These characters belong to Charlaine Harris and Jeaniene Frost.

Thanks to our beautiful beta, the lovely FarDareisMai2, for helping us make this story better.

And thanks to our readers and reviewers, you keep us inspired— now on with the story!

Recap: In Heroes and Hitmen, Cat and Bones travel to New Orleans to stop a contracted hit on the vampire king of Louisiana, Eric Northman. The suspected hit is to take place at Eric's annual Dracula Night Party. To help identify the hitmen at the party, Bones gives Sookie additional telepathic powers through a blood exchange conducted in Eric's home office. The night of the party, a contract hit attempt is thwarted by Cat, Bones and Eric after Eric is stabbed. Quinn tries to abduct Sookie, but she is saved by a mystery guest.

Wife Swap continues the story, picking up the action a few nights after the Dracula Night Party.


Chapter 1

Eric POV

I clicked send on the last email and checked my agenda one more time. Homeland Security was collecting Quinn at eight and Cat and Bones were coming by the club to say their goodbyes before they left New Orleans.

Since the Dracula Night Party, I had spent time with Bones, trying to loosen Quinn's tongue for information on who was behind the contracted hit on me and Sookie. While Bones and I interrogated Quinn, Sookie and Cat started an easy friendship, finding they had more in common beyond having a vampire for a husband. Sookie enjoyed the "girl time" and I liked seeing her happy. I secretly hoped, without dwelling on it, that seeing a vampire couple like Cat and Bones might sway Sookie towards thinking about turning someday. For now, I counted my blessings. I was reaping the benefits of the blood exchange between Sookie and Bones along with the blood Vlad had given her. I could read her through the bond better, and her libido was more active although I had to be careful she didn't burst into flames when she climaxed. We didn't know how Sookie acquired a dose of Vlad's pyrokinesis or how long it would remain, but I was not complaining about any of it.

The only downside to those few days was the lingering scent of Cat and Bones in my home office. Ever since the night of the blood exchange, my office had the distinct aroma of Cat and Bones' sex-capades, particularly around the bookcase ladder and my desk. I found the scent of another woman in my office a distraction I could do without. I had mentioned it to Sookie in the hopes she would help to replace it with the sweet scent of our own lovemaking, but I had not been able to talk her into it—yet. Sookie was so busy with her social engagements; she had little time to indulge in office playtime.

I was just about to go see if Sookie was ready to leave for Fangtasia, when she pranced into my office. I sensed an excitement coming from her that intrigued and surprised me. When she locked the door, I waited at my desk, wondering what she had in mind.

She turned around and leaned against the office door, just looking at me with a sly little smile on her face. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. The crisp, white cotton blouse gave away a hint of a lacy white bra underneath. Her well-worn jeans showed off the curve of her hips and her freshly manicured toes peeked out of the bejeweled flip-flops she wore. Even in the simplest of outfits, she was beautiful.

Her eyes sought mine and when she was sure she had my attention, she started unbuttoning her blouse. She took her time, slipping her fingers under the white fabric to caress her skin gently with each button she opened. At the final button, she ran her fingertips from her waist to her throat, opening the blouse just enough so that I could see the sheer lace bra cupping her remarkable breasts. From where I sat at my desk, I could see her dusky nipples under the lace, hard and begging to be touched. I groaned when she crossed her arms over her chest and gave them a quick pull. Her smile broadened at my reaction.

Next, she unbuttoned the cuffs of the shirt. Her blouse was ready to come off, but instead her hand went back to her waist, to the button there. She unbuttoned it, and then slowly unzipped her jeans, just enough so I could see the matching lace panties she had on. My arousal forced me to shift in my chair and I was about to go to her when she commanded, "stay there."

