Wesley brought tea in from the kitchen while Giles slumped on the couch beside Erykah. She held his hand tightly in hers. Zoey had kicked her shoes off and sat in one of the armchairs with her feet tucked under her. Putting the tray on the coffee table, Wesley perched on the arm of Zoey's chair. Giles noticed it and thought that, despite her faults, Zoey was good for the younger man. He had definitely loosened up over the course of a few hours since meeting the lady. He'd even showed signs of bravery. Not much, but the signs were there.
Removing his glasses and setting them on the table, Giles rubbed his hand over his face.
"Tired?" Erykah asked, letting go of his other hand to reach for her tea.
He shook his head. "No. Just thinking about that party."
"I know it'll be awhile before I go to another. Not to mention a nighttime carnival."
"I'm so sorry I got you guys to go tonight. If it wasn't for me, none of that would have happened to us." Zoey apologized.
"Actually," Giles told her, "it's a good thing we went. Now we know that more vampires have moved into the mansion."
"Are you going to tell Buffy?" Wesley asked.
"No. Not for a while. She's still getting over Angel leaving. To find out that his house has been taken over by that lot -- whoever they are -- might further upset her."
"Don't mollycoddle the girl, Rupert," Erykah scolded him. "She can handle the truth."
"And," Wesley spoke up, "we really shouldn't allow those vampires free rein in Sunnydale."
"Perhaps you're right. I'll tell her tomorrow." Putting his glasses back on, Giles sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, lost in thought.
Erykah placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're not tired?" she murmured, her fingers playing with a curl of hair at the nape of his neck.
He turned his head.
She smiled at him.
Gazing into her eyes which were now deep, deep green with desire, he felt his body responding to the signals she was sending out. He stood up.
"Now that you mention it... One moment please?"
Motioning to Wesley, he led the other man into the kitchen.
"Listen, in case you haven't figured it out yet, Erykah will be staying the night."
Wesley nodded. "Oh, of course, I should make up the other guest room... or perhaps not?"
Giles smiled in relief. "Not necessary." He looked at Wesley, hoping for true understanding. It took a half a moment, but then it dawned.
"Oh!"
"Yes. Now, if you're smart, you can persuade Zoey to stay also."
"Zoey is a lady. She wouldn't..."
Giles nodded. "Yes, I believe she would. She's been sending out messages to you all night. She wants to and she wants you. Now, go out there and take care of your guest."
He turned Wesley around and steered him back out through the swinging door.
Giles went to Erykah, pulling her to her feet. "Will you both excuse us?" he said to Wesley and Zoey. "Long day."
"Very long drive up from L.A.," Erykah added.
Giles put his arm around her waist and ushered her toward the stairs. She touched Zoey on the shoulder as she passed, giving her a questioning look.
Zoey smiled. "It has been a long day, hasn't it, Wesley?"
He was staring at Giles and Erykah with his mouth open. "What? Oh, yes. OH! Yes. I, um, yes."
They stood as well and followed the other couple up the stairs, stopping on the second floor landing.
Giles heard Zoey say that they had their bags in the car, but didn't want to go out to get them, and risk another vampire attack. His opinion of her went up a notch. After all they'd been through tonight, it was like they were the human equivalent of catnip to the demons of the Hellmouth. He really ought to research the possibility of some sort of special occasion for vampires. There had to be an explanation for the abundance of activity.
Giles and Erykah continued to the third floor. After a minute they heard the bathroom door close and then the shower started up.
"Damn," Giles said. "They'll use all the hot water. I'm afraid you won't get your shower tonight. There's never enough water pressure for both showers to run at the same time."
Erykah wound both of her arms around his left one, entwining their fingers. "That's all right. It will just be a waste of time anyway. I plan to get you all hot and sweaty. We can take our turn in the shower later. Or in the morning."
"Always practical. That's my girl."
"Oh, I'm your girl? When did that happen?" Erykah teased, leaning against him and looking up into his eyes.
"About twenty or more years ago, I believe."
"That long?" A frown wrinkled her brow. "Has it really been that long?"
"I'm afraid so, luv. We're both getting old."
"I refuse. We're still a pair of kids on the loose in the mean streets of London."
"Sunnydale is nothing like London," Giles said distractedly, thinking of other times.
Erykah sighed. "Not even close." She pulled away from him, but kept hold of his hand as she did. "Come along then. Off to bed we go."
Zoey's nimble fingers undid Wesley's belt and the button on his fly, while she rubbed herself against him. Her actions were brash and aggressive. Wesley was captivated. He let her have her way, even being so bold as to stroke her bare arms while she kissed his neck and his chest in the vee where his shirt opened.
