.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” Faith said, her voice suddenly choked up. “I mean, I appreciate....” She trailed off, embarrassed.

‘Just say it!’ she chastised herself. ‘Step up, Faith. Tell them how you feel!’

Her eyes dropped to the table as she whispered, “It makes me feel better ... knowing you guys, like ... care about me and stuff.”

Alex and Beth stood up in silent harmony and pulled her to her feet, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

Of one accord, Alex and Beth released Faith from their embrace and guided her toward the bedroom. “Let us show you just how much!” Beth whispered hotly in her ear as they went.

“Faith, oh God, you feel so good, Faith!” Alex’s voice rasped in her ear, causing chills to run through her flesh. She was sitting on his lap, his erection buried deep inside her as she arched her back against his chest. Her head was thrown back as she gasped air into her burning lungs.

“So good!” Faith grunted out. Beth was kneeling before her, mouth on one breast, hands playing with the other breast and her clit; each erogenous zone sending shooting spikes of pleasure straight to her brain.

“Harder, Bethy! Bite it!” she cried out, her hands moving up Beth’s back and into her hair, pushing her lover’s head into her breast. “Oh, God! Just like that!”

Beth pinched one nipple hard, while biting down on the other. The combined jolts of pain were enough to send Faith over the edge, squealing, “Yes!” out loud.

‘Love this, love it!’ she exulted in her mind as Beth quickened her already furious rubbing on Faith’s swollen button.

Alex grabbed Faith by the hips and began to shove her down to meet his upward thrusts. Each meeting of their bodies made a loud smack and sent Faith bouncing upward only to be shoved right back down again.

“Oh, hell yes!” Faith growled, her sex still contracting around Alex’s pounding cock. “Drive it home, stud! Pound that big fat dick up in me!”

“Jesus, Faith!” he growled right back, increasing the speed of his thrusts. “God, I love being inside you! So much!”

Faith spasmed even harder when he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and bit down. “Alex!” she squeaked, clamping down involuntarily on him.

“Gahh!” he cried, releasing her earlobe and slamming her down onto himself one last time, holding her there while he unloaded inside of her.

Beth sat back with a wide smile. “Mmm, Faithy,” she hummed in obvious delight. “I think Alex made me desert!”

“Huh?” Faith asked, her mind still hazy with post-coital endorphin overload.

“Ohh,” Faith breathed out. Suddenly she was pulled up and off of Alex’s fading erection, onto her knees. Beth turned her around and within moments Faith found herself facing Alex, who was still reclining against the headboard. She looked down to see Beth’s closed eyes and the top of her head down below her.

Faith felt her knees being pushed apart until her sloppy-wet pussy was right on top of Beth’s mouth. “Mmm, Bethy!” she hummed as her lover’s soft tongue began to lave her sex, loud slurping sounds coming from Beth as she delved after her desired cream.

She looked up at her other lover and smiled at the look of satisfaction on his face. “Hey, stud,” she whispered when his eyes met hers.

“I think you gave Bethy a pretty big desert there!” she said, humming in pleasure as she was licked and sucked.

“Gimme a couple minutes and I’ll give her a dose of her own,” he replied lasciviously.

“Oh yeah?” Faith said, her eyes traveling down his tight, fit body to the glistening flesh between his legs. “Maybe I can help!” She immediately bent forward and slurped his semi-erect cock into her mouth.

‘Yum, I taste good on him!’ she thought salaciously as she worked to return him to a fully erect state. ‘Only fair I help him out so he can fix me a little Bethy-cream-pie of my own!’

Humming in delight at Beth’s attentions helped quickly bring Alex back to full tumescence. She released him with a loud pop and said, “Now, why don’t you go make me a little desert?”

Alex pulled her up for a deep, wet kiss before responding. “You got it, lover!” he said low and sexy, moving off the bed.

“Don’t worry, Bethy. You ain’t finished yet,” Faith replied as she turned around and settled herself back down on Beth’s face, this time facing down to the foot of the bed.

She was just in time to see Alex take his wife’s legs and pull them flat against his chest — her feet on either side of his face — before sinking himself into her with a deep grunt.

‘This relationship stuff beats the fricken hell out of “get some, get gone”!’ Faith thought with lusty satisfaction as Beth pushed her toward another orgasm.

Within a few minutes, Faith was cumming hard again, and so was Beth if her loud squeals against Faith’s sex were any indication. It took Alex another minute before he too came with a shuddering grunt.

Faith had recovered sufficiently, so she licked her own lips and said, “Mmm, desert!”

“Why do vampires even come to Sunnydale anymore?” Willow asked rhetorically.

Tara laughed. ‘Another patrol, another handful of vampires for Buffy to destroy. Goddess, who would’ve thought I’d ever look at vampires as a minor nuisance?’

“You know, that reminds me of one time Xander asked me why vamps always hang out in cemeteries,” Buffy said as the three of them began walking again.

“I told him to ask the next vampire we saw,” Buffy said, smiling at the memory.

Tara laughed along with Buffy. “You’re adorable when you pout,” she told her redheaded lover.

“You can ask the next vamp we come across, Wil,” Buffy teased. “Maybe they’ll tell you why they come to the Hellmouth too.”

“What’s got you so happy?” Buffy asked with a wide smile of her own as she moved to drape herself against Tara’s side.

She wrapped one arm around Buffy and held her other out to Willow, inviting her to join the embrace. “I don’t know. Lately I just feel so warm and ... joyful. All the time.”

“Wow!” Willow said, her face echoing the surprise Tara was feeling at the simultaneous declaration.

“Do you both feel it too?” Tara asked, instinctively knowing the answer was yes.

Something caught Buffy’s attention and her head whipped upward, looking over Willow’s shoulder. Tara turned and caught a brief glimpse of a fleeing form weaving around headstones. Almost as soon as she saw it, it disappeared around one of the larger mausoleums.

“Uh oh, gotta go,” Buffy said, pulling away from the embrace. “We’ll definitely finish this later!” she added with a libidinous smile before taking off after the fleeing form.

“I’m not sure. Do you think she just ran into a trap?” Tara asked, feeling a little tendril of concern.

“Probably,” Willow said with a nod. “You wanna go watch her turn the tables?”

Tara was about to nod yes, when something tickled at the back of her awareness. ‘Willow must have felt it too,’ she thought when she spun around to find that Willow had beaten her to it; a shimmering shield springing into existence around both of them.

“What the—” one of the two vampires that had been sneaking up behind them blurted out. He came to a stop with a confused and startled look on his face.

‘Must be the smart one,’ Tara thought as the other continued, leaping at the two witches.

Vamp number two’s only comment was, “Oof!” as he hit the shield like a sparrow flying into a window.

Tara quickly immobilized the other, sweeping him up into the air to dangle by his feet.

“Spike spell,” Willow said with a grin, picking up the crumpled vamp to hang next to his partner.

“What’s this?” Tara wondered when she saw an object fall from the dumb vamp’s hand when Willow lifted him.

“Sweetie, can you drop the spell a second?” she asked, gesturing to the fallen object.

‘A one-way shield?’ Tara thought in amazement as she picked up the object. ‘I’d never even imagined such a thing.’

“Stun gun?” Willow said, surprised. “What’s a vampire doing with a stun gun?”

“Let’s ask,” Tara suggested, pulling her vampire closer with a wave of her hand.

“I ain’t tellin’ you dick, bitch!” the crumpled vamp spat out. He followed suit by actually spitting at the redhead.

The bloody saliva hit the shield, but Willow still recoiled with a disgusted look on her face.

“Kiss my aaiieeee!!” the vampire responded, his bravado turning into a high-pitched shriek as Willow grabbed the stun gun from Tara and applied it to his crotch.

Tara turned away from the screamer and toward the other. She had to hide a smirk at the look of stark terror on his face. “Now then, I believe there is a question waiting for an answer.”

“No! No! Hell no! Don’t, I’ll tell you anything, I swear!” the other vampire cried, visibly shaking in fear.

Willow pulled the stun gun away from her victim, who was reduced to a soft, keening wail. “So, answer the question. Why the stun guns?”

“The boss, he wanted us to take you alive, so—” The vamp stopped abruptly, snapping his mouth shut.

The vamp whimpered, his eyes darting back and forth between Willow’s face and the black device in her hand.

“Tell me!” Willow ordered, pushing the button and sending a blue arc across the device’s contacts.

Another blue spark was needed to loosen his tongue further. “He was gonna make her watch while we ... ahh, played with you two.”

“And what makes him think he can do what every other vampire, demon, or hellgod that’s come to this town couldn’t do?” Willow asked coldly.

“Uh, see ... the Boss just got hisself this mojo amulet, and now he’s like, you can’t hurt him.”

‘Buffy!’ Tara immediately reached out to see if her pet was in trouble and found that she was deeply enjoying herself. “She’s fine,” she said to Willow just as the question was about to leave the redhead’s lips. “She’s having fun, playing.”

“She would be,” Willow said with a soft smile. The smile fell away, replaced with a hard, angry look as she turned to the two hanging vampires. “Now then, what to do with a couple of wannabe rapist demons?”

‘God, I love this!’ Buffy thought as she ducked under one punch while simultaneously spinning and driving her foot through the ribs of another vampire. ‘I can’t believe how slow these guys are!’

She had time to step down from the spin-kick and grab the extended arm of the puncher, lifting him bodily and throwing him into two other approaching vampires.

She’d followed the running vampire into a trap: over a dozen vampires in a semicircle. One vampire — clearly in charge — was lounging on the steps of a mausoleum with a snide look on his face.

“Okay, boys, remember, I want her alive,” the vamp leader said loudly. “Barely,” he added with a sardonic grin.

