Triune by TheBear

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: If I owned 'em, they'd have to show it on the Ecstasy Network.
Distribution: http://www.papa-bear.com/
http://mysticmuse.net
Feedback: Feed The Bear!
Pairing: Willow/Tara/Buffy

Summary: Book Three of the Triad Trilogy. Sequel to the Please Trilogy.

Dawn was stunned. Giles had just basically told her that this Hellgod, Glory, wanted to use her blood to open a portal to a hell dimension, a portal that wouldn't close, but would let the dimensions flow together until this world was destroyed. Her death in the process would just save her from dying when the world ended.

Buffy jumped out of Tara's lap, "You've got to go!" she breathed. She knew it would be something terrible, but somehow the image of her sister being cut open and her blood drained for a ritual to open an interdimensional portal was even more horrible than the idea of a vampire killing her.

Joyce asked, "Go? Where would we go?" She was bewildered by the whole thing. Some creature from a hell dimension wanted to take her youngest daughter and kill her. It didn't seem real, her mind couldn't grasp the idea of someone- no, something- coldly calculating the death of her child. She couldn't even begin to feel horrified- it was too big, to much to take in and understand. It was just words- like reading a book or seeing a movie, it was too abstract.

Willow chimed in, "Yeah! You and Dawn could just take a vacation for a couple of weeks, you know someplace nice and non-hellmouthy."

"Mom," Buffy could see her mom wasn't handling this so well. "We're talking about protecting Dawn, not to mention saving the whole world and everyone in it. I think this is a little more important!" She walked over to her mother and grabbed her shoulders, giving her a little shake. "Mom? Come on mom! I need your help here…"

Joyce nodded and Buffy could see her try to pull her self together. "Right, right. Of course." She looked over at Dawn and focused a little. She shook her head and said, "Of course. We have to go away until after…"

Buffy led her mother over to Dawn, who she could tell was trying to be brave, but was on the verge of tears. She and Joyce wrapped her up in a hug.

Joyce looked at Buffy strangely, and Buffy blushed and she averted her eyes as she quietly explained, "it would be better if none of us knew where you went…"

Buffy couldn't meet either woman's eyes. She broke off from the hug and stepped back, saying, "It's safer that way, Dawnie. None of us can know, that way none of us can give anything away."

Joyce was still reeling from the whole thing. She and her daughter were in danger for their lives and were going to have to run away… go on the lamb… "We can't talk to you?" she asked, her voice tremulous. "No, of course not… someone could trace…" she started to say.

Tara, seeing how hard this was for her surrogate mother, quickly said, "I'm sure Willow can set up some kind of email… thing…" she looked at her lover for confirmation.

Willow blinked the tears out of her eyes and jumped at the chance to be helpful in this emotionally painful situation. "Of course! I can totally set that up. I could even do a webcam setup and we could even talk and see each other and stuff, it'll be like you're right there!" She said excitedly.

Buffy added, "And, it'll only be a couple of weeks. It's not like it's forever. You'll probably enjoy yourselves, you know do a mother-daughter bonding thing… or something."

Joyce put on a brave face and nodded her head, "You're right. It'll be fine." She even tried to smile, playing the strong parent for Dawn's sake.

Willow went over to the pair and started talking to Dawn about how they could set up a pair of laptops and use some free webservers to establish a private intranet on the web, just between them. Xander tried to cheer up Joyce, talking about how great a road trip would be.

Buffy caught Giles gaze and tilted her head to indicate that she wanted to see him in the training room. She gave Tara's hand a squeeze and whispered, "I'll be right back, ok?"

Even with the gravity of the situation, Tara couldn't help but smirk when she thought that Buffy must be going to ask Mr. Giles to go with Joyce and Dawn. This would be the perfect opportunity for Joyce to… reconnect with the watcher.

"I know it's difficult, Buffy, but I think this is the right decision. With your mother and Dawn safe, we can focus on how to defeat Glory…" Giles began.

Giles was somewhat startled, "Obviously I'll help in any way I can. You know that."

Buffy smiled up at her surrogate father. "I do know that, Giles. This trip, thing though… it's not going to be… I mean they'll need…" Giles imagined he knew what Buffy was driving at, "Yes, money… That won't be a problem Buffy. What with the council's largesse- after you scolded them…"

Buffy looked up into Giles eyes. "I need to know that they're safe. You saw her in there, Giles. She can't deal with this right now. She's never had the evil come after her before." She stepped away from Giles and paced, "Sure, I know she worries about me, but she also knows I can handle myself. I don't think she's up for handling anything right now, Giles."

"You want me to go with them," Giles said. He was both honored and worried. And proud. This was a clearly very difficult decision for her.

Buffy stopped pacing and again met her mentor's eyes. "You know I want you here…"

"Of course, Buffy. I'll take them… We'll go somewhere that no one would ever find us. But I know that we will find a way for you to defeat Glory." He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "You always do. No Slayer in history has been as successful as you. Never forget that."

Buffy turned away and sat down on the bench along the wall. "There's got to be a first time for everything," she mumbled.

Giles smiled and sat down next to her. "Buffy, you also have to remember that you have something none of your predecessors ever had- you have the help and support of your friends and family. Do you seriously imagine Willow and Tara will let you down?"

Giles said, "You see? The three of you together will be too strong, even for a hellgod."

Buffy's eyes glazed over and she whispered, "Together..." Something was tickling at the back of her mind.

Joyce was listening to Willow and Dawn talk computers, and trying to act interested in Xander's attempts at conversation, but inside she was panicking. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this. She'd never been on the run before. She found herself trying to recall old movies and TV shows that might be helpful, but for some reason the only thing that entered her mind was the stupid thought that she 'had to find the one-armed man.' "Come on Joyce!" she raged at herself. "Buffy disappeared without a trace for three months when she was only seventeen; it can't be that hard!"

Tara noticed the look of barely restrained panic on Joyce's face and decided to take pity on her. Meeting Xander's eyes, she mouthed, "Let me try." She could see the relief in his eyes, as his attempts weren't meeting with perfect success.

Joyce noticed Tara walking over to her and tried for a smile, but it came out more of a piteous grimace.

Tara stepped into Joyce's personal space and tentatively put her arms around the older Summers woman, kind of waiting to see how she'd be received. Her courage was bolstered when Joyce hugged her tightly. She whispered, "It'll be ok, you'll see. You and Dawnie will take a few days to drive somewhere nice, and we'll figure out how to beat this."

Joyce wanted to believe her, but she'd never been more scared in her life, and she just couldn't bring herself to be ok with the idea that someone, or something was hunting for Dawn. In the past, even when she'd known about the pending apocalypses, it hadn't been directed at her or her daughter. Buffy had faced, and stopped them. But never before had she or Dawn been the primary focus of such powerful evil, at least as far as she knew. She couldn't keep from whispering in the witch's ear, "I'm so scared, Tara!"

At that moment Buffy and Giles re-entered the room. "Ok, here's what's going to happen," Buffy said, sounding very commandy.

Everyone stopped talking and looked to the Slayer, not thinking a thing of it. Only Giles among them noticed what an incredibly natural leader the Slayer was. He knew she was scared and unsure, but now that she'd made a decision, not a bit of that uncertainty showed in her posture or sounded in her voice.

"Giles is going to go pack, come back here and pick you and Dawn up," Buffy said to her mother, "Take you home- where you'll pack and then you three are leaving." Turning to Willow, she said, "Can you set them up so they can communicate with us, without being traced?"

Willow nodded, "Dawnie knows what to take, and how to set it up. We just got done going over it."

Tara felt Joyce relax in her arms when she realized Giles was going with her and Dawn. She smirked and thought that she'd have to suggest to Joyce that she take advantage of the opportunity. She could take this time to remind Mr. Giles how nice it could be- that he didn't have to be lonely anymore, and neither did she herself.

"Tara and Willow and Xander and I are going to figure out how to beat Glory. I figure we've got a week before she starts coming after us in a big way.

"Research without G-man? Doesn't seem natural," Xander quipped, only half in jest.

"Don't worry Xander. I shall still be able to assist with the research," Giles said, recognizing the little bit of concern behind the jest.

Joyce had pulled from Tara's embrace and stepped next to the harried watcher. She laid a hand on his upper arm and smiled at him. "I have no doubt that Rupert will survive, despite your best attempts," she said to Willow and Dawn.

Giles blushed even harder and actually ducked his head as he softly replied, "Of course." He looked back up at the others to find sharp looks from the younger two Summers ladies, blank stares from Xander and Willow, and an ill-concealed smirk from Tara. Deciding that a tactical retreat might be in order, he said, "Yes, well… I'll just go and do a bit of packing, then." Looking back at Joyce, he said, "I'll be back in about an hour?"

The Scoobies spent the hour saying their goodbyes to Dawn and Joyce, assuring them things would go well.

Willow wiped a tear from her eye as she watched Dawn and Joyce follow Giles out to her jeep. They had decided that the jeep was more practical than Giles little car for what they were going to do. Less conspicuous as well. She wasn't scared for them, she knew Giles would take care of them, take them someplace where no one could find them.

Willow's mind was awhirl with thoughts of ways to stop Glory, thoughts of setting up the teleconferences with Dawnie, thoughts of her two girlfriends and how weird it was to be so happy in the face of such overwhelming danger.

Her mental ramblings were stilled when she felt Buffy pressing up against her back and wrapping those strong arms around her waist, pulling her tight. Just that was enough to focus her awareness completely on the shorter blond woman.

Buffy smiled when the redhead relaxed in her arms, her head coming back to rest on Buffy's shoulder. "Pet, I want you to do something for me," she whispered in Willow's ear.

"Of course, Mistress. You know I'd do anything for you," Willow whispered back, her body thrumming with anticipation.

"Is there a spell that would let us… I don't know, keep track of each other? I want the four of us to know if something happens or if…" Buffy trailed off, not wanting to verbalize that thought.

"I'm sure I could modify a detection spell to send out a distress signal to each of us, instead of making a sound in place… We'd know if one of us encountered anything demony… or hellgoddy," Willow quietly replied, her body still shivering as her Mistress nuzzled her ear.

Willow was having a hard time concentrating on Buffy's questions as her body became more and more aroused. "Unh in… ingredients? Uh, F- foxglove, I think? There's some a- at… at… ohhh!" she groaned as Buffy kissed her neck just below her ear and then nipped her earlobe.

Willow sat in the passenger seat of Giles car as Tara drove them back to the shop. She was acting nonchalant but internally she was buzzing with anticipation; she was a woman on a mission. She sat back and just looked at Tara as they drove, taking in the lovely features of her face- those big, dark bedroom eyes, those lush, pouty lips… "Mmmm, Tara!" she thought.

"It's too bad we didn't think of this before we went back home," Tara said. "It would have saved us a trip."

"Whatsamatter, you don't wanna be alone with me?" Willow teased, deliberately making her voice low and sexy.

Tara shot her lover a startled look and caught a glimpse of her sultry smile in the light of the passing streetlamps. "Um… of course not. I mean of course I don't mind being alone with you, Willow."

Willow ignored Tara's attempt to explain. She was focused on the task her Mistress had assigned her- a most pleasant task indeed. "You're so beautiful, Baby. I love just looking at you."

Tara dragged her eyes back to the road. "Oh, uh… thank you. You're pretty easy on the eyes too." She said with barely a blush. She was confident enough to accept compliments gracefully these days. She knew Willow and Buffy both loved her and were attracted to her, even if she thought she was not in their league appearance-wise.

Willow reached over and ran her hand through Tara's hair, then stroked her neck. "I love touching you Tara. I love the feel of your hair, I love cupping your breasts in my hands- rubbing my palms over your pointy nipples… running my fingers around the crinkly bits… pinching…" Willow trailed off, closing her eyes and humming softly in pleasure.

Tara swallowed a gulp and suddenly felt hot. She actually cracked open the window, hoping to cool the sweat that was beading along her hairline. The blond witch was starting to get quite turned on. She was glad to see that they were approaching their destination; Willow's words were proving to be very distracting.

Willow didn't say anything else as they parked, she just kept looking at her lover. When they got out of the car and approached the door, Willow moved behind Tara and pressed lightly against her back while she tried to unlock the door. Her hands stroked down the voluptuous blonde's hips and then back up the fronts of her thighs, ending up in her front pockets, not clutching, or grabbing; just… there.

Tara shuddered and had to concentrate extra hard in order to get the key into the lock. She quietly asked, "Willow? What are you doing?"

Willow ignored the question, but said, "Did I ever tell you that I love the smell of your hair? It smells like… like being in a forest after a big rainstorm… and everything is fresh… and alive… and… mmmm," she nuzzled her face into Tara's blond locks.

Tara's head dropped back and she leaned against her lover. She made as if to turn around, but Willow's hands stilled her. "Open the door, Tara," she whispered into her ear.

Tara could feel Willow's warm breath on her, could feel the faintest touch of soft lips as they barely grazed the delicate shell of her ear. She couldn't restrain a sigh of arousal as her breathing deepened. She blindly fumbled for the door knob for a moment before finding it and opening the door.

Willow guided Tara through the door, locked in-step and keeping in full contact. She shut the door with her foot as soon as they were inside. She stilled Tara's forward momentum and began to kiss and nuzzle her neck, just below and behind her ear.

Tara's legs felt weak and she whimpered a little at the sensations Willow was inflicting on her.

"Unh uh. Way more than that," Willow said before tracing the outline of Tara's ear with the tip of her tongue.

Tara's only response was a moaning sigh as she felt a tingling warmth rise up inside her from her belly into her chest and neck, then through her head and into her scalp.

Willow smiled at Tara's response. She pulled her hands out of Tara's pants pockets and slid them up and in till her thumbs were just toying with the sliver of flesh revealed between her waistband and the hem of her sweater. She asked, "Can I have you, Tara? Can I show you how much I love you?"

Tara's breath was coming deep and fast, making her lightheaded by the combination of lust and oxygen. She gasped out, "Oh yes!" After a couple more breaths she added, "Please!"