"Don't you just love hot showers?" she murmured.
Wesley's glasses were fogging up, mostly from the steam, so he took them off and set them on the vanity counter.
"Yes. Hot. Showers. Good."
Zoey moved away from him. He reached for her but she stayed out of his grasp, swaying from side to side, bending her arms so she could unzip her dress in the back. She pulled it off her shoulders and slowly brought it down over her chest.
Wesley's eyes widened and then again. He swallowed hard.
Zoey stood before him completely nude. Placing her hands on her hips, she turned slowly to let him have a good, long look.
"Wanna take a shower with me?"
It was all the invitation he needed. His shirt came off over his head, his pants were unzipped and dropped around his ankles. After a slight hesitation, during which he decided it better to reveal all than stand there with his erection poking out through his shorts, he let the underwear fall to the floor. Zoey got into the shower stall. Wesley remembered to pull off his shoes and socks and step out of his clothing before going after her.
She stood under the spray with her face turned up into it. Wesley moved as close to her as he dared and nervously reached out to touch her freckled shoulders. When she turned her head and smiled at him, he ran his fingers down her arms and over her ribcage. Zoey reached back and took his hands in hers, drawing them around her waist. She brought them up to cup her breasts.
Wesley made a small noise in his throat and encircled the hard nubs of her nipples, his fingers tweaked them while he pressed himself against Zoey. His erection rested against her lower back, curving away from her spine. She leaned back into his arms, her shoulders touching him midchest. Wesley found himself wondering about how they would fit together, and if it would matter that he was so much taller than she. His hands drifted down over her stomach and between her legs.
Suddenly she arched away from him, then re-settled in the circle of his arms. Just as Wesley tried again to give her pleasure, she moved away.
"Let's go to bed." She slid the door aside and got out of the shower.
zled, Wesley followed, grabbing a towel as he did.
Wes walked to the far side of the bed, Erykah went to the other.
"Lie down," she ordered.
Raising one eyebrow in anticipation, he did as he was told. He kicked off his shoes and stretched out on top of the covers, leaning on one elbow.
Humming softly to herself, a song Giles recognized as one of her favourites, "You Gotta Be," Erykah swayed her hips and turned slowly in a circle. When she came around again she made eye contact with him and held it. Transfixed by her emerald eyes, he was vaguely aware that she was doing something with her dress. Flicking his glance downward he saw her flip the hem of her skirt up, teasing him with glimpses of her thighs. Once, he caught sight of the tops of her stockings where they were joined to garter belts.
Fascinated, he stared as she stretched her arms back to unzip her dress. Still dancing and humming, she pulled the dress off, flinging it aside, and then she was in her lacy underwear. It was dark red which brought out the coppery tones of her skin. She put her hands on her hips and thrust forward. Bending her knees, she swivelled and pushed her pelvis forward then back. She unsnapped her garters and rolled the stockings down and off her long legs. Then she reached up to pull the pins from her hair and let it all cascade across her shoulders in shiny ebony waves. Throughout her dance she never lost eye contact with him for more than a second.
Placing his glasses on the nightstand, Giles held his hands out to her, and she crawled across the bed, settling in his arms with her head on his chest. He petted her hair, running the long strands through his fingers.
"So beautiful," he told her.
Erykah lifted her face to his, searching his eyes for the truth.
He gazed back at her. "So very beautiful."
She rubbed his chest through his shirt. "So are you. It's not fair, you know. Men age so gracefully. Women have to work harder than ever."
"I don't believe that you need to do any work at all."
She smiled, suddenly shy, turning her cheek into the palm of his hand. Then her fingers got curious and they pulled the bottom of his shirt out of his waistband so her hands could go exploring. Her cool fingertips travelled across his skin. After a few minutes, during which she reaquainted herself with his upper body, she grew daring, more aggressive. Attacking the zipper on his trousers, she yanked it down and spread the two halves of material back. Then she delved inside and brought out his semi-erect penis.
Giles hissed at the contact of her fingers against his feverish skin. Lifting his hips, he dragged his clothing out from under himself and down his legs. Erykah backed down the bed, helping him pull them off. Then she reached for his boxers and removed them as well as his socks. He took off his shirt last, feeling odd to be still wearing it.