She kicked off her flip-flops, and started walking slowly toward my desk, removing her blouse as she approached. The blouse seemed to disappear because all I could see were her beautiful breasts encased in fine white lace. Did she know how incredibly sexy she looked, standing there in her bra, her jeans undone? My pants started to feel uncomfortably tight as she closed the distance between us, and I could not take my eyes off her. Sookie stopped, and teased me again, stroking her breasts while I watched. Then, her right hand traveled down the centerline of her body until it reached the top of her panties, and she slipped her fingers under the elastic. Well now, it looked like my Sookie had been practicing her strip tease, and my moans let her know just how much I was enjoying it. I ran my hand across my own jeans stroking myself without taking my eyes from hers. When she saw what I was doing, I heard the breath catch in her throat.

Sookie moved toward me like a dancer, and just as I reached out to pull her to me, she sat down on the top of my desk facing me. She placed one foot on the edge of my desk chair, sliding it between my legs to gently press up against me. With the flick of a lever, my chair adjusted so I could stroke myself while her foot rubbed against me from below. Her breath quickened as she watched me, and the scent of her arousal filled the air. My fangs ran down as I watched her—watch me.

When she looked at me, her eyes pleaded for more, and I stood up between her open legs to give her a strip tease of my own. I unbuttoned my shirt with deliberate movements, exposing more skin with each button I released. In the same way she had teased me earlier, I unbuckled my belt and unzipped my jeans. My nipples were inches away from her mouth, and I wanted—no, needed—her to nibble on them. She bit with just the right pressure and I brought one, then the other, to her mouth, letting her have a single taste, before I moved away. I pulled her hips toward me, wrapping her legs around me, and her arms went around me. When I pressed my hardness against her, she breathed my name, causing a shudder to ripple through me.

I stroked down her neck to the clasp of her front-hook bra, and freed her beautiful breasts. I buried my face there, inhaling her scent, licking and nibbling her peaks. My arm held her around her waist, keeping our bodies pressed together. I moved to her mouth, kissing her deeply before resuming my attentions on her breasts, deciding where I would take my first sip of her luscious blood. I pressed into her again, and her fingers dug into my back.

"Please, Eric," she whispered into my ear.

"What do you want, Sookie?" I asked, holding her close to me, moving against her.

"You, Eric, I want you...on this desk. Our desk."

"How Sookie? How do you want me? Hmm?"My mouth was at her ear, and her body reacted to my words.

Very quickly, the mood went from slow and languid to frenzied—neither of us could wait any longer. I pulled off her jeans, leaving the scrap of white lace panties to enjoy for another moment. I ran my fingers over them, feeling her heat through the lace but she captured my attention when she tugged on my jeans, pushing them down, freeing me. My fangs elongated, and then her panties were gone and I was inside her, stroking her, feeling every bit of where we were joined. When I stopped to savor the feel of her around me, she squeezed my arms.

"Eric, don't stop, please don't stop," she panted.

She wrapped her legs around me, holding me close while the desk shook as I thrust into her, the vibrations knocking everything from the top of it to the floor. Sookie's breath was ragged, so I slowed down, giving her a chance to catch her breath. When her love sounds changed pitch, I knew she was close. She clutched me to her, and I bit that spot I liked , pulling her sweet blood into my mouth. She had her first climax with my bite, and she wasn't done yet. Her warm body wrapped around me like a blanket, and I could feel her pleasure build again, as she cried out my name with every thrust. As she reached her peak for the second time, she threw her head back and pinched her own nipples to heighten her climax. I lost it.

Afterwards, I held her in my arms while we both came back to earth, her skin exceptionally warm after love making, thanks to the blood Vlad gave her. The euphoric scent of sex filled the room. When I finally glanced at the clock, it was well past time to leave for Fangtasia to meet Homeland Security. They would just have to wait.

Setting her back on the desk, I tipped up her chin so she could look at me when I said, "Lover, what a wonderful surprise you have given me tonight. I'll want to thank you properly when we get back from Fangtasia later." I kissed her, not wanting to break any of the contact between our bodies.

Sookie giggled against my mouth. "I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope it did the job. I'm going to run and take a quick shower—can you find my jeans and shirt for me, please?"