Willow grinned madly, she was fulfilling her Mistress instructions perfectly. Buffy had said, "I want you to seduce Tara. I want you to drive her crazy with need and lust, and then satisfy her the way you do best." What better assignment? Willow got to make love to her darling Tara, while at the same time, pleasing her Mistress. Not to mention, Buffy told her she could cum as often as she wanted if Tara felt like returning the favor.

Willow continued to work on Tara's neck with her lips, teeth and tongue, while her hands slid under the material of her sweater and began stroking the smooth, warm flesh there. She took her time working her way up to Tara's satin covered breasts.

Tara's every other breath was coming out as a moan of pleasure as Willow teased her breasts through the material of her bra- cupping their weight, then sliding up and over them, dipping into the exposed cleavage with her finger tips, then circling the areola- again over the bra.

It only took a couple of minutes till Tara was begging for more. Willow answered her 'Please?' with, "Please what, Baby? Tell me what you want."

Monosyllabic moans were all the blond was capable of at this point. In between deep breaths she whined, "Please… bra… off?"

"You want to feel my hands on you skin?" She softly tweaked Tara's nipples through the silky material of her bra as she asked.

Willow smiled and stepped back a little from Tara, then moved her hands down to the hem of her sweater and slowly pulled it up and off of her.

Willow quickly removed her own shirt and bra before moving her hands to the clasp of Tara's. She ran her hands along the skin of Tara's back, starting from the waist up- slowly moving toward the clasp of her bra.

Tara was whimpering in frustration by the time Willow had her bra open and slid it forward and off of her body. Frustration turned to a groan of pure bliss as she felt her lover's naked breasts press up against her back, and Willow's hands began to repeat her caresses over her breasts, this time feeling skin on skin.

Willow toyed with Tara's lovely chest for a minute, rubbing her palms in wide circles over Tara's erect nipples, rolling them around against the crinkled areolas.

Soon Tara was feeling electric jolts of pleasure shooting from her nipples directly to the junction of her thighs. She could feel the heavy, swollen lips, completely coated in her syrupy juices, saturating her panties.

Willow was content to play with Tara's ample chest until the girl begged for more. It didn't take long.

"Please! Pants… off… please!!" Tara cried as the sensation became too much to stand anymore.

Willow smiled, enjoying this game very much. Her own sopping wetness she was able to ignore, having had plenty of practice with Buffy in putting off her own orgasm. She whispered, "Do you need me to touch your pussy, baby? Hmm? Are you all wet and slippery for me?"

"You want me to play with your wet, sticky pussy, hmmm? You want me to lick and suck your hot little slit until you cum all over my face?" Willow asked, reveling in the naughty-talk; something she'd never really done before.

Tara gasped at Willow's dirty-talk. It was like a bolt of heat between her legs, and she cried out, "Yes! Oh Goddess Yes!"

Willow had to help Tara walk the short distance to the beanbag chair in the reading nook near the front door. She had reduced her lover to a quivering mass of need and lust. And, it turned out that quivering masses of need and lust had a hard time walking under their own power.

Once Tara was laid out on the chair, Willow quickly finished getting naked and then attended to Tara. She wasted no time getting her shoes, socks and pants off, but left the panties on, wanting to tease the girl back to a fever pitch before she gave in to her own desire to please her lover.

She straddled Tara's waist and leaned in to kiss the panting witch for the first time since they left the shop earlier that evening. She nipped her ripe lips and then laved them with her tongue. She sucked Tara's tongue into her own mouth and then caressed and suckled it for several moments.

Tara had to gasp for breath by the time Willow was done with her mouth. She cried as Willow took her time moving down to the dripping source of her arousal, stopping to lick and nip at Buffy's mark on her neck- which only served to heighten Tara's desire even further.

By the time Willow made it down to Tara's tummy, after she had spent several minutes on her fulsome breasts, the blond witch was crying and moaning "Please, Willow please!" over and over like a chant.

Willow took pity on her lover, rather than tease her over her panties, she just quickly drew them down and off, noticing how heavily soaked they were. She said, "Tara, baby, you smell so good!" and began to lick the syrupy moisture off of Tara's thighs, swiftly working up to the dripping petals of her sex.

Starting at the bottom, just below Tara's entrance, she laid her tongue flat against her lover and slowly drew it up, noisily sucking up the tangy juices as she went.

Tara thought she would go mad as she felt her sweet Willow's tongue lazily make its way up to her clitoris. She moaned her lover's name, getting louder as her tongue rose higher. She cried "NO!" as the warm, soft tongue moved away from her just as it would have touched her engorged trigger. She was barely mollified as she felt the giver of pleasure return to her, entering her and wiggling its way inside her.

Tara's back arched and she grunted loudly as two fingers slid inside to replace the tongue, and immediately curled up to rub against the roof of her vagina. If she'd had any inkling of how she sounded at that moment, grunting and growling like some wild beast, she'd have been mortified. She heard none of it thought, her awareness focused on the fingers stroking her from the inside.

Willow was amazed. Tara had never sounded like that before! As she moved inside her lover, she felt her getting closer and closer to the deep orgasm that she knew would come from stimulating her g-spot. When she thought Tara was about to crest, she moved in and sucked her heretofore ignored clit into her mouth and began to swirl her tongue around it.

Tara shrieked her lovers name at the top of her lungs. It was a good thing they were on a beanbag rather than a bed, because Tara shook so hard that she would have bounced them both off of a bed and onto the floor.

It was virtually impossible for Willow to keep contact with Tara's clit while she writhed and thrashed about; but she continued to stroke small circles inside her, drawing out her release until the girl was keening in rapture.

As Tara finally returned to earth after what felt like an incredibly long voyage to the great beyond, she felt her lover gently stroking her hypersensitive sex with long, wet licks. She groaned low in her belly, "Oooooohhhh! Love you Willoooooooowwww!"

After cleaning her up, Willow moved up along side her and snuggled against her, stoking her tummy gently and nuzzling her neck. She waited patiently for Tara to come down, basking in the afterglow of her intense multiple orgasms.

"Well Xander, we've got a few hours to kill. Whatcha wanna do?" Buffy asked as she closed the door behind her girlfriends.

"Whaddya mean?" Xander asked, "I thought they were coming right back…" he trailed off when he saw Buffy's smirk.

"But…" Xander said, drawing it out in hopes of an explanation- though he thought he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"My little witch has other plans for our sweet Tara. Plans that don't include rushing back here any time soon!" Buffy was bouncing on her toes, laughing in giddy pleasure.

"I… well… I don't get the whole you and Tara and Willow thing. With Willow and Tara going on a date, and you here with me…" Xander said, sounding confused.

"What's not to get?" Buffy asked. "It sounds like you got it- I'm here, they're there…"

"Yeah, but… You're not jealous? I mean, obviously you aren't, jealous that is…" Xander clearly didn't know exactly how to explain himself. "What I don't get, I guess, is how come?"

"Yeah," Xander said, and then quickly backtracked, "I mean, I'm not saying you should be, cause if you aren't then there's no reason you should be, I guess. I just don't get why you aren't?"

Buffy smiled broadly, understanding how this could be confusing. If she weren't in it, she imagined she'd be as messed up about it as Xander was. "I don't know. I guess… as long as no one's getting left out of smoochies, and we all know what we're doing… it's not like we're being left out. We don't hide stuff from each other, and we all get time together- all three of us together, and two at a time, too."

Buffy maintained a straight face as she teased Xander. "Good weird?" she asked in the same flat voice.

"Well, yeah, I mean, not weird like… 'wrong' or anything, just… you know… different. I mean…" Xander sputtered.

"Relax," Buffy said, letting him off the hook. "I was just teasing." She nodded her head as if agreeing with some internal conversation she was having and said, "It is different. I've never known anyone in a polyamorous relationship before either."

"It's not like they teach about it in 'human development' class at school," Xander said, at ease now, knowing that Buffy was just playing with him. "Taxpayers not big on the 'alternative relationship' studies for the kiddies, I guess."

"Yes, because the traditional nuclear family is such a successful model!" Buffy said with just a trace of bitterness.

"Sure, your parent's divorce is probably the best role model we've got," Xander said. At Buffy's perplexed look he explained, "Just think about it, your parents weren't in love with each other or whatever, so they split. They could have stayed together like mine, and become useless drunken alcoholics whose lives are leading examples of misery. Or, they could be like Willow's- distant, cold, and neglectful. Or you could have Tara's 'right out of Deliverance' Hillbilly wife-beaters," Xander paused for a moment and then said, "Face it Buffy, you got the best of the bunch."

Buffy stared at her friend for a moment then chuckled ruefully, "On that happy note!" She stood up and stretched, saying, "Wanna go patrol? We can swing by the video place on the way back and find some mindless comedy to take our mind off the hellmouth for ninety minutes."

Xander almost managed not to stare as Buffy arched her back in a giant stretch. It took a moment for his brain to process her question- fortunately his response time was significantly faster than it had been in High School, and Buffy didn't notice the pause before he said, "Sure, patrol, video, laughter. Sounds like a good plan."

Xander stuck out his hand and Buffy pulled him up to his feet. She turned to walk towards the door, but turned back as if she had just thought of something. "You know, I had no idea of what I was getting into when Tara and Willow invited me into their relationship. I knew I wanted Willow, I knew I liked Tara."

Xander stood, silent, listening. He somehow realized that it was important for Buffy to put this into words, for her own sake more than for his.

"I think I already loved Willow. I mean I've loved her as a friend forever… and I… I always wanted her, I just couldn't… I wasn't brave enough to do anything about it," Buffy said.

"It turned out Willow had been wanting me too. For a long time," Buffy said. "We were both too afraid of messing up our friendship to do anything about it. If it wasn't for Tara…" Buffy shook her head and turned back to the door.

Xander followed Buffy out into the night. He was genuinely curious about the whole triad thing, and not just for the obvious 'stimulating' reasons. He decided to take advantage of Buffy's introspective mood. "Tara got you together?"

Xander said, "No, I- I can see it… now anyway. At the time, no I wouldn't have guessed it would be Tara that did it."

"Yeah, back in the 'shy Tara' days," Buffy mused. "She's definitely not shy anymore!"

Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "You know, she should be confident. She's amazing! I never knew how good it could be before…"

"Xander!" Buffy said in mock-outrage. "I wasn't talking about the sex. Although, she's really, really good at that too!"

Buffy laughed at the look on her friend's face. "I meant the other stuff- caring, giving, loving… that stuff…" Buffy had a look of wonder and contentment on her face. "She makes me feel so loved that I can't even explain it. And then there's Willow, and I love her so much it amazes me, and still she loves me back even more. Between the two I feel more alive and wonderful and…" Buffy trailed off, realizing that she was being rather insensitive to Xander, who had just broken up. "…sorry."

"No! I mean, sorry I'm going on and on about how happy I am, and… here you are just broken up with Anya and you probably don't really want to hear how happy I am… and I'm just making it even worse now, aren't I?" Buffy said, realizing she was still going on about it.

"You aren't… I don't know… sad? I mean, not that I want you to be depressed or anything, but you were going out with her for, like, a year!" Buffy didn't understand how he could be ok, and thought maybe he wasn't so ok and was just hiding his feelings, cause that's what Scoobies did- they hid their feelings from each other cause they were scared and didn't want to hurt each other- which of course always backfired and made them end up hurting each other, and, "Ok, I've got Willowbabble!" she thought, ending her internal rant.

"Well… you know, it's ok if you're not ok; I mean, this is the new and improved Scooby gang- honesty is our policy!" Buffy said in a cajoling voice. "You don't miss her?"

Xander stopped walking and considered for a moment how honest he wanted to be. "You really want the truth?" he asked.

Buffy stopped and turned to face him, seeing the seriousness in his eyes, she answered, "Yeah, Xander. I think it's time we actually trusted each other enough to be honest."

Xander laughed but there was little humor in it. "You know, the more I think about our entire relationship, the more disgusted I get with myself."

Xander resumed walking, and it took Buffy a moment to snap out of it and catch up. "Why?" she asked.

Buffy wanted to say the disgusted part, but if she were serious about the honesty bit, she would have to admit that she was curious about the sex, too. "It had to be pretty amazing to make him put up with her," she thought, then immediately chastised herself for the mean thought. "Uh both," she answered.

"The sex was amazing. I mean I've only ever been with one other person, and that lasted all of ten minutes, so I don't have a good comparison… but Anya made me feel things I'd never even imagined before… We did stuff I'd never even heard of- stuff that would make a movie camera melt…" he trailed off as he remembered some of the more creative things Anya had taught him. "Not only the stuff she did to me, but the stuff she taught me to do to her… I have no doubt in my mind that I could knock the socks off of just about any woman out there after being trained by Anya."

Xander chuckled, "Yeah, I know it sounds pretty conceited, but trust me when I tell you, Anya didn't sugar coat things. If I wasn't making her see stars, she let me know it. Did you know vengeance demons aren't celibate? I figured, you know- with the hating men thing- there wouldn't be a lot of smoochies going on, but that's not what she said. So basically, I had a teacher with about twenty times the experience of the average human."

Xander continued, "And, you know how they say practice makes perfect?" He asked, smiling as Buffy slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. We practiced pretty much constantly. In fact, she had some 'old friends' who owed her a few favors…"

"You mean…" Buffy whispered, beginning to think that maybe there was a good reason they weren't completely honest with each other.

"But, your girlfriends aren't the only ones with magical powers…" he said with not a little pride. "And, you aren't the only one with supernatural recuperation!"

Buffy was a little stunned by the 'breadth' of Xander's honesty. "Oh. Wow." She said quietly.

Xander didn't say anything for a moment and they resumed walking. After about fifty meters, he continued, "I feel like I was the stereotypical female in the relationship, if you could call it a relationship."

Seeing her confused look, he said, "Anya only wanted me for sex. In the beginning I knew that, but I tried to convince myself that there was more to it after a while. I'm disgusted with myself because I was the one trying to make the whole thing into something it wasn't; a relationship."

Buffy was a little concerned by the bitterness in his voice. "Xander, it might not have been the perfect relationship…"

Xander interrupted her, "It wasn't anything Buffy! I pretended it was, but it wasn't really. I pretended Anya wanted me for my mind and my heart and all the other stuff- when all she wanted was my body."