Then he moved to undress Erykah. Her skin was the colour of coffee with a drop or two of milk stirred in. He spent a few moments stroking her all over, fascinated by the way his fingers glided over her. So smooth. She moved in his arms, eyes closed, still dancing, he realized. Unhooking her bra, he took it from her, gently caressing her breasts. Then her panties were off and they were both naked.
His intention was to take her back into his arms and have his way with her, but Erykah had other ideas. She encircled his scrotum with her finger and thumb and, with the other hand, she rubbed the pads of her fingertips lightly over his testicles. The tickling caress was pure bliss. Giles fell back against the pillows with his eyes closed. Then the sensation of her tongue licking the tip of his cock made him open his eyes again and pay attention. He watched as she swirled it around and around, then engulfed his now full erection in her mouth. Her lips closed tightly around his shaft and dragged up and down it. The suction was incredible. His hips bucked involuntarily.
Erykah's mouth popped off the end of him, and she teased, "Now. None of that just yet." Looking around, she asked, "Condom?"
He stretched out a hand to the bedside table drawer and removed the box he'd bought earlier in the day after he'd phoned her the first time, before he spoke to Wesley about the double date. He fumbled with the package and hurriedly removed the foil.
Erykah took it from him and rolled it down his shaft one- handed.
Giles wasn't about to let her pleasure him selflessly. He slipped his hand into the hair between her thighs and stroked the lips of her vulva, his fingers working on her until she squirmed. He slid one finger up inside her, then another and wriggled them, enjoying the feel of the slipperiness of her sopping wet passage. He watched her face as he caressed her there. She bit her lip as she ground down on his hand.
Panting a little with need, Erykah got up on her knees and straddled him, holding onto the base of his cock. Using one hand on his shoulder to steady herself, she raised up and positioned him between her legs at her entrance. Then with exquisite slowness, she sank onto him. Removing her hand, she put it on his other shoulder and shimmied a little to settle him inside herself and went all the way down on him. Then she raised up until he nearly fell out of her, and she sat back down. She went up again, and down.
Her eyes met his and held them as she lifted and lowered. Thrusting up with his hips Giles joined her and they rocked together. He fondled her breasts then slid his hands to her shoulders and down her arms, finally cupping her buttocks and lifting her as she rode him. The slap of their thighs meeting and the harshness of their breathing was the only sound for a while.
"Rupe..."
"Unh. Y-yes, luv?" he managed to say.
"I'm get-getting close." Erykah's rhythm was off as she raised up and then squeezed his cock with her inner muscles. She moved faster. Sweat ran in noticeable rivulets down her chest and between her breasts.
Giles felt himself racing towards the inevitable, too. It wouldn't take much more. His breathing was becoming erratic. He hadn't felt this hot in weeks. Not since the last time they'd made love.
He watched Ery's face as she threw her head back.
"ohgodohgod," she chanted.
He moved his left hand. His thumb found her engorged clitoris and rubbed it in light circles, then he pressed hard and Erykah stiffened. Her eyes were wide and her mouth opened in a soundless scream as she clenched around him one last time, her fingers leaving indentations in his shoulders and her thighs clamping his hips.
Giles cried out as his cock spasmed and emptied. It felt like it went on forever and then he finally subsided.
Erykah fell into his waiting arms. Their sweat mingled and their hearts pounded in unison. He held her to him for her weight was nothing, but her closeness and warmth were everything.
After a bit, Erykah stirred and carefully got off him. She retrieved the condom, wrapping it in a tissue. Giles made a move to take it from her.
"Let me take care of that."
She batted his hand away. "I've got it. You stay put. Keep the bed warm."
While she was briefly gone, he laid there in complete languor, thinking he ought to pull up the blanket from the foot of the bed. Then she returned from the bathroom. He sleepily admired her lithe form as she stalked towards him, and enjoyed the look she gave him in return. Then she knelt on the foot of the bed and crawled up, drew the blanket up after her and sprawled on top of him, right where she had been before. She planted a soft kiss on his collarbone.
They both fell asleep soon after.
"Is this your first time with a woman, Wesley?" Zoey asked, painting invisible pictures with her fingers on his thighs and stomach and the backs of his knees.
"F-first? No, of course not." It wasn't, but his first time had been such a humiliating experience that he didn't like to think about it. His partner that time had been so rough, so horribly mean.
An involuntary shudder racked him.
"Wesley?"
"Please. B-be gentle." He hated that he needed to say those words aloud, but he feared being hurt again. If not for his totally entrancement by Zoey, he wouldn't have allowed things to have progressed to this point. He was unclothed, in bed, and willing to lose control of his emotions, to have sexual relations with her. It was a very vulnerable position to be in, and that could be taken two ways since she was poised over his thighs with her hands caressing his penis.
