Temptation

by
BmblBee

Part Thirty-One

Xander ran till his breath came in ragged gasps and his legs threatened to turn to rubber. His body wanted to stop and rest, but his heart and mind drove him on. Through the tall weeds and easily leaping over fallen trees, he drove himself on. There was a faint reminder of a worn path to follow, but it wasn't needed.

He hadn't been to the caves for years. It was one of the things of his childhood that was tucked away when he became a man.

Just as his wagon and his beloved sock monkey were put away in the attic in hopes that someday he would have children to give them to, his memories were also waiting to be shared.

Yet no matter how many years had gone past he still knew the way as though it were only yesterday that he and Willow hid there to avoid washing the dishes or shucking the corn for canning. It was where they hid their treasures. Her's a special pink smooth stone he had found for her and his was a four leaf clover.

Good luck charms were forbidden, but he loved the look of it so he kept it anyway. It was different. A creation of God yet rare and special. He kept it long after it had wilted and become unrecognizable.

Now the cave held a new treasure. Something more special than any rock or weed on earth. It held his demon.

He had no doubt Willow was right. If she had said the demon was on the moon he would have trusted her and started to build a ladder. Crashing through the last of the underbrush he found the opening. Long neglected and overgrown, it now had the trampled down proof that someone had recently crawled through it.

Panting and trying to keep his lungs from bursting, Xander dropped down to peer in. No more than five feet high, Xander remembered when he could walk in upright, now however, he had to crawl in on his hands and knees.

Despite the fact that the day was glorious, bright and sunny, the woods themselves were dense and dark. The trees were tall and clustered together tightly blocking out the rays of the sun making it hard to see. The cave was deep, damp and dark as night. The rich smell of the earth floor filled his nose flooding him with memories of a time simple and uncomplicated.

Working his way toward the back he could already feel the presence of the demon. He was drawn to it like a magnet.

Reaching out with his hand he felt his way along the cold slimy moss covered rock walls till his fingers brushed the familiar feel of worn leather. Relief washed over him as he scooted over and began running his hands up and down the sleeping figure to assure himself of the demon's condition.

Spike was aware of Xander as soon as he approached the mouth of the cave. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop the boy from finding him, so he lay still and waited. What could he possibly say to him?

He had done a lot of horrendous things since becoming a demon and the word regret had never entered his vocabulary, yet right now, faced with his boys innocence, he felt very ashamed and disgusted at the things he had done in that alley last night. They were things that he knew Xander would never understand or forgive. It only served to convince Spike that he needed to break all bonds with the boy and move on.

He did not like the turn his unlife had taken since his arrival here. Fuck, he should have just eaten them the first night and been done with it. This whole fuckin' fiasco was the Slayer's fault. The Slayer and that fuckin' fuckhead of a Sire.

He waited while Xander entered the cave. He waited while the boy worked his way closer. He froze when the warm fingertips brushed over him, and when the boy finally reached him the silent tears fell as Xander crawled under the coat and pressed his warm back up against Spike's chest.

"Why are you here, boy? What do you want from me?" Spike's tone was firm and distant, but his arm circled Xander's waist and pulled him in closer.

Xander pressed back and sighed in relief. "I just want to be near you. I don't feel like I am complete when we are apart. It is like part of me is missing. Willow says........"

"Xander."

Spike held fast, but spoke clearly in Xander's ear. "We can not be together. You know that. It's not what either of our lives are set for. You are among the living. You live your life in the sunlight. You will marry and have children. You will have your own home and you and your family will grow old together. I can't be any part of that. I'm already dead. My time to live has past."

Xander rolled over to face the Demon. "I don't care about any of that. I just want to go with you. Willow says we're connected. I feel it. Can't you? Are you telling me you don't want me?" His voice was cracked and whisper low.

Spike's dead heart broke and he pressed his lips against his boy's. Xander reacted immediately throwing his arms around Spike's neck and pulling their bodies as tight together as possible. Opening his mouth he welcomed the cool tongue by wrapping is own warm one around it.

"Please, Demon, my body hurts to be with you. Even if it is only to be one time, please make love to me. You asked me once if I knew what men do together. Show me. Show me how they love each other. Give me the memories that I will need to carry me through my life without you."

