Chapter Ten
Eric won, but it was a close game. Both of them had sunk their final balls, but she had missed the shot for the 8-ball and he hadn’t. He was openly gleeful now, flush with his victory, and already making plans to knock out walls and install a new vanity and soaking tub in addition to the shower.
“Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute there, buster. I said you could remodel for the shower, not redesign my whole first floor,” she warned.
“That house is a relic, my lover. I am sure it could use a new electrical system and more efficient heating. And new windows. I remember how drafty it was.”
“Drafty? My house isn’t drafty,” she argued.
He gave her a look that said she was obviously delusional. “Not to mention that I would like to put in a few other updates.”
“Like what?”
“A security system, for one.”
“I have the lights,” she countered.
“Yes, so when death comes, you will at least be able to see it,” he replied drolly. “No, my lover. You will need a more comprehensive security system from now on.”
She paused and considered his words. “Because I’m dating you and that will make me a target.”
“No vampire in Louisiana will dare to come after you, but there are others, and those in the Shifter world, who might try to get to me through you,” he admitted.
“I’m a friend of the pack for both the Shreveport and Jackson Weres, and both Calvin and Sam speak for me to the Shifters,” she reminded.
“That didn’t keep the St. Catherine Weres from trying to kill you,” he pointed-out.
She wanted to say something sarcastic in answer, but she couldn’t. Eric was right.
“There is also the matter of your great-grandfather,” he added.
“Niall?”
He nodded gravely. “As I have told you, Niall has his enemies. Now that he has made himself known to you, others will know about you as well. That could get very dangerous.”
“Why? God, Eric, I am so sick of people trying to kill me,” she sighed, then looked up at him, pleading for answers. “I try to be a good woman. I’m nice to most people. I try to stay out of the way and do the right thing. Why do all of these people keep coming after me? I never did them any harm.”
His arms came around her and he pressed her close. Per her request, he wasn’t trying to soothe or influence her through their bond, although she almost wished he would just so she would feel better. But she had to give him credit. He’d promised, and he was keeping his word.
“Dear One, you are under my protection, and the protection of the Shreveport and Jackson Weres – as much as I hate to admit it. No one is going to get to you. I give you my word.”
“I have Claudine too,” she added, leaning into him.
He wasn’t soft or warm; he was hard and cool, but hard and cool had held her and cherished her, and it felt more normal to her than any soft and warm embrace from a human man. She breathed in and took in his scent. The blood he had given her had faded even if their bond hadn’t. Where before his blood had sharpened her senses, they had dulled without a new infusion of vampire blood, but she could still smell his unique scent.
His hand stroked her hair, a human gesture of comfort that wouldn’t normally be in his repertoire, but she appreciated it nonetheless, and she allowed him to hold her. How many times had she wished for a man to simply comfort her? It was ironic that, once again, it was a 1000-year old Viking vampire who “got” her. Oh, she knew there were times when he’d missed the mark, or when his vamp brain got in the way of what she’d wanted him to do, but when it really counted, he’d never let her down once.
‘I could love this man,’ she thought, then chased it back into its hole.
Her hand came up and fisted into the softness of his sweater, her cheek nestled against his chest, and they stayed there until Eric slowly loosened his hold.
“Would you like to play another game of pool?” he asked gently.
“No.”
“Would you like to go back to the cabin?”
“Not yet.”
She pulled back and craned her head to look up at him. “I read in the events flyer that there’s some kind of concert in the Great Room tonight.”
He nodded. “Yes. A pianist will be performing.”
“Lets go to that. At least for a little while. It’d be nice just to sit with you again and listen to some good music.”
“If that is what you want,” he replied, but she could tell that he would rather have gone back to the cabin.
“It’s not even 9 o’clock, Eric. There’s plenty of night left.”
He seemed to consider her words and then agreed. “Yes, that’s true.”
She turned and offered him her hand, and they walked side-by-side like two lovers on a date as they left the game room. And wasn’t that what they were? Two lovers on a 4-day long date set to allow them to figure each other and their relationship out? Once again, she marveled at Eric’s insight and deviousness. They would never have had the opportunities to talk and spend so much time together if they’d stayed in Louisiana.
“What are you thinking?” he asked her as they climbed the main stairs.
“That my boyfriend is a devious sneak,” she answered with a wry smile.
“Ah.”
He gave her a nervous glance, and she decided to let him off the hook. “And that if he wasn’t such a sneak, we wouldn’t be here enjoying ourselves.”
He grinned and pecked her on the cheek. “Having fun then?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. This place is really nice and so far, the company has been nice too. I like spending time with you when we aren’t worried about being killed or witches coming after us or fanatics blowing up our hotel.”
His eyes lit up. “I like spending time with you no matter what is happening, and if there is the likelihood of fighting, it’s that much more fun.”
“Oh yes, it’s so much more fun when you can swing a sword around and throw a vampire’s dismembered head across a room,” she said sarcastically.
“Of course.”
They were in the great room now and the concert had already started. A baby-grand piano had been set up to the left of the hearth on the stage, and a very tall, very thin man in a tuxedo was playing some classical tune she barely recognized. There were quite a few guests attending the performance, but nothing like the crowd that had been there last night. One of the leather sofas that occupied the room was empty so she guided Eric over to it, and they sat next to each other.
As pianist continued his set, she leaned against Eric and he put an arm around her. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, happy when she heard his little noise of pleasure. For a moment, she could almost imagine spending night after night wrapped in his arms; could see him coming to pick her up for a movie or a dinner date. All regular, mundane things two people who were dating did together. She could almost forget that her boyfriend wasn’t breathing. In light of everything else, it seemed a minor detail.
During one slow song, she turned her head to study his face. He was listening to the music, completely relaxed, and his handsome features showed no sign of age or tension. Once again, she marveled at what firelight did to his skin and hair, dancing in patterns of light and shadow across his face, lighting on his golden hair. Her eyes traveled down to where her hair was mingling with his, so close in color she could barely tell which locks were his and which were hers.
He moved slightly and she caught him looking down at her, his blue eyes warm and happy. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, sweetly, lovingly even. He was a beautiful man, and this was a beautiful moment. She must have said her thoughts out loud, because his smile widened and he bent down to kiss her.
“You are a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.”
“I speak only the truth.”
The heat in his eyes warmed her, and she took his hand as she moved to stand. “Let’s go back to the cabin.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
He’d put emphasis on the word “pleasure,” and it made her insides tingle. He helped her into her parka, then took her hand as he led her to the atrium and the exit to the lodge. As usual, it was biting cold and the wind hit her in the face.
“Gah,” she complained, ducking down into her coat.
Eric sniffed the wind. “Hm. Weather’s changing,” he commented as he gathered her up.
“Huh. That’s what Izzy hinted at. She said she and Maria would leave tomorrow, weather permitting,” she noted, burrowing into his neck.
“Izzy? Maria’s Izzy?” her vampire asked as he took to the air.
“Yeah.”
“When did you meet her?”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the cabin,” she said, pressing her face even further into her hood. She was starting to believe Eric when he said the weather was changing; the wind had a new icy nip to it that made it even more of a slicing blade on her skin. A wisp of wind found its way into her coat and seared her down her back. She shuddered.
“Almost there, lover,” she heard Eric promise, and sure enough, she felt him set down on the cabin porch less than a minute later.
She uncurled herself as he opened the door and let out a sigh as Eric shut out the wind.
“I’ll light the fire,” he offered.
She nodded and peeled herself out of the parka, hanging it up by the door.
“That reminds me, how did the fire get lit last night? It was already burning when we got here,” she said.
“While you were seeing to your needs in the bathroom, I rushed back here and got it started,” he replied, already setting logs from the wood box into the hearth and lighting the tinder.
Wow. She’d known vampires were quick, but that had been really, really quick even for him.
She nodded that she’d understood and dug around in her jeans pocket for the business card Izzy had given her. She offered it to him as she moved to sit down on the sofa in front of the fire.
“I ran into them in the game room this afternoon. I mentioned that you owned a bar, and that you might be interested in having them come play, so Izzy gave me their card.”
He accepted the small rectangle of paper, a look of pride and pleasure on his face. “My lover, this is wonderful. Excellent quick thinking. I knew there was a reason I was so attracted to you.”
She blushed under the praise and lowered her gaze. “It wasn’t just my good looks?” she teased.
“My lover, I could have anyone I wanted. Looks matter very little to me, and you think on them too much.”
He was sitting on the floor by the fire, and he reached up to pull her down next to him so he could give her a kiss and tuck her in next to his body.
“But your business acumen has solved a problem for me,” he stated, far too smugly for her comfort. “I was trying to figure out how I could put you on Fangtasia’s payroll without you getting upset with me and thinking I was “keeping” you, since I know how much you don’t want to be kept. It’s no matter that I don’t feel that sharing my wealth with you diminishes you in any way, but you seem rather… touchy on the subject. Now I will make you Events Coordinator, and you can pull a base salary, claim a portion of the bar’s profits from ticket sales, and be eligible to enroll in our group health plan.”
She was flabbergasted and it took a few moments for her mouth to work. “Eric, you can’t do that.”
“Why not? I know you won’t accept monetary gifts from me, but this would be a job. You would earn your salary.”
“Eric, I have a job.”
“I’m well aware of that. One that keeps you out late at night when all manner of dangerous people are out.”
“Oh like you, running half naked and barefoot down my parish road at 3am.”
“Yes, and you stopped for me. That only serves to make my point.”
“I only stopped for you because I knew who you were. I don’t make it a habit to pick up strange, half-naked vampires.”
“That’s good to know. But you are missing my point. I want to be able to assist you financially because I know you need it. You will not accept anything you consider to be charity, so therefore I am giving you the opportunity to earn extra money. I would pay you the going rate, and you would have to work 10 to 15 hours a week.”
“What would I do?”
“Scout for local talent, book performers and oversee event preparations.”
“Won’t I be taking work away from Pam?”
“Pam hates dealing with artists. They tend to be… demanding. You, however, have the temperament to deal with any number of people. I remember how you handled that drunk human airman. I think you would be perfect for the job.”
“Oh Eric, I don’t know…”
“You should take my offer. You need the money and you need health care. Hospital bills in this age are unbelievable. And they call us bloodsuckers,” he complained with a grimace.
“Tell me about it… Hey, how do you know how much hospital bills cost these days?”
He gave her a guilty look, and suddenly she knew how all her bills had been taken care of recently.
“You paid my hospital bill.”
She saw his face go rigid.
“You did. When and which ones?” she demanded.
“I’ve paid every bill since you got shot by that deranged shifter.”
“Sweetie De Arts” she breathed.
Eric snorted. “She was no sweetie,” he scoffed.
“So you paid for when I got shot, and…”
“And the emergency room bill for when you got attacked by that rising new vampire, although the queen reimbursed me for that.”
“Wait a minute… Claudine told me she paid the bill for when I got shot,” she countered.
“That is true, but I paid her back for it.”
“Why?”
He sighed, and she knew he was trying to decide on the right words to use. If he spouted some nonsense about her being his responsibility, she didn’t care about the lake, she was swimming back to Michigan.
“Because… I… didn’t want anyone else taking care of you,” he finally said very carefully.
“I’m not your responsibility, Eric,” she replied, her voice hard.
“Of course not. But… I… wanted to be the one who… looked after you.”
“So you could lord it over me later?”
“No. I did those things anonymously. You would never have known about them if I hadn’t slipped tonight.”
She wanted to argue. She wanted to be angry, but the truth was both he and Claudine had done her a great service. If she’d had to pay those bills, it would have just about bankrupted her, and she knew it. She ought to be gracious and accept the gifts because it was obvious Eric could easily afford it. Besides, she really, really didn’t want to fight with him.
“Alright. Thank you,” she finally said.
“You’re not mad at me?” He seemed surprised.
She sighed and snuggled close. “I’m sure I will be… later.”
She heard him chuckle and felt the arm around her tighten. “You are a proud woman. But then, I am a proud man. We will butt heads a lot, I think.”
“I’m hoping we butt a lot more than heads,” she quipped, making him laugh.
The fire was really going now, filling the room with its warmth and golden light. All the other lamps in the room were off, so the glow was the only illumination, and it was doing lovely things to Eric’s skin and hair again. He looked ethereal, every bit the Viking that he was, bathed in the soft light that made his white skin look alive and his hair blaze golden like a halo. He was so beautiful.
She pressed closer, and Eric shifted a little so that their bodies were more comfortably entwined. She remembered that he liked to snuggle. That was probably because, where he came from, the only thing between you and freezing to death was your bed partner. Whatever the reason, she liked it because cuddling was one of her favorite things to do. Bill hadn’t been big on post-coital snuggling, or snuggling in general, but she remembered falling asleep draped across Eric’s chest or lying wrapped in his arms. He’d always made her feel so safe and cherished.
“This is nice,” he said suddenly, after a few moments of comfortable silence.
“Um-hmm,” she agreed.
“It would be even nicer if we were naked.”
She snickered. “You’d like that wouldn’t you.”
“Oh yes. You’d like it too.”
For all his suggestive talk, she noticed that he hadn’t moved his hands to back up his words.
‘Hmm. Waiting for me to make the first move.’
“Ready for course four then?”
He emitted the low rumble again, but with an added inflection that she translated to mean, “The ten minutes are up, and I am no longer sexually sated.” He followed that with a verbal, “I’m always ready.”
“Don’t I know it,” she said with a wry smile, looking up at him. The fire was making his blue eyes glow, and she was feeling the urge to jump him, but she wanted to tease him first.
“What if I say I’m not in the mood?”
He frowned and shrugged. “Then we wait until you are. But… you do know I know when you’re bullshitting me, right, my lover?”
She blushed and looked down, trying to hide her smile, then she slid her hand up his thigh. “Maybe I was just seeing if you would wait for me.”
“I’ve been waiting for you for two years, lover.”
He punctuated his words by tipping up her chin and bending down for a kiss, and then course four began.
It was slow and sweet. Eric made a nest of pillows and blankets retrieved from the windowless room, and he made sure she was comfortable as he undressed her. He paid a great deal of attention to her breasts, licking and sucking gently, laving at her nipples until he had her panting and spreading her legs. Then he took his very talented mouth lower and licked and sucked her there, making her grasp at the blanket and arch her back. She writhed and begged, panting, her skin covered in a sheen of sweat, and she was absurdly jealous at her Viking’s self-control because, while she was ready to scream with frustration, he was cool and relaxed.
He used his fingers as he licked her some more, then thrust them in and out slowly as he turned his head and fed from the artery on her inner thigh. She cried out and climaxed when he bit her, tangling her fingers in his hair and nearly ripping it out by the roots. If he didn’t take her in the next ten seconds, she was going to explode.
“You liked it when I mounted you from behind. It excited you,” he whispered.
All she could manage was an incoherent grunt because he was licking her again and still probing her with his fingers. They were wiggling, searching for her special spot, as his tongue lapped at her nub. She thought she might come again.
“I liked it too. Seeing you kneeling before me, offering yourself to me, feeling your lust and anticipation. You wanted me to mount you. It pleased you very much to be claimed that way,” he continued, putting emphasis on the word “mount.” She shivered all over and let out a keening moan as he dipped his tongue further into her.
“Hmmm. I think I’ve found one of your special triggers,” he mused.
She didn’t care. All she wanted was for him to be inside her. Right. Now.
“Shall I turn you over then? Pull you to your knees so I can slide behind you?”
She groaned.
“Or shall I leave you as you are, on your back, so I can look at you while I make you come?”
“Eric!” she wailed.
He laughed and crawled up her body, settling his hips between her legs. She hitched her legs up and grabbed for his butt, sinking her fingers into the firm, round cheeks, as he took her. He gave his own grunt and snarled something in a foreign language as he pushed in as far as he could go. He was braced on his hands, hovering over her, as she clamped her thighs around his pelvis and urged him on. He groaned again, his fangs fully out, and began to ride her in earnest. She climaxed, but he wasn’t with her, and he slipped one hand down to fondle her nub as he kept at it. She jerked and dug her nails into his ass, her eyes getting wider and wider, and his grin getting smugger and smugger, as he drove her to yet another climax.
“Gotchya,” he said as she arched and came a third time, crying his name.
A moment later, he made one last thrust and she felt him reach his own peak. He collapsed on top of her, and they rode out the aftershocks together, a trembling mass of tangled limbs. She could barely see or catch her breath, and she was going into overload. Tears began to leak from her eyes as she kept shuddering, her whole body quivering with muscle spasms that ran up and down her body. She couldn’t even get her wits together enough to speak.
Eric supported himself with one arm to keep the majority of his weight off of her as the other began stroking her hair, murmuring endearments and words of comfort to soothe her, but all she could manage was gasping sobs. She couldn’t even give words to what she was feeling, only that it felt like she was coming apart, that her skin was being ripped from her body and all her insides exposed for him to see. He rolled off of her and gathered her into his arms, wrapping her in the blankets and holding her together because she didn’t seem capable of doing it herself.
His chest rumbled under her cheek, vibrating at a low frequency that she felt rather than heard, yet the action comforted her, and it took her a moment to realize that he was singing very softly in a deep guttural voice. It was more a hum, actually, that started with a word then extended out into a low croon, and she focused on it, listened to the croon with every fiber of her being, until she slowly settled back into her own skin and put herself back together.
“Better now?” he murmured when she finally stopped shivering.
“I… I think so,” she stammered.
“Good.”
She didn’t answer, but remained quiet and still in his arms. He loosened his hold on her and let the blanket fall away, and she curled into the curve of his body, her head on his chest and her legs entwined with his. He took to caressing her lightly with the tips of his fingers, brushing along her arm and the rise of her hip.
“The firelight does beautiful things to your skin,” he breathed.
She smiled, curling her fingers into the soft down of his chest hair. He had no heartbeat, but yet she knew she had seen the heart inside him.
“I could say the same about you,” she answered.
“I look forward to seeing your skin by firelight as often as possible.”
“I have two roomies, remember? Octavia and Amelia,” she reminded.
“And I have a fireplace at my house,” he countered slyly.
“A fireplace and a sauna. What else do you have?”
“Well, I have the usual things: kitchen, den, living room, and of course a bedroom with a very big bed.” She could imagine the leer on his face as he said the last.
She sighed. “I’m sure I’ll see it soon.”
“Hrmm. Thursday night, perhaps?”
She chuckled. “I’ll have to check my schedule, see when I’m working.”
“Hrmph. Forgive me if I am not happy with being dependent upon a shifter for time with you.”
“I’m a working girl. Deal with it.”
“Do I have a choice? You modern women are all for making your own decisions.” He sounded beleaguered. “Will you take the job I offered?”
“I’ll consider it.” It would be nice to have the extra cash, and she certainly needed health care.
“That is more than I expected. I had anticipated a much more prolonged argument.”
“Hey, I’m learning that there’s no arguing with you,” she quipped.
She could tell that the statement had pleased him because happiness echoed through the bond.
“Truly? Does that mean you’ll quit your job and move in with me?”
“Not a chance,” she said coldly, making him laugh.
She laughed too, and it felt good. She found that she liked pleasing him, and the feeling between them was almost as close and tender as it had been when he’d been cursed. Right now everything was wonderful. The easy rapport between them was almost back, the comfortable familiarity that grew when two people were relaxed and content with each other.
She liked this part of a relationship: the newness, the happiness before the shine wore off. It felt really, really good, but she’d been there before, and she wondered how long it would take for it all to go to hell. She frowned, remembering how quickly Bill had lost interest in her before he went haring off after Lorena.
“What are you thinking, my lover?” Eric questioned, a note of concern in his voice. “Your lovely mood has soured again.”
“I’m… I’m just wondering how long this will last,” she admitted.
“Until Wednesday night. Unless you would like to stay longer. I am sure I could arrange it…”
“No. No. I meant this: you and me. How long before you get tired of me and start looking for other partners,” she clarified.
He was silent, and she ventured a glance up to look at his face. It was hard as stone.
“I mean… Bill and I only lasted a few months…” she began, running an idle finger across his chest.
“I could kill him for what he did to you. I would love to kill him, but that would make you unhappy, and I do not want to be the cause of that,” he finally said, his voice frigid.
“No… I don’t want you to kill him,” she agreed.
“If there should ever come a time when you change your mind, let me know. He is one of my subjects; he is beholden to me as his sheriff, therefore his life is mine to do with as I wish. He has already broken pact with me twice. Theoretically his life is forfeit. The only reason I haven’t killed him already is because he was doing the queen’s bidding, and killing him would make you unhappy. Still, I could have punished him for what he did, but I did not – also because it would have displeased you,” he told her, explaining a few things about vampire politics that she pretty much already knew, but it was nice to get confirmation.
“And he makes a lot of money,” she added.
He snorted. “Money isn’t everything.”
Odd how his words echoed Sophie-Anne’s on the night Andre killed the King of Arkansas, and she said so. Eric made no comment, but she felt the pang through the bond. Eric had liked Sophie-Anne; feared her, but liked her as well. She didn’t know how long Eric had been one of her subjects, but it was at least since before the vampires went public. He’d known her fairly well, it seemed, and he respected her. Now with her gone, and Felipe as the new King of Louisiana, everything was turned upside down, and their lives hung in the balance.
She could understand Eric’s uneasiness. Her life was mixed up in all of that not only because of her blood-bond to Eric, but because Felipe knew of her little handicap. She had no illusions that the King wouldn’t make her do his bidding should he see fit to call on her. He also knew how strong her blood-bond with Eric was because he had seen it in action on the night Sigebert had captured them. Part of her knew, if she was smart, she and Eric would be relocating to Alaska to get as far away from Felipe de Castro as possible. Eric had already said he’d give everything up, and he’d admitted to having to run for his life in the past. Maybe it was time to get out of Dodge while they still could.
It was a big decision to make; to leave everything she knew behind to go running off with a 1000-year old Viking vampire – especially of things went sour after a few months. She had no idea how long a typical human-vampire relationship lasted because the ones she’d seen were all obviously short-term or badly flawed. Hugo and Isabel came to mind.
“You didn’t answer my question, though,” she began carefully, already feeling his unhappiness through the bond. “I mean, I’ll be turning 28 next year and…”
“And that will mean exactly what to me? You think I will lose interest in you when you start to age, that I am attracted only to your beauty and having sex with you?” he interrupted sharply.
“Well… it is a big part of what we do and I know I’m…”
“I can have sex with anyone I want, whenever I want. If all I wanted was sex, I would not have gone through any of the trouble to pursue you and care for you. You do me a great disservice when you suggest that I am fickle and petty,” he scolded.
A tear leaked from her eye at the harsh rebuke, and she tucked her head into his arm, sniffling.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I blame Bill. He was the one who hurt you so badly that now you compare our relationship to the one you had with him. But you must understand and accept that I am not Bill, lover, and I am as different from Bill in my relationships as oil is to water. Once I have chosen, I am faithful until the relationship ends. I will not go haring off after another woman or she-demon as long as you and I are committed to each other.”
“So you’re not going to go running off to fuck a vamp-ho even if she is your maker?” she asked, trying to deflect his anger.
“My maker is dead,” he stated.
“Oh. I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s a relief to know no one has that much power over me.”
Eric would frame it in terms that dictated the effect things would have on his life. She wondered how much power she had over him, and was half-afraid to broach the subject. Instead she pressed closer, cupping her hand across his side and curling her leg around his. He seemed to enjoy the movement and his hand caressed her breast lightly.
“You are trying to distract me, are you not?” he said teasingly. “I know you are not interested in sex again so soon.”
He took her hand and guided it lower, allowing her to feel him. He was half-interested, but that could easily change in a moment.
“Me, of course, I am ready whenever you are,” he purred.
‘Yeah, five times in one night.’ Not even her wildest nights with Bill had they ever gotten close to that many, and her longest night with Amnesia Eric had only had them having sex two and a half times, since she went down on him the third time. Was the difference now the fact that they’d swapped blood again, and now her libido was more in-sync with his?
But how long would that last? A few years? A decade or two? She’d be thirty before too long. She’d never given her age much thought, but if her lover was a vampire, that threw the whole growing old together argument right out the window. What would he do when she was old and couldn’t keep up anymore?
Her vampire let out a frustrated growl, and she knew he was onto her bad mood.
“What are you thinking now?” he commanded softly.
“The same thing,” she admitted. It was no good to lie to him.
“Bill’s unfaithfulness? Our relationship?” he pressed.
“Me. Getting older. Let’s face it, Eric, I’m mortal. I’m gonna get old and grey and I’m not gonna want to have sex with you. What will you do then?” Her voice was slightly accusing because she didn’t like being put on the spot.
He sighed and his grip on her tightened, but not enough to cause her any pain.
“Bill told you nothing of vampire-human relations, did he?”
It was almost a snarl, but his ire wasn’t directed at her.
“Only that I would need to take vitamins to help replace the blood he took, and that he’d know how I was feeling and stuff after we shared blood,” she answered, getting the feeling that her ex had kept something very important from her.
Eric’s anger increased, and she was very glad they were on an island in Lake Superior, because she was sure, if they’d been anywhere near Bon Temps, Bill would have been facing a very pissed off Eric before the night was over.
She felt him struggling to get control over his temper, and she let him soothe himself by stroking her with his fingers again, the touch seeming to ground him and help him focus. It took him several moments, but he finally calmed down, and she felt him let out a deep sigh before he relaxed.
“Sookie… what Bill failed to mention to you, although I can only fathom his reasons for why he did not, is that as long as we are together you will age very slowly. My blood will keep you healthy, and prevent much of the effects of time on your body, so long as you have a fresh infusion of it on a regular basis. What you fear will come about in only a few years, will take many decades, and forgive me if I hope that you will decide to join me by then.”
She gasped and lifted her head enough to look at him, horrified. “Join you? As in, become a vampire?”
He met her gaze without a blink or flinch. “Yes.”
“Eric! I don’t want to be a vampire.” How could he think such a thing? Didn’t he know her at all?
He shrugged. “Not now. Not next year. Maybe not even for fifty years or more. But I do hope that – one day – you will change your mind and let me bring you over.”
“Eric, I will never want to be a vampire!”
“You don’t know that. You are young now. Vibrant and healthy. Who knows how you will feel as time goes on.”
“I know that I will never want to be anything other than human!”
She hopped to her feet, snarling to herself when her legs went shaky, and she forced herself to stand. He propped himself up on his elbows, but did not otherwise attempt to stop her.
“I can’t believe that you’d think I’d even consider such a thing!” she accused.
He blinked at her, but did not look ashamed or contrite. “As I said, right now I know that you don’t want me to bring you over, but…”
That only served to make her angrier, and she was getting herself whipped up into a good froth. “No! No buts! Never! You have to promise me, Eric! You have to promise that you’ll never bring me over, that no matter what, you’ll never make me a vampire.”
“I can’t do that,” he refused with a shake of his head.
“What do you mean you can’t do that?”
“If you make me promise, then I will have to keep my word, even if forty years from now you are begging me to bring you over,” he answered reasonably.
“Forty years! Eric, I’m not going to be with you for more than another forty hours!” she screamed, clenching her fists. “If we weren’t on this damn island, you wouldn’t be seeing me for more than another forty minutes! Damn you! You brought me to this godforsaken place so I couldn’t run away from you!”
He raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by her rage, and he gave her a smug look that told her that was exactly what he’d done and he was proud of it. She wanted to slap the look right off his face, but instead she tried to kick him in the groin. He was faster, though, and turned his hip so she got him in the thigh. It smarted, but nowhere near as much as it would have if she’d been on target.
What the kick did do, however, was serve to make her Viking very angry. His blue eyes blazed, and his features turned blank and hard. She’d seen his angry face before, but never directed at her so fiercely. Part of her was screaming that she was being incredibly stupid, and she was going to get herself killed, but the rest of her was too furious to care.
“Now, Sookie,” he warned. “You’re acting like a child.”
“A child?! How dare you! You’re the one who dragged me here. You’re the one forced me into this! I never wanted to be blood-bound to you! I never wanted to get dragged into your vampire shit! I never wanted any of this!”
“You’d rather have been bound to Andre then?” he countered.
“No! I’d rather I’d never gotten involved with Bill! I wish I’d never met you! Any of you! You’ve done nothing but bring misery and pain and heartache into my life!”
“Is that how you really feel?” he questioned, his brows drawn and his mouth arching down into a deep frown.
“Yes! I hate you! I wish I’d let Sigebert kill you so I’d be rid of you!” she seethed.
No physical blow could have hurt him more, and she felt the barb land home. It arced through the bond, a lancing pain that burned like fire all the way down. He showed no outward signs of his agony, but she knew what she’d felt, and it made her pause in mid-tirade.
He stood slowly, still naked and glowing in the firelight. She watched him, breathing heavily, wondering if he would now smash her skull like Betty Jo killed that stupid human in Club Dead, but he did not raise a hand to her. If anything, that made it worse. Physical pain would have been better than what he actually did.
Running on the heels of the stabbing pain came something that felt like a kick in the gut, followed by the opening of a gaping hole inside her. He’d cut off the bond again, only this time he’d done it while conscious. She stared at him, knowing how her face must look, gasping as the pain of the severing ripped into her, how her soul screamed in protest. His face was impassive, his eyes blank, as he regarded her silently.
‘You are dead to me now,’ came the thought. Was it him? Was it her own mind interpreting the flat expression on his face? She didn’t know, and she couldn’t find it in her to care as the cold void began to throb.
She gripped her chest, unable to block out the ache, and sank to her knees. She felt a rush of air, and she thought Eric was going to embrace her, to tell her how sorry he was for hurting her, but he did no such thing. Instead he’d gone past her, presumably to the windowless room. A few moments later she saw him again, fully dressed, and striding purposefully towards the cabin door. She made a little sound of pain, a strangled “guh” noise that took all the effort she had. He paused and turned his head to look at her, but there was no recognition in his eyes, no spark of feeling or regret. She wanted to stop him, because she knew what he was going to do, but she couldn’t make her body work. With one last cold, dispassionate look, he opened the cabin door and walked out, closing the door firmly behind him.
His leaving snapped something inside her, and she crumpled to the carpet, shaking. She was cold all over, but the chill came from within, not from the rush of frigid air he’d allowed to blow in when he’d opened the door, and she lay there on the rug for god knew how long before the pain numbed enough for her to be able to move. In that time, she had the opportunity to consider her complete stupidity, and the magnitude of what she had done. Of course she didn’t want to be a vampire, and it was important for Eric to understand that, but she imagined that she could have handled the situation a whole lot better. She’d lost her temper, said horrible, unforgivable things to someone she really did care a great deal about, someone who had not deserved the hateful words she’d flung at him, someone who – she had to admit – loved her.
She wanted him to come back. She wanted to apologize, to tell him she didn’t want him dead, that she’d spoken in anger and fear, but there was no way for her to reach him. The bond was gone so no amount of mental “come back, come back, come back” was going to reach him, and she knew she didn’t have the strength to go looking for him out in the cold.
She managed to stagger to her feet and fumble like a marionette with three strings cut, up the stairs to the loft where she crawled into the bed and curled into a fetal ball. The pain was worse than when Bill left her for Lorena, worse than when she’d found out he’d been sent by the queen to seduce her. Those wounds were superficial scratches compared to the rending tear that left her heart bleeding and agony seeping from every pore.
She lay there, buried under the eiderdown – although the heavy comforter did nothing to warm her – trying to stay as still as possible because it didn’t hurt as much if she didn’t move, and she forced herself to stay awake, to listen for Eric’s return. It took a while for the pain to dull enough for the tears to come, but they eventually did, and she sobbed into the pillows, feeling wretched and miserable.
She cried for a long time, cursing Eric, and Bill, and Jason, and Sam, and Alcide, and Andre, (even though he was dead) and Quinn, and everyone who had ever wronged her all the way down to her parents who’d had the crappy luck to get themselves killed in a flash flood. And she cursed herself for her dumb mouth, and for all the things she regretted.
When she was all cried out, she was calmer and more able to look at the situation clearly. Eric’s statement about his blood slowing down her aging, and his desire for her to become a vampire had spooked her, and she’d lashed out. She’d said some terrible, hurtful things that she hadn’t meant, and the very least she ought to do was tell Eric how much she regretted her words and how awful she felt for saying them. Which, considering he was somewhere out on the island, was difficult at best.
She pulled herself together enough to make her way back down the stairs and scribble a note to him on the back of the weekly events schedule.
Eric-
I’m sorry. We need to talk.
Sookie
She shoved the note under the door of the windowless room, hoping he’d find it when he came back (if he came back, but she wasn’t even considering the fact that he might have flown off the island under his own power and just left her there.) then she made her way back up to the bedroom. She dressed in a long, cotton nightgown and got back into bed, lying on her back and listening to the wind outside the windows. It was whipping through the trees and howling like a beast in mourning, or maybe she was hearing something in mourning wailing out there somewhere in the forest. She couldn’t be sure.
She stayed awake, keeping her eyes open and her mind focused on hearing Eric come back, until exhaustion caught up with her. Sleep reached up to grab her and drag her down no matter how hard she found against it, and her last conscious memory was of how cold and empty the bed seemed without Eric there to hold her.
Chapter Eleven
When she woke, the room was unusually dark for the time displaying on the clock. She thought it was just her eyes at first, since they felt like sand had been tossed into them, and they were sore and puffy. She looked at the clock again and noted that it still read 11:24 with the little dot next to the “am” lit. So, according to the clock, it was almost noon, but the ambient light in the room was nothing like it had been the previous morning.
‘Maybe it’s black out there to reflect my mood,’ she thought dourly.
She still felt awful, her chest aching painfully, but she did notice that Eric’s presence was back in the bond. That meant he was back. He must not have been able to keep it cut off while he was unconscious during the day. Somehow, that was a relief.
She pushed back the eiderdown and got out of bed. She was moving slowly because she felt as if someone had beaten her up, and she pulled on her robe, securing it around her waist as she went to the dark curtains that shielded the doors to the balcony. She pulled them aside enough to peer out and was greeted by a world of white.
It was snowing. Snowing heavily, and, judging by the amount of snow already piled up on the balcony, it looked like it had been snowing for a while. It was coming down so hard that she could barely make out the forest, and she gasped, her eyes opening wide.
She’d never seen so much snow in her life, and she had nightmares of being snowed in with a hungry vampire. But then she realized how silly that seemed. It wasn’t like they were alone in the wilderness. Even if she couldn’t see it right now, she knew the lodge was close by, and Eric could get there at the very least once he woke up. Besides, Eric loved snow, and he would probably be overjoyed to see so much of it.
She started to cry again, tears sliding down her cheeks as she sagged against the wall. Even if Eric was back, she could still feel his pain in the bond, and it was making her feel horrible. And, she acknowledged, it was her fault that they both were hurting so badly. If she hadn’t lost her temper and shot off with her big mouth, none of it would have happened. So she had no one to blame but herself.
She stumbled over to the dresser to pull out a pair of socks. Part of her wanted to just get back in bed and stay there until sunset, but she needed to check on Eric and the books she had borrowed were down there too. Reaching into the top drawer, her hand brought out a pair of thick, warm socks that had also been a gift from Eric. She had found two pairs stuffed inside the new boots he’d bought her. At the sight of them, she started to cry again, but pulled herself together enough to put them on and force herself to walk towards the stairs.
She eased herself down the stairs, her body aching, and made it to the first floor. The fire had gone out in the hearth, and the lower level was dark and chilly. She fumbled around and found a lamp to turn on, then found the thermostat, punching the set temperature up to 70 degrees from 62. Brrrrr. The furnace came on, and she soon felt warm air blowing in through the vents.
The door to the windowless room was closed as she had expected it to be when she finally made it over to the dining room, but it was also locked – something she hadn’t expected. It also looked like he’d thrown the dead bolt on it as well because it was very firmly secured from the inside. In a way that was good news because it meant he was in there, but bad news in that he may have trusted her enough to come back to the cabin, but hadn’t trusted her enough to leave himself vulnerable to her. There was nothing she could do until sundown except wait.
Staggering back to the living room, she found that she didn’t have the energy to go back up to bed. Instead, she flopped down on the sofa and stared at the fireplace. At some point the wood box next to the hearth had been refilled. Given that they’d used most of the wood last night, that meant Eric had had the forethought to restock sometime before he’d gone to bed. So she had a heat source if something happened to the furnace. It was just like him to be thinking of her even when she’d just ripped his heart out.
She sat on the sofa for a few minutes, resisting the urge to go curl up against the door to Eric’s room and make him step over her when he rose. She didn’t do it. That would be childish. She did resolve to get herself up long enough to make some coffee, so she forced herself to stand and shuffle over to the kitchen.
She found it stocked with everything except food; there was, however, the requisite coffee pot and single pot bags of coffee – Arabica dark roast and “breakfast blend,” half-n-half creamers, and sweetener packets (4 kinds – sugar, Equal, Sweet n’Low and Splenda.) She also found a basket of tea bags, small single serving packets of honey, and hot cocoa mix. Today was definitely a hot cocoa day. She’d make some later, but right now she needed coffee. Coffee would help her think more clearly, or at least she hoped so.
All drip coffee makers worked pretty much the same so it didn’t take her long to figure out the fancy one sitting on the counter. It was one of those combo units she’d seen at Starbucks, the kind that made fancy, expensive coffee that city folk seemed to love so much, but it had a “regular” coffee pot side, and it wasn’t too hard to find where the grinds went and where to fill the reservoir. Pretty soon she had a hot cup of coffee steaming in the plain, white stoneware mug that the cabin came stocked with, and she took it back to the living room with her.
It took a lot of her energy, but she managed to lay a fire in the fire grate and get it lit. There was a throw blanket draped across the back of the sofa, and she pulled it down to wrap around her legs as she curled up in one corner of the sofa, clutching her coffee mug in one hand and reaching for one of the paperbacks on the side table with the other. Her exploration of the kitchen while looking for a mug had yielded a box of Kleenex, so she had those too. Judging by how she couldn’t seem to stop crying, that was a good thing.
She’d just managed to staunch the latest waterworks when the power blipped out. She wasn’t expecting the sudden loss of light or silence, and she jerked at first before she realized it was just a blackout. Oh, great. Just what she needed. Now she was alone, miserable, and in the dark. But, she reasoned, that she had heat, and coffee, and she had a book. All she was missing was food, but she wouldn’t starve in the next eight hours so she wasn’t worried. At least now she knew why she’d found candles and a hurricane lamp in the cupboards.
There was still enough daylight coming in from the windows for her to navigate into the kitchen and get the hurricane lamp. It was full of lamp oil, and there was a refill jug in the cabinet with it incase she needed it. She lit the lamp with the provided Bic lighter and took it back to the living room. She was glad she’d made the coffee before the power went out, but the stove was gas so if she wanted to heat it up, she could always just pour the pot into a saucepan and turn on the burner.
She went back to the living room and settled on the sofa again, her legs curled under her and the throw blanket draped over her lower body. It was as close to comfortable as she was going to get, and she tried to content herself with knowing she was safe and secure even if there was a blizzard raging outside.
All was quiet for a while. She read, she cried, she stared at the fire, she might have napped, but she wasn’t sure and it was hard to tell how much time had passed. It took her a moment to figure out that what had snapped her out of her gloom had been a knock at the door. The last time she’d checked, it was still snowing so she had no idea who could be outside.
‘It’s us. Can we come in?’ came Izzy’s mindvoice.
‘Just a second…’ she answered, uncurling herself and realizing that her legs were stiff and numb.
Still wondering why anyone would be out in the storm instead of cozy inside, she stood up and shuffled over to open the door. Outside was a sea of frozen white, but part of the snow on the porch had been melted away. She stepped aside as she swung open the door to admit the three people standing there, and Izzy, Maria and her son rushed in so she could shut out the cold as soon as possible.
“Gah!” she gasped, shivering, as she turned to face her guests.
“I see the power’s out here too. We’re over in Cabin 18 and… Holy Crap what happened to you?” Izzy blurted, her eyes wide.
Maria gasped and covered her mouth in horror, then rushed at her, her hands out in concern. “Oh my God, what happened?”
“Wow,” the boy said, his face surprised as he stared at her.
She took a step back in alarm, looking around her as she tried to see what had gotten them so upset. “What? What is it?”
She knew she looked awful, but they were acting like she was bleeding from a huge wound in her head.
Maria grabbed her wrist. “Who did this to you? You must report it immediately! Security must know someone’s been attacked on the island!”
“Attacked?” she repeated, confused and frightened.
“There’s a hole the size of Dallas in your aura and your bond is frayed,” Izzy clarified, but her voice was full of rage.
“Who did this to you? I’ll report it if you don’t want to. This kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen here,” Maria said, then turned to her son. “Vincent! Run to the lodge. Tell security to come to Cabin 16 right away! There’s been a psychic assault.”
“No. Wait. Stop. It’s not like that,” she insisted, trying to pull out of Maria’s grasp. She was too weak, but they did stop.
“You know who did this to you?” Maria questioned.
She nodded, the tears starting again. “It… it was Eric. We…”
“Your bonded did this to you? Where is he?” the Gypsy asked in disbelief.
She cast a miserable glance at the bolted door in the dining room, and Izzy headed for it.
“You can’t get in. It’s locked,” she warned, but the woman put one hand on the door and then blipped out of sight.
“Oh,” she gasped, but a jerk on her arm brought her back to Maria.
“What happened?” Maria commanded.
“It’s all my fault. We had a terrible fight and he… and he… He tried to sever us. I think…” she stammered, more tears falling. Why couldn’t she stop crying?
“That’s my assessment too,” Izzy interrupted, blinking back into the room. Sookie jumped when the woman was suddenly just there again.
“He’s in there. His aura’s in worse shape than hers. It looks like he tried to rip the bond out, and it’s half severed on his end.” Izzy gave her a suspicious look. “It’s a good thing he didn’t know what he was doing, otherwise you’d both be in shock right now.”
“How did you do that? You went right through a closed door,” she squeaked.
Izzy shrugged. “I can Jump if I know where I’m going. Your cabin is a mirror image of ours, only Sparky’s room has windows in it. I figured it was set up the same so I just Jumped to the other side of the door,” she answered as if that explained everything.
“Jump?”