Zoey cocked her head to the side. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."
She bent her head and lapped her tongue up and down his shaft.
Trembling, Wesley gave himself over to the stimulation and the overwhelming sensation that, even while his body was telling him it was enjoying itself very much, he was becoming detached from it in some weird, pleasurable way.
It felt good.
Wesley relaxed completely then and simply luxuriated in the act of being loved. He was rapidly approaching the brink of no return. Zoey sucked on him until he spurted into her mouth.
Afterward, he had to admit that the sight of her licking her lips of his cum was highly erotic, and he found that he wasn't quite ready to fall asleep just yet. He had a little stamina left in him, though it wsa very little. Of course, he hadn't exerted a lot of energy in their encounter thus far. Zoey had done all the work.
Now she knelt over him on hands and knees and wiggled her bum in the air. Wesley reached for her, but she moved back a little and just smiled at him.
"Close your eyes," she said in her breathy voice. "Please?"
Anticipating more pleasure, he selfishly obeyed. When she was done with him, he would take the time to learn how to repay her properly. Wesley settled back against the headboard with eyes firmly shut and a smile on his face.
"Whatever are you up to, my dear?"
"Wait."
He puzzled at the odd tone her voice had taken on. It sounded deeper somehow. Then he felt her hands caressing his stomach and thighs and forgot about it.
Something wrapped itself around his penis. Something long and ropey and wet and...cold. Wesley shifted uncomfortably.
"Zoey? May I open my eyes?"
She didn't answer.
"Zoey, dear?"
Still nothing.
Wesley peered out from under his eyelashes.
The scream resounded throughout the house. Giles bolted off the bed, still half asleep, knocking Erykah aside. He was having trouble wrestling his brain into the land of coherent thought, and acted purely on instinct, reaching for and pulling on his trousers. Erykah was right behind him, grabbing his robe from the back of the door even as they stumbled out of the room and down the stairs to Wesley's room.
He banged the door back against the wall and skidded to a halt at the foot of the bed. Erykah piled up behind him.
"Oh my god!" she cried out.
Giles stared wordlessly.
Crouching over Wesley's prone body was something vaguely lizardlike in appearance, faintly red and spotted. It swung its massive head around to regard them with yellow eyes that slitted closed and then sprang open again. A four foot long tail swished slowly from side to side.
There was movement underneath it and Wesley twisted his head to the side. His mouth opened but no sound came out. He was plainly terrified. On the second try he said, "Wyhrmys!"
"What's he saying?" Erykah whispered.
Giles paled. "Wyhrmys. It's a shapeshifter of sorts."
"Then that *thing* is Zoey?"
"It would appear so."
"And we've just spent the evening with it? I let it work for me?"
They both stared. Giles tried to remember everything he'd read about the Wyhrmys. It was difficult to gather his thoughts in light of this unexpected development. He took a cautious step to his left, then another. He was in a better position to see the creature now. He also saw that it had attached itself to Wesley in a most unfortunate manner. Its tongue, of which there was at least two feet hanging free, was wrapped several times around Wesley's penis. A cold, sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach and Giles glanced away uncomfortably. He caught the gaze of the other man and saw the discomfort and fear in his eyes.
"Help...me?"
Giles mustered up an encouraging look. He struggled to remember some facts about the creature, anything to come up with a way to deal with it.
Slowly rounding the end of the bed, looking for a way to free Wesley, he said, "The, uh, Wyhrmys is a shapeshifter, as I said. This explains why we were attacked so often tonight. Vampires are attracted to a scent the Wyhrmys puts out. To them it smells like fresh blood. But most demons, especially vampires, are afraid of it since it's impervious to their usual brand of killing. Or anyone else's."
"That's why the vampires ran off at the party," Erykah said, her voice a trifle shaky.
"Yes. Precisely. It also explains why Zoey was never attacked outright even though there was plenty of opportunity for them to do so."
"Excuse...me," Wesley whispered hoarsely. "Dire straits here?"
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out," Giles told him.
"Zoey..." Erykah whispered.
"It's not the Zoey you knew. It never was...in a sense."
Perhaps bored with Giles' recitation of its character, the Wyhrmys lowered its head and, still tied to Wesley, it pressed its mouth to his stomach. Wesley convulsed under it, whimpering in pain, too frightened to scream. He lifted an arm and shoved it under the throat of the monster, trying to push it away, but his efforts were completely ineffectual against the strength of the beast. Giles saw blood trickle down Wesley's side. He sucked in his breath.
