Giles glanced over at her – a clipboard in one hand, a pen in his mouth, and a box of charms in his other hand.  She was sitting in a chair at the table, eyes trained on the open page of a magazine.  He was fairly certain that she wasn’t reading it.  He was sure that if he’d asked her what the article was about, she wouldn’t have a clue. 

She shifted in her chair, his smile was hidden by the pen as he placed the box of charms on the shelf.  To anyone else, it would seem as though she was merely uncomfortable.  But he wasn’t anyone else.  And he could feel what she was desperately trying to push down. 

Suddenly, she groaned and pushed her chair back.  Giles turned his focus back to his clipboard and pulled the pen from his mouth.  He wrote down a number in what he hoped was the correct box and inhaled a slow, deep breath.

“I’m going to have a quick workout before patrol.”  She announced, a slightly gruff tone in her voice.

“Hm?”  Giles responded, hoping that he sounded somewhat preoccupied with his task.  “Oh, yes.  Good idea.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and made her way into the back room.  Giles glanced at his watch, blowing out a sigh of relief to realise that Anya was currently helping the last customer of the day.  Anya followed the customer to the door, making friendly conversation before bidding the older lady a good night.  She closed and locked the door before flipping the sign to say ‘Closed’.

“Is there an apocalypse on the way?”

Giles furrowed his brow as he looked at her.  “What?”

“An apocalypse?  Is there like a weather forecast for apocalypses?  That would be handy.”  She rambled as she walked back to the register.

“No.  No, there’s no apocalypse forecast – just Codices, prophecies, plagues…”

Anya stopped counting the day’s earnings and stared at him.  “That’s a forecast.  Casting the fore and all that.”

Giles shook his head and sighed.  “Why do you ask?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you asking about impending apocalyptic events?”  He asked, doing his best to hide his frustration.

“Oh…because we were so busy today!  Normally when we’re this busy, something’s on the way.”

“Ah.  No, everything is clear – however, it is a full moon.”

“Great.  At least Oz isn’t around.”

Giles felt a sense of sadness.  He had never mentioned it to any of them, but the truth was…he missed Oz a great deal. 

“Are you okay to get the lights and alarm and everything?  Xander’s taking me to see The Vagina Monologues.”

Giles stared at her, causing her to laugh.

“I wanted to see it.  I’m pretty sure he thinks it’s about something else…and I’m not telling him otherwise.”

Giles laughed in response and tossed his clipboard on the counter.  “Off you go.  Have a good evening.”

She started towards the door then paused and looked at the door leading into the training room.  “Is she okay?”

“Hm?  Oh…I’m sure she is.  She always gets a bit antsy on the full moon.”

“Okay.  Well, if you guys need anything…call Willow and Tara.” 

With that, she walked out of the shop.  Giles chuckled and made his way to the door, turning the lock and pulling the shade. 

Then he took a deep breath and walked to the training area.  He stood just inside the doorway and watched her for a few moments.  When she executed a successful, but fairly sloppy, roundhouse kick, he quickly stepped up behind her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently for a second before gliding his hands down her arms.  “Relax, Buffy.”

She exhaled slowly at the sound of his deep voice.  “Giles…”

He lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.  “Relax.”

“Yeah, what you’re doing is not helping me relax in the slightest.”  She snorted, leaning back against him.

He smiled, brushing his lips over her neck before nuzzling her ear with the tip of his nose.  “Let me help you.”

“Your idea of ‘help’ is a little interesting…”

He chuckled, gently turning her in his arms.  “You’ve been on edge for the better part of the afternoon.”

Her eyes widened slightly as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  “How would you know that?”

He licked his lips, running his thumb along her collarbone.  “My senses are overwhelmed by your desire, love.”

“Huh?”

“The heat is coming off of you in waves – absolutely driving me to distraction.  Your sighs…thick with near frustration.  Your skin smells sweeter – almost…tropical.”  He curled his left hand around her hip and smiled.  “And you were fidgeting in your chair.”

She slid her right hand underneath his tie, circling a button with her index finger.  “So you feel heat, hear frustration, think I smell like the Caribbean, and watch me try to get comfortable…and your deduction is that I’m horny?”

“You weren’t fidgeting because you couldn’t get comfortable.”  He replied knowingly.  “You needed pressure that you couldn’t find. I know you, darling.”