“That doesn’t matter,” Maria interrupted. “What matters is what happened and how to fix it. You said you had an argument. It must have been terrible for your bonded to have reacted so severely.”
“That’s an understatement. Right now, they’re going to need to do another blood exchange to re-anchor the bond, otherwise who knows what other damage this’ll do,” Izzy said, giving her a look that said she’d better well swap body fluids with Eric and she wasn’t talking about spit.
She sagged, almost all of her energy gone, and Izzy rushed forward to support her and keep her from falling.
“Are you in much pain?” Maria asked gently as she was guided back to the sofa.
She put a hand on her chest. “It’s not as bad as it was,” she admitted, which just meant that she wasn’t in screaming agony anymore.
“Well, that’s something,” Maria conceded.
“Last night must have been a barrel of laughs,” Izzy commented sarcastically.
She gave the woman a withering glare, but Izzy just rolled her eyes. “There’s a reason why suicide is the biggest cause of death in left behinds. Most survivors of a strongly bonded pair kill themselves within the first year of losing their mate because they never recover from the severing of the bond. My guess is you got a taste of what’s in store for you last night.”
She looked away, clutching the robe closer to her body, but shivering nonetheless.
“If it’s any consolation, he wasn’t doing any jigs last night either,” Izzy added.
“You saw him?” she asked, surprised.
She wondered if he’d gone to the lodge. Maybe he’d gotten himself drunk on fairly blood, but if he had, then he would have had to work off his “excess excitement” with someone else because he certainly hadn’t crawled into bed with her. The very thought made her stomach heave and more tears fall.
“No, but from the ragged look of him, he had a very bad night,” Izzy answered.
“Oh.” She looked down at her feet. At least he hadn’t gone out and fucked some stranger.
Maria’s hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, and she tried to muster up something other than misery.
“I don’t know what to do,” she sniffed.
“It will be all right. We will help you. I will play for you, and it will bring you comfort,” Maria assured her. “Vincent, go back to our cabin and fetch Rosamun please?”
“Sure, Mom.”
The boy was gone before Sookie could say anything, back out into the snowy cold. “Will he be okay?” she asked.
“Pfft. The kid’s dad is a Fire Demon. He doesn’t get cold. His normal core body temp is 103. Trust me, Sparky’s fine, and it’ll do him some good to work off some excess energy,” Izzy answered.
“How long do you think the power will be out?” she questioned. It was easy for her to focus on the present, on the problem she had to deal with right now, namely the storm and the power outage. It kept her from falling to pieces again.
“Dunno. There’s emergency generators over at the lodge, but no emergency power for the cabins. Demons in general don’t really need electricity. It’s us humans who are so dependent upon it,” Izzy replied.
“This storm must have come out of nowhere. I don’t remember anything like this being forecasted,” she complained.
“It’s a lake effect storm. They can develop at any time,” Maria explained.
“Are we going to get snowed in?”
Izzy laughed. “Honey, snowed in is when you open the front door and the snow falls in on your head. This’ll dump only about 18 inches or so on us, and these people are well used to the wacky weather. We’ll be fine.”
“Eighteen inches,” she choked.
“Maybe even two feet if the wind blows the right way,” Izzy amended.
There was a knock at the door, making her jump. Maria patted her hand and gave a look to Izzy, who went to open the door. At first she thought it was Vincent getting back with whatever he’d been sent to get, but a huge, gray-skinned, black-haired hulk of a man came in instead. He had to be a Supe. There was no way this guy was human.
“I have come for you,” he said in a deep voice that made the willies go down her spine all the way to her toes.
“Uh…” she said.
“What’s this about?” Izzy demanded.
“I have been instructed to collect the humans and bring them to the lodge.”
He was so tall he’d had to duck to come through the doorway, and now his presence filled the room. She struggled to her feet, despite Maria’s protests, and managed to go over to him. The two women put themselves in front of her, acting as human shields, and she wasn’t too sure what to think of that.
‘Stay behind us. We’ll handle this,’ Izzy told her.
“Why have you been instructed to collect us?” Maria asked.
He straightened up stiffly and puffed out his considerable chest. “Humans are fragile and must be looked after.”
If he hadn’t been so serious about it, she might have burst out laughing, but she bit her cheek instead. Izzy was faster with the comeback.
“Really? That’s good to know. I wished I’d known that 30 years ago when I was learning to walk, but, honestly, what’s your point?”
The man seemed surprised and flustered. “There is a storm outside. You have no lights.”
“We kinda noticed that. And see, we humans have gathered together in a little huddled group to take care of each other until the storm is over. That’s what we do when there aren’t any big, Corsian demons running around to fetch us.”
Vincent slipped back in through the front door, carrying a violin case. He grinned at her. He wasn’t even wearing a coat.
“Really, Sir, we’re fine. We have heat and the hurricane lamps your resort was so generous to provide,” Maria added. “And we have water and coffee…”
“Don’t forget the hot chocolate too,” Vincent piped up.
“But you have no food,” he pointed out, clearly confused by their reluctance to leave.
“My friend can Apparate,” Maria said gently. “She can Jump to the lodge and bring back a food basket if the kitchen manager would be kind enough to make one up for us. Is the storm expected to last much past sunset?”
“The weather predictors say it will end after nightfall but before midnight,” came the gruff answer.
Maria looked at her watch. “Well, that gives us at most eleven hours before it’s all over. I’m assuming the custodial staff is working on restoring power?”
He nodded stiffly. “Yes.”
“Okay then, I am sure we’ll have power soon, and even if we don’t, we’re all right without it.”
The Supe looked at her and furrowed his brow. “What is wrong with her? Is she ill?”
‘Stay calm and keep your mouth shut. A dimwit like this can’t see auras, so he won’t know what’s wrong unless you tell him. We want to keep this quiet because your bonded basically attacked your bond. I know he did it to both of you, but that sort of thing is really frowned upon here, and we don’t want Resort Management to get involved,’ Izzy warned her.
‘Okay,’ she answered, putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder for support. It was getting harder to stand.
Izzy crossed her arms. “She’s blood-bonded to a vampire. What do you think is wrong with her?”
“All the better for her to come to the lodge where it is warm and there is food,” the Supe responded.
“And have her bonded come looking for her right after sunset? He’s going to be hungry when he rises. He’ll just drag her back here through the storm,” Izzy reminded. “It’s better if she just stays where she is. Besides, she’d feeling a little… drained.”
She did her best to look wan and pale. It wasn’t too hard. But it was clear that the guy was conflicted, and she wasn’t sure if he would accept their reasoning. She had no desire to go out in the storm, and she was trying to think of more excuses for her to stay put, but Maria beat her to it.
“We understand. You have been given orders, and we are making it difficult for you to fulfill your duties. My friend can go back to the lodge with you and get the food basket if that will fulfill your obligation to your supervisor.”
He seemed to consider Maria’s suggestion, his face showing his indecision, until he finally nodded. “It is acceptable, but we will not be responsible for your welfare if you choose to stay here.”
She almost breathed a sigh of relief, and she started to sag again, but Maria slipped a hand under her elbow to bolster her up.
“We’ll be fine. Now c’mon, Lurch, let’s you and me go back to the lodge, and I can explain to Raimis how all of this isn’t your fault. It’s just us pesky humans being difficult again,” Izzy said with a wry smile.
“Yes,” the man agreed, not seeming to understand that Izzy had just insulted him.
“I’ll be back in a few. Keep the home fires burnin’.”
“Be safe,” Maria said, waving a little as Izzy guided the big hulk back out the door. She giggled as soon as they were gone and rolled her eyes, smiling. “I love them dearly, but sometimes…”
“They really show their age,” she offered, managing a weak smile back.
“Exactly. It baffles them that humans ever managed to take over this world. It defies their logic completely,” the Gypsy admitted, reaching out to ruffle her son’s hair.
“Hey, don’t look at me. Dad can’t figure it out either,” Vincent quipped, then grinned and handed his mother the violin case.
“Thank you,” Maria said, smiling as she accepted the instrument.
“You called the violin something…” she began.
“Rosamun,” Maria confirmed, guiding her back towards the couch. “Every good violin has a name. This one is Rosamun.” She patted the hard case lovingly. “She has been in my family for generations. I inherited her from my grandfather, who got her from his father, who got her from his father and so on. Where she originally came from is a mystery, but experts place her at about two hundred years old. Family history tells that she was a wedding gift given to my great-great-great-great-grandfather from his father-in-law.”
Sookie smiled. She could appreciate old things and family history. “That’s really wonderful. You must be very proud to have her.”
“I am. Typically, she would have gone to a male heir, but my brother wanted nothing to do with music, or Grandfather for that matter, so he gifted Rosamun to me.”
Maria had said the last with a small, sad smile on her face. Sookie understood that look too.
“Well. Izzy will be back soon and I will cook us some food. You need to eat. You’re losing a lot of energy into the damaged bond. It’s trying to repair itself, but it’s draining you in the process,” the Gypsy said. “And the security guard was right. We should take all precautions in this storm. November gales like this one are notoriously unpredictable. It’s better that we are all together, at least until the worst of it is over and the power’s back on. In the meantime, why don’t you go up and get dressed? After that, we will see what is to be done about the situation between you and your bonded.”
She almost refused, her pride getting the best of her, but she stopped herself in time. Even if this woman was a veritable stranger, Sookie knew what she could do, and she admitted that she did need help. She as out of her league with this blood-bond thing, and these two women seemed to know quite a bit more about it than she did. Plus, she didn’t really have anyone she could talk to about what was going on between her and Eric, and the vampire community in general, and it might be nice to actually get some things off her chest. Besides, she needed a shower. Hopefully, the hot water would help ease some of her aches and pains. Damn, she felt like an old woman.
“Okay. I’ll take a shower while I’m up there, and be back down in about a half hour,” she agreed.
“That would be perfect. I’ll listen for the shower and try not to use any water while you’re in the bathroom. Unless, you need help…”
She gave the woman a smile. “I’ll be fine. I feel like I’ve had the flu, but I’ve actually had days where I’ve felt worse. Thanks.”
Maria gave her a nod then she turned away from her and slowly headed up the stairs to the loft. She gathered up some clean clothes, and she was about to enter the bathroom, when she spied Eric’s big heavy sweater lying on the floor near “his” side of the bed. Seeing it made her want to cry again, and she picked it up, holding it to her nose so she could smell his scent. She took the sweater into the bathroom with her and put the one she’d selected from her things back.
The tears started in earnest the moment she got into the shower, and she leaned against the wall as she sobbed. How could things have gone so horribly wrong in such a short time? Just being in the shower was painful; remembering the things she and Eric had done inside the slick walls made her ache even more and curse herself for her own idiocy, but she stayed under the spray until she was all cried out.
When she was done, she turned off the water and slid aside the shower door to step out. She dried herself with a thick towel and dressed slowly, moving as if she were in a fog and not feeling anything in her limbs. She teared up again when she pulled on Eric’s sweater, dipping her nose down into the collar to breathe in his scent, then wiped her face and splashed it with cold water before leaving the bathroom.
She smelled the food the moment she opened the bathroom door: eggs, bacon, something freshly baked, and her stomach growled and roiled at the same time. She didn’t know if she was starving or nauseous. Probably both.
The power was still off, but the storm had to be letting up some because the light coming in from the windows was brighter. She took a quick peek out the balcony doors and estimated that at least a foot of snow had fallen. It was still coming down, but it wasn’t white-out anymore, which she took as a good sign. At least she could see the trees again. They were covered in white. If she hadn’t been so miserable, it might just have been beautiful.
She sighed and went downstairs, her arms crossed over her middle, as she made her way slowly to the main floor. She found Vincent sitting on the sofa playing with a hand-held video game console, and the two women in the kitchen. Maria smiled at her a she shuffled in, and she managed a small smile back.
“You look a bit better,” Izzy commented. ‘Nice sweater. A bit big for you though.’
“I’m cleaner at the very least,” she replied with a shrug.
Maria handed her a mug of something hot that wasn’t coffee. She took a sniff and crinkled her nose.
“What’s this?”
“It’s an herbal tea. It will help with the pain and ache of the damaged bond,” the Gypsy replied.
She gave the light green liquid a skeptical look but took a sip. It wasn’t bad, and her stomach settled a little.
“How bad was it out there?” she asked Izzy.
“Not too bad. Everyone else seems to be having a blast, but then for some reason most demons love snow. Maybe it’s because they don’t feel temperature the way we do, but Elena was talking about organizing a Snow Games for tonight and tomorrow.”
“Snow Games?” came Vincent’s excited voice. “Awesome! Can we go? I wanna snowboard!”
Maria laughed. “We’ll see. I think it can be arranged.”
“Yeah!”
“Weren’t you supposed to be leaving today?” she questioned.
“Yeah, but that’s been put off. No one’s going anywhere until at least tomorrow,” Izzy replied, taking a sip from her own mug. “S’ok. I wasn’t too keen on leaving today anyway.”
“I wish you’d have said something,” Maria chided gently. “I would’ve had no objections extending our stay.”
Izzy shrugged. “We’ve been gone long enough as it is.”
“Another few days wouldn’t have made any difference.”
“I guess. And it is Tuesday. That means it’s karaoke night at Nike’s,” the woman commented with a grin. “I’ll tell you, you’ve never seen anything like a Slytheran demon trying to sing You Light Up My Life.”
She blinked, uncomprehending.
“They have this tongue, you see…”
“Izzy,” Maria chided and the woman stopped, but not before giving her a wink.
Sookie could see that the food was almost ready, so she went to the cupboards and gathered up plates and utensils. Izzy took the stoneware from her because it was too heavy, and together they set the table in the dining room. Maria brought in the skillet of eggs, bacon and onion, plus some fresh baked muffins, hash browns, and a pot of coffee, and they all sat down to eat.
She took a few bites, surprised at how hungry she became once she actually tasted food, and served herself more as her appetite picked up. The meal was very good, and the tea did seem to be helping.
“This is delicious. Thank you,” she complimented.
“You’re welcome. Yura included some sliced deli meats and cheese for lunch if we need it,” Maria said.
“Yura?”
“She’s the kitchen manager.”
“Ah.”
They ate breakfast, and she asked them questions about where they came from and where they lived. She found out that Maria and Izzy originally came from the Northeast, but now lived in Virginia. Vincent was 7 years old and his father was Zolan, the Fire Demon. Maria played concert violin and worked with a number of orchestras when she wasn’t sharing her Gift with the demon community. She found Maria to be willing to answer just about any question, but that Izzy was more guarded. Vincent tended to take after his mother, and he had the most entertaining answers.
When breakfast… brunch? Was over, she helped clear the plates and wash the dishes. The power was still off, but that didn’t seem to be hindering them any. She was feeling a little better now that she’d eaten, not quite so exhausted or achy, although the pain was still there – just dulled down a few notches. She wondered if Eric was feeling better, too, in his sleep, but she was afraid to probe the bond to check. That would be kind of like sticking her finger into a deep wound to see how far it went.
In the middle of clean-up, Vincent heard something outside the cabin and went to investigate.
“It’s Keno and Rori,” the boy announced. “They wanna know if I can come out to play with them.”
“Yes, but stay away from the lakeshore,” Maria replied, and Vincent gave a happy whoop before racing out.
“Who are Keno and Rori?” she asked.
“You’ve seen them. They are the two kitsune Vincent was playing video games with the other day.”
The two foxes who seemed glued to the game console. “Oh.”
“They’re becoming fast friends, which is good. Vincent needs playmates,” Maria went on.
“And now he’ll be out lobbing snowballs, instead of itching around here,” Izzy added.
Maria poured three cups of tea, handed one to her and one to Izzy, then took the third for herself. “Which is also good because now we are going to see what is to be done about your bond.”
Sookie gulped a little nervously, but followed the two women into the living room. She and Maria sat on opposite ends of the sofa, partially facing each other, while Izzy sat on the floor and rebuilt the fire. The Gypsy reached down beside the sofa and picked up the violin case.
“Don’t you want to wait for sunset when Eric is awake?” she asked.
Maria shook her head. “My Gift will work on him whether he is conscious or not, and given the mental state he must have been in to do what he did, it’s probably best for him not to be awake. He might fight what I am trying to do, and do more damage in the process.”
“Fight?” she repeated.
“You must understand, for your bonded to do what he did, he must have been desperate. He must have felt that there was no other alternative left to him.”
“What was the trigger?” Izzy asked. “What made him snap?”
She shook her head. “I…”
Maria put up a hand to stop her. “No. Don’t tell me. Sometimes when I play for just one or two individuals, I can get… impressions. Let me see if he will tell me himself what caused him to react the way that he did.”
She closed her mouth and nodded. “Okay.”
Maria removed Rosamun from the violin case and raised the instrument to her chin. Sookie took a deep breath and sat back on the couch, closing her eyes and trying to relax. A moment later, she heard the first notes of the violin; a very soft, gentle song that was both sad and moving at the same time.
As it had on Sunday night, it took a few chords for the magic to start working, but once it did, it wrapped her up in warmth and comfort. She felt the tingling under her skin, felt the music flowing into her blood and taking hold of her soul, and she felt Eric in the bond, too, his energy entwined with hers, tangled and throbbing with pain. He’d been in agony, and his pain became her pain, but both were cleansed and eased by the music.
She began to cry, and she began to remember. The memories started coming in a great rush, and it was like she was throwing herself off a cliff. She felt Maria and Izzy’s minds brushing against hers, and she knew they had joined her in the music, floating points of awareness in the sea of sound. She began to show them about her and Eric, about how they met. She started with the night Bill Compton came into Merlotte’s, and how the events of that night had changed her life forever.
It went from there, and she showed them everything. From Dallas to Club Dead and everything in between. When she came to the part about Eric losing his memory, she allowed all of her hurt feelings to come out, how she had cared so deeply for him, how different he had been, how they had been lovers and made each other so happy if only for a few days.
After that she delved into the aftermath of the Witch War, of meeting the Queen, her cousin Hadley’s death, and dating Quinn. Then finding out that Bill had been sent to seduce her by the Queen, and that she had fairy blood.
And on and on. She couldn’t hold anything back as the memories poured out of her. Her house burning. Charles being sent to kill her. Debbie Pelt’s family having her and Quinn kidnapped. The Queen of Louisiana being betrayed by her husband, all the way up to the horrible trip to Rhodes, and how Eric had spared her being tied to Andre by offering his blood instead. Then the terrifying morning when the hotel blew up. Finally, she came to meeting Niall her fairy great-grandfather, the Were War, and the takeover of Louisiana by the Nevada vamps, Quinn’s betrayal, and Eric’s memory coming back.
Which led to where they were now, trying to figure all of it out, but she was resentful of the bond and convinced the only reason Eric wanted her was because she had fairy blood. She realized now that their fight was caused, in part, by those assumptions and her resentment. Eric was doing everything he could to prove to her that he wanted to be with her, and she was doing everything she could to make it hard for him. But he was working under assumptions too, and that was almost as destructive.
It took forever to get through it all, and the music was golden light dancing in her blood, but it began to release her as Maria slowly brought the last song to a close. The power had come back on about halfway through, but they’d ignored it. When it was done, Sookie felt wrung out, but relieved. She could feel that Eric was comforted too, his pain and suffering eased by the Healing, and she was glad, but there was one more thing she had to say. She had to tell them the very last of it.
“So then…” she said aloud, her voice hollow and thick with her crying. “Then I yelled that I hated him and I wished that I’d let Sigebert kill him, and that was when he… did what he did and left,”
She wiped her face. She was all snotty, and her eyes were puffy from crying, and she knew she had to look awful, but there wasn’t really anything she could do about it.
There was silence. Izzy was still sitting on the floor, but she had her chin propped on her elbow, which was propped on her knee. She looked pensive and serious, as if she wasn’t quite sure what to say. Maria looked openly distressed as she rested the violin on her lap, her long fingers absently stroking the wood surface.
“I know… I shouldn’t have said it. It was a horrible thing to say, and I didn’t mean it,” she admitted.
“No, you shouldn’t have, but there is nothing to be done for it now,” Maria agreed.
“I’m horrible. But I don’t know how to fix it. What should I do?”
“You first have to heal this rift between you. Your bonded is in a terrible state. He is in torment, and he doesn’t know what to do. I was able to get some images from him even in his sleep. There was a terrible feeling of guilt… as if he’s done something that he should not have, something that violated a moral code of his,” Maria replied.
“I got that too,” Izzy confirmed. “The impression I got was atonement. That the only way he could make up for what he’d done was to rip out the bond.”
Maria nodded. “Yes. That’s it exactly. He was punishing himself, but trying to make it right as well…” The Gypsy gasped and looked at her, wide-eyed. “I saw something about you feeling forced into the bond. Did you use those words with him?”
“Ummm… I’m not sure. I don’t think I ever actually accused him of forcing me, but I think I did say something about not wanting to be tied to him, but having no choice.”
Wheels were turning behind Maria’s eyes, and Sookie could almost smell the smoke.
“He was a Viking. Was he a merchant or a rape and pillage kind of guy?” Izzy asked.
“I’m pretty sure he was a fighter. He’s really good with a sword and he loves a good fight, but he told me he’s never raped anyone, and the female vamps at Fangtasia say he won’t insist on sexual favors if they’re not interested.”
“What about with human women?” Maria pressed.
She shook her head. “He’s pushed it with me, but he’s always stopped before it got too far.”
Maria and Izzy shared a look she didn’t like.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Izzy asked.
Maria nodded. “It would make sense.”
“What’s going on? What are you thinking?” she demanded.
“You gotta understand. Blood-bonding for a vampire is very serious business. They might give their blood to a human once in an emergency situation, but they would try to avoid repeat performances outside of a relationship,” Izzy replied. “If a vampire does form a blood-bond, it becomes permanent around the third exchange depending on how much blood is involved.”
“A vampire would never enter into a permanent bond by accident,” Maria added.
She nodded that she understood.
“From what I felt from him, and from what you have shown me, I believe Eric may be under the impression that he… forced you into bonding with him,” Maria said.
“Basically, we think he thinks he raped you,” Izzy summed-up.
“Raped me?” she repeated, aghast.
The two women nodded in unison.
“It would be considered rape if a vamp forced his blood on you against your will. Some vampires wouldn’t give a damn about something like that, but apparently this one does, and he feels really strongly abut it too. If Eric hadn’t interfered when he did in Rhodes…” Izzy said.
She gulped. Andre would have raped her into a blood-bond, and she had no doubts that Andre would have done whatever it took to keep her bound. “So… because I feel that I wasn’t given a choice in the matter, Eric thinks he’s the one who raped me.”
“That’s the gist of what we’re getting from him,” Izzy confirmed.
“And because forcing a woman is something he considers abhorrent, he thinks what he’s done is unforgivable.”
“So he tried to rip out the bond to make up for it,” she concluded, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Looks like it.”
“Well, damn,” she breathed, going a little numb, but at least his extreme reaction made a little more sense.
“Yeah. My sentiments exactly,” Izzy agreed.
“What do I do?”
Izzy sighed. “You don’t have too many options. Your bond is fully seated. Normally things don’t… progress this far without both parties having some idea of what is going to happen and the consequences. In your case, it sounds like Eric knew the bond would mature if you fed from him again, but he felt that he had no choice because of this Andre vampire. In his mind, he was saving you. But what he should have done was taken you aside later and explained everything to you…”
“I… uhh… I didn’t give him the chance,” she said, blushing.
“Because you felt forced and cornered,” Maria prompted.
“Yeah.”
“What did you do?”
“I kinda… stormed off, but then I went down to get the queen’s unclaimed suitcase. I didn’t know I was delivering one of the bombs that had been planted. But that’s when I found the soda can bomb when I got out of the elevator.”
“We saw that. Eric felt your fear. He came to you, but so did the other man, the were-tiger,” Maria said.
“Yeah,” she confirmed, shivering from the memory.
“What happened after that?” Maria asked.
“Quinn grabbed me after the bomb squad took the can and Eric vanished.”
The two women shared another look she did not like.
“What?”
“He’d basically just tied himself permanently to you, at great risk to himself, and you responded by rejecting him and flaunting another man under his nose. He must have been greatly insulted and wildly jealous,” Maria explained. “And then the hotel blew up before either of you were able to come to any understanding.”
“This situation is really messed up. He should never have given you his blood again,” Izzy said.
“He said he wouldn’t have done it if he’d had a choice,” she admitted.
“It was a terrible situation for him to be in, especially since you were acting out your anger at his memory loss by refusing him and courting other men,” Maria added.
She huffed. It sounded like they were siding with Eric, but they didn’t know how he’d all but stopped talking to her after she’d spilled the beans, and how much that had hurt her.
“But he stopped talking to me after he made me tell him,” she argued. “He was the one who rejected me. He was the one who couldn’t handle what I’d told him.”
“Did you admit that you loved him?” Maria asked innocently.
She started to answer, but stopped herself. “I don’t know if I love him,” she said in a small voice.
“Your bond would not be so strong if you did not love each other. What is wrong is that neither of you trusts what you are feeling,” Maria corrected.
“So what do I do? Declare my undying love, tell him he didn’t force me, and everything will be all better?” she snapped back sarcastically.
“Of course not, but you both need to get some things out on the table,” Maria replied.
“Look. Here’s the deal. You’re fully bonded so you’re stuck with each other. Now unless you wanna shove a stake in his heart, and deal with the resulting backlash of the bond breaking, you’re gonna have to deal with the reality of being bonded. This can be a positive experience or a negative one. Really, the choice is yours,” Izzy said firmly in a voice that said she’d get no sympathy from the woman.
Maria nodded, agreeing with her friend.
“Now, you can try putting a few thousand miles between you, and see if you can live separate lives, but you would always have awareness of the other, and you’d always know when the other needed you,” Izzy continued.
“Or you could continue to hold him at arm’s length – emotionally – and flaunt other men in front of him. Which will probably make you both miserable to the point where you’d come to hate each other, and, trust me, that is a very bad thing.
“Or, you can say to each other: Okay. This is like an arranged marriage. Divorce is not an option so we have to make this work. Which, I think, is what Eric was hoping for when he brought you here. I am sure you’ve noticed that the magic here tends to make people face who they really are. That isn’t an accident. He was expressing some very solid goals in choosing this place, instead of taking you to one of the sex resorts down south.”
“Supe Sandals,” she whispered, only half surprised to find out that such places existed.
“Exactly. If all he’d wanted was four days of sex with you, he could have chosen any number of places better suited to that goal. He chose Isle Elena because he’s in this for the long haul, and he knew you were going to give him trouble about it. He must know you a hell of a lot better than you know him,” Izzy said.
“Which, of course, made your accusation of being forced into the bond that much worse,” Maria added sadly.
When they put it that way, it did seem really unfair to Eric who had obviously put a lot of time and effort into bringing her there and showing her that he was ready to commit. She couldn’t say the same for her. It was so strange how much the real Eric was like Amnesia Eric in all the ways that really mattered.
“Okay. I can see your point, but I still don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
“The first thing you need to do is make sure he understands that you don’t want him dead, and don’t think he raped you. Then the both of you need to have a very deep, serious heart-to-heart about what this bond means to the two of you. Finally, you should follow it up with a conscious reaffirmation of your bond where you willingly exchange blood with him. That will re-anchor the bond, and prove to him that you’re entering the bond willingly,” Maria advised.
“If you do reaffirm, you’d better mean it because he’ll know if you don’t,” Izzy warned.
She nodded. “I know. Thank you, both of you, for your advice,” she said, remembering her manners.
Maria smiled. “You’re welcome. We hope it all works out between you.”
“Thank you for the music. I’m sure one of the reasons both Eric and I are feeling better is because you played for us.”
The Gypsy shrugged. “I like helping others, and my Gift is meant to be shared.”
“How long have you known about… what you can do?” she asked, deliberately changing the subject.
Maria gave a little chuckle and looked fondly at her friend. “We were in England. I was only seventeen, and I was competing in Yehudi Menuhin International Violin competition. It just so happened that a demon, an Earth Weaver named T’eir, was there, too, and he recognized my talent. Apparently, my Gift is very rare, but he knew what I was. He brought Zolan to hear me play.”
“Zolan? Vincent’s father?”
Maria nodded. “Yes. He heard me play that night, and the Healing affected him very strongly. And the rest, they say, is history.”
“What made you chose to be with him? I mean, having a Fire Demon for a lover can’t be easy…” she asked. Not that she knew anything about Fire Demons.
Maria gave her a sad smile. “Do we ever chose who we love? Sometimes I think it happens to us against all of our better judgment.”
She let her eyes slide over to the closed and bolted door. “I know what you mean.”
Maria laughed. “Yes. I believe that you do, but he is a good man. He will stand by you.”
“Yeah. I know,” she agreed. “He already has. And he’s put up with me, even though I tend to be a lot of trouble.”
“Most demons think humans are trouble. You shouldn’t take it personally.”
“Oh, I don’t. Half the time I think it’s funny. Yanking Eric’s chain can be entertaining.”
“I’m sure,” Maria said, smiling.
“Mom! Mom!” Vincent yelled, bursting into the cabin in a flurry of white and cold. “You gotta come see what Keno, Rori and me built!”
“What did you build?” Maria asked fondly, smiling at her son.
The boy ran forward and grabbed his mother’s wrist. “C’mon. Come see! It’s awesome.”
“Alright, let me get my coat on and I’ll be right out.”
“What time is it?” she asked suddenly. It had to be getting close to sunset by now.
Maria looked at her watch. “It’s 4:34.”
Sixty minutes until sundown – give or take a few minutes.
“Come on out with us,” Izzy offered, reaching for her coat.
“Oh no no no. It’s cold and icky out there,” she refused.
“It’s stopped snowing! And it’s really awesome,” Vincent countered.
“Just for a few minutes,” Maria urged. “It will be good for you to get some fresh air.”
She frowned, but accepted her parka when Izzy handed it to her.
“Alright, but just for a minute. Besides, I’ve never seen so much snow. The folks back home won’t believe I survived it if I don’t take pictures.” Her new red cell phone that Eric had given her had a camera in it.
Vincent laughed. “I can stand in a snow bank and you can take a picture of me buried up to my neck!”
She rolled her eyes. “How could I miss that?”
She stood up and put on the parka, shoving her hat and gloves on as well. Her new boots were by the front door, so she slipped them on as she stepped out the door. It was frigid, but not as cold as it had been before, and there was no wind.
“Oh,” she gasped in surprise.
“It’s always warmer right after a big snow. The snow serves as an insulator,” Izzy explained.
It was almost dark. Sunset must come earlier this far north. There were globe lights on posts at the edge of the clearing in front of the cabin, and they lit up the whole wondrous scene.
Everything was snow. It clung to the pines, to the cabins, to the wide expanse of ground. It sparkled in the light like thousands of tiny bits of glass had been sprinkled on it. And everything was silent, hushed and still. She was almost afraid to breathe, lest she disturb the quiet. It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. She took out her cell phone and started snapping pictures.
Right in the middle of the clearing was a huge snow castle that Vincent and his friends had built. The two foxes were still working on it, adding little touches to the turrets. It was almost as high as she was tall.
“Wow,” she breathed, and took pictures.
“Vincent, that’s amazing,” Maria agreed.
“It’s a snow fort!” the boy exclaimed.
“I can see that. Great job, Sparky,” Izzy praised.
The two women stepped off the porch and slogged through the snow to examine the fort more carefully. She stayed where she was and huddled down into her parka, glad for Eric’s warm sweater. She took a few more pictures of the women and the boy walking in the snow. The snow came up way past Vincent’s knees. The folks in Bon Temps were never going to believe it.
“Walking in a winter wonderland,” she commented to no one.
The wind blew the scent of ice and winter into her nose, and she breathed deep, letting the clean air clear her lungs. It was a smell like no other in the world. Kind of like no other place in the world smelled like Louisiana. This place had its own scent, and it made her crave hot chocolate, and thick hearty soup, and spiced apples.
She breathed out and watched the fog of her breath dissipate into the cold air. Then she saw Vincent lob a snowball at one of the foxes, and the foxes retaliated with a few of their own. Soon it was an all-out war with even Maria and Izzy joining in, but she stayed on the porch and prayed she would be safe.
“Snow!” came a booming voice from beside her, and she turned just in time to see Eric throw himself off the porch into the deep white with the enthusiasm of a kid cannonballing into a pool.
The snow around him came up like a tidal wave, and he thrust himself through it, whooping.
“Snowball fight!!” she heard him bellow and got a first hand look at what a 1000-yr old Viking did when faced with two feet of fresh snow.
The poor foxes didn’t know what hit them, but then everyone ganged up on Eric, who didn’t seem to mind the steep odds. She watched, feeling his simple joy through the bond, and took pictures, knowing half of them would be nothing but blurry white streaks. Then she laughed when one of the foxes got Eric in the head with a well-aimed snowball. Eric froze and whipped his head around to face her, his eyes glowing. She could feel his sudden turmoil and pain in the bond, and she gulped, trying to settle him by settling herself.
She saw him take a step towards the porch, and she readied herself for his arrival. He appeared in front of her in a heartbeat, but Izzy Jumped ahead of him, so it was her he nearly bowled over. He reared back, snarling, his fangs out at the intrusion, but Izzy didn’t move.
“Step aside, woman,” he growled.
Izzy didn’t answer, or if she did, it wasn’t verbally. She just raised her hand in a halt motion and stood her ground until Maria could reach them. The Gypsy woman came running up the porch steps to stand next to her friend, and they both faced Eric calmly.
“What is the meaning of this?” Eric demanded, then his face took on a odd look as he touched his chest. “What have you done?”
“Sookie, please go inside. I want to speak to Mr. Northman before the two of you have your talk,” Maria said in a firm voice.
She didn’t have to be told twice, and she zipped into the cabin, closing the door behind her. Then she rushed over to the front window and pulled the curtain back just enough for her to be able to see Eric and the two women on the porch. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Eric’s expression went from confused and angry, to hurt and surprised, and then awestruck. Maria reached up to put her hand on Eric’s cheek, which, considering the Gypsy woman was even shorter than she was, was quite a stretch, and she saw Eric bend down to touch his forehead to the woman’s shoulder.
They stayed that way for perhaps twenty seconds or so, then Eric lifted his head to look Maria in the eye. He said something to her, and she nodded. She placed her hand on his elbow briefly, said one final thing to him, and stepped aside. Sookie saw her turn to glance at her through the window and give her a small, reassuring smile. She let the curtain fall back and turned to face the front door just as Eric opened it and stepped in.
At first they just stared at each other, each waiting for the other to say something, until she finally couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
“Hi,” she mumbled.
“Hi,” he said back, his voice about as steady as hers.
He was still dressed in the same clothes he’d been wearing last night, which meant that he hadn’t bothered to undress when he went to bed for the day. His hair was a mess, but she couldn’t tell if that was because he’d gone to bed that way or because he’d just been in a snowball fight. Even rumpled, ragged and shell-shocked, he was still gorgeous.
‘Don’t forget karaoke tonight at Nike’s!’ came Izzy’s laughing mindvoice.
She didn’t bother to grace that with an answer.
“It snowed today,” she said stupidly.
“I noticed.” His eyes fell to the open collar of her parka. “You’re wearing my sweater.”
She reached up and felt the soft wool close to her neck. The touch choked her up, and the tears started welling in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted, taking a step towards him. “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean any of it.”
She reached for him, but he intercepted her hands before she could touch him, and she didn’t fight when he held her wrists.
“Is it true, what she said? Is it true that you don’t believe I forced you?” he asked, his face desperate.
“Neither of us had a choice,” she answered. “We both know Andre would never have accepted no for an answer.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” he countered, his voice anguished. “I warned you that you would come to hate me for it. I should have listened to my own cautions.”
“You were right. You were the lesser of two evils. I accepted that when you did it.”
“I thought… I thought that when you came to save Pam and me first of all when the hotel exploded that you’d forgiven me, that you understood why I did what I did.”
“I did. I do,” she insisted.
“I thought I could live with it, if you hated me,” he stated. “Lots of people hate me. I didn’t think it would be so hard for me to handle if you came to hate me too. I knew it would be worse if Andre bound you. I knew he would make it permanent as soon as possible. I couldn’t let that happen, so I offered myself instead. I knew it would make our bond permanent, but I’d convinced myself that I could handle whatever happened. But… but that was before I remembered what we were to each other. I didn’t know…”
“How much you’d loved me,” she finished.
“How much we’d loved each other,” he corrected.
She swallowed hard and didn’t object. He was closer to the truth than he was to a lie anyway.
“Rhodes changed everything,” she said.
“I am so, so sorry.”
Blood tears began to roll down his cheeks, making her cry too because his tears weren’t something anyone should see. This proud, ancient man should never have been wounded enough to make him cry.
“I am too. Please believe me,” she told him, stepping closer.
“I wouldn’t have done it if I thought I’d had any choice.”
“I know.”
She pushed against his hold on her wrists, and he loosened them enough for her pull her arms free. She used them to wrap around his neck, hugging him. The physical contact helped settle the turmoil in the bond, and he answered by folding his arms around her and pressing her close.
“Do you forgive me?” he asked.
“I forgave you right after you did it,” she assured him, letting him feel her honesty through the bond.
He shuddered under her hands, then pulled his head back enough to look down at her. She stood up on her tiptoes to lick the blood tears from his face, and he responded with a harsh sob as his lips found hers in a desperate kiss.
They didn’t make it to karaoke.
Chapter Twelve
“Damn,” she sighed.
“Hmm?” Eric questioned.
They were in bed, wrapped in blankets and each other. She had her head on her Viking’s shoulder, and he was absently playing with her hair. The sex had been… restorative, especially emotionally, but she could tell that the bond was still damaged even after making love. That meant Maria was probably right. To mend the bond, she and Eric were going to have to swap blood, or she was going to have to drink his at the very least. She wondered if he knew that.
Despite the make-up sex – which was sweet and tender and endearing when Eric was so careful with her and so uncertain (she’d practically had to mount him before he was finally convinced that she was ready and willing. Right nownownow!) – she still wasn’t ready to face all of ugliness that had come between them, so she was opting for a bit of levity before she and Eric delved into the badness.
“We missed karaoke at Nike’s,” she complained.
There was a pause, then Eric chuckled. “A tragedy.”
“Izzy was saying I hadn’t seen anything until I’d seen a Slytheran demon try to sing You Light Up My Life.”
That got a good belly laugh out of him, and his chest rumbled under her cheek.
“Apparently, that’s something to see,” she added.
“Yes. They have this tongue…”
“Stop! I don’t need the visual, thank you.”
He snickered and grinned at her, but obeyed. She propped her chin up on his pects, her hands under her jaw.
“Y’know. You should have a karaoke night at Fangtasia. Maybe once a month or so,” she suggested.
Eric raised an eyebrow, then his mouth turned up into an evil smile. “And I could further humiliate my subjects by forcing them to not only do their monthly time at the bar, but to also attend this karaoke night, and tell them they must sing at least one song.”
“You do have a death wish,” she replied, chuckling.
“Why would they kill me? I fully intend to tell them it was a brilliant idea from our new Events Coordinator.”
She reached for a pillow. His evil smile widened and his eyes glinted dangerously.
“Careful… there’s two feet of snow out there, and I do believe there was a certain telepathic barmaid who did not join in the snowball fun earlier.”
Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.” He rolled to his side, dumping her head off his chest, and leered down at her. “In fact… I may just do it anyway. When else am I going to get a chance to dump you, naked, into a snow bank?”
She started sliding away from him, never taking her eyes off his riveting gaze. He was getting more excited by the moment, his fangs descending and his eyes starting to glow.
“Oh no no no… Eric…”
His face turned predatory. She was out of the bed in a heartbeat. He was faster. The curtain over the sliding door was ripped aside and the door slid open. She screamed. He grabbed her around the waist and out they flew, right into the snow piled on the balcony. She screamed again. He roared with laughter. She beat at him with her fists and got away long enough to scramble back inside. Eric followed her, naked and glistening with snow, his hair sparkling with ice crystals. He was carrying two large snowballs.
“Do you know what’s great about being a vampire in winter?” he asked gleefully. “Snowballs don’t melt in my hands!”
“Eric!” she shrieked, but he got her with both of them: one on her side and the other on her butt as she was trying to get away. She noticed that he was carefully avoiding her face and head.
A second later, she was in his arms again and being lifted off the floor. She kicked and fought, but he just laughed.
“Get off me! You’re freezing!” she cried.
“Then warm me up, lover,” he replied, bending down to steal a frigid kiss.
“I’m freezing too!”
He seemed to consider that fact as she shivered in his arms, then he gave a short nod and dragged them into the bathroom. She was never so happy for indoor plumbing and hot water in that moment as Eric turned on the shower and shoved them both in. The hot spray washed over them as Eric kissed her over and over, his hands everywhere at once. Her chill was soon replaced by shivering of another nature as he stroked and caressed her body, warming her up from the inside. They both started moaning and rubbing against each other.
‘You two okay? We heard screaming,’ came a concerned mindvoice.
‘We’re fine! We’re fine!’ she sent back, mentally shoving Izzy away.
She heard Izzy’s mental laughter. ‘Okay, okay. But when someone screams loud enough to be heard two cabins down in this place, we get concerned. I’ll tell security it’s a false alarm, just you and the vampire having rough sex.’
‘Go away!’
More mental laughter and the connection blipped out. She was too busy shoving her tongue down Eric’s throat to care if guards showed up to make sure they were okay. Let them deal with a pissed off Eric. Right now she had a Viking to pillage.
He lifted her up, pressing her against the wall of the shower stall, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her head high enough so that the water wasn’t running into her nose and mouth, and plunged into her. She screamed, but not in pain, and her noise only seemed to excite him further because he was doing some pillaging of his own. She never thought she’d ever see a shower as a good place to have sex, but Eric was going a long way towards convincing her that it was the best place to have sex with him. Well, maybe he was just convincing her that anyplace was a good place to have sex with him.
She was moaning, he was grunting, his hands were cupped under her butt, her hands were digging into his shoulders. They were both sending the other clear out of their minds. The golden wave was building, she could see bright sparks of light in her eyes. Eric was thrusting harder and harder, and she could feel his own orgasm rising. She came first, clenching around him as he met his release, shouting her name as he shuddered inside her.
