Buffy walked into the dining room, not noticing every head turn. She wore a long, pale peach sundress with matching high-heeled sandals; her hair was up with curls falling down. The dress fit close to her upper torso but the skirt, made of hundreds of tiny pleats that caressed her body as she walked. She looked golden and gorgeous. Xander walked up to her; he had waited for her in the bar. He almost swallowed his tongue when he saw her step into the room. Every man here would kill to take his place as he escorted her to their table. "You look beautiful," he said, into her ear as he held the chair for her. His deep voice made her breasts tingle and her nipples harden.
"Thanks, you clean up nice yourself. Have you ever been to Hawaii before?" she asked, sipping her wine.
"Not this island but a couple of the others. I try to go to a different island every time I have a vacation. This time it's this one, guess I got lucky," he said with a grin.
She blushed at the compliment. "What do you like to do for fun?"
"I'm into extreme sports. You know sky diving, snow boarding that kind of stuff. What about you, ever tried any?" He couldn't drag his eyes away from her beautiful face.
"No, I've done some snorkeling and snow skiing. I'd like to try surfing while I'm here. I grew up in California but never had the time to learn."
"I could teach you. I asked around today and found out there's a beach we can go to and rent boards. You up to it?"
"Sounds like a plan." They spent the night talking about little things, including different activities to do on the island. Walking back to their rooms, he pulled her to him. "I'm going to enjoy getting to know you, Casey Dupree." He leaned down to kiss her. "Me too." Buffy wasn't sure if she meant him, herself, or both.
She went inside with a huge grin on her face. What a hottie. He's sweet, sexy and has a body that just won't quit. Slow down, Summers, you just met him. She stripped her clothes off, climbing into bed. The biggest problem I have is his name. I can't call him Xander, maybe I can call him Cage, yeah I like that. I'll ask him tomorrow if it is okay.
Xander went to his room, thinking about the tiny blonde next door. Man, she's gong to be hard to leave behind when my vacation's over. She isn't a woman any sane man would walk away from.
Xander woke up the next morning and walked out onto his deck. He had an hour before he was supposed to meet Casey to go surfing. Noticing movement on the beach, he went closer to check it out and found Casey doing complex martial arts exercise. It was slow and graceful, resembling Tai Chi but not any he had ever seen before. She held a forward pose then went from a stand still, up into the air, to an aerial spin, landing in the same pose facing the opposite direction.
Damn, that's definitely my kind of woman. He couldn't help thinking about those tanned powerful legs wrapped around his body. He moved back into the house realizing he needed a shower to get his body under control before their date.
Buffy and Xander rented surfboards, and after learning the basics, she was able to keep up with him wave for wave. Of course, wiping out whenever her legs distracted him didn't help his pride any; at least the water was cool enough not to embarrass him further. The islanders immediately adopted Buffy, calling her "little mermaid." They showed off for and challenged her. She tried everything and laughed at it all.
Their surf partners invited them to join in on a real island cook out. Buffy played with the children, offering to help get firewood, telling them she couldn't even boil water. She learned to hula and surprisingly how to dance with knives. Xander watched her with everyone and knew he was in trouble; she may have already stolen his heart. He wasn't used to this, but he had never met a woman like Casey before.
"I had a lot of fun today. It's been a long time since I've laughed so much. Thanks for teaching me to surf, Cage." Buffy hugged him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.
He held her close, his large hand cupped her small head while he ravished her mouth. He drew away looking at her. "You didn't take much teaching. I never knew anyone could learn to surf that fast. I don't want to crowd you, but I'd like to spend the rest of my vacation with you."
"I could probably fit you into my busy schedule. I normally just run, swim, workout and meditate. So, I'm up for other things or you can join me just hanging out. They'll bring us whatever meals we want here when we don't want to go anywhere," she answered him with a smile.
"I could watch you get all hot and sweaty." He grinned and she punched him softly.
