She frowned and executed a low sweeping kick, taking out the legs of another as it moved to attack her. To her right she could see Spikehe was fighting them as best he could without killing them and she smiled as she saw he was keeping his promise.

As one of the robed men flew past her and hit the back wall of the warehouse hard enough to make the entire building shake she turned questioning eyes on Spike.

He shrugged.

"He'll live."

Spike grinned as he did a fast one-two punch on the man he was fighting and then grabbed him around the back of the head, bringing his skull down hard against his knee with a satisfying crunch.

He ventured a look at Buffy. Luckily, she was so preoccupied with her own fight that she hadn't noticed. The last thing he wanted to do was have her pissed off at him.

Buffy arched a brow as she saw one of the men Spike was fighting fall to the floor clutching his limp hand.

Spike just growled, his expression stern as he looked at her.

"He'll live…"

She realised he was doing his best, but the added strength that the Gem of Amara gave to himand the fact they were fighting humansmeant he was going to end up hurting them no matter what he tried.

Knocking one of the men attacking her to the ground, Buffy knelt to punch him again in order to knock him out but found herself staring blankly at the man's face.

Wordless lips.

Sightless eyes.

She shot her head up and in a panicked voice shouted at Spike.

"Kill them! Kill them all! Don't let any of them escape."

Spike looked puzzled for a moment and then slipped into vampire guise, letting out a roar of pleasure over being allowed to kill.

Shooting a hand out, he grasped hold of the nearest assailant's throat and crushed his windpipe like it was made of papernot flesh and bone. Dropping his victim to the floor, Spike punched another body hard in the chest and listened to the satisfying crunch of their ribcage as it caved in.

Buffy just stared.

She'd never seen anything so primal.

So intense.

So hot.

She blinked as what she was feeling registered. Watching Spike fighting, seeing him so violent was making her desire for him shoot into overdrive. She'd never once reacted like this when she'd watched Angel fight. The way Spike fought made her breathing hitch in her throat, her heart pound harder and her knees feel like jelly. He fought with passion, with determination that far outweighed her own and she could feel inside him how he relished each kill. He loved the violence and the death, loved finding new ways to kill each man that challenged him and showed them no mercy.

Because she'd commanded him to kill them all and let none escape.

Buffy bit her lip and felt her temperature rise as she realised that he was a killer by her command, a killer for love.

She barely had time to react as one of the men swung at her, his knife grazing her upper arm and causing her to frown as she turned on him. Buffy twisted the attackers arm around and broke it, forcing them to release their grip on the knife. She grabbed hold of it and drove it deep into his stomach.

Watching him fall to the floor she stared at the knife and frowned.

Blood.

She didn't know what she'd expected but seeing the crimson liquid staining the blade made her stomach turn. They weren't human. They only bled like them.

They weren't human.

At least not any more.

She span on the spot and yelled at her mate. "Spike!"

Spike turned in time to catch the knife she had thrown at him and plunged it deep into the chest of the man he was fighting before slicing open another one's throat. He watched the blood spilling out of the wound as he slumped to the floor.

It smelt acrid.

Dead.

He shivered as it made his stomach lurch. Focusing again, he saw more robed men entering the building, the blades of their knives shining as they ran towards where he and Buffy stood.

Spike looked over at her.

"Get out of here."

She gave him a look that said she didn't understand. Spike growled commandingly at her and watched her eyes widen. He felt a stab in his gut as he realised he'd shocked her with his actions.

"Go. Get him out of here. I'll handle this." He tried to sound gentler in the hopes it would persuade her to leave, to get herself out of danger.

"No." Buffy shook her head resolutely. "I'm not leaving you."

Spike felt his ability to breathe knocked out of him at her words. She wouldn't leave him. She would risk everything to remain by his side, even though she was vulnerable and could get hurt.

"Go." Spike repeated and was answered by another, firmer, shake of her head.

She bent down and picked up the axe, her grip on it tight enough to make her knuckles turn white as she set her jaw.

"I said, I'm not leaving you." She ground out.

Spike felt desire burn through him like an inferno as she met his eyes. Her whole body spoke to him of strength and power, her eyes reflecting her longing to remain near him and protect him even though he was invulnerable.

He swallowed hard and felt the words drifting through him, working their way up from his chest until they balanced precariously on his lips. Holding them back he wondered if she could see them, could feel them burning inside him and begging for release. The way her expression had changed made him believed that she could, her face now soft with a warm smile teasing the corners of her lips.

This feeling between them.

This connection they felt.

It ran deeper than desire.

Burned hotter than passion.

A simple word could sum it all up, everything he was feeling and everything she was feeling, too.

A word neither of them could bring themselves to say yet.

So they'd keep it locked inside, let it consume them until they couldn't hold it in any longer.

Right now, they needed to fight.

Spike realised this as Buffy broke eye contact with him and swung her axe hard at the man just feet from her. Her golden hair following the arc of her body as she fought back and to Spike it looked like she was moving in slow motion.