Spike kissed him again and knew he wouldn't refuse.

Part Thirty-Two

The cave should have been cold and uncomfortable. Not the most appealing place to consummate and seal the physical connection of two beings. Yet, for these two it seemed perfect. Cool, dark, and cozy.

Xander quickly pulled the heavy cotton shirt off over his head. He laid back and unbuttoned his britches freeing his hard ready cock. Lightly he ran his own hand up and down it's length. "Show me Spike. You asked me once if I knew what two men do together. Well I want you to show me."

Spike stretched out on his side. He ran his hand down Xander's chest, feeling the tremors in the boys's stomach, he stopped with his hand on Xander's pubic hair. Grabbing a handful he shook it lightly causing the beautiful cock to bounce back and forth. He knew in the darkness Xander could not see well, but with his enhanced vision everything was clear. Something else was also clear.

He knew exactly what Xander was talking about when he spoke of a connection. He felt it too, and it was wonderful.

It had danced around him, teased him with it's puzzle till the boy gave his blood. When that happened something seemed to slide perfectly into place. It was something Spike tried his best to dismiss as just wishful thinking or his demon's desperate need to connect to another body.

Yet it was more. It was almost like having a soul of his own. It filled him with a warmth and acceptance he hadn't known since death. It was something he would miss very much when he moved on and left the boy behind.

Letting his hand roam on down he cupped the boy's heavy full balls as he leaned over and attached his lips to first one then the other dark brown nipple. He lazily licked and sucked each till Xander was squirming and moaning. His fingers kept rolling and tugging on the sac. The wrinkled skin pulled taught as he felt the balls shift and move in his cool slim hands.

Xander placed his hands high over his head in an unconscious show of subservient surrender. It was exactly what his demon wanted to see. His own cock, hard and too long neglected, began to leak against the front of his already mud and blood soiled borrowed pants.

Spike quickly shimmied out of his clothes and tossed them into a crumpled pile at the side. Straddling the boy's body Spike pulled off Xander's pants, leaving them both naked and shivering in the damp cave. "Touch me, Boy. Feel what another man's cock is like. Look how hard it is. Straining to be inside you."

Spike's words were both an order and an affirmation of Xander's already busy hands. Xander couldn't touch enough.

His hands were everywhere from the sunken dip of the Demon's collar bone to the sharp jutting hip bones that stuck out at the sides of the most wonderful cock in the world. Xander's fingers wrapped around its length as he slid back the hooded skin. Leaning over, he needed to smell it, rub it over his face leaving wet, sticky stripes across his cheeks and closed eyes.

He wanted badly to suck it again and have the Demon suck on him, but his body seemed to know that there was more.
Something better waiting to awaken deep inside him. So he waited. Waited for Spike to show him.

Spike's demon positively crowed at the thought of crawling inside the boy's body and becoming one with the hot blood filled vessel. Owning, taking, possessing what the demon already considered his. Leaning back down he again kissed the boy, tasting everything about him, searching for any doubt or hesitation, almost wishing the boy could be strong enough to resist what he couldn't. "Are you sure you want this Xander?"

Xander arched up trying to find pressure or friction to relieve his throbbing erection. "I'm not stupid, Demon. I know what I want. I know who I want."

Spike cringed. He knew of all the murder, arson, theft, and violent things he had done in his unlife, the corruption of this innocent was probably the worst. Yet he could not stop. If he stepped into the sunlight tomorrow he would not regret today. With nothing more than saliva to ease the way, Spike slid down to prepare Xander's opening for his very ready cock.

Thinking Spike was going to suck on his privates again, Xander spread his legs and got comfortable. When that cool tongue took it's first swipe across the soft skin behind the balls and over the wrinkled hole, Xander tensed up as though he had been shot. "What are you doing? You must not do that. Oh, you shouldn't.... Oh my!"

Spike chuckled. "You like that huh? Gotta get you nice and wet. Might still hurt a little, but I can make you feel so good."

Xander's whole body felt calm. "You're off to a good start."

Spike could feel the hole relax. His tongue slipped in and out easily as did his fingers.

"Demon, the other day you touched me inside. Do it again."