For the next few days, they would surf, sightsee or just relax on their own beach, enjoying just being together. Buffy told him about her life except about her being the Slayer and that Angel and Spike were vampires. Xander told her about his life - making his videos, traveling around the world except for what he did for Augustus Gibbons as XXX.
That night when they returned from a walk on the beach, Buffy pulled him into her room. She kissed him, closing the door behind them. "I'd like you to stay." He picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom. Xander laid her on the bed, crawling up next to her then kissed her. "Are you sure?"
Buffy grabbed his face kissing him passionately. He untied her top and pulled it away. Leaning over, he kissed down the side of her neck to her breast. He put his mouth on it to suck it in then releasing it until only her nipple remained and then he would nibble it gently, repeating this until her nipple went taut. He moved to the other breast and proceeded to do the same thing. Buffy moaned in the back of her throat. Xander slid to the under side of her breasts, flicking his tongue out to tease them while he rubbed the tops with his strong callused hands. Buffy pulled his shirt from his pants and over his head, scratching her nails down his back, making him shiver. He moved to pull her shorts off her, but stopped to admire her body her for a moment. "You're so beautiful, you take my breath away."
He leaned back to pull his shorts off, joining her on the bed. She rose up on her knees to meet him, aligning her body with his. Buffy rubbed her hands over his chest, down his stomach and thighs and up and around his tight butt. Everywhere except where he wanted her to touch him the most. Xander stroked her hips, pulling her to him and moved his hand to slide between her thighs. She moved her hips back and forth against him. He laid her down on the bed; kissing her stomach and caressing her breasts. Moving his hand between her thighs, he traced her outer lips sliding his fingers back and forth as her hips moved in sync. He gently took a finger and traced her inner lips from top to bottom swooping up and around her clit. Buffy's breathing increased as she moaned for him, he finally slid a finger inside her and she screamed. He moved his finger slowly adding another and increasing his rhythm until he had three buried in her tight pussy. Xander felt her pushing against his hand riding it.
"You're so tight. You grab at my fingers." Buffy moaned listening to his deep voice as he moved his fingers inside her. She felt another orgasm about to peak when he nibbled on her nipple, sending her over the edge.
Xander moved between her thighs slowly pushing into her inch by inch, looking into her eyes the whole time. She knew Cage was a large guy muscley but Buffy had never expected anything like this. He was thick and long, she could feel him stretching her even though his fingers had just prepared her. He felt so good; hard and smooth all at once. He was finally inside her when he leaned down to kiss her. She had never felt so complete, so full before. He moved causing her to moan again.
Buffy looked up at him. Okay this isn't a spectators sport. She flexed the muscles inside her vaginal walls; Xander's eyes grew wide. He moaned, "Where'd you learn how to do that? Never mind, can you just do it again?" She giggled and happily obliged. He moaned and began to move faster, pumping in and out of her. He felt his balls tighten as her sheath gripped him like a glove. "Casey," he growled and came inside her as she followed him. He pulled her on top of him, staying inside her kissing her on the forehead. "Are you okay?" Xander asked quietly.
"I'm freakin fantastic. It was like flying. I'm sure you've heard that before." She smiled kissing him.
"I'm no choirboy, but I can honestly say that I've never felt like that before." He held her close as they fell asleep still connected.
Buffy woke up feeling warm and secure; hard arms wrapped around her and her head lay on Xander's chest. She started tracing his tattoos. She'd never liked them before but his were beautiful, they suited him. Maybe she would get one that would remind her of him and of what she was becoming. She was finally a woman in her own right making decisions that were right for her with no regrets.
She snuggled into him; he tightened his arms around her pulling her on top of him. He looked into her eyes "Good morning, beautiful. What are you thinking about?"