She sagged against him, dropping her head to his shoulder, but that put her face under the spray. He moved them immediately and let her legs slide down to the shower stall floor.
“Warm enough?” he asked raggedly.
“Yeah,” she gasped, spitting out water.
Her legs were too weak to support her, so he held her up with one hand while he turned off the shower with the other. Then he scooped her up and stepped out of the stall, depositing her temporarily on the edge of the vanity so he could get a towel from the rack. A moment later, she was being wrapped up in soft, fluffy cotton goodness as he rubbed her dry.
He began following the path of the towel with his mouth, letting his lips caress her nipples, his tongue flicking out to tease them to a hard nub. She shivered and gasped.
“Eric…”
He let the towel and his mouth dip lower until he was kneeling between her legs, and she was trembling with anticipation.
“I’m hungry, my lover,” she heard him say.
She spread her legs and gripped the edge of the vanity with both hands. “Do it.”
“You are so incredibly magnificent,” he groaned just before he bit her in the femoral artery.
She cried out and jerked, holding on to the vanity for dear life as he drank from her, and then he was in her again, thrusting hard, his mouth bloody and his fangs extended. He seized her lips in a desperate kiss, growling, until he broke the kiss, his face anguished.
“I can’t get enough of you. Why can’t I get enough of you?” he moaned as he rode her. “I’ve had you over and over, and all I want is more. Why? Why can’t I have my fill of you? Why do I crave you?”
His eyes were fierce, wild and terrified, and she didn’t know what to do except hold on.
“I knew the moment I met you that you would be my death; knew it just as surely as if you had come dressed in a cowl and scythe. I knew the worst thing in the world would be for me to… love… you!”
His voice rose into a cry, and he shouted something in a foreign language, but she recognized the name of Hlin, and then it didn’t matter because they were both climaxing. She rolled her eyes back, crying out as she let go of the vanity and grabbed his shoulders. He clutched her close, burying his face into her neck as he shook violently. He dragged her with him as his legs gave out, and they landed in a tangled heap on the floor.
“Eric…” she whispered, straddling him, looking down at his tortured face and trying to soothe him by stroking his hair. His eyes were rimmed with red.
“But I do. I do love you. Even if it means my death, I do love you. No matter what happens with the new king, or his plans for me or you; no matter what happens with our bond, I know that to be true,” he confessed. “I love you.”
The admission seemed to relax him, as if the weight of it had been crushing him, but that now that the truth was out, it no longer haunted him. He even smiled at her, an odd wonderment on his face.
Of course now would be the perfect time for her to respond in kind, but the words caught in her throat. She groaned and started to cry again, but he just reached up to cup her cheek tenderly.
“You can’t say it. I know. That just means when you do say it, you’ll really mean it.”
He seemed convinced that she would. She only wished she was so confident. Loving Eric was about as a scary a prospect as there was, and they both knew it. Maybe Eric was strong enough to love for both of them. She looked down at him, lying quiet beneath her, and wondered how she’d gotten so damaged as to not be able to love this man. She’d loved Bill, and she’d wanted to love Quinn. She’d definitely been overly fond of Alcide. But when it came to Eric…
Yet Eric was the one who had been there for her. Bill had left her numerous times, but Eric had always pulled through. When things had gone to Hell, it had been Eric who had been there for her, in big ways, in small ways, in ways she was only beginning to understand. Hell, who else would have gone to an orgy with her on such short notice? And she doubted Bill would have been as… competent in his role as escort as Eric had been. Even though he’d been pretending to flirt with Eggs and Jan, his immediate intercession when Eggs had started to push it had told her that Eric had been keeping a close eye out. He’d made sure she’d stayed safe.
Every time she’d reached out, it had been his hand that had reached back. Dallas, Club Dead, Jackson, the Witch War… How many bullets had he taken for her? She didn’t want to think about it.
“Shall we move this party to a more comfortable venue?” he asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. “This tile is cold. I’m going to install radiant heat in the floor when I remodel your bathroom. No more cold feet in the morning.”
That sounded delightful. “I’d like that.”
He sat up and she slid her legs off of him to kneel on the floor. She waited as he stood and took his offered hand when he reached down to pull her to her feet. Together they went back to the bedroom where she crawled onto the bed, but he went to stand at the balcony doors, the curtains still open but the sliding doors closed. He didn’t seem to mind that anyone walking along the path from the lodge could see him backlit in all his naked glory, but then Eric was not a modest person. She heard him make a sound of happy satisfaction.
“I love this place,” he said.
Somehow, she wasn’t surprised. She shivered just looking at him standing there, nude, so close to the cold glass.
“I loved it the moment I set foot on its shore. It was like coming home,” he continued.
“You just miss the snow and cold coz we don’t get much in Louisiana,” she teased.
“That’s true.”
Her stomach took that moment to growl and Eric turned to face her.
“You are hungry, my lover. Here I have had my meal and not seen to it that you had yours. I am a terrible mate,” he said, but he didn’t seem to be too overly distressed. “What time is it? The lodge kitchens are open late… Why is the bedside clock blinking 10:23 am?”
She glanced over to see the flashing numbers. “Oh. There was a power outage earlier. It came back on about 3 o’clock this afternoon. I reset the clock downstairs, but I forgot all about this one.”
He gave her a sexy smirk. “I can’t imagine why. But seriously, my lover, we should get dressed and go to the lodge to get you some food.”
“There’s food here. Izzy went to the lodge and brought back a food basket during the blackout,” she answered.
“Izzy was here?”
“They all were: Izzy, Maria and Vincent. They came over from Cabin 18 to see if power was out here and stayed when they saw the state we were in. Didn’t Maria tell you that?”
He shook his head. “It didn’t come up in our conversation. So they were here most of the afternoon?”
“From about one, yeah.”
He blinked, processing, and furrowed his brows. “You stayed here instead of going to the lodge were there was electricity?”
“Electricity is over-rated. I was fine here. Besides, I was in no shape to be out in public. Maria and Izzy knew that so when the big guard came to get us, they stood up for me,” she stated, waving a hand dismissively. She didn’t want to remind him that their “state” was his fault.
“Big guard?”
“Yeah. He was over seven feet tall, huge guy. Had grayish skin and slimy black hair. Izzy called him something…”
“A Corsian demon?”
“Yeah, that’s it. She called him Lurch too, but he didn’t seem to get the joke.”
Eric chuckled. “He wouldn’t. Corsian demons are much more brawn than brains.”
“Kinda like Bubba?”
“Believe it or not, compared to a Corsian demon, Bubba is a genius. Although I’m not surprised Elena has one on staff. It’s rumored that the Spartans interbred their women with Corsian demons to breed in size and strength.”
“Well, he certainly had both.”
Her stomach growled again and Eric offered her her robe, but then he pulled it back slightly. “Or shall I go make something and bring it to you so I can feed you in bed?” he offered with a glint in his eyes. “Oh, I would love to see you eat more of those chocolate covered berries. That was simply alluring. I should call the concierge on the intercom and order a lover’s meal to be delivered.”
The very thought of having him feed her the chocolate dipped fruit made her insides clench and her heart rate go up. She imagined him placing a strawberry on her tongue, imagined licking the chocolate off his fingers…
“Stay here, my lover,” he whispered huskily, and then he was gone, vanished from the loft.
He came back about twenty minutes later, right about the time when she was starting to get worried and thinking about going to look for him. Although she hadn’t heard anyone leave or come to the cabin, somehow he had gotten his hands on a meal tray with several covered dishes and a carafe of wine on it. She recognized one item as the little steamer thing that held his preferred blood pods. Apparently, he’d ordered dinner, and it had been delivered toute de suite. At least he’d been decent enough to throw on a robe, otherwise whoever brought the meal over would have gotten an eyeful.
He leered at her as he slid the tray onto the bed and crawled in after it, then he piled up some pillows to make a backrest for her, and ushered her to get comfortable. She complied, although she was keenly aware that she was still naked, as he shucked off the robe and joined her, his body stretched alongside hers, the tray between them. She watched as he lifted the lid off one of the dishes to reveal an assortment of h'ordeurves and finger foods. She had no idea what half of them were, but they smelled good. She reached for a stuffed mushroom, but he batted her hand away reproachfully.
“I feed you,” he scolded as if he was offended that she had tried to rob him of something he was supposed to be doing. His finger glided over the assortment until it pointed to the mushroom. “This one?”
She nodded. He picked up the morsel between his index finger and thumb, and offered it to her. She leaned forward and accepted the food, making sure to lick the tips of his fingers as they left her mouth. Eric gave her a pleased smile.
“I may like this,” he crooned.
She chewed quickly and swallowed. The stuffed mushroom had been delicious, in keeping with the dining room’s track record for excellence. She watched hungrily as Eric selected a puff pastry of some sort and gave it to her. It tasted like salmon and cream cheese. God, it was good.
“Mmm,” she sighed.
Eric’s answer was a low groan of his own. He reached across the tray and poured her half a glass of dark red wine, then offered her a sip. She placed both hands on either side of the glass and tipped it up to her lips. She wasn’t really a wine drinker, but this one was very good. She had no sooner lowered the glass when Eric zipped forward to lick the last drops from her lips as he kissed her.
“Ah,” he purred, letting his nose slide down along the curve of her neck. “The wine is sweet, but your blood is sweeter.”
“How come you can do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Lick my lips after I’ve eaten. Bill always made me scrub my teeth with toothpaste and rinse four times before he’d kiss me, and I practically couldn’t even have garlic in the house.”
That little detail about her former lover seemed to amuse him. “Really?”
“Really.”
Her Viking shrugged. “Human food has never really bothered me, and I certainly wasn’t a picky eater when I was mortal. I don’t mind if you eat. Garlic can be… irritating, but I don’t find it intolerable. But Bill was a Southern Gentleman, was he not? Maybe his constitution was more… delicate.”
She snorted, feeling an irrational need to defend her former beau. “Bill fought in the Civil War. There was nothing delicate about his constitution.”
Her snarky defense only made Eric laugh. “My lover, if you only knew how many wars I’ve seen.”
“I can imagine,” she replied.
His face fell into pensive sadness and he shook his head. “No, you can’t, and I pray you never have to.”
“I was there for the Witch War,” she pointed out.
“I was with you for that,” he countered.
“And the night the queen was attacked.”
“I was there for that, too. I remember protecting you very clearly.”
“You weren’t there for the St. Catherine Were War,” she reminded.
“Yes. Another example of your lack of self-preservation when it comes to Weres,” he complained. “I told you to call me, and you didn’t. I was desperate to find you that night because I knew you were in danger. That was the second time I was searching for you. The first was when those idiot Pelts kidnapped you and the tiger.”
She frowned. “Maria showed me how much I hurt you by flaunting Quinn under your nose. I’m sorry about that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I admit I wanted to kill him, but that would hardly have had you running into my arms, now would it. I knew some of his history. I knew there was a good chance that he’d betray you, so I was biding my time.”
“Did you know about the bit with his mother and the Nevada vamps?”
He gave her a tender look and shook his head. “No. I would have told you if I did. I would not have allowed him to do to you what Bill did. Besides, if I had known ahead of time that Quinn was feeding Victor and Felipe information about the queen and the state of our kingdom, I would have been able to amass a preemptive strike and cut off the snake’s head before it could bite us.”
The last was said in a harsh tone, Eric’s lip coming up in a sneer. He didn’t like Victor or the new king, and owing fealty to de Castro chafed him.
“I have something to tell you…” she began, fingering the covers nervously. She waited until she had his attention. “Quinn killed Andre.”
She gave Eric a nervous look, then went on, “It was right after the bombs started going off. I found Quinn and Frannie, and Andre was nearby. He was hurt bad, but I knew he’d live. Quinn told me to get out of there. I knew what he was going to do, but I let him do it. Andre had plans for me that would have taken my will away. Quinn knew that, so he staked Andre.”
“I know.”
She blinked. “You knew?”
He nodded. “I suspected. You felt guilty every time Andre was mentioned; guilty, but relieved. That told me you knew more about his death than you were letting on. I knew you wouldn’t stake a helpless vampire, and you wouldn’t have been able to stake Andre unless he’d been incapacitated, so I surmised that someone else must have done the deed. The were-tiger seemed the obvious choice.”
Well, huh. Here she’d been holding in the big secret, and he’d figured it out all on his own. “Oh.”
“It doesn’t matter now because the queen is dead, but it would have been fatal for Quinn, you and myself, if she had lived to discover the truth.”
“She would have killed you too?” she asked, surprised.
Eric’s face grew hard and cold. “I would have died protecting you.”
“Eric… what are we going to do about all this?”
“About all what?”
“Us? This blood-bond?”
“It’s simple. We are tied. Permanently. Only death can separate us now.”
“I don’t want to be a vampire,” she stated
He winced and looked away. “Yes, I got that loud and clear. I won’t mention it again, but know that it will always be an option for you.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Why?” he repeated, seemingly surprised by her question.
“You’ve told me yourself vamps look down on vamp-vamp relationships. You said vamps don’t like someone else having that much power over them. So even if I did let you make me a vampire, I still wouldn’t be with you,” she stated in as conversational a tone as she could manage. The subject was still a very sore one for her, but she was doing her best to stay calm and keep a level head.
“I said it was unusual, but not unheard of,” he answered. “Bill and his maker were one pairing; Sophie-Anne and her children were others. The arranged marriages of the nobility are more examples, and, of course, you saw me marry Russell Eddington and Bartlett Crowe. So I wasn’t being entirely truthful when I told you those things, although the bit about vampires not liking other vampires to have that much power over them is true. But in our case, because our bond is so strong, you already have more power over me than anyone, even the new king, so your becoming a vampire wouldn’t change that.”
“What about vampires not being able to stay with the one who… makes them for very long? Even if I did let you make me a vampire, I still wouldn’t be with you,” she pointed out.
“I’ve always had a good relationship with the vampires I’ve made. It’s a wild speculation, but I do believe there is a good chance that we’d still be lovers after you made the change,” he said, trying to sound off-hand but failing.
“You seem to have given that a lot of thought,” she commented.
“I admit to being unusually occupied with thinking about your mortality.”
“My death would hurt you.”
“Your death will hurt me. Regardless of what happens with us, unless you join me, I will have to face your inevitable death. That is not something I am looking forward to.” He shrugged. “But… we are linked so there is no use in dwelling on something I can’t change.”
She once again admired his pragmatism, and she was going to say something to that effect, when he selected another h'ordeurve and offered it to her. She stared at the little morsel that looked to be a marriage of a meatball and a quiche.
“What is it?”
“You’re asking me? I haven’t eaten in a thousand years.”
“Point,” she conceded and let him pop the thing in her mouth. Whatever it was, it was good.
He picked up a little crabcake and gave it to her. She ate that one with relish.
“You should have your dinner too,” she said, nodding towards the steamer.
“I just ordered a little snack. It’ll keep. It’s your food that’s getting cold. Besides, I want to get to dessert.”
She smirked and snagged a tiny sausage from his fingertips. “You always want dessert.”
He answered her with a leer. “What can I say? I have a taste for sweet things. I certainly love eating you.”
He followed his comment with a finger fondling her between her legs. She gasped and shivered. He chuckled and offered her another stuffed mushroom, then he got creative and started placing the morsels on strategic parts of his body for her to eat off. Things got very frisky after that, especially when they got to the messier parts of the meal.
They paused to let him drink his snack before going any further. She took the opportunity to drink the glass of wine and polish off the h'ordeurves, leaving only the two small samples of dessert – chocolate covered berries and the sponge cake with raspberry sauce – remaining. She was feeling positively wicked so she put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. He looked confused for a moment, but went willingly, accepting a kiss when she bent over him.
“Don’t move,” she ordered, shocked by her own brazenness.
“As you command, my lover,” he replied, giving her a smoldering look as he obediently settled onto his back.
That did things to her libido and she licked her lips. Then she began to make his body into her table. She put berries in patterns on his chest and abdomen, then drizzled the chocolate and raspberry sauces all along his white skin, dripping some into his navel, and moving lower. She couldn’t believe she was doing it, but it was fun and incredibly arousing, and Eric certainly didn’t seem to mind being turned into a buffet. He moaned and his hard erection strained when she put chocolate sauce on that too.
When she was done “setting” him, she popped the bite of sponge cake into her mouth, took a swig of wine, and began cleaning him off one berry at a time. She used her teeth and her tongue to scrape, nibble and lick every bit of dessert from his pale skin. Halfway through Eric began trembling and emitting tiny little whimpers, but he did his best to be an obedient lover and stay still like she wanted. When she started dipping her tongue into his navel, he gave a harsh cry and started talking quickly in a low whisper, speaking in that language he reverted to when his emotions ran high.
“What language are you speaking?” she asked casually, as she licked a drop of chocolate sauce from the line of hair that ran from his navel to his groin.
“Old Norse,” he answered raggedly.
“And what are you saying?”
“I am reciting the old sagas in order to keep myself from throwing you to mattress and ravishing you.”
She laughed and licked the sensitive spot at the junction of his hip and thigh. His flesh quivered under her tongue.
“I do love your honesty.”
“Would you like me to honestly tell you what I want to do to you right now?”
She positioned her mouth over his groin. “Oh, please do,” she said, then slid her lips over his length. He howled, and it was a very gratifying sound, but not nearly as gratifying as the words that spilled from his mouth, graphic and profane and yet tender as she sucked him off. She brought him almost to the edge, then released him and straddled his pelvis, positioning him at her opening.
“You can move now,” she told him.
He sobbed with relief, grabbed her hips and thrust home. It didn’t take long because they were both pretty far gone, but she loved the feeling of power, of knowing she had driven this gorgeous creature out of his wits. Her cries joined his as they rose together, screaming as they climaxed at the same time, his hips pumping desperately as his hands moved her up and down.
In the aftermath, he lifted up into a semi-sitting position and suckled her breast, drawing a tiny amount of blood as he used his hand to get her off again. She was a limp doll sitting astride him as she trembled with the aftershocks.
“How could Bill ever dislike sharing a meal with you?” he finally said, his voice unsteady. “You may use me as your platter anytime.”
She snorted and let herself slide off him. He caught her and tucked her against his side. The post-coital snuggling had begun.
“Considering I’ve never done that before, he never had the chance to say no,” she commented.
“What a pity… for him, but a wondrous blessing for me. I loved that. I love having sex with you.”
“I… love having sex with you too. You’re… you’re really the best I’ve ever had. Not that that’s saying much since I’ve only ever been with three guys and you’re one of them…” she admitted, curling against him.
“You gave Bill your virginity. That he took it at all, under the false pretenses he was hiding behind, is enough to make me want him dead. I wish I had been your first. But then, if that had been so, it would have been me under obligation from the queen to seduce you,” he said angrily. “But if it had been me, I would have… given you a proper initiation.”
“Bill did alright.”
She felt his incredulousness through the bond, and she could almost imagine him raising his eyebrow.
“Oh? Did he lick you and stretch you with his fingers? Did he make you come on his tongue, then push in while you were still trembling and relaxed from the climax?”
She gulped, reacting to his words even though she was bone tired and not sure she could take him again even if she tried. “No.”
“Did he fondle you at all to get you ready?”
“Not really.”
“Hmph. What did he do then?”
“Well… I kinda didn’t tell him I was a virgin. He sorta figured it out when he tried to… y’know…”
Eric was quiet and still for a moment, then he asked in a careful voice, “And what did he do when he found you still had your maidenhead?”
She shivered at the way he said “maidenhead.” “He… umm… pushed through it.”
“Is that all? He didn’t pull out, prepare you to take him?”
“He said it would hurt…”
“But he didn’t stop.”
“I begged him not to.”
“He should have anyway. He was the more experienced lover. Did it hurt?”
“Yeah.”
He huffed and she felt his irritation. “If it had been me deflowering you, there would not have been any pain.”
“Oh I doubt that. You’re so…” She nearly choked, realizing what she was about to say but unable to stop herself. “… much… bigger.”
She ventured a glance at him, and he was beaming with male pride, a huge grin on his face. “Really? I am so glad to hear you say that.”
She blushed furiously and ducked her head down again. “Oh God.”
“Am I bigger than the tiger?”
“Erk. Ummm… about the same.”
He roared with laughter. “Sookie, Sookie. I love you, Sookie. I love every bit of you, even your silly blushes. You should be proud that I am a well-endowed man. I can please you so much better than a less adequate man.”
“Size isn’t supposed to matter,” she complained.
“They only say that to make smaller men feel better. Combine experienced technique with a gracious plenty, and you have a perfect combination for satisfying a woman. I do satisfy you, don’t I, my lover?”
Did he satisfy? She didn’t know if she’d be able to walk when he was done with her, but she’d be the happiest invalid in Louisiana. “Um… yes.”
He laughed again and kissed the top of her head. “I do love you, my lover.”
“You’re getting more comfortable saying that,” she commented.
He shrugged. “I’ve accepted it. I love you. That’s that. Moving on.”
Mr. Pragmatist to the end. She wished it was so easy for her, and she said so.
“But you do love me. I know you do. You know you do. It’s just a matter of admitting it,” he said confidently. “I did have a plan in bringing you here. I planned to fuck you into a quivering mass of post-coital bliss, wherein all of your walls and objections would come down, and you’d admit you loved me. But so far, you’re proving to be very stubborn in that regard.”
He didn’t sound at all disappointed.
“Oh I dunno. I can honestly say that I have been a quivering mass of post-coital bliss several times so far on this trip,” she teased, tracing the line of his shoulder with her finger.
“And yet, no declaration of love,” he sighed with mock distress. “I shall have to try again.”
She snickered, and she felt the arm around her tighten.
“The beauty of my plan is that I can put it into action over and over again with no negative results. I am truly brilliant,” he said smugly.
“If you were breathing, I’d smother you right now just to get that smirk off your face,” she warned, but she made no other move. She was still, she hated to admit, a quivering mass of post-coital bliss.
He laughed and kissed her head again. “I shall have to keep trying until I get the results I want.”
“You seem pretty sure that I’ll give in.”
The lighthearted banter was fun, but also comforting. Eric’s confidence made her feel better because he always seemed to know what she needed to hear most.
“Oh you will. It’s just a matter of time,” he assured her, stroking her hair lovingly. “I’ve known how you felt for a while, even before I regained my memories of the nights I spent with you. I knew you were angry at your feelings because you were clinging to some silly mortal notion that you didn’t choose me, and therefore it wasn’t right to love me.”
“Hey, free will is not a silly mortal notion,” she argued.
He lifted her chin and made her look at him. “Of course not, but you fail to realize that you chose me years ago. I knew the moment you turned to me to escort you to that orgy, when you placed your safety and trust in me, that you would be mine. I knew all I had to do was be patient. If Bubba hadn’t intruded in on us at Russell’s compound, you would have been mine then.”
“You make it sound like you believed if I had sex with you, I’d have dated you,” she commented drolly.
“Wouldn’t you have?”
He seemed perplexed by the notion that she wouldn’t want a repeat performance. At first she wanted to smack him for his sexual hubris, but then thought the better of it. If he could have made her body sing when she’d had a big hole in her side the way he could when she was healthy, there was no way she would have kicked him out of bed for eating crackers. So in that respect, his ego was well founded. Bill had warned her way back on that first night in Fangtasia, the night she had seen Eric for the first time, that sex with the Viking was unforgettable. She could attest that that was definitely true.
Her silence set his mind to wheeling. She couldn’t read his thoughts, although she had in the past. She was starting to notice a pattern with that. When the amount of active vampire blood in her body reached a certain level, she could read vampire thoughts – sometimes, and only if the vamp was projecting very strongly. As the effects of the blood faded, so did her ability to pick up their thoughts. She’d never told anyone that little secret, but she wondered if she’d be able to keep it from Eric on a long-term basis.
But he was definitely thinking about something very hard right now because she could almost catch them. Or maybe it was just her interpreting the feelings in the bond that was giving her insights to his thoughts. Whatever it was, he wasn’t happy.
“You thought you would be a conquest…” he said carefully. “That I would fuck you, maybe keep you around for a short time until I got bored with you, then drop you by the wayside.”
She stayed very quiet and still, and her silence was his answer. He gave a sad sigh and drew her even closer, bending his head down to kiss her temple.
“I’m sorry. I am sorry for anything I may have done that made you think I would not be faithful. And I am sorry that your experiences with your brother and first lover have given you no reason to believe that men will honor you and stay true to you, and I am especially sorry that you think so little of yourself that you would believe any man truly worthy of you would use you for sex then discard you.”
She knew he meant every heartfelt word, and it brought tears to her eyes. She stretched her arm around his chest and clutched him tight.
“Sookie. I am not Bill. And I am not your brother. And I am not Quinn. I know you have been afraid of me. I know you have resented me in the past, and I know neither of us would have chosen to bond the way that we did, but we are bonded, and you are… I am yours,” he stated gently, and she knew he’d started to say “you are mine,” but had decided to change it at the last moment. He was hers. She was his. They were each other’s. Two way street.
“I love you,” he repeated. “I am yours.”
That was it. The waterworks started up again, and she was clinging to him like a weepy idiot. He didn’t say anything. He’d probably held her while she’d cried more than any other man on the planet, and she knew it weirded him out (“Don’t cry again! Just don’t start crying again, and I won’t mind taking this to the cleaners. I won’t even mind getting a whole new suit,” he’d implored in Dallas when she’d wept and blown snot all over his shirt.), but he just curled them onto their sides, facing each other, and tucked her into the curve of his body, letting her bury her face into his chest. Then he held her and started that soothing, crooning hum thing again, the one that made his pects vibrate.
She cried for everything she’d been through, for all the suffering she’d endured, for all the ridicule and hostility and loneliness her handicap had brought into her life. She cried for her own damaged heart, and her anger at those who had hurt her. And she cried for this man, this steadfast man who had given of himself, over and over, who had humbled himself for her own petty insecurities, who had stuck with her even she had repeatedly kicked him in the shins.
“I don’t deserve you,” she sniffled.
“Too bad. You’re stuck with me,” he replied, a smile in his voice.
She gave a short, barking laugh, and pulled back enough to wipe her cheeks with her hands. He helpfully offered her the cloth napkin from the meal tray. She blew her nose in it, then felt bad because some poor person on the laundry room would now have to wash it. She’d rinse it out later.
“Stuck with you, huh?”
“You should be glad. I’ve been told I’m quite a catch,” he teased, batting his blue eyes at her.
She snickered. “If that’s so, maybe I ought to strike while the iron’s hot and make it official.”
He blinked at her, his eyes going wide, and she enjoyed a moment of seeing him speechless.
“As in… get married?” he stammered.
She shrugged. “Louisiana recognizes vamp-human unions now.”
She felt the surge of joy in the bond, and she hoped he knew that she was just teasing him; otherwise he was going to be mightily upset. He stared at her for a few more seconds, then his eyes narrowed.
“You’re toying with me, aren’t you,” he said, none too pleased. “You don’t really want to get married.”
For a brief moment she allowed herself to see it: her dressed in white, him waiting in a tux at the end of the aisle, the guests, the flowers, the minister… It was every girl’s dream, wasn’t it? She looked at it, held it in both hands as if it were no more than a soap bubble, which, of course, it was, and it popped with a soft plunk of regret.
“No,” she whispered, lowering her eyes, unable to look at him.
“You’re lying,” he stated very clearly. “But you aren’t ready to take such a public step with me. No matter, I can wait.”
That made her stare at him. “You mean, you’d do it?”
“Of course. Haven’t I all but asked you already? When you are ready, we can make it as official as you like. I look forward to being able to say that what is mine is yours officially – or half of it if you’d like – and you not being able to deny me because we’d be legal husband and wife.”
He stopped, probably because he could tell she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
“But I can see that you might need a few years to get used to that concept.”
He was being so matter-of-fact about it, it was almost scary. Okay, the “I love you. That’s that. Moving on”-thing was downright disturbing. She moved her mouth a few times before her voice worked.
“Yeah,” she agreed.
She could feel his slight disappointment in the bond, and a few of the still raw places flared with pain, making them both wince. The damaged tie reminded her of what Maria had said, and she thought of a way to smooth Eric’s ruffled feathers.
“There is something…” she began, running her hand over his cool skin. He looked at her, and she could see the guarded wariness in his eyes. She winced. He’d allowed himself to be vulnerable, and she’d kicked him… again.
“Maria said you really did a lot of damage when you…” What? Tried to rip out the bond and almost send them both into shock? “Tried to separate us.”
He frowned, his brows coming together. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
“She said that the best way to heal it was… was to do another blood exchange.”
There, she’d said it. He was silent, regarding her with such intensity that she felt as if he were trying to a bore a hole into her mind.
“You’d be willing to do this?” he finally asked.
She nodded. “I would willingly renew our blood-bond by drinking from you,” she affirmed.
He stared at her for a few moments longer, and the scrutiny made her heart beat faster. Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore, and she arched her neck, offering her throat.
“No,” he stated, his voice flat.
“N… no?” she repeated, already feeling the sting of rejection.
He placed a hand under her chin and kissed her before she could start to cry.
“No,” he said more gently. “Not tonight. This is a big decision for you, and I don’t want you to make it rashly. Sleep on it, as they like to say these days. If you are still willing, we will blood-bond tomorrow night. Is that acceptable to you?”
So he wasn’t saying “No.” no. He was saying “not now.” That made her feel so much better. She hated to think that she’d put herself out there, only to have him kick her in the shins.
“Is… is it okay with you?” she answered.
“Dear One, I am ready to bond with you in any way you wish to bond at any time: body, blood, or piece of paper. You have but to say the word.”
She teared up but stopped them after the first one escaped. “Thank you.”
He smiled and licked the tear away, then he smirked and bent down to lick her breast as his hand slid between her legs.
“Blood tomorrow, body now?” he questioned.
“Oh Eric, I don’t know if I can…” she began, even as her sex drive started doing a happy yesyesyes dance.
“Yield and let me take care of everything,” he soothed, his fingers and tongue mirroring each other in little circles.
She grunted and arched towards him in answer. He removed his fingers long enough to lift her leg and move it over his hip as he shifted forward, then he tilted her pelvis just so and slid into her. She gave a sigh of satisfaction as she felt their bodies become one, and surrendered to him completely as he moved them in a slow, tender rhythm.
When he was done, she was a quivering mass of post-coital bliss again, but an exhausted one, and she was curled against him, again, drifting on a sea of happiness. He whispered a soft “I love you” in her ear as her heavy eyes closed.
She murmured the words back in kind as she let sleep come up to take her.
She thought she heard him laugh a faint, “Finally,” but she wasn’t sure, and then it didn’t matter because she was asleep.
Chapter Thirteen
A/N: Greek Goddess lesson: Aegle was a demi-goddess level Goddess of Healing. Her name means "Brightness" or "Splendor" and she personified the "glowing health of the human body." Geography lesson: Bengal used to be it’s own country a long time ago. Now it is part of the larger country of India.
LLI Timeline for those who might be losing track: Eric & Sookie arrived on Sunday night. Sunday night was Maria's concert. Monday is Sookie's first day on the island. She meets Izzy & Maria in the game room. Monday night is the pool game between her and Eric. Monday night is the night they have the big fight. Tuesday is the day of the big snowstorm. Tuesday night, Eric and Sookie make up. Wednesday is their last day. They are supposed to leave Isle Elena Wednesday night. Chapter 13 begins with Sookie waking up Wed morning. Hope that helps. :)
She woke earlier than she had expected, rising with an odd feeling that something wasn’t right. She rolled over to face the closed balcony curtains and smiled. Another dozen roses was sitting next to the original dozen on the bedside table, and a note card was propped up against the crystal vase with her name written on it in Eric’s neat script. It never ceased to amaze her how lovely the older vampires’ penmanship was. Bill, Pam, Eric, even what she’d seen of Clancy’s handwriting, all had perfect script. She guessed that was because literacy was rare when they were alive, and such things as typewriters and word processors were unheard of, so legible handwriting was a big deal.
Eric’s writing was like him: bold, big and strong. He made broad sweeps with the pen, the script flowing and precise. There was nothing flowery or tentative in his writing, and each letter was perfectly readable. She picked up the envelope and opened it, drawing out the folded note in order to read what it said. It was sweet and to the point.
Dear One,
No doubt when you wake you will find me gone. You were sleeping so peacefully, and looked so lovely, that I did not have the heart to wake you to tell you I was leaving. Please do not worry about my absence. After our talk last night, I decided there were some things I wanted to get for our bonding tonight. The items I am looking for are not readily available on Isle Elena so I flew to the mainland. I won’t be able to make it back before dawn, so I will shelter wherever I am and join you on the island as soon as possible.
You should eat well and rest during the day so you are ready for my return. If you haven’t changed your mind about renewing our bond, please light the hurricane lamp and set it on the balcony after sunset. That way I will know that you are still willing.
Expect me sometime after 7pm as it is unlikely that I will get back before then. Please wait for me in our cabin, and please wear the blue and silver dress.
I will see you very soon, my lover. I love you.
~ E
Well, it was very good that he’d warned her that he wouldn’t be there, otherwise she would have freaked out when he wasn’t in the windowless room. Still, she was a bit disappointed because she had hoped to slip into the bed with him just before sunset, so he would wake with her lying next to him. Oh well, perhaps another time if the opportunity presented itself.
She folded the note and put it back in the envelope, and then gave the roses a deep sniff. Their scent was heavenly. She sighed as she lay back against the pillows. The room still smelled faintly of chocolate and sex, and she closed her eyes to breathe in and enjoy the scents.
It was only 9am; she hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly 3am, but the room was so bright even through the closed balcony door curtains that it seemed much later. She buried her head under the covers to block the light, but that still only garnered her another hour of sleep before her bladder began kicking her in the spleen. She got up, pulled on her robe out of modesty even though she was alone in the cabin, and went to the bathroom.
When she came out, she saw the true state of the bed and gasped. There were streaks of brown and red left from chocolate and raspberry sauce that hadn’t been licked off Eric’s body during their loveplay last night, and it had smeared and stained the sheets. She was horrified. She couldn’t remember if there were any clean linens in the cabin, and she knew there wasn’t a washer and dryer in the place.
She quickly stripped the bed and ran the soiled sheets downstairs to the kitchen where she shoved them into a sink full of cold water. She put the cloth napkin she’d used as a handkerchief in with them, then she rummaged around for anything she could use to get the stains out of the sheets. All she found was liquid dish soap and powder for the automatic dishwasher. She might be able to use the dishwasher powder, but that didn’t solve the problem of where to hang the sheets to dry or where fresh, clean ones could be had. Maybe the notebook on the resort’s amenities would tell her what housekeeping options were available. The cabin had an intercom, but it only buzzed the concierge not any of the resort departments or the other cabins… other cabins…
She mentally wondered if they’d be up, then decided that she didn’t know any parent who was able to sleep past 7am, so Maria at the very least should be awake, but that meant Izzy would probably be up too. She concentrated and reached out with her mind.
‘Yes?’ Izzy’s mindvoice answered.
‘Hey, it’s me Sookie.’
‘You’re the only other human telepath on the island. Of course it’s you. What’s up?’
‘Umm… do the cabins come with a set of clean linens? I’ve looked but I can’t seem to find any.’
There was a pause then laughter echoed across the connection. ‘Whoo hoo, you two really made up! Are the sheets in ribbons?’
‘No’ she huffed. ‘Just stained. I have them soaking in the sink with some soap, but I’ve nowhere to hang them and no new ones to put on the bed.’
‘You tried to wash them? Oh the staff will love you.’
‘Well, I didn’t want some poor maid to have do it. That would have been embarrassing! I don’t want the resort staff knowing all of Eric’s and my private stuff!’
‘Honey, after the noise you two made last night, everyone on this island knows your private stuff.’
She blushed furiously and clenched her fists, readying a scathing reply. Izzy cut her off before she could get started.
‘But seriously. No one cares. Trust me. After some of the guests this place has hosted, a human and her vamp blood-bonded working on relationship issues is tame. All you need to do is buzz the front desk and tell them you need housekeeping. Tell them you need cabin service, and they’ll send someone out to clean and change the sheets. Okay?’
‘Okay, got it. Thanks.’
‘Hey, you gonna come out and play today? Elena’s having Snow Games. There’s a snow sculpture contest this afternoon. Sparky and the foxes’s castle is entered, and there are quite a few others too. We saw some of them last night. You should come out and see them. Do some fun snow stuff.’
‘I’ll watch from inside, thanks.’
Izzy laughed again.
‘If you do come out, wear sunglasses. The snowblind is murder.’
‘Okay, thanks for the tip.’
‘No prob. Hope to see you around. Be safe.’
‘Thanks. Be safe.’
The connection cut off and Sookie headed for the living room where she could find the intercom. As she passed the fireplace to get to the wall where the intercom was located, a splash of color caught her eye, and she turned to find another dozen roses waiting for her on the dining room table, along with a long envelope with her name on it in Eric’s handwriting. These roses were not red; they were lavender and pink. She’d never seen lavender roses before, and she was enchanted by them. They smelled wonderful, and she smiled dreamily as she picked up the long envelope and opened it. She found another folded note wrapped around a certificate for a full day spa at Aegle’s, the resort’s health and beauty spa.
Dear One,
I hope you like the roses and my gift. I have been told that women very much enjoy the services offered at these establishments. The day spa package I have given you is a four-hour pampering advertised as one of the spa’s finest offerings. In addition, I have added a soak in the mineral bath. The write-up said it was good for soothing sore muscles and rejuvenating a tired body. While you are soaking away your aches, please think of me and all of the reasons why you need it. I know I will be thinking of you, and all the enjoyment I will get from making you sore and tired again.
I booked your appointment for 1pm. Forgive me for making the decision for you, but it was the only open slot left.
I will see you soon, my lover. I love you.
~ E
She blushed reading the bit about the mineral bath and stared at the gift certificate. She’d never been to a spa before, but she knew they were expensive. Eric must have spent a whole heap of money on buying the package, and she knew she ought to be grateful, but he hadn’t even bothered to ask her if she wanted to go to the spa. He was just assuming that, because she was a woman and women “very much enjoyed the services offered at these establishments,” she would automatically like them too. Didn’t he know her well enough by now to know that she rarely liked what other women did?
She sighed, not sure what to do, and tromped over to the intercom to call for housekeeping. She punched the call button and a pleasant-sounding, female voice answered.
“Isle Elena Concierge. Laola speaking. How may I serve you?”
“Um, yeah, this is Sookie Stackhouse in Cabin 16.”
“Yes, Ms. Stackhouse, how can we help you?”
“Umm. I need to speak with someone in housekeeping. We need cabin service… Well, just clean linens for the bed really. We ordered food last night, and there was an… accident and the sheets got stained. I washed them, but…”
She stopped because she could tell that she was starting to babble.
“We would be happy to send someone to remake the bed with clean linens. Do you need towel and trash service as well?”
“Um… we’ve been reusing the towels…” Of which at least two were in a heap on the bathroom floor.
“We’ll bring clean ones. When is your checkout date?”
“Ummm. Tonight sometime…”
“We’ll send someone over this evening. Your companion is a vampire, yes?”
“Yeah, but he’s not here. He had to go to the mainland last night.”
“Oh. Well, then we’ll send someone this afternoon.”
“I have a spa appointment at one so I’ll be out of the cabin most of the afternoon,” she said.
“Very good. We’ll have the cabin cleaned and restocked before you return.”
“Great! Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy your day.”
Sookie smiled and released the call button, taking the opportunity to grab the notebook on the table and open it to the information pages for the spa. She quickly looked up the package Eric had bought her – disappointed when it didn’t have any prices listed – and saw that the 4-hour spa included a 90-minute massage, body scrub, manicure and pedicure, and complete facial including mud mask and micro-exfoliating scrub. All that plus a 30-minute soak in the mineral bath would take close to five hours so she wouldn’t get back to the cabin until after 6pm, but that was okay because Eric wrote that he wouldn’t get back before 7pm.
She looked at the certificate again and tried to imagine what Eric must have been thinking for him to buy her something so extravagant. She was certain that he meant the gift as a pleasant surprise, something he thought she would like. Come to think of it, it did sound like a nice way to spend the afternoon. The facial, manicure and pedicure at the very least were things she would enjoy. She’d never had a real massage before, but the ones Eric gave were fantastic – as was the sex they had afterwards.
The description of the body scrub said it gently sloughed away dead cells, leaving the skin soft and smooth. It certainly fit with something she might like, and the mineral bath thing spoke for itself. She was achy and sore, but it was the kind of “I’ve had lots and lots of amazing sex with a big Viking” sore, so she didn’t mind the discomfort. She could imagine Eric reading through the spa offerings and thinking that an afternoon spent being pampered and fussed over would please her, and he wasn’t that far off the mark. She was vain. She liked to think that she was pretty. She liked to think that she looked good. She tried to imagine how it would feel to have her hands, feet and face done, and her body rubbed and soaked until it was soft and relaxed. She tried to imagine how she would look and feel when it was all over, and how Eric would feel if she presented herself to him all scrubbed and massaged and polished… and dressed in the blue and silver dress.
He’d eat her alive.
She decided that it was poor manners not to accept a gift given in such good faith (not to mention exactly how much fun they would both have getting her tired and sore again,) and she looked at the clock on the mantle. It was approaching 11:30am. She had just enough time to shower, dress and get over to the lodge for some breakfast before her appointment.
She hurried up the stairs for a quick shower. Since she knew she would be spending most of the day at the spa, she dressed very casually in a pair of jeans and one of her older sweaters that was comfortable and loose. She went downstairs and grabbed the two borrowed paperbacks to return them to the library, and then she put on her parka and boots and opened the door. As the bright sunlight nearly blinded her, she remembered Izzy’s warning and grabbed her sunglasses. The laser beams of light piercing her brain immediately subsided, and she left the porch to hoof it over to the lodge.
Paths had been dug in the snow to allow safe passage from the cabins, and she followed these with little difficulty, actually enjoying the winter, snow-covered scene. It was really beautiful, everything white and sparking in the sun. The castle Vincent and his friends had built looked even more fantastic in the light, as did the numerous snow sculptures she passed on the way to the lodge. Whoever was judging the contest was going to have a hard time choosing a winner, although she was partial to the snow sculpted replica of the Eiffel Tower.
