William's Girl

Prologue

Tara McClay looked around the apartment. It was located in an older area of town. The architecture was of the craftsman style and the apartments owner had done a wonderful job of renovating the space. Tara had been reclined on the brown leather sofa, that is, until her girlfriend finally drove her to distraction.

Tara was a quiet girl with straight mousy brown hair. She worked as a massage therapist and nurturing was of second nature. Most days, she was able to instill peace in others with little effort. She reached over and gently stroked the red hair of her girlfriend. Normally, this gesture would have soothed Willow, but not today. Today, Willow Rosenberg was far too anxious to register the subtle gesture.

Willow continued to nervously tap an envelop on the end table next to the sofa. “What was I thinking? Am I crazy? Obviously pretty much going to have to go with the crazy defense. Ladies and Gentleman of the jury I didn’t purposely get a totally inappropriate birthday gift for my best friend….you see…I was temporarily insane.”

Tara smiled a crooked smile as she looked at Willow. “She’ll love your gift Willow, you’ll see, it will be fine, said Tara.

“Should have gotten the book, The 25th Anniversary edition of The Princess Bride signed by William Goldman, that would have been a fabulous gift,” groaned Willow as she finally set the envelop down so that she could rest her head in her hands. Tara patted Willow on the back and said, “Or the cow, I liked the cow idea.”

Willow looked up and frowned “Oh, God! Your right! Buffy would have loved to donate a cow to some poor family in some third world county. Do you think it’s too late? Could we cancel and just e-mail a donation to Heiffer.org?” Just then the doorbell rang.

“Afraid not,” said Tara looking at the door.

Willow took a deep breath and stood up. She was not used to second guessing herself. As an attorney she was used to winning, in the courtroom she was confident, precise, and good at making the right choices. Willow took a deep breath, took a quick look over her shoulder in search of a reassuring smile from Tara, and opened the door. As Willow looked into a pair of amazing blue eyes she heard Tara say behind her, “O..or not, c..cows and b..b..books are often overrated.”

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Chapter 1
 

“H’lo luv, one of you is Willow?” said the man at the door. He was dressed from head to toe in black. Black wool trousers, silk shirt, boots, and leather jacket. He wasn’t especially tall, but he possessed a certain intensity, a certain presence. His hair was white blond, which while in contrast to the black clothing, seemed very consistent with his almost alabaster skin tone. A moment passed without response and the man raised his left eyebrow.

Willow noticed the scar, shaped like and “x”, took a brief detour to admire the chiseled cheekbones, and then smiled. “Yes, I’m Willow and Buffy is Sooooo going to love me!”

“Right, I’m William, traded e-mail with you. Think you made a good choice luv. I always try to come up with 3 gift ideas, based on the information customers give me..have to say this one is a bit unique. But, based on what you told me, I think you made a good choice. Sounds like the bird could use a night of feeling special, being treated like a Princess, no demands, no expectations, just being pampered.”

“S..s..so,” started Tara, “do you need any help setting up?”

“S’not me pet. I thought up the gift, made the arrangements, but someone else will be doing the follow through. His name is Xander and he was given a file to study earlier this week. Trust me, it will go without a hitch. I’m just here to drop off supplies. Xander was running a little late and asked that I meet him here instead of him having to stop by the office to pick everything up…” The ringing of his cell phone cut off William.

“H’lo. What? You bloody well better be joking mate! Bollucks! Right, I’m being a stupid git. You take care of yourself, that’s the important thing. Any suggestions as to who I can get to cover this job on short notice? Your joking right? Xander? Xander? Bloody Hell!”

“Gosh Anya, he sounded a bit panicked” said Xander as he hung up the cell phone. He looked at Anya who was smiling brightly. She stiffly patted him on his shoulder and with assurance said, “Xander trust me….this is a win, win, win, win!”.

“Huh?” asked Xander.

“Buffy still gets her birthday present, William gets his first date in forever, you get the weekend off..well sort of…and I get orgasms. Everybody’s happy. Go me!” The ringing of her cell phone interrupted Anya’s celebratory dance. She cleared her throat, gave Xander a rather smug smile and answered, “Anya Jenkins!”

“H’lo, Anya? It’s William, I am so sorry to have to do this to you….I know you said that it was tonight or next month to go over your list of folks for Christmas and that you wanted to do it sooner rather than later…”

“Blah, Blah, Blah, come on William if you are calling to cancel just do it already so we can get on with our evenings!” said the always blunt Anya.

“It’s just that something unexpected has come up, we can reschedule?” asked William.

“Reschedule? Sure! Fine! Call me sometime next week. Have a good weekend William!” chirped Anya. William hung up, looking puzzled. Anya was an odd bird. First she makes it seem like his retaining the entire account hinged on his being available to go over her Christmas list tonight, then when he has to cancel at the last minute she acts like she can hardly be bothered with his call and she was almost-cheerful?

“Oh Goddess! We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” asked Willow.

“No, no trouble here. Right then, just a slight change in the play list. No worries luv, your friend will still have a great birthday. You birds can be on your way. I’ll just get the supplies out of the car,” said William as he ushered Willow and Tara out the door.

“Wait! I almost forgot” called Willow as she ran back into the apartment. Willow emerged a few seconds later holding the envelop in one hand and a thumbtack in the other. With a flourish she tacked the envelop onto the door stating, “That should do it!”

William made two trips from the car to the apartment. As he closed the front door he noticed the envelop with the words, “Buffy. Happy Birthday…Will”. William leaned his back against the door and took a few calming breaths. “You can do this…don’t be a stupid git…chit deserves a brilliant birthday mate.”

William spent the next hour preparing the apartment. He popped a CD filled with soft sensual jazz that he burned especially for tonight into the CD player in the living room. It took him some time to figure out the speaker system, but soon had the music softly playing in the bedroom, kitchen, and on the back deck. He moved through the apartment and sprayed a light mist of something called, “Tranquil Mist”.

Carrying a box with the supplies for the table he walked out the French doors leading from the kitchen onto the back deck. He first covered the table on the deck with a white linen tablecloth and set it with the china and crystal that he brought. The china was a plain white plate with a platinum band along the edge. He arranged the dozen or so glass votive candleholders on the table and dropped a white tea light in each. Linen napkins and silverware finished off the job.

William then brought the box back into the kitchen, setting in on the floor in the corner so that he could use it to transport the supplies back home later. There were 6 large white pillar candles remaining in there, which he set on the kitchen counter. Next unloaded all of the prepped food into the refrigerator. He opened to two bottles of wine that he brought with him next. The white went into an ice bucket, and the red was just set on the counter.

“What next?” asked William as he looked through the remaining bag. He pulled out a bottle of lavender/vanilla bubble bath and a dozen red roses. Setting the bubble bath aside for now, William focused on pulling the petals off of each stem. He dropped the petals back into the bag. Once the job was done William gathered up the bags that could be disposed of, the flower stems, and made a quick trip outside to dispose of the trash.

On his way back to the kitchen he quickly checked his watch, noting that he had about 10-15 minutes left. He grabbed the pillar candles, bag of rose petals, and the bubble bath. William made his way down the hall to Buffy’s bedroom. It was only a one-bedroom apartment and he had to give the girl credit for her good taste.

The room was decorated simply and comfortably. It contained a four-poster bed with a rich Cherry finish. There were matching nightstands and a large wardrobe that she used to store a television, DVD’s, books and such. The bedding was a deep red Chinese silk pattern with gold piping. The lamp on the nightstand was covered with a gold silk shade, casting a nice glow. In the corner sat a black velvet chaise. The apartment owner had casually left her nightgown on it this morning. William switched the floor lamp, which sat adjacent to the chaise on, then proceeded into the bathroom.

The bathroom was very spacious and looked as if it had been recently remodeled. Obviously a girl that likes her baths. The walls and floor was covered with a golden marble. The tub was huge, hotel suite huge with various bath potions and hair products lined up across the back. There was of course the customary commode and a sink encased in an antique wooden vanity.

William set the candles on the counter, quickly gathered up all of the products from the tub and deposited them under the bathroom sink. He stopped up the bath, poured in a generous amount of the lavender/vanilla bubble bath and started to fill the tub. Next, he arranged the white pillar candles all around the tubs edge. As the tub filled he wandered back into the bedroom and took a calming breath.

A time check showed 5 minutes. Williams’s eyes drifted to the black nightgown on the chaise. He seemed to have it in his hands before he new it and had lifted the soft silk to brush against his cheek. He could smell…her. He quickly pulled himself out of the moment, shaking his head, “Wanker! Remember this is business and you are a professional.” William set the nightgown back down where he found it and went back into the bathroom to light the candles and shut off the taps. He then grabbed the bag with the rose petals and sprinkled a few handfuls into the tub, atop the bubbles.

William walked back down the hallway and out onto the deck, he sprinkled the remaining petals onto the table. It’s time….he poured 2 glasses of the Chardonnay and set them on the counter. “Where to put the ice bucket?”. William grabbed it and quickly ran back into the bathroom setting it on the floor by the tub. He quickly surveyed the room and smiled, “Brilliant!”.

“The candles on the table..” he thought as he ran back down the hall and onto the back deck. After lighting the last of the candles he grabbed the 2 glasses of wine from the counter and headed with them towards the living room.

_________________________________________

Chapter 2

Buffy locked her car door, then picked up her purse and briefcase in one hand, while pressing the speed-dial on her cell with the other. As Buffy ran towards her front door, she heard Willow pick up on the other end. Buffy cradled the phone awkwardly against her shoulder as she pulled the card off her front door and inserted the key in the lock.

“Hey, Will! Sorry, I have had the day from hell. Typical Buffy Birthday Day. I know I was supposed to call before leaving work, but I spaced, thanks for the card by the way, why not just give it to me at Dinner, we’re still on for 7:00 right?” Buffy hurriedly said as she twisted the key in the lock then pushed the door open while juggling her purse, briefcase and cell.

Willow was standing next to Tara outside of a local restaurant with her cell phone to her ear and her mouth open, gaping open then closing, no sound coming out. Tara smiled and said teasingly, “What’s wrong? You’re doing your fishy impression…” Willow snapped out of it and yelled, “Buffy, you were supposed to call me BEFORE you left work so that I could explain your present…” The next thing that Willow heard was a shrill scream and a thud as the cell phone presumably hit the floor.

Buffy used her shoulder to push the door open and walked into her apartment. She closed the door with her foot as she set the briefcase and purse down by the entry table. As the listened to Willow scold her for forgetting to call sooner she started to slip out of her shoes and round the corner to the living room. Buffy found herself face to face with a strange man-she screamed instinctually dropping her cell phone on the floor while she turned back to the door. As she struggled to remember how to open the door she started to hear someone say over the beating of her heart, “Buffy! Its Okay Willow can explain, Willow can explain.” She slowly turned her head around and saw the cell phone in front of her face. As if on autopilot she reached out and put the cell phone to her ear.

“Buffy? Buffy?” she heard her friend say. She must of said something in response, because Willow continued to talk… “Oh Goddess Buffy, I’m so sorry. You were supposed to call before you left the office so that I could explain. See, you’ve seemed so lost lately and well, that’s understandable what with all that’s happened and so that’s basically why I picked this and not the cow….”.

Buffy turned her back to the stranger in front of her and whispered into the phone, “Willow! You’re babbling. What are you talking about? What cow?”.

“No,” Willow said, “There’s no cow. See I picked William instead of the cow….” Buffy started to feel dizzy and became suddenly aware of a complete lack of Oxygen in the room. She felt someone take the phone from her and vaguely heard a voice say, “Or maybe Willow can’t explain.” She was then walking, and then sitting, then breathing, slowly, into a bag. Then she saw blue. Then it was gone. She removed the bag from her face and closed her eyes taking one, slow, pleasurable breath. Breathing was good. She opened her eyes back up and he was again standing in front of her, with his blue eyes, and the glass of wine. He knelt down in front of her and put the glass to her lips. “Sip, “ he said as he tilted the glass, pouring a small amount into her mouth. Mindlessly she followed his instructions. As he pulled the glass away a small trickle of wine managed to escape and rolled from the side of her mouth down the line of her jaw. He reached out with his thumb and captured the drop. Without thought, he brought his thumb to his own mouth. He then stood up, placed the glass in her hand and walked out of the room.

Buffy took a moment to look around. There was a bottle of red wine sitting on the counter. The French doors to the deck were open and the table was set. The apartment smelled like fresh flowers and she registered the sound of soft music playing in the background.

“Oh my God!” she thought, “Willow got me a man for my birthday? That’s crazy! If I don’t die now, I am going to have to kill my best friend. Yup! Definitely worthy of homicidal rage.” There he was in front of her again. This time he was carrying his own glass of wine. He pulled another chair out from the table and pulled it up next to her.

He took a sip of his own wine and smiled softly. He leaned towards her slightly and said slowly, “Right then, this is much better, with you breathing and all. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version. I’m William, Willow hired me to arrange for your birthday present.” He noticed that he was losing her again as she paled and her breathing started to pick up speed. “Shhhh, it’s ok. Let me explain, and then I’ll go if you want. There’s no need to be frightened. I understand what a shock this must be….you see, I’m sort of a private concierge. I have a select group of clientele that I find things for, arrange things for. Things like special gifts, tickets to hard to get shows, vacation packages, artwork selection, and things like that. Anya, Willow’s boss, hired me last month to arrange for the trip that Willow and Tara took to San Francisco. I’ve done work off and on for the law firm of Giles and Jenkins for a couple years now. Anyways, Willow then hired me to help choose a gift for you.”

He could see that she was calming, she brought the glass of wine to her mouth and the color had returned to her face. “Willow chose this option,” he said as he looked down at the floor, “because she wanted you to remember what it was like to feel special, to be treated like you deserve. She hoped it would leave you…ready to try again. Xander was supposed to be the bloody knight in shining armor. He’s an actor you see, and we worked it out sort of like this wonderful romantic play. Then on his way he got in a car accident and…and….well now it’s turned more into a farce, hasn’t it?” He looked up at her shyly and she burst into laughter. “Well, it’s not that bloody funny, is it?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes it is” laughed Buffy. “You actually are able to earn a living doing this?”