"How much I like your tattoos and that I might like to get one." He grabbed her and started kissing and tickling her, turning her, this way and that. She laughed, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the perfect spot. Can't be your breasts." He kissed them. "They are already perfect or your," he flipped her over to smack her bottom, "because that should be in a museum. The question is where? Maybe here." He kissed the nape of her neck, "or here." He kissed the base of her spine. "I'm going to have to explore this carefully." He kissed down one leg and up the other. "This could take me days."
"Well, we wouldn't want to make a mistake?"
"How does it look?" Buffy asked as Xander rubbed cream into the new tattoo. It started at the base of neck and went down about three inches.
"They did a good job. Where'd you learn how to write Chinese?"
"From a friend," she said, smiling at her memories.
"What does it say?" His fingers tenderly traced the markings.
"Freedom can only be given away." The characters built and swirled onto each other, creating a beautiful design.
"I like the bird of paradise on my ankle too. I'll never forget this vacation. It's meant so much to me." Buffy leaned forward to kiss Xander.
"Casey, I don't want to lose you when it's time for me to leave. I know you're supposed to stay here longer than me. If I can work it out would you come back with me?" He asked, wanting to tell her that he loved her. Xander was afraid of scaring her off, based on her past relationships.
"I'm meeting someone here; an old friend to offer me a job. I promised that I'd listen to what he has to offer. I'm sorry Cage, but I can't leave before he shows. I owe him that much. He's the one who sent me here. So, he's kinda responsible for us meeting." She had tears in her eyes, expecting him to walk away.
"I understand, babe. You have to honor your commitments. I know that better than anyone, it might take me a little while to arrange, with work anyway. I'm not losing you now that I've found you," he told her lifting her chin to kiss her nose.
Buffy studied him closely, seeing the truth in his eyes. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him to whisper in his ear. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Cage, but I'm afraid. Everyone I've ever loved has left me."
"Casey, if I go somewhere I'll always come back because I have something to come back to. I love you."
"Cage, I think you left your TV on in your room." Buffy cocked to the side, hearing a strange voice coming from the suite next door.
Xander realized it must be his satellite phone and Gibbons was trying to reach him. Damnit, not now. "Hold on babe. I'll go check and get us something to drink." He walked inside to pull his sat phone out of the closet, where he kept it.
Gibbon's yelling could be heard before he even opened the expensive phone. "X, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours," Augustus growled.
"Chill man, I was out. I'm on vacation in Hawaii. You think that I'm going to spend it in my room? What's up?"
"Got a job for you. Not your normal gig, hopefully you won't screw this up. There's a recruit on the island. We need you to bring them in for an interview. They'll meet you in the lounge. Ask for the Slayer. Since I'm such a nice guy, you can stay till the end of the month for doing me this favor. We want this person on the team, so don't pull anything. They're elite," Gibbons warned, signing off.
"Shit, how do I explain this to Casey?" He wondered, grabbing drinks as he headed back outside.
Buffy's Suite: "Whistler, what the hell are you doing? You can't just appear like that. What if someone would've seen you?" Buffy hissed to the balance demon.
"No one did though, relax kid. Listen my friend Gus is gonna have one of his guys meet you in the lounge in the morning. They'll take you out to meet him. You'll like him; he won't jerk you around, promise. Good luck kid."
Buffy turned around and he was gone. "I hate it when he does that. What am I going to tell Cage?" Buffy walked back outside, seeing Xander waiting with drinks. She moved over to sit astride his lap. "My friend called. I have a meeting tomorrow to find out about the job. I'll probably be gone most of the day, sorry Cage."
"No problem babe, I need to call the office anyway. When you get back, we'll make up for lost time. Now, where were we?" He pulled her up to him, kissing her. Xander's hands cupped her rear, rubbing against Buffy to show her exactly where they were before being interrupted.
Xander walked up to the hostess. "I'm looking for the Slayer." He gave her his best smile. "Right this way, sir." She smiled at him, putting a little extra swing in her walk. Xander followed her, not noticing the show being put on for him. He stopped dead at the table she brought him to. There, in low-rise jeans and a red baby T-shirt sat Buffy.