"Like this?" Spike rapped against the gland as his finger fucked the slick hole.

"Oh, yes, that's so.......Oh, yes." Xander's hips moved of their own volition. He rode and humped with each stroke of finger against the hidden nub. Feeling as though the boy was as ready as he was ever going to be, Spike spit on his hand and coated his cock. He lined himself up and stopped.

Then as if reading his mind, Xander whispered. "I don't care about any of that. I care about you. Please, just do it."

Spike pushed. He tried but the boy was too tight. "Relax, Xander. Let your body have what it wants."

He tried again and this time the fat sore head finally popped in through the virgin entrance. Spike could feel waves of pain rolling from the boy, but Xander held his protests to himself.

After a minute or two, Spike began rocking. Sliding just a fraction more each time. Everything in him wanted to slam in and soak himself in the blood and suffering. But he knew that would not happen. Not today. Not with this boy. Not with his boy. Fully seated, Spike began to move in earnest. Xander marveled at the thought of having someone inside his body. It thrilled him that it was Spike.

Suddenly the angle changed and a mini dry orgasm shot through Xander's body. "Again. Do it like that again." His hips humped up now trying to coax another.

Knowing he had it right, Spike pounded, giving them both the best of what he had. Neither believed it would last too long. They were both desperate for the release of cum, feeling as though they had been on the sharp edge of orgasm for days. Wrapping his fist tightly around Xander's cock as it flopped against his stomach, Spike stroked him to a quick ending.

Digging his fingers into Spike's arms, Xander went rigid. He threw his head back and moaned as wave after wave of pleasure surged through his body and he pumped cum thickly over Spike's hand and his own belly.

The squeezing inner muscles rippled around the intruding cock and milked the orgasm out of Spike as he joined his boy, releasing at the same time. Locking his arms and dropping his head, Spike's brain shut off as his body crashed through waves of pleasure.

After what seemed like forever, Spike eased himself down, neither was ready for him to pull out and separate them.

Not yet.

Part Thirty-Three

Willow knew the instant her Brother and the demon had joined. She felt their auras blend, swirl together and become one. At that moment she knew in her heart it was too late to ever go back. No matter what happened they would always be connected.

Sitting alone in her room she picked up her bible, clutching it to her chest, to pray. She rocked her small body back and forth. The tears flowed freely as she grieved the nieces and nephews she would never see. She cried for the life and family Xander would never have, and for the future that would never happen.

Reaching into her apron pocket for a handkerchief, her bible slipped to the floor and fell open. The pages fluttered, parted and settled with purpose.

Hoping it was an answer to the questions she had been praying for, Willow settled in to read. The book had fallen
open on Ezekiel 36:26 and read:

"A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stoney heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh"

She read it twice and shook her head. She felt that somewhere in there was the answer, but couldn't understand how.

Lowering her head she prayed, not for understanding, but for the strength of faith. Their lives were not their own and the One who carried them would provide. Quietly she closed the book and set it on the bed stand. She had to trust that all would work out in the way of it's own destiny. In the way of God's plan.

Willow returned to to the warm sweet smells of the kitchen to help her Mother. For some reason she now felt they would still need to finish the preparations.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike held tight to the boy. Knowing when they parted it would be for the last time. Limp and spent, his cock slid out of the warmth of Xander's leaking hole.

Sensing the change in mood, Xander strained to see Spike's face. "Don't say it. Don't you dare say it, Demon."

"Xander,.."

"NO! We made love. That changed everything. Didn't you feel it. It was like something snapped into place. We are together now." Xander clutched tightly to Spike's now distant form.

Spike gently pryed the fingers loose. "Xander, love, let go. It didn't change anything. I shouldn't have done that but I'm an evil, selfish bastard. You are still you and I am still me. What we did doesn't change anything that I said earlier, in fact it just makes it more obvious. You need to dress, Pet and go home. Go back to your home and your family where you belong. When the sun sets I will be leaving. Heading back to the city."

Xander pushed away. "How can you do that? I thought you cared about me. About us. You, you, ass!" Xander sniffled and wiped his nose on the back of his arm. "I hate you." He gathered up his clothes and scrambled for the opening of the cave.