“Well, no,”. “This would be a mistake, obviously, I will give your friend back a full refund. Although you probably won’t believe this, I actually am normally very good at my job. I apologize for this disaster. I will just pack up the dishes and be on my way then. There’s food in the fridge and the wine’s in the bathroom.”

William picked up the cardboard box off of the kitchen floor and walked out onto the back deck with it.

“Bathroom?” thought Buffy as she walked down the hallway into her bedroom. As she walked into the bathroom her eyes filled with tears. Her day had been truly awful and the soft candlelight, music, and inviting bath were….exactly what she needed, exactly. She saw the bottle of white wine sitting in the ice bucket on the floor and quickly grabbed it. Buffy walked down the hall and onto the back deck. William had just finished blowing out the candles and had begun packing them up.

“They looked pretty,” said Buffy softly as she walked up to him, handing them the bottle of wine. He tilted his head slightly to the right and a look of confusion fluttered across his face. “I think I need a refill before my bath,” she said as she held up her glass. “How long till your ready for me?”

“Ready for you?” he asked with a slight smile.

“The bath,” said Buffy.

“Of course, as long as you want luv. I’ll just re-light the candles. Take your time, “ he said.

Buffy smiled as him, turned around, and headed back towards her bedroom. She walked into her bathroom and quickly undressed. She pinned her hair up on top of her head, set her wineglass on the side of the tub, and tested the water with her toe. Surprisingly it was still hot.

She stepped in and sunk her body down into the suds. She took in the scent and focused briefly on the flicker of the candle flames. They then started to blur. “I’m so tired,” she thought as she took a sip of her wine, then leaned her head back against the back of the tub. She focused on her breathing and tried to clear her mind. Images of her day started flickering through her mind and she soon found tears were running down her cheeks.

Buffy remembered sitting with the boys mother in the waiting room while the trauma team worked to resuscitate her son. She knew that he wasn’t going to make it. His color was awful. He was already ashen when the paramedics brought him in. She was told that his mother called 911 and reported that he had locked himself in a trunk in his room and that she didn’t have a key. Buffy had called some relatives and sat with the mother until her sister arrived.

Buffy then had excused herself to check on how things were going in the trauma room. Buffy listened as the paramedic explained that the mother had apparently been vacuuming the house with the stereo on. When she finished the job she went to check on her 9 year-old son who had been playing in his room. Reportedly within seconds she recognized that her son was trapped in the trunk and she had called 911. The paramedics arrived shortly later; they broke into the trunk and found that the boy was already unconscious. She heard the attending surgeon call the code and he declared the child dead.

The room was silent. Buffy listened as the surgeon asked the paramedics questions, she noticed that the boy had bruising on his head, presumably from it hitting against the top of the trunk. Buffy felt her throat tighten and her stomach lurch. She walked closer to the body and felt overcome by a cold chill. “Parker,” she remembered saying, “I think that we need to check him carefully, “I….I think that we need to turn him over.” She remembered how the room seemed to sway as they rolled his body over and she saw the scars across his back. Her eyes met his and she said, “I’m calling Child Protection to see if there’s a history, give me 2 minutes”.

The rest of the night went by in a blur, the coroner arriving, and the police questioning the mother, paramedics, and Parker. Then, eventually the mother leaving in police custody. Buffy remembered looking at the small boy and imagining his last moments, trapped throwing his body against the top of the trunk in an effort to force it open…thump…thump…knock…knock…

“Buffy?” she felt his warm breath against her neck and his hand softly touched her arm, which was draped over the edge of the tub. She opened her eyes with a start, wondering if she had dozed off and how long she had been in the bathroom. The water, she realized was cold. The lights were still off, but he could see the tears on her cheeks even with the candlelight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I knocked, I thought you might want more wine, then I heard you crying, and you didn’t answer, and, well, I was worried.”

“It’s alright, just, a bad day,” she whispered back. “It’s over now isn’t it? No need to dwell. It’s my birthday after all.”

He tilted his head and looking straight at her said, “This isn’t a date luv. You can dwell all you want. Whatever happened today…feel free to dwell…wallow in it if you want. No need to spare me. No need to be anything other than real.” He reached out and wiped the tears from her face. He then turned around and grabbed one of the oversized bath towels off the rack. He held the towel out and politely averted his gaze. “Come on, pet,” he said, “the baths cold.”

She stepped out of the tub and turned her back to him, allowing him to wrap her in the bath towel. As the warm cotton and his arms wrapped around her she felt her sobs break loose. He turned her around and placing one hand at the small of her back and the other on the back of her head pulled her close. She cried into his chest as he murmured soothing words. Finally, she was spent. He pulled back and lifted her chin with his index finger. He looked into tear-filled eyes and brushed his lips softly across her forehead.

“You talk when you want, or not all. There’s a new robe on your bed, part of the birthday gift, slip it on and meet me on the deck,” directed William before walking out.

Buffy blew out the candles and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

The robe was a beautiful royal blue silk with a black cord sash. Buffy dried off and slipped on the robe. She went back into the bathroom to wash the remaining make-up off her face. She applied a thin layer of moisturizer and lip-gloss. She then began to make her way out onto the back deck. The apartment was dark now and she noticed that there was a fire burning in her fireplace.

As Buffy entered the kitchen she could see William standing outside on the back deck. She leaned against the doorway to the kitchen and took in the sight before her. The table looked beautiful, but what most caught her eye was the beauty of the man sitting there. She hadn’t really looked at him before, but did so now. He sat with his legs stretched out before hand and his head tilted back, looking up at the sky.

He held the wineglass in his hand and it was almost empty now. Buffy picked up the bottle of white wine and poured the remaining into his glass saying, “Looks like you could use a refill now.”

“Yes, well, I was pacing myself,” answered William as he started to get up and go into the kitchen.

A moment later he was back on the deck carrying a platter. “Caesar salad with lemon infused lobster to start milady,” he announced. He served some into each of their salad plates and sat back down at the table.

Buffy picked up her fork and put a bite in her mouth. She looked up to find William staring at her. “Good?” he asked.

“Oh, my gosh. Are you kidding me? It’s fabulous!” she assured him.

He smiled, and picked up his own fork saying, “I’m glad you’re pleased, glad something can go right for you tonight.”

Without thought she reached out and touched his hand saying, “If I were to be fair, I would tell you that the past hour has been the most right part of my entire day. Possibly my entire week.”

For a few moments they ate in silence. William stole a glance at Buffy between bites and saw her stretching her neck to the right and then the left. He set down his fork and got up from his chair. He walked around the table until he was standing behind her. William put his hands on her shoulders and began to knead her obviously sore muscles. Buffy laid her fork down and said, “You don’t have to do that, you know.”

“I want to. Let me do this for you,” he responded.

“I want to tell you,” she whispered. William stopped and moved around so that he faced her. He knelt down before her and took her hand, preparing to listen. A half hour later Buffy had finished explaining her day.

William stood up and turned around. With his back to her, he ran his hand through his hair. When he turned back to her he had tears in his eyes. “I-”, he started.

She stood up and moved to him, placing her index finger over his mouth she said, “Shhh, you don’t need to say anything. Thanks for listening, and for understanding. It feels..I feel…thanks.”

He shrugged and said, “Got dinner after this. It’s getting late. Willow said filet mignon was your favorite. Should I fire up the grill?”

“Would you be offended it I asked for a rain check for the steak?” she asked.

“No, no offense,” he responded as he helped her pull out her chair. “How about I call tomorrow to come pick up my stuff?” asked William.

“No, I mean, yes,” said Buffy, “But, your leaving?”

“Thought that was the idea pet. Not ready for me to go yet?” he asked.

“Well, I haven’t tried the red wine yet, and I am guessing that there is some dessert in my future, not to mention I rudely interrupted what promised to be a really good shoulder rub. “ said Buffy with an almost teasing smile. William felt self-conscious. Suddenly he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Well, that wasn’t exactly true, he didn’t know what he should do with his hands. So, he put them in his pockets and suggested that Buffy retire to the living room.

He spent a few minutes clearing the plates, then put the chocolate torte and red wine on a tray. As he carried the tray into the living room he noticed Buffy sitting on the sofa. The sofa faced the fireplace with a coffee table in between. William sat the try down on the coffee table and took a minute to throw another log onto the fire. He grabbed the red chenille throw off of the arm of the sofa and laid it out before the fireplace. He then grabbed a pillow off of the sofa and placed it on the throw, in front of the coffee table. William sat on the coffee table and patted the pillow, which was now lying between his feet. “Your massage milady,” he said softly.

Buffy got up and walked around the coffee table. She picked up the glass of wine from the tray and sat down at William’s feet. She stared into the fireplace and took a deep breath as she felt his hands once again start to knead her tired shoulders. Slowly they moved up her neck. This time, on the way back to her shoulders he moved the robe aside some. Buffy heard herself moan and immediately put her hand over her mouth. William chucked and said, “If you think the shoulder rub is good, you should taste the torte.”

A forkful of rich delicious cake appeared before her eyes and she opened her mouth, waiting. The dark chocolate flavor was a great compliment to the red wine. “You like?” he asked.

Buffy nodded, then took the fork from William and moved his hand back to her shoulder. “Cake later, more magic fingers now, please.” Said Buffy.

William chucked and went back to rubbing Buffy’s shoulders. He could feel the tension melting away and slowly her body began to relax against his. Within minutes her breathing was slow and steady and she was leaning back against him. William reached back for another pillow from the sofa. He then slid off of the coffee table so that he was behind Buffy.

He realized that she was drifting off to sleep. He moved forward with her a few inches and then wrapped his arms around her and began to lay her down. He reached over to place the pillow under her head and softly stroked her hair. He couldn’t see the peaceful smile on her face because her back was to him. “Goodnight, Buffy, happy birthday,” he whispered before he started to get up.

“No,” she said, “Don’t go. I don’t want to be alone just yet. “

“Your not alone, Buffy, I’m right here,” he said as he settled down, spooning behind her and wrapping her in his arms.

“Stay with me?” asked Buffy in a dreamy voice.

William breathed in the scent of her and moved just a little closer, “As you wish,” he said placing a tender kiss on the back of her neck.

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Chapter 3
 

Buffy woke up snuggled in her bed to the smell of fresh coffee. She opened her eyes slowly, a smile grazing her lips, remembering the prior evenings events. The sun was shining through her bedroom window. She stretched, luxuriously, thinking, “It’s going to be a beautiful day!” Buffy was still in her new silk robe, covered only with the red chenille throw. She couldn’t remember going to bed last night and suddenly realized that William must have carried to the bedroom. “He must be responsible for the coffee too…” she thought as the climbed out of her bed.

She made a quick stop in the bathroom, then, deciding she was presentable went to the kitchen in search of William. As she walked into the kitchen the first thing that she noticed was that she was alone. The second was that there was a post-it note on the coffee maker. Buffy slid to the floor-

She remembered a similar morning about 2 years ago. The note simply read, “Sorry. Well, not really. A lot of it has been…fun! Angel”. It took her 3 days to realize that he was really gone. She had no indication that their marriage was anything but happy. Also, he hadn’t taken one thing from their home. His car was there, all of his clothes, his toothbrush, everything. She filed the standard missing persons report….then she got the call from the police. Her husband didn’t exist. Neither, unfortunately, did her fortune any longer.

Buffy had let her late mother down in the worst possible way. Joyce Summers, the famous artist, had dedicated the last years of her life to forming and running “The Summers Foundation and School of the Arts.” Angel had managed to embezzle 2.3 million from the foundation and another 3 million from Buffy’s personal accounts. Buffy, despite objections from other board members resigned from the board of directors in shame. In one day, her life collapsed. It was Father’s Day, the day after her Birthday on that particular year. The day she had been waiting for all week. The day that she was going to tell Angel that he was going to be a father.

Buffy took a deep breath to steady her and slowly got to her feet. She walked over to the coffee pot and looked at the note. It simply read, “Sorry to not be here when you woke up. I had to work this morning. Still owe you a steak dinner…tonight? 7:00? Call me! William.” He left a number. He left a number. He was sorry to not be here this morning and he left a number.

As Buffy poured herself a cup of coffee she dialed the phone. “Willow?” she asked.

“So….how was the birthday present?” asked Willow in a singsong, teasing tone.

“I need to talk to you Will, last night was great, and I am having the major wiggins. William wants me to call him and he wants to make dinner for me tonight. Only, I don’t know if it’s because he didn’t serve me the entire dinner last night…or because he WANTS to see me again..”

“Buffy! O my goddess! Why didn’t you get to dinner last night?”

“Mind in the gutter much? We got to dinner, just not all the dinner,” Buffy clarified, “White wine and Caesar Salad with Lemon infused lobster for Madame!” Buffy announced in a poor imitation of a highbrow British accent. She went on to explain that the recipe of horrendous day, serene bath, scrumptious appetizer, relaxing music…had led to relaxed and content Buffy. Next thing she knew she was suggesting they bypass dinner and go straight to dessert, which she clarified, was of the food variety.

“But?” asked Willow.

“But he was so tender, and so….really there. OK, I am backing up the Buffy train. I have a terrible track record with the whole judging the sincerity thing. He could be a narcissistic, sociopath for all I know…set out to get me to fall madly in love with him so that he can impregnate me, then abandon me-taking all of my money-” Buffy finished the last of the sentence so quietly Willow could hardly hear her.

“Buffy, do you have a date with William tonight? Is that it?” asked Willow.

“Will, I’m not sure. What if I do? What should I do?” said Buffy in a near panic.

“Buffy-1) You don’t even know if this is a date or business, 2) If it is a date it is clear that although you had a nice time last night, you are unclear about your feelings, question his motivations, and are still carrying around a lot of your own baggage, 3) I so wanted for you to walk away from this birthday ready to try again…but I’m also scared for you. I love you Buffy. I think you deserve happiness and I want you to find it,“ concluded Willow.