At that point the dozen vamps leapt forward; the looks of eager anticipation on their faces indicating they thought they were in for some fun.

‘I wonder if they were surprised when I laughed?’ Buffy thought as she broke one vamp’s arm with her left hand, smashed another’s jaw with her right, and shattered third’s knee with her right foot.

One vamp nearly landed a blow to the back of her head, but she felt the pressure and rolled forward. As she completed the somersault, she drew a pair of stakes and dusted two vamps.

‘Huh, weird,’ she thought when a quick glance at the vampire leader showed he was still lounging on the mausoleum steps, still looking confident.

After laying together for about half an hour, soaking in their after-sex glow, Faith began to stir. “Hey, guys?”

“Nooo, too soon, Faithy!” Beth groaned. “Need another thirty minutes, at least!”

Faith laughed, joyfully. ‘Damn I’m good!’ she thought with both pride and happiness. “Actually, I was gonna say I need to go patrol for a while,” she changed the subject. She was slightly hesitant as she added, “Um, can I come back and stay over after?”

“Faith, have we ever not wanted you to stay over?” Alex asked as though it was a silly question.

“No, I just,” Faith began, feeling silly. “You know; didn’t want to assume or nothing.”

Alex shook his head, smiling warmly as he answered. “Let me make it crystal clear, Faith. Not only are you welcome in this house twenty-four seven, you are more than welcome in this bed every night. We want you here. This is ... this is where you belong,” he finished in a soft, emotional voice.

“What he said, double for me!” Beth interjected her fervor clearly displayed both in her voice, and on her face.

“I—” Faith felt a lump in her throat. “I-I’ll be back in a little bit then.”

Beth pulled her down for a lingering kiss. “Hurry back!” she whispered after letting go Faith’s lips.

“Um, well,” Tara said, clearing her throat a bit. “You don’t think that was a bit ... um, extreme?” she asked with a little bit of trepidation.

“Well, I thought of what they wanted to do to me, and I got pretty angry ... but then I thought of them touching you, and I just—”

They turned around a large memorial statue to some formerly rich and presently dead Sunnydaler and came upon the remains of the battle.

“Hey, what took you?” Buffy asked, spinning in a pirouette, before lashing out to her sides and staking two of the three remaining vamps.

Before they could even answer, the last vampire stood up from the steps behind Buffy and began ranting. “It doesn’t matter! After I deal with you, I’ll turn a hundred more!” He pulled a dull metallic object from his shirt and held it up before him as he continued, “With this I am invincible! I’ll tear your guts out through your throat and string them up in the trees! I’ll break your—”

All three just stood there for several moments, looking — staring at the amulet lying in a pile of dust.

“Why not?” Alex asked, the trepidation in his tone telling her he already suspected the answer.

“Mad? Of course he’s mad, that whole blasted council is so intellectually inbred, I’m amazed they can even walk and speak simultaneously,” she growled, frustrated. “Do They have anything to say about this?”

“Unfortunately They don’t control the council,” he answered with a shake of the head.

“The council is *supposed* to be serving the same purpose,” she argued, exasperated.

He stood up and began pacing. “Sometimes I wonder ... I think the council has the same goal, but their stubborn adherence to antiquated traditions and methods makes them ineffectual.”

“But?” she asked, her voice indicating that she knew he had more to say on the subject.

Alex’s voice was contemplative as he responded, “I wonder if he might have a different agenda.”

“Damn, no action tonight,” Faith muttered, twirling her stake as she wandered through her third cemetery of the night. “Jeez, B, you couldn’t leave a couple for me to play with?” she complained.

As she came around a copse of trees, she was startled by an unexpected sight. “Holy crap!” she exhaled, shocked. She moved closer until she could clearly see what turned out to be two vampires; naked on the ground, spread-eagle, staked through their hands and feet. They also had something stuffed into their mouths to keep them from yelling.

“Jeez, who’d you two piss off?” she wondered aloud. “And why are you jerking around like that?”

She tried to move closer but when she got within three meters, her progress was suddenly halted as though she’d bumped into a plate-glass window. “What the—” She felt the space in front of her, looking like a mime doing the ‘trapped in a box’ routine. “Willow ... or Tara. Gotta be one of them.”

She moved around the bodies outside the perimeter of the shield until she saw what was causing their squirming. Laughter broke forth from her when she saw it: their crotches were covered in fire ants.

“Oh my God!” she gasped through her laughter. ‘I definitely gotta remember never to piss off a witch!’

Then another thought popped into her head, ‘I can’t wait to report to Giles what I found on my patrol!’

The triad had taken the amulet to Giles just in time to catch Xander and Dawn still there and an impromptu Scooby session was started.

“Nope!” Buffy chirped. “Dusted like any other.” She laughed as she added, “Right in the middle of telling me how un-killable he was.”

“Yes, I see,” Giles allowed with a tentative smile. “And yet, the amulet didn’t disintegrate along with the vampire.”

“Plus, it’s definitely magical,” Tara offered, turning back from Giles towards Willow.

“This is maddening!” Willow growled, dropping the amulet back onto the table. “I can feel the spell — it’s like I can see it — but I can’t see what’s hidden inside it!”

Tara looked at Willow with sympathy. “We’ll find a way, sweetie,” she said reassuringly.

Tara reached over the table and grasped her lover’s hands, squeezing gently. “We’ll figure it out,” she said, locking her gaze with Willow’s.

“I don’t get it,” Buffy interjected. “What’s wrong, is it — it can’t be too tough, can it? Giles said you’re like the most powerful witch he’s ever heard of.”

“What?” the slayer asked, sounding slightly affronted. “What’d I say?”

“That’s the problem,” Tara explained. “It’s not too strong; it’s too weak.”

“I can’t even get close to it and it’s like it’s going to shatter!” Willow grated out.

“It’s very fragile,” Tara said, feeling Willow’s frustration, though less intensely. “Someone or something put a spell on this to hide its true nature. However, we can’t unravel the spell without destroying the amulet.”

Tara struggled to keep the smile off of her face as Willow looked up to see surprised looks on most of the Scooby gang’s faces.

“Yes, well ...” Giles muttered. Suddenly, a thoughtful look came over his face. “May I see it?” he asked, gesturing toward the amulet on the table between the two senior witches.

“Sure, why not?” Willow said resignedly. She pulled her hands away from Tara and picked up the amulet.

Buffy gasped as the redhead casually tossed the item to her watcher. “Wil!” she gulped.

Tara smirked, knowing what Buffy must be thinking. “It’s alright, Buffy. The spell is fragile, not the amulet itself.”

“Aww,” Tara crooned, again taking Willow’s hand in her own. Looking toward Buffy she softly said, “Looks like we’re going to have to find a way to cheer up our pouty girl.” She smirked again as Willow visibly perked up. ‘Oh you so aren’t fooling anyone,’ she thought as the redhead’s momentary smile was again hidden behind an exaggerated pout, clearly fake.

“Okay, you so have no right to ever tease Xan and me for being sappy again!” Dawn’s amused voice startled Tara into laughter.

“There is something about this ...” Giles pondered, still focused on the amulet. “Something familiar....”

“Hmm?” he said, snapping his attention away from the amulet to his charge. “Oh, yes. I-I’m not certain ... I need to make some telephone calls.”

“Thus endeth the Scooby meeting?” Xander immediately interjected. “’Cause it’s seriously getting to be dinnertime.”

“Um ... yes,” Giles stammered, looking to his watch. “Yes, it’s a bit late to make the calls tonight, in any case.”

Tara cocked her head to the side with a bemused grin. “Looking forward to dinner?” she asked, curious. ‘Xander the endless stomach must be rubbing-off on her,’ she thought with silent laughter.

“Mmm, not dinner,” Dawn said with a slight headshake. “Desert.” she corrected with a hungry-sounding tone.

“Really?” Willow added, having dropped the pouty-act as her curiosity apparently got the better of her as well. “Why, what’s for desert?”

Tara and Willow both laughed aloud as Dawn pulled Xander to his feet, boldly teasing, “Come on, Xan. I so need to get you fed!”

A glance at Giles showed Tara that he was studiously pretending to ignore the innuendo floating through the atmosphere. She stood up and reached her hands to her two lovers as she said, “Come on, I’m suddenly feeling a little hungry myself.”

‘It looks like we’ll be starting with desert!’ Dawn thought as they entered their apartment. The looks Xander had been giving her the whole trip home bespoke a hunger for something other than food.

‘Like I mind!’ she thought happily as Xander slammed the door behind him and immediately pushed her back against the kitchen area counter. She met his hard kiss with equal passion: hands in hair, tongues wrestling, bodies pressed together.

She moaned into his mouth as he grabbed her ass and lifted her up onto the counter, making for a much more comfortable angle to kiss. “Oh, sugar,” she sighed, her head lolling back when he released her lips and began kissing his way down her throat.

‘Oh yeah, I love it when you do that!’ she thought as he sucked on her pulse-point, his hands moving down her sides until he went past the hem of her skirt. He made it as far as her knees — snug around him on either side of his hips — before reversing course and sliding up the outsides of her thighs, under her skirt.

“Oh, Xander!” she panted as he pulled down her panties. She let go of his hair and put her hands on the counter to lift herself up, clearing the way for him to remove them completely.

He released her neck and leaned back, stepping away so he could slide the purple satin material down her long legs.

‘Oh, God!’ she thought as he stared into her eyes. ‘They’re almost black!’ she thought with amazement. She smiled with both humor and lust as he brought her panties to his face, inhaling deeply. “Perv!” she whispered indulgently.

Her smile fell, replaced by lust and desire. She licked her lips in anticipation of what was to come.

“Take off your clothes!” he instructed her, sending a jolt of energy straight to her core.