Buffy couldn't help but grin at that. She looked away so he wouldn't see it, and tried not to laugh.

"Anya pretended she cared about all the other stuff so I wouldn't stop having sex with her. She told me what I wanted to hear, tried to behave the way I wanted her to, but it wasn't real, it wasn't the real Anya. The real Anya didn't really care about anything but money and sex. And I was kidding myself that it was ever anything else."

"You really think it was that bad?" Buffy asked sadly. Sure, Anya was a pain to be around, and- being honest again- Buffy was kinda glad she was gone. But…

Xander sighed. "I finally realized that Anya was never really human. Destroying her necklace didn't kill the demon, it just kept her powerless and locked up in a human-looking wrapper."

Xander kicked a rock down the gutter as they entered one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. "The only thing I'll miss is the sex, because that's the only thing that was real. Everything else was a lie I told myself to keep from realizing the situation I was in."

Xander took a deep breath and said, "Well, I was thinking, really the only answer is hookers."

Buffy stumbled and almost fell. Her eyes went wide and her jaw sagged once again.

Xander somehow managed to keep a completely straight face, despite the hysterical giggles that rose up in side him at the sight of her reaction.

Her strangled squeak, "XANDER!!" broke his façade and his mouth slipped into a manic grin.

She was just about to smack him when he pointed over her shoulder and said, "Whaddya know? Saved by the vampire!"

Buffy spun around to see a minion-level vampire rushing up on her. She almost sighed in annoyance. "I don't know, Xan," she said as she waited for the vamp to get to her. When it was almost upon her, she crouched down and her arms shot up, catching it in the chest and crotch, and then she jumped up, combining her legs, her arms, and its own momentum to throw it almost ten meters through the air to crumple against a large stone monument. She continued her quip, saying, "it's kinda small… why don't I let you have it."

Buffy laughed as the tables were turned and it was Xander's turn to gape like a fish on dry land.

"Oh, Crap!" Xander thought. He quickly fumbled for his stake and rushed over to the dazed vampire, hoping to dust it before it regained it's limited senses. Small for Buffy meant just about all he could handle.

Fortunately for Xander, the blow had been severe and the vampire was barely staggering to its feet when he got to it. He didn't waste any time or try for a Slayeresque quip, he just staked it in the back and breathed a sigh of relief as it blew into dust.

"Oh you *so* deserved that, Xander. Don't even pretend you didn't." she said with her hands on her hips, and a smile on her lips.

"I… ok, you're right…" he admitted. "But you should have seen your face!" he crowed, laughing as he remembered it. "Priceless!"

"Yeah!?" Buffy said, starting to rant, but then Xander's infectious laughter got to her and she couldn't help chuckling herself. "Well… I was just so shocked!" she said.

"I could tell! If it hadn't been for that vamp, I was worried for my safety," he teased.

"Yeah, alright… you definitely got me on that one," she said as she started to walk again.

They walked in companionable silence for a while until Buffy asked, "Where do you think Anya went?"

That was the one thing that had Xander worried just a little. "I don't know. I just hope she hasn't found a way to get her powers back," he said.

"Well, here we are," Giles said as they came over the hill and began to approach the city he had selected for their enforced vacation.

Joyce stared out the window at the sight before her in disbelief. "But… but…"

Dawn leaned forward between the seats and looked out the windshield at the lights of the city. "This is so cool!"

It had taken several minutes for Tara to recover from the potency of her orgasm. "Orgasms!" she thought to herself. "Many, many wonderful orgasms."

Willow was looking with adoration on her lover's face. She took in the hair- now dampened by sweat; she took in Tara's face, sweaty, blushing and tearstained from the intensity of her release- her lips wet and swollen, her dark eyes glossy with tears and full of sweet satisfaction. Willow's heart ached with joy at the beauty of her lover.

"I love you so much, Willow!" Tara sighed. You and Buffy are my whole life. I can't imagine anything better to do in my life than to be with you, to love you."

Willow laid on her side alongside her spent lover. She gently stroked the soft flesh of Tara's tummy. "I love you Tara. I don't have any words that could describe how much. It's too big for words."

Tara moved, pulling Willow closer as she shifted onto her side so that she was lying alongside the redhead, who was now on her back. She nuzzled Willow's ear, and then nibbled the lobe.

Willow groaned as the sensation of Tara suckling her earlobe was joined by the feel of the blond witch's fingers as they began to gently stroke around her navel.

Tara dragged the backs of her fingers along Willow's skin, in no hurry as she applied light pressure- just enough not to tickle. She released the earlobe in her mouth and smiled when Willow groaned in recognition.

Willow realized what Tara was planning on doing to her and an involuntary moan of pleasure rose to her lips. They had done this before, but not since Buffy had joined them. It involved caressing your lover's skin with the backs of your fingers; constantly moving across the tummy, legs, arms, and neck- while deliberately avoiding the primary erogenous zones- until your lover was buzzing with arousal to the point where every inch of skin felt like one big trigger point. It could take an hour or more, but as aroused as Willow was already, she knew it wouldn't take that long.

The point was to so totally involve the mind in the focus on the pleasure of touch until the body was on the cusp of orgasm- then, ever so slowly, allow the touches to stray closer and closer to the primaries- brushing against the underside of a breast- tickling the edge of the fur between the legs… maybe the warmth of hot breath against an engorged nipple… when you were patient and focused you could bring your lover to orgasm before even touching the clitoris or even the pussy lips.

Willow closed her eyes and relaxed, focusing her mind on the feel of her lover's touch. Her recent activities subbing to Buffy allowed her to easily shut the world away until only Tara existed. Tara's mouth on her neck, and her fingers on her tummy, circling, moving slowly outward.

This technique took incredible patience. Usually the temptation to speed up and rush to the end would be overwhelming. However, Tara was well satiated, and Willow was used to waiting. Tara concentrated, trying to shut out any distractions and focus on her darling Willow's pale, glorious flesh, making sure to cover every inch as she stroked and petted. She ignored any fatigue in her arm and just kept a steady pace.

Within ten minutes she could tell Willow was beginning to build up- her body was undulating gently as Tara stroked. By twenty minutes, Tara noticed that their breathing had become synchronized, as Willow became completely attuned to the experience. The redhead began to tremble slightly every few moments, indicating that it wouldn't take much longer.

It began as a shivery feeling crawling up and down Willow's spine, her periodic trembling became constant and her breathing started to hitch. She moaned out Tara's name, drawing it out long and low.

Tara took that as her cue and sat up, continuing to stroke Willow with one hand, but now leaning over her and running her tongue along the underside of one of her breasts, avoiding the nipple, but carefully laving the sensitive flesh beneath it.

Willow gasped at the feel of her lover's tongue on her breast, and she began rolling her hips as though seeking contact. Her pleasure was cresting and she was riding the orgasm like a surfer on a wave.

Tara's hand continued it's journey south, stroking and petting until she reached the drenched lips of the redhead's sex. Again, she avoided the clitoris and began to run her fingers up and down the slick opening, stroking her lips like a gentle kiss. As Willow began to arch herself up off of the beanbag, Tara slid a single finger into her lover's wet heat, gently stroking up along the top of that slick tunnel.

The pulsating wave Willow was feeling grew markedly in intensity as Tara massaged her g-spot. Within moments she was arching up from the beanbag so that only her feet and shoulders still had any contact. Her whole body was quivering and shuddering, and she was making a high-pitched whimper in between panting her lover's name and calling on her goddess.

Tara smiled in joyous wonder at her lover's shaking and quaking. She slipped a second finger inside the redhead and began moving in quick, tight circles over that magic spot. Her mouth finally moved up to grasp Willow's very erect nipple and she began to suck strongly on it, even gently nibbling at it before swirling her tongue around and over it. She delighted in the way Willow panted out her name- like it was too much to hold it in, and it had to come pouring out of her. She loved to see Willow cum; the girl was so amazingly beautiful!

Willow felt as though each cell in her body was individually buzzing with pleasure, like she was on the verge of disintegrating into a puddle of liquid and seeping away into the floor. At the same time she could feel every muscle in her body tightening up as the ecstasy flowed around and through her.

Tara slowed her motions, letting go Willow's breast and sitting back on her haunches while she slowed her strokes inside her lover. "You're so beautiful Willow!" she whispered as she watched the redhead's face while she slowly returned to earth. "I love you so much!"

"Willow felt herself coming down little by little from the amazing pleasure her lover had given her. Tara's words washed over her and gave her an increased emotional rush to contrast her gently diminishing physical one. "Love… you… too… Tara." She breathed out.

Tara was about to say something else when she was interrupted by the sound of hands clapping. She whirled around as a voice joined the applause.

Willow managed to get her eyes open, though her body was spent. She blinked a couple of times to focus on the face she could see looking past Tara's shoulder. "You!" she growled.

Giles drove them down the strip, just to give Dawn the chance to see everything. They drove in silence.

Dawn was quietly looking in wonder at the amazing displays put on by the casino's along the main drive. Occasionally she would whisper, "Wow," or, "Oooh!" as she saw something especially amazing. He was surprised to find himself planning some early evening entertainment with her in mind- walking the strip and taking in the free shows and displays that went on.

He was, himself, refraining from speaking despite the way Joyce was looking at him. She would alternate staring at him questioningly for several moments, and then shaking her head and staring out the windows at the passing sights. A small smile graced his lips as he wondered how long she'd last before the curiosity overwhelmed her.

When he reached the end of the strip, he turned towards a more industrial area of the city.

"I take it we aren't staying at one of the casino's…" Joyce said, working up to the question she was really curious about.

Joyce narrowed her eyes slightly, trying once again to ask without asking, "No? What *did* you have in mind?"

He wasn't entirely successful in fighting the grin this time, and his lips twitched as he said, "Something else entirely."

Dawn watched as her mother's mouth pursed and her nose twitched, but she didn't seem angry exactly. She looked back at Giles and saw the corner of his mouth twitch every little bit. "They're playing!" she suddenly realized. "Some kind of game, or…" She decided he was teasing her mom, and mom was trying not to admit that he was getting to her. "God, they're acting just like kids… only quieter about it." She resolved to be very observant of her mom and Giles during this little trip. If she paid attention, she might learn something. Or, at least she might get something she could use on them later.

When they pulled up to what looked like a small, run-down warehouse, Joyce could no longer contain herself. "Ok, Rupert, you win."

"Why Las Vegas? And what is this place?" Joyce asked, half exasperated, half amused.

Giles didn't bother trying to hide the grin as he asked, "Why? Did you have someplace else in mind?" Before she could say anything else, he gave in and explained. "Las Vegas is a city of transients. No one in the city thinks twice about seeing a stranger, in fact it is the norm. It also boasts more hotel rooms than any other place on the planet, making it practically impossible to find someone by conventional searching, even if they did know where in the world we were."

"So, what about unconventional…" she asked, still a little worried. She knew they were safer away from Glory- but she couldn't help being a little afraid any time she had to run and hide. And, of course she was terrified for the daughter she had to leave behind. "Thank God for Willow and Tara!" she thought. She knew Buffy was the Slayer, but it could only help having two powerful witches looking out for her.

Giles reached out and laid a hand on her knee, seeking to reassure her- and ignoring the other tension between them. He said, "I won't sugar coat things, Joyce. We cannot be certain of our safety no matter what we do. However, many things work in our favor; if she could use mystical means to determine that Dawn was who she was looking for, she would have done so already." He looked into the back seat and spoke to Dawn, "She has a limited time to achieve her goals, and even if she already knew that you were The Key, it would be difficult to find us here."

Dawn smiled and said, "I'm not even worried. Buffy and Willow and Tara will kick her butt, and then we'll go home and throw a big Butt-kicked-Hellgod party."

"I trust your confidence is well placed, Dawn," Giles said with a smile. Truth be told, he too was confident in his Slayer. He trusted Willow and Tara to provide great assistance in the matter as well. Frankly, he wasn't entirely sanguine about their 'triad' arrangement, but even that discomfiture was dissipating as time went on and they seemed truly committed to one another.

Joyce covered Giles hand on her knee and squeezed gently, while addressing her comment to Dawn, "I think that's watcher-speak for 'you're right, Dawn'."

Dawn noticed that neither adult seemed to be in a hurry to stop with the touching thing that was going on. She looked up at her mom and raised a single brow to punctuate her smirk.

Giles was the first to break from the reverie. "Yes, well… let's not sit outside all night."

Joyce reluctantly let go of his hand when he pulled away to get out of the jeep. "So, what is this place?" she asked again.

As he stepped out the door, he said, "Dawn, would you please grab that black satchel directly behind you as you get out?" Stepping around to the front of the jeep he answered Joyce's question. "It belongs to an old acquaintance of mine."

Dawn spoke to Giles, but kept her attention on her mom as she asked, "Or is it a she?" Sure enough, her mom's eyes narrowed and an eyebrow arched up.

"He," Giles was careful to clearly annunciate as he took the satchel from Dawn, "isn't around to care one way or the other." He put the bag on the hood of the jeep and opened it up.

Both Joyce and Dawn were startled when Giles laughed out loud. Not just a brief chuckle either, but serious belly laughs for several moments.

Giles wiped the corner of one eye as he tried to explain himself to the two ladies staring at him as though he were mad. "Sorry, I cannot help but laugh every time I think of it."

"Trust me Joyce, you'll not shed a tear when I tell you his name." Giles stated with certainty. He found what he was looking for in the bag and set out a crystal and a vial of greenish looking powder

"It's someone I know?" Joyce asked, puzzled. Only a moment later she realized who it must be- the only one in Giles past that she'd ever met. "Ethan Rayne!" she hissed.

