Part 1

 ‘What the ..?’ As the air moved across the bare flesh where her shirt had ridden up, Buffy frowned in confusion. ‘Why do I have a wet spot on my stomach?’ She looked up at Giles as she excepted his hand to help her up from the floor, but his expression was totally unreadable. She would have sworn that she felt his lips graze her in a tender caress just before he rose, but that didn’t explain why it felt wet. Unless… ‘No. No way! Giles did not lick me.’ She looked at him again and she saw the barest hint of a blush. ‘Oh, my god! He did!’

"Uh, Giles? Did I, um, did I hurt you?"

"No, Buffy, I’m fine," he replied, ducking his head slightly in an embarrassed way as he fought down a smile. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Uh, I gotta go. See ya." And with that, Buffy fled the Magic Box and the confusing situation.

When he heard the telltale jingle of the bell at the front door and was sure that she had left, Giles sank into the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that he’d been caught by the expression on her face when he helped her to her feet.

They had been sparring - hand to hand – when he rushed at her in a rugby-style tackle. She lost her footing as she tried to spin away and ended up grabbing at his shoulders and twisting, presumably trying throw him away from her to give herself a chance to regain her balance before he came at her again. But, it didn’t work. Instead of throwing him, she twisted him around herself and they both went tumbling to the mats in a tangled heap.

Everything would have been fine, if Giles’ face hadn’t landed dead square in the middle of her stomach. Well, actually that wouldn’t have been so bad, but Buffy’s top had ridden up when she twisted, so his face was against her bare skin. It was more than he could take and he groaned softly as the feel and smell of her body overwhelmed his senses. Unable to resist the temptation, his tongue snaked out as he gently dragged his lips across her stomach while he pushed himself off her. The taste of her skin made him groan again. Giles carefully kept a neutral expression on his face as he helped her rise. Then he retrieved his glasses and gave them a thorough cleaning before replacing them on his face.

When he looked up again, Buffy was staring at him in shock. It nearly made him laugh out loud. Was it so hard to believe that he would find her attractive or enjoy the feel of her skin against his face? Good Lord, he wasn’t dead. But, judging by the way that she flew out the door, he may as well be. Ah, yes, that was it: "old and gross." He sighed. She would probably avoid him for several days now. And they probably wouldn’t be sparring like that again for a long time. Too bad, it was his favorite way to train with her.

Buffy walked back to the dorm in a daze. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened in the training room. She had heard Giles’ groan when his face hit her stomach and again when he lifted himself up. Her first thought was that he was hurt, maybe had thrown his back out in the fall. But he said he was fine and really didn’t seem injured. He appeared to be more embarrassed than anything else. Did that mean the brush of his lips really was a soft kiss? And that he meant to lick her skin? That was when she had rushed out of there.

It was just so confusing. And the more she thought about it, the more confused she became, not because of what his groans and that curious wet spot implied but because of her reaction to it. It was turning her on! She wasn’t supposed to be turned on by Giles! "He’s old and he’s my Watcher and … why do I want him to do it again?" she said to no one in particular. "Wait, what? I want him to do it again? Oh, god, I really do." Now she was just plain wigged.

When she reached her room, Buffy flopped down on the bed as her thoughts continued to spiral out of control. Slowly her imagination started making additions to the encounter as it replayed over and over in her head. Now, instead of just a tiny wet kiss on her belly, she was imagining having Giles’ hands caress her while his lips and tongue did wonderful things to her body.

She was brought back to reality, with a jolt, by a knock on the door. She flushed guiltily when she realized that she had been fantasizing – about Giles! ‘Oh, my god, what am I doing?’ she thought to herself, ‘I need to stop thinking about Giles… and his lips and his… Riley. Riley is here. My boyfriend Riley. My tall, strong, gorgeous – boring! – No, not boring – normal, boyfriend. But Giles is … well, not the boyfriend part, and he’s not boring… Hey, I said stop! Bad Buffy, bad, bad Buffy.’

She jumped up, opened the door, reached out and pulled Riley’s head down to her for a long, deep kiss.

"I guess I don’t have to ask if you missed me," he said with a grin when she finally released him. "Are you ready to patrol?"

"Mmmm. Yes to both," Buffy replied, still feeling slightly guilty. "Just give me a minute to change and grab some stakes, then we’re out of here." ‘Ok, take a deep breath and focus,’ she told herself. ‘Riley, patrol, staking vamps, late night stroll with my honey…. Ah, better.’ 

(TBC)