It's hot. Hotter than a snake's ass in a wagon rut as my brother Jason would say. I can feel the perspiration sliding swiftly down my back, inside my sun dress, then stopping as it reaches the top of my lace boy shorts. I flop listlessly on the couch, angling for more of the cooler air that the oscillating fan is blowing from across the living room.

"I wonder if I should splurge on one of those above ground pools from Wal-Mart?" I say to no one in particular. I expect no answer because I am all alone in this house.

I drag my roasted bones into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of iced tea. The sweet liquid is a brief respite from the oppressive heat. I press the half empty glass to my forehead and lean back into the open fridge. Gran would have a fit if she were alive to see this. It was a mortal sin to waste electricity like this. The heat had never bothered Gran like it does me. It seems that every summer gets a little hotter and I seem to tolerate it a little less.

Personally, I think that dating a vampire changed my ability to stand the heat. Being intimate with one of the undead was like making love to a very skilled air conditioner.

That thought makes me giggle deliriously as I hear Gran scold me from beyond the grave for this blatant disregard for inflating the electric bill. Of course, it's not really her, just my mind recalling something that she would have said if only she were still alive.

My body is covered in a light sheen of sweat now that makes me almost glow. I can see the dying rays of the sun as twilight rapidly approaches. Maybe tonight will be cooler and I might sleep a little.

I think about calling Sam to see if he needs me to cover for anyone but decide against it. He would have called me if I was needed. He might read more into it and ask me to come in whether he needed me or not. I'm not Sam's responsibility, he shouldn't have to coddle me just because I feel lonely. I have the next three days off and I intend to take advantage of every minute of free time.

I make up my mind to drive to good old Wally World tomorrow and buy that pool. I have the money, why shouldn't I? I rarely splurge on anything and the thought of a midnight swim is almost orgasmic. With that resolution I decide to also check on a window air conditioner unit while I'm there. I could at least have one in the bedroom without that being too big of a sin, couldn't I?

Sleep eludes me, it's just too damn hot.

I think about the vampire. I don't want to speak his name, I worry that even thinking it will be like a summons for him to show up at my door. While the thought of that sends an electric shock through me, one that makes me wet, I know it's not what is meant to be. I haven't heard from him and I certainly don't want him to know how much I have missed him. Ached for him. Cried for him. I can't think about looking up, way up, into his ice blue eyes, can't think about the way his hands molded to my body's curves. I can't remember the way his mouth curved into a crooked smile as he looked me up and down, like I was a feast. I can't let myself reminisce about the way his body fit so perfectly with mine and how he made me scream, cry and moan his name in ecstasy like an expert. I miss him terribly. I can't afford to admit that, even to myself.

My mind wanders to another man in my not so distant past. A man that should have been but never was. The other end of the spectrum from the vampire. One who runs hot instead of cold.

Alcide.

My mind whispers his name like a song. So many things kept us apart but I still think about him from time to time. How many times have I brought myself to a breathless conclusion thinking about winding my fingers into his thick black mane as he thrust into me.

I imagine the sounds he would make during sex. If he growled at me I could probably come from that alone. I think about what his hands would feel like. Rough but gentle, I instinctively know somehow that he would know where to put them to make me feel good. I imagine that his breath would feel hot and sound ragged in my ear as I lay beneath him. The weight of his body would be almost too much on top of me.

I feel the dreaminess of sleep closing in as I make one more resolution before succumbing to it's siren song. I will call Alcide tomorrow.

"Claudine, what the fuck are we doing here? She's in no danger, she doesn't need us and you know Niall wants her to think you're dead."

"Calm down brother. We're here because Niall asked me to come. She's unhappy and that makes Niall unhappy. He wants us to help without her knowing that we're interfering."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Give her her hearts deepest, darkest desire. Something that I don't even think she realizes that she wants. Something that I'm sure you would greatly appreciate yourself, Claude."

"And how do you know what she wants if SHE doesn't know?"

"Because I still visit with her in her dreams. She confides in me in these dreams. And I know what her heart desires. Shall we begin?"

I awake with a start as I feel the sun warm up my face. I stretch lazily, the way a cat would. I miss Tina instantly. Maybe I should go by the animal shelter and see of they have any kittens to adopt. I think of Bubba and decide against it. I can never be sure when he might show up again. I call Jason and arrange to borrow his truck for the morning. I'll need it to haul the pool back from Wal-Mart.

The eggs and toast I make serve their purpose but I don't really taste them. I keep recalling my dream from last night and it puzzles me. I dream of Claudine often but never Claude, yet he was with her last night. I remember them dancing around my bed and chanting lowly. I can't remember what they were saying. I remember the brilliant blue light as it flowed out of them and into me.