He growled as something hit him, interrupting his thoughts and his appreciation of the fluidic and graceful way his mate moved.

Coming out of his reverie, he found himself surrounded; he grinned at them as he turned on the spot. This was going to be fun.

Unleashing a loud roar that echoed around the warehouse, Spike shifted his grip on the knife and launched himself at the nearest enemy. He slashed him across the chest and let instinct take over as another moved to grab him. Kicking out, he knocked the attacker backwards and gave himself time to take out another of the men. He punched him hard in the chest and grinned as his victim breathed out sharply, the wind knocked from him.

Buffy grunted with effort as she fought to keep a distance between her and the men in robes. They were crowding in on her, their fists and feet working to keep her occupied as she desperately tried to fend them off. She briefly considered that she should have done as Spike had told her but she couldn't bring herself to leave him alone to fight for her.

This was her fight as much as it was his.

Feeling one of the assailants grab her from behind, she whimpered as his fingers dug into her arms and images of vampires flooded her mind.

Spike turned as he felt the pain lance through her, the memories of that night haunting her and making the rage inside him grow out of control.

Kicking the nearest attacker in the crotch, he stabbed him in the gut as he doubled over and then raced to help Buffy.

Buffy closed her eyes as the men overwhelmed her. She felt her ability to breathe leave her, the stifling heat of their bodies so close to hers it was making her head spin.

An enraged growl made her try to fight again, the feeling of Spike so close by and so desperate to get to her renewing her desire to win.

As she felt the man on her back hauled off her by her mate she lashed out at the one in front of her, punching him across the jaw before swinging her axe round and removing his head.

The sound of bone crunching caused her to turn sharply.

Spike twisted her assailant's neck around one hundred and eighty degrees with such strength and speed that it made her stomach lurch.

She buried her axe into another of the men and grabbed his knife, stabbing him in the neck with it before slashing another.

Spike smiled as he realised they were winning. The deadly combination of him and his Slayer were no match for whatever it was they were fighting.

Just what were they?

He shook his head to clear it of questions as he killed the last of the men attacking him. Staring down at the dead fallen at his feet, he frowned at them. They looked human.

He remembered the look of horror on Buffy's face as she told him to kill them all.

She knew what they were.

Her words were his command. Her desire to see them dead was all the invitation he'd needed to make it so. He didn't need a reason.

Spike watched her breathing hard as she stared down at the men below her, blood staining the dusty grey concrete floor as it flowed from their wounds.

The smell of it still turned his stomach and his thoughts drifted to the sweet taste of her blood.

Buffy froze as she felt him watching her. She found his eyes lingering on her neck as she moved to face him. On turning, she saw his eyes fall to the cut on her upper arm and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

Walking towards him, she ignored the quiet whimpers Angel was making and felt lost in Spike's eyes as they met hers. His expression was tender, his eyes speaking silent words of love to her that she couldn't quite bring herself to believe.

As she reached him, she saw his eyes move to rest on her arm again, watching him quietly as he dipped his head and licked along the length of the wound, sealing it and helping it heal. Spike straightened up again and narrowed his blue eyes on her green ones.

Pressing the palm of her hand against his chest, she watched his gaze move to rest on it, his look turning curious.

"Why?" He whispered and she looked confused, unsure of just what he was asking her. He nodded down at the dead men. "They're humanwhy kill them?"

She almost laughed at how weird it sounded to hear him asking why he was killing humans.

"They were human. Now they're just agents of evil."

As Angel mumbled something Spike turned to face him and then frowned as he felt Buffy's fingers slip from his chest. He narrowed his eyes as she moved towards the vampire and knelt beside him.

"What did you say?" Buffy knit her brows and watched Angel blink as he fought for consciousness.

"Spike…me…they wanted." He swallowed in an attempt to shift the dry lump in his throat. "Heard you telling them. Prophecy."

Buffy went to reach out to touch his shoulder but found she couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt Spike's signature growing distant.

Looking over her shoulder, her stomach twisted and flipped.

"You can't leave." Buffy whispered quietly and saw Spike stop, his back remaining to her. A cold chill swept through her as his shoulders tensed and she felt the emotionless void inside him.

"Prophecy…" Angel mumbled up at her. "Shanshu…you said we had to die…Buffy? Why, Buffy? Why?"

Buffy looked at Angel and furrowed her brows. He looked so weak, so child like as he stared at her with eyes full of hurt and confusion. "I don't know why. It wasn't me saying those things…"

She felt Spike moving again.

"Spike." She stood sharply and took a step towards him as he stopped in his tracks. "Don't."

Casting a look down at Angel, the conflict inside her knotted her stomach as he gave her a look that said he didn't understand.

Buffy turned her back to him and walked over to Spike, her hand running up his back to his right shoulder and settling there.

She closed her eyes and reached out to him. "Spike?"

He heaved a long sigh. "Yeah, love?"

"What is it? Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" He sounded cold and distant.

"Leaving me." She felt the tears well up in her eyes as she looked at his leather-coated back, desperately hoping he'd turn and hold her.