“You only mentioned four.”  She grinned, sliding her hands up to his shoulders.  “Missing one, aren’t you?”

His eyes darkened, something that always affected her.  She moved closer to him, nearly pressing her body against his. 

“I think you’re horny too.”

“Not the term I’d use, however…as I mentioned – I’m overwhelmed by you.”  He took a step forward, she stepped back.  “And I can’t allow you to go on patrol in this state.  That would be…foolish.”

“And your solution would be?”

He took three large steps, effectively pushing her against one of the sword cupboards.  “Let me help you.”

“How?”  She breathed, swallowing as his fingers edged under the waistband of her sweats.

“You need to come.  I can help with that.”

She closed her eyes as his fingers brushed through her soft curls.  “You excel at that.”

He smiled as she trembled while he gently traced her sensitive flesh with the tip of his middle finger.  “You’re so close already…”

“As you so eloquently stated a few minutes ago…you already knew that.”

He nodded slowly, pressing his thumb against her clitoris as he carefully pushed his middle finger into her.  She gasped, pushing her shoulders back against the cupboard.  He heard the deep clunk – the tell-tale sound of his prized Zweihänder falling from its stand within the cupboard.  He shifted his weight, adding a second finger inside of her as he stared into her eyes.

“Not gonna check it?”  She asked breathlessly, even as she curled her arms around his neck and pulled herself up so she could lift her legs around his waist. 

He grinned and shook his head.  His trousers were quickly becoming extremely uncomfortable, but this wasn’t about him.  This was about her…her need, her desire…and his ability to give her what she needed. 

His thumb applied just the right amount of pressure as his fingers stroked her inner walls.  He could feel her fluids gathering…the heat her body was generating…

“Fuck…”  He murmured as her nails lightly scratched the back of his neck. 

“Giles…”  She groaned, tilting her head back against the cupboard and closing her eyes.

“That’s it, love.  Just let go.”  He whispered, curling his fingers slightly.  “Come for me.”

He pushed harder with his thumb for a few seconds, feeling the blood pulse under his touch as she neared the crest.  And then he timed it perfectly…releasing the pressure just as her inner walls began to ripple around his fingers. 

She threw herself forward, clamping her teeth above his right nipple to muffle her screams as she came forcefully.  He closed his eyes, relishing the sensation of her bite through his shirt as he gently pulled his wet fingers out of her sweatpants.  He inhaled deeply, opening his eyes as she let go of his chest and leaned back to look up at him through glazed eyes.  He grinned, lifting his hand to his mouth.

He licked her juices from his fingers, then licked his lips.  “Taste…the missing sense you mentioned earlier.”

“Jesus Christ…”  She panted, trembling against him as he gently guided her to stand in front of him. 

“You look…less on edge now.”  He remarked, tenderly wiping a bead of sweat from her skin as it rolled down the side of her neck.

“Or a hot mess…”  She giggled, sliding her hand to the buckle of his belt. 

He caught her hand quickly, shaking his head as he lifted her palm to his lips.  “No time for that right now, my love.”

“Huh?  It’s just patrol…I can be an hour late for patrol…”  She argued, sighing as he playfully nipped at the heel of her hand with his teeth.

“Three are due to rise.”

“Giles…”  She complained, glancing at his belt.

“I couldn’t let you go out there wound up as tight as you were.”  He offered, leaning down to kiss her. 

“But, you’re okay sending me out while you’re like this?”  She asked, her whisper warm against his lips.

“Mm-hm.  Because your mind is clear, your body is relaxed…and you’ll come home to me afterwards.”  He kissed her lovingly, groaning softly as she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

She kissed him slowly for long minutes before reluctantly bringing the kiss to an end.  She smiled up at him as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“I love you, you know.”

He returned her smile with a bright one of his own.  “Mm-hm.  I love you as well.”

She blew out a deep breath as he took a step back, slipping his right hand into his pocket.  “So…tonight?”

“I’ll be up.”  He replied, his eyes sparkling.

“In more ways than one, I hope.”

He laughed adorably and tilted his head towards the door.  “Go on.  Be careful and come home.”

“Want me to pick up something for dinner on my way?”

He shook his head, rocking on his heels.  “I’ll cook – gives me something to do to pass the time.”

She gestured towards the obvious bulge in his trousers and grinned.  “Taking care of that as well?”