“Thanks Will, are you sure you’re not the therapist?” joked Buffy. “I’m going to call him, and take this one step at a time. I will continue to be the cautious, suspicious Buffy that you have learned to know and tolerate during the past 2 years. Guarding my heart carefully from all potential foes. I will call you tomorrow. Thanks sweetie!” concluded Buffy as she hung up.

Before she could second-guess herself Buffy dialed William’s number, “Crawford speaking,” he said as he answered the phone. Buffy wasn’t quite sure what to say and found herself not saying anything at all.

“Buffy?” he asked.

“Y-Yes. How did you know?” inquired Buffy feeling suddenly flush and very stupid.

“Had your number programmed into my cell,” explained William, “So, are we on for 7:00? I would love to cook those steaks for you. You really deserve a complete Birthday dinner you know.”

Buffy’s was surprised, sort of, to feel her heart sink. She thought this might be a date, a date with someone that had lit, well, a spark. But she put on her best plastic smile and politely confirmed the 7:00 appointment so as not to hurt anyone’s feeling and to get the obligation over and done with. “It’s dinner. Dinner, and that’s all,” reiterated Buffy to herself.

Buffy spend most of the day running errands and doing laundry. She made a stop by the Market to purchase more wine and to get salad supplies. William had packed up the china and whatnot from the night before and taken it with him earlier in the day…so she reset the table with her casual everyday stuff. She pointedly decided against primping, scurrying about the house getting it “just so”, or even making the salad ahead of time. As the time approached 7:00 she found herself getting increasingly agitated. She opened the bottle of white wine that she bought and poured a glass. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Buffy answered the door wearing a casual light yellow sundress. The color showed off her tan skin and golden hair. She was casually bear-foot and she was holding a glass of wine. “Sorry I took so long, I was in the kitchen,” explained Buffy as she opened the door.

“Who am I to complain? So far, I would have to say that you are coming right close to fulfilling fantasy number 33….beautiful barefoot goddess who comes out of the kitchen to great me at the front door after a long day of work with a glass of good wine,” William took Buffy’s wine out of her hand and took a sip, “Only in my fantasy I think that you are merely wearing ivy, perhaps some flowers,” he smirked.

Buffy noticed that he was holding a bouquet of brightly colored Gerber daisies in one hand. “Ok, come in, I need to ask you a really important question before we go any further.” Buffy walked with determination back into the kitchen. William followed her with a puzzled look on his face. “Is this still business, or is it that you WANT to spend the evening having dinner with me. Either way is okay, I just…need…to know what we.. you are doing. I just need to be clear about the expectations,” concluded Buffy.

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Chapter 4

“Expectations,” repeated William. “Right, well, my plan for this evening-which is an evening OFF from work by the way-, was to come over here and cook up some delicious steaks for someone I would like to get to know better.”

“So, this is a date?” asked Buffy hesitantly.

William tilted his head to the side, and asked, “Do you want it to be?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and pointing her finger at William said, “Look, I don’t have the heart for this anymore. That’s why I came straight out with the question. I KNOW your here to cook the steaks. It’s not the WHAT, it’s the WHY. It’s not that I don’t WANT you to cook steaks with me-it’s just that I’ve been well, cooking my own steaks for a while now and-and it may not be a satisfying, but it’s fine. Granted it’s not as good as with someone else that you can cook well with I mean, nothing tastes so perfect. But, have to be careful because sometimes that so called perfect person turns out to say not even like steak, or-”

William’s jeans started to feel slightly tighter. His eyes gazed upon her lips, soft and beautiful. He realized that he wanted desperately to taste them. He let his gaze wonder down the long length of her neck, over her collarbone, and settle on the little spot at the hollow of her throat. Another spot he would like to taste.

“…And, are you listening to me?” Buffy demanded.

“Got to admit, luv, I drifted off a bit between the sexy steak metaphor and the “are you listening” question. Come on, let’s take our wine and sit out back and have us a chat.” William filled their glasses then walked out to the back deck. He placed the glasses on the table, pulled out two chairs and sat in one of them. “Come on now!” said William as he looked at Buffy and patted the seat of the chair. Buffy warily walked over and took her seat.

“OK,” said William. “I know that you have been hurt in the past. Willow told me about your marriage and in trying to learn about you I read about it in some old newspapers. I get that, that experience has left you afraid. You’re afraid that you will never know love again. But, your even more afraid of thinking you have it, trusting in it, and being betrayed. Isolating yourself from the possibility has kept you safe. The problem is that you’ve known that feeling. Even if you believe now that it wasn’t real for him, it was for you, and you miss it. So, it seems like there are only two choices.1) stay “safe” and cut yourself off from the possibility of loving again, or 2) risk everything on something you feel you can never be 100% sure of. Buffy, we can never be 100% sure of anything. I’m not sure I’m going to wake up tomorrow.”

Buffy looked up at him with tears in her eyes and she took in a ragged breath as she nodded.

William continued, “There are a few things that I do know. I have spent almost my entire life playing it “safe”, avoiding emotional attachment so that I didn’t have to, well, so that I didn’t have to feel. The way I grew up? It goes a long way towards explaining how I became so good at reading people, I can spend a few minutes with someone and like that,” William snapped his fingers loudly, startling Buffy a bit, “tell you how to play them. It’s a gift that helped me survive and I’ve turned it into my livelihood, a legitimate and respected business. I am not a con man. I know that you want to know what my “intentions” are. It’s and old-fashioned term, but bottom line is- that’s what you want to know. All I can tell you is that last night, with you, left me wanting more. I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep and I’m not going to just play out some bloody fantasy that your friends cooked up. That part is over and done with. It served its purpose, didn’t it? It made you remember some of the good stuff. Tonight we are going to sit here, with our wine and watch the sunset. We’re going to get to know one another and share a meal together. It might be awkward, it might be boring as hell, it might be absolutely glorious, but it will be real. So, how ‘bout it? Is it a date?”

Buffy leaned back in her chair and gave William an apprising look. She searched his eyes for a hint, a sign that this was a game. Course, she had looked into Angles eyes a thousand times and saw nothing but love and devotion.

Buffy leaned forward and with the palm of her hand caressed William’s cheek. She looked into his eyes, those deep blue eyes that she realized she could get so easily lost it, and she swallowed hard. “William,” she whispered, “I can do this, this date. I can share meals with you, I can share stories with you, I could even envision sharing my bed with you, but I can’t love you. I’m sorry. Most guys would consider that a pretty winning proposition, but somehow I think that you need more, deserve more.”

William stood up and walked to the edge of the deck. He put his hands in his pockets and seemed to be studying his shoes. Buffy sat, quietly watching him. His shoulders straightened and William clapped his hands together. He turned and walked back towards his chair, moving it so that it was adjacent to Buffy’s he sat down. He looked sideways at her, smirked, and tilted his head towards the sunset, “Gonna miss the show, luv, all this serious talk,” William placed his arm around Buffy. “So, if I understand you right your offering me friendship and possibly sex, but no love, never love. Strange as it sounds pet, seems perfectly normal to me. Never had it, didn’t think I ever would, not really.”

Buffy leaned her head on his shoulder and they sat in silence watching the sunset and sipping their wine. Suddenly Buffy’s stomach rumbled, loudly. William chuckled and suggested that they start on dinner. The two of them made their way into the kitchen and Buffy started to pull salad supplies out of the refrigerator, handing them to William. They worked side by side putting the salad together. Then Buffy started cleaning the baking potatoes and William whipped up a dressing for the salad. Buffy put the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes, then wrapped them in foil. William started the grill and placed the potatoes over the fire.

“Are we ready to put the dressing on the salad?” called Buffy.

“Best wait, the steaks will take a bit yet. Why don’t you bring it out and light some candles? I’ll put the steaks on in a few. Have any red wine?” asked William.

Buffy held up a bottle with a triumphant smile. “Ta da!,” she exclaimed. William walked over to her smiling and reached for the bottle. He grabbed the neck of the bottle, wrapping his fingers directly over Buffy’s. He felt a tingle deep in his stomach as he pulled her closer. His other hand reached out and circled Buffy’s waist, his open palm resting at the small of her back. He pulled her closer to him, and could feel her gasp slightly as he did so. He guided her arm downward, setting the bottle onto the kitchen counter. His fingers grazed her soft skin as his hand traveled the length of her arm, over her shoulder, and up her neck. He threaded his fingers through her silken hair at the back of her head.

William’s eyes never left hers as he slowly tilted his head and bent down towards Buffy. Buffy closed her eyes briefly as her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip in anticipation. Before she could re-open her eyes his lips were there, touching hers, softly. Buffy felt him pull her head in more as he stepped yet closer to her. His mouth opened to take in just her bottom lip, pulling on it slightly; she felt his teeth graze it as he playfully nibbled.

“Getting hungry myself, pet,” William whispered into her ear after pulling back. He placed a light kiss behind her ear, sending shivers up her spine. Then let her go. Turning his attention momentarily back to the wine.

William opened a couple drawers looking for the corkscrew then turned back to Buffy to ask for it. Buffy was still flush and she hadn’t moved a muscle since he had let go of her. He felt himself smile, proud that he seemed to have affected her so. He concluded that she needed to be kissed more- more thoroughly and certainly more often. Suddenly it was as if a cloud passed over his face.

“Buffy?” William began, “One thing you need to know about our-arrangement.” Buffy turned to him and self-consciously smoothed her hair and dress. “I don’t like sharing. If you want to end it, ever, you tell me first. Got it?” Buffy pulled open the drawer that William had just closed and pulled out the corkscrew. She handed it to him, looked directly into his eyes and matching his serious expression said, “Yes, I’ve got it.”

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Chapter 5

William opened the bottle of red wine and handed it to Buffy to take out to the table. He pulled the steaks out of the refrigerator and within minutes they were cooking on the grill. The aroma was intoxicating. It was almost as intoxicating as the kiss, almost. William checked his watch and closing the grill asked, “So, Madame, what’s your pleasure how do you prefer it?”

“Huh?” asked Buffy feeling suddenly panicked. She had been remembering the kiss and thinking about how good it had felt, how good he had felt.

“Come on, no sense in me guessing how you like it,” William said suggestively, “Just tell me. I’m happy to oblige,” encouraged William.

“I…I’m just not used to being so direct…I guess.., “ Buffy trailed off.

“Well, how have you responded in the past when a bloke asked for your order?” asked William.

“Order?” asked Buffy a little shocked and-suddenly, a little confused.

“When they ask how you want your steak?” clarified William.

“My steak! Of course! Rare, please, I like my steak rare.” Buffy said with much relief.

William turned around and smiled mischievously to himself as he lifted the lid to the grill and flipped the steaks. He paused to look back over his shoulder and winking at Buffy said, “See pet? I can do sexy steak metaphors too.”

Buffy laughed and threw one of the cloth napkins at him. William effortlessly caught it in the air and casually tossed it right back on the table.

The meal was relaxed and delicious. Buffy asked William to tell her about what life was like growing up and after several moments of awkward silence he relented. He told Buffy about growing up in various homes and institutions. He explained that he never knew his father and barely knew his mother. She had been a heroin addict and he was taken in by Social Services when he was 4 and his mother went to prison. He had seen her maybe once or twice between then and her death. He never again was in her care, not that she ever cared for him when he was.

“So, you don’t have any family?” asked Buffy.

“Oh, I have family,” explained William, “a half sister, Druscilla. Dru’s still in an institution back in London. Dru’s eight years younger than me. Didn’t meet her or even know about her until I was 15. They brought her to live with the same family that I had been staying with at the time, the Crawford’s. Someone felt it was best to keep us together. Didn’t know one another existed, even, but they thought it would be best,” William scoffed.

“What happened to Dru? Where is she now?” asked Buffy.

“As hard as I had it. Dru had it worse. The life she had let in her 7 short years, with Mum, well it broke her. I had, had a good thing going with that family. They were-decent. Within 3 months it had all fallen apart and I was back in an orphanage. Found out later, from a social worker what had happened. But only after I confronted the bint. They hadn’t planned on telling me anything. Had to overhear some new kid talking about it-had been all over the bloody papers. See, apparently Dru had poisoned our Mum and the man she was living with at the time. They had abused Druscilla horribly. Dru was so young that they decided t’wasn’t her fault, didn’t know what she was doing and all. After a brief hospitalization she was sent to live with the Crawford’s-something must have happened that I didn’t know about-or maybe it was just Dru being crazy. She poisoned them too. I came home from school to find the 3 of them at the table having tea. Only, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, they were dead. Dru’s 17 now. She’s still in an institution, a treatment center, hasn’t left the place in 10 years. I call and write frequently, always go see her on her birthday, seems right that I do, being family and all.”

“What’s she like now? What do you think will happen when she’s 18?” asked Buffy.

“Don’t know. I’d say I didn’t care, but that’s not exactly true. But I care because I feel guilty, not because I love her by choice. I don’t know Dru, Buffy, not really. I care in so much as I would pity an injured bird that I stumbled across. But the guilt? See, our situations could have been reversed. She could have come first, have been taken away first. I could have suffered through her torment, had a more fragile mind. But it wasn’t that way, was it?” William set his fork down and looked down at his plate. “Good thing I had eaten most of my Dinner before getting onto that subject. Not feeling so hungry anymore. Let me clear and do the dishes. It will help shake this mood…I hate feeling broody.”

Buffy sat back and let William clear the table. She sat under the stars, and enjoyed the evening as she listened to water running in the sink and the dishes clink softly as they were rinsed and put into the dishwasher.

Buffy turned around slightly in her chair so that she could look through the French doors and see William at work in the kitchen. She thought about how quickly it seemed she was getting to know this complicated man. His eyes looked up from what he was doing and met hers. She smiled at him and he went back to work. He was letting her in, she thought. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up breaking her own rule. She was going to fall in love with him.