There was a buzz of activity around the lodge as the “Snow Games” were in full swing. Someone had built a huge snow and ice slide, and resort guests of all sizes and shapes (literally!) were taking turns careening like children down the slick slope, and snowball fights seemed to be the activity of choice. Laughter bounced off the snow piles and lodge walls, and she ducked her head to avoid the flying snowballs as she made a mad dash for the safety of the lodge atrium. A near miss hit the logs next to her head, spraying her face and hair with a fine mist of snow. She brushed it out as she zipped in through the tall, sliding doors, and headed for the dining room.
“Good morning, Ms. Sookie,” Noria greeted as she came up to the hostess station.
“Good morning, Noria.”
“A table by the windows?”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
Noria gave her a brilliant smile and guided her up to the same table she’d sat at the previous day. Now the windows looked out onto a snow-covered landscape, and the contrast of snow against the waters of Lake Superior was beautiful.
“Good morning, Ms. Sookie,” Toth’s voice said cheerfully, and she looked up to see her waiter smiling happily.
“Good morning, Toth. How are you today?”
“I’m very good, thank you. Are you going to participate in the Snow Games? They need volunteers to ride on the sleds for extra weight during the races.”
She tried to put herself on the back of a sled and shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t. I’m scheduled for a day spa this afternoon.”
“Oh. That will be more fun for you. Our spa is top rated.”
“I’ve never been to one so I’m looking forward to a new experience.”
Toth nodded. “I think you will like it. I have never heard a guest complain about the services.”
“That’s good to hear. Are there any specials this morning?”
“We have spiced apple cider and snowman pancakes in honor of the Snow Games. Plus we’re also offering white chocolate raspberry hot cocoa.”
She’d never had spiced apple cider before, so she opted to try that, plus coffee and a simple two-egg breakfast with sausage and toast. Toth took her order and then zipped away to the kitchen. She returned to looking out the windows, watching the antics of the guests outside.
She caught a glimpse of a black-haired boy running through the snow in a sleeveless shirt and recognized Vincent immediately. His two foxy friends weren’t far behind, and she watched them pummel the boy with snowballs. Vincent seemed to take it all in stride, but then she saw him take off his gloves, and what he did next nearly shocked her out of her seat. The foxes seemed to know what was coming and threw their snowballs high above their heads as the boy’s hands began to glow, and two fireballs erupted from his palms to blast the snowballs right out of the air.
‘Oh my God.’ Well. They made no secret that Vincent’s father was a Fire Demon. Obviously, he took after dear ol’ Dad.
No one seemed especially surprised or dismayed by Vincent’s display of fireworks. In fact, the foxes jumped up and down excitedly and threw more snowballs for him to blow up. They all seemed to be laughing and enjoying the game. Vincent finally appeared to run out of steam, misfiring a little puff of smoke and plopping down into the snow, steam billowed up from his hands where his palms melted the snow. The two foxes squatted around him, their tails twitching. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but whatever it was it made Vincent grin.
‘He’s a cute kid,’ she thought with some small measure of wistfulness.
“Thanks. We think so too,” came a voice from beside her.
She squeaked and spun her head around to see Izzy standing there.
“I really hate it when people do that. And how come you can move silently? You’re human,” she complained.
Izzy shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
“Did you just Jump in here?”
“Guilty. I felt your mind in here and decided to pop in to see how you were doing.”
“I’m fine. Eric gave me a day spa for this afternoon.”
Izzy grinned, a wicked glint in her eyes. “Oooh. Nice. Mia and I signed up for the family massage package the last time we were here. It was great.”
“How often do you come here?” she asked curiously.
Izzy didn’t answer right away. Instead she looked out the window and Sookie followed her line of sight. Maria had joined Vincent, and mother and son were laughing, playing in the snow. A glance back to Izzy showed her looking wistful and sad.
“We try to come here a couple of times a year. It’s nice to have a break,” Izzy finally replied.
“Yeah, I hear that. I haven’t had a vacation vacation in years,” she admitted.
“This trip doesn’t count?”
She winced, remembering how Izzy and Maria knew everything about her and Eric, and their reasons for coming to the island.
“No. Not really,” she said.
“Eric came to see us before he left the island this morning,” Izzy told her.
She did a double-take and stared at the woman. “He did?”
Izzy nodded. “Mia asked him to. There were a few things she wanted to talk to him about before you left tonight.”
“Oh. So he went to your cabin after he left me.”
Izzy nodded. “I helped him get to the mainland. I know the dock at Marquette so I was able to Jump him there. He was going to fly across the open water. That would have been a cold trip, so I Jumped him.”
“Wasn’t that very far to go?” she asked.
“I’ve Jumped farther. Besides, he was being pretty ambitious, and he was going to need all the help he could get. He’s got a taste for grand plans, that one. Jumping him shaved 45 minutes off his trip.”
“Do you know what he needed to get that he couldn’t find here?” she questioned innocently, daring to send out a mental tendril.
Izzy closed off her mind immediately and gave her a wry smile. “No peeking. And yes, I do know, but I’m not telling. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“Am I going to like the surprise?”
“That depends on how you look at it. If you look at it in the spirit that it’s being given, and you remember where he is coming from, then yeah, I think you’ll like it. If you get too caught up in the modern worldview of male-female relations, then you might not be so pleased with it,” Izzy answered.
“Oh. Well, that’s really helpful,” she complained.
“Thanks. I try.”
“So what did Maria need to talk to him about?”
“Some things we saw when the bond was open yesterday. You both were showing us things, but neither of you could see what the other was sending. The whole bit about you not being able to read non-human minds is weird.”
“Do you know why I can’t read vamp minds at all, and why Supe minds are all fuzzy instead of clear?”
Izzy shook her head. “I couldn’t gauge it. Best I can tell, it’s got something to do with how you read minds, and how you listen. Your Gift is natural, mine is trained. I had my fourth and sixth charkas specifically opened and attuned in order to become a better telepath. It’s possible that if you were to get the same attunements, you’d be able to read any mind you wanted. The reverse would also apply. If you wanted to block someone, you could. Right now, you’re pretty untrained. If you get further into using your talent that could get dangerous. You ought to find someone to teach you how to shield, block and project. You’ve got an impressive range from what I could tell. You’ve got the potential to be a formidable telepath of you want to develop your Gift.”
She shuddered and shook her head. “Uhh, no. My little handicap gets me into enough trouble as it is. I don’t want to read Supe minds, and if vampires found out I could read them they’d kill me. No, I’m happy just reading human minds, thank you.”
Izzy shrugged again. “Suit yourself.”
“Are you two leaving today?”
Izzy shook her head. “Nah. We decided to stay until Friday. Turns out Mia wasn’t ready to leave either.”
“Isn’t Vincent in school? Won’t he be missing too many days?” she blurted without thinking. Arlene always fretted when the kids had to miss a day or two.
Izzy gave her an incredulous look. “The kid throws fireballs out of his hands. Do you think he goes to a human school?”
She blushed. “Oh, sorry, dumb barmaid.”
“There’s nothing dumb about you, but it might help you if people think you’re stupid. They’ll overlook you, and not consider you a threat until it’s too late,” the woman observed shrewdly.
She didn’t answer, but the look they shared said everything.
“So… did Maria and Eric work out when you will be coming to Fangtasia?” she asked.
“We didn’t talk business.”
“Oh.”
She wanted to ask what they had talked about because it no doubt involved her, but she didn’t want to appear nosy.
“He’s very attached to you. His capacity to feel is strong for a vampire his age. They usually inure themselves to human emotions and mortal attachments purely as a survival mechanism. A vampire who can’t separate himself from the mortal world will usually go insane after a few centuries. I’m sure you can imagine what it must be like for them to live forever while everything else around them dies. Some can’t handle it,” Izzy told her.
She swallowed, clenching her fists lightly, and nodded. “Is Eric…”
“He’s a survivor. There are some things in his past…” Izzy stopped, her face very thoughtful, then she shook her head and continued. “He’s been through a lot, and he has a very highly developed sense of intuition. He reads people very well. He almost predicted the Nevada vamp takeover. He did predict a takeover, actually, but he’d pegged the source wrong. He was expecting an attack from the Eastern vampires, not Western. He didn’t factor Quinn into the equation. He thought the tiger would never betray you. He was wrong, and, believe me, he’s seething about it.”
It was a warning: Tell Quinn to watch his back because Eric the Northman has him on his shitlist. She nodded that she got it. Izzy leveled her with a sober look.
“When you renew the bond, it will be very strong; stronger than most blood-bonds. His age, your telepathy, his intuition. The two of you are going to be a formidable force. There are going to be some individuals who are going to be very nervous.”
Izzy sat down across from her and took her hands. She steeled herself for whatever was coming and gripped the woman’s palms tightly.
‘Listen to me very carefully. When the bond is fully set and matured, the two of you will be able to act as one. You will be able to channel his strength, and he will be able to channel your gift. It is in your best interests not to advertize this. Eric agrees. You will eventually be able to read each other’s minds as your blood becomes more and more intermingled, but that will take time. You’ve already gotten a glimpse into his head, and he’s seen into yours, although he doesn’t realize that yet. Your bond is in its infancy; it must be nurtured and protected until the two of you are strong enough to defend yourselves.’
Her heart was pounding, and she could feel the sweat breaking out along her forehead as she digested Izzy’s warning. She could feel herself starting to quiver, and her mouth start pulling back into a grin. Izzy squeezed her hands and forced her to focus.
‘If you are threatened, and you fear for your lives, come here. No one will attack this place. It’s too heavily guarded, and too revered. Elena may be weakened, but she is still a goddess, and there are a number of deities who call this place home. Anyone who brings evil here is going to get bitchslapped into the next dimension.
‘This protection is why we come here. Vincent’s father has many enemies. We are constantly under siege from those who want to get to Zolan through us. We come here because no one will bother us here. Let this island be your sanctuary. You’ve been welcomed back and, frankly, Elena likes Eric. Use that alliance. It will save your lives.’
“Okay. Okay, we will. We’ll come here,” she promised.
‘Good. In the meantime, keep your heads down and work on your bond. Tell no one what you can do. The less others know about your bond, the better. Let them think it’s just a strong blood-bond because Eric’s so old.’
She nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
They looked at each other, and it seemed that Izzy wanted to say more, but Toth was delivering breakfast so she kept silent.
‘Good luck. You’re gonna need it,’ was the last thing the woman said before she blipped out of sight.
Toth set down her food, and she had enough presence of mind to thank him before she went into her own thoughts again. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore, but she forced herself to eat. She nibbled away at the eggs as she watched Izzy join Maria and Vincent outside in the snow. She saw the little family clustered together, smiling and laughing, and she felt a little pang. She would never have Eric’s baby.
That was something she was just going to have to get used to. No babies for Sookie Stackhouse. Was what she was gaining worth what she was giving up? Did she even have a choice anymore? If everything she was hearing from Eric and Izzy was true, the answer was no. Unless someone killed Eric (never!) they were stuck with each other, and vamps couldn’t father children. That was okay, sort of. She never knew what kind of mom she would have been.
But that didn’t mean her heart didn’t ache a little when she saw Vincent jump into Maria’s arms and kiss her on the cheek. She lowered her eyes and ate her food, but for once the meal wasn’t delicious. It was only sustenance.
888888
The gift certificate Eric had left her said to show up for her spa appointment fifteen minutes early, so she presented herself to the spa’s check-in desk precisely at 12:45pm after dropping off the books at the library. Aegle’s was in the same building as Nike’s, but on the lower level and attached to the indoor pool area. She could smell the chemicals from the pool water, and the air was humid.
The receptionist for the spa appeared to be part reptile because she had faintly scaled skin and slitted yellow eyes. She was getting used to all the weirdness so she didn’t bat an eye when the woman gave her a clipboard with a two-page questionnaire to fill out. She answered the general health questions, made her selection on the type of massage she wanted (Swedish, Shiatsu, Sports, Deep Tissue, Aromatherapy…) and listed her preferences regarding her facial, scrub and nail treatments. Once she was finished filling it out, she handed it to the receptionist and sat down to wait for someone to call her. She was the only one in the waiting room, and she wondered why the spa was all booked up when it didn’t look all that busy. Maybe the other appointments all started earlier.
About ten minutes later, the door at the other end of the waiting room opened and a woman in a purple and gold long tunic and loose pants stepped out. It looked Indian, and so did she. Her black hair was very, very long, and the woman had it braided in a think braid, but it still reached her waist, Her skin was a rich brown, almost the color of caramel, and her eyes were slightly slanted and black. She had a vivid blue jewel pressed to her forehead. She had four arms, each one adorned with many bangles and beads.
“Sookie Stackhouse?”
She gulped and stood. “I’m Sookie.”
The woman smiled warmly and held out one of her hands. “I am Surima. I will be your masseuse today.”
Wow. A four-armed massage therapist. Must be the perfect occupation for her. Sookie gathered herself and stood up to join Surima at the spa door.
“Thank you.”
“Welcome to Aegle’s. Have you ever been to a spa before?” the woman asked pleasantly as she guided Sookie through the door and down a long hallway.
“Umm, no. This is my first time.”
“Excellent. I hope you enjoy your spa treatments.”
The first room she was guided to was a locker room. It looked like a standard locker room with rows of lockers and benches, and she could hear the sound of running water, so she guessed the showers were close by. There was a rack of thick bathrobes, and Surima grabbed one and handed it to her.
“Please store your clothes in one of the lockers. There is no need to worry about their safety. There is no theft on Isle Elena,” Surima informed. “When you are finished undressing, please put on this robe, and go to the solarium at the end of the locker room. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
Sookie accepted the robe with trepidation. “Do I need to take all of my clothes off?” she asked, embarrassed.
“For the massage and spa treatments, you may undress to your comfort level, but no clothing is permitted in the baths,” Surima answered.
Sookie blushed and felt like an idiot, but she thanked Surima and started peeling off her clothes as soon as the woman left the room. She was still the only one around, and she hurried to get undressed before anyone came in. She took off her shirt, bra, jeans and socks, then bit her lip and took off the panties too. She stuffed everything into the closest empty locker and put on the robe. It was the thickest, warmest bathrobe she’d ever worn, and she wondered what it was made of.
The solarium was very hot and steam clouded the glass walls. It was furnished with comfortable chairs and chaises, and soft music was piped in from somewhere. Outside the solarium, she could see the terraces of the outdoor pool and the canyon-themed landscaping. Feeling a little exposed, she chose a chair away from the windows and sat down to wait for Surima. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Are you ready, Ms. Stackhouse?” the woman asked, coming into the room from a side entrance a few minutes later.
“Please call me Sookie,” she corrected as she rose to her feet.
“Sookie. Please follow me.”
“Thank you,” she said, following along obediently as Surima led her from the solarium to a warm, softly lit room with a massage table in the center.
“You’ve chosen an Aromatherapy massage. Please choose the scents you would like me to use,” Surima said, offering her a large basket full of scented massage oils and lotions.
“Oh my…” she replied, looking at the sheer number of choices available. “What would you suggest?”
“You are here with a vampire, yes?”
She winced. Did everyone know who she was and whom she was dating?
“Aside from Ms. Piazzi and her family, you are the only other human on the island. You’re a bit of a novelty,” Surima commented with a wry smile.
“Am I that obvious?” she blurted.
“Only to us. It’s amusing, actually. You’re so sweet and polite, but you really need to relax. Maybe that’s why your vampire sent you here.”
She smiled nervously. “Maybe. What scents do you think a vampire might like?”
Surima smiled back, and the smile actually relaxed her a bit, as the woman held the basket in two of her hands, while a third perused the bottles.
“Hmmm… hmmm…” Surima murmured as she sifted through the selections. Finally she chose two from the literally dozens of options. “This one, and this one.”
She handed Sookie the two bottles and Sookie read the labels: amber and sandalwood.
“Both are earthy smells that are not too pungent. In my country, snakes love the sandalwood trees. They wrap themselves around the branches just to be close to the scent,” Surima explained.
“You’re from India?”
“Bengal,” the woman corrected gently.
“Oh. That’s near India, right?”
Surima chuckled and nodded. “Yes. It’s close.”
“Please disrobe and lie down on the table. I will cover you with this sheet,” Surima said, putting down the basket and picking up a crisp, white sheet.
“On my back or my stomach?”
“Back for now. I will be starting with the nail treatments on your hands and feet and your facial. The body scrub will come next, and then we will finish with the massage and send you to the mineral bath.”
“Okay.”
Feeling a little self-conscious, she slipped off the robe and hung it on a peg on the wall, then she moved to place herself on the massage table.
“You need to relax,” Surima admonished gently, covering her from her neck to her ankles with the sheet. The covering was thin, and at least now she knew why the room was kept so warm.
“I’m trying,” she replied.
Surima made a small noise, then Sookie heard a click somewhere near one of the walls. Shortly thereafter, soft new age music filled the room.
“Concentrate on the music and let me take care of everything else,” the masseuse said quietly, her voice soothing.
“Okay.”
“The first thing I’m going to do is clean your face with a gentle astringent to remove dirt from your pores,” Surima explained, and began wiping Sookie’s face with a pad soaked in something that smelled like green tea.
For the next two hours, Surima applied a thick facial mask, soaked Sookie’s hands and feet in paraffin, massaged and cleansed her face, and scrubbed her entire body with a gentle salt scrub. They spoke quietly. Surima asked questions about where Sookie lived and her life in Louisiana, and Sookie asked about Surima’s life and how she had come to be a masseuse at Aegle’s.
Surima was competent and gentle to the point where Sookie forgot there were four hands working on her instead of two, and soon she was completely relaxed. When Surima was done applying the salt scrub to her arms, chest and calves, she asked Sookie to turn over, and she rolled over, not even thinking about her nakedness, and allowed the woman to scrub her back and thighs, then she was wrapped in warm, moist towels for ten minutes before Surima used the towels to wipe off the scrub. Afterwards, Sookie felt fresh and clean, her skin soft and rejuvenated. It was one of the most amazing experiences she had ever enjoyed, and she was already thinking of all the ways she was going to thank Eric for his wonderful gift.
When everything but the massage and mineral bath were done, Surima gave Sookie a little break, encouraging her to sit up and drink a cup of tea. It was some kind of herbal blend meant to relax and clarify the mind. She had no idea what was in it, but it tasted good. She finished the tea and lay back down again so Surima could begin the 90-minute massage. She smelled the scents of sandalwood and amber, then felt the strong, warm palms gliding over her skin, and she sighed with happiness. Everything felt so good and wonderful.
At some point during the massage, she drifted away from herself, and she entered that state of relaxation between waking and dreaming where her mind wandered and slipped into a higher state. She had no real awareness of where she was floating until she felt the brush of another mind against hers.
‘Sookie?’ came a cautious mindvoice. It sounded just like her Viking.
‘Eric?’
There was moment of confusion, then a rush of warmth and welcome. She felt him reaching out to her, their bodies had no form where they were, but yet she felt him “touching” her, and his big hands enfolded hers as he drew her close. She felt safe and deeply loved, and she realized that they had joined in the bond. She could tell because there was still a sore spot where the bond had yet to heal. No matter. It would be healed tonight.
‘Are you here with me?’ he asked.
‘I guess. Where are we?’
‘Between,’ he answered, and in her heightened state she understood perfectly.
‘Are we dreaming?’
‘Sharing a dream. It’s daytime, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it sunny?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Isn’t the sunlight on snow beautiful?’ he asked. He sounded wistful.
‘Yes, it is,’ she agreed.
‘Show me?’
‘How?’
‘Just remember what you saw and I’ll see through your eyes. We’re linked here. No barriers now.’
‘Okay.’ She brought up the memories of the clearing in front of their cabin, all white and sparkling in the sun. She remembered all the snow sculptures and the snow-laden trees, and the contrast of the snowy beach against the water.
‘Oooh. It’s so beautiful. Thank you.’ His “arms” came around her, and she felt their bodies twining around each other. ‘I never missed the sunlight until I met you. I would love to see you in sunlight. Real sunlight not that artificial light they have in these times. I know you would be as radiant as the sun itself.’
‘I wish we could go out in daytime too.’
‘We have the nights. Countless numbers of them. And I will make them all worthwhile.’
He kissed her and she felt his “lips” just as surely as of they were really together in the waking world. She yielded to him, allowing herself to sink into the bond and his love. It was like being submerged in a warm bath after a night out in the cold.
‘Where are you?’ she asked.
‘Michigan. I’m making my way back to you.’ She caught a memory of a dank cellar somewhere. It smelled of neglect and rotting wood.
‘Are you safe where you are?’
‘Oh yes. Perfectly safe. You have no need to worry for me, my lover.’
She hated to admit that she was worried, but he was somewhere far away in an unknown basement somewhere. He laughed and kissed her again.
‘And where are you, my sleepyhead, if you are joining me here in my dream?’
‘At the spa. I’m getting my massage.’
‘Ah. Are you enjoying yourself?’
‘Mm hmm. I’m planning all the ways I’m going to thank you when I see you again.’
‘That sounds… delightful. I’ll have to give you roses and spa treatments more often if it earns me your… rewards.’ She could imagine the leer on his face.
‘Not too often. It’s nice to save some things for special occasions. And I’d be upset with you if you spent too much money on me. It’s nice to be pampered on occasion, but I don’t want to be spoiled,’ she warned sternly.
‘Of course. But I reserve the right to lavish my attentions on you whenever I wish.’
He dipped his head between her breasts, and she felt his tongue lick across her skin.
‘Stop that. We aren’t even in our bodies and you’re trying to jump me.’
‘All of my dreams are sexual fantasies of you. Can you blame me for taking advantage when I have you here with me?’
‘I guess not, but I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of a stranger.’
‘Oh? Do you think I am making you moan in your sleep?’
She slapped him on the arm, but didn’t try to get away. ‘You are impossible.’
‘I know. But you love me anyway.’
She sighed. ‘Yeah. I do,’ she admitted.
‘That was easy.’
‘We’re not in our bodies. It doesn’t count.’
She regretted it the moment she said it because she felt his pain so keenly, and she scrambled to comfort him.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,’ she apologized, feeling guilty.
‘Why must you reject me? Am I not good to you? Do I not treat you well and show that you have value to me? Is this not what made you love me so much when I was not myself?’
She could hear the anguish in his voice and it cut into her like a sharp knife.
‘Loving you scares me, Eric,’ she said. There was no dishonesty in the bond.
‘Why? I am a good man. I hold you in my highest esteem. You know that I would sacrifice everything for you if you so desired.’
‘See? That’s scary. That you’d do that. You’re a thousand years old. You’ve fought hard to get where you are, but you’d give it all up if I said so. What kind of love is that? What kind of a girlfriend would I be if I asked that of you? Bill would never give up his work for me. Why you?’ she countered, letting her own insecurity come into the bond.
‘Bill is a fool. He was never worthy of you. I knew that the moment I met you.’
‘How was I to know that? I’d never been worth anything to anyone, Well… except my Gran and I ended up getting her killed.’
‘You did not kill your grandmother. A murderous psychopath killed your grandmother,’ he corrected.
‘Is that supposed to make me feel better? If I hadn’t been dating Bill, Rene would have left Gran alone and she’d still be alive. It’s my fault.’
‘It is not your fault. The man was insane. You had no way of knowing she would be in danger. The killer had previously targeted young women who slept with vampires. Your grandmother did not fit either of those criteria.’
‘Yeah, but I did. I should have known I’d be a target. I just thought Bill would protect me. I never thought he’d target Gran…’
Her grief was terrible and she clung to him. He accepted her even though she’d just hurt him, and held her close.
‘I would have hunted him down for hurting you. I would have scoured the house and lawn for any trace of his scent. I can track better than any vampire I know. I would have found him, killed him and placed his head on a platter for you.’
‘Eww. But thank you for the sentiment.’
‘You’re welcome. And as for you not being worth anything… you are worth everything to me. Do you not know what you have done for me? Have I not told you a hundred times and tried to show you over and over? You make me happy. I have not been happy for centuries. Being with you makes me complete. I am empty without you.’
She was starting to cry again, and she was sure she was crying back in her body, but there was nothing she could do.
‘Stop. Please, stop,’ she begged,
‘No. You will hear me again. Here in the bond where we are one, and you cannot deny me. I love you. I will not leave you. I will not get tired of you. I will not grow bored with you. I will not cheat on you. I will not replace you. You can ask anything of me. If it is within my power to provide, it will be yours. I will care for you and protect you. You will want for nothing. If there comes a time when I must choose between my empire or you, I will choose you, without hesitation or regret. I love you. You are my blood-bonded. I am yours for as long as we both live, and nothing is going to change that. Now get that through your thick skull, you irritating woman!’
The last made her laugh and she stopped crying.
‘Eric. How can you put up with me? I must be the most difficult woman on the planet.’
‘I love a good challenge. And you’re really quite delightful when you aren’t being stubborn. Not to mention smart, beautiful, hardworking, loyal, creative…’
‘Got great breasts…’ she interrupted.
‘Of course. I look forward to fondling them and having my way with them tonight along with the rest of you.’
She sighed. ‘Eric…’
‘Yes, my lover?’
‘You know I do love you, right?’
‘Of course.’
‘Okay. Just so you know.’
‘I’ve never doubted it, even for a minute. The very fact that you fought so hard against me proved it. You only run when you’re afraid of your feelings.’
‘How’d you get to know me so well?’
‘I am an astute student of humanity.’
‘Or something.’
There was a tugging at her consciousness, and she gathered that she was about to wake up.
‘Uh, Eric. I think it’s time for me to go.’
‘Yes,’ he admitted with some disappointment.
‘Will I remember this dream?’
‘I don’t know. I’ll probably remember bits of it.’ He sighed and kissed her. ‘I love you. Being away from you is terrible for me. I cannot wait to be with you again. When we are together, I will show you with words and deeds how much I appreciate you.’
The pull was getting stronger, and she felt herself slipping out of his hold. ‘I’ll see you tonight.’
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can, my lover.’
He gave her one last kiss and let her go. She felt her soul snap back into her body and a moment later she opened her eyes to see Surima looking down at her.
“Oh,” she blurted, blinking. She was disoriented and the light hurt her eyes for a moment.
“You’re back.”
“Did I go somewhere?” She had a vague memory of seeing Eric.
“Yes. You left your body for about forty minutes.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“Where’d I go?”
“Obviously to be with your bonded. It is difficult to miss the touch of the Beloved.”
The touch of the Beloved. She hoped that didn’t mean what she thought it meant.
“Ummm. I’m sorry if I fell asleep on you,” she apologized, blushing.
Surima smiled. “It is a high compliment.”
“Is the massage over?”
“Yes. Now it is time for you to wash off any residual massage oil and go soak in your mineral bath.”
“Oh. Ok, great.”
She sat up as Surima offered her the bathrobe again, and she slipped it on. Surima gave her another cup of the herbal tea, and she drank it as they walked from the massage room, back to the locker room. Surima showed her where the showers were, gave her a bar of gentle soap, and told her to go back to the solarium when she was finished washing. She was feeling really incredible, all relaxed and happy as she washed off the remnants of the oil, noting that her skin still smelled faintly of amber and sandalwood. She hoped Eric would like the scent.
Ten minutes later she was back in the solarium waiting for Surima to come get her. Five minutes later, her masseuse appeared in the doorway and she followed her down the hall to a large room full of spas and bathtubs sunken into the tiled floor. The room was extremely hot and humid, and she could barely see through the steam as Surima led her to one of the sunken tubs. It was already full and frothing, steam rising up from the hot water.
“There is a lounge seat in the tub. Lie down on it and relax. I’ll come get you in half an hour,” Surima told her, giving her a bathcap for her hair.
“Oh. Thank you,” she answered, accepting the cap and putting it on her head.
“You’re welcome. Enjoy your soak.”
“Oh, I will,” she assured her, and took off the robe so she could step into the deep tub. The water was hot! Hot! Hot! But she managed it, and lowered herself down to stretch out on the submerged lounge. The water smelled of minerals and ozone as she rested her head against the built in pillow. It was heavenly.
As she lay there up to her neck in hot, bubbling water, she thought back on the day and on the entire trip altogether. Eric had gone out of his way to provide them with a safe place to explore their feelings for each other and come to an understanding. It hadn’t been easy, and they’d hurt each other pretty badly, but now they seemed ready to move forward, and the coming events of the evening would be the first steps they took as a united pair. Somehow, coming to terms with that reality, and her part that decision, helped her see more clearly, and she was able to understand many things about herself and the relationship she was willingly entering into with a 1000-yr old vampire. Eric was going to be so happy when he got back,
The mineral bath did everything it promised, and she felt like a new woman when she left the spa. She was polished and scrubbed, and her nails on her hands and feet were perfect, and her skin felt soft and smooth, and all her aches and pains were massaged and soaked away. She hadn’t felt so good since the massage Eric had given her in the shower on the night they slept together for the first time. What made today even better was that she got to keep the amazingly soft and fluffy bathrobe. Apparently, it was included with the package. Bonus. If Eric hadn’t requested that she wear the blue dress, she would have met him wearing the robe and nothing else.
It was almost six when she was finished, so she went back to the cabin to grab a quick bite to eat from the leftover lunchmeat in the fridge before she got herself ready for her Viking’s return. She made up a sandwich and washed it down with a glass of wine, before making her way up the stairs to the loft bedroom. Surima had given her a small container of body butter scented with the sandalwood and amber essential oils and told her to rub it on her skin before she got dressed. She sat on the bed, noting that it was made with fresh, clean sheets, and rubbed the moisturizing crème into her skin, starting with her feet and working her way up. She rubbed a little on her breasts, and on her abdomen, and even her throat and behind her ears. No matter where he licked or kissed, Eric was going to smell the sandalwood and amber oils. She really hoped he liked it.
She left her hair down, but she curled it a little, make it fall in soft waves over her shoulders, and she applied only a smattering of makeup because she knew Eric liked her au naturale. Literally. She debated whether or not to wear underwear, before settling on a pair of blue thong panties Tara had thrown into the bag with the dress she’d bought at Tara’s clothing store. Tara had argued that there was so little of them, they couldn’t be considered actual underwear and they wouldn’t leave a line. Then she put on her thigh-high hose. No sense in putting on regular pantyhose since such things were the first things to get ripped off by an amorous vampire. She’d lost more pairs of Leggs that way.
The last thing she put on was the dress itself. She took it out of its protective bag and laid it reverently on the bed, taking a minute to admire it, then she slipped it over her head and marveled how it fit her like it had been made for her. And then she wondered if it had been made for her. She would have to ask Eric. Later.
By 6:45pm, she was coiffed, primped, dressed and antsy. She obeyed Eric’s request and put the lit hurricane lamp out on the balcony. By 6:50pm, she felt Eric getting closer and her palms started to itch. Eric was coming. Eric was coming. She fought the urge to race down the stairs and run out into the cold dressed in her evening gown. What a headline that would be, ‘Stupid LA Barmaid Freezes to Death on Lake Superior Island. Went out in subzero temperature wearing evening gown. At least she went out in style. Details at Eleven.’
She knew the moment he set foot on the island because the joy was almost overwhelming. By now she was pacing like a caged animal, waiting to hear the knock on the door. She was terrified she’d trip on one of her shoes and fall down the stairs, she was so nervous. She wondered what was taking him so long.
‘Hey, you there?’ Izzy’s voice broke into her nervous thoughts.
‘Yes!’ Didn’t she know Eric was coming? Couldn’t she leave them alone? And what was taking Eric so long anyway? She went to the top of the stairs, wringing her hands.
‘I got a message from Loverboy. He says he sees the lamp. He wants you to stay upstairs and wait until he calls you down. He has a few things he needs to set up in the living room.’
‘Oh.. ummm. Okay. Tell him I said okay.’ He was getting closer, she could feel it. Her nervous sweating made her quiver.
‘Will do. I hope you two have a nice night. Hey do you have a safeword?’
‘What’s a safeword?’
‘It’s a word mutually agreed upon before rough sex or bondage that if one partner says it, all play stops,’ Izzy informed her to her deep embarrassment.
‘What!’
‘Anyway, if you do have a safeword, let me know what it is because with all the screaming and moaning you two get up to, I might not know if you’re actually in trouble unless I hear you say your safeword.’
‘We have no safeword! I’m not into that whole kinky tie me up and whip me thing.’
Izzy laughed. ‘No, you’re just bedding a vampire. I just love irony. Anyway, I’ll give him the message.’
She wanted to say thank you, but the connection was cut off. In the meantime, she went back to pacing until she heard the cabin door open. Eric was back! She rushed to the top of the stairs but did not step down.
“Eric? Is that you?”
“Yes, my lover. Please stay where you are,” came his voice. The sound made her heart beat faster.
“I got Izzy’s message. I’m not coming down.”
“Thank you. I’ll be a few minutes, Dear One, but I’ll call you just as soon as I’m ready.”
“Okay.”
She paced and waited. She checked her hair and make-up. She made sure her dress was showing off just enough cleavage to flatter her boobs. Every now and then, she heard a scrape or a thud, but Eric didn’t speak, and she had no idea what he was up to. Izzy had mentioned something about ambitious plans, and that only made her more nervous.
Finally at about 7:30pm, Eric called to her from the bottom of the loft stairs.
“You may come down now, my lover.”
She tried not to run down the stairs as she checked herself one last time and headed down the steps. She stopped short and stared when she got to the bottom and could see what he had done.
The cabin living room was awash in candlelight, and the fire was lit in the hearth, providing more golden light. Every flat surface capable of holding a candle or a vase had either a lit candle or a flower arrangement on it: roses, lilies, assortments of bright, fragrant blooms. There must have been literally hundreds of flowers in vases all around the room, and the cabin was full of their beauty and sweet scent.
But nothing was more beautiful than the man who was waiting for her by the hearth. Dressed in traditional Viking regalia, he had his hair sectioned so that two long braids came over his shoulders while the rest of his hair went free and brushed out to a gleaming gold. He wore a brilliant royal blue tunic with embroidery at the neck and cuffs, and a pair of dark, brown leather pants with high, fur-lined boots. He had a long wool cloak pinned across his shoulders by a heavy brooch, and he had the biggest sword she had ever seen strapped to the wide belt around his waist.
When he saw her, he teared up and offered her his hand from where he was standing.
“Come to me, my lover,” he commanded gently.
How could she refuse when he’d put it so softly, and the cabin was full of his amazing gifts? She gave him a warm and happy smile, and stepped across the living room to join him in front of the fireplace.
Chapter Fourteen
A/N: Okay. Before people start arguing with me about a point I make later in this chapter, in book 8, From Dead to Worse, CH writes that Sookie has heard Eric say he does not want to be King, nor does he want more territory than he already controls. So his position on that subject is canon. I know there’s some speculation about what is to come in later books, but unless CH has Eric change his mind, overthrowing Felipe isn’t one of them. Yet… For historic references and all things Viking, please see The Viking Answer Lady. My description of Viking nuptials can be referenced here: w w w . vikinganswerlady . com / wedding . shtml (just delete the extra spaces) There is one thing that bothers me about Eric. It’s something that CH does not address. Vikings were famous for their long, full beards, yet Eric is clean-shaven. This is never fully explained. While there are many reasons for Eric to not have a beard, one of them could be that he was shaved as a punishment. Unless CH tells us why Eric doesn’t have beard, we’ll never really know. I don’t make this speculation part of Sookie’s mindset because it is unlikely, given her general penchant to not ask too many questions, that she might realize how odd that is. But I wonder…
It was impossible to describe the joy she felt at seeing him again, and she knew her happiness was not merely because of the bond. Ambitious plans indeed! Where had he gotten those clothes? Where had he gotten that sword? He looked amazing. She could feel her body reacting to the sheer beauty of him, recognizing him as a true alpha-male and ready to submit. Jesus, Shepherd of Judea, those pants…
He stopped her and held her at arm’s length, looking her over thoroughly with his eyes. He was rumbling with pleasure, his eyes aglow, and she started to speak, but he placed a finger on her lips to silence her. Then he touched her with his fingertips, lightly, reverently, brushing feather-soft along her skin as he traced her face, her hair, her neck. She arched her throat, offering, and was rewarded with a throaty growl just before he bent his head and placed a lingering kiss on her jugular. His fangs were down but he did not bite.
He breathed deep, smelling her, pressing his nose to the soft spot behind her ear. She felt his eyelashes brushing against her skin. Her whole body was quivering with excitement, gooseflesh pimpling her skin. Her nipples were hard and straining against the built-in bra in the dress.
“You smell incredible,” he whispered, his cool breath blowing across her earlobe. The sex in his voice made her shiver. “You smell of sandalwood and amber and earth and arousal.”
“Eric…”
“Shhhhhhh.”
He pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes, their faces so close she could count the pores on his nose, and she almost stopped breathing for the intensity in them. He seemed to realize what he was doing, because he dropped his gaze, releasing her and allowing her to breathe again. She drew a great, shuddering breath as his fingertips traced down the length of her bare arms to lightly clasp her hands.
“Your skin is like silk,” he murmured. “Your nails are perfect.”
He raised her hands to his face and marveled at her manicure. Surima had painted her nails a light silvery white to augment the silver and white beads on her dress.
“Perfect,” he breathed and kissed her fingers, letting his lips linger on her knuckles.
She cracked. She yanked her hands from his, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as hard as she could. She heard him chuckle just before he got with the program, kissing her back as he cupped his hands behind the curve of her spine and pulled her close. She could feel something poking her, and she hoped it wasn’t the hilt of the sword.
“Mmmm,” she heard her Viking croon. “You taste of sunlight and honey mead. Your very presence intoxicates me.”
“Must be the fairy blood,” she teased, pressing against him, moaning when one hand caressed her ass while the other came up to palm her breast. He flicked his thumb over her nipple, and she almost sobbed.
“I could torture you for that,” he scolded. “I could bring you right to the edge then back off, and, no matter how much you begged or cried, I would not let you come. I would keep you there, aching and wanting, until you were incoherent with need, and still I would not allow you to have release.”
“Why would you punish me so terribly?” she asked, running her hands up his chest. The linen of his tunic felt crisp and clean.
“To press my point. I do not love you because you are part fey. I love you because you are the most amazing woman I have ever met. You are radiant and beautiful, and I cannot get enough of you,” he said, claiming her mouth for another toe-curling kiss.
Their lips and tongues dueled, but he did not seem too interested in taking things to the next level. She groaned and tried to urge him along, but he was being his typical deliberate self.
“Do you renounce all ridiculous notions that I love you only because of how you taste and smell?” he asked when he pulled his mouth away.
She gritted her teeth in frustration as he continued to play with her nipple, driving her insane. She threatened him with bodily harm. He just laughed.
“Do you?” he pressed.
“Ungh,” she moaned, rubbing against him as the lust buffeted her from all sides.
“Do you?”
“Y-yes,” she stammered, clinging to him.
“Yes what?”
“Yes, I renounce all the notions that you only love me because I’m part fairy.”
“Very good. And here I thought I’d have to torture you for at least a little bit. You’ve ruined all my fun.”
“Sorry. I hate to disappoint.”
“You never disappoint, my lover.”
His lips were at her throat again and she arched, stretching her neck out as far as possible, but once again he did not bite; he only licked along the vein making her tremble.
“Eric,” she complained.
“So impatient, my lover. Don’t you know some things are not meant to be rushed?”
He was teasing her and loving every minute of it. She groaned and slid her hand around his body, slipping her palm under the tunic to cup his ass. The leather pants were buttery soft, and she kneaded his butt like a cat, purring with pleasure.
“I’d rather take my time after I’ve gotten you out of these pants,” she answered.
He chuckled and obligingly pushed his rump into her hand. “Like them, do you?”
“They’re incredible. The whole outfit’s incredible. Where did you get it?”
“The boots and cloak I got here. The tunic and trousers I bought at a Supe owned store in Duluth. After I left you, I chased the night west. I knew from the queen’s dealings with the northern vampire kingdoms that there was a flourishing demon market there. The second store I tried had what I was looking for, and I was back on my way to you by 6am. I made it as far as Ironwood before I had to seek shelter for the day,” he explained.
“And the sword?” The sword that was preventing her from getting both hands on his gorgeous ass.
“The sword and the brooch are mine. I had them shipped express post. They were waiting for me in Marquette when I got there.”
That surprised her. “Did you call Pam and tell her to send them to you?”
“No. As much as I am confident in my child’s loyalty, I would never entrust my most prized possessions to another vampire. My heirlooms are kept in a secure vault at a Supe owned establishment. Once I was back within cell phone range, I called them and gave them instructions on what I wanted and where to send it.”
“Oh.”
She stepped back to get a better look at him, paying close attention to the clasp on his cloak and the carved pommel of the sword. Both were intricately designed. The brooch was a large, round disk of brightly polished bronze. There was a stylized animal in the design, but she couldn’t tell if it was a horse or a dragon. The pommel of the sword was a large half-circle and there were complex carvings on it as well. Both had to be at least 1000 years old.
“Eric, they’re beautiful.”
He gave her a smile of genuine pride and pleasure. “Thank you.”
“You really do look amazing,” she praised.
“I wanted to look my best for you, on this night of all nights.”
“I can honestly say that you have succeeded.”
He smiled and kissed her again, softly, lovingly, but she was getting tired of the slow pace. She wanted to bond with him already so they could get to the clothes-coming-off part.
“And you have exceeded my wildest expectations. You are radiant. I take it you enjoyed my gift?” he smoothed.
“Very much so. I want the opportunity to thank you properly for your thoughtfulness.”
He snickered low in his throat. “My beautiful Southern Belle. Always so gracious and polite. You charm me utterly.”
“Obviously not enough because we’re not naked yet.”
That made him roar with laughter and shake his head, grinning at her. “All in good time, my lover. Rest assured, I fully intend to fuck you in that dress, and then fuck you out of it, multiple times.”
“Then we best get busy because we’re supposed to leave tonight,” she reminded, although she didn’t know exactly when they were supposed to check out.