“Possibly.” He grinned back at her.  “But, might just wait for you to get back…”

She stared at him for a long moment and then sighed heavily.  “Fucking vampires…”

“Plunge and move on, love.”

“Yeah, see…the word ‘plunge’ when you say it takes on a whole different meaning now…”

He chuckled, watching her walk towards the door.  When she paused with her hand on the knob, he cleared his throat. 

“Go, Buffy…before I stop you.”

She looked over her shoulder at him.  “You want to though, right?”

“Absolutely.”  He whispered.  “Be safe.”

“Salmon?”

He furrowed his brow in confusion.  “I’m sorry?”

“Can you do your pan-fried salmon for dinner?”

“Oh.  Yes.  Yes, of course.”

“I love you.”  She said, opening the door and leaving before she stopped herself.

He waited until he heard the shop door open and close, the lock sliding back into place, before turning his attention to the weapons cupboard.  He opened the door carefully, quickly grabbing the large sword before it fell onto the floor. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two hours later, he was walking towards his sofa with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other.  He had changed clothes as soon as he’d gotten home – trading his suit for a soft button up shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans.  He’d foregone shoes and socks though – he had no plans of leaving the house again tonight.  He looked towards the door, startled as it suddenly opened.  Buffy walked in, pushing the door closed as she walked directly to him. 

She plucked the book from his hand and gently tossed it onto the coffee table before taking the cup from his other hand.  She took a sip before setting it on a coaster and looking up at him.

“Um…hello.”  He murmured as she curled her fingers into the front of his shirt.

“Hey.”  She whispered back, leaning up to place a kiss on his Adam’s apple. 

He swallowed, closing his eyes as she ran her tongue over his skin.  “I wasn’t expecting you this early.  I don’t even have dinner started.”

“Good.  It won’t get cold then.”  She grinned, pulling back to look at him.  Her grin faded a little when she saw the confusion in his eyes.  “What’s wrong?”

“Three were due to rise…”

“Yeah.  And three are dust.”  She replied, her grin returning.  “I plunged and moved on.  Set ‘em up, knocked ‘em down.  I had much better things to do.”

He tilted his head slightly, gazing into her eyes as she slid her right hand to his shoulder.  “And you’re okay?”

“Mm-hm.  Not a scratch.”  She licked her lips, slipping her index finger of her left hand into one of his belt loops.  “I have a massive itch, though…”

“Ah…”  He said, taking a step back as she stepped forward.

“Ah?  Ah…what?”

“Three slays in a short amount of time tends to – ”

“Oh no, mister!”  She interrupted quickly, stepping forward again and effectively navigating him to the sofa.  “Do not confuse what’s happening here.  This isn’t post-patrol horniness.  This is me getting through my patrol as quickly as I can to get home to you because you wouldn’t let me take care of you earlier…and I really want to take care of you.”

“That…was a lot of words spoken very quickly.”  He said, inhaling sharply as her right hand slid down his torso.

“Need me to slow it down a little?”  She asked, untucking his shirt.

He shook his head, eyes darkening as her fingers pulled the button of his jeans free.  “I think I can keep up.”

“Oh, I know you can.”  She chuckled, tugging his jeans and boxers down over his hips.  “The question right now is…do you want to sit down or stand?  Because I’m going to suck your dick.”

“Jesus…”  He mumbled as she curled her hand around the shaft of his cock.  “Buffy…”

“Don’t you dare tell me to wait, Giles.”  She warned playfully, gently stroking him.  “Because I’ve been waiting forever.”

“Two hours is hardly forever.”  He smiled, carefully removing her hand from his erection before maneuvering over to the sofa.

“It feels that way when I just want to be with you.”  She answered, dropping to her knees in front of him as he sat down.  “I missed you.”

He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off.  His eyes sparkled as he dropped it on the floor while she pulled his jeans and boxers completely off his legs. 

“I missed you too.” 

She placed her hands on his knees, sliding up his thighs as she laughed softly.  “It’s only been two hours though…”

“Forever.”  He whispered, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and pulling her towards him.  “And here I am – completely unclothed and you’ve removed nothing.”

“Yeah, but that’ll change in a few minutes.”  She said, her hand finding his cock again.

“Why not now?”  He asked, swallowing hard as she gently squeezed him.