She quickly pulled her sweater up over her head and tossed it aside. The bra quickly followed and she shivered with anticipation as he walked around the counter and headed for the refrigerator. Her flanks became covered in goose bumps as she shucked her skirt and kicked off her shoes, sitting on the counter in nothing but bare skin.

“Lay back, kitten,” he instructed softly, opening a jar of their latest sex-toy: Mont Blanc dark chocolate syrup with a touch of cream stirred in to keep it at the proper viscosity when it was refrigerator cold.

“You and me both!” he said huskily. He set down the open jar and stuck a metal spoon inside, leaving it there while he quickly shucked his own shirt and T-shirt.

‘I remember the first time we did this ... the chocolate stains never did come out of that shirt!’ she thought humorously. ‘Still, it was so worth a new shirt!’

He took the spoon out of the chocolate licked the inside clean. Then he painted her lips with the backside, immediately covering her mouth with his own and smearing the syrup over both of them, his coated tongue entering her mouth to caress hers.

“Chocolate Dawn-kisses!” Xander huffed, licking his lips with obvious relish. “Definitely my new favorite candy!”

‘Oh yeah! Screw Hershey’s; this is what a chocolate kiss should taste like!’ she thought with a loud groan.

He took another spoonful and dripped it over her left areola, causing it to contract into a hard knot of flesh. She gasped at the cold sensation, her whole breast quivering and covered in goose bumps. He then painted the tip of her erect nipple with the back of the spoon, causing it to stand up proudly from the surrounding flesh. He ignored the way the syrup slowly dripped down from the peak while he anointed her right breast in the same manner.

He waited until she mewled in frustration before slowly licking her breasts clean, finishing each by sucking hard on the erect flesh capping them.

Her whole body was tingling as he drizzled a line of dark, chocolatey goodness from the hollow of her throat all the way down to her navel, creating a pool of dark-brown, velvety liquid. Her moaning became almost constant as he slowly devoured the trail, taking his time with her belly button, making sure to get every last molecule of chocolate out with his tongue.

“Do it, sugar!” Dawn cried, her sex aching for the cold syrup, quickly followed by his warm tongue.

“Is this what you want?” he teased, holding a spoonful over her nether-lips, a cocky smile on his face.

“Yes!” she cried, desperation overtaking pride. ‘I’d happily beg for it right now!’ she thought, flushing slightly at the power of her need. “Please?” she added, having to fight to restrain her hips from jerking.

‘Yes! God, yes!’ Dawn exulted, gasping at the sensation of the cold chocolate pouring over her hot, wet pussy. “Xander!” she shrieked, an unexpected orgasm ripping through her as he rubbed the cold metal hard against her swollen clit.

“So freaking beautiful!” he grunted. He licked the spoon clean and then dove right in between her spread thighs, licking her chocolatey pussy clean of the combined syrup and girl-cum. He moaned loudly with pleasure as he licked and sucked, delving deeply inside her with his long, strong tongue.

He didn’t let up for long minutes. Not until her body was again twitching, right on the cusp of another orgasm. ‘I am the luckiest girl in the world!’ she thought blissfully, right before screaming out his name again as he slid two fingers inside her to replace his tongue, which quickly went to work sucking the remaining chocolate off her clit.

By the time he was finished with her, she was sprawled out; boneless, eyes unfocused, and panting like she’d just run a marathon.

“We so owe Willow for finding this stuff!” Xander crooned after one last lick.

“Oh yeah!” Dawn agreed breathily. “Of course, I already know how to pay her back,” she added, thinking Willow’d appreciate a recounting of their use of the syrup.

‘Hmm, methinks a little teasing is in order,’ she thought, fighting to keep a straight face.

“Well, she is a very sexy woman,” Dawn said thoughtfully. “Maybe we could ... I dunno, tape it for you? Or maybe she’d even agree to let you watch?”

“Gotcha!” Dawn laughed out loud. ‘Dang, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep a straight face!’ she thought, congratulating herself. “Keep dreaming, Perv!” she added with no real rancor. ‘Willow is pretty hot ... no, not going there. Time to thank my sexy boyfriend for the mind-blowing oral sex!’

“Cruel, evil woman!” Xander muttered, the small smile on his face belying his complaint.

“Aww, lemme make it up to you!” she answered honey-sweet. She sat up and jumped down off the counter. She smiled widely when his breath quickened as she undid his belt and jeans. She couldn’t help but lick her lips in anticipation as she pushed his pants and boxer-briefs down to his ankles.

‘You’re gonna need to spread those legs a bit,’ she thought, quickly undoing his shoe laces so he could step out of his shoes and pants. ‘I love that,’ she thought when his erection twitched and his breath caught. ‘That’s right, sugar bear, your kitten’s gonna make you scream!’ she exulted.

She pushed him back so he was leaning against the counter, then she spread his legs so she could kneel between his feet, his swollen cock right in front of her face.

She reached up and grabbed the Mont Blanc off of the counter and poured a good measure over his hard length, grinning at the hiss he made as the cold syrup hit his hot skin. “Mmm, I think it likes chocolate!” she teased, watching with pleasure as the wide head swelled even further, turning purple with blood. She smoothed the chocolate over his dick, using it almost as a lubricant, slowly jacking him off. A large drop of pre-cum oozed out of the tip and she licked it off. “Mmm,” she hummed loudly. “Chocolate syrup and Xander-sauce!” She smacked her lips with pleasure.

She moved her chocolate-covered hand down over his scrotum, smearing the velvety skin with the sweet syrup. ‘I thought he’d freak when I wanted to use the witchy hair-remover down here,’ she remembered as she happily took in the sight of his hairless privates. ‘I guess asking him in the middle of a blow-job helped.’

Once his sack was as chocolatey as his cock, Dawn lifted his dick up against his belly and began to lick and suck on his balls.

‘I so enjoy doing this!’ she thought as he made happy-sounds. She sucked one silky-smooth nut into her mouth and gently sucked, laving the round egg with her tongue. While she repeated the action on the other, she rolled her chocolatey index finger in the copious lubricant weeping from his cock.

‘Hmm, that’s probably enough,’ she thought, releasing his scrotum and pulling his cock back down. She licked from the base to about halfway up, and then repeated the gesture all around the circumference, trying to get the chocolate that she wouldn’t be able to reach once she started sucking. ‘One of these days I am going to get this whole thing down my throat!’ she thought, determined. ‘At least now I don’t gag when it hits the back of my throat!’ she consoled herself. ‘Not that he ever complains, but I know from bitch-Anya’s bragging that it’s one of his favorite things in the world, and I’m gonna make sure I’m doing everything he could ever want or need!’

Resisting the temptation to suck off her Xander-coated finger, she quickly gobbled down the head of his dick, sucking strongly as she established a steady, moderately paced rhythm.

“Dawn, Dawn, Dawn! So good, honey! So, so good, kitten!” He began chanting after a few minutes of steady sucking and fondling.

She remembered her embarrassed conversation a couple of days previously when she’d asked if it would be okay for her to try something new with him sometime. She’d showed him a website she’d found and highlighted the paragraph describing what she wanted to try. ‘The way his eyes bugged out when he read it!’ she thought, smiling around his cock at the mental image. ‘He tried to play it cool, but the catch in his voice when he said he wouldn’t mind told the real story!’

When Xander’s chant began to falter, she knew it was time. She slid her finger along the crack of his ass until she felt his puckered sphincter. ‘Okay, Xan, here goes!’ she thought, pushing gently until it opened up, she slid her finger into him, rubbing upward as far in as she could reach.

‘Holy wow!’ Dawn thought as Xander’s dick swelled bigger than she’d ever felt before and he shot a huge load of cum into her mouth. So much that, even as she swallowed furiously, it poured out of her mouth and dripped down off of her chin onto her breasts.

Somehow she remembered to keep rubbing and Xander actually screeched, his whole body shaking violently. ‘Oh my God, he’s still cumming!’ she thought, amazed as she failed miserably to keep up with the jetting spurts.

After long seconds of extended orgasm, Xander’s knees buckled. His cock pulled from her mouth and blasted the last few jets onto her face, fortunately missing her eye as he hit her forehead, nose, and cheek.

“Wow!” she blurted, pulling her hand from between his legs as he slowly collapsed to the ground. “Are you okay?” she asked, concerned as he sat there blinking furiously.

Finally he seemed to regain focus, shaking his head briefly and then meeting her gaze. “Yeah, I....” He trailed off, then began to laugh.

She looked down at her cum-drizzled breasts and then felt her face — with her non-chocolate hand. “Oh, God! I’m a mess!” she said with a laugh of her own.

She bounced up off of her knees, pushing to her feet while making sure not to touch anything with either of her differently sticky hands. “Come on, you can help me clean up in the shower.”

“As soon as my legs start working again!” he joked, slowly pushing himself to his feet, using the counter to brace himself. “Seriously though, thank you, Dawn. That was ... amazing!”

“It was ... it was unbelievable!” she agreed with a warm smile to match the warm feeling inside her at his heartfelt compliment.

“Next time, maybe we should do it lying down?” he said as he stumbled toward her.

“Laying down; right.” she agreed, leading the way to the shower. “With a big stack of towels handy!” Glancing at her ‘chocolate hand’ she wrinkled her nose and mentally added, ‘And maybe some wet-naps.’

An evil smirk came over Dawn’s face as she added, “Oh, I don’t know, I think you hosed me plenty!”

Buffy and Tara sat on the end of their bed, waiting for the third in their triad to begin the show that they’d requested when they got home from the Scooby meeting.