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Chapter 6:

Buffy got up and walked to the end of the deck, which was adjacent to her bedroom. She opened the door and went to her bathroom to begin drawing a bath. Buffy lit the candles that were still there from the night before and poured in some of the bubble bath that William had used the previous night. She then went over to the bed and turned down the covers. Buffy looked at her closet and after a moment’s hesitation walked over to it and stepped inside.

Her closet was much more generous than you would normally find in an older home. She reached up, pulling a box off of the top shelf. Buffy pulled the lid off the box and took out the mans robe that had been inside. Buffy had planned on giving Angel the robe for fathers day, only she never got the chance. Buffy pulled the tags off and brought the robe into the bathroom. It was made out of high quality black Egyptian cotton. It felt like silk. The inside was a plush red terry. It was obviously expensive and Buffy remembered briefly how she spent $300.00 on it without giving it a second thought. Money was plentiful then and Angel liked expensive things. Buffy turned the taps off for the tub and turned the bathroom lights out. She stopped by the television cabinet and picked up a DVD case before heading down the hall to the kitchen.

Buffy came up behind William and as he finished closing up the dishwasher and hit the start button she wrapped her arms around his waist. He jumped, made a little yelping noise and quickly spun around in her arms.

“Did I scare you,” teased Buffy.

“Scare me? Pfft. You would have to be some kind of big, huge, nasty demon to scare me! ,” William said full of bravado.

“Oh! Aren’t you the Big Bad!” laughed Buffy.

“Baby, I’ve always been bad,” said William with mocked menace.

“Is that why I made you squeal like a girl?” asked Buffy.

“I DID NOT squeal like a bloody girl!” said William with not a small amount of indignation.

“Did so. Come on,” said Buffy taking his hand and leading him back towards the bedroom. “You took care of most of the dinner, let me take care of the movie.” Buffy waved the DVD case in front of him and he grabbed it.

“Sweet Home Alabama?” William rolled his eyes.

“Look, it’ll be fun. The truth is that this evening has been heavy with the serious. Most guys would have run, screaming from this place. Lets just enjoy the rest of the night. Unwind, curl up and watch a good movie. I haven’t seen it yet and I heard it great.” She led him to the bathroom and felt him pull back just a bit. “Last night I got to experience the luxury, tonight it’s your turn. You soak, I’ll cue up the movie,” directed Buffy.

“You, you expect me to take a bath? Guys don’t take baths!” William proclaimed. “Okay, I may have yelped but the chick flick and a bubble bath? Suddenly I’m feeling the need to somehow reassert my manhood. I mean, give a guy a break Buffy.” William pleaded.

Buffy slid out of her sandals and walked into her bathroom. She untied the belt around the middle of her dress and slid the straps off of her shoulders. The soft yellow fabric pooled at her feet. She was wearing only a white lace thong underneath. Buffy hooked her thumbs in the sides of the thong and pushed it down her long well toned legs.

William’s eyes followed her every move. Finally she stepped out of them and swept both her dress and thong over to the side with a flick of her foot. Buffy grabbed a clip off of the side of the tub and quickly pulled her hair up. She stepped into the tub, stretching out so that she was leaning against the back. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself. “The way I see it? Now you manhood will be seriously compromised it you do not get in this bath.”

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Chapter 7

William couldn’t remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. Buffy was lying in the huge, sunken tub, surrounded by candles and waiting, for him. She opened one eye, looked at him and asked, “Well, are you coming?”

William held back from making the obvious retort. He merely held up one finger then stepped out of the bathroom. He could hear the water slosh as he imagined Buffy sitting up. He walked out onto the back deck to retrieve the wine glasses, then through to the kitchen. William retrieved the last of the Chardonnay from the refrigerator. He then dumped the dregs of the red wine out into the sink and rinsed the glasses. The ice bucket that he had used the night before was then filled with both ice and water, and finally he added the still half-filled bottle of wine. When he walked back into the bathroom he saw that she had slid back down so that the bubbles surrounded her, her right arm and right leg were both draped over the edge of the tub. There was a sheer layer of perspiration covering her face and upper chest.

“Your back…” she said softly.

“Your hot,” William observed.

“I bet you say that to all of the girls,” said Buffy as she stretch her neck up, in search of some cooler air.

William set the ice bucket down next to the bathtub and poured each of them a fresh glass of Chardonnay. He then took one of the washcloths, sunk it deep into the ice bucket, and wrung it out. He smiled while he folded the washcloth in fourths, and handed it to Buffy.

“My hero!” teased Buffy.

“Your willing slave is more like it,” chucked William as he sat on the toilet to take off his boots.

Buffy placed the cold washcloth over her face and took a deep breath. She heard his clothes fall to the floor. A brief moment of panic ran through her, but she pushed it aside. Buffy felt the water stir as he stepped into the bath. She pulled her knees up and let them fall gently apart to make space for him to recline against her.

The tub was spacious and she had spent many hours in it fantasizing about a moment such as this. Buffy removed the washcloth from her face and dropped it back into the ice bucket. She took a sip of her wine, and then set it back down on the side of the tub.

Buffy ran her wet fingers through William’s hair, spiking it up. She then brushed the backs of her fingers down his cheeks. She turned her hands over and ran her hands down his chest. His body was exquisite. He was thin but well muscled. Not in that yucky, bulky way, but in that yummy sculpted by a great artist kind of way. Buffy picked up her bath sponge, dipped it into the bath, and then lifted it over him letting the lavender infused water cascade down his chest. William was nestled comfortably between Buffy’s legs, his back against her chest. He could feel her breasts against his back. Her knees poked up, slightly, through the bath suds. He placed one hand over each kneecap and made slow, deliberate circles with his thumbs.

“Mmmmmm, good slave,” moaned Buffy.

William reached over and again wrung out the washcloth, handing it to her. “Don’t want you to get overheated luv.”

Buffy poured some bath gel into the sponge. “Sit up!” she commanded.

William moved slightly forward and sat up straight allowing Buffy access to his back. She washed his back gently with the sponge. William stretched his neck gently to the left, then to the right. She felt him relaxing, taking a slow, deep, breath before again reclining back against her. The slickness of his soapy back was arousing. Buffy started to slide the sponge down his right arm. His hand still rested on her knee.

As the sponge traveled back up the path she noticed his well-defined biceps. She moved the sponge to her left hand and repeated the process with his left arm. She set the sponge on the side of the tub and rinsed her hands in the bathwater. She pulled her hands out of the water and ran them up his arms, her fingertips exploring the contours as she enjoyed the feel of him. She retrieved the sponge and started on his upper torso. Buffy moved the sponge back and forth slowly, and sensuously. It dipped under the water and traveled a path down his right thigh. Buffy felt something stiff brush up against her forearm. William involuntarily moaned and Buffy smiled. Her affect on him was obvious. It made her feel a sense of confidence that she hadn’t felt in- a very long time.

Buffy pulled the sponge out of the bath and proceeded to squeeze out the excess water. It was still very full of soap and Buffy’s hands were quickly covered in suds. William, craving her touch, instinctually raised his hips towards the surface of the water. Buffy set the sponge on the side of the tub and gently brushed her palm over the head of his cock. Buffy felt William’s hands grasp her knees. She wrapped her right hand around his now fully erect cock and applying a steady pressure stroked slowly down.

“Oh, Buffy!” William said with a ragged breath.

“Shhhh,” said Buffy, “Let me, let me touch you, I want to touch you.”

William tried desperately to control himself as Buffy began to slide her right hand up and down his shaft, twisting slightly on each down-stroke. Her left hand reached around his body and her palm rubbed his now extremely sensitive head. Then moved to hold the base of his cock.

“Not gonna last much longer luv,” William panted.

Buffy felt a stirring deep in her own stomach. She smiled against his back and lightly bit his shoulder as she continued her slow and steady pumping. Her own hips were rising in time to each downward stroke and she could feel herself becoming increasingly aroused and breathless. William arched up and leaned his head further back, his chin tilting up towards the ceiling as if seeking something.

Buffy took the opportunity to reach her head around and with her tongue lick up the side of his neck. As she reached his earlobe she pulled it into her mouth, pulling on it with her teeth, sucking it into her warm, wet mouth. Her left hand unwound itself and using her nails she scratched a path up his stomach and chest while she began to pump him faster with her right. William groaned and Buffy could feel his body begin to shudder as her hand moved over him. Her nail lightly grazed his left nipple and she couldn’t resist rolling it between her thumb and forefinger. William’s hips were now thrusting up to meet her strokes. As his head turned slightly he plunged his tongue into her warm mouth. Exploring, his tongue found hers and they wound around one another. William kissed her thoroughly, deeply, and passionately. He poured all of the passion that he was feeling at the moment into that one kiss. Buffy pulled away, suddenly aware of the need to breath, and prayed, “Oh, God! William! You feel sooo Good! You feel so good baby.”

That was all it took. William could feel himself completely lose control. As he trust his hips upward into Buffy’s fist he realized that he was feeling dizzy, he was breathing irregularly, his lips were numb, and he couldn’t remember the last time-was there ever a time? God, he couldn’t think-Oh-ahhhhhgrgggg.

Buffy’s face, neck, and chest were completely flushed. She was breathing hard and she, too, felt dizzy. William’s breaths were still ragged. His lips remained pleasantly numb and his now soft cock tingled as she continued to play with the sensitive tip. Soon they found that their breaths were matching pace. They were slowly coming down, together. Their breathing gradually became more deliberate, fuller, deeper, and slower then, the phone rang.

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Chapter 8

The phone rang, interrupting rudely, thought Buffy. She chose to ignore it until she heard the machine pick up-“Buffy? It’s Dawn, I’m hoping that your home. I don’t know what to do Buffy. I think Parker is freaking out. Are you there? Gosh, Buffy Please pick up. I’m wigging. I’m in NICU and Parker is losing it, big time.”

Buffy gently pushed against William’s back, “Let me up, I’ve got to get that.”

She jumped out of the tub and ran, naked, into the bedroom to grab the cordless phone.
“Hello! Dawn? What’s wrong?” Buffy asked as she walked back into the bathroom to grab a towel. William pulled the plug out of the tub and sat on the edge to cool off. He took the towel from Buffy’s hands and opened it in front of her she stepped closer to him, and then turned around so that he could wrap the towel around her body. Buffy sat down on the edge of the tub next to him and continued to listen. William once again plunged the washcloth into the ice bucket. This time, however, he used it to cool off his own face, neck, and upper body. He wrapped a towel around his waist and heard Buffy say, “Dawn, you’ve got to be kidding me. Tell him he’s being stupid!”

Buffy pulled the phone slightly away from her mouth and whispered, “William? Would you get me some water please?” William nodded and walked out to return a few moments later with 2 opened bottles of water. He was already drinking one and he handed the other to Buffy who now stood in the doorway leading to the back deck. The night air was cooling he slipped past Buffy, walked back out onto the deck and sat in one of the chairs.

William heard her follow him, but was surprised when she spontaneously sat on his lap. His arm comfortably wrapped itself around her waist and he founds himself nuzzling her shoulder.

“What do you mean he won’t come to the phone? What did he say? Dawn, when did Parker last sleep? When is he being relieved? Well find out Dawn! Look, I didn’t mean to yell. I’m sorry. Take a deep breath. You’ve done well, really well. Is Kathy alright? No, I don’t think there is anything to be gained by calling a code now. I’ll be there in 10, I’m glad that you recognized Luis, call Mike stat and let me know his patient was admitted and that we need something sedating. Have Alex talk to Mike and get the orders. I’ll come talk Parker down. Hold on…” Buffy looked at William and asked, “Do you mind? Could you give me a ride to the hospital?”

“Don’t mind at all, luv. I’ll go get dressed.” William said gently lifting Buffy up so that he could stand.

“Buffy?” she heard Dawn ask as she watched William walk back into the bedroom. “Oh my gosh! There’s a guy there? You’re-you’re-Oh, I suck! I can’t believe I’m interrupting…”

“Dawn! It’s okay. I’m going to hang up now and I’ll be there in 10 minutes. If Parker regains his senses in the mean-time have take him to the lounge. I’ll check NICU first, if your not there, I’ll come find you in the lounge.”

William walked back out onto the desk once again dressed in his black boots, blue jeans, and white t-shirt. He was dangling his car keys in one hand and Buffy’s lace thong and dress in the other.

Buffy walked up to him and retrieved her clothes. She got dressed, then unclipped her hair and ran a brush through it quickly. Buffy ran a cool washcloth over her face, added a light moisturizer, some concealer for under her eyes, and some lip-gloss. Buffy grabbed a sweater from her closet, clipped her Hospital ID badge to it and extended her hand out towards William.

“Ready luv?” he asked. Buffy nodded and let him lead her out to his car, opening the car door for her so that she could climb in. William had a red BMW convertible, the top was down and she leaned back, taking a moment to take in the beautiful night. William opened the driver’s door, climbed in, and started the engine. “You want to share the story?” asked William as he made his way to the hospital that Willow had mentioned Buffy worked in.

“A trauma patient came in last night. Young guy in his twenties ran his car into a cement wall at 50+ miles per hour. He was unconscious when he arrived with 2 broken legs and a closed head injury. He had no ID and was admitted to the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit as a “John Doe”. Tonight while the trauma surgeon was making his rounds and examining another patient John came to. His nurse was taking his blood pressure at the time and John slugged her, breaking her nose. Parker jumped on top of John and basically punched him in the face and pinned him to the bed. The charge nurse called Dawn, because social services is whom they always call to deal with the weirdness. She immediately recognized John as Luis, a young schizophrenic. He’s probably off his meds, psychotic, and scared as hell. My bet is that he’s been having command hallucinations again and that’s what drove him to take the car and run it into the wall. Him waking to Kathy taking his blood pressure probably felt threatening. Even on medications he’s slightly paranoid. Anyways Parker just thinks that he’s some punk and is saying that he’s not getting off of him until the police come to take him away,” concluded Buffy.

“So, this Parker is just sitting on the poor kid?” asked William.