Protect her.

"Because…" He shook his head and clenched his fists. "…I understand. We can reverse the claim if you want to."

Her free hand flew to hold her stomach as it twisted up tighter, forcing a sob into her throat and causing a feeling of emptiness to engulf her.

"You can't leave. I don't want to break this connection."

Spike smiled slightly at the note of desperation in her voice.

"I don't believe you mean that. This bond, it's just comfortable for you because you've grown used to it. It means nothing to you." He wondered if he'd pushed her too far as her hand left his back and he sensed how hurt she was.

Buffy stared at his back for a few seconds before gaining the strength to do what she knew she had to in order to keep him with her. She had to submit and show him, and she would.

He just had to tell her how.

"This claim means everything to me. Don't you understand? You can see it, can't you? Can see what it means to me, what it means to you. You'll know how I feel if you just look inside yourself. Because you feel it, too. I've seen it in you, in your eyes. Just tell me what I need to do to prove it to you."

Spike turned to face her. "Say it out loud. Now."

Buffy wasn't surprised. In the time she'd spent looking at his back, she'd been preparing herself, building up the courage to say what she needed to say in order to keep him by her side.

"Spike…" She closed the gap between them and looked deep into his eyes. "You mean everything to me. This claim, this could only happen if what I say is true. No one has ever been this close to me, no one. I can't let you go, what we're up against now, what's to come…I can't do that without you by my side. I can't do anything without you there with me."

Spike watched her green eyes twinkling at him as she ran her fingers down the hollow of his cheek.

"I can't let you be alone, not now and not ever. This thing…the one that did all this…the one that wants you to be nothing more than dust…it won't stop until it succeeds. I can't let it take you away from me." She dropped her eyes to rest on his chest, feeling the cold and paralysing fear of losing him flood her veins. "…I can't lose you."

Spike pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly and resting his cheek on top of her head as she trembled against him. He could feel the pain in every inch of her as her heart beat hard against his chest. The fear that was washing through her, echoed in him until it felt like it was his own.

Pressing a kiss to her hair, he felt her grip on him tighten, as though he was slipping away from her right now and it made her seem so innocent, so fragile.

"Buffy, love?" Spike looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile as she raised her eyes up to meet his. He could see tears swimming in them, threatening to spill onto her cheeks if she moved too suddenly.

It reminded him of how she'd looked after her ordeal and when she'd been tending to him after he'd been beaten up.

But now there was something else in her eyes, too.

Something that spoke volumes to him about what they were up against and how badly she needed him in this fight.

"I won't leave you…never…I promise you." Spike saw a tiny flicker of relief in her green orbs. He cupped her cheek softly and smiled as she leant into his touchlike it was the most comforting thing he could've done for her.

He looked over at Angel and frowned as he remembered him muttering about a prophecy and something wanting them both dust.

Moving his eyes back to Buffy, he couldn't resist her as she peered up at him with such an innocent expression. Dipping his head, he brushed his lips against hers, feeling warmth spread through him as she kissed him back. He let his eyes roll closed as her kisses grew more fervent, her body leaning into his embrace and her feelings singing to him of love.

Breaking the kiss, he looked down at her with a questioning frown.

"So, love." He emphasised the word to her and watched her cheeks colour. "What are we up against?"

The smile faded from her face and was replaced by a grim look.

"The First Evil." She said quietly, as though pronouncing its name would bring it forward.

Spike pursed his lips and raised his brows. For a moment, he considered what he was going to say. Her look said it all really. 'The First Evil' wasn't a fancy name some two-bit demon had bestowed upon itself. It was something she feared, and if Buffy feared it then it meant it was bad. He cast a glance to where Angel was watching them. In his grandsire's eyes, he could see the same fear that had been in Buffy's.

Spike thought about how fighting alongside Buffy had felt, from planning the attack to the beautiful violence itself. The way she looked to him for guidance, the way she fought by his side, and the way she moved all stirred his blood. It had been exhilarating. Exciting. Thrilling.

If this fight had made him feel like that, then the fight against 'The First Evil' was something he didn't want to miss. He reasoned that it wasn't just the fight, he needed to protect his girl, and the only way to do that was to kill whatever tried to get near her.

He smirked and lit a cigarette, letting the smoke curl from his lips as he grinned at his mate.

"Sounds like fun." He saw her eyes widened and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her towards Angel where he was still sitting on the floor. "When do we begin?"

Buffy just looked up at him with disbelief in her eyes and then smiled as she realised that his reaction had just been so typical of him. Here they were, facing what was potentially the fight of their lives and he was treating it like it was just another scrap with a minion. She tiptoed and kissed his cheek, watching him grin as she did so.

Let hell throw everything it had at them.

Let it open up and try to swallow them.

So long as she had Spike by her side.

Nothing could stop her.

Not even Evil itself.

The End

Onto...Love in Vein - Book Two - The Body - This story will be posted at my site as it contains NC17 content.