I know that I slept deeper last night than I have since the summer heat hit it's peak two weeks ago. I feel refreshed, I feel renewed, I feel resolute. Resolute about something, I'm just not sure what.

I dress in a white halter top and my favorite cut off jean shorts. Jason will be here any minute to lend me his truck for the day. I want this pool set up by early evening and I have a helper in mind. One that will be great to look at as he works shirtless. My hands shake a little as I pick up the phone and dial his number.

"Sookie!" He greets me by name. He must have my number still programmed into his cell. "What's going on, lady?"

He sounds like he's in a great mood and that bolsters my courage.

"I'm well. I'm sorry I haven't been in touch."

"No worries. Life gets in the way sometimes. You've been on my mind. I've wanted to call but I didn't know if you'd want to talk to me after everything..."

I can't let him go there, I want this conversation to go in a lighter direction so I interrupt.

"I'm going to sound like a total cad but I'm calling because I can really use your help if you're free this evening, Alcide."

"Everything okay, Sookie? The Pelts are giving you any more trouble are they?"

"No, no it's nothing like that. I um, I'm wanting to put up one of those frame pools and I might need some help leveling out a spot and putting it all together."

"As a matter of fact, I am totally free this evening. I had a business dinner but they called fifteen minutes ago to reschedule. Damndest thing, really."

"Wonderful. Can you be here around noon? I still have to run out and get the thing."

"That's perfect actually."

"Great. Bring a suit. You'll be the first to swim in it with me, of course."

"Noon then. And Sookie?"

"Yes, Alcide?"

"I'm really glad you called."

"Me too."

That went a lot better than I had dared to hope for. I feel a surge of heat as I think about the muscles in Alcide's arms. I shake it off as I hear Jason's tires crunching the gravel in my driveway.

Vampires rarely dream when they get to be as old as I am. I have been dreaming lately of my Sookie.

I have not called her but I have felt her through the bond. I have felt her loneliness, her want, even her anger. I know I deserve her anger. She doesn't know why I haven't called. She can't understand that I have only been trying to protect her. My status in the vampire hierarchy has been shaky at best until now. Even at this point I am not entirely comfortable with the way things stand.

I dream every day of her sun tanned skin, the way she smells, the sound of her steady breathing in and out, the sounds she makes when she's on the verge of release. I miss the crescendo of her cries as her body grasps and releases me when I'm buried between her thighs. I know that I can't wait much longer.

I lay awake here in my bed. I know that the sun is up but today sleep is not coming easy to me. I sense the fairy before she's fully there. Her scent is overpowering and intoxicating. She's hiding from my sight but I feel she is near.

"What do you want, fae?"

"I come with a proposition. One that can make you a grand sum of money and also bring great pleasure to someone I know is dear to you."

What can I say? Money intrigues me as much as who this fae is surely talking about. Sookie.

"Speak to me but don't come any closer. I don't know that I can resist attacking you if you're smell gets any stronger."

She starts to speak and I am immediately entranced. Can I really be thinking about agreeing to this?

I get to Wal-Mart a lot sooner than I really should have. My eagerness made my right foot a little heavy on the gas pedal. I pick out the pool in record time. It's the biggest one of the selection. I probably don't need the biggest one but I want it. That settles it. I take a minute to swing by the home improvement section and pick not one but two window unit air conditioners for the house. My good mood is making me a lot more free with the checkbook than I normally am.

I don't even think twice about writing the amount on the check. I deserve to splurge every now and then. And frankly, I keep thinking about how Alcide runs hot, being a were and all. If things go the way I hope they'll go tonight I'll need the pool AND the bedroom a/c to keep from overheating.

I laugh to myself as two scrawny high school stock boys argue over who's gonna help me load my purchases into the truck.

"Fella's, why don't both of you help me out so I can get on the road quicker?" I say as I give them my best smile and wink.

I feel so brazen, so unlike myself. I try to remember more about the dream, about the Fae twins as I drive back home. What were they chanting as they circled me? My thoughts keep me occupied and make the drive home fly by.

I see Alcide's truck as I cruise up into my yard. He's leaning back against the tailgate, almost like he's posing. Color me impressed as I gaze at his white tank top covered torso. His wild, untamable hair is blowing in the breeze like he's in a photo shoot for a Harlequin romance book cover. I snap my jaw shut before he can see me practically drooling. He waves and smiles as I approach and park.

"Sookie, it's been too long."

He grabs me up into a bear hug. His smell is intoxicating and I hope he doesn't notice as I breathe him in deeply a second time.

"I agree. You look, well, wonderful."