Willow stood before her two lovers, clad in an outfit that looked like a catholic schoolgirl who’d gone straight from class to a Goth party. Her makeup was pale except for the deep, dark almond shape around her eyes and her black lipstick. Her hair was pulled back into twin-pigtails that stuck out on either side of her neck at the nape.

Music suddenly filled the room and Willow began dancing. The music had a hard, crunching guitar riff, repeating over and over with a deep base drum pounding slowly in the background. Willow’s hip began to roll in time to the rhythm and her hands moved over her thighs, slowly sliding upwards.

Willow’s shoulders began to roll in counterpoint to her hips and she lowered her head to peer through her eyelashes at her lovers, laid out on the bed, watching her intently.

“Dear God in Heaven!” Buffy softly cried, feeling a thrill of lust pound inside her, matching the beat.

“Goddess, I’ve never heard anything like this before!” Tara exclaimed, panting hard already.

“It feels ... dark,” Buffy said, licking her dry lips. “And, like, sticky.”

Willow’s hands made the torturously slow journey up her torso, squeezing and pressing her breasts together through the fabric of her sweater and shirt.

“Ohhh, yeah!” Buffy groaned in agreement, her nether-lips already slick with desire.

Willow began to pull the buttons apart on her sweater, starting from the top, popping each one on the backbeat of the music.

Buffy lost no time whipping her own shirt up and off so she could play with her breasts as she watched. ‘Mmm, I’m not the only one!’ she thought as a quick glance showed Tara had her shirt open and was already pinching and twisting her nipples.

Buffy hummed in delight and rubbed the soft cashmere over her naked torso. ‘God, that feels good!’ she thought.

Willow spun around and crouched down to the floor, then straightened her legs back up until she was bent at the waist, her arms on the backs of her knees. She slid them upward in one quick motion, flipping her skirt up to flash a brief shot of black lace panties that left most of her cheeks exposed.

Buffy continued caressing herself with the sweater, but moved one hand down over her leather-covered crotch and began to rub herself through the soft hide.

Willow performed on her shirt the same rhythmic button popping that she had used on her sweater. The strip of skin revealed by this maneuver showed that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Pulling her shirt open just enough to see the inner slopes of her breasts, Willow stalked over to Buffy and pulled her head into the open shirt, rubbing her breasts over the slayer’s face.

‘Oh, smells so good!’ Buffy thought, intoxicated by the combination of perfume and Willow-scent. She rubbed harder through her pants, her hips twitching as her orgasm approached on the horizon.

Releasing Buffy, Willow pulled her shirt out of her skirt and quickly flipped it off and threw it away. She immediately went over to her other lover.

Buffy’s eyes followed and she saw that her own mistress had pulled her pants open and had one hand moving furiously inside them.

Willow pulled that hand out and began suckling the wetness from Tara’s fingers. She turned and sat down on the blonde witch’s lap, grinding herself against her, never releasing the fingers in her mouth as she did it.

Willow released Tara and stood up away from her, dancing back out into the room. She danced for a time, stroking herself and pinching and pulling on her nipples until the song ended.

Immediately the song restarted and Willow slowly slid her hands up the outsides of her thighs, under and lifting her skirt until it just showed a glimpse of black lace in the middle. She then hooked her fingers into her panties and pulled them down her legs, over her knee-high socks and Mary Jane’s, until she could step out of them.

Buffy felt her dry mouth suddenly flood with saliva as Willow approached her, twirling the black scrap of fabric on one finger. Her eyes slipped half shut as Willow balled up the material so the crotch was the outermost part, and then pushed the damp, fragrant fabric up against Buffy’s nose and mouth.

Buffy inhaled deeply through her nose, capturing the rich, musky scent. “Oohhhmmmm!” she moaned as she exhaled. She then licked at the wetness, trying to get a taste.

‘Oh, you little minx!’ Buffy thought, frustrated when Willow pulled the garment away and went to offer it to Tara in the same manner. Buffy quickly shucked her pants to give herself better access to her dripping sex.

After teasing Tara, Willow tossed the panties aside and began to dance some more, her small breasts jiggling as she writhed and bounced. She did kicks and bends, offering tantalizing glimpses of her smooth pussy until Buffy was whining in anticipation.

‘It’s not like I haven’t seen it before!’ Buffy thought, wondering at her own almost desperate eagerness.

The music was pounding and Willow was writhing when she suddenly dropped to the floor, sitting with her butt and feet on the floor, her knees bent up in front of her, but closed together, blocking any sight of what Buffy really wanted to see.

With her left hand behind her, bracing herself, Willow began to slide her right up her stocking-covered shins until she got to the knees. She slowly pushed her hand between her knees. Keeping it flat — perpendicular to her legs — she moved it up her thighs, spreading her legs a bit but blocking the sight of her center.

“Mmm, show me baby ... show me that perfect, pretty pussy!” A low growl from Tara startled Buffy slightly. ‘God, Tara!’ she thought; though in truth she felt the same way.

Willow began opening and closing her legs, again matching the beat of the music, spreading wider and wider each time. Her hand still covered her sex, cupping and rubbing as Willow sighed and hummed in apparent pleasure.

“Do it, baby!” Buffy chuffed out, her own hand busy with two fingers buried to the third knuckle inside her dripping pussy.

Willow responded by spreading her feet wide and dipping her middle and ring fingers into her sex. Instead of pumping her hand, Willow kept it still, thrusting upward with her hips, her butt leaving the floor as she rode her fingers to the beat of the song.

By the time the third repeat of the song had completed, all three of them were moaning and jerking, release clearly nearing.

Buffy was close behind, grunting Willow’s name over and over as she rode out her orgasm.

By the time she blinked her eyes back into focus, Buffy saw that Willow had given up any pretense of rhythm and was pounding her fingers furiously into her sex.

Willow immediately stopped, but a high-pitched whine of frustration escaped from her.

A glance at Tara while Willow hastened to comply showed confusion on the blonde witch’s face.

“I want to set off Little Miss Orgasma-bomb,” Buffy explained with a wicked smile.

“You set up the shield thingie while I get the chains!” Buffy said excitedly.

‘Oh, she’s ready, I think!’ Buffy thought as she looked at her squirming pet.

The naked redhead was on her back, stretched out with her hands cuffed together to the center of the headboard, and her legs were spread and chained to the corners of the footboard.

Buffy and Tara lay on either side; mouth on breast, hand toying with her sloppy wet pussy.

Buffy left off her nibbling on one turgid pink nipple and moved up until she was face to face with Willow. “Hmmm, you want to cum, Pet?” she whispered in Willow’s ear.

“You know what I want, right?” Buffy asked, feeling anticipation. She moved her leg over Willow’s, rubbing her own wet sex against the redhead’s lower thigh. ‘This time I’m gonna be in full body-contact!’ she thought excitedly.

Tara took the cue and mirrored Buffy’s position, looking over their lover at the slayer with wide eyes.

As had happened last time, there was a momentary lag, and then all the light in the room disappeared. This time Buffy carefully focused on what she was feeling. ‘Ohh!’ she thought, amazed and a little frightened as she felt her own energy drain away, leaving her weak as a kitten.

By the time she realized what she was feeling, she was suddenly flooded with Willow’s energy. Every cell in her body felt like a nova had gone off and she screamed through the most intense orgasm of her life.

Dawn’s lips widened into a smile, her heart warming at the praise. The smile was her only answer as she continued to focus her attention on the candle flame before her. ‘I can feel the flame!’ she thought, amazed at the intimacy of the experience. ‘It’s like ... I *am* the flame.’

She and the rest of her mini-coven — Tara and Willow — were in their casting room, or ‘Wicca World’ as Buffy usually referred to it. Today’s exercise was one of fine control, rather than power. She’d already made the flame change colors by selectively suppressing the combustion of certain elements present in the wax fuel.

‘Now for something new,’ she thought with a slight feeling of trepidation. ‘Something they haven’t shown me before ... maybe even something they haven’t thought of before!’

Proximity of the flame to the wax causes the wax to melt, drawing it up the wick to feed the flame. Dawn created a channel of heat from the flame downward, allowing her to lift the flame up from the wick. Simultaneously, she caused the melting wax to flow upward through and past the wick, continuing to feed the flame even as it rose up and away from the candle.

She halted the upward travel once the flame was hovering almost half a meter above the candle.

Dawn’s smile widened, though she refrained from expressing her own excitement otherwise. ‘Now for the really tough part,’ she thought, taking a moment to will her heart rate down towards normal.

She took a deep breath and then began to manipulate the natural air current as directed by the flame’s heat. Instead of the normal upward flow, Dawn began to curve it sideways; not increasing the speed, thus distorting the flame, but rather changing angle in which the flame pointed. Once it was pointing about forty-five degrees upward to the floor, she added another element, twisting the current in a spiral.

It wasn’t readily apparent in the shape of the flame due to its short length, so she increased the flow of heat to the candle, and the flow of the wax to the flame.

“Wow!” both of her sister witches sighed as, within seconds, Dawn had created a spiral of flame taking on a helix shape that stretched a good thirty centimeters in length.

Dawn noticed the candle was rapidly being consumed and as one last touch, she ran the flame’s color through the rainbow spectrum, ending just as the candle disappeared entirely. The flame lasted only a second longer until the wax that fueled it was consumed entirely.

Tara actually began clapping, joined immediately by Willow. Dawn blushed, but felt extremely pleased by the response.

“Sweetie, that was amazing!” Tara gushed, her mouth bearing her trademark lopsided grin.

“So pretty!” Willow added, her hand coming to rest on Dawn’s knee and giving her a gentle squeeze.

“Thanks,” Dawn replied. “Lately it’s been really easy to find and maintain my focus.”

Tara just smiled in response, but Willow seemed less reticent to comment. “I guess regular sex is really helping?”