"Mom!" Dawn exclaimed. She'd never to her knowledge heard her mother with that much hatred in her voice. Then she too recognized the reference. "Oh, he's the costume guy," she said when she remembered the Halloween they'd all turned into their costumes. She shivered slightly- that was a night she didn't care to remember- she was just glad all the demons running around kept the standard Halloween vandalism to a minimum. "I thought it would be cool to dress as a pumpkin… God what a dork!" she thought. She never admitted to remembering that night- she always told Buffy that pumpkins didn't have thoughts or memories…

"Yes, while I managed to avoid most of the Halloween madness, I did have the displeasure of being turned into a Fyaryl Demon- his little joke on old Ripper last year…" Giles trailed off muttering. He brightened at the rest of that memory though as he once again relieved the images of Ethan being cuffed and stuffed into the back of the military truck and hauled away. He shook of the reminiscence, and ignored the other Ethan inspired images of taking Joyce on the hood of that police car… twice.

Joyce said nothing but merely blushed as she relived the same police-car related events.

Giles picked up the crystal and the vial and walked toward the building. "Wait here a moment," he said to Joyce and Dawn. He was about ten feet from the man-sized door to the building when he came to an abrupt halt.

The ladies watched curiously when Giles held up the vial and the crystal in front of him and began to chant as he sprinkled a little of the greenish powder onto the stone. Though they weren't close enough to see it, the powder was absorbed into the surface of the crystal, turning it pale green. He slowly extended the stone forward until it looked like he encountered some resistance. They watched him push forward and then there was a shimmer to the air around him and suddenly his arm shot forward.

Giles stoppered the vial and walked back to the Summers ladies. "Protection spell," he explained. "Fairly strong one, actually; which is handy for us."

"Uh," Dawn began, not wanting to be negative, but still… "You seemed to get through it pretty easily…"

Giles frowned. "Yes, well… I helped put it in place, so it wasn't difficult for me. Anyone who didn't know the exact combination of spells used would find it formidable, I assure you," he said somewhat defensively.

"I thought you and this Ethan guy were, I dunno, not exactly friends?" Dawn asked.

"We weren't always at odds. The last time I was here, it was by invitation," Giles answered. "Ethan always was lazy. He never updated the spell," he smiled as he put the powder back in the bag.

He picked up the satchel and nodded toward the door, "Come along. I'll come back out and bring the jeep inside."

Joyce and Dawn glanced at each other and shrugged. They followed Giles as he walked to the door and opened it. "It's been some years, but as I recall, the interior is as luxurious as the exterior is dilapidated," he assured them, not missing the frown brought on by the appearance of the building.

Joyce and Dawn walked in as Giles held the door open for them. They couldn't see very far into the room, as the only lighting came from the street lamps through the open doorway.

Giles followed them in and flipped the switch, startled to find that everything was *exactly* as he remembered it.

Joyce asked, "Did you actually own a leisure suit?" before giving in to the giggles.

"Yes, well… I- I did say it had been several years…" Giles tried to defend himself.

"It looks like a bachelor pad right out of Starskey and Hutch!" Dawn said, finally coming up with an adequate comparison for the leopard skin wallpaper and the deep-pile, gold-colored shag carpet.

Xander watched in awe as Buffy ran up between two of the trio of vampires that they had come upon. His jaw literally dropped as she leapt up into the air and lashed out with both feet, striking each vamp in the face with a devastating kick. It was so impressive because they were on either side of her- making it look like she was doing the splits in mid-air, except the splits didn't usually include major ass-kickage, or face kickage in this case.

He couldn't help but notice with great interest that she was wearing a black lace thong under her short skirt. He also couldn't help but notice, again, what a great ass she had as the skirt flipped up above her waist while she seemed to float to the ground.

Fortunately he was able to quit ogling his friend before she caught him. Even luckier- he managed to come to his senses faster than the third vamp who was still staring at the petite blond in amazement. Whether in awe of her prowess, or in lust of her ass, Xander didn't bother waiting to find out. He took advantage of the moment to ram a stake into his heart from behind.

"At least you go out with a smile!" he quipped before turning to see if Buffy could use his help.

Buffy was having fun. She knew Giles would frown at her disapprovingly and chastise her for overconfidence- though he'd undoubtedly use some 'British' sounding word, like 'imprudence' or 'being rash' or some such thing. She ruthlessly tromped down her inner Giles and thought, "Come on! Three newbie vamps? Not even a challenge!" She smirked as Xander dusted one while it was staring at her ass.

One of those she'd kicked rose unsteadily to it's feet and Buffy grabbed it, throwing it over her shoulder and right into the other one that had only just achieved sitting upright. She chuckled as she thought of how Xander's face must have looked when she leapt up for that splits-kick. "Bad Buffy!" she mentally chided herself. "You shouldn't tease poor, girlfriendless Xander!"

"I've always wondered something Buff," Xander said as he watched her playing with the hapless vamps.

"What's that Xander?" she asked as she ducked a punch from one vamp and sweep-kicked it's feet out from under it before rolling under a kick from the other only to pop up and side kick it squarely in the lower back, causing it's arms, legs and head to snap back as it was thrust forward at the waist. It looked like someone being snatched back at the end of a bungee cord, only horizontally.

Xander chuckled humorously at the way the vamps were flying around like rag-dolls. "Why cemeteries?"

"Whaddya mean?" Buffy asked as she used one vamp's momentum and missed punch to dislocate it's shoulder with a sickening pop.

Xander cringed slightly at the wet, tearing sound the vamps ruined arm made before answering. "Well, I mean there's no people here, so no vampy snacks. And, they can't all live in mausoleums, like Spike did, can they? So why do we always find them skulking around in cemeteries?"

Buffy stopped for a second to ponder that- right after she absent-mindedly punched the lesser damaged vamp in the side of the head, knocking it down yet again. After a moment she shrugged and said, "I dunno. Why don't you ask one?"

Xander jerked back in shock when she slapped one-arm upside the head, sending him stumbling toward him. It was his turn to shrug and he thought, "Ok, whatever…" He looked at the vamp and asked, "So, why do you guys hang out in cemeteries?"

Xander managed to dodge the vamp's wild punch and landed a haymaker of his own right on it's ugly, ridged nose. The crunch of cartilage was clearly audible, and the vamp was knocked onto it's butt.

"I guess we'll never know. Next time," Buffy said as she blocked a punch from the still-two-handed vamp, "Try this!" She struck upward with the heel of her palm, catching the vamp directly in the upper lip and nose, smashing the latter with another wet-sounding crunch, and driving the creature's fangs through its upper lip.

"Cool!" Xander said as the vamp arced up and back, landing on it's head and shoulders, the rest of it's body collapsing over top of it, it's knees smacking itself in the forehead. Xander thought it looked like something out of a John Woo kung-fu movie and had to restrain himself from clapping.

Buffy said, "Bored now," and quickly staked the two sorry-looking undead as they tried to make their way back to their feet.

Xander stared at her, "Bored now?" he asked with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"I can't believe you'd want to think about that!" Xander said, remembering the pain they had felt when they thought Willow had been turned.

"In a lot of ways, that was the worst day in my life," Buffy said. "I had all these feelings for my best friend- that I was totally in denial about- and then, boom! She's a vampire."

Xander nodded, "Yeah, I wasn't in love with her, but it still killed me. Even worse than Jesse, and that one really tore me up."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "It was horrible." Her face brightened, and she said, "But, once we found out she was alive…"

"Yeah, I noticed that you got kinda close to Willow for a little bit there," Xander said with a smirk.

Buffy shook her head and began walking out of the cemetery. "All I could think about was how much I wanted to grab her and carry her off somewhere safe… and how much I wanted to kiss her."

Xander waggled his eyebrows at her, saying, "Yeah? I think Giles would have had a heart attack!"

"She *so* looked hot!" Buffy agreed with a sparkle of lust in her eyes. She got a little excited just remembering it. She made a mental note, "I definitely have to take that girl shopping soon!" She sighed and said, "I wanted her that night. I was embarrassed, because I think Angel knew it."

Xander was surprised that she was telling him this. Buffy had never shared this kind of stuff with him before.

"After, I went back into total denial. I convinced myself that Angel was my soulmate- the one I was meant to be with," Buffy said.

Xander forced himself not to comment. He still had 'issues' with the king of brood.

Buffy glanced peripherally at her friend and saw the distaste clearly written on his face. She was a little surprised that he didn't comment. She had a comment of her own that she thought he would agree with… "Pretty sad, huh?"

"That I tried to convince myself that I should be with a vampire, rather than accept my feelings for Willow," she said.

Xander stopped and put his hand on Buffy's shoulder, stopping her as well. "Buffy, are you ok?"

"Well…" Xander began. "You've never shared this kind of stuff with me before." Seeing her forehead wrinkle in a frown, he hastened to reassure her, "I mean, I'm glad you feel comfortable with me like that… really! It's just… you never have before."

"I guess I'm curious," Xander said. "I mean, I think it's a good thing… It's just unexpected."

Buffy started walking again. "I guess… I'm not so afraid anymore," she said. She looked at Xander and saw his perplexed look. "I kept stuff from all of you guys, my friends, my family, because… I was afraid. I was afraid of rejection or of disappointing you or… I guess sometimes I was afraid I was wrong, and I didn't want anyone telling me, cause then I'd have to admit it to myself." She gave Xander a sidelong glance and added, "You were always great at telling me stuff I didn't want to hear. Most of the time it was stuff I needed to hear, even if I got mad at you for saying it."

"Yeah, well… sometimes I said stuff that I didn't mean… or maybe I meant it, but not as harsh as I said it," he explained. "Most people never even meet their heroes. They don't get to see the… less than heroic stuff."

"You're only human, Buffy," Xander said. Before she could protest, he continued. "Yes, you're the Slayer, and you're fast and strong and you can kick boatloads of demon-ass, but none of that makes you less human. You're like human plus- everything human plus a lot more… but the 'everything human' part includes the deluxe screw-up package."

Buffy stopped again, momentarily worried that he might be talking about in-love love. When she looked into his eyes she felt a lump in her throat at the devotion she saw there. Her eyes shiny with unshed tears, she smiled and said, "I love you too, Xander."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Good, just so that's clear." With that they both began walking again.

Xander looked over at the video Buffy was holding up. He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't you get enough of that at work? I thought we talked about getting a comedy…"

"Come on Buff, Fright Night is not a comedy!" He overwhelmed her protest, saying "Ok, ok! I'll agree, that it is mostly funny, rather than scary… but I think that's only because it's us. When your life is like scarier than all the horror movies rolled into one, they kinda lose their edge."

Buffy wrinkled her nose, "Ferris Bueler's Day Off? Just because he was your High School hero…"

Buffy went back to looking, trying to find something they might both like. She saw Xander's hand move towards a certain movie and she quickly said, "NO! No way, Xander. There's no way I'm watching that again…"

Xander took one look at the movie in Buffy's hand and recoiled in horror. "Do you hate me, Buffy? Did I do something to make you really, really mad?" he asked melodramatically.

"It's not that I hate Molly Ringwald…" Xander said. "But, come on! Pretty in Pink?"

Sensing resistance on this issue, but refusing to cave-in to the dreaded chick-flick, Xander offered a compromise. "Look, if you need a Molly fix, how about The Breakfast Club, huh?"

Buffy grinned at Xander's antics. "Ok, you've sold me. We shall watch The Breakfast Club," she said as though proclaiming a royal decree.

They paid for the movie and left the store, headed back towards the Summers' house.

Xander noticed that Buffy kept looking around as they walked; it was like she was searching for something. He asked, "What? Is something following us? More of Glory's scabby little minions?" He too started to look into the shadows.

"Spike," Buffy stated. "I keep waiting for him to turn up, what with us dusting Drusilla, and with what she told us about what happened to him… I figure he'll try and find a way to do something. Despite the chip."

He had been dreading telling Buffy about this. He didn't know why… it wasn't like she wanted the creep around, but still… it was hard to tell how Buffy would react to something like this. Ah, as in… Ah, I have a confession to make."

"I never imagined you had it in you, Willow!" said the voice Willow had long since come to despise whole-heartedly.

"What are you doing here?!" Willow demanded of the intruder. "I thought we'd finally seen the last of you! Why can't you get it through your thick skull that you aren't wanted here!"

"You took something that belongs to me, and now you're going to pay!" she said, attempting, but failing, to speak in an evil voice.

Willow and Tara looked at each other; their anger at being interrupted overshadowing their embarrassment at their state of undress. Willow said, "What are you talking about? We don't have anything that belongs to you!" Tara added, "I think you'd better leave… Now!"

"Right, who died and left you in charge?" the intruder asked Tara haughtily. Turning to Willow again, she said, "I should have killed you when I first got here!"

Tara stood up to shield her lover, who was apparently the target of this attack. A small part of her was cringing in horror at standing naked before someone other than her lovers, but mostly she was letting Mistress Tara handle the situation. "Are you insane? Threatening someone who belongs to me?"

"And what do you think you're going to do about it, Bitch!?" she asked, her face changing from its human form to one much uglier.

She was shocked when instead of recoiling in fear, the two naked girls began to laugh.

Dawn had finally crashed at about midnight, after thoroughly exploring the building that was to be their home for the next few weeks. Joyce had ascertained their grocery needs and Giles had made a shopping run to stock up. Now the two adults were sitting on the black velvet couch and talking.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this, Rupert." Joyce said as she leaned back in the couch and sipped her wine.

Joyce turned her head to consider the man sitting next to her. "No, Rupert. I know you would rather have stayed behind to help Buffy fight Glory…"

Giles stopped her, "Joyce. The help that Buffy needed most was to know that her mother and sister were safe." He added, "Not to mention keeping 'The Key' out of Glory's hands."

Joyce smiled. "Still," she said, meeting his eyes. "I want you to know that I'm grateful for you being here. I don't know if I could have managed it alone."

"Rest assured, it is no hardship," he said, ignoring the feelings that developed whenever he was this close to her. "And, I believe that you would have managed quite well on your own had it been necessary."

Giles took a moment to let his eyes roam over this remarkable woman. "I believe much of your daughter's resilience comes not from her calling, but from you, Joyce," he said softly.

Joyce blushed at the compliment. Changing the subject slightly, she said, "I feel much better about leaving her, knowing that Willow and Tara will be there for her."