She looked up smiling then her eyes grew large. "Cage, what are you doing here?"
"Slayer, I presume," he grinned. Buffy nodded her head yes. "I'm your escort for the day, Miss. Would you please come with me? There's a car waiting for us," he said as he escorted her from the hotel and the waiting car outside. He turned to her, scooping her onto his lap, and in a rumbling voice said, "Someone's been a naughty girl. I may have to spank you when we get home."
"What about you? I may have to buy me a crop and tan your tush," she countered with a pout.
"Promise." He had a puppy dog look in his eyes. They started laughing.
"I understand why you couldn't tell me, Cage. I promise to explain whatever doesn't come out at the meeting."
"Damn straight. We can fill in the rest of the blanks. Babe, I told you everything that I could. I didn't lie about loving you," he said, hoping she would believe him.
"Uh Cage, my real name is Buffy Summers. I was starting a new life and wanted a new name. I didn't lie to you about anything else that I could tell you. I know you love me. Please, don't doubt that I feel the same way. How much time do we have? We had our first fight and need to make up properly."
"Not nearly enough time we're at the helipad. Don't start something you can't finish woman," he said in a husky voice husky.
"I love watching you come undone. Oops, the car is stopping. Guess we'll have to see how well you hold up under pressure." She grinned cheekily.
Xander put her back in the seat, smacking her bottom then kissed her. The door opened and they ran to the helicopter, which quickly took off. They landed after an hour, only to climb into another car that drove them into an underground bunker. They got out and stepped into an elevator.
"This is very 007. Do I get to meet Sean Connery? He was always my favorite." Xander pinched with a wink. The doors opened to a beehive of activity with people on computers, phones and studying graphical maps. They walked straight through to a large conference room where a man waited at a large table. The man was a middle-aged black man with scars covering one side of his face; his eyes held a wealth of knowledge.
"Welcome Miss Summers or is it Dupree? I'm Augustus Gibbons and you've already met Xander Cage or XXX, as I like to call him. We're glad that you agreed to meet with us, please have a seat. You can leave, X, and I'll let you know when she's through."
"No, he stays. Him I know; you I don't. Whistler said I could trust you. I don't trust anyone, just because someone else says they're okay. Oh and either name is fine. I've been going by Dupree here or Slayer's okay too," Buffy said with a shrug.
"Very well Slayer, we'd like for you to come and work for us. First, we aren't the Initiative. We'd like to thank you for taking care of that mess. We were on our way to close them down but got busy trying to stop the release of some nerve gas in Europe. That was X's first mission. The Initiative brought my group and Whistler's together. There's a major concern about terrorists and demons starting to work together. We're creating a select team that specializes in that area. We want you to be in charge of the whole division; you'd lead the team and train them. Then when they're ready, they'd train their own team, and so on and so on. Our goal is for ten active teams in the next year." Augustus leaned back, waiting for the blonde to respond.
"I have several questions. How do you get your information? What's your policy on human life? When you say I'd be in charge do you mean absolute authority or that you can come behind me and overrule me? Who'd be on my team? If I decided to do this, I want Cage to be on my team until I say he isn't and last what would you pay me?" Buffy rolled the question out one after the other.
"We have a complex database pulled from crime and supernatural resources around the world. We try to keep the body count to a minimum but if the choice is between a hostage or a team member there's no question. You're the expert and I won't be able to override you, doesn't mean that I won't question you. The only person that has that authority is the president; that's if he even acknowledges that we exist. Your team members and compensation are in the folder in front of you. Would you like to look around?"
"Sure give me the ten cent tour, Gus." Buffy smiled at him brightly. Whistler was right she liked this man.
"X, go ahead and start. I'll catch up in a moment."
"No problem, boss. Come along, Miss Boss. Oh boy, I'm in trouble," he sighed.