He grew a little serious and frowned, his eyes turning guilty. “I’ve done a bad thing,” he admitted.
She sighed. “What did you do?”
“I extended our stay here until tomorrow night without your knowledge or consent.”
“I… see.”
“I rationalized that you would not want to leave here so soon after our blood-bonding. I assumed that you would want time to… savor our union.” He put special emphasis on “savor,” and she shivered all over.
“And what about my having to get back to work?” she questioned. She wasn’t really angry because she’d been thinking the same thing: that having to leave so soon after blood-bonding would put a damper on the evening.
“I texted Pam and told her to tell your shifter we were snowed in by the November gale. No flights out until tomorrow night because they were still digging out the runways.”
“Ah. You know, you’re such a conniving liar sometimes it scares me.”
He grinned, preening. “I know. But I cannot lie to you, my lover. We are linked. Now you will know when I tell an untruth.”
“I bet you’re so disappointed about that,” she teased.
“No. What I am gaining is worth far more than what I’m losing. Are you mad at me now? Must I get back into your good graces before I can continue with my plan for the night?” he asked, giving her an apologetic look.
“Can I be mad after I get you out of those pants?”
He smiled, showing all his teeth, even his fangs. “Lover, I intend to make you forget you were ever angry with me in the first place.”
She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I’m down with that.”
He chuckled into her mouth, then let their tongues duel lazily. She allowed it, leaning into him and pressing close. Now that she knew there was no rush, the urgency she’d been feeling calmed down a little… but only a little. She was even more eager to get to the mind-blowing sex part of the night.
“Eric…”
He stepped away from her and took her hand, guiding her to stand in front of the fire where they faced each other. He held both of her hands and looked her right in the eye. The mood went from playful to deadly serious in an instant. This was it. She steeled herself and drew herself up to face him, waiting expectantly.
“Sookie Stackhouse, do you love me?” he asked firmly.
She took a deep breath and answered as quickly as her scrambling brain could muster. “Yes.”
“Do you enter into this union willingly and of your own choosing?”
“Yes.”
He smiled and she felt his pleasure and joy triple in the bond.
“I love you, Sookie Stackhouse, and I give my blood to you freely and willingly.”
“I accept your blood and offer mine freely and willingly,” she replied.
He nodded and she thought that they would now exchange blood. She moved to step closer so she could offer her neck, but he stopped her.
“I would like to say a few words first,” he explained.
She nodded that she understood and waited. He still held her hands, but now he looked at them and rubbed the back of her palms with his thumbs.
“If we were alive, our fathers would have met to negotiate our marriage. A bride price would have been set for my family to pay to yours. The minimum would have been twelve ounces of silver, but I would have paid much, much more. For you I would have paid gold. I would have given a whole herd of cattle and horses. I would even have given a ship. I would have paid any price set for you in order to make you my wife.”
And this was what Izzy had meant about taking his surprise in the spirit it was given. If she looked at it from a modern woman’s point of view, she would have been insulted to be “purchased,” but he was speaking from his heritage, telling her she was priceless.
“I would have been honored,” she whispered, squeezing his hands to tell him that she understood.
“We would have been wed on a Friday in honor of Frigga sometime after the spring thaw, and the celebration would have lasted a week. Our families would have spent many nights feasting and cavorting in drunken revelry. On our wedding day we would have been bathed and dressed in our finest. Your hair would have been left unbound and uncovered, and a crown of silver and crystal would have been set upon your head.”
She tried to imagine it, but really couldn’t. She had no idea what a Viking woman would have looked like on her wedding day, but she could imagine that Eric would have looked exactly as he did tonight.
“I would have been given an ancestral sword to present to you, and you would have had one for me. We would have exchanged swords, and I would have placed a ring upon your finger, and you would have placed one on mine.”
It was hard for her to wrap her head around what was happening. They were essentially getting married right there in the cabin’s living room. Her bridal gown was the blue dress and his tuxedo was the tunic and leather pants. There were no attendants, no priest, no guests. It was just her and him, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes as they committed themselves to each other.
She half expected him to reach into a belt pouch or something to pull out a ring, but he didn’t. Instead, he reached to his own neck and lifted an amulet that appeared to be made of gold over his head.
“I knew you would not accept a ring, so I give you this instead.”
The pendant was a rectangle and on it were the stylized images of a man and a woman embracing in a kiss. The carving was crude, and she wondered how old it was as he slipped the chain over her head and let the amulet come to rest just above the valley of her breasts. She touched it gingerly. It was cool like his skin.
“Eric…”
“It is the sacred marriage of Freyr and Gerda. It is a token of my love and my commitment to you.”
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
She knew she should be scared and uncertain because she hadn’t really promised to marry him, but there was nothing official about the ceremony, no wedding record or marriage certificate, and his confidence and happiness were feeding hers. It was possible that this was all she would ever have: this moment, these words, this man pledging himself to her. It was so intensely private that she was grateful that they were alone. What they were feeling was too deep and too big for witnesses.
She was getting all choked up and teary, and she knew she was going to start crying any minute. Looking at him, she could see he was on the verge of tears too, his eyes rimmed with red. She saw him lick his lip and nod to himself, then he took a deep breath, stepped back and drew the sword. The blade gleamed in the firelight, flashing bright and deadly.
“Place your hand over mine,” he instructed a little shakily as he offered the sword, pommel first.
She obeyed and curled her fingers around his on the hilt. They locked eyes, and he spoke in a steady, earnest voice.
“On this day I pledge myself to you. My sword is yours. My hearth is yours. I will share all I have with you. I will provide for you and shelter you from the cold. I will defend you against all enemies. I will bring you to my side, and all those who owe me fealty will honor you. This I swear in Thorr’s name, and on my honor I will keep these sacred vows.”
She swallowed hard and fought back the tears, sniffling. “Do I say anything?” she asked.
“Typically you would have made the appropriate vows of honor and fidelity,” he replied.
She nodded that she understood. “Eric, I promise to love you and honor you. From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others for as long as we both shall live. Amen.”
They were the only vows she knew. He gave her a little smile and leaned down to kiss her. His fangs were out. She could feel them behind his lips.
“Give me your wrist,” he said softly.
She obligingly raised her free hand to his mouth. He kissed the pulsing vein there, then raised his left hand to his mouth and bit down. He offered her the bleeding wounds, and, as she closed her lips over the punctures, she felt him bite her wrist and begin to suck.
They were joined in a circle of blood, each feeding the other, their other hands clasped tightly around the hilt of his sword, and she felt the power of his essence flowing into her as their bond flared and sealed in a great rush. In that endless moment, they joined completely, souls entwining and fusing, until she had no idea who was who and didn’t care. She had never felt so complete, so whole in her entire life, as if she had been only half a person or only half alive before she had bonded to this magnificent creature who was just as broken and empty as she had been.
They were so close, she didn’t even realize they’d stopped exchanging blood and were kissing until she felt his fang scrape her lip.
“Eric…”
Her answer was a tortured moan as the lust between them flared out of control. She broke contact and raced for the stairs. He beat her to them, barring the way with the flat of his sword. His eyes were glowing like two laser beams piercing right through her.
“After the wedding, we would have run to the hall for the wedding feast. I would have met you there and barred your way with my sword so I could carry you over the threshold myself. It was considered a terrible omen if the bride tripped upon entering her new home,” he told her, then he sheathed his sword, grabbed her and whisked her up the stairs where he all but threw her on the bed.
She scrambled back onto the mattress, making room for him to join her as they kissed fiercely. Her hands were already at his throat, trying to unhook the brooch so she could push off the cloak. He’d already unfastened the belt and dropped the sword to the floor. The cloak fell away and joined it on the carpet.
“Then once we were inside, I would have thrust my sword into the rooftree to judge the fortune of our marriage by the depth of the scar,” he said between kisses.
“I think they’d be unhappy if you put a hole in the roof of this cabin,” she said breathlessly.
“No doubt you are correct. I will have to forego that tradition.”
“How about we skip to the tradition of the groom fucking his bride senseless?”
“I love how you think,” he replied, suckling her breast through the fabric of her dress. She clutched his head and arched, keening his name.
His hands were sliding under her dress, hitching it up to her waist, and she realized that he was serious about screwing her with her still in it. She gasped and convulsed as he ripped off the thong panties and plunged his fingers into her.
“Ericericericeric…” she sobbed as he worked her, stretching and thrusting.
She clawed at his tunic and was rewarded with him yanking it off to reveal his perfect, marble white chest. He left the pants on, though, and she fumbled with the buttons on the leather until they opened and he sprang free. He’d gone commando. The lust she felt was about to burn her alive, and she was just about to scream when he mounted her in one hard, desperate thrust.
He filled her with such force it slammed the headboard of the bed against the wall, and the roughness of their coupling banged it rhythmically in time with his pumping. She was incoherent, keening and straining, as he peeled down her dress to free her breasts, his mouth seizing each nipple in alternating turns.
“Promise me! Promise me you will wear this dress on this night every year. Promise me so I can fuck you in it every time!” he cried.
“I promise! I promise! Promise me you’ll wear these pants!” she answered, grabbing his butt through the supple leather.
“Done!” he agreed, then followed it up with a harsh sob.
No more was said as he drove her insane, riding her, claiming her, making her his own inside and out. When she finally came, screaming, he came with her, his voice a triumphant roar that shook the room. She was still feeling aftershocks five minutes later when she came back to her senses. Eric was collapsed on top of her, his hips still spasmodically thrusting a little as he continued to convulse. He was still inside her, turgid and full. She grunted softly with each movement. She was going to need a dozen mineral baths to soak away the soreness from this one.
“Give it a few moments. My blood will heal you,” he whispered tenderly, his lips against her ear when he’d heard her moan.
She answered him with a little mew and gave him a nudge so he would support his own weight. He lifted up onto his arms and looked at her, smiling. She looked at him, then down at herself and frowned. She looked positively debauched. Her dress had been pushed up past her hips and pulled down to just below her breasts. She was still wearing her thigh high hose and one of her shoes. Her skin was flushed and peppered with hickeys left from her vampire’s lips, and her spread legs were still wrapped around her lover’s hips, his hardness still inside her.
She could see where they were joined, and it was an erotic and satisfying sight. He seemed to think so, too, because he began moving again, slow, lazy strokes that she focused on as she watched him sliding in and out of her. His thick, golden curls meshed with hers on each instroke. He was very well padded down there, probably because Vikings needed it for extra warmth. He really was blond all the way down.
It was fascinating to see what he was doing and correlate it with what her body was feeling as he moved. Each time his pelvis pressed against hers, they both gasped and grunted, then Eric bent down again to suckle her breasts, paying them homage as he rode her with agonizing slowness. She gave a little “guk” sound and arched her back, and he lifted up again so she could watch what they were doing. He gave her a sly smile.
“Like that do you? You’re as much of a voyeur as I am,” he teased, letting his line of sight follow hers as he quickened his pace.
She couldn’t answer because she was seeing stars again. Her head fell back, her chest heaving, but he brought her back to the present with a quick, hard thrust that hit her special spot dead on.
“Look at me, lover,” he commanded and she obeyed.
Her hands came up to grip his forearms as she arched her pelvis up to drive him deeper. His pleasure and satisfaction surged through the bond; his lips curled into a sensual grin.
“You may watch me, or you may watch what I am doing to you,” he instructed. “Either way, don’t close your eyes. I want to see the lust in them as I fuck you.”
“Eric…”
“Sookie.”
He was going for it. The headboard was banging against the wall again, and she was crying, gripping his arms so hard she would have cut off his circulation if he’d had any. Her thighs were clamped around his hips, keeping him at just the right angle to drive her over the edge, as she moved with him in time with his thrusts. She felt them both building, knew it was coming as the wave crested and the power released, spreading the pleasure throughout their bodies in a golden rush. Eric shouted something that was unintelligible as she gasped his name, shaking as she climaxed.
He finally disengaged when they stopped trembling. She felt him pulling out and winced. He grunted a little, then scooted down and began licking her where she was sore. She could feel his tongue laving the raw spots where he’d been a little too rough, and she began sobbing as she felt herself building for yet another climax.
“Eric… Eric…”
“Shhh. Let me take care of you,” he murmured, spreading her with his thumbs so his tongue could get even deeper.
She tangled her hands in his thick hair, knowing without having to see that he’d bit his tongue and was now bathing her sore places with his healing blood, just like Bill had done after their first time and she was sore from the deflowering. Only Bill had used his fingers. Her first lover hadn’t been nearly as orally fixated as her Viking.
He brought her off, then crawled up her body, kissing and stroking her face as he crooned a soothing tune. She could taste herself on his lips as she rolled towards him, cleaving to him as they both wept and licked each other’s tears away.
“I love you,” he whispered between tender kisses.
“Thank you.”
They lay there, tangled in each other, for several minutes. The rush was coming down, but she could still feel his blood dancing in her arteries. It reminded her of the carbonated candy that children placed on their tongues and then giggled as it fizzed and hopped in their mouths. Eric’s blood was Pop Rocks in her veins. She laughed softly to herself.
“What’s so funny?” he asked fondly.
She shook her head, realizing that she was nearly delirious with euphoria. She wondered if Eric was feeling the same way, then realized that half of why she was so high was because he was just as ecstatic as she was.
“Your blood is Pop Rocks,” she said stupidly, giggling,
“My blood is what?” he questioned, chuckling.
“It’s this candy. It’s carbonated like soda pop. When you put it on your tongue it fizzes and hops around in your mouth.”
“My blood is fizzing and hopping inside you?” He was definitely amused.
“It feels that way. Like little fireworks.”
“I think I know what you mean. It’s like it’s sparkling in my veins,” he admitted. “Like…”
“Sunlight on snow,” she finished.
“Yes. That’s it exactly. Was it sunny today?”
“Yes.”
“Was it beautiful?”
“Very much so.”
“Ahh. I never missed sunlight until I met you.”
The conversation was oddly familiar and she frowned. He felt her emotional shift immediately.
“What is it?”
“I think… I think we’ve had this conversation before.”
“Hmm? Huh. It seems… familiar to me too.”
“Do vampires experience Déjà vu?”
“I… I have no idea.” He seemed just as surprised as she was.
“Hmm. Doesn’t matter.”
“No,” he agreed, stroking her arm gently. “All that matters is this.”
“Yes.”
He moved, sitting up, and began peeling off her hose, his hands sliding along her calves lovingly.
“You look utterly ravished,” he commented with his typical smugness.
“Your fault. You pillaged me, you big Viking.”
He laughed and lowered his mouth again. She only let him get in a few licks before she stopped him.
“Please. I need to rest a little.”
He sighed but obeyed, removing the hose from the other leg. It joined its mate on the floor, then she watched as he pushed the leather pants over his hips and kicked them off.
“I do love those pants,” she admitted.
“I’ll wear them for you whenever you like,” he promised.
“I don’t know if I’d ever let you out of the bedroom with them on. And I definitely don’t want anyone else seeing you in them.”
He chuckled and began working the dress over her head.
“I feel the same way about this dress. You are too magnificent for anyone else’s eyes when you are in it.”
He obligingly shook it out, turned it right-side out and put it on its hanger. She gave him an approving smile as he came back to bed.
“Thanks.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to it,” he replied, stretching out alongside her and opening his arms in invitation. She snuggled up with a happy sigh as he draped the eiderdown over their naked bodies and glanced at the clock, frowning when she realized that less than an hour had passed since he had told her it was okay to come down. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“I’m glad you extended our stay. It’s good that we don’t have to leave tonight,” she said, nuzzling his chest. Her soreness was much better. Her vampire was very good.
He chuckled, his hand stroking her back lightly. “I am glad you agree with me. You do know that you’re not getting out of this bed until dawn. If you get hungry, I’m ordering in again and feeding you.”
She lifted up and glared down at him. “Oh no you’re not! I had to strip the bed and soak the sheets in cold water after the mess we made last night.”
His eyes opened wide and then he laughed. “Mess we made? My lover, you’re the one who insisted on turning my body into your dessert.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining,” she groused.
“Why should I? Feeling your hot, sweet tongue on my skin was incredible. When you sucked me, I thought my head was going to explode… the one on my shoulders that is. It was one of the most erotic, pleasurable experiences I’ve ever had. I’d have ruined dozens of sets of sheets to have you do that to me again.”
She snorted. “You do know that everyone on this island knows what we’ve been up to.”
“Does that bother you?”
She sighed and settled down again, hugging him. “Not as much as it should.”
He gave a satisfied little noise and drew her close. “Good. Our pleasure in each other should never be something that shames you. I am proud of how well you know my body and how much you can make me scream. It speaks of how good we are together if we can bring each other such ecstasy.”
The admission of how she could make him scream made her tingle all the way down to her toes. She reached up and tugged one of his braids playfully.
“I like the hair by the way,” she said.
He turned his head and kissed her forehead. “I’m glad. I’ll wear it this way all the time, if you like.”
“Only of you want to.”
“It’s no hardship to braid my hair. Perhaps you can even braid it for me.”
“I’m not big on the fancy hair stuff. You might not like how they come out.”
He smiled. “I’ll take my chances.”
She shrugged and shifted into a more comfortable position tucked against him. He reached over and fingered the necklace he’d given her. She lifted it up and looked at it, examining the two figures carved in the gold.
“Who are these people again?”
“Freyr and Gerda,” he answered. “Freyr was a god. One of the Vanir, the first gods, and he lived with the Aesir along with his sister, Freyja. One day when Odin was away, Freyr sat upon Odin’s throne, and he could see all of the nine worlds from there. And he looked into the land of the giants, and he saw Gerda, and he fell in love. Gerda was a frost giantess, the daughter of Gymir, but love between the Aesir and the giants was forbidden. Freyr fell into a deep sadness, but he would not tell anyone why he was so depressed. Finally, his servant Skirnir was able to find out why his master was so sad.”
“I read about this,” she interrupted.
“You did?” He was unable to hide the pleasure in his voice.
“Yeah. When I was looking up Hlin. Freyr gave his servant a magic horse and a sword, and sent him to bring Gerda back with him.”
“That he did. And he and Gerda were wed, and they were very happy together.”
“But then later, because he’d given his sword away, Freyr had no sword when Rag.. Ragn…”
“Ragnarok,” he supplied amicably.
“Yeah, that. The doom of the gods. He had no sword to fight with when the giants attacked, and Freyr was killed.”
“Yes.”
“Kinda sad,” she commented, letting the pendant rest against her skin again.
“But the gods knew they would die. They knew the prophecy. Ragnarok would come, some of them would die, and the world would be reborn.”
“But none of that ever happened, did it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t. I know it never happened in my lifetime, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen or that it didn’t. If Helen can exist, then what’s to say that Odin and Thorr and Freyja can’t as well? In every myth lies a grain of truth.”
“Like the myths about vampires and fairies,” she said fondly, resting her chin on his chest so she could smile at him. He smiled back.
“I am the stuff of legends,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper, showing a little fang.
She giggled and let her hand drift southward even though she wasn’t really looking for another round. “I’ll say.”
He grinned and laughed, sweeping back a lock of her hair with his fingertip. “I love you.”
“I love you too, even though it scares me sometimes,” she admitted.
“You don’t ever have to be afraid. I’m with you.”
“I know.”
“I’ll protect you from all dangers. You will want for nothing,” he vowed, then grinned as his eyes lit up with glee. “Which reminds me…”
“Uh-oh,” she said, not liking the look in his eyes at all.
“Now that we have been put to bed and consummated our bond…”
“Put to bed?” she repeated incredulously.
“Well, yes. After the wedding feast, you would have been taken to our marriage bed and prepared by your women attendants, and I would have been guided to you by torchlight. Then we would have been put into bed together, and our union witnessed by six people who could identify us later and attest to the legitimacy of our marriage.”
She blinked. “Six people would have watched us have sex?” she squeaked.
“Well… not the actual act. They would just have had to see us together in the marriage bed. It was very rare for anyone to stay for the… uhh… consummation. Although if it was a very important alliance wedding, witnesses might have remained, but for us...” He stroked her cheek. “I would not have allowed it.”
“That’s good to know.”
He laughed. “But afterwards… once our union was sealed, then it would be time for me to give you your morgen-gifu.”
“My morgen-what?”
“Morgen-gifu. Morning gift. The gift I would have held in trust for you for after we were joined. It would have consisted of clothes and jewelry and things for our new home, cattle and land and houses…”
“Land and houses?”
“King Gormr gave Þyri the entire land of Denmark. If I were King I would give you all of Louisiana.”
“You don’t want to be King, and I certainly would not want Louisiana.”
“True. It is a hopeless backwater,” he admitted with a sigh.
“Hey. Watch it. It might be a hopeless backwater, but it’s my hopeless backwater.”
“Forgive me if I have insulted you.”
She snorted and rested her cheek on his chest again, feeling happy and at peace. Eric sharing and joking with her was a wonderful thing.
“So what did you have planned for my morgen-whatever?” she asked casually, running her finger through his chest hair.
“Morgen-gifu,” he corrected. “And I was thinking that I’d start with a new car.”
She sat up straight and glared down at him. “A new car?”
“Your car is crappy and you know it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my car,” she insisted, offended.
“It’s a Malibu. That’s bad enough.”
“It’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned. Tara gave it to me after mine got burned when Charles, the bartender you sent home with me, set my house on fire.”
“I know full well how you got that car, and I was mightily unhappy about her giving it to you. I wanted to get you a new car then, but she beat me to it, and I knew you’d never accept a vehicle from me once she’d gifted you with that piece of crap,” he complained with a look of distaste on his face.
She was just about to get herself worked up into a good froth when she felt his anger and disappointment and hurt through the bond and that calmed her down a little. Like Niall always wanting to have something to give to her, Eric was much the same way. He wanted to “prove” his love. Didn’t he realize that he didn’t have to prove anything?
“Okay, look. I’ll make you a deal,” she began and he gave her a raised eyebrow.
“Are you negotiating, my darling?” he asked with a grin.
“Yes, I’m negotiating. You already are giving me a new bathroom…”
“I won that right in a fair bet,” he reminded.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. But that still doesn’t change the fact that it’s gonna cost a small fortune.”
He waved a dismissive hand as if to say “So?”
“So how about this… you give up on the new car thing and I’ll… I’ll…”
“Yes? And you’ll?” he prompted when she got caught up on trying to decide what she should offer in lieu of the car. “C’mon, darling, make me an offer I can’t refuse.”
“I’ll… let you put in the big tub,” she conceded.
His eyes lit up. “You’ll let me knock out the wall and expand the bathroom to put in the big Kohler?”
She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Yes.”
He grinned. “Done!” He reached up to cup her face, looking very pleased with her. “Oh brilliantly played, my lover. I was going to get you a sports car, but it would have been exceedingly difficult for me to fuck you in it. You’ve made me a much better offer. I’m so proud of you.”
“That’s it.”
She grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it, pressing down. He allowed it, lying still with his hands folded over his chest. After about four minutes, he started tapping his fingers.
“Exactly how long am I supposed to let you do this?” he asked finally, although since it was a jumbled mumble she had to guess that was what he’d said.
“Until I feel better,” she answered.
He huffed, then she watched as he slid one hand down to her crotch. Since she had both hands on the pillow, she had no way of stopping him as he slipped two fingers into her and started rubbing her nub with his thumb.
“No fair,” she complained, squirming.
He kept at it until she had no choice but to release the pillow as she gasped and arched into his hand.
“I take it you’re feeling better?” he asked smugly.
“Shut up…”
“Of course. I can think of much better things to do with my mouth.”
“Nnnnghh.”
He chuckled, then pulled his fingers out, taking her by the hips and lifting her up easily to straddle his face. Soon his tongue was working it’s magic. God he loved oral sex. How’d she get so lucky?
He held her in place by cupping her butt and keeping her steady so she had no choice but to lean over and grip the headboard for support. He reached one hand up to fondle her dangling breasts.
“Eric!” It was a plea and a warning at the same time.
He grunted then maneuvered her down his body to sit her down onto his hardness, thrusting up into her.
It was unhurried and tender. Eric wasn’t in any rush to finish and neither was she, so letting him move her up and down on him was no problem as she relaxed and let him take care of everything. He finally moved them so he was in a sitting position, his arms cupped under her ass as her arms and legs wrapped around him. She dropped her head to his neck and she felt his lips against her throat, but he didn’t bite. He had to give him credit for his control. He took his mouthfuls from her breast in the last few moments before both of them climaxed.
Afterwards, he placed her beside him, curling around her as he stroked her and whispered compliments into her ear. She drifted in peaceful bliss, sinking down into the bond and his love, and she felt it open fully, surrounding her with his presence until she was privy to his thoughts.
He was thinking of how much he adored her. How happy she made him and how frightened he was that Felipe would try to use them against each other, or try to make them do things by threatening the other. He hated the new king, resented him terribly, but yet he had no desire to seize power. He’d had plenty of opportunity to take over after Sophie-Anne had been so badly injured in Rhodes, but he hadn’t. He had all the territory he wanted. He just wanted to govern what he had, run his bar and his businesses, and be left in peace to love his bonded. Any more power would have made him an even bigger target than he already was, and the fact that she was a fragile human was of deep concern to him. For all his assurances that he would protect her, his greatest fear was that he would fail. Apparently something like that had happened before…
He started to remember something old and ugly and horribly painful, but she felt him clamp it down and seal it off.
‘Past is past. Learn and don’t make the same mistakes…’ she heard. ‘Love the woman. Love her and pray it’s enough.’
She stayed very still, not letting on that she could hear him. Izzy had warned her that they would start to be able to hear each other, but that it was something that they should not advertise. Reading into Eric’s fears, she could understand why. She tried to calm his unsettled mood by projecting her own joy and happiness into the bond, and she felt it work as he sighed and his mood lightened.
“I love you,” she murmured, knowing those were three words he delighted to hear.
He fingered the gold amulet, touching it with reverence. It was her wedding ring, the physical symbol of her bond with Eric. She ought to get him something.
“I love you too.”
She sighed and snuggled close. Hearing Eric tell her he loved her was a wonderful thing indeed.
Her stomach growled and he snickered.
“Shall I call for food?”
“Sure,” she agreed, not wanting to move. “No chocolate or raspberry sauces though.”
“You don’t want to eat me?” He sounded disappointed.
“I can eat you plenty without the mess.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
She snorted, then whined when he pushed her away.
“No…”
“I’m just going to go downstairs and call for a meal. I’ll be back in twenty minutes,” he assured her, tucking the eiderdown around her and kissing her temple.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Okay then.”
She felt him leave the loft and she realized that she could track him easily through the bond without having to even think about it. It was like she had a little GPS unit in her brain and the blip on the screen was Eric, and she could watch the blip as it moved about the cabin, going to the intercom… Oh, she could hear him. He was buzzing the concierge to get the kitchen.
“Eric…” she said, not raising her voice. He paused and waited. She could feel his alertness.
“Get me more of those nummy appetizers that you got last night. And get yourself one of those fairy blood pods.”
Surprise then lust and anticipation.
“Really?” he asked.
It was amazing. She could hear him all the way down the stairs and across the living room. She wondered how heightened her senses were now.
“Yeah, I wanna experience what you’re like on fairy blood. We didn’t get a chance Sunday night.”
The thoughts coming across were positively obscene and she was shocked. She didn’t think some of the things he was thinking were even physically possible, but she licked her lips and pretended she couldn’t hear his wild imaginings.
“As you wish, my lover. I hope you can take me.”
“If I can’t, I trust you’ll know that before I do.”
“Yes.”
She heard him give the order then terminate the connection.
“Twenty minutes, my lover,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Are you having any difficulty hearing me?”
“No.”
His blip moved to the far side of the dining room. “Can you hear me now?”
“Yeah.”
He moved into the windowless room and closed the door. “How about now?”
“What is this? A cell phone commercial?”
He laughed. “Just testing how far your range is. I must admit I wasn’t expecting your hearing to be so sharp.” He sounded as if he would burst with pride, and she could feel his happiness in the bond. If she was strong and could hear and see… He was so pleased.
“Uh-huh. You go out in the snow and I’m not letting you back in bed.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“It’s a promise. Or better yet, I’ll call Izzy and have her take pictures of you buck naked in a snowbank and put them up on the Internet.”
“Free advertising for Fangtasia!”
She groaned, but he just laughed and laughed. “I love you,” he finally said.
“Love you too.”
She watched his blip zip from the back of the windowless room all the way up the stairs until he was leaning over her. She was a little dizzy from it actually.
“Are you okay, my lover?” he asked, nuzzling her with his nose while her head spun.
“Yeah. Just a little dizzy. I was tracking you and you moved so fast.”
“Ah. Our bond is strong.”
“Yeah. Izzy was right.”
“I was hoping she’d be wrong,” he confided, his worry and concern coming across the connection. The blip that was him in her head began to change colors. It went from blue-green to swirling yellow and bright scarlet red mixed with streaks of black.
“Why?”
“Felipe will use it against us.” Yellow flared to brighter red as his protective instincts rose. There was more black.
“We won’t let him.” She sent her own conviction through the bond. Red settled and the blue began to come back.
“Please understand, there may come a time when, in order to protect you, I may have to seize power or abdicate it.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” she assured him.
Blue was back now, turning to purple as he slid into bed with her.
“Don’t you dare touch me with your cold feet,” she warned.
“You are a hard-hearted woman,” he accused, snuggling up along her back.
“And don’t you ever forget it,” she sniffed.
Purple danced and flared with little sparks of white as he snickered.
“When’s food?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Okay.”
Purple warred with indigo in swirls. She felt his hardness pressed against her backside as one hand slid around to lie against her lower abdomen.
“Enough time for a quickie?” he asked hopefully.
“Uhh. No.”
He chuckled, but bumped against her a few times until she gave him a little kick. The white sparkles were back and she began to associate them with amusement. So she could see his emotions as well as feel them. That meant purple and indigo were arousal. Blue-green must be happiness and contentment. Anger was obviously the scarlet and black. Interesting little tidbit for her to squirrel away for later examination.
“You are cruel,” he said, but she knew he wasn’t at all upset.
“Yep.”
He snickered again, his lips pressed to her shoulder. Purple faded to blue-green and she felt him relax. Cuddling was so nice with him and she told him so.
“Want to know what I remembered first when I got my memory back?” he asked.
“What?”
“I remembered being terrified that first night, and you let me snuggle with you. You held my hand.”
“Ah.” She remembered that night all too well. Eric, so scared and lost, in such need of comfort and reassurance. It had been so nice to be needed.
“That was the night I swore to myself that I’d make you mine no matter what.”
“Was I worth the wait?”
A new color filled the blip, a deep crimson that was edged with purple, it swirled as the blip expanded, and she could feel his affection and joy flooding into the bond.
“Oh yes.”
She sighed and pushed back into his arms, letting him hold her until the food arrived, watching in her mind’s eye as the blip pulsed and settled in its colors. Whaddya know. Crimson was the color of love.
Chapter Fifteen
A/N: Eric and I got into a tussle over this chapter. I wanted it to be more mindless nookie, but he had other ideas, and no matter how hard I tried to steer it the way I wanted it to go, he’d just cross his arms, dig in his heels and flat out snub his nose at me. Then I’d be left at the keyboard, trying to write the next paragraph, and he’d be glaring at me, tapping his foot, and I knew if I wanted his cooperation, I’d have to do it his way. And as we all know, there’s no arguing with the Viking once he makes up his mind.
So… Eric had me go some places I know some of you might not be too comfortable with in this chapter. I’m sorry about that. The guy is 1000 years old. He’s been through a lot and it wasn’t all hearts and roses. I don’t like making up history for characters that aren’t mine because I like to work within the framework of existing canon, but this was part of what Eric wanted from me. CH may blow all of this out of the water in book 9, but that won’t be until May, and LLI will be finished and squirreled away into the fanfic archives well before then.
Some of the intimacy that Eric engages in with Sookie may also make a few of you squirm. I would say to you, do a little research on male physiology, and you’ll find what Eric does to be a universal pleasure regardless of sexual orientation.
Lastly, Eric says that, while screwing Sookie senseless is a favorite pastime of his, he wants his fans to know that he’s “a lot more than the barmaid’s boy toy.” So there.
Personal note: A couple of you have commented that you feel I ought to be published. Thank you. That is a high compliment. I do have an original novel. It is called The Heart of a Fox and it is a fantasy romance set in 16th century Japan. There is a link to it from the website on my profile.
She must have dozed off because the next thing she remembered, Eric was leaning over her and nuzzling her with his nose.
“What is it, baby?” she asked sleepily.
He chuckled. “Baby? What’s next? Honeypie? Schnookums?”
“Bullshitting jerk.”
“I think I like Baby better.”
“Hmmph. Please tell me you come bearing food,” she said, rolling over and sitting up. She was starving. All she’d had to eat since that morning had been a turkey sandwich, and she’d worked that off hours ago.
“Dinner is served,” her Viking confirmed, and she followed the sweep of his hand to the tray full of delicious treats.
She moaned and reached for the lid on one of the plates, lifting it so she could snatch a crab puff. She didn’t even realize she’d out-snatched Eric until she heard him chuckle.
“What?” she questioned, moving to snag another, but this time he was faster.
“Ah-ah. Rules are I feed you, my lover,” he reminded.
“Well, then get with the feeding because this girl is hungry.”
He smiled and offered her the morsel. She ate four crab puffs and a stuffed mushroom in quick succession.
“Mmmph. Why am I so hungry?” she wondered, accepting a glass of wine from him. At least he let her drink by herself.
“Sex and my blood,” he answered.
“I don’t remember being this starving the last time I took your blood,” she commented.
He’d ordered shrimp cocktail, and she pointed towards them. He obligingly dipped them in cocktail sauce before dangling them out for her to bite off the tails. He seemed to derive great pleasure from hearing the snap of her teeth.
“Your mental state may have had something to do with that. You were… very unhappy,” he explained. She felt a stab of pain through the bond and licked his fingers to distract him. It worked and arousal replaced his discomfort.
She took another sip of her wine. “I think I took more this time too, and you’ve been feeding from me. Maybe I should have gotten a steak…”
“That is easily rectified. All I would need to do is buzz the concierge, and any cut of meat you so desired would be delivered to our door.”
She knew there was an erotic joke somewhere in that statement, but she didn’t look for it. Instead she drank again, letting the wine make its way down her throat in a slow burn, and took a deep breath.
“Maybe later. If I’m still hungry.”
“The kitchen is open all night.”
“That’s good to know.”
She pushed aside the eiderdown and moved to get out of bed, but Eric moved quick as a whip and grabbed her wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m getting up,” she replied.
“I told you that you weren’t leaving this bed until dawn.”
“Well, I need a potty break,” she informed him, leveling him with a look.
He digested what she said and nodded that he understood, releasing her wrist. “Don’t take too long. Your food will get cold.”
She reached for her robe, but he snatched it away. “Ah-ah. No one here but us, and I don’t want you covering that perfect body of yours.”
“Hmm, bossy much?”
“You knew that before you bonded with me.”
She huffed and stood up, feeling the cooler ambient air on her bare skin. “Aww, c’mon Eric, I’m cold.”
“All the better for you to hurry back, my lover. The bed is warm even if I am not.” He gave her an obscene leer that made her shiver.
“You’re being cruel.”
“Deal with it. Now go do your… potty thing,” he said, crinkling his nose in distaste and waving a hand towards the bathroom.
She gave a suffering sigh and headed for the toilet. Walking was an effort. She was definitely feeling it this time. Her joints felt loose and her private areas felt tender and swollen. She was starting to rethink the fairy blood thing. Maybe Eric was right, and she wasn’t up to taking him when he was high on fae blood, at least not tonight. They had pretty much been having sex non-stop since they got there, with a few hours off for eating and fighting. But still, regardless of the emotional roller coaster they’d been on since Sunday, she’d had more sex in four days than she’d had in the previous year, and her body just wasn’t used to it.
The tiles under her feet were cold so she hurried to do her business and get back to the carpeted floor. When she returned, Eric was lying on the bed, propped up against the headboard with his arms crossed behind his head and his legs stretched out on the mattress. He was looking far too smug and satisfied with himself for her liking, and she wondered if he’d dipped into the fairy blood podjuice. She watched him carefully, then leaped almost out of pure instinct when he tossed a shrimp at her. She’d nabbed it before she had a chance to think about it, and it happened so fast that she shocked herself.
“Oh…” she gasped, staring at the little, pink shrimp in her hand.
She cast a frightened glance to Eric, but he just grinned. He was very, very pleased with her reflexes.
‘She’s going to make a magnificent vampire one day,’ she heard him think, and she had to fight to keep her revulsion under control so she wouldn’t give her secret away.
He felt her unhappiness, of course, and frowned.
“You’ve nothing to be worried about, my lover. You know that you’re always faster and stronger after having my blood,” he soothed.
“I know. I just scare myself sometimes,” she hedged.
“You have nothing to be scared of. You are incredible,” he praised, extending his hand. “Come. There is more food here, and I know you are still hungry.”
Not surprisingly, his stray thought had killed her appetite (and her libido,) but she knew she had to eat otherwise he’d get suspicious. She returned to the bed and sat next to him, pressed against his side as he wrapped one arm around her. She noticed the little steamer that held the blood pods sitting alongside a plate of potato bites, but Eric ignored it as he offered her another bit of food.
“Eat, my lover. We must keep up your strength.”
She accepted the salmon and cream cheese ball and let it melt on her tongue. It was as good as it had been the night she’d turned him into her dessert, and the memory of eating him helped banish her nervousness. He gave her a spinach and bacon puff pastry, and she swallowed it with an appreciative moan.
“I love the little sounds you make. Hearing you, watching your face… it makes me wish I could eat too, just so I could see what all the fuss is about,” he admitted, his eyes focused on her lips. He darted forward to lick a bit of spinach off her lower lip, but made a face and quickly wiped his mouth on a napkin.
“Sorry,” she said, although she had no idea why she was apologizing to him.
He gave her a wry smile and bent his head to her breast, suckling the nipple as he bit her and drew blood. She froze and dropped her jaw as the pleasure made warmth start to build in her lower abdomen despite her soreness. A moment later, he laved the wounds with his tongue and pulled away.
“There, no more nasty taste in my mouth. Just your sweet flavor on my tongue,” he crooned.
“Ah. Didn’t you order blood for yourself?”
He lifted the lid off the steamer revealing three of the funky avocadoes, two the O-neg and one the much smaller, pink-veined fairy blood pod. “Yes, but I am… reconsidering.”
“Reconsidering?”
“We have been… very active these past few nights, and I am concerned for your well-being. I know enough about you to know that you are not accustomed to being so… well used.”
“You’re saying you’re worried we’re having too much sex? Who are you and what have you done with Eric?”
Not that she would object to a break. She was sore, but she also knew he could take care of that with a few licks of his tongue. She had expected him to heal her that way again before they continued with more sex for the night. All she would have had to do was tell him it hurt, and he would have been seeing to her pain before she could say “Ow.” Actually, considering how close they now were, he’d probably already felt the “Ow,” and was trying to avoid further “Ow” by being considerate. Did he love her or what?
“It isn’t that, my darling. It’s…” He sighed and looked thoughtful. “What is the saying about a horse and its teeth?”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?”
He smiled proudly. “That’s the one.”
She frowned. “I’m a gift horse to you?”
“Of course not. What I’m trying to say is…”
He paused, his expression frustrated, and she could feel his turmoil in the bond. Finally, he gripped her by the hips and sat her on him, straddling her over his crotch. She could feel his erection pressing into the crack of her ass, but she got the impression that he was trying to make a point and not trying to get her to mount him.
“My darling, you have nothing to prove. I am ready all the time. Whenever you want me, you can have me. I’ll want you too. Anytime. Anywhere. This will never be a problem, but…” He stroked her arms tenderly. “But you said yourself you want our relationship to be more than sex. I want that too. If I drink that fairy blood, even though it is not real fairy blood, the effect will be the same, and I will become a horny berserker who will want to fuck you eight times before dawn.”
He stopped and nuzzled her breast, but his action was loving not arousing.
“You’ll want to bite me and fuck me and rub yourself all over me,” she said aloud, remembering what he’d said to her after she’d had her meal with Niall.
He kissed the hollow of her throat. “Exactly. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. It is unlikely that I would lose control badly enough to break your bones, but I would probably ride you until you bled, and I doubt that would be very pleasant for you. In my intoxicated state, I might not even realize that I was hurting you until it was too late, and I’ve already had to heal up a few sore spots on you. I want you to feel well loved, not abused.”
“I can assure you that I don’t feel abused.” But she did have to admit that he’d already done the riding her raw bit, and that hadn’t felt too good once the afterglow had worn off.
He chuckled and palmed both her breasts. Since she was sitting on top of him, she was raised a little higher than his nose so it was easy for him to dip his cheek down to rub against her nipples. Again the action, while erotic, wasn’t meant to initiate sex. No. His touch was reverent and gentle.
“My darling, as much as endless sexcapades with you appeals to me, we have many, many nights of glorious sex ahead of us, and I would rather make love to you twice before dawn, knowing that I’d pleased you and made you want me even more, than rut all over you eight times and leave you raw and bloody.”
He looked up at her from the valley between her breasts and gave her wide, puppy dog eyes.
“I want quality, not quantity. And I want to cuddle and talk.” He laughed. “I sound like a girl, don’t I?”
She snickered and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, kissing her and nibbling her throat.
“I’m an idiot for not drinking that blood. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to have it again, but I don’t want to take the chance of hurting you, my lover.”
His sincerity, and willingness to give up something that he so obviously would have enjoyed, brought her to tears, and she wondered what she had done to deserve this man who valued her so highly and loved her so much.
“Will it keep?” she asked, stroking his hair.
“It will spoil in 48 hours.”
“Then we’ll bring it with us. Use it tomorrow or the night after…”
“I doubt we’ll get the chance. Friday and Saturday nights are both busy for us, and, believe me, it would be an all night affair.”
“We could still try. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“I’m already lucky,” he whispered, kissing her and licking her tears away.
She sniffled and scooted down on him, tucking her head under his chin. He embraced her, crooning the wordless hum that made his chest vibrate, and she pressed her cheek to his broad pects, letting the sound reverberate inside her head.