"Yes, yes… Willow and Tara seem to have grown remarkably powerful in their time together…" he trailed off as he mulled those thoughts over in his head. He'd been rather surprised at the easy time they'd had in handling Spike- even with his chip. "And Drusilla!" he thought. A very powerful vampire who was gifted with her own magic, as he'd learned first-hand. Yet, Willow had handled her with apparent ease- obviously much further along in her magical powers than he'd had any idea. A year ago, even her best spells were only minimally powerful, and were unreliable in the extreme. Now, she showed more power and control than many magic users ever mastered.

Joyce watched Giles surreptitiously while he was lost in thought. She once again kicked herself for pulling away from him so strongly after the candy incident. She'd been so mortified by her behavior under its influence that she withdrew into her shell of denial. The truth was that she had desired him before ever eating the magical chocolate bars. He was handsome, intelligent and knowledgeable, classically educated and quite the gentleman. "Plus his accent is really sexy!" she thought.

She remembered the feel of his weight pressing her down against the hood of the police car. She remembered being excited by the danger of public sex, but she also remembered how amazing he was. She'd been expecting him to be wild and out-of-control; and at that moment, she almost wanted that. What she got was neither wild, nor lacking in control; but rather it was a focused passion… a zeal not only to enjoy her willing body, but also to give her pleasure. She remembered the feel of him inside her, moving in long, deep strokes; building up speed until they had tested the strength of the car's shocks. She blushed again as she remembered the sounds she'd made… she had let herself go completely- submitting herself not so much to him, as to the experience, the feel and pleasure.

"Can I ask you something, Rupert? Something personal?" Joyce asked, suddenly nervous and wondering if she really had the guts to start this conversation.

Giles left his train of thought behind and considered again the alluring woman seated next to him. He noticed her apparent nervousness with some puzzlement. Something personal? He wondered what it could be. "Of course, Joyce."

"Knowing the history of this place," she began- gesturing to the room they were in, "And it's owner... It brings back certain… memories." She was stalling a little; taking the long road to get to where she was going.

Giles blushed as he realized to what she was referring. However, he remained silent, waiting for her question.

"Do you… regret what we… what happened between us?" she asked, spending the last of her courage in doing so.

Marveling at his own daring, Giles took her free hand in his and gently said, "Joyce, I regret many things about that day. You may be certain that… being with you, was not one of them."

Joyce released the breath she'd been unconsciously holding with a sigh. She smiled with relief and happiness.

Giles went on, "It was a struggle not to mention it the very next day, but… I enjoyed our time together, very much," he whispered hoarsely.

She lowered her eyes to their joined hands and spoke from her heart. "Lately, I've been giving things… my life… a lot of thought." She chuckled nervously, "And suddenly I feel like a teenager again, only more with the awkward, and less the reckless wild-child."

Giles just smiled encouragingly and began to stroke the back of her hand with his free hand. He said nothing, not wanting to dissuade her from speaking her mind.

Joyce felt a warmth creeping into her belly at Giles touch. "Maybe I don't need a man in my life. I've survived this long alone. And, even with the whole Slayer thing, and the major bumps in the road that accompanied that, the girls and I have made it through relatively intact…" She mentally braced herself and said, "So, maybe I could live without a man in my life… but I don't want to. I… I'm tired of being alone, Rupert. I'm tired of having all the responsibility of keeping things afloat, and caring for the girls- not that Buffy needs much hand-holding, but still… And, I'm really sick of going to sleep in a cold, empty bed." She looked back up into his eyes and said, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I believe I do," Giles answered. "You desire more than a night of passion, more than someone to go out with on the odd weekend date. You're looking for someone with whom to share your life; a man with whom you wish to share your family, your home, and your bed."

Joyce nodded and again dropped her eyes. She finished her glass of wine and set it aside. She smiled tremulously and began, "I realize this must seem all so sudden and so huge… but…"

Giles gently interrupted, "I too have become greatly weary of being alone, Joyce." He reached up and ran his thumb along her jaw line, the backs of his fingers stroking her neck as he revealed his heart, "I have suppressed my feelings for you because I believed that you were uninterested. I have little doubt that my feelings for you would rapidly grow into love if I allowed it. I already feel for Buffy as though she were my own daughter. Dawn too is rapidly coming to hold such a place in my heart."

Joyce shivered at the sensation of his additional touch. She desperately wanted him, but she was concerned about Dawn.

His voice husky with desire, he said, "Ethan had the walls of this place completely soundproofed…"

Dawn grinned as she heard Giles say that the walls were soundproofed. She had sneaked out of her room to continue her 'observation' of the situation between her mom and Giles. She'd noted their strange looks and comments during the drive, and even before that. Her suspicions that her mom was crushing on Buffy's watcher had just been conclusively proven correct.

She quietly fled back to her room and shut the door, not wanting to hear her mom having sex with Giles. Not that she wasn't happy for them both. She liked Giles a lot more than her own father who had abandoned them for far less than the stuff Giles put up with. Plus, he was great for Buffy, and she had to admit that she had a soft spot for him herself. Her heart had skipped a beat when he told her mom that he thought of her like a daughter too. Still, she had no desire to hear her mom and her surrogate father-figure doing the nasty in Ethan Rayne's 70's pimp-pad.

Dawn planned on spending the next hour or so having a little 'quality time' of her own, and now she was certain she wouldn't be interrupted. "Even so," she thought as she took advantage of the former owner's paranoia and locked the door to the bedroom she was in. She turned off the lights so the ugly décor wouldn't distract her, and shed her clothes. She climbed under the covers of the king sized waterbed and began to touch herself.

She indulged in one of her favorite Xander fantasies- the one where he was over at her house fixing something, it didn't matter what, so long as it required him to get hot and sweaty and take his shirt off. She imagined herself watching him, seeing the movement of muscle under his skin. She'd bring him something to drink, and he'd notice that she was wearing a really tight tank-top, the kind her sister called a 'wife-beater.' She would have conveniently forgotten a bra that day, leaving her young, firm boobs and tight nipples visible under the thin, white fabric. She'd be wearing a pair of tight pink satin shorts that showed off her long legs and her butt to great effect. Maybe she'd drop something in front of him so she could bend over and pick it up, or maybe she'd find a reason to lean up against his arm so he could feel her boobs smushing up against him. Something, anything to get his attention, to make him see her as a woman, a woman with needs that only he could satisfy.

Dawn sighed in pleasure and anticipation as her hands followed the path Xander's did in her fantasy. "Oh, Xander!" she whispered, "I am *so* gonna make you mine!"

Willow couldn't stop laughing. She had tears running down her face as the intruder who interrupted her and Tara's lovemaking stamped her feet like a petulant child.

Willow tried to calm herself. She put her hand on Tara's shoulder and said, "Let me have her?"

Tara smirked and said, "I guess it's only fair; after all she's done to you." She stepped aside, but readied a spell… just in case.

"I have to say, I never expected to see you again. Didn't Drusilla chase you away?" Willow taunted. She'd already cast a couple of spells, but left them inactive until the vampire made her move. Then she'd be in for a surprise!

"Spike would have come to his senses eventually!" she pouted. "But you had to go and ruin everything!" She lunged at the redhead, set on tearing out her throat.

The vampire- which was all that remained of the utterly useless person that had been Harmony Kendal- made it exactly one inch forward before she suddenly found her arms and legs bound as if by coil after coil of invisible rope. She had only the barest moment to ponder this before it felt as though the rug was being pulled out from under her. Her face met the hardwood floor of the Magic Box with a wet crunching sound as her nose was smashed nearly flat.

"Ouch! That hurt, you geek!" she whined through cut lips as her teeth had been driven through them. She cried out again as she was suddenly snatched up into the air by her hair to hang suspended in front of the two naked women.

Tara suddenly blushed as she realized that they were still naked. "Willow," she asked, "Uh, do you mind…" she gestured to the vampire and made and turning motion with her hand.

"Oh! Sure," Willow answered with a gesture, causing Harmony to spin around so that her back was to the two witches.

Willow ignored Harmony's pleading, casting a quick spell to silence her. "Well, she's a vampire. We should stake her I guess." After a moment, she said, "I have to admit, there's a big part of me that would like to take a little time and play with her. You know, pay her back for being so horrible to me all through high school…"

Willow winked at her lover and gestured toward the vamp. "Oh come on, Tara. It's just a vampire. What's the difference if I stake it quick or take my time?"

Tara, seeing that Willow wasn't serious, played along. "Well, I suppose that's true. And, we do have some holy water and some crosses around here somewhere."

"Oh! We have essence of garlic!" Willow said, excitedly. I'm pretty sure Giles just got some in stock."

"I don't know. I… I don't think we've ever actually used it before," she said, pausing in the middle of slipping her shirt on as she tried to remember whether the Scoobies had utilized garlic as a weapon against vamps.

"You know… we should really think about getting back…" Tara said. Fun was fun, but she was looking forward to some one-on-one snuggles with Buffy. She hadn't been alone with her in a couple of days.

Willow saw the glint in her lover's eyes and said, "And you call me insatiable! You just want to get home so you can get you some Buffylovin…" she said, straightening her clothing and running her fingers through her hair.

"Well…" Tara said, not disputing her. "Can you blame me?" she asked as she finished making herself presentable.

Willow said, "No, I can't." she walked the two steps to Tara and wrapped her arms around her from behind. She leaned her chin on the blonde's shoulder and said, "She's amazing, isn't she?"

Tara laid her arms over Willow's and leaned back into the embrace. "She is. She really is." Tara basked for a moment in the warmth of her lover's touch, joyful that they could be this close, this happy while talking about their love for someone else. "Sometimes…" she began, hesitating only a moment before chastising herself for even worrying about Willow's reaction. "Sometimes I'm amazed that she loves us."

Willow knew what Tara was trying to say. She often felt the same way herself. "I know! Savior of the world, and she loves little old Willow… It doesn't surprise me that she loves you, though baby. All anyone has to do is get to know you and they can't help but see how wonderful you are!"

"Me?" Tara protested. "You're the incredible one. When I first saw you, I couldn't even imagine you would ever look twice at me! You were so beautiful, so self-assured… I was this meek little mouse that was afraid of her own shadow…"

"I will admit that I wasn't so bad by the time I got to college…" Willow said, "…but you should have seen me in high school! I was just as shy and self-conscious as they come. I was always amazed that Buffy wanted to be friends with me in the first place. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that she could ever love me like I loved her! And you! You were only shy cause you'd had to live with those jerks for so long! You were so powerful when I met you. I was amazed the first time we did a spell together! You were just hiding it from everyone. On the other hand, back in the day, I was the computer-geek, science-nerd of the century. And, people like Cordelia and Harmony," she indicated the struggling vampire with a gesture, "never let me forget it."

Tara turned in Willow's embrace and stood nose to nose with her first love. "Why don't I go get the components, and you can… you know," she suggested.

Willow nodded her head, then kissed Tara gently for a moment. "Ok. Love you baby."

Tara moved into the shop to get what they needed for the bonding spell while Willow walked over to consider the demon wearing the face of one of her high school tormenters.

"You know, this is almost perfect," Willow said. "I could never kill the real Harmony, no matter how much I used to fantasize about it. But you… you're just a vampire. I won't lose any sleep after you're dust. Plus there's the advantage that you have all of Harmony's memories. You even have her vapid personality!

Willow used one of her earliest successful spells, floating a stake instead of a pencil. She pulled it from the counter by the cash register and let it float in front of Harmony long enough for her to see it. She then sent it at high velocity into the vamp's cold, dead heart.

Harmony had just enough time to meet Willow's eyes and see the look of satisfaction there as her body was reduced to ash.

Willow chuckled to herself and walked off with a bounce in her step as she looked for a broom and dustpan.

Joyce was in heaven. She and Giles were making out on the couch like teenagers. Unlike teenagers, however, Giles knew exactly what he was doing! He'd pulled her into his lap and was nibbling her neck and ear from behind, while one hand manipulated the flesh of her breasts through the silken material of her bra. He'd opened her shirt and unbuttoned her slacks, but was taking his time in getting her naked.

She would have protested, except that she had been reduced to moans as her only verbalization. He was using the hand in her pants to do something she'd never experienced in her life. He was pinching her whole pussy between two fingers, and then pulling away from her body while grinding the outer lips together, up and down. Rather than hurting, as she had feared it might when he first latched on through the material of her panties, the less sensitive flesh of the outer lips acted like a barrier to the more sensitive inner lips and clitoris. The movement of his fingers was translated through this barrier to the flesh of her center, indirectly stimulating it in ways she'd never imagined possible. It felt like he was squeezing the entire short length of her clitoris inside a spongy, velvet sheath- only her own flesh was the sheath. It was a unique sensation that was driving her mad with pleasure and desire.

Giles had pulled out all the stops, deciding to reward Joyce's bravery in risking her heart on him with every trick and technique he'd learned in the extensive sexual exploration of his youth. As a result, he had her squirming in pleasure while he hadn't even removed her undergarments. He too was feeling quite wonderful, as her squirming was causing her shapely derrière to grind against his rapidly swelling member. He wanted to be patient though; he wanted this to be the most memorable sexual experience in her life- something to mark the advancement of their relationship in a way that was unforgettable.

Joyce marveled at this man's patience. She could feel his hardness against her ass and knew he must be longing for more direct stimulation, yet he seemed content to drive her insane with lust first. After several minutes of this assault Joyce began to feel an orgasm coming on.

Giles smiled against her neck when her moans became a rhythmic 'Oh! Oh! Oh yes!' and her gyrations on his lap became more energetic. He began to whisper in her ear, "You're so beautiful, Joyce. I want to watch you cum. Cum for me Joyce!"

His whispering in her ear did her in and she broke apart with a shout, "Rupert! Oh, God! Rupert!"

Giles felt himself swell even more at the pride and joy he felt in her calling his name so passionately. He laid his hand flat over her now-damp panties and rubbed her whole pussy in small circles, maintaining sensation, but bringing her down from the peak of her ardor. With his other arm he turned her in his lap, never letting up on the stroking between her thighs, but enough so that he could kiss her. He whispered, "So passionate, so beautiful…" before letting his lips roam her panting mouth.