We make small talk as we work together to unload the truck. I barely pause to thank Jason as he brings my car back and reclaims his truck. I doubt that he cares since I know he has a date tonight. Jason has a date almost every night.

The muscles in Alcides arms ripple with his effort as he pushes the shovel into the ground. I'm trying so hard not to be obvious but watching him work has me as wet as the month of April. I know there are unimportant words coming out of my mouth, I know that I'm making good conversation with him as we start to pull the parts of the pool out of the box. But for the life of me I can't seem to string a coherent thought together inside of my head.

"Can I get you some tea or a beer before we start putting this together?"

"A beer would be much appreciated."

I feel like the spider thats about to eat the fly. He can have ALL the beer he wants.

He leans up against his shovel as he unscrews the cap and takes a long drink. I'm fascinated with his Adam's apple as he swallows. I want to touch my tongue to it and see how it tastes. He catches me staring and smiles.

"Sookie? Everything alright? You seem a little preoccupied."

"Nah, this heat's just getting to me I think. Shall we?" I gesture towards the nine thousand or so pieces of PVC pipe that make up the pool frame with the five million page instruction book.

Alcide walks over to me and takes the instructions away, tossing them to the side. I know he hears me gulp when he gets close enough for me to smell him.

"Luckily for you, Miss Stackhouse, I put together this same type of pool for my sister at the end of last summer."

His smile is like the sun and also like the sun, he's radiating heat in waves. I feel like I'm melting but in an agonizingly, sexually good way. I can only smile back before he turns and starts pounding the pieces together with a rubber mallet.

One hour and four beers later, we have the pool assembled and my garden hose is doing a slow but steady job of filling it up.

"Care if I run inside for a minute? I need to use the bathroom and borrow your phone."

"Sure thing. I guess it's the least I can do since you've just put a pool together for me. Matter of fact, I'm gonna come in too and make us a late lunch."

I start the process of making Pecan Chicken Salad sandwiches on croissants for the two of us. It's Gran's recipe and it's never failed to please. I hear him talking in a low voice and his call ends quickly. I hear the front door open and close and then the noises repeat a couple minutes later.

I 'm not sure what he's doing in there but I want to make lunch look as appetizing as it's going to taste so I concentrate on my presentation. I add a side of barbecue chips and pull two more beers out of the fridge. I'm hit with a wave of cold, cold air as I walk into the living room with the lunch on a tray.

"I hope that's the window you wanted it in," Alcide says shyly.

"It's exactly the window I wanted it in. And that air feels amazing."

I lean my head back and smile with my eyes closed, savoring the frigid blast that blows across my sweaty chest. Heaven!

"I hope that chicken salad is okay. It's my Gran's secret recipe."

"Sounds delicious. Wanna eat in here?"

I nod my agreement and we sit Indian-style on the rug with our plates and beers between us. Our knees are almost touching and I can feel the warmth from his skin cross the floor separating us.

Lunch is almost finished and I hear a heavy vehicle coming up the driveway. I wonder out loud as to who it could be. I'm not expecting anyone.

"That would be Clancy with the Bon Temps fire department tanker truck. He's here to fill up your pool."

I raise an eyebrow at him and he laughs.

"He's a brother were, he owed me a favor and now we're even. No big deal Sookie. You said something about swimming today and that wouldn't be possible if we waited for your hose to do the job."

I throw a napkin at him and thank him at the same time. I hadn't thought about it but he was right. Plus this is gonna save me a lot on my water bill.

Clancy has the pool filled and is gone by the time I get the lunch dishes done. Alcide is outside re-sodding around the edges of the pool when I come outside with more beer.

"This is just amazing. How can I ever thank you enough or repay you?"

"Well for starters, I would love to borrow your shower to clean up and then what do you think about taking a dip with me? I brought my suit like you asked me to."

"Definitely sounds like a plan. Use the shower next to my room. There are clean towels hanging in there."

I watch as he grabs his duffel from the passenger seat of his truck. He catches me looking and smiles. I feel like he's on to me and I'm not even entirely sure what I'm up to, myself. I want to kiss his dimples when he smiles at me that way.

I dig frantically through my dresser for my favorite bikini, the one with the cherries on it. Now's the time that I feel thankful that I skipped the cheesecake and the ice cream when I really wanted to indulge.

I wait for Alcide in the cool living room. The a/c was already spoiling me. I lay my head back and luxuriated in the sinfulness of it. Gran would shit twice and scream about how this contraption was gonna raise her bill to epic porportions.

I hear him come into the room but I don't open my eyes. I can't stop the smile as I smell his unique scent.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower."

