She would get him to teach her to play poker. It was pure genius. The plan had formed in the little red head's mind the second she saw the box sitting on the movie store shelf. He would never know what hit him.
Willow was practically bubbling over with excitement as she carried the bag back to Spike's apartment. Another Friday night, another movie. Even with their new found freedom to get together anytime during the week, the couple still enjoyed their movie nights. It was a tradition they wanted to keep up.
The smile never left her face as she unlocked the apartment door with the key Spike had given her. It was as much her apartment as it was his he had said. Knowing he would share what he had with her made her feel all warm and happy inside. "Spike? I'm back with the night's entertainment!"
She slipped off her shoes as she waited for the vampire to join her in the living room. The smell of buttered popcorn drifted in from the kitchen and she had to smile. He could be so domestic sometimes that it made her laugh- William the Bloody, domesticated, the underworld would die laughing. Fishing a deck of cards from her the back pocket of her jeans she laid them on the table for later.
Spike smiled at the sight of the red head sprawled on his couch. The mere sight of her was enough to make him hard. The simple teasing they had been giving back and forth for nearly a month was driving him slowly mad. He needed to feel the warmth of her skin against his, feel her body shake with release, feel... He ground his teeth together in frustration. "What'd you get, pet?"
"Rounders." She handed him the video cassette, her eyes straying to his firm ass as he turned to put it in the vcr. Damn he was fine.
"Rounders?" Spike asked, returning to the couch and pulling her into his arms.
"Yeah... something about two friends and a poker game." She smiled at him innocently.
"Right." The vampire smiled down at the little witch in his arms. "And afterwards I get to teach you to play poker?"
Willow smiled at him, pointing to the screen. "Shh... It's starting."
*-*-*-*
Willow stopped the video as credits began to scroll by. They had actually made it through the whole movie, a rare event lately, and she had been happy with it. Unlike some of their other selections it had been okay. She smiled over at the vampire next to her. "So, ready to teach me to play?"
The blonde turned to face her with a leer on his face. "I can think of other things I'd rather be doing." His hand slid playfully up her thigh.
"Spike!" Willow slapped his hand away, laughing. She knew that the past few weeks had been, well, hard on him. The sexual tension in the air had been almost unbearable at times. But they had survived and he hadn't even complained. It made her love him all the more. She grabbed the deck of cards off the table, tossing them at him."You are going to teach me to play poker." The resolve face was on, he didn't stand a chance.
"Ok, ok." He grinned at her. "Clear off the coffee table while I go find a handful of change or something." He smirked as she jumped to obey, her face as happy as a child's.
The red head hastily removed everything from the coffee table, arranging some pillows at either end for them to sit on. She smothered a giggle and hoped he wouldnt catch on to her little ruse to soon. "Ready!" She chirped happily when he came back in the room. She held her hands out for the handful of pennies he had for her and waited for him to begin teaching her. {This should be fun...}
*-*-*-*
"So... I... umm... call?" Willow's brow creased in mock confusion as she contemplated the cards in her hand. She had a pair of fives and was pretty sure he had at least three of a kind from the number of cards he had drawn.
"If you think thats right, pet." The vampire stifled the urge to laugh. She was so cute when she was confused. He could almost see her brain working as she thought long and hard about her next move. He had beat her at every hand so far and he didn't really see her luck changing. She tossed a few pennies into the center of the table. "K, Red, whatcha got?"
Willow fanned out her cards in front of her, forcing her face to look hopeful and innocent. "See! I have two fives. That's good right?" Spike chuckled, laying down his trio of kings for her to see. She pouted. "Well I guess you win again!" Her eyes took in the bland expression on his face. "Are you getting bored?"
He smiled gently. "Not really. Playing for pennies isn't much fun though, luv."
Willow hid a smile. {Come on, Spikey, make this easy on me.} "Well what else is there to play with? I don't have much cash on me."
Blue eyes sparkled in the lamplight. "Well we could always play *strip* poker." he purred, leaning across the table to capture one of his hands in hers.
"Strip poker?" Willow squeaked. "How do you play that?"
"Well..." Spike drawled, his thumb rubbing small circles on her palm. "For every hand you lose you remove a piece of clothing." He felt himself harden at the thought of getting her naked.
"I dont know..." She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, bending her head down to conceal the laughter she knew was showing in her eyes. Finally she lifted her head and smiled shyly. "Sure. Sounds like fun."