“Yup,” confirmed Buffy nodding. “Pull in there, through the gate.”

William pulled up to the booth at the gate and an older gentleman stepped out.

“Hey Frank! Let us in will you? I won’t be long, on a bit of a rescue mission. Make sure we don’t get towed?” asked Buffy.

“Sure thing!” assured Frank as he let the gate up so they could proceed through.

William and Buffy got out of the car. He followed her through the doors to the emergency room, down a long corridor and over to a bank of elevators. Buffy pressed the up button and as they waited for the elevator William asked, “Would you rather I just wait for you? Here or in the car? I don’t want to intrude-or-be a bother.”

“Welcome to my life!” Buffy said, spreading her arms wide. “Come on. Hopefully this won’t take long, I’ll show you to the lounge and you can have a cup of absolutely horrible coffee.”

The elevator doors opened and the two of them stepped in. Buffy punched the number 10 and the elevator climbed swiftly to the tenth floor. The elevator doors opened and William held them ajar with one hand as he allowed Buffy to walk through first, his palm resting at the small of her back as he followed her out. A young woman with long brown hair immediately approached them. She was obviously flustered and William guessed that this was Dawn. “Buffy! Thanks for coming. I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dawn trailed off as she looked at William, then back at Buffy.

“I’m William, you must be Dawn,” he said, extending his hand.

“You’ve been holding out on me!” accused Dawn as she looked pointedly at Buffy. “Come on. The circus is still going on in there,” indicated Dawn with a nod of her head.

Buffy walked over to the door marked NICU and held it open as Dawn walked through. William looked at Buffy still holding the door open and raised his eyebrow. She smiled and nodded. He walked through the door and took a look around. There was a long desk with multiple computers. Across from the desk in plain view were 10 hospital beds, all containing patients. Curtains were drawn around the conscious ones, the unconscious ones were in plane site. There were various machines, tubes, lines, all unfamiliar to him. A world Buffy lived in everyday.

Buffy pointed to an empty chair at the desk and William sat down. She walked over to the curtain surrounding bed #3 and pulled the curtain open. There was a young Hispanic man lying in the bed. He was hooked up to various monitoring devices and IV’s. The IV pole was laying on its side, having been pulled over in the obvious struggle. A man dressed in scrubs had the patient pinned to the bed. He sat astride the young mans hips. The patient’s arms were trapped between his own body and the doctor’s knees. One of the doctors hands was pushing on the patient’s chest, the other was pushing up into the patient’s chin, causing his head to crane up and back hyper-extending it to odd angle. The muscles in the physician’s arms were taught and the muscles in his face twitched.

“Hey Parker,” Buffy smiled, “Hate to be the one to break it to you, but Luis here already has a steady. He’s also a bit on the shy side, not so much comfortable with public displays of affection. He’s got some trust issues, and some difficulty connecting…what with being a Paranoid Schizophrenic and all.”

“I’m not getting off until the police come and take him away.” Insisted Parker.

“Parker, it’s not going to happen,” started Buffy, “He’s a sick kid. He’s hallucinating. No one is going to hold him responsible. The question is going to become 1) Why wasn’t he appropriately assessed and medicated, 2) Why was a proper code not called when he became assaultive, 3) Why did this city’s best trauma surgeon spend his Saturday night sitting on top of some patient?”

“Alex? What did Mike say to give him?” Buffy shouted to the young intern sitting at the desk.

“A now order of Haldol and Ativan, he’ll be in at 7:00 to see the patient, write routine orders, and transfer him to the psychiatric service, if we can give a medical clearance,” summarized Alex a little tentatively.

“Parker? How about it? Lets give Luis some meds and let him get some rest. You need to wrap things up with your other patients your being relieved in…” Buffy looked over to Dawn who mouthed twenty minutes- “Twenty minutes. You barely have time to chart this incident. Alex? Go ahead and give Luis his meds. Dawn? Get the chart ready for Parker.” Buffy went closer to the bed and spoke to the patient, “Hey Louie! Long time no see. I can see you’ve met Parker. Not much of a bedside manner. It’s nothing-personal Louie; he’s often an asshole. He’s going to get off of you now and I need for you to stay calm. You’re safe here. I’m going to make Parker go away. You won’t be seeing here again. I’ve spoken with Dr. Steven’s, he knows you’re here and he’ll be here in the morning to talk with you. Everything’s going to be alright,” Buffy assured the patient as Alex injected his IV’s with the medication.

Parker climbed off of the patient and walked over to the nurse’s station like nothing had happened, taking the chart from Dawn. “Plans tonight Dawn?” Parker asked as he leaned over her, just a little too close and suggestively wiggled his eyebrows. “Not with you, psycho,” said Dawn bluntly.

“You, my friend, have a date with a pillow, perhaps some herbal tea?” interrupted Buffy.

“Keep me company and I promise to be good, real good,” said Parker suggestively moving closer to Buffy, too close for William’s comfort. Parker reached for a lock of Buffy’s hair and said, “What do you say, Goldilocks?” as he leaned in and whispered something to her that William couldn’t hear.

William pushed the chair back on its rollers and abruptly stood up. The noise pulled Parkers attention and he became aware of the other man at the nurses station for the first time. Parker turned to look at William and in his patently superior way asked, “Do you need help with something?”

William walked up to Parker slowly. He was a head shorter then Parker but looked him directly in the eye. “No, mate. I’m all set.”

“And you are?” asked Parker.

William tilted his head to the right slightly and continued to glare a Parker. Although only a few seconds passed, it seemed like longer, a lot longer to Buffy and Dawn. The tension between the two men was palpable.

“With Buffy,” said William simply. He took one step back then sauntered over to the door to the NICU. Dawn watched him appraisingly. His walk was confident and relaxed, and he looked goooood in those jeans. As he moved towards the door he removed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and place one, unlit, between his lips. William reached the door and pushed it open with one hand while extending his other out towards Buffy. “Come on luv, show appears to be over, bored now, let’s go home. I believe we have some,” William took a moment to rake his eyes over her, “unfinished business.”

Buffy looked over at Dawn who seemed clearly amused by the testosterone display. Dawn winked at Buffy and nodded her encouragement. Buffy walked around a still stunned Parker and allowed William to take her hand and lead her out of the room.

“Well Doc,” said Dawn standing up, “I think it’s time to call it a night.” As she reached the door she turned to add, “Might want to close your mouth before you head outside, you know, flies and all.”

_________________________________________

Chapter 9

Buffy was silent as William led her back towards the elevators. William continued to hold her hand in his as he pressed the button and waited for the elevator to arrive. When the doors opened he pulled Buffy in, pushed the door close button, then moved with her over to the side wall of the elevator. Her back was to the wall and William’s body was pressed up against hers. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, “He touched your hair,” William said softly as he stared at the golden strand.

“Yeah, well, Parker has poor boundaries, in addition to a host of other problems,” said Buffy, attempting to make light of it.

William’s eyes rose slowly to meet hers and he said evenly, “I didn’t like it.”

“Are you going to go all caveman on me?” asked Buffy.

“Maybe,” he responded stepping back and punching the button to the first floor. “What’s the story with the two of you? Were you lovers at one time?”

“What?” Buffy asked incredulously. “A world of no. Parker and I we work together and-”

“And?” he coached as the elevator doors opened.

Buffy laced her arm through his and explained quietly as they walked arm and arm to the car, “and there was this one night. Things were really bad for me. Angel had left and I had recently lost the baby. There was a beach party and someone brought “Summer Beer”. Ever heard of it?” William shook his head no and Buffy continued, “Well, its evil. Buffy and hard alcohol is not very mixy and this was liquor in disguise-Lemonade, Vodka, and Beer. I had too much to drink and Parker started to look like not so much of an asshole. Somehow we ended up back at his beach house, away from everyone else. I woke up in his bed, naked. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t even remember what happened. I’m not promiscuous William. The “Parker incident” is an embarrassment and he uses it to humiliate me from time to time. Nothing that I can’t handle.”

William opened the car door for Buffy and she climbed inside. He walked around to the driver’s door, climbed in and started the engine. He tossed the unlit cigarette onto the ground and said, “Be careful, Buffy. I think he could be dangerous. You’ve seen tonight that he can be impulsive, violent even. Not with someone strong, but he’s more than happy to prey on the weak. Mark my words; if he’s had a taste of you he’ll want more. A guy like that? Takes “no” personally.”

Buffy leaned over towards William, her lips brushed his lightly as she asked, “And would you protect me William?”

“Till the end of the earth, luv. But that’s just the kind of chivalrous bloke that I am,” he replied as he put the car in reverse and he pulled out of the parking space.

“So,” said Buffy changing the subject. “You smoke? I didn’t smell cigarettes on you earlier.”

“Not really, not anymore. Did for a long time. I allow myself to smoke unlit fags when the mood strikes and I can’t seem to squelch it,” he explained.

“Huh,” said Buffy. “You know, I can’t quite figure you out. Upstanding business man, dressed to the nines….or cigarette smoking rebel,” she concluded as she reached out and mussed his hair some more.

“Hey, watch the hair pet!” William hollered.

“Your hair looks great all mussed and spiked up!” Buffy insisted.

“Used to be my nickname when I was a kid, “Spike”, he revealed as they pulled into her driveway. “Well, goodnight Buffy,” said William as he reached over, took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth, pressing it against his lips in a soft kiss.

“No way, Spike!” she said as she got out of the car and closed her door. “You still owe me the watching of one chick flick, my pick. I’ll even make you popcorn” She actually did a little pirouette on her way to the front door as she rendered this little proclamation.

William had the good sense in that moment to realize that he was beaten. And the truth was he didn’t mind at all. William put the top up on his car, locked up, and then met her at the door. “With butter on it?” he asked.

“Ok, you drive a hard bargain,” she concluded. “Note to self,” added Buffy, “William may be bribed with popcorn.”

William chucked and walked up behind her as she dropped a packet of popcorn into the microwave. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck, “Buttered popcorn,” William clarified, “And, if your taking notes, back rubs and blowjobs work too. For bribes, I mean.”

“What?” Buffy feigned shock. “Color me surprised! Is there such a thing as a man who wouldn’t be motivated by a blowjob?”

William appeared to give the matter serious thought. “If there is-I haven’t met him,” he admitted. “I do have a confession of sorts to make though luv.”

“Oh?” she prompted as she pulled the popcorn out of the microwave and poured it into a bowl.

“I’ve already seen Sweet Home Alabama,” admitted William as he followed her down the hall back to the bedroom.

“No!” yelled Buffy.

“Yeah,” admitted William.

Buffy looked at William intently and said, “Well, you are a man of mystery, aren’t you…” the remainder of Buffy’s statement was cut off by a yawn.

“Your tired luv,” William observed.

“True, but if I fall asleep….you can fill me in on what I missed!” Buffy explained as she grabbed her robe and disappeared into the bathroom. “Queue the movie up?” she asked.

Before the door even closed all the way she pulled it back open and tossed the black robe out to him. “If you want,” she said, “or not, it’s up to you.” The door closed and he heard the water in the sink running. William laid the robe on the chaise, slid the DVD into the player, and then punched the play button on the remote. He stripped down to his boxers, leaving his clothes in a pile on the chaise, then slid between the covers with the remote control and the bowl of popcorn.

Buffy quickly brushed her teeth, removed her make-up, and changed into her nightgown. The truth was that she was tired, but she wasn’t ready for the evening to end. Not quite yet. As she opened the bathroom door she could hear that the movie was starting. It was a good thing. It helped draw her away from the image of William in her bed. “Not nice to stare…” Buffy reminded herself.

“Any wine left?” asked William.

Buffy replied, “On it!” and left the room for a moment, only to return with a freshly opened bottle of white wine and 2 glasses.

She poured both she and William a glass of wine and crawled into bed. “Hey, rewind a bit,” she directed as she scooted over closer to him and started to nibble on some popcorn.

William picked up the remote control and pushed the rewind button, stopping where the story really began.

“Ready?” he asked Buffy.

“Yeah huh,” said Buffy her eyes seemingly glued to the screen.

William reached his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She signed and laid her head on his chest. William ran his fingers through her hair and kissed Buffy softly on the top of her head. He reached for his glass of wine and took a sip, “Sweet dreams, Buffy,” he said.

“Night, William. Be here in the morning?” Buffy asked as she drifted off to sleep.

“I’ll be here,” he assured, as he reached over to the bedside lamp and turned off the light.
 

_________________________________________

Chapter 10.

William opened his eyes. Buffy was spooned up against him, her body molded to his. His arm was wrapped around her and he was cupping her left breast in the palm of his hand. He gave her breast a gentle squeeze and rubbed his thumb over the silky fabric of her nightgown, teasing her nipple. “I could get used to waking up like this,” William thought as he smiled to himself. He lifted his head off the pillow to look over Buffy, at the clock on her nightstand. 10:00AM, the phone rang and he reached for it quickly.

“H’lo,” he said softly, trying to let Buffy sleep.

“William?” asked the voice on the other end.

“Yeah?” he responded hesitantly.

“It’s Dawn. I was calling to debrief with Buffy about last night. I mean, the part of last night that happened at the hospital. That last night,” she said, stumbling over her words.

“Buffy’s still asleep. I’ll have her call you when she wakes up,” offered William as Buffy began to stir against him. “Wait a sec, I think sleeping beauty is coming around as we speak.”

Buffy opened her eyes and found William looking down at her. His hair adorably spiked up and his eyes incredibly blue in the morning sunshine. “Morning luv, Dawn’s on the phone,” he said as he held the phone out to her.

Buffy took the phone and said, “Morning Dawn.”

“Buffy, I wanted to apologize for bugging you last night. Of course, I also want the gossip on William. You should have seen Parker’s face, priceless. Do you have plans today? Maybe we can have coffee of something later,” asked Dawn.

“Spike? Do we have plans today?” asked Buffy as she rolled over to look at William.