I found the jeans and shirt, along with some white lace that had been her undergarments, and brought them over. She quickly pulled on the jeans and shirt before pushing her feet into her flip-flops.

"I'll be ready in 15 minutes, Eric." She kissed me hard, unlocked the door and ran down the hall toward our bedroom. I was already thinking about later that night and how I was going to take her, when I realized how Quinn would appreciate the "eaux de Sookie" I would be wearing when we said goodbye. Bonus.

oooo

Even though we arrived at Fangtasia a bit later than I planned, Homeland Security wasn't due to arrive for another half hour. I planned to keep Sookie busy upstairs with Pam when Homeland Security took Quinn away because I didn't want her to see what Bones and I had done to him, and I did want to spend a few minutes saying goodbye to the wretch before he left for the paranormal compound. Sookie and I went directly to my office and I was glad to see Pam already there. This would work well for me.

"Pam, we are expecting Cat and Bones shortly. I need you to go over the Mardi Gras events and obligations with Sookie before they get here. I have some business to address downstairs in the club."

With a nod of her head and a knowing smile, Pam played along. "Certainly Eric. It might take a while since there are invitations to many events."

Sookie rolled her eyes. I knew she didn't like representing the Louisiana vampires without me, but she was more than capable. She was charming and the politicians in New Orleans loved her.

With a wink and a smile, I appeased her. "Sookie, I promise I'll make it up to you. I can't help it that all of the city wants to meet the new queen."

"Well, Eric, you most definitely will need to make it up to me—later. Okay Pam, let's get to work."

"I'll see you both when I have finished with my business downstairs. I shouldn't be long."

I closed the door to the office and made my way to the basement of Fangtasia. No one even knew the room existed, since basements were virtually non-existent in New Orleans because of the likelihood of flooding. But with a lot of money, quality engineering, and heavy duty sump pumps, I had a special room, for special cases.

oooo

When I opened the door to the basement, the overwhelming stench of body fluids, excrement, and fear hit me like an ocean wave. You might think that the smell would repel me, but the evidence of Quinn's pain and suffering made me smile. Quinn, the so-called great weretiger hung from the silver shackles that extended from the ceiling. He was no longer coherent, and his head flopped to the side. If it weren't for the barely audible noises that leaked out from his swollen lips, you might think he was already dead. His feet were shackled by silver cuffs and chains that were embedded in the wall, and his body hung in the center of the room, without any other surface around him to absorb the energy of the blows he would receive. The dark, cold room seemed to enhance the rancid scent.

Five nights earlier, at the annual Fangtasia Dracula Night Party, Quinn had made the incredibly stupid mistake of trying to steal my wife and send me to my final death. Oh, yes, I had some payback to deliver to the useless flea bag. What was it that Bones had said when he first proposed our alliance to find the hit men? Beat the seven shades of shit out of him, and we had been doing just that for the past five nights. In between beatings, Bones confided quite a bit about Cat and her past involvement with the government.

Cat's Uncle Don, head of the Paranormal Behavior Division, a secret unit of the FBI and Homeland Security, would soon be taking Quinn to a more permanent torture chamber, of sorts. While I didn't like relinquishing my right to end Quinn's life, knowing he would be the subject of the government's experiments on the two-natured wasn't necessarily a bad trade off. Also in residence at the compound was Max, Cat's father, the vampire who impregnated her mother shortly after his turning. Max's other crimes included hiring killers to go after his daughter and then attempting to do the job himself by ripping out Cat's throat before he was caught in the act by Bones. With the addition of Quinn, the Paranormal Behavior Division was expanding its opportunities for experimentation on the supernatural. I wondered if perhaps I could visit the compound from time to time, to help the "experimentation" move forward.

Bones and Cat were scheduled to come when Don arrived with the transport for Quinn. That night would be my last opportunity to personally torment the tiger before he was turned over to the government. I still found it hard to believe that Quinn was solely responsible for contracting the killers that had attempted to kill me that night. Maybe a little more persuasion would loosen his tongue.