“Mmm,” Dawn hummed with pleasure, knowing exactly to what the redhead was referring. “Well, we started with desert,” she said blushing at the memory even as she reveled in it.

Dawn glanced at Tara, seeing the blonde roll her eyes at Willow’s prompting. ‘Hmm, I notice you don’t tell her to stop though,’ she thought with a smirk.

“Uh huh,” she responded. “And, seriously, I have to thank you for finding that dark-chocolate syrup ... we both really, *really* like it!”

“Yeah?” Willow asked, bouncing with excitement. “Well, give us details!”

Though not at all reticent to share with Willow, Dawn glanced at Tara uncertainly and stammered, “Um, well ... there’s ... well....”

“It’s okay, Dawnie,” Tara said with both amusement and assurance in her expression. “I’m tough; I don’t think I’ll be scarred for life by hearing the word ‘penis.’”

Dawn took a deep breath and said, “Okay! Well, basically we barely got in the door and Xan had me naked on the kitchen counter—”

“Hey Giles,” Buffy said, feeling upbeat as she entered her watcher’s apartment.

She hid a smile as he began to rub the bridge of his nose. ‘Poor Giles,’ she thought indulgently.

“You do realize that, with your mother living here now, you run the risk of walking in on....” He trailed off, raising an eyebrow and staring at her intently.

Buffy’s eyes widened as she caught his gist. “Ack! Let’s not go there!” she protested. “I so don’t need the mental trauma right now.”

‘Yeah, score one for the watcher,’ she thought sourly upon seeing his poorly concealed smirk. ‘Moving on to safer territory.’

Buffy walked over to Giles’ couch and dropped down onto it, relaxing into its shape with cat-like grace. “So, did’ja find out anything about the wanna-be super-vamp’s bling-bling?” she asked.

“I often find myself wondering why they even bother to teach English in schools any more.” Giles said, staring at her, dumfounded. “Clearly it isn’t doing a bit of good.”

She smiled at the age-old argument. “Oh yeah,” she countered. “Like ‘poofter’ or ‘bint’ or ‘wanker’ are real words.”

She smiled even wider at the look of indignation on his face. ‘Game, set, and match to the slayer!’ she thought happily.

“I gain more and more respect for your mother with each passing day,” he muttered under his breath, turning away from her. “It’s a wonder she managed to remain sane.”

“Hey! Slayer hearing, remember?” Buffy cried out, pretending to be outraged.

“As to the amulet, I’ve been unable to reach anyone at the Devon Coven,” he blithely changed the subject as though she hadn’t even spoken. “The markings on it appear to be Roman. There are symbolic representations that I believe to be regarding a goddess Libitina.”

“Huh, never heard of her,” Buffy said, immediately forgetting their language argument.

‘Great, now entering watcher-lecture mode,’ Buffy thought with a resigned sigh.

“Makes sense,” Buffy interrupted — because she could. “What goes with death and corpses? Survey says: Vampire!”

“Hmm, not necessarily,” Giles countered. “Though she was the goddess of death and corpses, her temples became the first ... well, mortuaries essentially. She wasn’t in any way associated with the undead that I recall.”

“So, why then did this vampire believe that it would provide him with invulnerability?” he wondered aloud.

“Someone told him?” Buffy said with a question in her tone. “I mean, how else would he know?”

Giles raised his brows and pursed his lips for a moment, apparently considering her comment. “Yes, well, I suppose he might have found a lost text.”

Buffy shook her head and interrupted, “No way Giles. Trust me; this guy wasn’t a reader.”

“He totally had ‘high school jock’ written all over him!” Buffy explained.

“Yes, of course,” Giles said dismissively, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

In any case, there is cause for concern,” Giles segued. “Why would someone, or something provide that particular vampire with this amulet and then lead him to believe that it would make him invulnerable.”

“You think someone was setting him up?” Buffy interjected. “Why would someone do that?”

Giles expression showed surprise. “I hadn’t considered that ... it does seem unlikely; the amulet is definitely magical ... but for what?”

“You got me,” Buffy interjected. “That’s why we brought it to you: Giles the answer-man, research-guru—”

“Hmm?” he asked, shaking his head slightly as though distracted. “Yes, well ... rhetorical questions at this point, I suppose.”

“So, if the books aren’t giving it up, how’re we gonna figure it out?” she asked.

“Yes, well, as I mentioned, I’ve been trying to reach an associate of mine who happens to be a member of the Devon Coven. I recall having a discussion with her once that involved an artifact, and I’m nearly certain that it had to do with Libitina.”

“Her, huh?” Buffy said with a smile. “This a ‘former honey’ type ‘her’?” she teased.

The blush on Giles face caused her to change gears in a hurry. “It is, isn’t it? Forget it. Say no more; I don’t wanna know!” she protested, covering her ears melodramatically.

“Buffy!” Giles objected sternly. “Really now, this could be a serious issue! What if this amulet had given the vampire the invulnerability he claimed?”

‘Jeez!’ Buffy thought, in no way feeing Giles’ anxiety. “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It’s no big.”

“Buffy,” he began, clearly dismayed by her response. “I realize that your, um ... slaying abilities ... have markedly increased of late; however, that is no reason to take such a threat lightly!”

‘Doesn’t he remember?’ Buffy thought as she cocked her head and frowned lightly at him. “Um ... Giles?”

Giles straightened as if he’d just touched a live wire. “I ... well ... that is—” he stammered.

‘It’s like I can see the wheelie things turning in his head,’ Buffy thought with a highly amused smile as he absorbed her comment. She leaned back with a pleased sigh, lacing her fingers behind her head while she waited for him to respond.

“I ... well ... I suppose that ... that was a, ah ... similar situation,” he haltingly allowed.

“Yeah, if by ‘similar’ you mean ‘identical,’” Buffy said with a smug grin.

“Soooo,” she began, drawing out the word until Giles focused on her again. “Anyway, I’m all on board the ‘let’s figure out what the amulet thingie is’ train, but I don’t think we’re really in crisis mode or anything.”

“No!” Buffy whined with a petulant pout. “How come there has to be a ‘however’?” she demanded. “Why can’t you just say, ‘Yes, Buffy. You were totally right, and I was totally wrong.’?”

“However,” he reiterated, ignoring her interruption with the exception of one raised brow. “We mustn’t forget that someone turned over a potentially powerful magical artifact to a vampire.”

“And again with the ‘yeah, so?’” Buffy asked when he finished. ‘Still not seeing the big deal,’ she thought confidently.

Giles removed his glasses and began polishing them with his ever-present handkerchief. “Yes, well ... without actually knowing the motivation behind such an action, I can only presume that this was an attempt to, well ... to target you ... or perhaps Faith ... or perhaps the both of you.”

“’Cause the first thing a magically powerful vamp is gonna do is go after the slayer; I get it. You’re saying there’s a new big-bad in town and they’re gunning for little old me.” She said with a sigh.

“I must say, Buffy,” Giles began, his face radiating disapproval. “I’m rather concerned about your cavalier attitude.”

‘Bad Buffy,’ she thought, slightly chagrinned. ‘Don’t want to push the watcher too far ... he’s just worried for me.’ She sat forward, bracing her hands on her knees as she leaned her upper body towards her watcher.

“I’m sorry, Giles,” she said, slightly repentant. “It’s just ... it’s not like this is new or anything, you know? There’s always a big-bad, and they always want to kill me, either personally, or, you know, the whole world plus me. It’s not like I don’t take it seriously, it’s just ... I just can’t be afraid and stuff. I know I’m gonna win. The only way I ever lose is if I try to do it all on my own, without you guys — and I’ve totally learned my lesson on that! With the Scooby Gang backing me, I always win.”

She smiled brightly and added, “Plus, now with the new and improved slayer power, I totally rock! I took out those twelve easier than I used to fight one!”

“That’s not counting his not-so-unkillableness, or the two that went after Wil and Tara.” She added. “It was like opening morning at the Bloomingdale’s after-Christmas sale — like a forest made out of arms and legs.”

“And they didn’t even land a single punch, Giles!” she said in excited wonder. “I totally kicked their asses and they didn’t even touch me ... well, except for where I touched them when I, you know, punched, or kicked, or elbowed, or—”

“I think I understand,” Giles interrupted. “I must say, that is extraordinary! Amazingly so.”

The warmth she felt at his praise was tempered, “I hear a ‘but’ coming.”

“I agree that a conventional foe would have little chance at defeating you Buffy,” he began in a conciliatory tone.

“Yes, well,” he dropped his gaze slightly. “We cannot ignore the fact that this foe, whoever — or whatever — it may be ... has access to magical resources that have confounded our two resident — and most puissant — experts.”

‘Pwe-sent?’ Buffy thought, her knee-jerk objection deflected by the unfamiliar vocabulary.

“While I do agree that it is very likely that we can, and will, defeat this new foe,” he continued while she was still chewing on the foreign terminology. “We must, as always, take care to understand what it is that we are facing, and then develop a plan of action.”

“Right, we Scooby-do the research, figure out what it is, and then I slay it. I’ve got Wil and Tara to back me if it’s all, like, magical and stuff,” Buffy agreed with a casual shrug.

‘See, it’s all good,’ Buffy thought with a satisfied smile, relaxing back into the couch.

“Speaking of magical ... and stuff,” Giles began, his voice once again hesitant.

“Assuming I’m able to reach anyone at the coven I’d mentioned, I’d like to suggest that Tara or Willow ... well, that they take the amulet to England,” he said softly.

“So these witchy pals of yours can look at it?” Buffy asked — all the while thinking, ‘Why is he all with the worry?’