Spike flinched at the weak curse word, knowing it was probably the harshest thing Xander had ever said. He also knew how hard it was for Xander to lie like that.

The whole cave smelled of the saline of Xander's tears mixed and blended with Spike's own. He listened to the hammering, pounding of the boy's broken heart as it ran in the direction of home. He listened till it was too far away to hear anymore.

Alone, cold, and more miserable than he had ever been, Spike curled up and waited for nightfall. He felt empty and totally abandoned. He searched himself for his demon, wondering why the expected temper tantrum was not occurring.
"Figures, even that bastard is mad at me."

~*~*~*~*~

As Xander arrived back in the yard behind the house, he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. Trying to right himself and look somewhat normal he smoothedhis hair and brushed the damp earth off his britches. All he wanted to do now was slip, unseen, up the stairs to his room and lie down. He made it as far as the top step of the porch.

"Xander! Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you."

Xander flinched as though he had been struck. "I'm sorry Father. I really haven't been feeling so well."

Jacob felt his son's forehead. "There is no fever. Do you need your Mother to give you some castor oil?"

Xander almost laughed. Could things really get any worse? "No, Father. I'll be fine." He started again to climb the porch steps knowing it couldn't possibly be that easy.

"Well if you are not sick then you should be getting back to your work. You have been very neglectful of your chores. It is not like you." Putting his arm around his son, Jacob patted his back affectionately. "I know you are unsure about the wedding, Son, but I promise you that it is to be expected. All men know it is a great responsibility to take on and be the head of a family, but you must trust that God will lead you in the way you are to go."

Xander nodded numbly. What did it matter. He would do what was expected. He had no reason now not to. "I'm sorry Father. I will finish slopping the hogs then tend to the horses hooves."

Xander turned to leave, but stopped when his Father corrected him. "No, leave that to Willow. You still have not gotten that axal off the wagon. We will have extra willing hands here tomorrow to help us put on the new one so I would like to have you pull it apart and make it ready."

Xander's voice was flat and unemotional. "Yes, Father. I'll do it right away." There was nothing more to say. Xander turned and walked away.

Jacob watched him go. He had never had reason to worry about his son but now he was. Jacob resolved that he and his wife would say an extra prayer for Alexander tonight.

Xander went to the back of the barn where the buggy sat still in the same condition he had left it in. His anger got the best of him and he kicked the wheel. Not suprisingly he didn't feel any better. With a sigh he laid on the ground and slid under the side of the buggy that was propped up on wooden blocks. He took his hammer and began smacking the rusty bolts hoping to loosen them for easier removal.

Nothing helped. Finally on the third try, he swung and smacked as hard as he could. The bolt let loose along with the axal and buggy.

Xander froze in that last second before the entire thing came crushing down on him.

Part Thirty-Four

Spike had dozed fitfully after Xander left. Haunted by dreams of happily ever after that he knew were out of his reach.

Nightfall was at least two hours away when he was wakened with a crushing weight pressing down on his chest. He came alert with a gasp and felt temporarily panicked till he remembered he didn't need to breath. He eyes glowed in the dark and darted around wildly looking for the source of his distress. Confused, he knew he was alone, but still the feeling of dread would not be reasoned away.

Climbing from the cave, Spike had the overwhelming need to see Xander just one more time. To assure himself that all was right with him. Slinking through the shaded cool underbrush, Spike avoided the stray beam of late afternoon sunlight till he reached the edge of the woods that bordered the back pasture of the Harris farm.

Holding back into the shadows he saw a flurry of activity playing out at the rear of the barn. Keeping to his demon
visage he strained to hear.

Words that floated through were totally ignored, overimposed by the screams of pain and struggling heartbeat
of his boy. Spike could hear the sloshing of the boy's lungs and knew they had somehow been punctured.

He watched helplessly as the boy's father mounted a horse and rode off down the road. He could see the broken buggy that now lay on it's side and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. It also didn't take a doctor or even a demon to realize what the outcome of this tragic situation was going to be. Spike was beside himself with the frantic need to rush to the boys side.

The sun had slipped lower in the sky, but not yet low enough. He watched as the witch covered his sobbing boy with a
warm blanket knowing Xander was probably already going into shock. Humans were so fuckin' fragile.