After a minute of slow kissing, Joyce pulled back to look into his eyes, "I don't think I said it last time, but you are an amazing lover, Rupert. What you do to me…" she shook her head, unable to find the words.

Giles blushed, but smiled too. He was proud of his ability to please a woman, but more than that he was happy to have someone he cared for to give that pleasure to- someone with whom he was rapidly falling in love. He said, "There's a great deal more that you have not yet seen."

Giles frowned at her words until she kneeled before him and began to unbutton his pants. His frown turned into a smile when he realized her intentions.

Joyce smiled even more broadly when he leaned over and grabbed one of the rather tacky pillows from the side of the couch and offered it to her with a muttered, "Might want to kneel on this- more comfortable…" She was touched that he would be thinking of her comfort when she was obviously about to give him a blowjob. Not many men would be thinking of the discomfort of kneeling on the floor when they were facing the prospect of receiving oral sex.

Giles lifted his hips so that Joyce could slide his jeans and boxers off, then slouched down so that his butt was on the edge of the seat; he wanted her to have better access to him, and not have to strain to reach him.

Joyce took in the sight of Giles erect cock with delight. It wasn't monstrous in size, but he was more than adequately endowed. She ran her hands up his inner thighs while she spent a moment just looking at it. Their tryst under the influence of the band-candy had not allowed her the time to look at him. She had felt him inside her, and looked forward to doing so again, but she wanted him this way first.

Giles groaned as her hands arrived at their destination. She stroked the soft, furry skin of his balls with one, while running up and down his shaft with the fingertips of the other.

Joyce marveled at the soft, velvety feel of his skin. It had been far too long since she had last had this feel in her hands. She leaned in and rubbed her face against him, taking in the texture and smell of his skin. She softly kissed the underside of the head before finally reaching out with her tongue for a taste.

Giles moaned, "Oh, Joyce!" as she licked the underside of the crown of his penis. His breath caught when she sucked the frenulum into her mouth and slid her lips back and forth over it- as though she was nibbling it, but with lips only- no teeth. He'd never had anyone do that before and it was a shocking, though highly pleasurable sensation.

Joyce smiled at his gasp. She worried at the bit of skin under the head with her lips for a moment before moving on to trace the ridge of the head with her tongue.

Giles felt his erection growing even harder as Joyce toyed with him. "Oh God, that feels so good Joyce!" he managed to get out, wanting her to know how pleased he was.

At last, Joyce gently took him into her hot mouth, leisurely moving up and down over just the tip of his cock. She worked up slowly until she was taking most of his length into her mouth. It had been too long since she'd done this to be able to take him into her throat without gagging, but she resolved to work up to it. They had time- tonight was only the beginning.

Giles couldn't take his eyes off of her chestnut hair as her head bobbed up and down over his erection. He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, not pushing or grasping, just stroking her scalp as she gave him intense pleasure.

Joyce interspersed periods of long strokes, with series of short bobs, sucking strongly while lashing the underside of the glans with her tongue. She maintained a constant rhythm whether short or long, knowing that men needed steady rhythm to cum.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before Giles felt the muscles of his pelvis clenching and his release coiling up in his testicles. Ever the gentleman, he warned her, "Oh, Joyce! I'm so close… almost there!"

At Giles raspy warning, Joyce returned to the short strokes. Her hand stroked his shaft while she sucked the head. Her other hand moved over his balls to stroke the skin beneath.

Giles arched his back when he felt her finger rubbing on his perineum. He had time only to groan, "Now Joyce!" before he began to shudder and he could feel his testes spasm.

Joyce had no plans on pulling away, but she appreciated his last moment warning so she wouldn't choke. She felt his sack tighten up to his body and she could feel his muscles spasming with the finger pressed against him beneath the balls. As she sucked hard, she felt her mouth flooded with his cum. She swallowed reflexively twice before he stopped.

Giles collapsed back onto the couch as he felt his muscles relax. He groaned and shuddered again when he felt her draw out the last bit from him and swallow it down. He almost purred in pleasure as she gently cleaned him up with her tongue, and then crawled back up beside him. He forced his limp arm up to caress her cheek with his hand. He said, "Joyce, that was… wonderful. Thank you."

She leaned into his caress and whispered, "It's been too long since I've been able to be close like that. I enjoyed it very much myself." Then she laid her head against his chest as she waited a moment for him to recover. "Now then, I believe you mentioned something along the lines of having more to show me?" she teased.

Giles smiled, "Well, there are a few things I could show you while we wait for my… recovery."

Giles laughed and moved them both to a standing position. He looked at her, still mostly dressed, only her shirt open and her pants unbuttoned- and then at himself, still dressed from the waist up, and his pants and boxers down around his ankles. "Let's take this to the bedroom and finish getting undressed, shall we?"

Joyce took in their state of dress and giggled, "I think that would be a good idea!"

Her giggles turned to delighted laughter as Giles shuffled along side of her on their way to the bedroom.

Willow was still laughing as she entered the Summers house. She had skipped to the car, bounced in her seat the whole way home, and skipped from the car to the house. Her mood could best be described as giddy.

Buffy paused the movie they were watching, just as Molly Ringwald was in the midst of kissing Judd Nelson in the broom closet.

Willow jumped onto the couch, straddling Buffy's lap with a big smile and bright eyes. She kissed the Slayer soundly and said, "Didja miss us?"

Before the bemused Slayer could even answer, Willow took Buffy's hands and jumped back up, pulling the Slayer up with her. She began to dance in circles, singing, "Happy happy, Joy joy!"

Recovering quickly, Tara teased back, "Oh, no. Not me! When I make someone that happy, they're lucky to walk, let alone dance around like that." She had to struggle to say it with a straight face, but the look on Xander and Buffy's face was worth it.

Xander's jaw gaped and his eyes widened when he heard Tara… of all people, Tara!... say something like that. "Ok, who are you, and what have you done with Tara?" he asked after a moment.

Buffy was more used to Tara's newfound penchant for dirty talk, but didn't have much experience with her using it in public yet so she too was somewhat taken aback. When she saw the look on Xander's face, though, she couldn't stop from laughing out loud. "Oh, Xander!" She said between laughs, "The look on your face!"

Willow, already giddy, cried, "Priceless!" before succumbing to laughter herself.

Xander pouted at Tara and said, "Alright, alright. You got me good, I'll admit it." Turning to where Willow and Buffy were clutching each other, he said, "So if it's not Tara's prowess, what has you so… excited?"

Xander joked, "Well, the way you were dancing around… was it Angelina Jolie? Naked?"

Everyone in the room paused for a moment to appreciate that mental image with a smile.

Xander continued, "No, that couldn't be it, cause Tara's not dancing around with you; unless…" he waggled his eyebrows at the blond witch.

Xander smiled weakly and kinda shrugged. He was afraid Willow would get mad at him. After all, she stopped him from staking Spike last year in his basement.

Of course, he'd thought Buffy would freak out when he told her, and she'd been like, "Oh, well… ok," and went back to walking like he'd said something about the weather or whatever.

Willow said, "No it wasn't Spike, why?" She looked over her shoulder at Xander, not relinquishing her hold on the Slayer, "Did you guys run into him tonight?"

Xander looked back and forth between Buffy and Willow, both of whom were waiting for him to answer. Finally he reluctantly said, "I, uh… I kinda went to his crypt last night and staked him," and then he waited for the blow up.

Willow thought for a moment, then said, "Ok," turning back to Buffy she went on, "So anyway, Tara and I…"

"How come nobody's mad at me?!" he said, exasperated. After a heartbeat of silence, he said, "Ok, I said that wrong. The real question is, how come nobody dusted that clown a long time ago? Like, after the whole Adam thing? Or, like the moment he showed up at Giles with a chip in his head?"

Xander continued, "I know the only reason I didn't do it was cause you stopped me Will, and cause you said he was useful, Buf!"

After a pregnant silence Buffy said, "You know… I can't think of a single reason why we let him live."

Willow said, "I know! I mean, there must have been a reason, right?" She looked over toward Tara, who had taken a seat during Willow and Buffy's dance.

"Don't look at me, I never understood it either. I figured Buffy must have a reason, or else why didn't we just dust him?"

"I am wracking my brain," Buffy said, shaking her head. "I can't come up with a good reason."

"You know, the luck spirits? Don't some of the Asian religions call those joss spirits?" she asked. "Maybe he had a joss spirit looking after him…" she trailed off.

Willow shrugged and said, "Well, that's as good a guess as any… I guess." She shook off her confusion, "Anyway, not caring right now." She broke away from Buffy and went over to the bags and grabbed a square-shaped glass container that was full of gray powder.

Buffy took the container when Willow handed it to her and asked, "Ok, and this is?"

Buffy asked, "Harmony Kendal?" at Willow's nod, she said, "Where did you run into her?"

Willow explained, "Tara and I were…" she glanced over at Xander, "…doing stuff, and she totally interrupted us!"

Tara suddenly remembered something Harmony had been going on about and said, "That's what she was complaining about! Spike!"

Willow got it and agreed, "You're right! She kept saying we ruined it for her, and that Spike would have come back to her…"

Tara finished the thought, "We thought it was cause of the spell Willow put on him, but she must have found out he was dust…"

Willow blew it off, "Nah, she thought she was gonna do something, but it turned out she was wrong." She laughed at the memory.

Buffy changed the subject, "Willow, why don't you and Xander set up the stuff for the spell?"

Willow, knowing the score, said, "Sure!" She turned to Xander and said, "you wanna give me a hand? I thought we'd set it up in the basement."

Xander stood up and said, "Ok," turning to Buffy and Tara he said, "What are you two…" The hungry look on Tara's face as she stared at Buffy answered his question for him. "Oh… So, Will, what do I take down?" he said indicating the bags.

Buffy nuzzled her face against Tara's hand. "You smell like Willow!" she sighed.

Tara felt warmth suffusing her as Buffy moved behind her and pressed against her. She could hear the Slayer drawing deep breaths through her nose, taking in the combined scents rising from her.

Buffy felt arousal flow through her as she inhaled the aroma from her lover… her Mistress. "You smell soooo good! Like sex and sweat and you and Willow and…" she kept rubbing her face against Tara's neck and hair.

Tara's skin tingled where Buffy touched her. She was amazed at how horny she was feeling. Willow had screwed her senseless less than three hours ago, yet suddenly she felt like it had been days since her last release. She decided she wanted a scene- wanted to exert her dominance over Buffy. She was feeling powerful as Buffy worshiped her, and she wanted to exercise a little of that power.

Tara turned around and grabbed her Slayer by the hair, just like Buffy always did to Willow. She tilted the Slayer's head back and said, "Did I give you permission to touch me, Slayer?"

"YES!" Buffy shouted mentally. She hadn't been disciplined in days and the need for it was building up inside her. "N- no, Mistress," she groaned out, her eyes half lidded and dilated with lust.

"I want you naked and on your knees, Slayer. Now!" Tara growled, letting go of Buffy's hair.

"Yes Mistress!" Buffy cried as she quickly tore off her clothes and dropped to her knees before her Mistress. She made sure to keep her eyes on the floor where they belonged, despite her desire to look at her beautiful Mistress.

As always, it was difficult for Tara to keep her hands off of her Slayer when she was like this. She was so hot! The temptation was great to snatch her up and drag her to the bed for full-on sex. However, patience did have rewards that made it worth while. She said, "You are not allowed to touch me without my permission!" She walked around behind the kneeling girl and crouched down, whispering in her ear, "But, you knew that, didn't you Slayer?"

Tara moved to the other side of her pet and crouched back down, speaking into her other ear, "You know what happens when you're disobedient, don't you?"

Buffy answered with a whimper of need, "Yes, Mistress. I have to be punished, Mistress"

Tara smiled and stood up. "Of course, you didn't know that we were playing tonight… I suppose I could just… let it go… just this once."

Buffy couldn't restrain the whine that came out of her. She bit her lip to keep from speaking out of turn.

Tara's smile grew larger when she heard Buffy whining. "Should I forgive you, Slayer? Let it go this once?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"No Mistress!" Buffy pleaded, "I- I've been a bad Slayer and I should be punished!"

Tara could hear the thread of desperation in her pet's voice. She had no intention of failing to meet her Slayer's needs, but she was enjoying the teasing a little bit too much to stop yet. "I don't know, pet. It hardly seems fair…"

Tara crouched down once again and this time pulled Buffy's head back by her hair until she looked up at Tara's face. "I think you want me to punish you. Is that it? Do you want me to take the crop to your sweet little ass until it's red and hot? Is that it, Slayer?"

Buffy was near tears at Tara's words. She'd never been this domineering before and there was a part of Buffy- the Slayer in her- that was resistant. But there was another part, a deeper part of Buffy that craved the control; that needed to be dominated.

Tara could see the emotion's warring in her pet's eyes. She knew the Slayer resisted being dominated, yet Buffy craved it as Willow did. Buffy and the Slayer were not two different entities, but more like two sides of the same coin- opposite, yet connected in a way so that neither could exist without the other. She decided to help Buffy make her decision. "I guess I was wrong." She let go the fist full of hair she was holding. "You don't want to be punished…"

The need in Buffy overwhelmed the resistance to being dominated and she broke down into tears, crying, "No! Please Mistress, Please! Mistress, I'm sor- r- ry- yyyy!" She took a deep breath and sobbed hard, her head tipping forward until it rested on the carpet in front of her knees.

The desire to comfort Buffy was nearly overwhelming and Tara had to restrain herself from ending the game and wrapping her lover in a fierce embrace. She could tell that Buffy was extremely vulnerable right now. Solace from her lover would only help her rebuild the walls that she had constructed to protect her heart from rejection. What she really needed was for her Mistress to finish breaking down those walls so that she could free herself. This was what Willow had done, and as a result, she had found happiness like never before- unencumbered by the baggage of past loves and losses.

So, Tara did the hard thing, she could be sweet, loving Tara later. Right now her pet needed a firm hand. She stood up and said, "Sit up, Slayer."

"That's right, pet. You are mine. If I tell you to do something, you will do it. You won't think about it, you'll do it. And if I ask you a question, you will answer. You won't think about it, you'll just answer it. Do you understand, pet?"