“Yes, well, that ... and for safe-keeping. The Devon Coven has an excellent collection of artifacts entrusted to their care. They have a reputation for reliable containment of more dangerous items.” he explained. “And, I trust them over the council ... despite our current, um, arrangement.”

“Cool,” Buffy chirped. “It’ll be like a vacation, except without so much of the sunny-beachy goodness.”

“Okay, spill already,” Buffy demanded with a raised eyebrow. “What’s with the tragedy-face?”

“Ahh, yes,” he began, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Well, that is ... I’m not certain that it would be a good idea for you to ... um, that is, what with this unknown adversary about—”

Buffy sat up, frowning. “What are you saying, Giles?” she asked, her heartbeat increasing as though in imminent peril.

Visibly grabbing hold of himself, Giles brought his gaze back up to meet hers. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave the Hellmouth unguarded right now, what with some new foe stirring up trouble.”

“With Quentin due in this week, I’m not sure Faith will be sufficiently focused,” he immediately countered.

“Giles, what are you telling me?” she demanded, her heart starting to race, and her breath quickening.

Giles face softened, and his voice was gentle as he answered, “I think it would be best if you were to stay here and continue to patrol, while either Tara or Willow, or both, consult with the coven.”

Buffy immediately stiffened, her back popping up away from the couch as she sat upright. Her mouth was suddenly dry as she tried to lick her lips. Her head began to shake side to side. “No ... no, no. No, Giles!” she rasped.

“Bad, bad, bad, badness,” she muttered, her hands feeling suddenly cold and clammy as she continued to shake her head in the negative.

“Buffy, it would only be for three or four days ... a week at most,” he said with a conciliatory tone.

“Days!” she immediately leapt on the word as though it were particularly nasty vampire. “Days? No, Giles!” her heart was hammering in her chest and a bitter taste filled her mouth. “Minutes! Minutes I can do, even hours—”

“But days!?” she continued, her voice rising. She shot to her feet and a roaring filled her ears as she screamed, “No! No, I won’t!” She immediately turned and ran, tearing the door open in her haste to escape. The sound of splintering wood barely registered in her awareness as she poured on the speed, racing for home. She had the image of her lovers fixed in her mind, one thought shrieking through her brain over and over: ‘Need you! Need you, now!’

“So then we pretty much did it all over again in the shower, except without the chocolate.” Dawn finished the story.

‘Oh, I think I might’ve sprained poor Tara’s brain,’ she thought, glancing at the blonde. A brief look to her other side netted a far different result. ‘Willow just looks, um ... hungry.’

Ignoring the hormonal quagmire of Willow’s reaction, Dawn focused her attention on Tara. “Too much information?” she asked, trying for a sympathetic rather than humorous tone.

“Goodness!” Tara said with a gulp. “I ... I guess I never really pictured ... um, you know.”

Dawn raised her eyebrows, waiting for the stunned witch to gather her thoughts. ‘This is kinda interesting — what she thinks about it.’

“Boy, not boys,” Dawn clarified with a chuckle. “Xan and I haven’t done any threesomes. And besides, I don’t think he’d be open to another man in our bed.”

‘Now, that was just evil, Summers,’ Dawn thought, unable to continue suppressing her grin.

‘What the...?’ Dawn wondered as she met the redhead’s eyes and saw a strange glimmer.

The salacious look on the redhead’s face immediately dropped away. “What?” she asked defensively. “I didn’t mean *me*....” Her voice trailed off quietly while her gaze dropped to her wringing hands in her lap.

Dawn glanced toward Tara and saw the look on her face. “Uh oh! Somebody’s in trouble,” she sing-songed.

“And you’re not helping matters, missy, egging her on like that!” Tara said, turning on Dawn.

‘Mmm, hmm,’ Dawn thought, catching a sly grin on Willow’s face. ‘Somebody *likes* being in trouble I think.’

“You’re both lucky Buffy’s not—” Tara suddenly frowned in mid-chastisement. “not ... here....”

“What is it?” Dawn asked as both of the other witches began to stand up and head for the door.

“What? Is she hurt?” Dawn asked, a tendril of worry threading through her psyche. She got up and followed as they quickly exited the spell-casting room.

‘Buffy’s afraid?’ Dawn thought, her concern increasing at the thought. ‘But ... what would make Buffy afraid?’

“She’s on her way here,” Tara muttered, her expression one of concern and concentration.

An uneasy silence filled the room as Tara and Willow stood by the door, wringing their hands.

It didn’t take long before the door to the mansion swung open hard and Buffy came running in, out of breath and crying. “Tara! Willow!” she howled, distraught.

‘Oh, God!’ Dawn thought, watching her friends instantly attach themselves to the weeping blonde. A huge lump rose in her throat as she watched her sister break down. ‘She sounds like something horrible happened!’

“Don’t go!” Buffy wailed, collapsing in her lovers arms. “Don’t let him send you away!”

Dawn watched in shock as the three women dropped to the floor together. She felt tears of her own start at the raw pain in Buffy’s voice.

“Never!” Tara cried out, tears streaming down her face. “We won’t leave you, Buffy.”

‘It’s like watching a car wreck,’ popped into Dawn’s mind as she witnessed the spectacle unfolding before her. ‘I shouldn’t be seeing this.’ She felt nauseous as fear, guilt, and embarrassment churned in her gut, but she couldn’t drag her gaze away from it.

“I promise!” Willow swore intently. “Mistress, I’m yours forever; you know that I could never leave you!”

“I couldn’t live without you — without either of you,” Buffy’s voice was filled with despair, but her look at Willow had a glimmer of hope in it.

‘Oh God!’ Dawn thought, feeling guilt like a punch to the solar plexus. It was enough to make her turn away and stumble across the room to the couch, facing away from weeping triad. ‘And I was almost flirting with her,’ she agonized, suddenly feeling as though she’d betrayed her sister and her best friend with her earlier teasing. She sat, hunched over and clutching at her stomach, trying to block out everything happening behind her.

“What the hell happened?” she whispered to herself as her mind spun in circles.

Minutes later she barely noticed that the sounds in the room had quieted. “Dawn?” Tara’s soft voice broke into her reverie.

Tara wiped at her tear-soaked cheeks and said, “I ... I’m not sure exactly.” She gulped audibly before continuing, “Something about Giles wanting to send us — Willow and me — away for something ... she’s not exactly making sense yet.”

“Is she—” Dawn sniffed back her tears before continuing, “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Of course she is, Dawnie,” Tara reassured, managing an altogether unconvincing smile. “We just need to get her calmed down.”

Dawn nodded, not challenging the statement. “Okay, I’ll um ... I’ll go home I guess,” she said, part of her wanting to stay and find out what happened, the other part wanting to give Buffy some privacy.

“Absolutely! Of course I can!” Dawn immediately agreed, leaping on the opportunity to do something constructive. “I’ll find out what happened and I’ll call you right away!” she said, standing up to leave.

“Um, how about—” Tara interjected sounding somewhat chagrinned. “How about we’ll call you after....” She trailed off, blushing.

“After? Oh!” Dawn broke off, nodding her agreement. ‘Comfort sex, right.’ She cleared her throat and said, “I’ll go get Xan and we’ll head over to Giles’. You can just call there, um ... later.”

“Hey, you know I’m totally there for you guys,” Dawn answered. “Any time, you know, whatever you need and stuff. Anything, just ask!”

Tara nodded, a flash of gratitude in her expression before she turned back to where Willow was leading Buffy to the bedroom.

‘Beyond bizarre,’ Dawn thought as she left the mansion. ‘This is weird even for Scooby-drama.’

“I love you, I won’t leave you, I promise,” Willow whispered soothingly into Buffy’s ear. They were lying on their sides, face to face on their bed. Buffy was still weeping softly, clutching Willow tightly to her.

‘Goddess, what happened to you?’ Willow wondered, fear flowing like ice through her body at her lover’s breakdown.

“Shh, shh, I’m right here,” she spoke softly as she combed her fingers through the blonde’s tresses.

“I ... I can’t l-lose you, Wil,” Buffy’s cry was softer, but no less painful.

Willow’s own tears ran down her face, sorrow running through her along with the fear. “You won’t, Buffy. I swear!” she reassured fervently, tightening her embrace around the smaller women.

“I need you, Wil! You and Tara ... I c-can’t live without you!” Buffy spoke intently.

Willow swallowed past the lump in her throat and her voice was ragged as she replied, “I belong to you, Buffy, remember?” She pulled away just enough to take hold of Buffy’s hand and guide it up to the collar around her neck. “See? It says, ‘Property of Buffy Summers.’ I couldn’t remove it even if I wanted to; and that’s never gonna happen.”

A hesitant smile appeared on Buffy’s face. “For ever and ever?” she asked in a little-girl voice.

“Forever and ever and ever!” Willow answered intently, smiling back at her lover. Her smile grew even more as Tara entered her line of sight.

The taller blonde climbed onto the bed and scooted over to embrace Buffy from behind.

Buffy’s eyes slipped shut and she whimpered softly as her own mistress held her and nuzzled her hair. “Oh, Tara!” she sighed.

“Oh, Buffy, my darling girl,” Tara crooned softly. “Don’t you know we’d never leave you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Tara whispered, turning Buffy’s head towards her and kissing her gently. After ending the kiss, she stared intently into Buffy’s eyes and slowly and clearly said, “We. Are. Not. Leaving. You.”

Willow held her breath as Buffy visibly hesitated. After a few seconds, the petite body in her arms relaxed. ‘Thank goodness!’ Willow thought with a relieved exhale.

“Never!” Tara huffed. Any further protest from Buffy was halted as Tara pulled her onto her back and began kissing her passionately.

‘Mmm,’ Willow thought with a sigh. ‘Playtime? No ... comfort-time I think.’