“Because if I take my clothes off now, I’m not going to do what I want to do.”  She explained, rubbing her thumb along the underside of his erection.  “I’ll skip right over this and climb on top of you.”

His eyes darted to her hand for just a moment.  “And the problem with that would be…”

“Absolutely nothing.  In fact, I plan on doing that at some point.  But, I want to…”  She trailed off, her smile showing in her eyes as she pulled the head of his cock into her mouth. 

“Fuck…”  He murmured, lifting his hand to run his fingers through her hair.  He returned her smile as sucked gently.  “Don’t make me come.”

She gave him a wink and then slid her lips along the length of his shaft, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could.  She pressed her thumb against the base of his cock as she began to suck.  Her hand followed her mouth, stroking twice as she swept her tongue over and around the glans before sliding back down.  His fingers tightened in her hair as they stared into one another’s eyes.  She continued until his eyelids fluttered and he bit his lip. 

She carefully pulled her mouth from him and licked her lips.  He inhaled shakily, shifting almost impatiently as she lifted his erection.  She watched him as she slid her tongue along the underside before pressing a warm, open-mouthed kiss against his left testicle. 

“Jesus Christ…”  He groaned, allowing his head to fall back against the sofa. 

She chuckled, his cock twitching in her hand as she repeated the action on the right side.  She had learned very early in their relationship just how sensitive his sac was – he had nearly come more than once by her running her tongue along the prominent line separating his balls.  The raphe, he called it.  Not for the first time, she wondered who decided to name body parts.

Hearing him moan her name, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and lifted her head to look up at him. 

“You okay?”

“Mm…”

She grinned, dragging her tongue along the underside of his shaft again.  “Want me to stop?”

He looked down at her, his eyes dark with desire.  “Not exactly.  But, I think I need you to.”

“Oh?”  She asked before wrapping her lips around the head, but not moving further.

He nodded slowly, fighting the urge to thrust into her mouth.  “Come here, love.”

She pressed her tongue against the glans as she pulled her mouth away, smiling as he shuddered in pleasure.  He grabbed shoulders and pulled her up, breathing heavily as she slid onto his lap.  Before she could say anything, he placed his hand on the back of her head and covered her mouth with his.  He kissed her wantonly, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.  He felt her groan and she shifted closer, trapping his erection between their bodies. 

Without breaking the kiss, he reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt.  He pulled it up quickly, grumbling softly when he had to actually stop kissing her long enough to drag it up over her head.  She laughed, quickly reinitiating the kiss as he threw her shirt to the side.  She took her turn pushing her tongue into his mouth, taking control of the kiss as he unfastened her bra and removed it as well. 

Before she could process the sensation of her nipples brushing against the soft hair on his chest, he had opened her jeans and slid his hands underneath the incredibly soft denim to cup the cheeks of her ass.  She inhaled sharply as he squeezed, holding her against him as he quickly took back control of the kiss. 

And then he was turning their bodies, pushing her onto the cushions as he knelt between her legs.  He tore his mouth away from hers and sat up, looking down at her.  He smiled warmly, pulling her boots off and tossing them over his shoulder.  She lifted her hips,  pushing her jeans and underwear down as he pulled her socks off. 

As the denim hit the floor with a soft thud, he suddenly felt overcome with emotion that he certainly wasn’t expecting.  She watched his eyes glisten and placed her hand on his chest.

“Giles?”

“I…I don’t know.”  He answered softly, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.  “I love you.  Christ, I love you.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d said the words.  It wasn’t even the hundredth time.  He told her often and he was sincere each time he said it.  But, there was something different this time – she was sure she had never seen him this emotional as the words left his lips.

“I love you too.”  She whispered back, curling her legs around him and sliding her hand to his shoulder.  “Come here, Rupert.”

He leaned down, trembling as the head of his erection slid through her very wet folds.  He reached between them, carefully guiding his cock into her.  As he pushed forward, she moaned his name and he felt every wall he had ever built within him absolutely crumble to dust. 

At that moment, everything became crystal clear. 

He knew instantly that she had seen everything that he was experiencing.  Her eyes glistened as she lifted her hand to the side of his face.  He leaned into her touch, breathing heavily before turning his head and pressing a kiss into her palm.

“Giles…”

“I think we should talk.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.  “Like…right this very second?”