“Thank you. I am sore,” she admitted.
He stroked her back and she felt his hand moving lower, questing between her legs and touching the tender spots gently. She tried not to wince, but he knew when he’d found a sore spot. She didn’t have to look to know that he’d bitten his fingers, and was now rubbing his blood on her raw places to heal them. She would rather have had his tongue, but then she would have had to move from where she was curled on his chest, and she was feeling too safe and cherished to move.
After a few moments, he patted her bottom to get her attention, and she lifted her head to look at him. He kissed her and gave her such a tender and loving look that she almost started to cry again, but he shushed her.
“Would you like me to show you a way to please me, lover? A way to make me come, screaming your name?” he asked, his voice sultry.
“Don’t I already do that?” she teased.
“Oh yes. I scream all manner of things when I am coming inside you. But I am talking about a new way to make me scream. Would you like to learn? It would show you how much I trust you.”
She stroked his chest, smiling when he shuddered and grew hard again. She wasn’t sore anymore so she knew she could take him, but his offer intrigued her.
“You said I was a quick study…” she replied, arching her spine and displaying her breasts a little.
He made a little grunting noise at the back of his throat, more like a huff than a growl, but she got the message. He looked down at the food tray and began sifting through the offerings, obviously looking for something specific. For the first time she noticed a second steamer next to his black one, but it was the normal bamboo color.
“What’s in the steamer?”
He obligingly lifted the lid to reveal six small steamed dumplings.
“Ooo.”
He grinned and picked up the steamer, holding it in both hands so she could pluck the still warm dumplings from the water. She snapped them up in record time. She might be horny, but she sure was still hungry too, and good dumplings should never be allowed to go cold.
“Mmm. Yum,” she hummed, licking her fingers.
He watched her, his nostrils flaring and his eyes flooding with want. She’d lost track of his blip in her head, but now she saw it again and it was pure purple. He put the steamer back, took her hand and licked her fingers, sucking them into his mouth and scraping his teeth along her knuckles. She moaned. He moaned too, released her hand, and resumed perusing the tray with a sense of urgency.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“Something greasy or slippery.”
“What for?”
“We need something… slick. We could do without it, but it’s easier if we have a lubricant.”
“Lubricant? Like oil or lotion?”
“Yes.”
She slid off him, ignoring his moan of protest, and reached over to pick up the jar of body crème Surima had made for her.
“Will this do?” she asked, offering him the jar.
He gave her a curious glance, then unscrewed the lid and took a deep sniff. He closed his eyes in pleasure and dipped a finger into the crème to test it, rubbing a bit of it between his thumb and forefinger.
“Yes, this will do nicely,” he replied, already rumbling.
The sound did things to her libido and she licked her lips.
“Are you ready for your lesson?”
“Does it feel like I’m ready?” she teased.
He smiled slowly. “If you keep feeling like that, I may skip the lesson and make love to you instead.”
She shook her head. “No. I want to learn how to make you scream. We can make love after you’re done screaming.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“That’s if you’re up to it. I might wear you out, y’know.”
He snickered, his eyes dancing with happiness. “That is not possible. I will always want you. You could probably arouse me in the middle of the day, and I’d get hard for you. I don’t know how much of an… active participant I’d be, but you might have fun.”
“An undead Viking as a dildo? I think I’ll pass,” she snorted.
He laughed out loud and kissed her, letting their tongues duel, then he scraped his fang along her neck and nipped her at the base of her throat.
“Give me your hand,” he ordered gently.
She obeyed and offered him her right hand. He dipped her middle and index fingers into the crème and coated them up to her palm. Then he locked eyes with her and held her gaze as he slid down to lie on the bed and lifted his knees. He urged her to put herself between his spread legs and guided her hand down low, under his testicles to the opening that was there. Her eyes flew open wide when she realized what he was doing and she almost balked.
“Shhh, my lover. I have only willingly allowed three other people to do this to me in my long life. I am showing you a great trust,” he soothed, positioning her greased fingers right at his entrance.
“Look at me,” he said, and she obeyed as he slowly pushed her fingers into him.
The ring of muscle resisted at first, then it gave under Eric’s insistence. He even used his own finger to breach himself and open the sphincter wide enough to slide her fingers in. It was tight. Really, really tight. Eric groaned and took her wrist, urging her to push her fingers deeper. She gritted her teeth and tried to forget where she was sticking her hand, and, when that didn’t work, tried to remind herself that vampires didn’t crap so it wasn’t like anything was up there.
“Curl your fingers. You’ll feel a lump deep inside,” he instructed. His voice was breathless.
He was seriously grossing her out, but she shoved her fingers as deep as they would go and pushed up against the wall of muscle. She knew immediately when she hit jackpot because he jerked and let out a barking cry. Well, okay, if it made him do that, maybe it wasn’t so bad. She pulled back a little and pushed in again, making sure to give the lump a good rub. He threw his head back and yelled. Oh, yeah. Definitely losing the ick factor now because he was beautiful like that.
“Eric…”
“Again. Harder,” he begged.
It was like when he fingered her, rubbing her nub with his thumb, only his nub was way up inside him. Odd, she always thought his most sensitive spot was the tip of his penis – which was very erect and straining. He wasn’t circumcised, but that was no surprise. Vikings probably left the turtlenecks on their little Johnsons for the extra warmth, or in Eric’s case, big Johnson. Bill hadn’t been cut either. She’d been playing down how much bigger Eric was than Bill, but the difference was considerable. Right now that gracious plenty was standing nearly straight up, and it jumped every time she hit the spot inside.
Eric was splayed out on the bed, his legs spread, knees up, heels digging into the mattress, his hands gripping the sheets. His hair was a wild sea of gold around his head and across the pillows as he arched his neck and dropped his jaw, his head shaking from side to side as she hit his nub over and over. He tried to bring himself off with his hand, reaching for his erection, but she slapped his fingers and punished him by pulling her fingers half way out. He whined low in his throat, an agonizing sound.
“No. I make you come,” she insisted.
“Yes, my lover,” he panted.
Whoa. What a head rush. Did dominatrixes feel this way when their subjects surrendered? She didn’t know, but reducing this ancient warrior to a quivering mass of need was an awesome power trip. She rewarded his submission by sliding her fingers back in. He jerked and sobbed, his eyes tightly closed.
His nipples were hard and begging to be nipped so she rose up on her knees, keeping her one hand where it was, and leaned over him far enough to cover his breast with her tongue. He howled when she bit down, coinciding the bite with another rub to his little joy-spot. She’d drawn blood and she felt him straining to obey her command not to touch himself as she sucked on the little wounds.
He was making these little sounds, little “Ah ah ah ah ah” sounds that were a companion song to his gasps, and every now and then he’d let out a wail when she’d get his spot in just the right place.
“Please… please, my lover, please.” ‘Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.’
“Are you ready to scream my name?” she asked, pushing her fingers deep.
“Yes!” ‘Yesyesyesyesyesyesohpleasepleasepleaseplease.’
She decided to put him out of his misery, and moved back down his body to take him into her mouth. A bubble of red had already started to leak from the tip, and she licked it away, making him thrust up his hips and yowl. Her newly acquired vampire-blood enhanced reflexes kept him from gagging her, and she put her free hand firmly on his hip to make him stay still. Not any easy prospect because he was writhing.
She timed her lips and her hand in counter-rhythm, and she knew it wouldn’t take long to send him over the edge. His sounds got louder and louder as the muscles around her fingers got tighter, then his little nub swelled and got very hard, just before he convulsed.
“SOOKIE!” he screamed and came in her mouth. “SOOKIE!”
He kept shaking, twitching with aftershocks long after he’d finished, and tears rolled down his cheeks, staining the sheets. She knew she ought to be mortified, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She gave his joy-spot a few more rubs then slowly pulled her fingers out. She knew how sensitive her nub could be after she’d climaxed, and she assumed his was the same way.
She didn’t have time to wonder if she was right, however, because he was flipping her over onto her back and diving his mouth between her legs. She wasn’t objecting because doing him had made her incredibly aroused, and, if he hadn’t offered, she would have asked. But her Viking was as considerate as he’d ever been and was giving her a good seeing to without her having to say a word. She was saying plenty, although none of it went beyond his name and a plea for more, more, more. She climaxed on his tongue, crying his name, and the next thing she knew, she was bundled in his arms and they were both still shaking.
“Eric,” she gasped, then gathered her wits about her to try again. “Eric.”
“Yes, my lover.”
“What was that?”
“That was you giving me the ride of my life. I haven’t come that hard in 800 years.”
“Oh.”
“Thank you. That was incredible.”
“What did I just do? I mean… I know what I did. I just… What did I hit up there? I didn’t know guys had G-spots.”
He chuckled. “We don’t. I forget that you know very little about sex, my lover. You are so adept and skilled with me that I forget your lovers have been few.”
He rolled so they were facing each other, and he took a moment to smooth her hair and kiss her face before tucking her against him. The bond between them was humming with happiness. His little blip was bright blue-green.
“What you were bumping against was the back side of my prostate. It’s very sensitive, and when it’s rubbed in just the right way, it’s very pleasurable.”
“Prostate. Guys can get cancer there,” she commented.
He laughed and played with her hair. “Yes. That’s true, but we don’t have to worry about such things.”
She was still trying to figure out what had just happened, and a few stray thoughts popped into her head. If guys had prostates and it felt really good to have them rubbed, was that why…
“Is that why gay guys… Why they… Uh…”
“Fuck each other up the ass?” he provided helpfully.
God he could be so blunt sometimes, but it let her off the hook. She blushed. “Umm. Yeah.”
“That’s part of it,” he answered carefully.
“Do you… ummm…”
“Do I like getting fucked up the ass? No. Just because I like having my prostate rubbed by the right person does not mean I want cock. Your fingers do quite well. They were perfect, actually.”
“So the three other people…” she prompted.
“Were all women. Pam was the last person I let do that to me, and that was three hundred years ago.”
“Oh.” Well, Pam had said that she and Eric had had lots and lots of sex after he’d turned her.
“But you were, by far, the best. Better than any of them, my lover. I swear the earth moved. It did,” he said with conviction.
She chuckled and preened. “I think I saw a few stars myself.”
“You certainly were begging me to send you to the moon.”
“I don’t think I’ve made it back yet.”
He gave a deep belly laugh and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” she answered, snuggling close. She was on that blissful edge, the one where pleasure and contentment seeped into every pore, and she was utterly and completely at peace. Eric tucked the blankets and eiderdown around them and she was cocooned in warmth.
“Where’s the tray?” she asked suddenly.
“I put it on the floor.”
“Oh, good. I was worried we’d made another big mess.”
“I did rip up and stain the sheets,” he admitted, but he didn’t sound sorry.
“Fine. You get to call and tell housekeeping we need the bed made again.”
He chuckled. “Of course.”
“Eric?”
“Yes, my lover?”
“Where did you… uh… where did you learn about that prostate thing?” she asked, half-afraid of the answer.
“I’ll answer, but you must promise to understand that the world was a very different place than it is now, and things that are no longer acceptable were considered the norm,” he warned.
“Okay. I understand.”
“My father was a chieftain. He was a wealthy and powerful man, and I was his eldest son. I was set to take his place as leader when he died. There was a town in what is now the middle of Sweden. It was called Birka, and it was on the trade route from the Orient. My father would go there to trade and broker alliances for our clan. One trip he won a concubine in a game of hnefa-tafl. Her name was Mai-Pei, and she had been the favored courtesan of a wealthy merchant from Jiayuguan who had fallen on hard luck. She was a tiny thing, very delicate and dainty. Life in the cold north was no life for her, but she was exotic, and my father wanted her, so she came home with him.”
He paused and looked at her, waiting to see if she would have anything to say about his father bringing home a sex slave. She didn’t like it, but he had warned her so she tried not to be too shocked.
“What did your mother think?”
He shrugged. “No one was expected to be faithful. Men had concubines and female bed slaves all the time. As long as the woman was of lower status, she was of no threat to the wife, and my mother had her own… dalliances when my father was away.”
“Oh.” She gulped, biting her lip. “I see…”
“No. You really don’t. Things were very different then for women. Their options were very limited. Becoming a concubine to a wealthy man was considered an acceptable career choice for many women of lower class. If the man was good, a concubine’s life was pleasant and secure.”
“Was your father good?”
He stiffened a little, and she thought she might have offended him because the bond flared and his blip sparked red, but then it settled down again.
“Yes. By the standards of the times, he was a good man. His people loved him.”
“I’ll bet they loved you too,” she said fondly, stroking his chest and his ego.
“I was… looked upon with respect and affection, yes.”
She smiled, trying to imagine Eric the Chieftain. It wasn’t too hard.
“You were telling me about Mai-Pei.”
“Mai-Pei. Yes. Poor Mai-Pei. She hated the Northern Barbarians as she called us. We were monsters of men, so much bigger than the men she was used to servicing, and I do mean bigger in the endowment sense.”
She snorted. So Vikings were better hung than Chinamen. Why was she not surprised?
“My father gave her to my brothers and I to use if we wanted. She did her best, but she was afraid of us.”
Oh yes, the big, scary Northmen with their big dicks. If Eric had been her first, she might have been scared too… until she’d discovered how well he used it.
“But I was a horny bastard, and she was available to me whenever I wanted, and I wanted. I wanted a lot,” he continued. “Her previous owner had taught her well, and she was very skilled, very skilled. When she was too sore from my using her to take me again, she would use her pretty mouth and her hands on me, and it was she who first taught me about the pleasure to be had with a properly placed set of fingers.”
“I’ll bet that was a surprise the first time she did it,” she commented, smiling at him. She frowned when he didn’t smile back.
“It disgusted her. We Northmen were clean, but we were not bathing obsessed like those who lived in warmer climates. She thought me filthy down there, and she hated to do it, but she did not want to suck me, and she couldn’t fuck me, so she had no choice.”
He stopped, his brows furrowing in remembered insult.
“She was the first person to ever make me feel ashamed, but I wanted her to like being with me so I tried to be good for her. I was a boy and she made me a man. As time went on, I learned from her and I tried to please her.”
“If your skill now is any gauge, you learned very well,” she praised, hoping to make him feel better.
He shrugged. “She was a very good teacher. Towards the end, she liked me. She wasn’t afraid of me anymore at least.”
“What happened to her?”
“She died. About three years after my father brought her home, she took ill one winter. We did everything we could, but she was… she was a lily in the snow,” he answered with a sad sigh.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She was very unhappy. I tried to get my father to trade her to someone further south, but he liked having her because it kept me out of the maidens’ bedrooms and out of trouble. I always felt guilty because I was the reason he kept her.”
She stroked his neck and gave him a little kiss, trying to soothe his ache.
“I’m sure you did everything you could to make her as comfortable as possible.”
He nodded. “I did. But I couldn’t get her home. I’d promised her I’d get her home, and I couldn’t keep that promise.”
“If she belonged to your dad, and if he wouldn’t let her go, then there wasn’t anything you could have done.”
He shook his head. “No. There wasn’t.”
She snuggled closer, knowing he would like that, and was rewarded with a tender kiss on her temple. His blip turned crimson and she smiled to herself happily.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He sighed and drew her closer.
“I’m honored that you trusted me enough to allow me to be one of the very few people you’d let do that to you,” she commented,
‘Willingly let do to me,’ came the dark thought, and she had to act quick to hide her surprise, but the stray sending set off a cascade of unpleasant images and feelings that she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide from Eric. Sure enough, his contentment turned to confusion and concern.
“My lover?”
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. How could she play this such that he didn’t realize that she’d heard his thoughts? “Eric… Earlier you said something… you said there were only three people in your long life that you willingly let do that to you. Does that mean there were others who… where you were unwilling?”
He was silent for a long time, and she held her breath.
“You felt that?” he asked softly.
“Um… yea,” she agreed, not knowing what he was talking about.
“Our bond is very strong if you felt that. It was only fleeting, a ghost of a memory.”
“But one that caused you pain,” she stated, relieved because he believed she’d felt his brief stab of pain and not that she’d dipped into his mind.
“Yes.”
There was more silence between them, heavy and still.
“Will you tell me?” she pressed.
“There isn’t much to tell. I was part of a war party that raided a neighboring land. We lost and I was taken prisoner. Sexual humiliation was the norm for captured enemies in those days, and my ass became the target of most of my captors.”
She gasped, fighting back tears. “They raped you.”
“It was not unexpected,” he said casually. “I knew what would happen to me if I were captured. I’d planned to die with my kinsmen, and I tried very hard to die when I knew the battle was lost, but I’d had the misfortune of being seen by the kingdom’s Queen, and she ordered me taken alive. So rather than die with my brothers, I was spared, only to be thrown to the mercy of my jailers. I was injured, and too weak to fight them off, so they had their way with me.”
She sobbed. “Oh Eric. I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t be. It isn’t worth your tears, my lover. Please.”
She looked at him, mortified. “How can you say that? They raped you. My God, Eric, they raped you!” She stopped, cold realization hitting her. “That’s why you hate rape so much. Why it hurt you so badly when you thought you’d raped me…”
His expression was gentle as he took her face in his hands and he kissed her tears away. “It was different times, my lover. Rape was a means to subdue. We’ve all had to suffer such things in our lives. You were raped too, you know.”
“But Bill didn’t mean to rape me!” she argued, horrified. “Debbie Pelt locked me in that damn trunk with him, and he didn’t know what he was doing. And he felt horrible about it afterwards. He didn’t pass me around like some war trophy! Oh my God, Eric! How did you get away?”
“I didn’t. The Queen was a vampire. I was to be one of her sacrifices, but she told me that, if I could entertain her for seven nights, I would live. I used all the skills Mai-Pei had taught me, and I pleased her. But on the night she was to set me free, she deemed me too entertaining to let go so she brought me over.”
She didn’t think it was possible for her to be any more revolted, but she felt the bile rushing up her throat, and she had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting up her dinner. She sat up, retching and choking, and Eric sat up with her, embracing her, his eyes wide with alarm.
“My darling? My darling, are you all right?”
“That’s why you refused Hallow’s offer! Because your maker insisted that you screw her for a week! That’s why you’re glad your maker is dead,” she gasped, forcing down her nausea.
“What? No. I’m not glad she’s dead. I’m glad she has no power over me anymore,” he replied. He was rubbing her back and holding her hair, just in case probably.
“Did you kill her?”
“What? No. She ran afoul of a stronger vampire and he killed her.”
“But you escaped.”
He nodded. “I did. I was her favorite pet, but I was too cunning and shrewd to let myself be caught. I slipped away in the hold of a ship and jumped overboard as soon as it reached deep water. From there I swam to Europe and the rest…” He waved a hand. “The rest is history.”
She looked at him, at his blue eyes, his sardonic smile, his beautiful face… and she started crying again. “Eric… oh, Eric…”
“No. No, no, no,” he stated firmly. “Do not think me a victim. After those first nights in the cell, once I had healed enough to fight my captors, I did not make their conquest of me easy and they gave up trying. And I have not allowed anyone to subdue me since. I may not have always been as strong as I am now, but I have always been good at getting out alive.
“So no. No, no, no, my lover. No tears for me. If I had not been captured, if I had not suffered and been chosen by the Queen, I would have been dead centuries ago.”
He was trying to make her feel better, trying in that vampire way to brush aside all the badness that life had brought to him, just as Sophie-Anne had brushed aside everything she had suffered with a “fffft!” Was that what happened after hundreds of years of life?
‘Oh please stop crying. I hate it when you cry!’
The expression on his face was helpless, as if the big boss vampire was done in by a silly human’s tears, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“You hate it when I cry,” she said, sniffling.
“I don’t hate it when you cry. I’m just not wearing anything for you to blow your nose on!” he blurted, his eyes wide.
That made her laugh even more, and once she started, she couldn’t stop, and then Eric was laughing with her, chuckling and wrapping her up in his arms. She hugged him back, pressing close, loving the feel of him, the smell of him with her sharpened senses, and she felt his mood change as he began to pet and nuzzle her. She smiled, grateful for the gifts of trust he had given her and the pleasure they were about to share. Soon they were kissing, Eric settling between her legs for a bout of slow, sweet lovemaking, and she sighed and gave herself over to his very talented hands.
He was right. Quality was better than quantity.
Chapter Sixteen
A/N: Before you get out the pitchforks, I wrote this before D&G came out, before we knew who Eric’s maker was, so at the time, we had no idea who had made Eric and where. Although having his maker be a who he was, does make my job of defending Eric’s enjoyment of having his prostate stimulated easier. ;P
WARNING VIOLENCE! This chapter was difficult to write because Eric’s maker is a complete bitch. Some of you are going to be very upset. I know I cried while I was writing this. Take comfort in the fact that it happened a long time ago and that Chapter 17 returns us to our hearts and roses, and we leave all this badness behind.
“Eric?” she asked.
They were snuggling again, in that post-coital bliss that made her feel completely safe and content. The blankets were warm around them and her lover was a cool, solid strength.
“Yes, my lover?”
“Who was the third?”
“The third?” he repeated, confused. She smiled. His mind could often be muddled after good sex.
“The third woman you let… do what I did to you,” she clarified.
The only time she’d ever felt anything akin to freefall had been the day the Pyramid of Gizeh hotel had been bombed, and she and Eric had escaped out the window with Pam in her coffin. Eric had held onto her, and slowed their plummet as much as he could so they wouldn’t smash against the pavement, but the fall had still been terrifying. She was feeling that stomach-in-her-throat sensation again as Eric’s emotions plunged downward to a black pit.
She was shocked and horrified by how quickly he fell, and she scrambled not to get dragged down with him, clawing her way back up out of the abyss, but even as she clung to the edge of despair, she still found herself reaching back for him.
“Eric!” ‘ERIC!’
Her pain and fear brought him back to himself, and she felt him get a hold on his careening emotions. She lifted herself up to look over him, her hands on his chest, her fingers digging into his pectoral muscles. His face was even paler than it normally was, his eyes wide and full of panic. His thoughts were chaos; she couldn’t make any sense of them.
“Eric!”
He cast her an anguished glance and placed one of his hands over hers as he snapped back to the present. She felt him lift himself out of the pit and nearly sobbed with relief.
“I’m sorry,” he gasped. “I’m sorry.”
He drew a deep breath and she felt the chaotic swirl of emotions settle down.
“Forgive me. I wasn’t expecting that question,” he apologized, his hand coming up to stroke her back.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to answer it.” Judging by his reaction, she was terrified to hear his reply.
He took a few more moments to gather himself. “No. No, it’s okay. You asked me a question, and I… will answer it.”
She took his hand in both of hers, and sent her love and concern through the bond.
“I already know it’s not an answer I want to hear,” she said.
“No,” he agreed.
“Then you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry I brought up something so painful for you.”
“It’s the magic here. I told you it strips you of all your masks.” He took a deep breath. “I just wasn’t expecting this mask to get ripped off. Nothing like this happened the last time I was here.” It was almost a whine. He frowned, his brows furrowing.
“Maybe you weren’t here long enough,” she offered. She could feel that he was still shaking.
He looked at her, his expression tortured, but then something clicked and he grew very calm. It was like the night Victor attacked them at her house. Once Eric had made his decision, all of the tension had rushed out of the room, and this situation was no different. Once he had come to whatever conclusion or epiphany he’d reached, he assimilated the information and let it go.
“Or maybe it was because I wasn’t here with you. Maybe these masks are coming off now because I have blood-bonded again, and those old wounds must be healed before we can fully commit to each other,” he said.
“Blood-bonded again?” she repeated, then felt silly. Eric was over 1000 years old, of course he’d blood-bonded before. Duh.
He gently pushed her hands aside and sat up, taking a moment to brush her cheek tenderly. “I should not have mentioned how many others I had allowed to breach me. I should have known you would catch on to the fact that there were three. You are far too smart for something like that to have slipped by you, but it’s too late now. I can only hope that you understand why I did not tell you about her earlier…”
She tried to stop him. “Eric…”
“No. Our bond is strong. There should be no secrets between us.”
She held her tongue because she knew she was keeping a whopper by not telling him she could hear his thoughts. He was calming down enough for her to be able to make sense of them, but she was actually trying to block them. Whatever she had triggered, it was very old and very painful.
He took her hand and held it tight. He probably would have broken bones if not for her new strength from his blood.
“Sookie, I haven’t spoken of her in seven hundred years…”
She put up a hand. “I need a drink. If we’re going to do this, I want a drink. Do you want one of your blood pods? They’re probably cold by now, but I could heat one up,” she babbled, grinning.
If he was going to be spilling the beans about a former lover, she wanted alcohol to take off the edge. He stared at her in his serious “I wish I could just glamour you” way, then gave in.
“Alright. Yes. I could use a drink,” he agreed.
She was out of bed before he could stop her. “Okie dokie.” She picked up the steamer with the blood pods in it. “I’ll just squeeze one of these puppies out for you and heat it up, and I’ll be back in a jiffy. I’ll even put the fairy blood one in the freezer in hopes that we can take it home and use it later, ‘k?”
She didn’t bother to grab her robe, thinking she was lucky enough to be getting away with leaving the bedroom, and she hurried for the stairs.
“Sookie.”
The word was a command and she came to halt, turning slowly to look at him. He was still sitting on the bed, one leg curled underneath him. He looked seriously at her and she could not make herself look away.
“I didn’t love her more,” he stated.
She blinked. “Oh. Well… umm… I’ll be right back.”
She whirled and skittered down the steps, angry at herself for her own cowardice, and she stood, shivering in the kitchen as she waited for the blood to heat up in the microwave. She’d squeezed one of the O-negs into a tall drinking glass and stuck the other in the fridge. She did as she said she would and put the fey blood one in the freezer. She had no idea if it would be any good once they got it home.
She took longer than she needed because she was trying to get her head on straight, and she concentrated on getting her own emotions under control. The distance between them was helping both of them to calm down, but the downside was that she was getting calm enough to tune in again.
‘Why now?’ she heard him think. ‘After so long? Why now when you are on the verge of happiness?’
She got very still and almost stopped breathing.
‘She’ll be horrified. No point in telling her all of it. If you keep the truth from her, she will know and it will hurt your bond. Maybe all of this is coming out because it must be purged. Rip off the scab and let the wound bleed. If she truly loves you, she will love the scars too. You will only hurt her. You hurt yourself by keeping it inside. The mask is off. Trust the magic. It knows what you need. Isn’t that why you brought her here? Trust your bond. Trust your bonded. She is the strongest human you have ever met.’
Listening to his mental battle, she knew he was about to open some old wounds, and she wasn’t going to like what he had to tell her, but he was trying to be brave, even though the memories hurt him. His bravery shamed her. It was his badness that he’d suffered, and there she was hiding in the kitchen because she was too chickenshit to hear him talk about an old lover. Her cowardice didn’t become her, and Eric deserved better.
She mentally smacked herself, put on her big girl panties, and took the heated blood back up to her bonded. Eric was waiting for her in much the same position she had left him except that he had poured her a glass of wine. He handed it to her as she handed him the glass of warm blood, and she tapped the wine glass against the lip of his tall one.
“Cheers.”
“Skaal,” he replied.
They both drank, and she tried not to notice how her hand was shaking. His eyes never left hers, and she could feel his indecision.
“Eric,” she began, sitting beside him on the bed and preparing herself. “You know you can tell me anything, even if it’s bad or ugly or painful.”
He took a deeper draught from his glass and she watched him swallow, then lick his lips.
“You might regret saying that,” he warned.
“I’m sure I will, but I want to know about the things that hurt you.”
“You’re being very brave, but then I already knew you were the bravest person I know.”
She shook her head and lowered her eyes. “I’m not brave.”
He reached over and took her chin, making her look at him again. “You are brave; brave enough to hear what I have to tell you even though it will make you want to cry and feel badly for me. But please remember, my lover, that all of this happened a very long time ago, and it does not hurt me so much now.
“It is only our coming here that has brought all of this to the surface. Or maybe it is our bonding. Maybe both. The magic here works in strange ways. If this is coming out, there must be a reason, and I can only trust it.”
“I understand.” She took another drink from her wine glass and prepared herself. “Okay, I’m ready.”
He hesitated and took a minute to finish his drink. The blood made him a little pinker and put more flush in his cheeks, which was good because he’d been as white as she’d ever seen him. When he was done drinking, he set the empty glass down on the bedside table, and reached for her.
“I want to hold you, my lover, while I do this. I want to feel you warm and soft in my arms as I tell you my tale. You will keep me anchored to you and keep me from getting swept away.”
Well, Hell, what could she say to that? She took another swig from her wine glass, figured she’d had enough for the moment, and set the glass down next to his empty one. Then she moved to cuddle against him as he propped himself up with pillows braced against the headboard of the bed and drew the blankets up to cover both of them. Once they were settled into a comfortable position, she placed one hand over his un-beating heart and waited.
“Before I tell you about Svala, I must tell you about Inara, my Queen, the one who made me,” he began softly.
He was tense despite the fact that he was trying to calm himself by playing with her hair. She remained silent, but tried to comfort him by snuggling closer and petting his chest. He sighed and nuzzled her temple, kissing her there gently.
“She was very old, although I do not know how old. In retrospect, I would put her around seven or eight hundred by the time she had made her way north from Arabia, but she never told me anything of her history or where she had originally come from,” he continued.
“She was a cruel mistress with a fondness for the perverse. I should have known that when she made my first meals out of the men who had raped me. She gave them to me one by one on successive nights, and took great pleasure in my killing them, then she would have me pleasure her until she’d had her fill of me.”
He paused and she could feel him gathering his thoughts.
“At first I was unstable from the change, but once I had settled into my new life, I became a willful child. I’d realized what had been done to me, who was responsible, and that my Queen had lied to me. I had kept my part of the bargain, but she had not released me as she had promised. I was very angry, and she had to punish me for my disobedience many, many times. Everything I know about effective torture, I learned at the hands of my maker. I do not think there are many flavors of pain that she did not have me taste.”
He stopped again, waiting. Perhaps he thought she would have a comment or a question, but she was too busy trying to keep her own emotions in check that she had no time to worry about his. He’d warned her it would be bad, and he hadn’t been kidding. What was it with vamp-hos torturing their children?
“She kept me close to her. Every time I tried to run away, she called me back. Each time my punishment was more severe, and she delighted in my humiliation. I once endured three months of being bound in silver manacles after I’d tried to escape her. Another time, she chained me to her like a dog with a collar around my neck. A third time, she cut off two of my fingers, and I had to wait six weeks for them to grow back.”
She gulped, remembering how Eric had said it hurt very much when parts grew back. She’d had the impression before that he had been speaking from personal experience, and now she knew that her suspicions had been correct. She shuddered and swallowed hard, but kept her mouth shut.
“Eventually, I stopped trying to escape. I learned my place, learned what was expected of me, learned how to play the game of vampire politics, and, as long as I performed my duties and kept her satisfied, I was treated well. This was my life for the first one hundred and forty years of my existence as a vampire.”
There was another pause, and she found herself fighting the urge to stake a vamp-bitch who had probably been dead before the New World had been discovered. Eric felt her irritation and chuckled.
“Would you have killed her, my lover, like you staked that vamp-ho Lorena?” he asked with amusement.
She huffed. “Eric, I would have staked her ass so fast, she wouldn’t have had a chance to yank your chain.”
“You would have had to fight me first. I was under oath to her. As my maker, she could force me to die in her place,” he told her soberly.
“Just another reason for me to hate vamp politics,” she complained.
He sighed, and she was glad he didn’t remind her how deep into vamp politics they both were.
“It was a difficult time for me. I had always been a proud man, and I was not easily cowed. Inara did not want me broken, but she did want me obedient, and she did what she had to do to keep me in line.”
“I take it you didn’t have much affection for her.”
“No, I did not,” he replied in a cold voice.
She kissed his skin and ran her fingers through his chest hair. “So what happened?”
“Christianity was coming to Scandinavia, and it was no longer safe to stay where we were. The missionaries were sadistic zealots who killed anyone who would not convert. This didn’t affect us, of course, but the new believers were dangerous. I blame the coming of Christianity for the vampires being forced underground. Prior to that we held some place in Pagan society. Inara was a Demon Queen, and she was feared and respected, as was I as her enforcer. We were known – although humans did not know exactly what we were – and we had those who served us, and those who left us alone because they feared us. But Christianity changed all of that, and we were forced to flee when a mob attacked our stronghold. We escaped with the help of our human servants, but we were separated in the process, and I took my chance to run.”
She tried to imagine what it had been like for him. He must have thought he was finally free of a brutal mistress. Somehow she knew that didn’t last long.
“I went home. Everyone I knew and loved was dead, but I still longed for the familiar countryside and places of my youth. I settled along the coast of Norway and lived alone. I preyed on stray raiding parties and unsuspecting travelers. I was free for the first time in almost two hundred years, and I was happy. Then I met Svala.”
He paused, considering, then continued in an instructional tone. “It is a common misconception that vampires do not have feelings. This is not true. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite. We feel everything very intensely, especially when we are new. We have to lock our emotions away or they consume us, and it takes us years of practice to develop the emotional detachment that is necessary to our survival. You, my irritating darling, have always been able to break through my shell and make me feel emotions I have suppressed. You have no idea how much I resented you for that.”
“Oh I think I may have gotten some idea,” she commented.
He laughed and stroked her arm. “I am sure you did. I have not made any of this easy for you. I’m sorry, my lover, if I have been… difficult.”
Difficult was not the word she would use, but she wasn’t going to argue the point. “It’s okay. We’re working it out.”
He kissed her hair and nuzzled her again. “Thank you for being so patient with me. I know I’m an ass.”
“I didn’t make it easy on you either,” she reminded.
“No,” he agreed. “My point is Svala did the same thing to me. She was a fisherman’s daughter, and I caught her one night wandering alone along the beach I considered part of my territory. Her father and brothers had gone out to sea, but a storm had hit and they had yet to return. She was scouring the coastline for any sign of a wreck, and she all but bumped into me. She was beautiful, and I had been alone for almost a decade. I was still fairly young by vampire standards, and I was lonely, and I fell victim to my emotions.”
He stopped again, and she felt his joy and his sadness.
“Her menfolk never returned, and it was assumed they’d drowned at sea. She had no one because her mother had died birthing her younger brother, and she was at the mercy of her male clansmen so I took her in. I glamoured her at first, but then I found that I wanted her to know me as I was so I revealed myself.”
“How’d that go?” she asked, caught up in the story, in the romance of a young vampire Eric finding a strange girl on his beach. It was the stuff of bodice-ripper novels. She could imagine the cover: Eric bare-chested, his blond hair whipping in the wind, a poor maiden clutched in his embrace with a crashing sea behind them as a backdrop.
“Amazingly, she accepted me. I loved her utterly and I blood-bonded with her. We lived together as mates and lovers for twelve years before I brought her over.”
“Wait. You made her a vampire?”
“Yes.” He made it sound as simple as taking her to the magistrate’s office to change her name.
“Then what happened? Did she stay with you?”
“Yes. As I said, blood-bondeds often do if the bond is strong enough before the change. We were very happy. We were together for another sixty years. We left the coast and traveled down into lower Scandinavia and Russia, settling in remote places for a few years at a time before moving on. Our lives were as perfect as perfect could get.”
“I’m sensing an unhappy ending here,” she said with trepidation.
“Yes,” he confirmed sadly.
She searched for his hand and held it, offering him her love and comfort. He pulled her even closer as she felt the despair creeping into the bond. The badness was coming, and she braced for it.
“I was convinced my Queen was dead, you see. I couldn’t imagine that she would have let me go free for eighty years if she had survived. Little did I know that she was just biding her time. She had reestablished herself in what would become Latvia, and she wanted me to serve her again. When she Called me, I was terrified. I didn’t know then that it was useless to resist. I fought and fought the Call as hard as I could. Svala was in a terrible state because of it. But, eventually, I had to go to my maker. I didn’t have a choice. I told Svala not to follow me, but to go into hiding and I would find her when I could. I didn’t know when I could get away again, but I vowed that I would return to her.”
He stopped. He’d started to tremble, and she’d started humming a little tune that her Gran used to hum to her when she was upset. She hoped it would have the same effect on him.
“You don’t have to continue. I think I can guess what happened next,” she said.
“I am sure that you can, my lover, but… but this must be purged. I’ve never spoken of this to anyone. In seven hundred years, I have never told another of my kind or a human what Inara did to me. I need to be rid of this now. It is silver shackles around my heart,” he explained.
She hunkered down and curled her fingers against his chest. “Okay.”
“Do you need a moment? Would you like another sip of your wine?”
She shook her head. She had a feeling she’d be drinking the whole bottle before the night was over, but she wanted to be lucid now. “No. You can go on. I can take it. If you can tell me, I can hear it.”
He made a soft sound of gratitude and stroked her hair, his hand unsteady. She squeezed the hand she still held and waited. He went on a few moments later.
“By the time I got to my maker, she had reduced me to crawling. She forced me to debase myself at her feet, forced me to service her – which I did even though the thought of touching her revolted me. She knew I was hiding something from her, but I would not tell her about Svala so she punished me terribly.”
He stopped and she could feel his anger, hate and agony coming across the bond. It made her want to vomit, but she held on, gripping him tightly. She knew she didn’t want to know, but she had to ask.
“What did she do to you?”
“She… she cut off my feet above the ankles and threw me in a dark cell.”
“Oh my God.”
She sat up, gasping for breath as she fought to keep her dinner down. Tears were running down her face, and she didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt the wetness dripping off her chin.
“Oh my God, Eric. Oh, Eric.”
“I told you it would make you cry and feel bad for me,” he said, sounding resigned.
“What sane person wouldn’t cry and feel bad for you?” she countered.
He didn’t answer, and she looked at him in horror because she just knew he wasn’t finished.
“What happened next?”
“She starved me at first, then she threw animals into my cell for me to hunt on my hands and knees. Rats. Chickens. Pigs. It took four months, but my feet grew back. It was agonizingly painful.”
“And Svala?” She didn’t want to know; she knew she didn’t.
“When my Queen was starving me, in my delirium, I… answered her questions.”
“Oh no.”
“Of course, Svala already knew I was in dire straits because we were blood-bonded. She couldn’t stand to feel my pain, and I didn’t know how to block the bond to spare her. She came out of hiding to try to come to my aid…”
“Inara killed her,” she gasped.
“Yes,” Eric confirmed, blood tears brimming his eyes, then he drew a deep breath and said it. “Inara killed Svala.”
He gave her a shocked look, a single tear rolling down his cheek. “I’ve never said that out loud. My maker murdered my bonded.”
By now she was sobbing, unable to hold back, and she reached for him, needing to hold him, needing to comfort him because it was too awful for words. He sat up and let her embrace him, hugging her to himself as she wrapped her arms around him and wept for both of them.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she cried.
“I knew the moment it happened. Inara didn’t even need to show me the jewelry I had given my mate as proof of the kill. I felt the bond break, and it broke me.”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Eric. Eric.”
She clutched him, pressing his face to her breasts, her nails digging into the flesh of his shoulders as she tried to cleave him to her, to protect him from the badness, from the terrible truth. She gripped his blond mane, burying her face into his golden hair as she rocked him. He allowed it, allowed her paltry human comfort to attempt to lave the wounds on his heart. She didn’t know who was soothing who.
“Eric, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright. I’m okay.”
“It’s not alright! She killed your blood-bonded and cut off your feet! I’m so glad she’s dead!” She pulled away so she could look him in the eye. “Please tell me whoever it was made her suffer.”
“I honestly don’t know. After she broke me, I served her for another hundred years. That’s how long it took for the wound left from the severed bond to heal, and for me to put myself back together. I probably would have met the sunrise during that time if Inara hadn’t kept me with her constantly for the next thirty of those years. She forced me to stay alive. She said I belonged to her, that my life was not mine to take.”
She growled. “That unbelievable bitch.”
“Don’t be angry. If she hadn’t done that, I would never have become what I am, and I would never have met you. In an odd way, I’m grateful to her.”
“I’m not. Fucking ho.”
Her curse made him smile. “I do love you, my lover.”
She crossed her arms. “So who offed her, and is he still around so I can send him a thank you note?”
That made him chuckle and shake his head. “He was an Inquisitor turned vampire, and he was using his ties with the Church to flush out potential rivals. He had heard of my Queen and the powerful nest she was building.”
He stopped and gave her a smile that was frightening and cruel. “I will let you in on a secret. I knew he was coming. I purposefully did not tell my Queen, and I slipped away to safety just before dawn on the day of the assault. I was already stowed away on a merchant ship when my Queen’s lair was attacked.”
He waggled his eyebrows at her, his eyes dancing, as his expression turned smug.
“You see, I had learned well from my father. He taught me that loyalty through fear and brutality was not loyalty at all, and that your men would turn on you in a heartbeat if they thought they had found someone who could protect them from your wrath. He taught me that leadership with fairness, and an appropriate show of strength, bred men who would follow you to their deaths. I spent decades cultivating my own following of loyal subjects who hated the Queen as much as I did. So while I was bedding her, I was also plotting my vengeance. The coming of Carus merely hastened my plans.
“When my human informants told me Carus was hunting Inara, I laid crumbs for him to follow, and led him right to the Queen’s daytime resting place, then I got out before she even had a chance to suspect my treachery. I took two of her not-so-loyal officers with me, and we all jumped ship after the sun went down. We made land in Lithuania and made our way west, and eventually went our separate ways.”
“So is Carus still alive?” she asked, not surprised to hear that he’d betrayed his maker. It made her wonder if he’d ever betray her, but her very soul shrank at the prospect. Blood-bondeds did not betray each other.
“No. He was killed in Germany sometime in the 1600’s. I felt badly. I owed him my freedom, but…” He shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile.
“That’s too bad. I would have sent him a box of TrueBlood and a gold medal.”
He laughed and kissed her, letting his lips linger on her mouth. His hands came up to cup her face as he kissed her again. She could feel his despair morphing into arousal, the need to reconnect and feel loved after making himself so vulnerable.
“I love you, my lover, my bonded,” he breathed into her mouth, making her shiver.
He looked at her, his face beatific as he studied her, his blue eyes full of warmth, and it took her breath away. Was this magnificent creature who had suffered and survived so much really hers?