Tara crouched down and wiped the tears off of her face- a small reward for her obedience. "Now then; don't think about it; don't wonder why, or how. Just answer." She tilted the Slayer's face upward with both her hands, capturing her gaze, and not letting it go. "Do you want me to punish you, Slayer? Do you need it more than anything in the world right now?"

Tara rewarded her pet with a smile and a gentle kiss. "That's good, pet. Mistress is pleased."

Tara stood up and walked around behind the Slayer. She began to disrobe as she spoke, "If you want to be whipped, pet then it isn't punishment any more, it becomes a reward."

Tara moved to the desk chair and sat down, her ass halfway off of the edge of the seat as she laid back and spread her legs, giving her pet plenty of access to her moist center. Her voice was sultry as she said, "Would you like to earn a reward, pet?"

Tara said, "Then come over here and convince me that you deserve to have your needs fulfilled."

Buffy turned around and saw her Mistress spread open before her and her eyes once again dilated in lust. She crawled over to Tara and asked, "May I pleasure you, Mistress?" keeping her eyes down, mostly.

She kissed Tara's mound, kissed the nearly closed outer lips of her sex, and then moved down to kiss the puckered rosebud below. She began with her tongue, circling Tara's sphincter for several moments before tickling it, pressing down but not into the tight ring of muscle. She smiled at her Mistress' hum of pleasure.

Tara's hum deepened when she felt her pet's tongue move up to stroke her perineum, drawing a long oval over it as she moved back and forth between her entrances.

Finally the smell of her Mistress' syrupy goodness was too much for her to restrain herself any more and she moved up again.

Tara smiled at the same time a low moan rolled forth from her as she felt her pet's tongue, wide and flat, travel up over her puffy outer lips, gathering the little bit of moisture that had seeped out that far.

One taste was more than Buffy could stand, on the next stroke she plowed a furrow between those outer lips and was rewarded by a font of that savory liquid below. She drew her Mistress' inner labia into her mouth and sucked on them, sliding her lips back and forth over them till her mouth was coated with slippery Tara-sauce. She wasn't focused on making her Mistress cum so much as just making her feel pleasure. Somehow without thought, she just knew that this patient study was what her Mistress desired right now. It was a given that if Mistress wanted something other, she would tell her pet what to do.

Tara relaxed back in her seat, letting her pet build her pleasure with slow, sweet exploration. She ignored any sense of urgency her body had to achieve release and just rode the bliss that came from her pet worshiping her pussy. After about five or six minutes she began to arch up away from the chair as the buildup in her body began to crest.

Buffy recognized Tara's posturing, and slid one finger inside her Mistress, stroking the inner walls where she could feel little twitches that heralded the spasms of release soon to follow. She quickly added a second finger and began to stroke faster, all the while using her tongue to trace around and around her clitoris.

Tara felt like she was about to crash down into release when her pet suddenly slipped a finger past her rosebud. She arched up almost off of the chair at the added sensation and screamed out her release

Buffy knew Mistress had cum powerfully, and was pretty sure that she had earned her reward. Now would be the time she would normally pull back and carefully lap her Mistress clean with her tongue. However, this time she decided to do something different, she decided to do something Willow had done to her the other day. She slowed her movements inside her Mistress' sex until she was tracing a tiny circle over her g-spot. She started lightly, and just kept circling, gradually pressing upward a little more as she went on.

Just when Tara thought the waves of pleasure were about to subside, she felt her pet start to massage her g-spot. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped back in the chair, boneless as a shiver radiated out from her center out to her extremities like a single ripple in a pond. Her moan rose in volume as the sensation traveled through her until it felt like it exited through her fingers, toes, and scalp. Her entire body was suddenly covered in gooseflesh as the moan died off.

It was only another moment before Buffy heard her Mistress begin to moan once more- again the volume rising for a moment and then dieing off. She continued her ministrations until her Mistress sounded like one of those European police sirens, and her fingers and toes were clenching and unclenching in time with the circles Buffy was making.

After about a minute of continued stimulation Tara felt herself let go inside and she knew Buffy was about to get soaked, but she couldn't muster the strength to warn her.

Buffy was surprised when suddenly her hand and arm were awash in warm liquid. She quickly pulled her hand back from inside her Mistress- her first thought was that Tara must have peed on her! But, it didn't smell anything like that. Tentatively, she reached out with the tip of her tongue and tasted the liquid. "Mmm!" she thought. It was light and sweet; unlike Tara's usual, more savory syrup, it wasn't sticky or slippery… it was almost like sweet water- though a little heavier than that. She began to eagerly slurp it up, cleaning off her Mistress, enjoying the combined flavors of savory and sweet.

Meanwhile Tara tried to catch her breath. After a moment she saw Buffy lean back and assume the position, waiting for her next instruction. She sighed, "That was wonderful, pet! So good!"

"Thank you Mistress!" Buffy said eagerly, hoping that her Mistress would be willing to give her the reward she craved.

She felt the strength returning to her legs and she cautiously stood up from the chair, blushing when she noticed she was leaving a puddle of wetness behind in the seat. Fortunately, they had learned to be prepared, and there was a stack of towels in the chest at the foot of the bed. "Stand up, Slayer." She said.

Tara walked behind her Slayer and ran her hands over the supple cheeks of her ass. She had to agree with Willow; her slayer has a great ass!

Buffy had to bite back a moan when she felt her Mistress begin to grope her ass, dragging her nails over it as she whispered in her ear.

"You made me cum harder than I have in a long time, maybe ever!" Tara flicked her earlobe with her tongue before asking, "Do you think you've earned a reward, pet?"

Buffy's arousal had already been extreme before she had begun to service her Mistress, now it was threatening her ability to speak. "O- o- only if it pl- ple- eases you, Mistress!"

Tara smiled, pleased with that answer. She pressed up against her pet and moved her hands around to the front, scratching up her hipbones, causing the Slayer to squirm. "I want you to go clean up quickly, then bring back a hot washcloth and clean me up." She whispered.

"Yessss Mistress, Buffy hissed at the sensation her Mistress was eliciting from her." She headed for the door when Tara stepped away.

Buffy said, "Yes Mistress?" and turned around just in time to catch the robe that her Mistress threw.

There were times when Tara's upbringing haunted her. When the backwards, rigid 'morality' that her father had literally beat into her all through childhood, reared its ugly head and whispered to her, 'you're sick' 'you're a bad person' 'this is wrong, evil'…

The voice was appearing less and less, and it was getting easier to ignore as her self confidence, her self esteem grew stronger and stronger. However, there were times… "Like now," she thought as she surveyed the four-point restraints and the riding crop she'd set out, "Buffy's favorite crop," she mused. She studiously ignored the voice as she laid out her leather harness, making sure the bright purple dildo it held was positioned correctly, so when she put it on, it would provide her with the maximum clitoral stimulation as she pounded it into her pet.

It didn't help that society in general thought of her relationship and sexual practices as deviant. Lesbianism was widely, though certainly not universally, accepted; but couple that with a polyamorous relationship, and then add the bondage, domination and sadomasochism… Then throw in the witchcraft on top of that and you had a lifestyle that most people would revile her for living. Heck, not a few of them would gladly burn her at the stake for one or more of her 'perversions'

The irony was that she and her two polyamorous, kinky, lesbian lovers were all that stood between the 'good people' of the world and the literal unleashing of hell on earth by Glorificus. In three weeks time, those same 'good people' who would as soon spit in her face as even look at her, would owe their continued existence to her and her lovers.

And not one of them would ever know. There would be no gratitude, no praise, not even a thank-you-card.

The door opened behind her and she turned around. She watched her pet as she shrugged off the robe, letting it fall to the floor. She let her eyes roam her pet's beautiful body as it approached her and kneeled before her. She heard her pet ask, "May I clean you Mistress?"

The other voice, the one that spoke doubt and fear, faded away entirely- to be replaced by the sound of her own heartbeat roaring in her ears as renewed desire coursed through her veins.

Dawn thought her sister must be rubbing off on her as she screamed into her pillow for the fourth time in an hour. She couldn't get Xander out of her head; not that she really wanted to stop thinking about him, but her fantasies were driving her mad. Finally, after four times, she just had to stop touching herself. It was like, even though she came, it wasn't enough to satisfy her. She thought that she knew why; it was because she was missing something- specifically she was missing the feel of a lover. Even though she was a virgin, she just knew that if she could have a man on top of her- pressing her into the mattress, sliding inside her to fill her up in a way her finger couldn't match- she could be satisfied.

Obviously, that man had to be Xander Harris. He was just so… perfect. She just *had* to figure out a way to get him to notice her as a woman, to see her as a desirable, sexy woman. She didn't know if she could wait a year to make it happen either, if the past few nights were any indication.

Maybe she could get Willow to help her. She was Xander's best friend, so maybe she could tell Dawn how to win his heart. And maybe she could help her figure out how to keep Buffy and her mother from killing her when they found out what she was trying to do. "Aargghh!" she moaned. This was going to be impossible!

Nearly an hour later, Dawn finally fell asleep, images of Xander running through her mind.

Joyce had given up all pretense at decorum. She slammed her ass down into Giles lap, repeatedly- as hard as she could. The feel of his thick cock inside her making her feel reckless and alive. She was amazed at his strength and stamina- he had already cum twice and she was heading towards her fifth of the night. Maybe it was just that it had been too long for both of them since they had been with someone like this; since they had been able to give in to their wild sides.

She cried out at the sensation as Giles suckled and nibbled on her nipples while pressing her clit down against his cock as she rode him up and down.

Giles leaned back against the headboard to look up at the face of his lover. She looked unbelievably erotic, head thrown back and eyes clenched shut in passion. They were both sitting upright, he with his legs straight out; she on her knees, straddling his lap. The position gave him access to her lovely chest and neck, while providing enough space between them for him to manipulate her swollen clit. She had enough leverage to move as fast or slowly as she wanted, varying between long strokes, almost rising entirely off of him; or short, brutal thrusts, driving him down into the mattress.

Fortunately, this bed was of standard construction- despite Ethan's penchant for waterbeds.

Giles was unable to continue merely looking for very long, drawn as he was to the long column of her throat. It already showed several of his love-bites; he simply couldn't get enough of the taste of her skin. He could tell from the deep moan that he felt against his lips that she was close to peaking again. He began to move his thumb in a tight circular motion, grinding her swollen pearl against his manhood as she rode up and down. He pinched and pulled on her nipple and lashed his tongue against the flesh of her throat captured between his teeth. He knew the feel of her womanhood quivering along the length of his shaft would send him over the edge with her.

The combined stimulus was too much and Joyce once again was wracked with the shivering pleasure that she had already experienced four times that night.

Giles swelled with pride and lust as the woman in his arm screamed his name once again. He pulled her tightly to him as she quivered and shuddered. As she squeezed him inside of her, he came, growling her name through clenched teeth. His pleasure was so intense that it was almost painful. Three times in one night for a man his age was remarkable. He hoped he wasn't setting a standard that she would expect him to match every night!

As Joyce enjoyed the hazy feel of afterglow, she thought, "Yes, this is exactly what I've been missing for so long!" She said, "Rupert, thank you! You were… that was… wow! I- I really needed that."

Giles stroked his lover's hair, his face buried in her neck. He softly kissed the flesh he had so roughly treated only moments ago and said, "I assure you, Joyce, it was entirely inspired by you." He tipped his head back enough to meet her eyes as he added, "You were incredible! So beautiful, so erotic… you are entirely wonderful."

Joyce blushed at the compliment, shy despite the incredible intimacy they had just shared. Emotional closeness was another thing she missed from being alone for so long. Sharing her thoughts and feelings with a lover. She'd been without that even longer than she'd been without the physical side. In some ways it was harder to give that part of herself- to be open and honest- than it was to share her body. Even as far back as her failed marriage; she and Hank had sex together up until the last months before the divorce, but they hadn't trusted each other with their feelings for years.

Giles noticed the blush, followed by the introspective, even worried look. He leaned forward and placed a kiss against her neck, then moved them down the bed a bit so they could lay down as they cooled off.

Joyce felt an unreasonable pang of melancholy as their physical connection was lost.

Giles lay on his back, his torso still propped up a bit by the pillows. Ethan always had to have great piles of pillows on his beds for some reason that had ever escaped his understanding. He smiled as Joyce settled up against him, her head on his shoulder, arm holding him tight across his chest, and one leg draped over his own. He said, "May I ask what you're thinking?" When she didn't immediately answer, he added, "You looked almost, worried."

Giles could hear the hesitancy in her words. He didn't wish to pry if she were unwilling to speak about it, but he did want her to know that he was open to anything she wanted to share. "Obviously, with this being so new between us, there will be a great deal that we have to learn about each other. I want you to know that you can share anything you like with me." Thinking that she might be concerned about some secret, or something in her past that would create tension between them, he added, "I would doubt that there is anything you could say that would frighten me away…"

Joyce smiled at the sincerity and concern in his voice. Yes, she had definitely chosen well with Rupert Giles. A true gentleman. "It's… well it's silly really," she said. "I was just thinking about how difficult it is for me to… share emotional things. It's been a very long time since I… did that," she admitted.

Giles nodded his head. He could sympathize; neither his upbringing, nor his life's work, had ever encouraged, or even allowed for the open sharing of emotions. "Emotional intimacy is a great deal more risky and dangerous than physical." He stroked her arm with his free hand and added, "Unfortunately, one cannot truly know if someone is trustworthy, without first giving them that trust."

Joyce knew the truth of his words. She decided that, at this point, not giving that trust would be the bigger risk to their fledgling relationship. "You're right. Of course, you're right. I feel silly about it, and I know it's my own insecurities talking…"

When she paused, he gently said, "If it's causing you distress, then it isn't silly at all."

Joyce once again smiled at his gallantry. She chuckled, "Handsome, gentle, gallant… a stevedore in bed… You do realize that you are going to spoil me for the rest of your gender, don't you?"

They shared a laugh and then lay quietly for a moment, enjoying the simple pleasure of physical closeness.

Finally Joyce returned to the subject at hand, though she approached it from an oblique angle; she asked, "What do you think of Buffy's relationship with Willow and Tara?"