Gibbons waited for the door to close and Whistler to appear. "Man, you didn't tell me she was such a dynamo. From the pictures, I figured that she was strong but an airhead. I feel like I've been through the Inquisition again. I had to agree to no authority over her. Me, Mr. Runs A Tight Ship with a finger in every pie." Gibbons scowled, starting to pace.
"I tried to tell you, Gibbons. They've been underestimating her for years. She'd act as if she was listening then go and do what needed doing. Plus, they did all the research. So, who's the smart one; my money's always been on the kid. It'll be interesting to watch when she finds out their first big job is to take down W&H, starting with LA," Whistler said, grinning at his fellow balance demon.
"You think she'll do it? Won't she balk at hurting her ex, her soul mate," Gus asked with disgust heavy in his voice.
"Soul Mate, huh? You don't walk out on your soul mate cause things get tough. She's figured that out, girl has come into her own. Nope if I were talking soul mates, I would be looking at your boy, X. Those two have something. I don't remember ever seeing her so happy, she deserves it," Whistler told him.
"You don't think it's just an island fling. XXX is wild. The women flock to him, which doesn't help a relationship," Gibbons warned.
"Nope, think those two are glued at the hip. If you had her, would you look at anyone else? Don't know what the hell Angel was thinking. Buffy's right, he is a dork. He never even tried to glue in that soul. If he would have, he'd have learned the teacher fixed the curse, his loss. You better go catch up. See ya for poker night, it's your turn to host."
Buffy and Xander were in the gym where Xander introduced her to the team: Robert, K-9, Trina, Stix and Shell. Buffy asked to watch them to pair off so that she could watch them spar. They paired off into their normal teams, leaving Xander to team up with K-9. She walked around assessing their weaknesses. "Okay, enough. Pick a smaller partner and begin again." She repeated her assessment with the teams. "All right that's good. We have a major problem here. The opponent you'll fight will be stronger, faster and in many cases two sometimes, three sizes larger than you. You need to learn how to fight smarter. I'll demonstrate when the team fights me. Anyone that doesn't fight all-out will have to spar with me one-on-one. Take a few minutes to catch you breath and talk strategy. I'll be back in a minute."
When Buffy saw Gibbons enter, she walked over to give him her opinion. "Your team isn't bad. They have some good skills; a little rough but they'll do. After my vacation's over, I'll come and work with them. Anyone not cutting it gets replaced, deal?" Buffy stared him in the eye, deciding to start out the way she planned to continue. Gibbons studied the tiny blond who faced him head on where grown men had turned away, and nodded. She smiled at him before walking back over to the team. She stopped to remove her shoes and socks, put her hair up then stepped into the center of the sparring area.
The team spread out around her with the larger members evenly spaced. Rookie mistake. "I'm ready when you are people," she said, in a bored voice. She waited to see who would break first and wasn't surprised to see that it was K-9. He came in swinging so she dropped to her hands kicking him in the chest sending him backward several feet. Two more took his place, trying to double-team her. She grabbed a fist coming at her and using her opponents shoulder for leverage, scissor kicked his teammate to the head and she was down and out for the count. The remaining team members finally decided to jump in. What came next was simply a blur of kicks, punches and throws. Roughly, five minutes later the team lay in various positions on around the mat with Buffy standing above them barely breathing hard.
"Not bad, not great but not bad. You made some rookie mistakes by spreading your strength out. You also waited until a man was down before responding. Demons are stronger and faster what they aren't, is smarter. They're pure instinct to eat, survive, obey, whatever; you have to figure that out. I'll come back in a week to start your training. I'm tough but fair. The first rule in slaying is 'don't die'. I mean to make sure that you live by that rule. The second is how to taunt the enemy. They hate it; makes them all wonky." She grinned waving as she walked away.
The team looked at one another. "Did that just happen? Did a 100 lb. girl just kick our asses?"