“Thank you for being so brave. I feel… light as if a weight has been lifted from me. A weight I didn’t even know was there. You are remarkable, my lover.”
“I didn’t do anything. All I did was listen.”
“And cry for me. Your tears…” He licked her face, maybe to taste the remnants of the salt on her cheeks. “… are jewels.”
Oh yeah, definite shift in the mood now. His tongue dipped into the hollow behind her ear as he pressed close. She sighed as he let his fang scrape along her throat as he bent his head down to her chest, and she trembled as he licked the valley between her breasts.
“Is it alright, my lover?” he asked tentatively.
She arched her back and threaded her fingers into his hair. “Do you have to ask?”
“I don’t want to presume.”
“Eric, you know what I’m feeling,” she reminded.
“I know that, my lover, but too often you’ve felt one way but done the opposite.”
His reluctance surprised her because he’d never been hesitant when it came to bedding her, but then she reasoned that he’d just ripped himself open and shared some of his most secret and painful memories with her, so it was understandable that he might be feeling a little uncertain.
“You don’t have to worry about that tonight,” she whispered comfortingly, lying back on the bed and taking him with her.
She spread her legs, positioning his hips between them as she held him close to her, stroking his back.
“Thank you,” he murmured, settling himself atop her.
Their union was more of an affirmation of their bond than a bout of pleasure, although pleasure definitely featured prominently in the joining, and she felt them becoming one on levels that went even deeper than either of them had experienced before. The sex and the mouthfuls of her blood healed his wounded spirit as their connection grew even stronger, and they telegraphed their love for each other in the movement of their bodies. Her hands slid from his bottom to his back as she moved with him, timing the rise and fall of her hips with the pace of his rhythm, keeping him inside her for as long as possible. Their climax was shared and felt by both of them in unison, echoing across the bond like the crescendo of a song, vibrating their souls together until the final notes faded.
In the aftermath, their positions were reversed. Instead of their normal après-sex cuddling where her head was on his shoulder, his head was nestled against her breasts, his ear pressed close to hear her heartbeat. She crooned under her breath and played with his hair, unwilling to stop stroking him because her touch brought him so much comfort. His braids were looking a little ragged. They’d have to come out soon. She figured she would brush them out before they showered together sometime before dawn. It was just eleven thirty now. They had plenty of night left.
As she lay there, holding him, getting used to the fact that her lover didn’t breathe and had no heartbeat, she thought back to what she had learned tonight, of the horrors her bonded had endured. Inara had done her best to break him, but in the end, Eric had been the one who had triumphed. Still, the price he had paid for that victory had been very high, and she wondered if he ever wished things had been different.
“Eric?” she asked softly.
“Yes, my lover?” he replied, contentment in every syllable. She almost felt bad for wanting ask her next question.
“Do you ever miss her?”
“Who?” he questioned, then stilled, seeming to understand. “Svala?”
“Yeah.”
He pulled away and sat up, a quizzical expression on his face. “Why do you ask me this, my lover?”
She looked away, feeling self-conscious. “Well… she was your blood-bonded. You lived together for eighty years. She died trying to save you…”
“I have told you, I did not love her more than you. If anything, my love for you is truer because you have always known what I am, and you have never been in my thrall, and yet you chose me anyway.”
She hadn’t asked for him to say that, but it warmed her heart all the same. “Thank you, Eric, but that isn’t why I asked you. I mean, she was your mate. Surely you… thought of her.”
He looked down, his face pensive, and she felt his reluctance and remembered grief, and she grieved with him.
“After the severed bond had healed enough for me to no longer want to join her, I found it… unwise to think of her,” he admitted. “She was gone, and there was nothing I could do to bring her back, so there was no point in pining for her. It was… counterproductive.”
She nodded. It was a very Eric way of looking at things.
“I understand.”
“That did not mean I was successful all of the time. The last time I allowed myself to think of her, I ended up making Pam.”
She blinked at him. “Pam?”
He nodded. “I was at a low point in my life. My nest in Prague had been overrun by a rival nest. Many of my nestmates had been killed and the rest of us scattered. I had made my way to England. I was alone and very lonely.”
He looked at her face as if trying to gauge her thoughts. She sent reassurance and love through the bond and urged him to continue.
“I was prowling London one night, and I caught a glimpse of a young woman who was the spitting image of my Svala. I thought it was her at first because the resemblance was so startling, but then I quickly realized the bewitching creature was human. That night I followed her home.
“I was unable to get her out of my thoughts, and I became nearly obsessed with her. I convinced myself that the Gods had smiled upon me and given my Svala back in the form of this human, so I stalked her and waited until one night she snuck out of her house to meet with a young man. What a brazen little thing she was! You should have seen her.”
He smiled with the memory, and she tried to mesh what he was telling her with what Pam had told her of the night she had met her maker.
“I caught her on her way back. Little sneak trying to creep through the garden. Such a bad girl.” His smile faded and he sighed. “I knew the moment I bit her that she wasn’t my Svala, but by then it was too late, and I didn’t have the heart to kill her. So I fed her my blood and put her back in her bed. Then I waited for the burial and exhumed her that night so she would not have to dig herself out of her own coffin. I explained everything to her when she woke.”
“But you didn’t tell her about Svala,” she prompted.
He shook his head. “I told no one about Svala. You are the first person I’ve told in seven centuries.”
The raw truth was a sledgehammer, and the blow was almost as heavy.
“If we hadn’t come here, and I hadn’t asked about the third person, would you have told me about her?”
He was silent for a while, then he answered slowly. “Probably not.”
She thought about that, turning it over in her head. On one hand, it didn’t bode well for honesty in a relationship if he had planned to keep such a big secret from her.
‘Hello! You can read his mind. Pot meet kettle!
On the other hand, knowing the truth had ripped open all of Eric’s old wounds and put them both through the hell of dragging the memories out into the light. Having felt his agony and grief, she couldn’t say that she wouldn’t have done the same thing if their places were reversed. And since what had happened occurred seven centuries ago, and everyone involved except Eric was dead, she could see the pragmatist in him deciding that it was best to let sleeping vampires lie.
“I understand,” she said.
He nodded.
“You told Pam your companion had gone off on her own.”
“That is what I told her, yes,” he confirmed.
“You lied to her.”
“Svala was my secret, my pain, and I felt guilty enough for what happened. How could I tell her that I’d attacked her, killed her, and made her into a vampire because she looked like my dead mate?”
“Okay, I can see how that would have been awkward,” she conceded.
“You think?” he asked, his eyebrow raised.
“I won’t tell her,” she promised.
“I know.” He said it with complete conviction.
His faith in her was humbling and she looked down at her hands. She was suddenly very tired.
“Thank you for sharing with me tonight. For telling me about Svala and for… showing me so much trust earlier,” she said, needing to acknowledge the gift he had bestowed upon her.
His hand stroked her arm as he moved close again, sliding next to her and nuzzling his nose under her chin.
“Trusting you was easy. I’d do it again if that was what you wanted,” he murmured.
She quivered, remembering how he had looked in the height of his passion. “I… wouldn’t mind.”
He pulled away and lay back on the pillows, his eyes turning heated. One hand slid down under the covers, and she had no illusions as to what he was touching. His fangs came down a little.
Solving everything between them with sex was also a very Eric thing to do, but she was wrung out.
“Later,” she added.
He pouted and she laughed.
“Are you sure you didn’t sneak that fairy blood when I wasn’t looking?” she teased.
“Believe me, my lover, if I was on fairy blood, there would be no doubt of it,” he replied, placing both hands behind his head.
“Well, you’re enough of a handful without it.”
“I am making up for my month of abstinence.”
She snorted. “Oh, like you need a reason to be horny all the time. You forget I’ve already spent several nights with you at my house, Eric. Multiple repeat performances were the norm.”
“You were up for most of them if I recall correctly.”
He was trying to look innocent, but it wasn’t working. She lowered herself down next to him, tucking her head under his chin.
“Yes, but if you also recall, I did need to sleep sometime.”
He snuggled up, nuzzling her the way he liked to do. Vampires were all about touch and smell.
“But you’re on vacation. You can sleep all day,” he pointed-out, wrapping her up in his arms.
“And I could pass out on you.”
“Are you that tired, my lover?” he whispered, his amorous mood shifting to a more protective one.
“No, but… I am getting worn out. All this emotional upheaval is draining… no pun intended.”
He chuckled. “I understand. It… drains me too.”
She smiled and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. He kissed her hair.
“My darling,” he murmured as happiness started seeping into the bond. His little blip was the contented blue-green.
“Mmmm,” she sighed, sinking down into their connection and being rewarded with his love and his pleasant thoughts. He was thinking about how happy he was, about how complete he felt in that moment, and about how he was horny but that he was willing to wait until she was rested, then his thoughts turned decidedly more lascivious and obscene. She made an effort to cut them off before he got too detailed in his fantasies.
‘You really need to tell him you can hear him,’ she thought to herself. ‘It isn’t like you can keep it from him forever.’
She thought about what that would entail, about how he would feel about having his thoughts privy to her, and decided that now was not the time to ruin a perfectly good cuddle with more unpleasantness.
‘I’ll tell him… tomorrow.’
“What’s on your mind, my lover?” he asked, and his question surprised her. For a moment she was afraid that Izzy’s prediction had come true, and Eric could hear her thoughts, but he just gave her a curious look when she lifted her head. “Your emotions are fluctuating, and I can almost hear the wheels in your head turning, you’re thinking so hard.”
“I was just letting my mind wander,” she hedged.
“And where was it taking you on your wanderings?”
She needed to divert him and send him in the wrong direction. “I was just wondering what Pam was like as a young vamp.”
It wasn’t a lie. Ever since Pam had told her about Eric bringing her over, she had wondered what it had been like for her. The half-truth was the only way she was able to get away with her little white lie.
He grinned fondly. “Wild. We had sex many times. She was a lioness in bed. Women in those days were so sexually repressed. She threw off the moral shackles of her mortal life pretty quickly.” He chuckled. “She was a handful though. A little disobedient in the beginning. I had to punish her a few times to get her to obey me.”
She gasped and he hurried to reassure her. “I was never cruel to her or sadistic. My punishments weren’t anything like what my maker had done to me. I never hurt her… badly. I never beat her, or starved her, or cut off any of her body parts. I knew perfectly well how to torture, and I showed no mercy to my enemies, but I never harmed my child. I never forced her to have sex with me, and, as soon as I felt she was in control of herself enough to go out on her own, I let her leave me.”
“She told me that she went out on her own for many years before you called her to help with Fangtasia.”
He nodded. “Yes. I made her a partner, of course. She profits from her labors in compensation for having to serve me again. Eventually, once Fangtasia is well established, I will release her and she can leave if she wants.”
“She’s said she serves you willingly, that she is glad to serve.”
He shrugged again. “All of my people serve me willingly. I am a good sheriff. I inspire great loyalty in my subjects because I treat them fairly.” He cast her a sullen look. “I treat you very fairly.”
She snorted and gave him a coy glance through her eyelashes. “And yet I defy you and give you trouble.”
He gave her another look, and she didn’t have to peek into his thoughts to know what he was thinking. She stopped him right there, her eyes opening wide.
“No. Oh no. Do not even think of doing anything to me,” she warned, poking him in the chest.
“If you have accepted our bond, there would be no reason for me to punish you. To do so would be to hurt myself because I would feel your pain. Besides, if I were to… punish you, you might end up liking it. Pam began to enjoy… darker sex afterwards.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Not into whips and chains, huh?” That was actually good to know.
He frowned. “Not really. Some vampires derive great pleasure from violent blood play during sex, but I’m not one of them.”
Considering his history, that kind of made sense.
“I’ve never done anything like that,” she confessed.
He gave her a leer and touched her face gently. “Perhaps some night when we are alone, and you feel safe with me, you will let me blindfold you and bind your hands. There is great pleasure to be had in surrendering control.”
She gave him a heated look. “Like you surrendered to me earlier?”
“Oh yes. You liked it too. You liked doing that to me. It made you feel powerful.”
She couldn’t deny it. She remembered how he had looked when he was writhing under her attentions, how beautiful his face had been, how knowing she had pleasured him had made her feel. He gave her a slow smile because he could feel her starting to become aroused again, and she wanted to mentally slap herself. She was becoming as bad as him, or maybe it was just the strength of their bond that she was beginning to be able to match his desire with her own.
“Maybe I should be the one blindfolding you and tying you up,” she countered.
“I would let you,” he replied. “As long as I knew we were completely safe. I’m sorry, my lover, but I would never let you to do that to me outside of my house. It is the only place I know of that is secure enough for me to allow myself to be so compromised.”
“You don’t think I could protect you? Or at least release you before anything bad happened to you?”
“I think things happen very fast in our world and there is no telling if you would have the time to unlatch the bindings,” he replied reasonably.
She knew he was right. With demons and fairies able to blip in and out of places at will, unless her house had some pretty serious protection spells on it, an attacker could wait until Eric was indisposed then attack while he was at a disadvantage.
“I suppose you’re right,” she agreed, tucking her head back under his chin.
“I know I’m right,” he said smugly.
“Do you ever get tired of being right?” she complained. There were nights when his ego really was too big for the room they were in.
“No.”
“Jackass.”
“Of course. You thought otherwise?”
“Hrumph.”
“What else would you like to do to me, my lover? I know you would like to tie me up and blindfold me and have me surrender to you. What else?” he inquired sensuously.
“I wasn’t actually being serious about the tie you up and blindfold you thing. Besides, you’re the one with ten centuries of experience. Why don’t you tell me?”
He chuckled. “But you are so creative. No one has ever turned me into a dessert before.”
“Liked that, did you?” she asked smugly.
“Oh yes. So much so that I ignored you when you said no chocolate sauce with tonight’s meal.”
“What did you order?” she questioned wearily, mentally rolling her eyes.
“What does it matter? You said you were all worn out,” he teased.
She groaned. “Fine. Be that way. I can eat you tomorrow.”
“My lover?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s after midnight. It’s already tomorrow.”
She reached over, grabbed a handy pillow, and smacked him with it. He just laughed, and proceeded to show her that two could play at that game. Soon they were giggling, tangled up in each other and the bed sheets, then Eric helped her forget all of the reasons why she had thought she was too tired to make love again, and they coupled in a tender merging of their bodies and hearts, enhanced by chocolate.
Eric had ordered French Silk Pie.
Chapter Seventeen
A/N: No tousles here. Eric and I were in complete agreement on this one. Ch 18 will be the last chapter in the island. After that, I think one or two more that take place in LA, and then an epilogue. Thanks for everyone who have come along for the ride with me. It’s been a blast.
Greek mythology lesson: Eros was the god of physical love and sexual desire. Dionysus was the god of wine, and the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy. Bacchus was his Roman counterpart.
Sookie woke at close to five o’clock in the morning, a scant two hours before dawn, to find Eric pressed against her back. They were spooned around each other, Eric holding her, her head on a pillow that was tucked over his arm because his bicep had turned out to be an uncomfortable cushion. She was curled into him, her back to his chest, his arms around her, their legs tangled together, their hair meshing across their shoulders and the pillow.
He was lying very still so that meant he was in downtime, and she allowed herself a few minutes to just enjoy being held. The best thing about cuddling with a vampire was that they were very considerate bed partners. They didn’t move around a lot, they didn’t suffer from muscle cramps, and they didn’t steal the covers. In her book, that made up for the lack of body heat because she’d heard enough complaints, both verbally and mentally, from bar patrons about their partner’s sleeping habits. Oh, and vampires didn’t snore either. Bonus.
After their last bout of lovemaking, she and Eric had showered, and, much to her supreme embarrassment, Eric had called to have someone come change the bed. Luckily whoever it was came while they were taking their time in the bathroom – shower ala Eric always included the obligatory love play even though actual sex did not occur, then they rubbed each other dry and brushed through each other’s hair. Really, the intimacy just about did her in when he took the brush and smoothed out her hair like he’d been doing it for years.
Between the washing, the massaging, and the fooling around, they were in the bathroom for over forty minutes; plenty of time for someone to enter the cabin, change the bed and whisk away the soiled sheets. Whoever it was even left a single red rose and a little pile of foil-wrapped chocolates on the neatly arranged eiderdown and pillows. She just about died from embarrassment, but Eric had just laughed and popped a chocolate into her mouth so he could lick the remnants off her lips. After that, she’d obliged him with a session of mutual pleasuring which left them both very happy and sated, then they’d snuggled up on the clean bed and she fell asleep.
She sighed, feeling so safe and loved and content. The bed was comfortable, her partner was amazing, there were no wolves howling at the door (Hey, in her life sometimes that was literally!), and all was right with the world for the moment. She wanted to stay right there in their little cocoon of peace and satisfaction, with not a care outside of their own needs of the moment.
A twitch from her lover told her that he’d come out of downtime, and she leaned into him when she felt his lips lightly kiss her shoulder.
“Eric?” she whispered softly.
“No,” he answered in clipped tones.
“Huh?”
“No. Whatever it is, no. The past two times you’ve said my name with that inflection of inquiry, I ended up… how do they say these days? Spilling my guts, and frankly, I would rather rip open my own body, and disembowel myself literally, before I did any more gut spilling tonight. So the answer is no.”
She giggled, and craned her head to look over her shoulder at him.
“But you don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, it will involve more talking. I’m done with talking. I am placing a moratorium on talking. There are two hours before dawn. If I have to, I will spend them occupying your mouth with other things.”
She rolled in his arms, and he moved to lie on his back. She propped herself up to look down at him, and he was giving her a look that just dared her to challenge him.
“Is that so?” she asked, feeling naughty.
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes dilating with want. She thought she could see his fangs coming down a little.
“And what, pray tell, did you have in mind for keeping my mouth occupied for two hours?”
His lips parted, showing the tips of his fangs, and he smiled slowly as his hand slid down to her backside, then, before she had a chance to protest, he gave her a quick slap on one of her cheeks, threw aside the covers and dragged her on top of him, her mouth near his groin and her own crotch over his face. His hand insistently guided her head towards the part of him that needed her attention, and she obliged him as he returned the favor.
It didn’t take two hours. In reality it took less than ten minutes, but Eric drew it out to closer to twenty by continuing to toy with her after her climax. She allowed it as she lay sprawled atop him, boneless and relaxed, and did a little toying of her own with him, running her fingers down behind his scrotum and teasing his entrance. He grunted appreciatively and parted his legs, inviting her to continue, and she took a few minutes to play with the ring of muscle until he stopped what he was doing. She gave him a wicked smile as she crawled off of him, turning herself around to lie alongside him, one hand spread across his chest.
“Anyway, as I was saying…” she began.
She didn’t get a chance to finish because he knocked her onto her back and covered her mouth with his own, his tongue reaching for her tonsils. She responded until she had to punch him on the shoulder because she needed to breathe. He released her lips, and she drew huge gulps of air into her lungs, her eyes seeing spots floating across her field of vision.
“You were saying?” he teased, his eyes dancing with humor.
“I was saying something?”
He chuckled and bent over her to kiss her more gently, and he gave her a tender smile as he brushed back her hair. Love and joy came across the bond, and she looked into his blue eyes, getting lost in them. The peaceful expression on his face reminded her of the point she’d been trying to make before he’d distracted her.
“I was just thinking how wonderful this place is,” she said quickly, before he tried to stop her again. “And how much I wish we could just stay here.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes a little, then he settled down next to her, his head on the same pillow, his eyes looking directly into hers, his nose mere inches from her face. He was silent, but his expression told her he was listening so she went on.
“I mean, I’m sure they’re always looking for barmaids, and I’m a good one. And I’m sure there’s something you could do. You’ve got a shrewd business sense and a sharp eye for opportunities. Why not stay here? It’s peaceful, no one’s trying to kill us, I’m not getting beat up every five minutes, and I think I could get used to cold. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to not have to worry about Victor or the King or trying to figure out what they’re scheming so you can outwit them? Wouldn’t it be so much better for you here? Out of all the politics and political maneuvering?”
He said nothing, merely looked at her, and she considered the absurdity of what she’d just said and blushed. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”
“No. I can understand why you’d want to stay here,” he stated neutrally. “Of course we can stay, if that is what you want. We can stay as long as you like. I am sure I can arrange it. It is not a busy time of year for the resort.”
She sighed and mentally slapped herself. “But you’d be bored stiff in a month.”
“Probably. You would be too.”
She tucked her head under his chin as he put his arm around her. “I might last two months,” she answered.
“Not in the cold. Your spit would freeze before it hit the ground,” he replied.
She shivered just thinking about it. He chuckled and drew her closer, and she snuggled close.
“I mean… what do I have to go back to? I’m working a dead end job with people who can’t stand the fact that I date vampires. My closest relative was murdered. My only brother is an asshole who set me up to break my friend’s hand…”
“You will forgive him,” her bonded said gently.
She huffed. “Not any time soon.”
“He is your brother.” An even gentler reminder.
“Some brother. Do you know one of first things he did after Gran was killed was come storming out of the house and slap me in the face?”
Eric grew very still, and she knew what she would see if she lifted her head to look at his face. He would be expressionless, cold and deathly dangerous.
“He… struck you?” he asked very carefully.
She could hear the rage in his voice and feel it in the bond. He was absolutely beside himself with cold fury, and she wondered if this was what Bill would have felt like if they’d been so tightly bonded when she’d told him about Uncle Bartlett. She knew what Bill had had done to Uncle Bartlett and she was suddenly terrified for Jason.
“He was upset. Gran had been murdered, and he’d found out that she’d left everything to me,” she explained.
“Was anyone with you when he did this?”
“Oh sure, lots of people. Bill and Sam and Andy Bellefleur.”
“Bill was there?”
“Yeah. He caught me when I fell.”
“What did he do to your brother?”
“Well… nothing. Sam tackled Jason and slammed his face into the ground.”
“Bill did not defend you himself?”
“He would have but Sam was faster.” Now she did lift up to look at him. “Why are you so upset about it anyway? You just slapped me on the butt twenty minutes ago,” she accused.
He gave her an incredulous look and rubbed the offended cheek. “That was a love tap, and I did not do you the least bit of harm.”
“It still stung,” she pouted.
“Shall I kiss it and make it all better?”
She regarded him for a few moments then turned her body away from him, presenting her backside as she hugged one of the pillows. She felt him moving, his hands caressing her bottom with feather-light touches until she felt his hair brushing across her skin just before his cool lips kissed her upturned cheek. It was amazingly erotic to have him tenderly mouthing her bottom, the feel of his tongue as it flicked out to lick her skin ever so softly. She moaned, then snickered.
“What?” he asked, his voice deep.
“I was just thinking about the rush of having one of the most powerful vampires in Louisiana kissing my ass.”
She half expected the second slap so when he whacked her on the other cheek, she wasn’t too surprised, but she still yelped a bit, then groaned as he caressed and kissed that sore spot too. When he was done, he patted her bottom lightly, but with an air of possessiveness, as if to say “This ass now belongs to me,” which she supposed was true, then he stretched out beside her and drew her close, tucking her into the curve of is body. Since he was so much taller than her, she fit in there like a cog in a wheel.
“I like this,” she whispered. “This is nice. I want to wake up in your arms like this always. And I want us to laugh and make love and have fun together.”
He pulled her closer, the flat of his palm pressed against her solar plexus.
“We will,” he promised.
She sobered a bit. “But it won’t always feel like this, will it?”
“No. The fire that burns so brightly now will fade to coals, but coals are what burn the longest and provide the most heat. And it is easy to stoke the coals to burn bright again just by adding a little air and fuel.”
She sighed and stroked his arm lightly. “I like the sound of that.”
“Eventually we will not crave each other so desperately, but will come to know each others bodies so well that it will be almost as if we can read each other’s thoughts.”
Of course now was the perfect opportunity for her to spill her secret and tell him that she actually could hear his thoughts.
‘You have to tell him…’ “Eric…” ‘Go on, tell him.’ “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Yes, my lover?”
‘I can read your thoughts.’ “Before my cousin Hadley became a vampire, she had a baby.” ‘Chicken shit.’
He was quiet for a moment, and she held her breath.
“I… see.”
“He’s a little boy. His name is Hunter.”
“I am guessing that, because you are telling me this, he has taken after his cousin?”
“Yeah.”
He sighed and rolled to his back. She followed, propping herself up on one elbow to look at him. He put one arm under his head as he stared at the ceiling, his face pensive.
“I wish you had not told me this,” he finally said.
She bit her lip. “You said we should have no secrets between us.” ‘Except the big whopper I’m too yellow to tell you.’
“Yes, but what I do not know, I cannot be compelled to reveal. Who else knows of this?”
“No one,” she answered immediately, then paused. “Well… actually. Amelia’s father was the one who told me about Hadley having a baby, so he knows, and I asked Niall to find Hadley’s ex-husband for me. He was the one who gave me Remy Savoy’s address.”
Eric’s face grew even more serious.
“Niall knows?”
“Well, he knows I was looking for Remy Savoy. I didn’t tell him why.”
He was still looking at the ceiling, but she knew he was deep in his head. He was thinking hard about what she had told him and the ramifications of the knowledge. She could almost see him moving the different factors into their places, like chess pieces on a board. She had a vague memory about reading somewhere that Vikings had invented chess or something damn close to it. No doubt Eric was setting all the pieces in place and trying to get a look at who was close to checkmate. Somehow she couldn’t help but feel like a pawn.
“If he saw the child, he would have known immediately. Fae recognize their own,” he finally said.
She gulped, realizing that she may have made a big mistake in asking her great-grandfather to find her cousin’s ex.
“How old is he?” Eric asked suddenly.
“About four.”
“Does the father know of the boy’s… handicap?”
“He suspects. I told him to call me. I told him I was in the book…” Her heart sank. “I told him I wasn’t going anywhere.”
She had to stay in Bon Temps because Hunter was going to need her. Almost at about the same moment she thought it, Eric shook his head.
“You can go wherever you like. Addresses can be forwarded. Phone numbers transferred,” he pointed out.
“That’s true, but I should still stay close.”
Eric looked like he was going to disagree. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
“You should…” He paused, considering. “…not draw too much attention to him.”
It was a warning and a command all in one, and she understood: Don’t lead Supes to Hunter.
“I understand.”
He nodded, then raised one hand to brush a finger down her cheek. It was a simple gesture, but it made her heart thrill all the same.
“You must be careful. Victor must not know about him until he is under someone’s protection.”
“Can’t he be under our protection?”
Eric shook his head slightly. “It is unlikely. I have enough protecting you, and I am limited to the nighttime hours. Niall sent you Claudine. He may do the same for the boy.”
“Give Hunter his own fairy godmother?” she asked with a little smile. It was funny to say even if the situation was so serious.
“Something like that,” he agreed. He was studying her face with rapt fascination, as if he saw something there he hadn’t seen before.
She lowered herself down and snuggled into his side, her chin at the juncture of his chest and arm. He wrapped the arm around her and pulled her close, tugging up the blankets to cover them because it was chilly in the room.
“Thanks. I was cold. I should put on a nightgown,” she said, putting her arm around him.
“After I go to bed for the day,” he replied.
“I can’t always sleep naked, Eric,” she chided.
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Ladies don’t sleep in the nude,” she huffed, butting up against her Southern sensibilities.
“Who says?”
“Says everyone.”
“Everyone?” he repeated.
“Miss Manners and my Gran,” she clarified.
“I think Ms. Manners obviously doesn’t have a bed partner who keeps her satisfied, otherwise she would know how nice it is to cuddle with a lover in the nude. Besides, it dispenses with all the trouble of having to get your partner out of her bedclothes.”
“As if you ever had any trouble fucking me in my clothes,” she teased.
“Yes, but I love you naked. I love to see your beautiful expanse of skin, so soft and smooth and perfect. It pains me to see you hide it from view,” he answered wistfully.
“So I should go to Fangtasia naked?” she challenged.
His eyes dilated and he showed some fang. “Not unless you want me to slaughter every vampire who looks sideways at you, and a few of those pathetic fangbangers as well.”
“Well...” She glanced over towards the side of the bed where his sword had fallen. “You’ve got the sword for it now.”
He laughed out loud and kissed the top of her head. “I love you. You never do what I expect you to.”
“Hey, I gotta keep you guessing so you don’t get bored with me.”
“Never.”
He said it with complete conviction, and she had to believe it to be true. Once again she sunk into the bond and her love for this man who always knew what to say, and how to make her feel valued.
“So what should I do about Hunter?” she questioned after a few moment of peaceful silence.
“For now, nothing,” he replied. “The boy is safe where he is, or at least I am assuming so. Anything you try to do now would draw attention to him while he is a helpless child so it is best to let him alone. The father knows of you and knows you are willing to help. If he is a good father, he will do what is best for his son, and not let his fear or pride get in the way.”
She thought about that and nodded, letting her fingers stroke his chest lightly. He started rumbling with contentment.
“Okay. That’s a good idea.”
“I am sure that once he is older you will have a more active part in his life, but by then you should have mastered your gifts well enough to be able to help him,” he added.
“I hope so.”
He rubbed her back, letting his hand slide down to her bottom again. She tensed, thinking he might give her another “love tap,’ but he didn’t. He merely rubbed his palm over the mounds of her backside and teased the back of her thigh. She twitched at the tickle, which seemed to amuse him.
“I know you will. I should find you a teacher. Someone who can guide you through controlling your ability,” he said, running his hand along the sensitive spot on her side.
“Izzy said the same thing,” she commented, grabbing the offending hand before it could reach her belly.
“Izzy ought to know. Why don’t you seek her out later today and see if she can recommend someone? I must admit to being a bit at a disadvantage because I do not know all that many telepaths,” he suggested, his voice innocent even as his fingers wiggled their way free of her grasp.
“I can do that,” she answered, struggling to grab his hand again as he started poking lightly. He kept moving it too fast for her to snatch.
“Do what?” He was still playing innocent, as if his hand was not under his control and was tickling her of its own volition.
“Ask Izzy about a teacher.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“What else do you think I ought to do?”
“I’m not sure yet. We need to be wary of Victor. He is Felipe’s eyes and ears in Louisiana, and in many ways he is more ruthless than the king,” he replied nonchalantly.
She jerked when he got her belly and slapped her hand on his wrist. He just grinned.
“Is he more ruthless than you?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“In many ways more so.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone being as ruthless as her Viking when he got going.
“Really?”
“Yes. I only make threats I am willing to carry out. Victor will make threats and do things I will not.” He stopped trying to tickle her and got serious. “We must always be aware of Victor.”
“Are you afraid of him?” she asked, matching his seriousness.
“Yes. He is not someone I want for an enemy.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, he already is my enemy.”
“Do you think so?”
“He will betray me in an instant. We cannot trust him, Sookie, and we cannot ever turn our backs to him.”
She nodded gravely. “Okay. I won’t.”
“If he ever contacts you directly, you must let me know immediately. He shouldn’t after we get back because I intend to formally announce you as mine. That should put you off limits, but as we all know, not all of us respect boundaries.”
He gave her a little, sly smile, and she snorted.
“You always respected them, but you had no qualms about pushing them,” she said. “But you don’t have to worry about Victor. The only way I’d let him touch me is if he could glamour me, and, if you can’t glamour me, no one can.”
“That’s good to hear. I gather you like him as much as I do.”
She gave him an angry glance. “He killed Sophie-Anne, and Cleo, and he was going to burn down Fangtasia and my house. He was going to kill you and Bill and me and Amelia, and Bob the cat without a second glance. No, I don’t like him.”
Her ruthless, killing Viking who had probably done everything Victor had done and worse, laughed softly and kissed her. “Beautiful Sookie. I love you, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
She sighed and tucked her head under his chin. “I know. I love you too, and I’ll do the same, although I have no idea what I can do. Mere human, you know.”
“You can move about by day. You have no idea what an advantage that is,” he said, nuzzling her hair.
“You can move too, if you have to,” she pointed out.
“Not very effectively and only under extreme duress.”
“Still. If you had to.”
“If I had to, yes.”
She took a glance at the clock. Almost an hour had passed since she had awakened, but sunrise wasn’t until after seven so they still had another hour or so before Eric had to go to his windowless room for the day.
“I’m sorry. We were talking and you hadn’t wanted to,” she apologized.
“It’s okay. We were mostly talking about you.”
“What are we going to do?”
“The only thing we can do, lover: make the best of every situation, try to anticipate what is going to happen, and stay one step ahead of the competition,” he replied.
“Sounds exhausting.”
“I’m used to it.”
“I’m not. My life was pretty simple and boring before I got dragged into all this vampire shit,” she groused irritably.
“But if you had not been “dragged into our shit” as you say, then you would never have met Bill. You would never have had a lover or come to Fangtasia or bonded with me. Do you truly wish none of that had happened?”
What a loaded question. She lifted her head to look at him again, and he was giving her puppy dog eyes. She melted.
“No. I don’t. I may say I do sometimes, and half the time I might miss my normal, boring life, but I don’t ever really wish I’d never met any of you. I wish Bill hadn’t lied to me, and I wish Gran hadn’t been killed, and I wish the Nevada vamps had stayed in the desert, but I don’t ever wish that you weren’t in my life,” she answered honestly.
“You have in the past. You’ve wanted me gone,” he reminded.
“You confused me, and scared me and infuriated me, but…”
“But?” he prompted.
“But you were always there for me. Which is more than I can say for Jason or Sam or even Bill. When I needed you, you were always there.”
His eyes softened with love, then he took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
‘Lovelovelovelove this woman,’ she heard loud and clear, and it nearly brought her to tears.
“I love you,” she said, letting her lips join with his, letting their souls mingle in the bond.
“We still have an hour before dawn,” he murmured against her ear. “Shall we spend it occupying our mouths with other things?”
She chuckled and let him roll them both over.
The lovemaking was so sweet and tender it was like two beings merging into one. Oh, she and Eric could fuck like bandits, driving each other to new heights of pleasure, and that was very satisfying, but it was in the quiet joining that the true depth and strength of their bond came through. Nothing was more profound than feeling him moving inside her, her thighs gripping his hips as he pushed himself in as far as he would go. Their hands entwined, fingers lacing together in the throes of their passion, holding onto each other as if the other was the only reason they existed, and in their final moments, neither knew who was who as they climaxed together, complete and perfect.
In the aftermath, after the tremors subsided and her breathing returned to normal, he left the bed briefly to retrieve one of her soft cotton nightgowns. He slipped it over her head, saying goodbye to her breasts with soft licks and kisses to her nipples before he covered them up, and then drew her down to lie with him, snuggled against him all sated and warm. She curled into him, her hand on his chest, her head under his chin, and floated in contented bliss just on the edge of sleep.
She woke out of a light doze when he moved to get up at the coming of dawn. They shared a significant look, then she got out of bed with him and followed him down to the windowless room. She could tell sunrise was near because her vampire was getting sluggish, and she held up the covers on the full size bed so he could slide in. He looked so forlorn and unhappy all alone in the bed that she got in with him, lying on top of the thin blankets. There she waited, holding him, letting him nestle his face between her breasts, until she felt his body go slack and still.
She didn’t know if it was safe to stay with him in his daytime stupor. Such a thing has never really come up between her and Bill, other than he did not want her to join him in his hiding place during the day. She reluctantly left the bed, and her unconscious lover, kissing him tenderly before turning off the light on the bedside table, and returning to the loft and the empty king-size bed.
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She woke again about eleven o’clock in the morning and made herself get out of bed. She was hungry and needed to get them packed for their departure that night, and she’d promised Eric that she would try to find Izzy to ask her about a telepathy teacher. She took a quick shower – showers weren’t much fun during the daytime – and dressed in jeans and a sweater, then she took on the sad task of emptying out the closet and chest of drawers of her and Eric’s things, and getting their bags ready to go. She zipped up the garment bag with a pang of regret. She’d ask Eric if they could stay if she could, but their lives called, and Felipe de Castro would start to get nervous if his annexed sheriff went AWOL for much longer. Maybe they could come back after the spring thaw.
Once she had everything packed and ready to go, leaving out a fresh outfit for Eric to dress in when he got up, she put everything by the door, put on her parka, and headed for the lodge. It was another sunny day, although a few clouds dotted the blue sky. It was still cold, and there was still lots and lots of snow, but she found that the chill wasn’t as bad and the wind didn’t bite so sharply. Maybe some of Eric’s love of snow and cold was rubbing off on her (God she hoped not!)
It was impossible to say how happy she was, how light and free she felt, as she turned her face to the winter sun and breathed in the crisp air, heavy with the scent of the lake. She made it to the lodge, feeling an odd sense of exhilaration from the trek through the cold, and hopped up onto the deck with a spring in her step. The huge doors opened for her like she was Ali-baba, revealing the lodge in all its sparkling glory to her newly vampire-blood enhanced eyes, and she stared at the soaring great room and marveled at how she could feel the heat from the fire from twenty feet away. The smell of the burning wood was heavenly, and she took it in in deep breaths before practically dancing down the hall to the dining room.
She noticed that the other guests she encountered were looking at her oddly and giving her looks that were hard to interpret, but she couldn’t bring herself to care because she was so happy. Light on her feet, she breezed through the dining room doors and presented herself to Noria who was already waiting there for her.
“Good morning, Noria,” she nearly sang.
“Good morning, Miss Sookie. How are you?” the hostess asked, grinning wide and bright.
“I am wonderful. And you?”
Noria’s grin got even brighter. “I am very well.”
“That’s great.”
“A table by the windows?”
“Absolutely. Oh this place is so beautiful, and the food smells so good. Eric and I will definitely be coming back soon,” she said, following the woman to “her” table, the one she’d sat at three mornings in a row. She noted that the ambient noise of conversations around her got a little quieter as she passed, but she was too happy to care if they were ogling the human.
“We would be glad to have you. You have been an excellent guest,” Noria replied, handing her the menu.
“Thank you,” she answered with a smile.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“I’m sure I will.”
With a final smile, Noria left her there to peruse at the menu and look out at the lake. The sunlight sparkled like fireworks on the surface of the water.
“Good morning, Miss Sookie,” Toth said as she turned her face to see him. Her Eric-boosted hearing gave her advanced warning when he approached.
“Good morning, Toth,” she said as he poured her a cup of delicious-smelling coffee.
“You are looking very well today,” her waiter commented. He was beaming, his eyes very bright, and his hair tousled.
“I am very well today. Are there any specials this morning?”
“We can do pretty much anything you want, Miss Sookie. What would you like?”
“Something high in iron and B vitamins.”
“How about a spinach and bacon omelet with iron-skillet home fries, whole grain toast and jam?” he suggested.
“Sounds perfect.”
She handed him the menu and he grinned at her before whisking off to the kitchen. She passed the time drumming lightly on the table with her hands and humming a little tune as she watched someone take a ski-doo out onto the lake. She’d never done anything like that. She wondered if it was as fun as it looked.
‘Supposedly there is a Supe Sandals. Maybe Eric and I could go there sometime. I wonder if its in Jamaica or Mexico or someplace like that.’
She imagined going somewhere warm and tropical with white sand beaches and a little cabana. She thought about what it would be like to take a moonlight swim with her Viking, then imagined that he’d probably want to go skinny dipping. She pictured Eric standing naked in the moonlight, the surf lapping at his long legs. She tapped her foot. What time was it? Her watch read twelve oh three. Five hours before she could see her Viking again. What was she going to do with herself to pass the time?
‘I’m supposed to talk to Izzy,’ she reminded herself, and cast out a little mental query.
‘!!? You?’ came the reply when she brushed against Izzy’s mind.
‘Heya I need to talk to you.’
‘I need to talk to you too. Stay where you are.’
‘Okay. I’m just sitting here waiting for my breakfast to arrive.’
‘I’ll be there shortly.’
‘Okay.’
Toth brought her breakfast and refilled her coffee mug, and she gave him a thankful smile before she dug into the food voraciously. The smell of the food triggered a powerful hunger, and she ate it all almost as soon as it hit the table. She surprised even herself with how fast it went down.
‘Wow. Guess I was hungry.’
“Morning, Merry Sunshine,” Izzy said.
She jumped nearly out of her skin and yanked her head to see Izzy sitting across the table from her, arms crossed and her body leaning against the chair. She’d obviously just Jumped into the dining room, but Sookie was too happy to be knocked off her high by a parlor trick.
“Good morning,” she greeted enthusiastically.
“Wow, Girlfriend, you are just glowing. I take it things went well last night.”
She smiled with the memory. “Oh yes.”
“Yeah, you’re looking much better. The bond is stronger than ever.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed.
“Uh-huh. So what do you want to talk to me about?” Izzy asked.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
“You first.”
“Eric wants me to find a teacher. Someone who can help me use my gift.”
Izzy blinked at her. “I… see,” she answered.
“Coffee, Miss Izzy?” Toth asked brightly, looking a bit confused.
“Hey Toth. Yes, please. Bring a carafe of the Ertacxian Breakfast Blend,” Izzy replied.
“Sure thing, Miss Izzy. I’ll be back with the coffee right away.”
“Sounds great.”
“Ertacxian Breakfast Blend?” she asked the woman.
“It’s a demon grown coffee blend; it has three times the amount of caffeine in it than regular coffee.”
“Wow.”
“Best part about it is it’s not bitter. Real smooth going down.”
She nodded. “So about the teacher. Do you know anyone who might be willing to teach a barmaid from Louisiana how to handle this handicap?”
Izzy snorted. “Yeah. Me.”
She blinked. “You?”
“Yeah, and we’re gonna start right away, coz you really need to do something about your gift. You broadcast really, really loud.”
“I broadcast?…” she repeated, confused. Izzy raised an eyebrow, and she suddenly understood. “Oh. Oh!”
Izzy smiled wryly. “Oh, oh is right. I spent most of last night blocking you. Mia had to put up a Level 5 shield around our cabin just so we could get some sleep. And if you notice that the guests here are being extra special nice to you? It’s ‘cause you’re the one responsible for the big smiles on their faces.”
Sookie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, about to die with mortification. Izzy just shrugged.