He saw the Father and another man return in a surprisingly short amount of time. After a brief examination the boy was given an injection that, thank God, seemed to knock him out. He was then bundled into a blanket and taken into the house.

The sun was nearly gone, dipping low on the horizon, and Spike hoped his boy had seen it. A burst of brilliant orange color that signaled sunset. Whatever way this scene played out, it might have been his last.

Crouched and snarling in the V of the tall oak tree, Spike counted the final minutes before he could rush forward
toward the house. Toward his own precious boy.

He knew they had a connection and that vampire blood had amazing healing properties.

If their bond was strong enough.....

If his blood was potent enough.....

He had to try. He had to do something. Xander did not deserve to lose his life like this. Leaping from the tree, his feet hit the ground at the split second the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. Dashing across the pasture and yard toward the house, Spike slipped up onto the porch barely noticing that he no longer felt the dread he once detected when he came close.

Pressing his face to the partially open living room window he could see the boy stretched out on the worn sofa in the
nearly empty space. The sister witch was sitting with him, the parents were in the kitchen with the doctor. The air was filled with sorrow and despair. Just the sort of thing his demon would relish, but it didn't. It wanted to scream and howl at the injustice.

Death was something Spike had an intimate relationship with. He caused it, he felt it, he rolled in it like a dog rolls in the
remains of an animal carcass. Yet now it seemed unfamiliar and foreign. He watched, wondering what he could do. Wishing the humans would all go away so he could go to his boy.

"Come in Demon." Willow's voice was no more than a whisper, but she knew he would hear. She also knew what a chance she was taking by inviting the evil himself into their home, yet what could he do that would make things worse?
If there was anyway he could help....

Spike was shocked. Unsure if he had heard correctly, he hesitantly reached his hand in the window and was overwhelmed with relief when he found the invisible barrier gone. He leaped silently into the room and lingered in the dark in the corner, nearly unseen. Turning her face in his direction, Willow's red swollen eyes looked at him pleadingly.
"Are you the angel of death? Is that why you have come to my Brother?"

Stepping forward into the light of the gas lamp, Spike was quick to defend himself. "No, no! I never hurt him."
Hanging his head Spike lightly inched closer. "I should have left sooner. He is so pure and I contaminated him with my filth."

Relaxing as she sat on the floor next to her sleeping brother, Willow allowed her mind's eye to focus on the demon before her. Tilting her head to the side she fell quiet for several long minutes. Finally seeing what she was looking for, Willow smiled and patted the floor beside her. "Sit down Demon. We need to talk."

Spike rushed forward, unable to hold back any longer. Carefully his fingers brushed the clammy cool skin of his Boy's
arm. The room smelled of the stench of the crushed body combined with the drugs used to knock him out. "Why isn't he being taken to a hospital?" Spike's eye's never left Xander's face.

"Because he would never survive the trip. He will not survive the night. He has been made comfortable and we all wait
and pray. It is God's will."

"Gods will? How can your God be co cruel? And so stupid? Xander is the best of all humans. Why take him?" Spike was no longer trying to conceal his emotions. He was mad as hell and the tears flowed freely.

"It is not for us to interpret the meaning of our lives, Demon. Only accept. We are all put here for a higher purpose which we don't always understand. Obedience does not require comprehension."

Spike laid his head on the side of the bed and grasped Xander's hand tightly. "And how is it a higher purpose for him to die?"

Willow placed her hand gently on the back of the Demon's head. "That is exactly what we need to talk about.

Part Thirty-Five

Willow continued to pet Spike's head gently, as he wept for the loss of his boy. "Demon, it's important that you pay attention to what I'm saying, can you do that?'

Spike sniffled and nodded.

Willow smiled and continued. "You've been feeling differently since coming here haven't you? Each day you spent with Xander made the change more evident, but you can't exactly put your finger on what is wrong. Am I right?"