Spike practically leapt for joy. He gathered the cards from the table, his eyes never leaving hers as he expertly shuffled them, dealing five to himself and five to the young woman in front of him. He took a quick look at his cards, his face impassive. A pair of sixes. Not a great start, but not too bad either. "How many cards you want, pet?"
Willow hoped he would attribute her rapidly beating heart to nervousness and not to excitement. She laid down three cards, deliberately breaking up the pair of queens she had started with. She would let him win this one hand. Then it was her turn to shine. She held her breath as she added her three new cards to the pile. Good. A totally worthless hand. Her eyes met his as he, too, took three cards.
Spike glanced at his cards. Still only that pair of sixes. She might get lucky and win this hand. He flashed her one of his most seductive smiles and laid the cards out for her to see.
"You beat me." She smiled at him, laying her own cards down for him to see. "Do I chose... or do you?"
"Let me." Spike purred. He couldn't believe his luck at winning that awful hand. "Take the shirt off, sweets." He held in an unneccessay breath as she lifted the tshirt up over her head, exposing the satiny greenness of her bra. He could see the gentle slope of her breasts and felt himself once again spring into hardness. He looked up at her face, surprised to see her not blushing, instead looking at him with an air of complete calmness.
"My deal?" she asked sweetly, gathering the cards and shuffling them thoroughly. Green eyes remained on blue ones as she defly dealt out five cards to herself and him. She smirked as she saw her cards for the first time. She couldnt have gotten a better hand if she had actually cheated. Her voice was playful when she asked, "How many ya want, Spike-y?"
The vampire looked up into her laughing eyes, wondering how long she would stay this happy as she lost her clothing piece by piece. "Just two, ducks." He looked at the cards in his hand, happy with the results- three jacks. He watched, startled, as she laid down her cards without taking any. A flush. Bloody hell. "Good job, luv."
"Lose the shirt." Her eyes narrowed with lust as he pulled the tshirt over his head in one fluid movement, baring his hard chest to the cool air of the apartment. She longed to reach over and run her hands along it, to suck his pale nipples into her mouth and nibble on them until he screamed in pleasure.
Spike smirked, shuffling the cards for the next hand. Her eyes hadn't left his chest since he had taken off the shirt. His nostrils flared slightly as he sniffed the air. She was aroused at the sight of him! The thought that she obviously found him attractive sent a warm rush of pride coursing through him. It had been a long time since he had seen himself. It was nice to know that he still could have that effect on women. "Gonna look at your cards, ducks?"
Willow blushed, grabbing the cards. She forced her mind to concentrate on what she was looking at and not on the expanse of flesh across from her. She grabbed three cards and placed them on the table, praying to the goddess for a little luck. Bingo! Full house. Again her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to lay down his cards. She really didn't want to lose anymore of her own clothing tonight. Her luck was still holding, though. "Looks like I win again." Her eyes roamed his body. Socks or jeans, socks or jeans. "Take off the socks, luv." She smirked as she threw his own word back at him.
The vampire looked at the woman across from him as he removed his socks. Something was going on. What had happened to the little confused girl he had been playing with not a half hour past? If he lost this round that was it. There was nothing on under the jeans, though he was sure *she* didnt know that. He watched in amazement as she picked up the cards, shuffling them in a rather elaborate fashion before dealing them out. Green eyes were sparkling and suddenly he realized she had been hustling him all along. "Red!"
"Blondie!" She laughed, peeking at her cards. Perfect. She was finally going to see if it was boxers or briefs. From the look on his face she could tell that he had figured her out.
"Where did you learn to play poker, luv?" He set down three cards slowly, noticing that she only took one for herself. He knew without a doubt that he was going to lose. The thought of being naked in front of his red haired goddess made his cock twitch with arousal.
"Well, when me and Xander were kids we used to play all the time for pennies or nickles... or at Halloween for candy. We still do on occaision." She smiled, laying down her cards for him to see. Four of a kind. She heard him let out a long breath.
"Looks like you won, pet."
Willow barely had time to contemplate what he meant by her 'winning' before he stood and eased his jeans down over his slender hips. Her mouth formed a silent 'O' of wonder as she caught sight of his rather impressive arousal. She licked her lips, any sort of intelligent thought leaving her mind as she moved her eyes to his smirking face.
"So... what now, Red?"