“I can see why you would. Vampires are pretty much pure sex to begin with. Vampires and their blood-bondeds? Well… let’s just say that the two of you single-handedly recharged Eros last night. That’s why today, Girlfriend, you’re going to Telepath School. First Lesson: Blocking 101, also known as How Not to Incite an Orgy.”
“Oh, no.” Suddenly all the happy smiles and expressions everyone had been giving her took on a whole new meaning, and she blushed furiously. “Oh my God.”
“Don’t feel too bad. Making everyone want to have sex isn’t a bad thing.”
“Oooohhh, no…” She hid her face in her hands, wondering of she could crawl under a rock somewhere and disappear.
“Trust me, hon. No one is mad at you. But it would be better if you could control it. Some of the demons here break things when they get… uhh… too frisky if you know what I mean.”
Toth brought the coffee. Sookie ventured a peek up at him, and he waggled his eyebrows at her. She cringed and hid her face again. She heard Toth chuckle before he zipped off.
“Oh Sweet Jesus, Shepherd of Judea, deliver me from this humiliation,” she begged.
“Careful. Prayers like that hold weight here. Be careful what you wish for,” Izzy warned.
She groaned.
“But the upside to all of this is I can tell you that your blood bond is definitely all healed up this morning. No doubt tall, blonde and dead went to sleep with a smile on his face,” Izzy commented cheerfully.
“Please stop. And just to think, last night I was telling him how much I wanted to stay here. Now I’ll be too embarrassed to ever come back.”
“Why?”
She stared at Izzy. “Why? You just told me we incited an orgy. You think they’re gonna invite us back after that?”
“Hon, Elena’s Greek. They pretty much invented the orgy. Once Dionysius and Bacchus got a hold of the rites, they matured it to its perfection. Believe me, they will welcome you and Eric back with open arms.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to look her in the eyes again,” she bemoaned, reaching for her coffee.
“Don’t worry about that. Once Loverboy finds out about it, he’ll be strutting enough for both you.”
She groaned again, but Izzy just snickered. “Drink your coffee and finish your toast. I only have five hours to give you the basics. We need to get started.”
She gave the woman a stricken look, but obeyed.
Four and a half hours later, Sookie staggered back into the cabin she shared with Eric. All of the lightness and joy she had been feeling had been drummed out of her by a vicious task master of a woman who had browbeat her for four hours until she thought her head was going to explode. The upside was she was now in almost complete control over her telepathy, and it was unlikely she and Eric would be inciting any more orgies, much to the disappointment of the Isle Elena guests. (She just knew she’d never live that down. Her and Eric’s names were forever going to be associated with the night the resort degenerated into a bacchanal, and she doubted that anyone who remembered them would be able to look them in the eye without sniggering.)
Izzy had taken her to the cabin she shared with Maria and Vincent. Both mother and son were there, and both proved instrumental in her instruction because both were accomplished telepaths in their own right. Things started out a little rocky at first, but then Izzy realized that Sookie was part fey, and then everything made sense to her. Sookie felt badly for not mentioning Niall sooner.
Between the three of them, they bombarded her with thoughts and images, challenging her shields and forcing her to defend her mind. They also showed her how to keep her own thoughts from leaking out, and how to link her barrier to a neumonic trigger that took no effort to cast or maintain. By the time they were finished with her, she was able to block, shield, cast and filter. It was all basic first level stuff, and she’d already been doing most of it to some extent, but now she had some formal training in technique and some knowledge of the finer points. It wasn’t that much, but it was all they could fit in a four hour lesson.
She probably would have kept going on to some higher level techniques, but Izzy had called a halt to the lesson because four hours was enough for an intense cram session like the one she was putting Sookie through, and also because the sun was going down and soon Eric would be active in the bond. Once Eric was awake, he’d be a distraction Izzy hadn’t wanted to deal with, but she did tell Sookie that Eric needed to know she could read his thoughts, and also reinforced her belief that sooner or later her vampire was going to be able to read her mind too. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
She knew how she felt right now: worn out and mentally exhausted. Izzy had given her some exercises to use in practice and had promised to teach her more the next time they saw each other, which would be when Maria came to perform at Fangtasia sometime in the spring. In the meantime, she was supposed to work on her skills, and try to identify places where she felt she needed extra help. She fully intended to do as her teacher asked, but after the afternoon she’d had all she was hearing was “tilt.”
She tossed her parka on top of their gathered luggage and kicked off her boots, stumbling over to the plain door at the back of the dining room. She’d been planning on just looking in on him to see if he showed signs of waking, but that was just an excuse to go into the room because she could tell perfectly well that he was still asleep just by probing the bond. When she was honest with herself, she admitted that all she really wanted was to see him because she’d had a grueling afternoon, and her bonded would make her feel all better.
She lit a candle for light and opened the door quietly. He was there in the dark room, sprawled in the same position that she’d left him in on the bed. His hair was a cascade of gold spilling across the pillow, and his pale skin glowed in the darkness. Lax in sleep, he looked peaceful and sweet, and she couldn’t resist him. She placed the candle down on the bedside table and crawled into bed with him, putting one arm around him and sighing as all the tension left her body at the moment their bodies touched.
She took a moment to blow out the candle before laying her head alongside his on the pillow and allowing herself to sink into oblivion.
Chapter Eighteen
A/N: Old Norse lesson: To the best of my research ability, the words Eric speaks are true Old Norse. It differs slightly from modern Norwegian and Swedish. I found some on-line Old Norse dictionaries and some translations with the Old Norse included, so I’m pretty sure I’ve got it right.
Images for Thor’s Hammer and the pendant Eric gave Sookie can be found here:
www . vikingtrader . net / pendants . html (remove spaces)
Scroll down to items 157 & 158 and 204A.
It was pitch black dark, she was in a confined space, and there was a vampire clutching her close. For one horrible moment, all she could think was that she was stuck in the truck of a car with a severely wounded, starving vampire, and she went into a full-blown panic. She screamed, pummeling her attacker, kicking and doing everything she could to get away. He was gonna rape her. He was gonna kill her. There was no way out. She couldn’t breathe…
“Sookie! Sookie!” ‘SOOKIE!!’
Eric. Eric’s voice. Eric’s mind. Eric was there. Eric would save her.
“Eric!” ‘ERIC!’
She came awake with a cry, her hands grabbing and clawing at the arms around her.
“Sookie. Sookie, it’s me. My lover, it’s me,” Eric said hoarsely, his voice frightened.
She drew in huge gulps of air, shaking violently all over, but coming out of her terror bit by bit. Eric still had her, and she changed her defensive grip to one of desperation as she clutched the same arms she’d just been trying to gouge. Sensing that she was getting a hold of herself, Eric pulled her closer, his lips against her hair.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he apologized.
“Eric? What’s going on? Where are we?”
She felt him move and a lamp came on, lighting up the windowless room. She and Eric were on the bed, tangled up in the blankets. Her sweater had been pushed up and her bra pulled down to expose her breasts, and her jeans had been unbuttoned. The bottom of her gold necklace peeked out from where the sweater had been shoved up. It took a few moments, but she remembered what had happened that afternoon and recalled getting into bed with him while he was still in his daytime sleep. Obviously, her Viking had awakened frisky, and he’d been enjoying her assets when she’d had the flashback of being trapped in the trunk with Bill.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Oh.”
“Forgive me. I woke and you were there beside me all soft and luscious…”
She patted him. “No. It’s okay. It’s alright,” she comforted.
“It isn’t. You flashed back to being trapped in that damn trunk on the night Bill raped you,” he growled.
She felt his anger in the bond; his blip was scarlet and black.
“Yes, but I’m okay now.”
She was. She was relaxing, letting herself lay back down on the bed. Eric still had his arms around her, his face worried and wary. She could also hear his whirring thoughts running circles in his head as he tried to figure out how to prevent what had just happened from happening again. He was coming in clearer now. Izzy had warned her that she might start being able to hear Eric and other Supes more clearly from now on. She didn’t want to think of the consequences of that.
“And here I hoped to make you happy by being here when you woke up, and all I did was kick you in the groin,” she joked weakly, trying to ease his concern with a smile.
“You missed my groin, but you did get my shins, and you did make me very happy. I woke up to find my beautiful lover beside me in bed, all warm and asleep next to me. I couldn’t resist you.”
She giggled, remembering something Arlene had said about guys wanting sex in the morning. They’d wake up, fully rested, to find an available woman in bed with them, possibly already undressed, and be raring to go before they even had their morning pee. Apparently, vampires were the same way… without the pee part.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, his voice teasing.
“Vampires want sex in the morning… errr… evening.”
He gave her a sexy leer. “Vampires want sex anytime.”
She smiled back. “True.”
She was completely calm now, all her earlier terror faded, although the darkness of the memory remained. She reached up and placed Eric’s hand on her partially bared breast.
“You can keep going if you want,” she offered.
He didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and ran her finger down his abdomen for added effect. His eyes darkened and his fangs came down. They must have snapped up when she’d had her panic attack.
“I’m sure. I’m sorry I freaked out on you.”
He kissed her sweetly before bending his head to her nipples. “It just goes to show that I need to replace bad memories with good ones.”
“I’m not… ah! Going to… ungh… let you lock me in a car trunk, just so you can… ohh… do me in it so I forget what happened with Bill,” she argued, gasping as he laved and nibbled at her soft flesh.
“If you are still able to speak of Bill, I am obviously doing something wrong,” he commented, taking her nipple into his mouth.
She arched her back as he bit down, threading her fingers into his hair, and moaned when he wormed his finger into her jeans and panties. She writhed and panted as he fed and fingered her, shuddering as he brought her to climax.
“Eric…” she sighed, petting his head lovingly.
“Shhh, my lover. Look at me,” he commanded softly as his hand slid off her jeans and underwear.
She stared into his blue eyes as she hitched one leg over his hips and groaned as he entered her. She lasted a few short thrusts before she came again, pulling Eric over the edge with her. He grunted and closed his eyes as he climaxed inside her, then lowered himself down to lie atop her until the aftershocks wore off.
“Mmmm… what a wonderful way to wake up. I hope you will favor me so sweetly when we are back home,” he whispered, nuzzling her ear.
“Sure,” she panted, still catching her breath.
He chuckled and lifted himself off of her, disengaging as he did so, and she felt the loss of him. He came to rest beside her, facing her, their heads on the same pillow. His thoughts were full of love and happiness, and she smiled at him, soft and wonderingly. This Viking was hers. Sweet, dear, deadly man. He could kill her with the flick of his pinky finger, yet she could humble him with a word.
She reached up, splaying out her fingers, and he obligingly entwined his hand into hers.
“I could stay like this forever, but I know we can’t,” she said softly. “What time do we have to leave?”
“Our flight leaves at ten, but we need to be out of this cabin by seven.”
She nodded, feeling sad and apprehensive at going back to Louisiana. He felt her anxiety because he shifted closer and kissed her forehead.
“It will all be alright,” he promised.
She nodded, biting her lip a little. “I got us all packed. I left out an outfit for you to put on.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The leather pants?” he asked hopefully.
“No. I told you, I’m not letting you out in public with them on.”
“Heh,” he snickered and got up. She followed suit and reached for her jeans and underwear, yanking them on.
“May I make a request of you?” her Viking asked, picking up the set of clothing she had left out for him: undies, socks, jeans and a sweater.
“What would you like?” she replied warily. He usually was not so polite.
“Will you wear skirts and dresses most of the time? For me?”
She smirked, seeing his reasoning in her mind as the thought flashed, hot and stirring, across their new connection. “Easier access?”
“Yes.”
Well, at least he was honest, and the thought of dressing in clothes that made it easier for her Viking to pillage her was a bit of a turn on. “If it’s not real cold, I will, but my uniform at Merlotte’s is pants and shorts, you know.”
“I know. Thank you.”
She sidled up to him and went up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “Hey, it’s for my pleasure too, right?”
“Oh yes,” he agreed, caressing her bottom.
She chuckled and squeezed his ass in response. He bared his fangs and leaned into her grip.
“The little dress with the flowers that you wore the very first time I saw you at Fangtasia. I have fantasies of taking you in it. I would bring you to my office, bend you over my desk…” he crooned in a voice that was pure lust.
She shivered and put a hand on his chest. “Stop. Stop it. It should be physically impossible for me to want you this much,” she complained, her knees practically buckling with desire.
“Am I arousing you? Do I make you hungry for me?” He said “hungry” like a man dying of want. She moaned.
“Eric…”
“You have had my blood, my lover. You will feel all that I feel, and want as much as I do. Which means, you will want all the time. We will fuck and fuck and fuck, and then… we will fuck some more.”
His lips were at her throat. She was trembling with desire.
“I think we will join The Mile High Club tonight. Oh yes, indeed, we will,” he promised. “But for now… we must check out, get our suppers, and then I will need your help with something I want to do before we leave here.”
She groaned in protest, but allowed him to step away, then she sat on the bed and pouted while he covered his perfect body with clothes.
“Where did you put my clothes and sword from last night?” he questioned.
“The sword is in its sheath propped up by the front door. Your clothes, cape, and brooch are in your bag with your boots and belt.”
He nodded that he understood and pulled his sweater over his head.
“The only things I didn’t pack were the pod of O-neg in the fridge and the fairy blood one in the freezer. I didn’t know what to do with them.”
“We’ll take them with us to the lodge and ask them to put them in a preservation pack. They’ll keep at least for the flight home. After that…” He shrugged.
“It seems like such a waste…”
“I know, but we did the right thing. It has been a very long time since I have allowed myself pure fairy blood – pod or not, but I remember my hunger and my need. We would have kept the whole island awake with our cries of passion.”
She frowned. “We already did.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well, Izzy told me… She… ah… told me that we… weincitedanorgylastnightcozIbroadcastreallyloud.”
He blinked for a moment, looking utterly confused and she saw him moving his lips. “Izzy told you that… Did I hear you say orgy?”
She blushed furiously. “Yeah.”
“We incited an orgy.”
“That’s what Izzy told me. And everyone seemed really, really happy to see me when I went down to the lodge this afternoon.”
Eric grinned and stood tall, a vision of male sexual prowess and dominance. Her inner she-wolf begged for her to kneel on all fours and let him mount her. She squashed the need as quickly as she could, but his grin just got wider.
“Now that would have been something to see,” he said.
She huffed. “We’ve been to an orgy together, remember?”
“Oh I remember, my lover. I remember that you trusted me enough to keep you safe, and wouldn’t let me have any fun, and wouldn’t yield to me no matter what I did, and that the evening ended when the maenad arrived and started slaughtering everyone. Not a very fun time for either of us.”
She crossed her arms. “No. But last night wouldn’t have been any different. I wouldn’t have had sex with anyone but you, so what would have been the point of going to an orgy?”
“So others could see your magnificence and envy me.”
“Eric. Sex is private. You don’t have sex in front of witnesses just to make others jealous,” she scolded. At least he hadn’t said something chauvinistic like “so everyone would know you are mine” or hinted that he would do something similar to what the Weres did during the ascension of a new Packmaster.
“Can we have sex in front of witnesses if it’s to show them how two blood-bondeds do it?”
She gritted her teeth. If she hadn’t known he was teasing her through the bond, she would have kneed him in the groin.
“No.”
“You have no sense of adventure,” he complained.
“That’s me. Stick-in-the-Mud Sookie.”
“I’d like to have sex in the mud with you,” he said with a glint in his eyes.
That image came through loud and clear. Was it considered reading someone’s mind when they practically shoved the thoughts into her head?
“I’ve done that. You get mud everywhere.”
His eyebrows went up to his hair. “Really? When did you have mud sex?”
She opened her mouth to answer, then shut it with a sharp click. “None of your business. All you need to know is I did it, I didn’t like it too much, and I won’t do it again.”
“Never?” He looked so disappointed.
She rolled her eyes. “Highly unlikely.”
“But with a remote chance if the mood strikes us?”
“Yeah,” she reluctantly agreed.
He beamed at her. “Wonderful.”
She shook her head. “Let’s go get dinner.”
He stepped forward and kissed her; not a tongue-tickling, toe-tingling kiss, but an “I love you and think you’re wonderful” kiss. She sighed and leaned into him, feeling like a princess who’s finally realized that the frog really is a prince. He put his arm around her and guided her from the room, his hand firm but gentle at the small of her back. She left him briefly to collect the black lacquered steamer that held the pod of O-neg and grabbed the fey blood pod from the freezer, putting it in the steamer with the other pod, and rejoined her Viking in the living room. They paused at the front door to put on coats and boots, and then Eric opened his bag and pulled out a carved wooden box that looked very old.
“Please keep this safe for me, Dear One,” he said as he reverently tucked the box into the large front pocket of her parka.
“Sure. What is it?”
“An offering,” he replied cryptically, then put her hat on for her and gave her a final smile before they left the cabin.
“Do we need to do anything with our luggage?” she asked as they walked arm-in-arm down to the lodge. It wasn’t as cold, and she felt the same thrill of excitement when she breathed in the chilled air.
“No. Bell Services will collect our things and load them for us, but I do wish to have a word with them. I don’t want my sword or the black garment bag to go into the cargo hold,” he answered.
“Okay.”
They headed for the concierge upon entering the lodge, and she waited patiently while Eric gave instructions for the handling of their bags. She held back and remained silent, allowing him his position of authority, and smiled at him when he turned to her and offered his arm. They shared a look of mutual affection and pleasure, then walked down the corridor to the dining room. She noticed that he matched his stride to hers, shortening his step to keep from overreaching her feet. It was a tiny, insignificant thing, but it meant so much because she didn’t have to hustle to keep up with him.
Noria was standing at the hostess podium when they passed through the dining room doors, and she gave them a million-watt smile. Eric saw her joy and stood a little straighter.
‘Uh-oh,’ she thought, recalling what Izzy had said about Eric strutting after he heard they’d started an orgy.
“Good evening, Mr. Northman. Miss Sookie,” Noria greeted.
“Good evening. Table for two by the fire, please,” her Viking stated, his head up, his eyes scanning the room.
The dining room was packed, and all eyes were now turning their way. She suddenly wanted to be anywhere but where they were, and she hid behind Eric’s shoulder.
“Right away, sir,” Noria replied, grabbing menus and heading off into the room without bothering to see if they were following.
Eric fell into step behind the blue-skinned woman, but she kept close, trying to stay in her Viking’s shadow as the conversations around them got very hushed. She blushed and tucked her head close to his arm.
“Why do you hide your face?” he asked. “Are you ashamed of me?”
“No,” she whispered back.
“Are you ashamed of what we did to each other?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Eric, we started an orgy,” she hissed.
She heard him chuckle. “Yes, we did, and you should be proud.”
“What?” she squeaked.
He stopped in the middle of the dining room and surveyed the crowd, then he took her arm and pulled her out from behind him. The room fell unusually quiet.
“Stand tall, my lover. You should be proud to be my mate,” he told her, stretching to his full height. Oh, he was in full display all right; tall, strong Viking. This couldn’t be good.
“Did she bring you pleasure?” her Viking asked the dining room patrons.
There was a murmur of assent, and she blushed even more furiously, trying to hide behind him again. She caught a glimpse of Izzy and her family seated close to the windows. Izzy was shaking her head.
‘No, don’t do that. If you try to hide…’ Izzy warned.
She gasped as Eric lifted her up and stood her on an empty table.
‘… he’ll just do that.’
“Is she not beautiful?” Eric asked loudly. “Is she not magnificent?”
The guests gave a cheer of agreement, but she was mortified standing there on display. At the moment, she really didn’t care for the vampires’ habit of showing off what they had. Bill had been the same way. Pretty much every vampire she’d ever met had possessed the annoying habit of wanting the world to know how much better they had it than their peers. They drank up jealousy like blood. The problem was she wasn’t an expensive car or a fancy necklace, and if Eric thought he was winning any favors from her by showing her off like a shiny new toy, he was in for a big surprise.
‘Oh god. I’m gonna kill him. I am so gonna kill him.’
‘Stand tall. Look proud. He’s honoring you. I know you just want to crawl into a hole and die, but you can do that later,’ came Izzy’s gentle rebuke.
She was clenching her fists to her sides when he hopped up next to her, his arm around her waist possessively.
“All those who owe me fealty will honor her,” he announced with authority.
She was shaking with rage, pasting on a smile as big as she could muster, then Eric turned to face her and tipped up her chin, smiling down at her.
“I will honor her… every night for the rest of our lives,” he pledged.
His blue eyes were clear and bright, and she felt his love and commitment echoing in the bond. It flooded into her and drowned out the anger, then he kissed her in front of the entire crowd. She shuddered, going weak in the knees, and she had to grab his forearms to keep from falling. He broke the kiss, his face ecstatic, and lifted her up easily, spinning her the way that he did at the ball in Rhodes, her hair flying, as he took them up, up, up.
They hung in the air, close to the massive logs that supported the roof, and he kissed her again before floating them back down and settling her gently on her feet. The crowd cheered again, and she couldn’t help but smile at him, at his joy, at the wonder that was him, the dichotomy that a being who could be so ruthless and cruel could be a closet romantic at heart.
“I promise I will bring her back!” her bonded assured them, earning them more hoots and whistles.
Something that looked like white confetti burst in a huge cloud all around them, and she thought at first that they were flower petals, but then they morphed into fireflies that blinked all around them until they faded out. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but he kissed them away and took her gently by the waist again, guiding her past the smiling onlookers to the table where Noria was waiting.
“I will get you for that,” she promised, but there was no heat in it. She was too full of happiness to be angry.
He held out her chair for her like true gentleman, and pushed it in when she sat down.
“But of course you will. I relish finding out how you will punish me, my lover. I am sure I will be begging for mercy in no time,” he whispered huskily in her ear.
She gulped and stamped down the rush of lust, imagining all the scenarios where she could have him writhing and panting and… No. No. That was no good for her sanity right now.
He chuckled and took a second to nip her earlobe before taking his seat across from her just as Toth appeared to take their drink orders. Eric skipped to the chase and ordered two pods of AB-neg and a pod of O-neg. She ordered a gin and tonic.
“Also,” Eric began, indicating the steamer on the table. “We have two pods left over that I did not use. I would like to take them home with me. Is there a way of preserving them for an extended period of time?”
Toth looked at the steamer and nodded. “Yes, Sir, we can freeze-dry the pods and they will keep for several months. All you would need to do is add a bit of water and they should re-hydrate almost to the potency they were when they were preserved.”
Sookie saw Eric’s eyes light up and she knew she was in trouble.
“Excellent! Would you please freeze-dry these two and add an additional two fae blood pods to be dried as well?”
Toth nodded. “Of course, Sir. I’ll take these back and have the kitchen work on your order. They’ll be ready by the time you leave tonight.”
“Thank you.”
Toth turned to her, his eyes still dancing, and she blushed. “Would you like to hear about tonight’s specials, Miss Sookie?”
She waved a hand. “Sure.”
“Tonight we have eggplant parmesan for our vegetarian selection, Chilean Sea Bass for our fish, Herb crusted chicken breast served with couscous and roasted asparagus, and slow-roasted prime rib of beef with porcini mushrooms and a brandy demi-glaze.”
“I’ll have the prime rib,” she said without hesitation.
“8 ounce, 10 ounce or 12 ounce cut?”
“Better give me the 10 ounce.”
“Excellent choice. How would you like that prepared?”
“Medium-rare. I’d also like a spinach salad as well.”
Toth nodded. “Of course. Anything else?”
“Nope, I think that’s it,” she replied, handing Toth her menu.
Toth turned to Eric and took his menu, then he gave them both a final nod and whisked away. She looked at Eric to see him smiling secretly at her.
“What?” she asked, feeling her lips tugging up at corners.
“You ordered meat and spinach,” he pointed-out.
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, I need the protein and iron. I should pick up some vitamins when we get back home.”
“While I do appreciate the sentiment, I don’t have any intention of feeding from you enough to weaken you.”
“Oh. Well, Bill…”
“I am not Bill. My… nutritional requirements are not as extensive as a much younger vampire,” he interrupted gently.
“A sip here, a sip there?” she commented.
“Something like that.”
The cat barmaid brought Sookie her drink, giving her the glass with an affectionate rub against her hand and a low purr. Sookie jolted and stared at the girl’s flicking tail as she bounced away.
“Hmm. I think you must have made that one particularly happy last night,” her Viking observed.
“Great,” she answered sarcastically, taking a swig of her drink. ‘Hmm, top shelf stuff,’ she noted. ‘Only the best for the orgy lady.’ “I’m never going to live that down.”
He sat back in his chair, regarding her with a sexy, satisfied look on his face. “Why would you want to? You are beautiful. You brought many of those who are here a great deal of pleasure. You should be proud.”
“Proud that our private sex life spilled over and triggered a bacchanalia? Exactly how am I supposed to be proud of that?” she retorted, proud of her use of the “big word.”
Eric gave her an exasperated look. “Have you not been paying attention to anything I’ve said the last four days? Isle Elena is weaved with comfort magic. The guests here become who they are and get what they need. If fostering an orgy had been detrimental, then the magic of the island would have squelched it. Instead it allowed our energies to multiply and spread to the others here. What does that tell you?”
“That orgies are good for morale?” she offered weakly.
He shook his head. “That sex is healing, and sexual energy is powerful.”
“Eric, sex is only healing when two people love each other,” she countered. “Sex without feeling is just… empty. Like the people at the party we went to – having sex with people they didn’t even like just because it was sex. I didn’t find any pleasure in that. It’s nothing like what happens between you and me. Sex with you, it’s…”
She stopped, blushing because they were in public and such things were only spoken in private. She was becoming as brazen as her Viking, and she wasn’t sure she liked that. She was mulling over her own lack of manners and decorum, when Eric took her hand and kissed her palm.
“Sex with you is a religious experience,” he murmured, and her vamp-blood enhanced hearing picked it right up. “When we join… I am made whole, and if we, in our passion, made only one other person on this island feel the way we feel then everything was worth it.”
She huffed, pulling her hand from his grasp, but he looked wounded so she felt a twinge of guilt.
“What did I do?”
“How come every time I want to be mad at you, you say something sweet and wonderful, and I forget why I was angry?” she complained.
He grinned. “It’s a gift.”
She smiled and peered at him through her eyelashes as she took another sip from her drink.
“I’m not used to it, all right?” she finally said.
“Not used to what?”
“Being valued. Mattering to someone…”
She felt his regret and sadness through the bond and knew she’d struck a chord.
“That is partially my fault, I know. I didn’t remember our time together, and when you told me, I reacted by ignoring you and… what did you say to me? Sent messages to you through my flunkies. Pam loved that by the way. She said she’d never been called a flunky before. What is a flunky actually?”
She shrugged. “A flunky is like a… oh I dunno… a patsy, a lackey, a yes-man…”
“An ass kissing brown-noser?” he offered.
She cast him a guilty glance. “Something like that.”
He roared with laughter, his voice reaching up to the ceiling. “Oh! Oh, wonderful. Pam is an ass kissing brown-noser. I love it.”
“Don’t you dare tell her that,” she hissed, giving him a glare, but it just seemed to amuse him more.
He settled, still smiling, and he flashed Toth a big toothy grin when the waiter brought their food. He thanked the silver-haired demon, and she gave Toth a nod and a smile as well. Toth grinned as he took the cover off her entrée, revealing possibly the most delicious-looking steak she’d ever seen, and whisked off jauntily. She shook her head, oddly glad that she’d made the waiter who had served her so well and so graciously happy.
She and Eric didn’t speak as they both dug into their meals. She kept her eyes down so she wouldn’t see him squeezing out his blood pods, opting instead to concentrate on her steak. The meat was so tender she could cut it with her fork, and the first bite disintegrated on her tongue like butter.
“Mmmmm,” she moaned. “Oh, this steak is perfect.” She took another bite and moaned again.
“Careful. I might get jealous of a dead cow for making you moan so alluringly,” her Viking commented with a leer.
She snorted and kept eating, but she did tone down the sound effects, knowing he’d feel her pleasure through the bond anyway. Seeing his dilated eyes and slightly pointed teeth, she knew that she was having an effect on him, and it made her thrill a little.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t value you, you know,” he said suddenly, out of the blue. “I did, but I was… confused and… frustrated, and you weren’t helping. You rebuffed me. You never even gave me a chance to court you after Hallow’s curse was broken. You kept trying to make us go back to what we were before, but we couldn’t because neither of us were those people anymore. Even I knew that. I knew you were hiding things from me. I knew you were just as confused as I was, but instead of reaching out to me, you turned inward.” He sighed. “What was I to do?”
“But you had the inside edge,” she countered. “You knew how I was feeling.”
He nodded, taking a drink. “Resentment, fear, longing…” he replied. “Where was the affection, Sookie? You never let yourself feel it. Whenever we spoke, I was all but run over with your freight train of emotions. It was very… disconcerting. That’s why I stopped calling you and had Pam act as go-between. You were making an already difficult situation much worse.”
She paused in her eating and looked at her fork. “I’m sorry. Truth is… on some level… I wanted the… I wanted my Eric back.”
“I have always been your Eric.”
She scoffed. “No, you haven’t. You’ve been your Eric, not mine, but that’s okay. I like your Eric. He’s complicated, but we get along.”
“Sookie…”
“It’s stupid, I know, but I wanted the man who appreciated me. In a world that had so often shown that it could do very well without me, it was nice to have someone who made me feel special; who treated me as if what I wanted and needed was important.”
“I am sorry if I ever made you feel as if what you wanted wasn’t important,” he said with absolute sincerity.
“It’s okay. I don’t think you’ll do that anymore.”
“No,” he agreed.
She returned to her food, taking a few more bites, acutely aware that he was watching her. The steak had come with a side of roasted vegetables that were very good.
“But you also did not make it easy to show you that you were important,” he finally stated. “You keep telling me I’m not allowed to lavish gifts upon you. You make it very hard for me to show my appreciation.”
“That’s just like Niall always wanting to do things for me when all I want is for him to take me fishing. Eric, the most precious thing you can give me is your time. All the fancy gifts in the world won’t mean anything if I never see you,” she complained, setting her fork down and looking at him.
“Oh, but you will see me, my lover. You will see all of me very often,” he smoothed with a sexy smile.
She blushed. “And that’s… that’s great. I love the sex when we’re together, but…”
“But?” he prompted with a raised eyebrow.
“But… But I want to hear your laughter in my house and know you’re there because you want to be. I want to come home from a bad day and be able to tell you all about it, and believe that you really care about my feelings. I want to curl on the couch with you, wrapped in my ugly quilt, and watch Buffy. I want to be a romantic sap and call you Honey, and Baby, and Sweetheart, and I want you to call me those things too.”
“I draw the line at Snookums,” he interrupted, knocking her off her train of thought.
She huffed, irritated, and went back to eating.
“Darling? My most beautiful princess?” he asked with a plaintive lilt.
She flicked him a perturbed glance, but didn’t answer.
“My bonded, my mate, my life, my all,” he continued, reaching across the table to take her hand. She looked up at him and got lost in his blue eyes. “I promise you. I will keep my vows. I will honor you every night of my life. I will share everything I have with you, and I will never, ever, let you feel unappreciated or unimportant ever again.”
She gulped, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, but then he gave her a wicked smile and kissed her hand.
“How was that, my scrumptious éclair?”
She snorted and yanked her hand away, rolling her eyes. He blinked at her all innocent when she knew he was anything but.
“It was fine.”
“I love you,” he said seriously, making her stop eating again.
“I love you too,” she replied.
“Then that is all that matters, my lover. The rest…” He waved a hand. “is just details.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, but if there was anyone who ever made me feel valued, it was you. When Bill was throwing money at the Bellefleurs and buying women’s clothing stores, you were buying me the driveway I really needed.”
He took a drink from his glass, the blood still steaming. “It was a simple thing.”
“It wasn’t to me. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me.”
“Bill was a fool to not see to your needs, but his lack of attentiveness has resulted in my gain, so it matters not to me.”
“Are we going to tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“About you and me,” she said impatiently. She knew he was just playing dumb.
“I have already told you of my intention to make a formal announcement,” he reminded.
“Before you claim me as your property?” she pressed.
He set his glass down. “Why should I? I don’t need his permission to be with you. He lied to you. He used you. He was unfaithful…”
“I have to live next door to him. We’re kind of friends. I think we… I think I owe it to him to tell him about us before you tell everyone else.”
“Why?” he asked.
He was thinking that he could just order Bill to move, but that he wouldn’t because he knew she wouldn’t like it, and a secret part of him would also enjoy flaunting her in front of her old lover. She tried not to think about his plans to make her scream his name just so Bill would hear.
“Because no matter how crappy he treated me, I still know my manners, and he deserves to hear the news from me directly instead of reading it in the monthly Area Five newsletter,” she answered sarcastically.
“A newsletter! What a brilliant idea, my lover. I will see about putting that into effect as soon as we get back. Do you think it should be printed or should we just put it on-line?” he asked, grinning.
She rolled her eyes. “No. You aren’t distracting me. I think we should tell Bill when we get back.”
“Tonight?”
She hedged. “Maybe not tonight, but soon.”
“As you wish. I will inform him myself of our renewed relationship.”
“No, we should do it together. Knowing you, you’ll bring a pair of my underwear with you and dangle it in front of his nose while you tell him “Sookie’s mine,” then you’ll threaten him with painful death if he looks sideways at me.”
Eric chuckled. “You keep giving me such wonderful ideas, my lover. Should I bring a pair that are wet with…”
“You stop that train of thought right there, buddy.”
He frowned. “Maybe I ought to bring the ones with the big twist in them,” he complained.
She laughed in spite of herself, and he smiled back.
“You should finish your meal before it gets cold,” he said gently.
“So should you,” she answered, but she began eating again.
He nodded and drank from his glass, licking the red off of his teeth appreciatively before opening the steamer and pulling out the second pod.
“Does it really taste just like blood?” she asked curiously.
“It is far superior to that synthetic crap they peddle these days,” he replied, not bothering to hide his distaste.
“So why not grow that? I mean, I’m sure there must be a vamp or two out there that knows something about gardening.”
“From what I hear, it is a very invasive vine, and, being a demon created plant, you can imagine that there is some concern over possible human discovery of it,” he replied diplomatically.
That seemed ridiculous to her. “As concerning as the vamps coming out of the closet after TrueBlood was released?”
“Yes, but TrueBlood is made and sold by humans. Blood Vine cannot be found naturally anywhere in the human world,” he pointed out with his usual pragmatism. “If a plant was to… sprout in the wrong place… Well, I am sure you can understand why certain individuals in power would frown upon that.”
She was reading between the lines and also catching snippets of thought from his mind. “So you’re saying that it isn’t widely grown because it’s illegal?”
He nodded. “There are a very few sanctioned places where Blood Vine is cultivated, but the plots are only in very well established demon communities, and they are strictly monitored and controlled. The average vampire like myself would find it very difficult to purchase the pods as a private buyer, and it isn’t something I could offer at Fangtasia.”
“So the only place you can get it is a place like this?”
“Yes. A demon owned and operated establishment that serves the demon community almost exclusively,” he confirmed, taking a drink.
“Hmm. That sucks.”
He shrugged. “It just makes coming here that much more enjoyable, and, of course, nothing replaces real blood, especially the blood of a lover.” He said “lover” like a caress.
“If that’s water, I’m wine?” she teased.
He smiled. “Oh yes. You are sixty year-old, Oak-aged, single malt scotch.”
She knew her liquors, and he’d just described one of the most expensive boozes in the bar.
“I’m flattered.”
He gave her a wry look. “You should be. I have very discerning tastes.”
She gave him another smile and leaned over the table to kiss him.
The rest of dinner progressed without incident. They ate. They talked. They flirted. She was naughty and rubbed her foot up his calf and along his thigh to his crotch. He took the wind out of her sails by leaning back and spreading his legs in obvious delight.
He ordered dessert for her – the chocolate mousse, and she ate it slowly with a bittersweet feeling in her chest. Their trip was coming to a close, and soon they would be back in Bon Temps, back in the crazy world of vampire politics and conflicting feelings. She’d be lying if she said both of them weren’t apprehensive. Eric, especially, was tense and not looking forward to going back. From what she was catching from his mind, he was trying to anticipate Felipe’s next move and how to placate Victor enough for the vampire boss to leave him pretty much alone. She, on the other hand, wasn’t looking forward to going back to having to deal with Jason or the bar patrons who thought she was a whore because she dated vampires or face Sam knowing he wouldn’t approve either.
“What are you thinking?” her Viking asked.
She sighed. He must have been feeling her swirling emotions through the bond. “Just not looking forward to going back.”
“If you’re not ready…”
“No. No. I’m ready. We’ve been gone long enough. I don’t want anyone getting suspicious or worried,” she interrupted.
“I don’t care about that,” he insisted.
“I do. And we need to keep the new King happy. Any longer and he’ll really start to think you’re up to no good.”
“Maybe I am,” he countered with a wink.
“If you are, I don’t want to know. All I can tell you is to be careful.”
“I’m always careful, my lover. Always.”
“You’d better be, because if you come back dead, I’m going to kill you,” she warned, glaring at him.
He smiled and reached for her hand. “I promise, I will not do anything that jeopardizes us or our bond unless I have no choice, and even then, I will make sure you know why I’m making that decision. You are my bonded. There will be no secrets between us.”
Her own big secret poked her in the side, but she kicked it away and smiled.
They finished dinner and left the dining room, taking one slow tour around the lodge as if to say good-bye. They came upon the gift shop. She had seen it before, but now she went in to peruse their offerings, wondering if there was anything she could bring back for Sam.
While she was browsing, she came upon a mannequin dressed neatly in a long A-line denim skirt and beautiful cable knit sweater in tones of purple and blue. The colors reminded her of the colors of contentment within their bond, and she paused to admire it. Her Viking noticed her interest immediately.
“It would look lovely on you,” he whispered in her ear.
She nodded. “I’m afraid to ask how much it is. I have a habit of finding the most expensive thing in a store.”
He snickered and went to find a salesperson. Before she knew it, she was being handed a large shopping tote with the entire outfit as displayed: skirt, sweater, winter-weight hose and knee-high brown leather boots.
“It would please me if you were to wear it home,” he suggested.
She was going to balk, but then she saw quite clearly his intention to hike up the skirt while they were on the plane and have his way with her. Well, he had asked if she would wear skirts and dresses when he was around…
‘No time to start like the present,’ she mused, and slipped into the bathroom to change. Surprise. Everything fit. And Eric was right; the sweater did look lovely on her.
She found him looking very thoughtful and serious when she came out of the bathroom. He’d been holding her parka and had fished out the wooden box he’d given her for safekeeping. He was studying it mightily hard until he caught her scent and lifted his head to see her dressed in the new outfit. His pleasure was evident in the bond and on his face.
“It doesn’t show much skin,” she commented, feeling a little self-conscious. It was true. The outfit showed almost no skin, but the sweater was tight in just the right places and the skirt flared in just the right way to give her a svelte silhouette.
“There are benefits to hinting at what lies beneath,” he answered, touching her face and bending down for a kiss. “You look wonderful. Thank you.”
“You just wanted me in a skirt.”
His eyes gleamed. “Of course.”
She looked at the box in his hand, then back up into his eyes. He grew very serious and still.
“Let’s go to the sanctuary,” he said.
She nodded and took his hand, letting him guide her down the wide stairs to the lower level of the lodge. They didn’t speak as they walked along the wide corridor with its many pieces of art until they came to the chapel doors. He held the door open for her, allowing her to go in ahead of him, and she waited for him to direct her as he went to the effigy of Hlin.
He took the box from her and opened it. She peered into it as he carefully and gently pulled back a piece of black velvet that had been folded over the contents of the box, and she gasped when she saw what was beneath.
It was a large pendant in bright silver in the shape of a blunt anchor. The anchor was decorated with swirls and Norse designs all the way up to the ring where a heavy silver chain was threaded through the loop.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“It is my Thor’s Hammer,” he said wistfully. “My father gave it to me right before my first voyage.”
“Oh.”
He looked as if he longed to touch it, but of course he couldn’t because it would burn him.
“You kept it with you all these years?”
“I was wearing it when I was captured. After I was turned, Inara liked to torture me with it by putting it on me and letting it sear my skin.”
“Oh, Eric…”
“Don’t pity me. I took it back the night before I betrayed her to Carus. It and my sword are my most prized possessions.” He handed her the box. “I’ll need you to pick it up, my lover. I am giving it to the shrine as an offering to Hlin.”
She felt humbled and honored. “Of course,” she agreed, reaching into the box and lifting out the pendant. She handled it with the utmost care and respect.
“A piece this old and well preserved is very rare. Most Vikings were cremated with all of their weapons and jewelry,” he stated with some air of authority.
“I am sure it will be appreciated in the spirit in which it is given,” she assured him.
He nodded and knelt before the statue of Hlin. She knelt beside him, waiting for him to tell her what to do. He indicated with his head that she should place the Hammer with it’s black velvet cloth at the goddess’s feet, and she laid it gently on the carved wood block. Then she sat back on her knees with her head down while he prayed in Old Norse, his voice soft and reverent, staying quiet and still so as not to disturb him. She was curious as to what he was saying, but she refrained from peeking into his mind because she didn’t want to invade his privacy during such a sacred moment.
His words were heartfelt and she could sense the power in the room. She remembered Izzy’s warning about prayers holding weight on Isle Elena, and she could certainly agree with that. She cast a furtive glance around at the other statues in the circular room and shivered when she thought she caught a few of them looking back. It gave her the willies, as if she was in the presence of something much bigger and much more profound.
She hunkered down, trying not to look up or draw attention to herself as she waited for Eric to finish his prayers. When he finally did about ten minutes later, she looked searchingly at him as he slowly rose to his feet. He was peaceful, as content as she’d ever seen him, and his eyes were warm and full of love.
“Thank you,” he whispered, bending down to give her a tender kiss.
She responded in kind, reaching up to touch his broad shoulders and grip his strong arms.
“Ek vil hiem eigi,” he murmured. ‘I don’t want to go home.’
“I don’t want to go home either,” she agreed, then gasped in horror when she realized that he’d spoken in Old Norse, but that she’d answered his thought.
She cast a terrified glance at her Viking to see him smiling knowingly at her.
“I think you’ve been holding out on me, lover,” he said slyly.
TBC on Page 3
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