Taking advantage of her lover’s face being turned away, Willow started her way up the side of Buffy’s neck with soft, gentle kisses. ‘Goddess, I love your warm, smooth skin,’ she thought. Whether the whimper that Buffy made was due to Willow sucking on her earlobe, or due to Tara’s kiss, it warmed the redhead’s heart just the same.

‘How I love you, Mistress Buffy,’ she thought, her heartfelt adoration for the slayer filling her mind as she concentrated on soothing and pleasing her mistress. “May I get rid of these clothes?” she whispered into Buffy’s ear.

“Mmmhmm!” Buffy moaned, Tara not letting up on their kiss long enough for her to verbalize.

Willow smiled at Buffy’s eager grunt. ‘Hmm, it’d be a shame to make Tara let her go long enough to undress her...,’ she thought, rationalizing what she was about to do. Focusing her inner sight on the material making up Buffy’s clothes, Willow thought, ‘Unravel.’

She pictured the fabric unraveling like a thread being pulled in a cartoon. Soon Buffy’s outer layer of pants and blouse were floating through the air as a string running from her body to the empty space on the floor where the clothes rebuilt themselves.

‘Why am I not surprised that she’s going commando again?’ Willow thought with a smile.

Once the slayer was completely unencumbered, Willow began to kiss her way back down her tanned neck, taking her time and doing everything with a gentle passion, rather than hurrying right to the erogenous zones. When she reached the upper slope of Buffy’s left breast, she noticed that Tara was mirroring her actions. As she met her fellow-witch’s gaze, Tara lifted her lips away from Buffy’s flesh just long enough to whisper, “That was really cool!”

‘Slayer-healing is definitely a good thing,’ Willow thought as she kissed and nuzzled Buffy’s soft breast. ‘Keeps these tight and perky even with the “no bra” demon fighting she does.’ She resisted the urge to nibble on the nipple, instead flicking it softly with her tongue while she angled her head to look up at Buffy’s face.

Buffy’s head was tilted back, her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth open and panting.

“So sexy!” Willow heard Tara’s quietly awed whisper. She glanced over to see a look of wonder on the blonde witch’s face.

“Oh yeah!” she sighed in response before taking Buffy’s erect flesh into her mouth and beginning to suckle like a baby.

Tara shot her another lopsided grin before emulating her actions on Buffy’s right side.

Willow’s eyes slipped shut as she felt her mistress’s fingers combing through her hair. ‘This is perfect,’ she thought as she swirled her tongue round and round, sucking strongly at the turgid little nub in her mouth.

After a time, Buffy’s whimpers and sighs grew louder and more frequent. ‘Hmm, methinks my mistress has other little bits she’d like sucked!’ Willow thought with a grin as she felt her lover’s hand ‘encouraging’ her to head south. ‘As Mistress commands, I happily obey!’

A glance showed her that Tara’s head was moving in the opposite direction and Willow shivered with excitement. ‘Oh my, I get it all to myself!’ She kissed her way down to Buffy’s belly, stopping to tease and lick the shallow depression there. ‘Relax, don’t rush ... take it slow. It’s not like it’s going anywhere,’ she told herself.

She forced herself to wait until she again felt Buffy’s hand pushing her downward. ‘Goddess, you smell so good!’ she thought as Buffy’s scent filled her awareness. The redhead whimpered herself and began to salivate as she got closer to her goal.

Willow felt Buffy’s thigh muscle quivering under her hand as she lifted herself over it. Her eyes took in the sight of Buffy pulling at her own nipples while Tara kissed her slow and deep. Her eyes moved down to what was right before her and she licked her lips in anticipation. ‘So beautiful, Mistress!’ she thought, humming with pleasure. ‘So wet and open for me!’

She could wait no longer and immediately leaned forward, taking her first taste. “Mmm mmm!” she crooned happily.

Her eyes slipped shut and she navigated the familiar territory by touch, keeping her movements slow and soft. Her lips and tongue were her implements as she created art in the medium of slick, wet flesh.

‘So good,’ she thought with pleasure, each drawn breath filled with the intimate richness of her lover’s scent. “Mmmm,” every exhale was a satisfied sigh. There was no sense of time, just the everlasting sound, taste and smell of her lover.

When she heard Buffy’s first scream of release muffled against Tara’s mouth, she narrowed her focus, nursing on her lover’s clit as she had earlier on her nipple. Though she kept her movements slow, she sucked strongly, rubbing her tongue in gradual circles around it.

It wasn’t long before Buffy was again shrieking into Tara’s mouth, and Willow immediately pushed two fingers inside the slayer’s quivering sex. She continued her oral ministrations while using her fingertips to rub firmly against that secret spot that would ignite the Buffy-rocket-to-paradise.

‘Yours, yours ... belong to you, Mistress!’ Willow chanted to herself as she drove Buffy to the absolute heights of pleasure. She wrapped her free arm around Buffy’s thigh and held on tightly, instinctively knowing the ride was about to become rough.

Buffy’s arching, undulating body must have been sufficient to break Tara’s kiss, because Willow heard her name shrieked out loud. ‘Yes! Love you so much!’ she thought, bursting with pure and overwhelming joy.

Holding on as tight as she could, Willow managed to keep her mouth and fingers working, prolonging the slayer’s release until she slumped back to the bed, boneless and quivering. Only then did she let up, removing her fingers and ever so gently lapping the copious wetness from her lover’s sex.

Moving up Buffy’s still shuddering body, Willow was amazed. ‘So beautiful ... that I could bring you this much pleasure, it makes me so happy!’ she thought with a sense of pride and joyfulness.

Snuggling up against Buffy’s side, Willow nuzzled and kissed her neck, and then whispered, “Yours, Mistress. I am yours forever.”

Once again Buffy wept. This time though, Willow could tell that they were tears of joy.

“Wow,” Xander said, shaking his head at the story Dawn had just told him. “But, she’s gonna be okay, right?” he sought reassurance.

They were in Xander’s truck heading toward Joyce and Giles apartment. Dawn had arrived home early from her magic practice and told him they had to go see Giles and she’d explain why on the way.

“Yeah, I think so,” Dawn said with only a slightly worried tone. “I’m pretty sure Tara and Willow are, um, making her feel better and stuff.”

“So what the heck did Giles do to make her freak like that?” he wondered aloud.

“Well, hopefully we’re about to find out,” Dawn answered his semi-rhetorical question.

He glanced sideways to see her smiling teasingly at him. ‘Mmm, my sexy girl!’ he thought indulgently.

Her smile changed from teasing to what he thought of as her ‘I love you’ smile, and she took hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together. ‘Love you too, kitten,’ he thought back at her.

“So, you getting used to driving this thing?” she asked after a moment’s silence.

“Well, it’s not nearly as quick and nice handling as yours,” he said in mock-complaint.

“Yeah, but there’s way more room to fool around in it!” she answered back with a laugh.

“Very true,” he allowed, grinning happily. He looked briefly around the cockpit of the GMC Yukon Denali with a satisfied feeling. “Yeah, it’s nice. Comfortable.”

“And in a pinch, we could probably get the whole gang in here,” Dawn added with a laugh.

“Ack!” Xander frowned with distaste. “Way to ruin a perfectly good fantasy, Dawn!”

‘Funny how just holding your hand makes it like everything’s gonna be okay,’ he thought.

“Huh, looks like Mom’s just getting home,” Dawn said as Xander pulled the truck into the complex’s parking lot.

“Mom!” Dawn called out. She shot a quick glance at Xander and said, “Catch up, ’kay?”

He watched appreciatively as she jogged to catch up with her mother. ‘Mmm, I think my truck is already filled with all the sexy women I need,’ he thought with love and lust.

“Rupert!” Joyce’s scream startled Xander into a sprint even as Dawn called out his name.

He rounded the corner and leapt down the six steps into the courtyard at a dead run, skidding to a sudden halt as he caught up to the two Summers women, standing outside the door to Giles’ place.

“Whoa! What the—” he began as he noticed that the door was leaning precariously in its frame.

“Alright! It’s quite alright!” Giles’ voice came out of the apartment. “I’m perfectly fine,” he continued the reassurance as the door began to wiggle.

Xander quickly moved forward and helped the watcher move the heavy wood aside. “Buffy?” he asked when Giles flushed face appeared.

“Rupert, what?” Joyce sounded flummoxed. “What’s going on? Did something happen to Buffy? And what happened to our door?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Dawn spoke out. “Well, except the door part. Though, I’d guess that was Buffy freaking out after whatever you said to her.”

“Tell you what,” Xander interrupted. “Why don’t you guys go inside. G-man can make some tea or whatever to calm down, and I’ll get my tools out of the truck and see if I can fix the door, okay? Then we can figure out what happened.”

“Okay, cool,” Dawn said with a pleased smile. She began herding the two parental units into the building while Xander walked away, shaking his head.

“Hellgods, no problem; but Buffy throws a fit, and we all lose our friggin’ minds!” he muttered as he headed back out to the truck.

“Okay, okay,” Xander said feeling less than full comprehension after all the stories had been told. “I know I’m not necessarily the brightest candle on the cake here, but you’re saying that Buffy had a major meltdown because you wanted Willow and Tara ... to go to England for a couple days?”

After a moment of ringing silence, Xander asked, “So, is it just me that’s in the no-comprende zone here?”

‘Dang, now I know he’s freaked,’ Xander thought, his face echoing Joyce’s surprise.

“Honestly, I did imagine that Buffy wouldn’t be particularly eager to part company with Tara or Willow for even a brief time, given their, um ... closeness,” Giles explained exasperatedly. “However, I was in no way prepared for the ... intensity ... of her reaction.”