He nodded slowly, moving his hips back.  Worried that he was pulling away from her, she tightened her legs around him – effectively pulling him back into her.

“Where are you going?”

“Going?  Nowhere.  I…”  He licked his suddenly dry lips and allowed his hips to follow hers, relishing in the slow rhythm she was setting. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”  He said quickly, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.  “At least, I think…nothing.  I…Buffy, I…well, something has just occurred to me…and…”

She rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone.  “Some walls have come down, huh?”

“All of them.”  He whispered emotionally, his body seemingly moving of its own volition.

She closed her eyes briefly, pressing her hips up against his.  “Jesus…you’re making me feel some amazing fucking things…and you want to fucking talk…you’re killing me, Ru…”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”  He blurted. 

Her eyes opened and she stared up at him.  “What?”

“Like this.  Together, in love.  And I’m fairly certain this is something I can’t come back from.  I’m even more certain that I don’t want to come back from it.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m…”  He paused, taking a deep breath and then leaned down to kiss her softly. 

She returned his kiss without hesitation.  Her body trembled beneath his.  He smiled nervously as he pushed his upper body back up and gazed down at her.

“Will you marry me?”

Her eyes widened in surprise and his hips slowed considerably, barely moving as she stared into his eyes.  “What?”

“Um…”  He paused, panic flickering in his eyes.

“Are you serious?  Because…I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t believe extreme declarations or questions while making love because sometimes people say what they think you want them to say.”

He furrowed his brow, doing his best to follow her train of thought.  “I’ve never heard that.”

“Yeah, it’s this whole thing.  I remember Dr. Drew talking about it one time.”

“Dr…who the hell is Dr. Drew?”

“Dr. Drew.  You know, he hosted Loveline?  People would call in with their sex questions and he’d answer them.”  She cleared her throat nervously and bit her lip.  “But, of course you wouldn’t have watched something like that…doesn’t matter.  Um…”

She placed her hand on his chest, directly over his heart.  She could feel it thumping rhythmically under her touch.

“Are you serious, though?  Do you really want to marry me?”

He nodded without hesitation.  “I’m serious, Buffy.  I do want to marry you.  But, I’ll ask you again later…is there a more appropriate time to ask, according to Dr. Drew?”

She rolled her eyes when he smiled.  “After we completely come down.  That’s when declarations are true – because there’s no expectation.”

“So…if I ask you over dinner, that would be acceptable?”

“Yeah…”  She breathed, her eyes filling with tears.  “You’re serious.”

His smile grew and he lifted his left hand to brush the damp hair back from her face.  “I’ll ask you again, love.”

Any response she was going to give was swallowed by a loud groan as his thrusts resumed.  He was tempted to push harder, to push her over the edge as quickly as possible.  But, as she closed her eyes and arched her back, he quickly changed his mind.

Watching her come apart beneath him, because of him, was probably the most sublime thing he’d ever experienced.  And that was an experience to savour.

So he held his pace, whispering words of encouragement…pushing her closer to the edge with his words and touches rather than the intensity of his thrusts.  He swallowed thickly as he felt her inner walls begin to quiver around him.  When the quivers turned to ripples, he leaned down and captured her mouth in a hot kiss…plundering her mouth with his tongue as her hands gripped his back. 

When she tore her mouth from his and screamed his name as her orgasm hit, he allowed his own to follow.  Her name fell from his lips on a loud groan and he came deep within her.  She pulled him down, sliding her fingers through his hair as he lovingly nuzzled her neck.

“Buffy?”  He asked breathlessly.

“Hm?”  She replied, not willing to let him go.

“Can I ask you now or do I really need to wait until dinner?”

She laughed, caressing his face as he lifted his head enough to look into her eyes.  He laughed with her, placing a lingering kiss on her lips before carefully pushing himself up.  She sighed heavily and he smiled brightly at her.

“You know I want to cuddle.”  She mumbled.

“Mm-hm.  And I also know that the last time we cuddled on the sofa after making love, I fell off and knocked a bottle of wine over.”

She snorted a giggle, causing his eyes to sparkle. 

“Come take a shower with me, then I’ll get dinner started.”

She took his hand when he offered it, allowing him to pull her up from the sofa.  She curled her fingers around his as he led her down the hall towards the bathroom.

“You know I’m going to say yes, don’t you?”