“Ewwww, Buffy, too much information,” groaned Dawn. “Please! Don’t tell me that you’ve named his-”

“What? No! Spike is William. It’s a nickname! I wasn’t talking to-” Buffy trailed off, as she looked at William and noticed that he was laughing, obviously he had heard what Dawn had said.

William swatted Buffy on the bum, then swung his legs out from under the covers and sprang from the bed. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I’m going to take you sailing. Invite the bit if you want. We can leave from here at 11:30, be on the water by noon and eat lunch on the boat. It’ll be fun. I’m off to make coffee,” he announced.

“Hear that?” Buffy asked Dawn.

“Yeah! Sounds great, Buff. Think I could ask Conner to join us? Please?” Dawn begged.

“I didn’t know you were going out with Conner!” Buffy said, a little surprised.

“Well, I’m not, yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Hopefully we’ll both see you shortly. I happen to know that he is not working today. Wish me luck!” said a giddy Dawn.

“Good luck!” offered Buffy.

“Well, seems like your suddenly lucky in love girl! Maybe some of your luck will rub off on me,” teased Dawn.

“Don’t wish for my luck in the relationship department. Buffy and true love- not so mixey Dawn,” lamented Buffy.

“What about William? Seems like there’s definite mixing between you two. Where did you meet? How long have you been holding out on me? Spill!” commanded Dawn.

Buffy winced and said with trepidation, “Well-not holding out so much. We just met Friday night. Hewassortofmybirthdaypresent.”

“Huh? I could have sworn you said he was you birthday present. You’re joking?” Dawn tried to confirm.

“No. But it’s not like it sounds,” Buffy assured Dawn as William walked back into the room with a fresh cup on hot coffee.

“Thanks,” said Buffy reaching for the cup.

“No trouble.” Said William as he placed his own cup on the nightstand and tossed the newspaper that he had tucked under his arm on the bed. He then crawled back into bed, scooted over towards Buffy, and started flipping through the paper.

“Buffy?” called Dawn. “I’m gonna hang up and try to reach Conner. You ARE going to explain the birthday present thing,” she clarified before hanging up.

“Sailing?” asked Buffy.

“Not yet, luv. Now I’m just trying to catch up on the news and enjoy my cuppa. Hey, how did you like the movie last night?” asked William.

“Thanks for indulging me. I owe you, said Buffy sheepishly.

“Pfft. Nonsense Pet. I loved every minute of it,” William said as he reached over to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “How about you shower while I run to my place to put on some clean clothes. I’ll swing by a sandwich shop and get them to pack us a nice lunch?”

“Deal!” said Buffy cheerfully as the climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She stopped abruptly as she reached the door and turned around. He was once again looking at the front page of the paper and sipping his coffee. His looked over the rim of his coffee cup and met her eyes. After swallowing he asked, “Everything alright?” Buffy felt suddenly tearful and nodded as she turned to head back into the bathroom. Suddenly his hand was on her shoulder; she turned to bury her head in his chest and sighed.

“What is it luv? Tell me.” William murmured softly as he held her closely and kissed the top of her head.

“I just suddenly felt…not alone,” Buffy whispered.

“Does that scare you?” asked William.

“Yes,” she said simply, with her head still buried in his chest.

“Me too,” he admitted.

Buffy started to laugh, “Well that was reassuring! You were supposed to lie to me and tell me that you understand everything and that it’s all going to be alright-no more hunger, world peace”

“I was going for truthful, in honor of it being Sunday and all,” clarified William. “You get ready, I’ll be back soon for you and the bit. We’ll have fun.”

“Oh!” said Buffy. “I almost forgot, Dawn’s going to try to bring a date. I hope you don’t mind?”

“The more the merrier. See you in an hour or so, I’ll be back before you know it,” he said before stepping back, away from Buffy and walking out the bedroom door.

Buffy walked into the bathroom and went to the sink to brush her teeth. As she looked at herself in the mirror and pointing her toothbrush at her reflection said, “Don’t. Let. Him. Break. Your. Heart.”

_____________________________________________

Chapter 11.

As noon arrived and Buffy finished applying sunscreen to her legs, she heard the doorbell ring. She put the sunscreen back in the cabinet and yelled, “Come in!” as she started to walk towards the door.

“Hey!” said Dawn. “It’s beautiful out there. Are you ready to go?”

Conner followed Dawn inside and started to close the door, then hesitated, looked outside and waved, “That’s William?” He bent over and asked Dawn.

Dawn peered over Conner’s shoulder and said, “Yup! Ooooh, and he has a cool car.”

“I have a cool car!” said Conner indignantly.

“You so do not have a cool car, you drive crap. But, you’re cute. You have potential.” Dawn said as she patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on!” William called from the Driveway. “We’re wasting the wind!”

By 12:30 they were on the boat as planed. This was Buffy’s first sail and she was fascinated as she watched William run about, adjusting lines and checking things.

He turned on the boats engine and maneuvered out of the slip, heading out into the harbor. After about 5 minutes he cut the engine and began hauling up the sails. Gone were the black boots, William had traded them in for some rubber-soled tennis shoes. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt over his blue jeans and it billowed in the wind as he stood at the wheel of the boat. Buffy couldn’t see his eyes behind his dark glasses.

“There’s beer in the cooler, and sandwiches. Pass me a beer when you have a chance Conner?” William asked.

Buffy stood up and walked over towards William. As he turned towards her she slipped between him and the ships wheel and faced him. Buffy reached up and lifted his sunglasses a couple inches. “There they are,” she said in a hushed tone. “I missed them.”

“Are you flirting with me?” asked William.

“Me? No!” said Buffy.

“Cause that definitely seemed like flirting,” accused William as he reached out and tickled her stomach playfully. Buffy spun around and he placed her hands on the wheel. “You drive!” he directed as he reached out and took the beer Conner was handing to him.

“Beer Buffy?” asked Conner.

“A world of no. Beer Bad,” said Buffy.

“There’s some white wine and plastic cups in there. Corkscrew is down below in the top drawer,” offered William. Conner disappeared down below for a few seconds, and then reappeared with the corkscrew in hand.

As he opened the bottle he said, “Nice boat you have here William. You know, I used to sale quite a bit in college, before medical school, when I had a life. Now it seems I practically live at the hospital, the trials and tribulations of an intern. What do you do for work?”

“Oh! Let me guess!” interrupted Dawn before he could answer. “You come from one of those really old, rich families and you grew up spending summers sailing in Newport!”

“No, grew up quite poor actually,” said William.

“You work for the mob-your, you’re a hit man like John Cusack was in that movie, Grosse Point Blank!” Dawn guessed.

“Loved that movie,” said William, “But no.”

“Let me try,” insisted Conner, “The boat was a gift, given to you by a really rich and beautiful woman. You’re her favorite sex-toy, so she gives you anything you want.”

Dawn gasped and looked at Conner with a little shock, “Is that your fantasy? To be someone’s sex-toy? Geesh, you think you know a person…”

“Not someone’s,” corrected Conner, “a really rich and beautiful woman, I have standards you know.”

“William run’s errands for rich people,” said Buffy.

“Hey! Why did you tell? This was starting to get interesting!” complained William.

“I don’t get it,” said Dawn, “explain.”

“Well, basically my business is getting people what they want. People that are too busy to get it themselves, maybe even too busy to figure out what they want. I figure it out, and then make it happen. Presto,” explained William.

“What kinds of things?” asked Conner seemingly puzzled.

“Gifts, artwork, houses, vacations, stuff like that,” added William.

“There are people that would hire someone to buy them a house?” asked Dawn.

“Oh yes,” confirmed William, “and decorate it too.”

“Famous people?” asked Dawn, “Tell us a story!”

“Don’t do that bit. Discretion is the key to success in this business. Well, one of them at least,” he clarified.

“So, how did you two meet?” asked Conner.

“That, you’ll have to ask Buffy,” said William. He tossed his empty bottle at Conner and waited for Conner to hand him a new one.

“William was Buffy’s birthday present!” offered Dawn. She turned to Conner and continued, “my birthdays next month, by the way. If you can’t decide what to get me and Buffy’s done with him-”

“My friend, Willow, hired William to find me the perfect gift. That’s how we ended up meeting,” interjected Buffy.

“And did he? Find you the perfect gift?” Conner asked.

William curled his arm around Buffy’s waist and pulled her closer to him. Her tank top crept up slightly and he could feel her warm skin against his forearm. He leaned down and inhaled the scent of her hair. The fresh air, mingled with the scent of Buffy, felt intoxicating. He felt his jeans getting tight and almost imperceptivity tilted his hips forward to rub the growing bulge against Buffy’s ass. Buffy leaned back against his chest, tilting her head so that she could look at him over her shoulder. “It was a great gift, a great birthday. But, it was very personal. So, I’m not going to give any further details.”

“Well, I’m gonna go down below and pay a visit to the ol’ head. Any words of advice for me William?” asked Conner.

“Just your routine pump, s’not tricky. But, if you need help just give me a holler and I’ll demonstrate how to get it done. You might want to take the bit down there with you and show her how she should do it,” suggested William.

“Come on Dawn,” Conner said reaching for her hand, “let’s see if we can figure this out!”

Dawn looked slightly panicked as she was led below deck.

As soon as they were below William spun Buffy around in his arms so that she faced him. He stepped in closer, pressing her up against the wheel of the ship, and kissed her. His lips pressed to hers and his tongue immediately darted out, licking her lower lip and begging entrance. A soft moan escaped Buffy and he used the opportunity to slide his tongue inside her eager mouth.

She could feel his erection pressing up against her and she angled her hips slightly so that she could return the friction. William pulled away from the kiss, took a deep breath, and rested his forehead against hers. As they stood there in silence for a moment he gently cupped her face in his hands. He stood up straight and looked at her with such intensity that Buffy found herself blushing. William shook his head slightly, as if to dismiss a thought, and looked away almost shyly.

“What?” Buffy asked.

“S’nothing,” answered William.

“That wasn’t a nothing. That was definitely a something. What did you see? What were you thinking?” pressed Buffy.

“S’nothing,” he insisted, “really!”.

Buffy glared at him. “See this look?” she asked. “I borrowed this from Willow. This is the resolve face. There is no escaping it. You simply must give in. Besides, no secrets between us,” she said as she actually stomped her foot. William could help but chuckle.

“I was thinking about shagging you senseless,” he confessed, “here, in the moonlight,” then he looked away no longer able to maintain eye contact.

“And?” she prompted, “Don’t be afraid to tell me what you want.”

“It was just a thought, doesn’t have to bloody mean anything,” said William, feeling a little agitated.

“No, it doesn’t,” she confirmed as she took her knee and slowly ran it up the inside of his leg.

“You were tied to the wheel,” he whispered into her ear.

“Yeah?” Buffy asked, a smile escaping her lips.

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“William?” she asked, “Have you ever hurt a girl, physically I mean?”

He looked her directly in the eye and said, “No, and I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you Buffy.”

“But,” Buffy whispered back to him, “what if I wanted you to? Not, hurt me. But, capture me, take me hostage, and make me yours. If you had that power, if I gave it to you, could I trust you?”

William’s erection had become painful. The question Buffy was posing had him ready to come in his jeans. Dawn and Conner chose that moment to resurface from below deck.

“Buffy! Did you know that the head is what they call the bathroom on a boat?” asked Dawn, laughing.

William allowed Buffy to turn back around to face them. He let her body shield his erection as he tried desperately to think. The problem was all he could think of was “Must. Shag. Buffy. Now.” William pulled his shirt down in front in hopes that it would shield the obvious affect that Buffy was having on him. He handed his beer to Conner and said, “Your driving, stay clear of anything bigger than us, I’m showing Buffy what’s down below.” Buffy found herself quickly being pulled below deck and into the rear cabin. William closed the door behind them and pushed Buffy up against it.

_____________________________________________

Chapter 12.

Buffy’s back was up against the cabin door and William’s body was pressed firmly against hers. His hands held her face as he captured her mouth in a demanding kiss. She felt one hand move to the back of her head while the other traveled down the side of her body and began to explore the hem of her tank top. William’s knee pressed between her legs, slightly nudging them apart as he began to leave a trail of hot kisses down the length Buffy’s neck.

“Need you, need you so bad,” moaned William as he pulled back just long enough to pull Buffy’s tank top up, over her head. “God, your beautiful,” he panted as he took in her swollen lips, slightly messed hair, and the rise and fall of her breasts as they peered out over the cups of her white lace bra.

William lowered his head and licked the tops of her breast as he lowered the straps off her shoulders and then unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor. William began to knead her left breast as his mouth traveled hungrily taking her in. Buffy hissed as his tongue flicked over her right nipple then grazed it with his teeth, before sucking on it. He could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest as he abandoned her left breast and moved to work on unbuttoning her cutoff jeans.

Buffy barely registered the sound of her zipper sliding down. Her body felt like it was on fire, she couldn’t remember needing anything, wanting anything, as much as she wanted this, him, now. His mouth felt like heaven as he used it to worship her body. His hands seemed everywhere caressing, yet insistent.

Buffy felt her jeans slide down her hips and she stepped out of them, pushing them to the side. She could feel the growing wetness between her legs as his hand traveled over her stomach, her hip, then stopped at her panties. Buffy was wearing a delicate lace thong and he hesitated but a moment before ripping it from her body. Buffy barely noticed as she lifted her right leg up, curling it around the back of his.

William could feel Buffy’s want as she began to climb his body. He reached around her, firmly grabbing her ass and pulling her to him, grinding into her with his still covered erection. He lifted her up as she wrapped her other leg around him turned them around and laying her on the bed. William was still fully clothed and both his and Buffy’s hands began to fumble, trying to undo his belt. Buffy surrendered the task to him as she started to concentrate on unbuttoning his shirt. She was able to reach and unbutton the bottom four, before giving it a yank, the last button popped off, lightly bouncing off one of the cabin walls and onto the floor.