Spike did not answer, but the look on his face told her she was spot on, so she continued. "When you first had contact with him I could see your demon, the evil aura of you trying to surround him. Trying to take him over. I was terribly afraid for him but before I could figure out what to do, something started to change. I'm ashamed to admit I should have had faith in the beginning, but I allowed my fear to override it. What you didn't know about Xander was the fact that the purity, innocence and goodness of his spirit is stronger than any evil or corruption you could throw in his path. When it came to a struggle between spirits, you were no competition. When your bodies joined willingly the bond was made complete."

Spike's eyes got big as the realization of what she was saying began to sink in. Flailing his arms around his head, he attempted to swat away the changed aura as though it were a swarm of fruit flies.

Willow shook her head. "Too late Demon. His aura has turned your heart of stone. His live, compassionate one has joined with yours. He may have absorbed a fraction of your Demon, but you now carry a large part of his soul."

Spike's depression only deepened with the confirmation of something he had already felt. "But now I'm alone, and he is gone. Why would this happen?"

"Demon, I told you before, it is not our place to understand everything that happens to us. It is our place to remain steadfast in our faith that God knows the way of our destiny. It was yours to come here, and it was Xander's to connect with you. Sadly, I also believe it is his place in this world to go with you."

Spike's hands never broke contact with his boy's body, petting, caressing, clinging. His face remained blank as he tried to absorb what the witch girl was saying. He had always been a slow train on the tracks of comprehension, but when the train did finally arrive at it's scheduled stop, Spike's eyebrows shot up.

"What are you saying? You want me to turn him? Are you crazy? He would not be the same. He would be evil and filled with a demon like me. He wouldn't be Xander. He wouldn't be my boy anymore." Spike collapsed with a new wave of tears.

Willow put her arms around him and whispered in his ear. "Demon, we are short on time and I need you to pull yourself together. If I really believed that was true I would never allow it. But I see it. You are in effect holding his soul in trust for him. When he comes back you two will again share the weak demon you carry as well as the stronger soul that is his."

Spike mulled that over and in the mean time felt he should offer a somewhat offended, mumbled retort to a percieved insult. "Demon's not weak. So you think he would still be him?"

He was scared, but unable to stop the spark of hope that was threatening to grow in his chest. Then another even worse thought came to mind. "Maybe he wouldn't want that. Called me an aberration once. I don't think he would want to be like that. Or maybe he just wouldn't want to be with me."

Willow cupped Spike's face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Search and trust what's in your heart Demon. Remember, it is his heart too."

Spike could hear the heartbeat ragged and irregular and knew the decision would have to be made soon or not at all. He heard the sloshing of the blood as it leaked into the lungs and settled into a broken backbone.

Willow leaned over and kissed the pale sweaty forehead of her beloved brother. She pushed back the damp hair and in her heart told him good bye for the last time. Climbing to her feet she placed her hand on Spike's shoulder and squeezed. "Is there any thing you need me to do?'

Spike's mind was spinning. All the possibilities. All the hope. "Huh? Oh, yeah. What will your family do with him after.....you know.?"

"The body will be washed and prepared for interment. We do not do the things the English do. It is against God's words to desecrate the body with cutting or embalmbing. He will remain here for the families mourning and service. The community will come tomorrow to pray with us and he will be buried in three days time, at the dawn of the third
day."

Spike nodded, giving himself time to think. "Fine, that's good. Do everything as you would ordinarily. I will return for him in two nights."

Arrangements made, there was no further need for conversation. Willow turned and headed for the closed door to rejoin her parents. She would keep them occupied as promised, knowing she would return to find him gone.

"I will make sure no one comes in. I can give you at least thirty minutes. Is that enough?"

Spike nodded, and when he looked up, he was alone. Laying his head back down on the boys chest, Spike allowed his body the luxury of the feel of the boy beneath him as his mind warred with selfish needs and wants.

"She's right, Demon, we don't have much time."

Spike jumped at the whispered strained voice. He looked up to see Xander smiling down weakly.

"Are you sure, Xander? Do you really want this? Do you really want to spend forever with me?"

Xander struggled to keep his eyes open and the pain at bay. It hardly seemed important that he could not feel or move his legs.

"Willow was right. You are holding something very precious for me, and I expect to be able to reclaim it. Now unless you don't want me, I suggest you get busy and do whatever it is you do." Then, closing his eyes, he drifted off again, this time with a smile on his lips.

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