Noticing his reaction, Erykah started to join him where he stood, but he stopped her.
"No! Stay there." He went back to her. "Wait right here, or, better yet, downstairs."
He headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked at the same time as Wesley did. The younger Watcher's voice was filled with pain.
Giles reassured them both. "I'll be right back."
He pounded up the stairs to his room and went to the trunk of odds and ends he'd brought with him when he'd moved in. Most of his possessions were in the basement in storage, but he had kept the trunk in his room. He dug through it, found what he was searching for and raced back downstairs.
Erykah was still there just inside the room. Upon re- entering the bedroom, he saw that the Wyhrmys had released Wesley from his embarassing position and, though still straddling him, was now facing the door. It's tail continued to sweep from side to side. Wesley had his head turned as far to the side as he could manage to avoid getting hit by the appendage. The Wyhrmys watched Giles with cold amphibious eyes.
"What does it want with him?" Erykah asked.
"I suspect it merely liked the human form and was driven by the urges of any female."
Erykah shot him a look. "We're not all monsters."
"No. Of course not," he apologized. "I didn't mean it to sound like that."
Erykah folded her arms across her stomach, her attention shifting back to Wesley's plight.
Giles hoped his gaffe was forgiven, but didn't have time to worry about it now.
He sidled into the room, keeping well away from the bed and out of reach of the monster. He motioned for Erykah to retreat to the hallway, which she did though she remained nearby in case he needed her. He was grateful for that, because he wasn't entirely sure that what he was about to attempt would work. He might soon find himself in need of backup of Erykah's fighting skills.
"Vonical bidae umtra!" he recited. "Moystra kel drau foe kuuru togu!"
Giles raised his right hand and shook out a glass container of broomstall, a combination of herbs he hoped would work in this instance, making sure most of it got on the beast. He kept his left hand behind his back.
"Obsciva rolmara!"
The Wyhrmys sat up on its hindquarters and roared. Then it gathered itself, one foot pressing down on Wesley's arm, and leapt in Giles' direction. Wesley screamed in pain as bones in his forearm snapped. The creature was in midair when the spell took full effect, capturing it in an invisible net, and it folded in on itself, dropping to the floor at Giles' feet. It roared again though weaker now, lashing out with razor-sharp claws. Giles jumped back out of the way, then brought his ace-in-the-hole from behind his back and, with both hands, swung the sword he held on a vicious downward stroke. He decapitated the Wyhrmys in one blow.
Yellow goopy blood sprayed everywhere. The Wyhrmys's tail flipped back and forth once and then was still. As he watched, the creature crumpled, suddenly dried out and then nothing was left except the husk and some yellow residue.
"Is...is it dead?" Wesley asked haltingly.
"Yes." Giles poked it with the tip of the sword to make sure.
Erykah came back into the room, took one look at Wesley's ashen colour and the blood escaping his wounds, and ran back out. She returned moments later with a wet washcloth and bandages.
"We need to get you to a doctor," she told him. She drew the sheets up to his waist to cover his nakedness for which he gave her a wan but grateful look, then she knelt on the bed beside him and washed the wounds on his stomach with the cloth. As she bandaged them, she commented, "It looks like your arm is broken in at least two places."
"Y-you can tell merely by looking?" he asked, sounding like a poor imitation of his normal self.
That made Giles go closer to look for himself. Bones protruded through the skin of Wesley's right arm. He tried not to react to the sight, but Wesley noticed anyway and looked for himself.
"Ohhh," his face went from grey to white.
"Rupert, help me get him dressed and downstairs, then we'll get dressed and take him to the hospital to get his arm set. He'll also need antibiotics in case of infection from the bite."
Giles set the sword down and picked up a pair of undershorts and trousers from the floor. He got them on a wobbly Wesley with little help from their owner while Erykah averted her eyes. Giles knew she was only being mindful of Wesley's modesty rather than any bashfulness on her part.
Wesley had remained silent throughout the struggle with his clothing, perhaps concentrating all his energies on staying conscious. When he was fully dressed, and Giles had him on his feet and headed for the stairs, he finally spoke.
"Zoey was good to me... I really could have cared for her if only..." His voice broke on the last words.
"Shh." Erykah squeezed his shoulders in a hug. He looked and sounded so miserable, cradling his broken arm in his good hand, just barely avoiding going into shock. She glanced at Giles who could only watch helplessly.
Then Giles knew that his friend would recover from this night when Wesley declared, "I am never going on a blind date again."