“Yeah, she was pretty much a total wreck by the time she got to Wil and Tara,” Dawn offered.

“Yeah, I think so,” Dawn said reassuringly. “Tara’s gonna call when they’re finished ... um, you know, calming her down and stuff.”

“They’re ... ah ... reconnecting. You know—” Dawn explained, waving her hands vaguely.

“Ah ... reconnecting,” Joyce said, a look of comprehension dawning on her face.

Giles rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. Xander only caught the words “typical” and “hormone-addled.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Xander changed the subject. “I mean, about the amulet thing?”

“Well, at the moment there’s little we can do, as I’ve been unable to reach anyone from the coven.” Giles answered.

“I’ve left over a dozen messages,” Giles went on, removing his glasses and polishing them vigorously.

“Why? What is it that they can do that Wil and Tara can’t?” Dawn asked curiously.

“Yes, well, it isn’t so much what they might be able to do, as what they may know,” Giles explained. “I’m fairly certain that I recall a discussion regarding an artifact of the Libitinarii temple.”

Giles raised his eyebrows, apparently considering it. After a moment his brows dropped and he frowned. “Well, it was quite some time ago ... I have only a vague recollection of the conversation....” He trailed off at that point.

“How come you don’t remember?” Dawn asked, with a slight frown of her own. “Aren’t you, like, Mr. Memory-guy?”

“Hmm, vague recollections, usually stopping in the middle of a sentence, followed by taking off into the stacks to find some book ... yep, that’s Giles!” Xander corrected her with a broad smirk.

“Yes, well, it was some time ago,” Giles began, his eyes sliding away from Xander’s.

“And there were ... um ... distractions,” he finished, ducking his head slightly.

Xander saw Joyce’s face don an arch look. The ringing of the phone, however, interrupted anything she might have been about to say.

“Hmm, saved by the bell,” Joyce said as Giles moved with alacrity toward the kitchen phone.

‘I’m pretty sure *that* conversation isn’t over,’ Xander thought snarkily.

“I swear, if that’s the call he’s been waiting for, I’m going to start looking for hidden cameras!” Dawn groused. “Talk about your cliché plot devices.”

“Our lives do have a kinda ‘teen horror flick’ quality to them,” Xander laughed.

“Good heavens, Sarah!” Giles voice exploded. “Have you any idea how many messages I’ve left! Where in God’s name have you been?” he demanded.

Xander glanced at his lover and her mother and saw nearly identical looks of surprised skepticism. “Gotta be the Hellmouth,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Quentin Travers squinted against the glare of the bright, southern California sun as he exited the jetway into the Sunnydale International Airport. “Loathsome place,” he muttered with a sneer as he took in his surroundings.

“America,” Quentin answered sourly. “Do you know what it is that makes this country such an execrable place?” he asked, his eyes not meeting the younger man’s, but rather surveying the people filling the concourse.

He stared at his aide disdainfully until the younger man stopped laughing. “Come along, Jeremy,” he said with a wearied sigh, walking toward the exit, outside of which he could see a line of yellow cabs.

‘The sooner that I am ensconced in my hotel room, the sooner you can make some pathetic excuse and slink off to plan your “secret” treachery,’ he thought with grim humor.

“Yes, thank you, Sarah, I’ll let you know ... I shall, you as well ... goodbye then.” Giles hung up the phone and immediately began cleaning his glasses.

Xander looked away from the watcher to Joyce and saw the slightly raised brow and pursed lips. ‘Looks like G-man’s in trouble,’ he thought with a smirk.

Looking to his lover he saw a similar smirk on her face. “Somebody’s in trouble,” she whispered to him quietly.

The hesitancy which Giles displayed in his slow movements back towards the other three made Xander’s smirk grow until he had to restrain himself from giggling.

“Yes, well ... um,” Giles stammered as he began his response. “She’s, um, well ... she’s the leader of the coven in Devon.”

Giles blushed slightly. “Um, well, she’s a ... um, a long-time acquaintance of mine.”

‘Come on, G-man!’ Xander thought exasperatedly. ‘Even I can see she’s baiting a trap here!’

“Um, well ... yes,” Giles admitted. The look on his face was that of a man who knows he’s walking into dangerous territory, yet is seemingly unable to see any other path.

‘Oh, you’re so gonna owe me,’ Xander thought before interrupting. “Why’d it take her so long to return your calls, G-man?”

He studiously ignored the look both Joyce and Dawn shot him, instead keeping his attention focused on Giles, and his own face as expressionless as possible.

“Ah! Well,” Giles fairly leapt on the subject change as a drowning man grasps for a life-preserver. “It seems that the entire coven is attending a week-long out-of-town conference. She’d only just checked for messages this afternoon.” The look of relief on his face was palpable.

“Actually, it may prove quite beneficial,” Giles continued, clearly preferring the present topic to the previous one. “The conference is here in the States.”

Xander put his arm around her and hugged her to his side. ‘Great. Vegas,’ he thought. ‘There’s some happy memories.’

“Anya?” Jeremy’s tremulous call barely broke the stillness of the room. He shot a nervous glance at his watch before once again looking around the dimly lit space. “Anya, are you here? I-I realize that I’m a b-bit early....” He trailed off, wincing at his stammering voice.

“Did you bring it?” a hard, yet clearly feminine voice caused the watcher to squeak and jump.

He turned sharply to his left and could make out the silhouette of a woman in the doorway to another room. “O-oh, Anya ... I-I,” he stuttered.

“The money, Jeremy,” Anya said, sounding perturbed. “Did you bring the money?”

Jeremy’s breath was taken away as she moved forward into the slightly better light of the room. “Yes,” he breathed, whether in answer to her question, or in response to the fact that she was wearing nothing but stockings and high-heeled shoes.

“How much were you able to steal from your boss, Mr. Travers?” she asked guilelessly.

Jeremy flushed in shame at the bluntness of her question. “I, uh, that is, I was able to divert, um—”

“Eighteen thousand...,” he began, his voice hoarse with desire and disgrace.

“Pounds?” she asked, immediately turning from anger to contemplativeness. “Hmm, today’s exchange is one point six four two to one ... that’s just under thirty thousand U.S. dollars.”

“Good job, Jeremy. Now we can begin the orgasms,” she said with a bright smile, unzipping his trousers and pulling his already erect cock out. She wasted no time with further pleasantries, but slid his member down her throat and began to work her head up and down, sucking strongly.

“Oh dear!” Jeremy gasped, dropping the folder in his hand and scattering papers all over the floor.

The watcher only managed to last for a minute or so before his eyes rolled back and he began spurting his cum into her mouth.

Anya gulped him down and pulled off of his rapidly deflating tool with a slurping pop. “That didn’t take long,” she commented. “I certainly hope you’ll last longer next time.”

“Come on then,” she said, standing up and grabbing his limp dick. “You can lick me to several satisfying orgasms while we wait for this to get hard again.”

With that she walked away, leading him by his flaccid prick into the other room.

“Yeah, I’ll do ’em; half now, half after,” the less than reputable looking fellow said.

“I’m not sure,” Jeremy started, feeling uneasy about the entire process. “How do we know he won’t just keep the money?” he added in an aside to Anya.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Anya said brightly. “He was recommended very highly. Bob — he’s this Darmsaugen demon I know — anyway, Bob promised to suck this guy’s entrails out through his nose if he didn’t successfully complete the contract.”

Jeremy noticed the up-until-now stoic man shudder at the comment. “Very well, I suppose we have an agreement,” he muttered begrudgingly.

Anya tossed an envelope on the table, saying, “Money, pictures, and addresses. Especially including the address of my shop where you absolutely must not do it! I’ve cleaned enough blood out of that floor; I don’t need any more!” she added vehemently.

“Right. Do ’em outside the store,” the man said in a bored voice, his whole attitude conveying the desire to end this conversation.

“No!” Anya screamed. “Not inside the store; not outside the store; somewhere away, far away from the Magic Box!”

“Yes, go. I am tired of talking to you,” Anya said with a dismissive wave. Turning to the cringing watcher as if the hit man wasn’t even there, she loudly said, “Come on, Jeremy. I want you to give me more orgasms now.”

Flaming with embarrassment, Jeremy heard the hit-man say with a chuckle as he walked away, “I definitely got the better job!”

“I hope Buffy’s feeling better,” Dawn whispered in his ear as they approached the triad’s mansion.

“I just can’t picture her freaking out like that ... I mean, I get what you said, I just can’t picture it in my head,” Xander replied as he pulled the Yukon up next to the triad’s van.

“It was definitely of the bizarre!” she agreed. After a pause, she added in a hesitant whisper, “I wish I hadn’t seen it.”

Xander dropped the transmission into park and then reached over to gently rub his lover’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s okay now, Dawn. You know nothing keeps the Buffster down for long.”

‘Sibling rivalry aside, you obviously look up to her just like I do,’ Xander thought as he watched his lover’s face. ‘And, you’re just as worried about her too.’

“So, G-man’s not here yet, I see,” he said, changing the subject to something a little lighter.

Her smile grew as she answered, “Yeah, I’m sure he wanted to have us here first ... like safety in numbers, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s probably circling the block until he sees one of our cars,” he agreed.

“Yeah,” she sighed, her shoulders slumping just a little. “Okay, I guess we should go in.”

He nodded and squeezed her shoulder slightly before opening his door and exiting the truck.

She jumped out to meet him as he came around the truck. Their hands automatically came together, finger

The Wuffara Chronicles
Repercussions, Reactions, and Retaliations
Book IV

The Bear

The Wuffara ChroniclesRepercussions, Reactions, and RetaliationsBook IV

The Bear

The Wuffara Chronicles
Repercussions, Reactions, and Retaliations
Book IV