William had managed to undo his belt and open his jeans, freeing his throbbing cock. He was leaning over her, her legs spreading apart allowing his hips to drop down between them. He reached out to touch Buffy, to see if she was ready for him. His fingers separated her folds and plunged into her wetness, sliding in and out with first one finger, then with two. Having affirmed her desire for this, for him, he could wait no longer. He already felt so close. He removed his fingers and with his hand guided himself to her entrance.

Buffy was lost in the feel of him on top of her. She wanted, needed more of him. His fingers were moving inside of her but it wasn’t enough. She moaned into his mouth and his lips met hers in a searing kiss. She felt the head of his cock glide across her entrance.

“Your so wet,” he moaned as she lifted her hips up allowing him to slip inside of her. “So tight, feel so good Buffy, luv, Oh God! O-O-Oh!”

Buffy felt William thrust one last time within her as he buried his head in the crook of her neck and groaned, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry luv. God! What a stupid, bloody prat!” William pulled out of Buffy and started to turn away from her as he refastened his jeans.

Buffy reached up and took his chin in her hand, turning his head back towards her. As she searched his eyes with hers she asked, “What? What are you sorry for?”

“Buffy! Are you kidding? This was-I acted like a schoolboy. You deserve hearts and flowers pet. Instead I drag you down below decks, don’t even get my clothes off, and practically come in my pants. Buffy, I didn’t even stop to put on a condom. I’m a bloody embarrassment is what I am,” said William obviously angry with himself.

Buffy sat up and moving her hand behind his head, slid closer to him. She rested her forehead against his and murmured, “Shhh,” before kissing him softly on the mouth.

As she pulled away he saw tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over. His stomach twisted further in shame. “William- you, wanting me so much, it was exciting. I haven’t felt this much passion with someone in, well to tell you the truth, never. I could have stopped it until you put on a condom. That’s not just your responsibility. When I was in the hospital, after losing the baby, the doctor told me that having children would pretty much take a miracle. I had myself tested for STD’s early on in my pregnancy, I was afraid about the possibility, but I tested clean. There’s only been the possible Parker incident since then. We can be more careful from now on, if you’re worried, or if I should be worried. Should I be worried?”

William wrapped his arms around Buffy and said, “No. You have nothing to worry about. Believe it or not I’ve never shagged without using a condom before. Be right back.” William slipped out the cabin door, walked the few paces through the galley, and climbed up a couple steps so that he could clearly see how things were going topside.

“How are things?” he asked Dawn and Conner. Conner looked at home at the helm and Dawn was standing next to him with a beer in her hand. “Well Captain,” said Conner, “I regret to inform you that I’ve taken over your ship. She sails like a beauty. I’ve got wind, a beer, and this saucy wench. I’m happy.”

“Glad to hear it mate! Buffy and I will be up in just a few. Toss me a soda will you Dawn?” William asked.

“Sure thing, I was just about to check out the sandwich supply!” she said as opened up the cooler. Dawn tossed William a diet coke and watched him disappear down below again. William popped into the bathroom to retrieve a warm washcloth and towel, he then returned to his cabin. Buffy had just finished gathering up her clothes.

“Don’t think that the underwear is salvageable,” said Buffy. “Thought you might want to freshen up before heading back out,” he said as he put the washcloth, towel, and soda on the bed. “Anything else you need?” he asked.

“Two things as a matter of fact, and they are both so obvious I can’t believe you didn’t think of them already! Sit!” ordered Buffy, pointing to the bed. “First, I need for you to not get weird on me about this. We acted a little impulsively, which brings me to the second thing,” she popped open the soda and slowly climbed up onto the bed straddling William’s lap. She was still completely nude and he could feel himself getting aroused again.

“And that would be?” William asked as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Buffy leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Practice. I need lots and lots of practice. Can you help me with that?” Buffy heard William moan, “Oh, yes,” as she nibbled on his earlobe.

“Good!” she said as she climbed off of him and took a swallow of her soda. “Oh my God!” she said, putting her hand over her mouth and giggling.

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t believe that we just had sex not ten feet away from Dawn and Conner! You William Crawford are a bad, evil man,” teased Buffy as she quickly ran the washcloth over her body, toweled off, and redressed.

“That’s me!” he confirmed with a smirk. William tucked a loose strand of hair behind Buffy’s ear and kissed her on the tip of her nose, “But, in my defense, s’not entirely my fault. You see there’s this girl, and she does things to me, makes me want her, in point of fact,” William said as he took Buffy’s hand and placed it over the bulge in his pants, “seems I’ve been in a perpetual state of wanting her since the moment I laid eyes on her.” William then lifted Buffy’s hand up to his mouth. He turned her hand over and lightly kissed the inside of her palm, then licked, and kissed on the pulse point of her wrist. William dropped her hand, turned and opened the cabin door. As she stepped past him to exit the cabin he asked, “Practice, huh?”

She turned back towards him, flashed him a beautiful smile and reached out to him with her hand before confirming, “Lots and lots of practice.”

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Chapter 13.

As Buffy approached the ladder she overheard Dawn say to Conner, “That prick! I can’t believe it. Parker is…is…well he’s a big fat liar is what he his.”

“What’s Parker lying about now?” asked Buffy as she climbed up the ladder, William right behind her.

Conner looked uncomfortably at Dawn and said, “Oh, nothing, really.”

“Tell her!” insisted Dawn.

“Well,” started Conner, “I was just telling Dawn that I was surprised that you and Parker had been an item at one time.”

“An item?” asked Buffy

“Well those weren’t his exact words,” hedged Conner

“What were his exact words?” asked Buffy trying to reign in her anger.

“Um, something to the effect that you’d had a thing, but that he broke it off because you, you were, you were….” Conner trailed off.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake Conner, you’re a doctor, spit it out…the word is frigid,” said Dawn.

Conner saw the look of shock and anger on Buffy’s face and quickly started to say, “But you know, I might have misunderstood. Anyways it obviously not true. I mean to say, it’s clear that you and William are, well-”Conner trailed off yet again, now feeling completely flustered as Buffy continued to star at him with her arms folded protectively across her chest.

“Boinking happily!” finished Dawn. “Couldn’t help hearing. Well, with Spike here yelling out to the almighty. Figured he had suddenly been “saved and born again” or was he was in the midst of a mind-blowing orgasm.”

“Actually,” said William, speaking for the first time since coming back up on deck, “I think it was a little bit of both.”

Buffy turned around to face him, broke into laughter and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Dawn and Conner as her laughter finally died down and she wiped the tears from her eyes. Not sorry,” she said reaching out to William, “that it happened, not at all, just wish it had been more private. Sorry if we made you uncomfortable, that’s really not my style. I’m usually not all free and open with the sex Buffy.”

“Though I can personally vouch for the fact that the girl isn’t frigid. Course, I’m not a medical doctor-perhaps I should defer judgment pending further research,” William offered as he walked over to the cooler and pulled out two sandwiches. He handed one to Buffy and winked saying, “Eat it, you’re going to need to keep your strength up.” Buffy took the sandwich from William and sat down to eat, suddenly starving.

“Just for the record?” said Conner, “I think that Parker is a maniac. I report to him, for this rotation anyways, so I have to make nice, but he’s a maniac. Alex called me last night after you all left the hospital to fill me in. What a circus. I had been on for 20 hours straight and Alex new it, but he woke me up to fill me in, that’s how freaked he was.”

“Gosh,” said Dawn, “I should have stayed longer and spent some time with Alex. Actually, now that I think about it, I was so anxious to get out of there I didn’t even debrief with the nursing staff. Buffy?”

“So, you’re not perfect Dawn. The truth is, emotions were running pretty high at that point and most of the players involved were really tired. Whether you realized it or not at the time, you were using good judgment. The crisis was under control and no one was in a resourceful enough space to process the event. On Monday we can confer with Luis’ psychiatrist and work towards scheduling an open meeting to debrief events. I’m also going to schedule a private meeting with Dr. Imperiale he needs to know what happened. Parker’s a risk to the hospital. That trauma program is Dr. Imperiale’s baby and Parker’s a narcissistic sociopath, I don’t want Imperiale broad sided by him, I respect him too much.”

“You sure you want to take Parker on Buffy?” Conner asked.

“This isn’t about taking Parker on, really it isn’t. I’m going to meet with Imperiale and share my perspective, give him reason to look more closely at things. He’s been around a long time, he has a lot of integrity, and he doesn’t tolerate bullshit. If he thinks Parker’s a liability he’ll take him on. He’ll force him to fly right, or he’ll get rid of him. And, just for the record, Parker and I NEVER went out. Not. One. Date.

There was a beach party one night, I don’t usually drink very much but that night I did. I was in a REALLY bad space and somehow I lost what happened between being on the beach with everyone and waking up in Parker’s bed. The sad and VERY embarrassing truth is that I’m not even sure what happened, if anything. And you can tell that story to anyone you want, because it’s the truth, embarrassing, but true,” concluded Buffy.

“Buffy, I don’t need to tell anyone. Nothing happened between you and Parker. My guess is that even drunk to the point of blackout you wouldn’t let him…you know…that’s why he made up the story,” said Conner as he stared into his beer.

“Wow,” said Dawn. “Is it just, me? Or, are you noticing that guys are getting more and more insightful these days.”

Conner and William looked up at each other and grinned. “Yep,” said Conner, “started taping Dr. Phil and it’s made a HUGE difference in my life.”

“And I ALWAYS read the new Cosmo cover to cover,” added William, “all sorts of insightful tips in there.”

“What a beautiful day!” said Buffy as she took a sip of her soda and leaned back, tilting her head towards the sun.

“The day’s not the only thing that’s beautiful,” observed William as he looked directly at Buffy, took a sip of his beer, and steered the boat for the open ocean.

__________________________________________

Chapter 14.

The day on the ocean had been splendid. Conner and Dawn left as soon as William brought everyone back to Buffy’s. It was 6:00PM and there was still plenty of daylight left. William walked Buffy to the door, planning to say goodnight. As she put her key in the lock she looked at William and said, “Are we saying goodbye, or, goodnight? Because I don’t really want to.”

“I was going to pet, figured with tomorrow being Monday and all…but the truth is I don’t really want to either,” admitted William.

“What would you say to Chinese and a little “Sweet Home Alabama”, I still haven’t really seen it,” Buffy’s begging was interrupted by a yawn which she initially tried to stifle and a shiver.

“I’d say that I have a meeting at 8:00 AM tomorrow. I should run home and get a change of clothes. That way we can eat, curl up in bed, and you can actually WATCH the bloody movie and END. MY. TORTURE,” concluded William.

“Is it truly a bad movie?” Buffy asked as they walked through the door.

“Truth?” asked William. After she nodded affirmation he admitted, “No, it’s a pretty good movie, just trying to keep up my tough guy image. Look, you call in the order for Chinese. Leave it under the name of Crawford. I’m going to run home, shower, and get clothes for tomorrow. I’ll be back in an hour of so. Does that sound OK?”

“Sounds perfect,” said Buffy handing him a takeout menu, “anything specific that you can’t live without? By the way, what’s up with the meeting tomorrow? You don’t need to feel like you have to tell me, or anything, I’m just curious. Does it feel like its freezing in here to you?”

“No, it’s fine in here. I’m afraid that despite the sunscreen, you managed to get sunburn, luv. I have a new client that I’m meeting with tomorrow, wants to grow grapes and have a house in the valley. I need to travel up to Napa and start looking for land, find a patch for them to buy, someone to build a house and guesthouse, someone to maintain the crops, AND start lining up perspective purchasers for the grapes. THANK GOD they aren’t grandiose enough to think that they could actually produce their own wine,” summarized William.

“Sounds like a big project,” replied Buffy feeling suddenly sad and very cold.

“Yeah,” it will be. “Originally my plan was to stay up there for the duration. But, I’ve revised the plan,” William explained as he handed Buffy back the menu.

“Oh?” inquired Buffy.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be doing a lot more back and forth over the next few months, maybe even getting someone to come out and spend some time in Napa?” he asked. “Order whatever you want love, just make sure there’s a lot, I’m starved.”

“William?” asked Buffy, “When do you leave for Napa?”

“Tomorrow I have a meeting with the client to gather information, then I have a flight out tomorrow night. They are already set on the area, so that’s a given. After meeting tomorrow morning I need to hook up with the movers. Didn’t see the point of keeping my apartment down here when I was going to be in Napa most of the time. My apartment’s already been rented out to someone else. That’s going to pretty much take up my day,” answered William.

He was actually somewhat pleased to see that Buffy appeared a little disappointed. “So, after tonight, I probably won’t see you until?” she asked.

“Lets decide when I return with dinner. You should have a soak in a tepid bath while I’m gone, with a big glass of water and some Tylenol. When I come back I’ll slather you down with Aloe Vera, feed you, and indulge your addiction for sappy chick flicks. Can I take a key? So that if you’re still in the bath I can let myself in?” William asked.

Buffy disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and emerged with an extra key. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the key. “I’ll call the order in and I’ll see you in an hour or so,” said Buffy as she walked William to the door.

__________________________________________

Chapter 15.

William retuned to Buffy’s apartment an hour and fifteen minutes later. He carried a small duffle bag to the door, and then went back for his hang-up bag, briefcase, and bag of Chinese. He knocked on the door, waited a moment, and then used the key to let himself in. Buffy emerged from the bedroom wearing her blue silk robe and toweling off her hair.

“Mind if I hang my suit up in your closet pet?” William asked as he handed Buffy the bag of food, then with his free hand picked up the duffle bag.

“Not at all. The Aloe Vera was a good idea, by the way. It’s helping with the stinging. Should we eat before the movie or during?” asked Buffy.

“I vote for now, out on the back deck. I’m meet you out there in a second.” William said before walking to Buffy’s bedroom to drop off his clothes.

When William joined Buffy on the back deck she had already managed to set the table and arrange the various cartons of food. She had opened a bottle of white wine and poured them each a glass.

“William?” asked Buffy.

“Hmmm?” he said looking up at her.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to miss you. Actually, I’m afraid that I’m going to lose you, not that I have you, it’s just…” Buffy stood up and moved to the edge of the deck.