"You're concerned about the girls' relationship?" he asked neutrally. He had his own concerns about it, but wanted to find out what she was thinking before he mentioned them.

"I worry about Buffy. About all of them, really. I've thought of Willow as a sort of surrogate daughter almost since we moved to Sunnydale. Tara… I don't know her as well, but we really hit it off the other night… she seems like a really sweet girl… it's just…" Joyce did feel embarrassed about her concerns. She knew Buffy would freak out at the thought of her mother discussing her sex life with her watcher. "It's silly, because I know they'd never hurt each other…"

Giles was, well not surprised, but… His own concern revolved around the nature of a three-way relationship.

Now Joyce was worried about revealing something from her own past. Again, she knew it was silly- Rupert would hardly hold her past against her…

"What about it worries you?" he whispered gently, seeing that this was difficult for her.

She ran her fingers through the carpet of hair on his chest, enjoying the feel of it against her palm. Like petting a beautiful, wild animal. Docile for know, but never domesticated. "I- I used to… I was… into that lifestyle… once," she confessed, waiting for his reaction.

If she thought that would shock him, or disgust him, she was completely mistaken. He did get a sense of her concerns for her daughter, though. "I take it that it wasn't a positive experience?"

"Oh, it was at first. My boyfriend when I was seventeen introduced me to the lifestyle. He was never overly harsh or anything like that. But I… Well I was very much the rebellious youth. I wanted to get more extreme than he was willing to go." Even now, she cursed her stupidity. "I went to a club… we'd gone there together a few times, but I went alone…"

Giles had never been a serious participant in that lifestyle, but he had played a few times, gone to a few clubs in London… Always as a top, though. He knew an unattached bottom wandering into such an environment was begging for trouble.

Even though it was long ago, Giles felt his heart constrict at the idea of someone harming this charming, delightful woman. He hugged her tightly to him and whispered, "I'm so sorry Joyce."

"Yes, well… it just pains me to think of you being harmed…" he trailed off, slightly embarrassed by his illogical response.

"That's the way I feel about Buffy," she explained. "I know Tara isn't like the men who hurt me. I know that she doesn't go beyond what Buffy wants… she was horrified when I told her that someone had ignored my safeword…"

Giles cringed internally at the image of Joyce crying out her safeword, and then having the person continue… A scene was supposed to be about mutual satisfaction of certain needs… to take it outside those parameters was tantamount to rape or torture.

"I know it in my mind, but… it bothers me. I worry," Joyce said. When Giles didn't speak for several moments, she said, "What are you thinking about?"

He smiled at the role reversal. "Well, I was thinking that I'd like to hunt down the bastard who hurt you and eviscerate them…"

Joyce shivered slightly. The sentiment was at once sweet, because he wanted to defend her from harm; and frightening, because she had the impression that he was not being euphemistic in his description of what he wanted to do. "It doesn't bother you, Buffy being in that kind of relationship?" she asked, having revealed her concerns and curious of his opinion regarding his 'adopted daughters'.

"Frankly, I was never concerned about that particular aspect of their relationship," he answered.

Hearing the caveat in his words, she asked, "Which particular aspect were you concerned with?"

"You don't have to…" she began, not wanting to push, but disappointed at the same time that he might not be comfortable enough to share himself with her.

"Shhh," he interrupted. "I was merely teasing." Giles took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Joyce, there are darker secrets to my past than this… I was lost in the darkness for a time in my youth… and I do want to share that with you, but this moment is not the time." He twisted his head to kiss her forehead before continuing, "As to my concerns about Buffy, Willow and Tara… I was once involved in a triad relationship myself."

"Oh," Joyce said. She hadn't expected that, but it wasn't especially shocking. She knew from their candy episode that he was a much darker and more dangerous man in his youth. "Every man's fantasy… how was it?" she asked, mostly keeping the arch tone from her voice.

"Does that… disgust you?" he asked, very much concerned about that very thing.

"No," she answered sincerely. "No it doesn't. It's just… well I never imagined…"

"Rupert," she interrupted. "I'm not upset by that. Really," she tried to reassure him.

"Yes, well… It ended badly on both fronts," Giles said, relieved that she wasn't disgusted. "There was quite a bit of jealousy between us and it led to quite a bit of strife, and we… well I haven't seen Jennifer since the day she walked out."

"Oh I've seen him on occasion. We were rather bitter enemies for a very long time, and for many more reasons than just his betrayal of our 'relationship'.

Joyce was wondering what such a man might be like, that Rupert would have that kind of relationship with… then she remembered what kind of man Rupert was in his youth… "Oh! Was it…?"

"Oh my!" she whispered. Suddenly the room, the whole building took on a new atmosphere.

It felt rather cathartic to admit that part of his past. Especially since she had not reviled him for it, but rather accepted it.

They again lay in silence for a while, enjoying the comfort of a lover's touch, more secure with one another now that they had accepted some of each other's dark history.

After Buffy had wiped her down with the warm washcloth and dried her with a clean towel, Tara told her to remain kneeling while she strapped on her harness. After she had it properly affixed, she ran her hand slowly up and down the eight inches of purple silicone. Her preference for vivid colors for her dildos probably came for her ardent lesbianism. She had never been interested in boys, and didn't want anything inside her that too closely resembled one. It had never been a conscious thought really; she just shied away from the flesh-tone dildos when they were looking for toys.

As she stroked the fake cock, enjoying the mild stimulation it provided as it pressed and released her clit, she considered her pet, patiently waiting in the proper, submissive, position. Her pet was not a lesbian. Nor was her other lover. Both were bisexual, both had been in intimate relationships with men. She thought about that for a moment before an idea struck her. She went over to the bed and sat on the edge, spreading her legs and continuing to stroke her silicone strap-on.

Buffy crawled across the floor and kneeled directly in front of her Mistress, eyes still down. She could, however, peripherally see her Mistress' hand working up and down her purple dildo. The sheer naughtiness of it was turning the Slayer on; she loved the feel of Mistress taking her from behind with the strap-on… especially if it came following a good spanking or whipping.

Even after all they had done together, Tara felt a little embarrassed as she asked for this. "A blow job, Slayer. I want you to give me a blow job."

"Oh! Sorry, Mistress," Buffy said, realizing that she should have known that. How else did a girl please a boy when she was kneeling naked between his legs? It had just been a while, and she wasn't thinking about pleasing boys. However, Mistress said do, so she would do. She had a naughty thought as she reached forward and she asked, "Mistress? May I please suck your big purple cock?"

That did make Tara blush, but as Buffy kept her eyes lowered and the smile from her lips, Tara couldn't really take issue with it. It would just give her the added incentive to swing hard when she gave her Slayer the spanking she was so clearly begging for. "Yes, pet," she said, feeling ridiculous even as she said it. "You may suck my cock."

Tara watched her pet with fascination. She'd always imagined it would be just a matter of putting your mouth over the penis and sliding it in and out. She'd never imagined something like what she watched now.

Buffy knew that Mistress wanted a show; it couldn't be very stimulating to her physically to have Buffy suck on a chunk of silicone, so it must be the sight she wanted. Buffy pulled out the stops and showed her Mistress how a boy liked to be touched. She slid her tongue up the underside slowly, pausing to swirl little circles on the underside of the head, the part she knew to be most sensitive- on a real cock anyway. Then she moved her tongue slowly around and around the head, teasing the crown ridge. Finally, she moved her lips over the head and began to bob up and down on the tip, getting it good and wet before moving farther down.

Once she'd gotten most of the length slicked down with her saliva, she moved her right hand up and gripped the shaft, slowly stroking up and down in counter rhythm to her head. After a little while she began to rotate her hand as she stroked, as though trying to turn the shaft of the cock.

Tara watched her pet work with fascination. While the action was stimulating her clit, she found herself wishing that she could feel the sensations as though it were her own flesh inside her pet's mouth and hand; it looked like it would feel amazing. "Enough, Slayer," she said at last; ready to move on.

Tara stood up and placed a towel over the mound of pillows in the center of the bed. "Alright, Slayer. Get up here and bend over the pillows!" Tara growled, setting the mood for punishment time.

Buffy scrambled to comply, shaking with eagerness and anticipation. "Yes Mistress!" she panted as she lay over the pillows, her ass sticking up in the air. She heard her Mistress chant quietly for a moment and then she felt a force take hold of her hands and feet, pulling them toward the four corners of the bed. She felt leather cuffs strap around her wrists and ankles, and she could hear the sound of chains slithering through the D-rings on her cuffs. She could feel her wet pussy opened up and exposed to the air, and the whole thing ratcheted her arousal up to a whole new level as she waited for her Mistress to begin her punishment/reward.

Tara stared in awe at her pet, stretched out and restrained on the bed. "Goddess!" Tara thought, "She's so sexy!" She climbed on the bed and kneeled next to this glorious girl. She leaned over and whispered in her ear while stroking her ass. "Who does this ass belong to, Slayer?" she whispered harshly.

"That's right, pet," Tara said as she dragged her nails over one cheek, eliciting a sharp gasp from her pet. She moved her hand between the supple cheeks and stroked down, palming the smooth, slick flesh of the Slayer's sex, asking, "And this, pet?"

Tara went on to do something she hadn't done with her pet before, but that Buffy routinely did with Willow. "This pussy belongs to me! I decide when it gets to cum."

Buffy's moan turned to a high pitched whine. In the past she'd been allowed to cum when being spanked.

"Do you hear me, pet? You don't cum till I give you permission!" Tara said, playing the dominatrix to the hilt. For some reason she was reveling in the role tonight like never before.

Tara grabbed her pet by the hair and hissed, "Not good enough! Say it back to me!" She was surprising herself tonight.

It was working for Buffy, though. She had subconsciously craved this for weeks now. Even when submitting to Tara, she had held something back- not disobeying, but somehow reserving a part of herself. As though she was thinking about each command and making a choice to obey- whereas tonight she was on the verge of instinctive obedience- thinking less and less, and just doing as she was told.

At the last moment before Tara was about to begin, a thought struck her and she got off the bed and walked over to the closet. She rummaged for a moment before finding what she was looking for.

Buffy felt her Mistress leave her and almost wondered what was going on, but then she was back and speaking to her again.

Buffy closed her eyes and gasped again when she felt the silky material stretched across her eyes and felt it snug around her head. Blindfolded! Mistress hadn't done this to her before either!

"Focus on the feel, pet. Don't think, don't count, just feel," Tara whispered before bringing her hand down for the first *smack*

Tara had spanked Buffy's ass until her hand hurt. Then she'd taken the crop and continued the punishment until her pet's ass was bright red, with purple welts all over it. The first time she'd left one of the angry looking purple welts, she'd been shocked and her immediate response was to stop. But, when she had, all she could hear was her Slayer sobbing "Thank you Mistress! Thank you!" over and over.

Tara was afraid if she went any further, she'd draw blood, and she couldn't bring herself to do that- even though right now, her pet would probably thank her for that as well.

If Buffy could have seen her Mistress right now, she would have melted. Her hair was wild, her eyes were flashing and her body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. She took a moment to calm down before moving forward and sinking into Buffy's dripping wetness.

Buffy herself was in rapture. As she started to come back to earth, she understood what Willow had been unable to explain. She was Tara's, and there was nothing else. Words couldn't begin to describe the feeling.

A feeling that was nowhere near abating when she felt her Mistress press that fat silicone cock into her- sliding in to the hilt in one swift stroke. The added sensation of Mistress' harness encased pelvis slamming into her hypersensitive ass pushed her right to the edge. She would have tipped over- heck she'd been ready to cum since before Mistress switched to the crop- if Mistress permitted it. The fact that she hadn't was incredible. She would have been amazed by it if her higher brain functions had revived- but she was still deep into subspace.

It wasn't her own restraint that kept her from cumming. That wouldn't have been enough anyway, but she had surrendered all power to her Mistress. As much as those who hadn't experienced it for themselves might scoff; the control that a Mistress had over their slave when in subspace was as absolute as it was inexplicable. Just as with Willow- Mistress owned pet, Mistress said pet can't cum, so pet can't cum.

Tara draped herself over her pet, reveling in the sobs and moans pouring forth from the Slayer as she thrust her hips fast and furious. Her own passion was manifesting in grunts that were almost feral- so completely unlike her normal behavior; it was as though she had released the beast within. As she felt her release coming on, she clamped her teeth down on her Slayer's neck- biting hard as the waves of orgasm crashed through her. She'd momentarily thought of telling her pet to cum with her, but decided at the last instant that she wanted to taste it. She had denied herself a taste of her pet's spicy goodness to this point, and she decided to rectify that immediately.

She laved the bite on her pet's neck for a moment and then said, "Pet? Can you hear me Slayer?"

Tara moved back and looked at her pet's slick sex. Her mouth watered and she paused for a moment to inhale the powerful spicy aroma. She could see her pet quivering in anticipation and took pity on her. She delved right in, lapping at her clitoris and opening her mouth over the pouting lips.

Buffy saw light as though she was staring at the sun. She screamed out for her Mistress as the waves of pleasure pounded her, like the surf beating itself against the base of a cliff- shattering against the rocks, pulling back to re-form itself, and then shattering again.

Over and over Tara felt her pet's sex clench and unclench as she lapped up the juices that flowed out of her. Mixed in was the salt of her own tears as emotion inundated her. She'd done it, she had utterly subjugated the Slayer and the joy inside her was overwhelming. She was so happy for both herself and her pet- the feeling of power for her was astounding; and the freedom for her pet was, according to Willow, like nothing else in this world.

Tara freed her pet from the restraints and cleaned them both up a bit with another towel. Then she pulled the Slayer into her arms as they lay on the bed, bathing in the afterglow.

Buffy snuggled up to her Mistress with a smile of pure bliss on her face. "Thank you Mistress. She whispered in awe. "I love you!"

Tara smiled back, still amazed by the beauty of this incredible girl. "Believe me pet, the pleasure was definitely mine." She kissed the Slayer on the forehead and said, "I love you so much, Buffy."

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Triune

by The Bear

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TheBear@papa-bear.com