I walked to the small table set along the rear wall. I picked up a pair of gloves from among the knives and pincers and other implements of torture on the small table, and pulled them on while I approached the body hanging in the center of the room. Considering Quinn's current condition, I wouldn't need to use anything but my fists to inflict more pain on what was now a sad excuse for a were animal. Quinn, the once mighty weretiger, was no more. He was so beaten at that point I doubted if he even had the energy to change to his animal form.

Quinn stirred and tried to pick up his head as I approached him. I couldn't decide whether that action made him stupid or prideful, but whatever the reason, I didn't give him a chance to speak before I punched him in the jaw, causing his lips to split open and blood to leak from them. The scent of his blood caused a throb of pleasure through my body and I had to hold myself back from throwing another punch, since I wanted him to be able to talk to me.

"Last chance Quinn. Who paid the money for the contract against me?"

"No." His one word answer only served to make me more determined to beat it out of him.

I moved around behind Quinn so he couldn't see me and said in his ear, "Come on Quinn, I know you could not afford it, having to take care of your family and all. Isn't that why Sookie dumped you?"

Even though Quinn hung like a dirty dishtowel from the shackles above, he flinched when I mentioned his break up with Sookie, and it gave me great satisfaction. I moved in front of him so he could see me. He took a deep breath, and I knew he could smell Sookie all over me.

"Quinn, have you heard of Homeland Security and its Paranormal Division?"

He tried to open his swollen eyes and look at me, and I smelled fear trickle out of him.

"No, you have not, I see. Well, I sold your ass to the government."

"What? You're not killing me? Why don't you just end it already?"

"Quinn, your bravery, as usual, is misplaced. Killing you is too easy."

Quinn raised his head and croaked at me. "Still afraid Sookie would find out you killed me, Northman?"

I laughed. "Quinn, now I know why Sookie really dumped you. I need to give her more credit—you are just a dumb shit, aren't you? " I walked around him, so he wouldn't know where the next blow was coming from.

"You are not thinking this through, fur ball. You see, if I give you up to Homeland Security, the government will be so very grateful to me, as will Sookie for not killing you. Win-win for me, wouldn't you say?"

Quinn's anger caused the air around us to shimmer and I thought he was trying to shift into his tiger form, but he didn't have the energy to transform. When he failed, his head slumped to his chest in defeat. Perfect time to twist the knife and finish the job. I walked around to face him and grabbed his chin in my hand and looked him in the eyes.

"Quinn, now are you ready to tell me who paid for the contract kill? Because if you are, I might be inclined to grant your death request."

His swollen eyes were not much more than slits and I wasn't even sure if he could see, but before I hit him again, I waited to see if he was going to give me any information. I continued to walk throughout the dark, damp room to confuse him. Eventually, he coughed and then gave in.

"My partner. He promised me Sookie if I would help him. Triple E lost a shitload of money when you banned me from Louisiana."

"Well, that's rather forthcoming of you, Quinn. You should have remembered that you had to win Sookie's heart, not take her like some piece of property." I rattled a few of the toys on the table for good measure.

"Homeland Security will be here in a few hours. Rest up. You'll need it."

"What do you mean, Northman? Are you breaking your deal? You said you'd kill me if I told you."

"No, no, Quinn. I said I might be inclined to kill you. If I do, it will be when I'm ready, and until that day, you can room at the Paranormal compound."

I balled up my fist and hit him so hard he passed out. With a smile, I removed the gloves, placed them back on the table, and checked my clothes for any stains. I always kept a change of clothing in the basement. Since Bones and I had been going at Quinn for 5 nights now, he really didn't have many fluids to spill. With a final look around the room, I closed the door and headed back to my office and to Sookie. Bones and Cat would be here shortly with Don to dispose of Quinn, and then we could celebrate together.


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