William stood and walked up behind Buffy. He wrapped his arms gently around her, swept her hair off to the side and leaned down to kiss her softly on her neck. Her skin was still pink and hot from the sunburn and she winced just a little. “Buffy, things seem to be moving fast, maybe too fast, I don’t know. Last night I heard you say that there would never be love between us, that you would never love me. I can accept that, for now. I do know that being with you makes me happy. Now that I’ve found you I don’t want to give you up. Just the opposite, I want more. Whatever this is that we have growing between us? I want it. I want you. I realized when I was showering that I was already missing you. The first thing I did when I got out of the shower was to call the airlines and schedule a flight back for Friday. I still have my boat; I can stay there for the weekend and fly out early Monday morning. What do you say? Can we give this a go?”

Buffy leaned back into his chest and sighed before saying, “I don’t want you to stay on your boat. We’re going to have such little time. I want you to stay here, with me.”

“Deal!” he said as he swatted her on the ass and returned to his seat to resume eating.

Buffy joined him at the table and sat back down, wincing as the backs of her legs hit up against the chair. “I don’t understand how I got this sunburn! I put on sunscreen. It hurts to even move,” she complained.

“You used that washcloth, after we shagged luv, and you didn’t put any more on. If I had known how easily you burned and if I had been able to form a coherent thought, I would have reminded you,” said William.

“Well, I’m afraid that the practice session I had hoped for tonight might have to be postponed, in the interest avoiding pain,” Buffy said sadly.

“Buffy, I intend to make this afternoon up to you. If I can’t tonight, then I’ll make it up to you next weekend,” William promised as he gently kissed her hand.

They talked easily as they finished their dinner and disposed of the paper plates. They then walked together, back to Buffy’s bedroom. Buffy had exchanged her wine for a tall glass of water, which she sat on her nightstand. William opened his briefcase and pulled out a sleek laptop computer and power cord. “Mind if I do a little research while the movie plays?” he asked.

“Not at all,” she said as she climbed into bed and reached for the alarm clock. “What time do you need to get up?”

“6:00 AM should give me enough time, unless your sunburn is better, then you should wake me at 5:00,” William said casually as he crawled into bed beside Buffy and fired up his computer.

Buffy hit the play button on the remote control and leaned back against her pillows. The back door to her bedroom remained open and there was a gentle breeze passing through the space. William was intently clicking away on his keyboard, although he looked up occasionally to check in and see how Buffy was enjoying the movie.

About two-thirds of the way through he realized that her water was empty and he took a break to refill it. When he returned to the bedroom Buffy paused the movie briefly to ask what he was working on. William explained that he was doing research about the clients that he would be meeting with in the morning. He had been working for a couple weeks, profiling them and building up information so that he could satisfy their wishes, but there were still a few holes here and there that needed filling.

As the movies credits started rolling he closed his laptop and looked over at Buffy. She had once again drifted off to sleep. He chuckled softly and shook his head, wondering how much of the ending she missed. It was only 10:30, but he was knackered after the day out on the ocean. He tucked his laptop under the bed. William looked at the woman lying curled up beside him and wondered how in the hell, in such a short time, she had crawled inside and stolen his usually well-guarded heart.

________________________________________

Chapter 16.

“So,” asked Dawn as she stood in the cafeteria line next to Buffy with a cup of coffee in her hand, “William’s gone for the entire week?”

“Yeah,” said Buffy, obviously disappointed. “We both slept until the alarm went off this morning so we only had about an hour to get showered, dressed and on our way to work.” A shadow of a smile passed across Buffy’s face as she remembered how handsome he looked in his dark blue suit, and royal blue shirt and tie. “I won’t be seeing him until Friday night.”

“It’s kind of sad. I mean, you just met and he’s moving away,” observed Dawn.

“Not really. His boats here, and we can see each other on weekends, and- oh, who am I kidding!” Buffy said as they walked over to a table and sat down. Buffy pushed her coffee cup aside and let her head fall to the table. “It’s only 9:30 and I already miss him. How the hell am I going to last the week without going crazy?” she asked, before a horrible thought occurred to her.

“What?” Dawn asked.

“What if he doesn’t come back?” Buffy wondered out loud.

“Buffy?” Dawn said, getting her friends attention. “You do realize that you’re worth coming back for, don’t you? What Angel did to you wasn’t about you. You didn’t deserve that. You deserve to be loved, and loved well. Just let it happen and he’ll be back, I know it. Watching the two of you yesterday, I could see something.”

“What?” Buffy asked.

“A beginning,” said Dawn with a smile.

“You,” accused Buffy, “are a hopeless romantic”.

Buffy’s cell phone, which doubled as a pager, rang. “Buffy Summers,” she said, answering it.

“Where are you,” the low, deep voice on the other end of the line asked.

“In the cafeteria having coffee with Dawn, you caught me on a break,” she explained.

“What are you wearing,” he whispered bringing his already husky voice down a notch.

Buffy blushed immediately and looked up at Dawn who mouthed the words, “Is it him?”

Buffy nodded to Dawn then spoke into the phone, “I take it your meeting is over?”

“No, I’m still here with my clients, we’re on speaker phone, thought if I could get you to talk dirty for a few minutes I might be able to up my fees,” William said. “But seriously, was on my way to meet the movers and…”

“And?” asked Buffy.

Dawn noticed Conner and Parker walk into the Cafeteria. Conner immediately spotted Dawn and Buffy and began to make his way over to the table. Parker filled his coffee cup and headed their way as well, not even bothering to stand in line and pay.

“And, I realized that I missed you. Things seemed so hurried this morning that I felt I didn’t get a proper goodbye. Don’t you agree that my leaving without a proper goodbye would be, tragic?” concluded William.

“Are you flirting with me?” gasped Buffy.

“Me? No!” said William quickly.

“Because that definitely felt like flirting!” Buffy responded.

Buffy looked up to see Conner and Parker join she and Dawn at the table.

“So, what if I was flirting. You’re my girl, aren’t you?” asked William, suddenly sounding insecure. “I mean you haven’t changed your mind, have you? About us, I mean?”

“No,” said Buffy, “I haven’t changed my mind. The truth is, I was just telling Dawn that I already missed you” She looked up and realized that although Conner and Dawn were busy talking to each other, Parker was staring at her intently. “Give me a few minutes to get to my office and I’ll call you back,” she said, “is that okay?”

Buffy felt a hand on her back and turned around. William was standing beside her. He put his cell phone in his pocket and took hers out of her hand, closing it and setting it on the table. He grabbed a chair from the next table over and pulled it up next to where Buffy was sitting.

He looked positively dashing in his suit. The blue in his shirt made his eyes impossibly brighter and Buffy felt her heart flutter as she looked into them. For a moment it was as if they were the only two people in the room. William leaned in towards her; resting his forehead against hers he whispered so that only she could hear, “Don’t know how I’m going to stand being away from you all week.”

Buffy became suddenly aware that someone was clearing his throat. William and Buffy simultaneously both slowly turned their heads towards Parker becoming aware, once again, of where they were.

“Hey!” said William extending his hand to Conner, “Good to see you mate. Dawn, your looking fetching this morning! Parker, how are you?”

“Do you care?” asked Parker snidely.

“Not really,” responded William candidly with a shrug, “But pretend I do, I’m experimenting with something new, it’s called manners. Why don’t you give it a go.”

“Are you saying that I’m rude?” said Parker, his voice getting slightly louder.

“No. Don’t believe I did,” responded William. He kept his voice purposely low, while continuing to look at Parker studying him intently.

“You think that you can just walk into my hospital and insult me?” demanded Parker his voice now loud enough that it was getting the attention of a few of the patrons at neighboring tables.

“What I think,” said William, making his voice even softer, “is that your just itching to pick a fight with me.” William leaned across the table and looking Parker directly in the eyes added, “Believe me when I tell you that, that would be a mistake. I came here for one reason only. I’m going to do what I came here to do, and then I’m going to leave. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”

William stood up and pulled Buffy up out of her chair. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her body in close to his, and bent down, crushing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. The kiss left her completely breathless. As he pulled away he took a second to run his fingers through her hair and said, “I’ll be home by 6:00 PM on Friday. My flight arrives at 5:30 but I’m leaving my car at the airport so, no need to pick me up. You have my cell, call me.”

“Conner,” William said once again extending his hand towards the young man. He then turned to Dawn, “Take care of my girl while I’m gone this week?” he asked before turning and walking out of the cafeteria.

____________________________________

Chapter 17

“Oh, my gosh! Buffy he is so into you and he is so hot!” said Dawn as Buffy sat back down at the table.

“Hey,” said Conner to Dawn. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

“Eewww, thanks for the visual Conner, gross much. Why have you never kissed me like that?” asked Dawn.

“I, well you see, it’s just that, I mean, I didn’t think, not that I haven’t thought, or don’t want to…” Conner trailed off obviously nervous.

Dawn smiled at him sweetly and asked, “You’ve wanted to? Kiss me, I mean.”

“Good God!” said Parker standing up, “Are you people freaks? Come on Conner, we’ve got patient’s to see.”

Conner stood up and started to follow Parker out of the Cafeteria.

“Conner,” called Dawn, “you can pick me up at 7:00 for dinner.”

Conner smiled and nodded his head before turning again to leave.

“Thanks for the inspiration Buffy!” said Dawn cheerfully.

“Glad I could be of service,” responded Buffy.

“Did you catch the tension between Parker and William? William was right; Parker was definitely trying to instigate something. I think Parker’s jealous. You should have seen how mad he looked when William grabbed you and kissed you.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve never given Parker reason to believe something could exist between us. There’s no reason William kissing me should make him feel jealous,” Buffy tried to reason.

“I don’t think that is what did it specifically. I think it was more that you let him kiss you. And, more importantly you kissed him back. My guess is that Parker thinks he should be on the receiving end of your kisses,” concluded Dawn.

“Are you going to Imperiale’s Party next Saturday?” asked Buffy, changing the subject.

“I am, I’m going with Conner, though he doesn’t know that yet, so don’t spill the beans,” said Dawn conspiratorially. “Want to go shopping after work tomorrow? I need a new dress, something that will render Conner powerless against me,” asked Dawn.

“That’s a great idea!” said Buffy enthusiastically, “How about we grab something to eat before hand?”

“Sure!” agreed Dawn. “Hey, did you get that appointment with Imperiale?”

“No,” said Buffy, “Alex said that he was going to meet with him about the incident. It’s the end of his trauma rotation and he already has an appointment scheduled. I left Imperial a message stating that Alex and I had some concerns about the incident and that Alex was going to review those. I offered to elaborate on anything that he wants clarification on. I just hope that Alex doesn’t cave.”

“Are you bringing William to the party?” asked Dawn.

“I was planning to, although I haven’t really talked to him about going to the party yet. If he doesn’t want to go, I’ll just wear my new sexy dress wherever. I’ll call and ask him tomorrow,” said Buffy as she got up to return to work.

The day went by quickly. Buffy left the hospital at 5:00 and had gone to meet Willow and Tara at a local restaurant for drinks and dinner. She bought the first round to thank them for her birthday present. Willow and Tara had a lot of questions and made Buffy promise to invite them over soon, when William was in town, so that they could get to know him better.

Buffy pulled up to her house at around 8:00 PM as she walked up to the front door she heard something crash along the side of the house. The sound startled her and she dropped her keys. Her neighbor’s cat ran out from the side of the house and up to Buffy, brushing itself up against her legs. Buffy reached down to pick up her keys and give the cat a pat. “Hello Miss Marple,” said Buffy to the cat, “you scared me a bit! I thought there might be some baddie back there waiting to pounce on me! But, it was just you rummaging in the trash again. Run along home!”

Buffy walked into her house, set her purse on the table, and went straight back to her bedroom. She noticed that the back door to her bedroom was slightly ajar. “That’s funny,” thought Buffy, “I could have sworn I had closed and locked that this morning.” Buffy locked the door, lit some candles, and started to play the CD that William had made for her.

She left the room to get herself a glass of wine and took a few minutes to pick up her mail. As she walked back into the room she took a moment to check on the baths progress. Satisfied that she had sufficient time she sat on the bed and began flipping through the mail. She then leaned over, hit the speakerphone button on her phone and punched the autodial so that she could check her messages.

“Buffy, It’s me. I arrived in San Francisco without a hitch and drove up here to Sonoma. The Douglas’ are putting me up at this beautiful resort; you would love it. I miss you. I hope that I didn’t embarrass you at work today. Just couldn’t leave without seeing you again. I wish I were holding you in my arms right now, tasting your sweet lips. God, just thinking about you gets me hard pet. Hope you’re listening to this in private. I’m off to take a cold shower and go to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day of checking out properties. Ring me up tomorrow night if we don’t talk before then.”

There weren’t any other messages. Buffy turned off the taps to her bath and began to undress. She tossed her clothes into the hamper in the bathroom then walked, nude, back into the bedroom. She punched the number for her answering service again so that she could listen a second time to Williams message. She picked up her glass of wine, walked back into the bathroom and stepped into the warm tub. Buffy leaned back and let William’s voice wash over her as she ran her hands over her body and pretended they were his.

She pulled the plug when the water started to feel cold wrapped a towel around her and walked back out to her bedroom. As Buffy stepped into the room she froze in place. The back door to her bedroom was once again ajar. Buffy looked around her room anxiously then ran over to again close and lock the door. Buffy grabbed the phone and dialed the number for local police department.

Their response was prompt and the officer was extremely kind. He checked the house carefully and made sure that all of the doors and windows were locked. There were no signs of forced entry. The officer speculated that Buffy must have left the door open and it allowed someone to sneak into her room. He explained that she probably caught the intruder by surprise and that he hid, waiting until she got in the bath to leave. Buffy felt completely shaken. The officer promised that they would do extra patrols in the area and talked to Buffy about home security. After he left Buffy crawled in bed and proceeded to have a sleepless night.

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