I jump as he speaks right next to my ear.

"Don't keep me waiting too long."

I don't. But even as quickly as I showered and changed into my bikini, he had the second air conditioner installed in my bedroom window by the time I came out of the bathroom.

The pool looks alien in the yard, but thanks to Alcide's clever landscaping, it looks like a resident alien.

I can see his form floating face up in the pool as I climb up the three step ladder. He smiles when I make a small throat clearing noise.

"I knew you were there."

"Well, it's been my experience that it's a bad idea to surprise a were so I take precautions."

I slide into the water and it's bliss as I roll over and float on my back.

We stay like this, not speaking but listening to the crickets and cicadas as the light wanes. Eventually he speaks of the types of chemicals I will need to get to maintain my ph balance and keep the water clear. I don't bother to tell him that Jason has already promised to do this in exchange for use of the pool occasionally.

I back up to the side of the pool and watch his mouth as he talks. I feel wanton, openly lustful of the way his lips move as they form words. I barely register that he's stopped talking and is moving towards me.

"Sookie." I hear him but his voice sounds a million miles away.

"Sookie, I want you. I don't know if I can control myself if you keep looking at me like that."

"So don't."

Those two words break his self control and mine and our bodies clash together like a lightning strike. His mouth is on mine and I greedily bite at his lips, trying to taste his and feel him more than humanly possible. He's already hard and I feel him pressing into my leg. I moan and the sound seems to ignite him further.

"Do you know how bad I want you, how many times I've imagined what you taste like? You are impossible to forget."

His voice is gruff and low. I feel myself shaking with want. I grasp his length through the fabric of his trunks. His reaction is to grab my hair and pull it, just roughly enough to be erotic but not hard enough to be painful.

"Little girl, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

I smile and look at him through half closed eyes. I grip him harder and feel a surge of pure lust as he leans his head back and growls.

I feel him untie my top and I watch dreamily as it floats away. This seems like a dream but it feels real. Real or not, I love the sensation of his tongue on my nipples as he teases them into hardened peaks. I'm nearly panting now, I feel like I might explode.

I feel a familiar sensation that takes me a minute to place. The bond, Eric. He's here.

I see him blur from the tree line and I wait for his wrath as he comes close to the pool. I'm shocked that I don't feel anger and that he is naked. I'm equally shocked to see Eric and Alcide nod at each other. I open my mouth to protest, about what I don't know, but the were's tongue on my breasts makes me gasp and arch my back. My focus is drawn away long enough that Eric is in the water when I open my eyes again.

He's beside me now and is kissing me while Alcide sucks and bites on my breasts. I moan loudly and think that I should be protesting my virtue, telling the two of them that I am NOT that kind of girl. But I AM that kind of girl apparently because I can't muster the words. All I know is that I dont want either of them to stop.

But Eric does stop and he's suddenly gone. I try to look for him but I can't see him. Then I can feel him. He's using that epically talented tongue on other places. He's a vampire. He's underwater and he doesn't need to breathe. Alcide moves behind me and starts kissing my neck as he fondles my breasts. I moan loudly, I can't control it. I'm on the verge, I'm laughing and crying and praying and cursing all at the same time. Feeling Eric's coolness below and Alcide's heat above is exquisite suffering and I feel myself falling over the precipice and into an almost painful orgasm. The tremors are almost like a seizure and I don't even try to control the spasms as I thrash around in the pool.

I am vaguely aware that Eric is now behind me and Alcide has positioned himself between my legs. His trunks are gone and I feel his hardness start to press into me. He looks at me, questioning if this okay and I smile. Eric is supporting my torso and his cool tongue traces my carotid artery with surgical precision.

"Sookie, my lover, tonight your wishes will come true." he whispers in my ear and I lean back into him, angling for a kiss. I moan into his mouth and my tongue scrapes his fang as Alcide pushes all the way into me.

He's not as long as Eric but much wider and I feel myself stretch to accommodate him. I feel him shake as he thrusts, his face a study in concentration. Eric speaks again.

"Do you see lover, what you do to this creature? It's all he can do not to shift right here and take you as an animal. It's all I can do not to bite and devour every last drop of you. I can feel you holding back. Let go, Sookie. Let go and do what you will."

"Bite. I want you to, right now, as I come. BITE!"

I feel his fangs puncture and it's ecstasy as he draws deeply. I can feel him moan as he drinks me. His forefingers and thumbs enclose my nipples and tease them to hardened peaks. Alcide throws back his head and howls as he shudders with release, his mouth takes over for Eric's fingers as he slides himself out of me. I'm crying out, begging for another release as I feel the two of them carry me out of the pool and wrap me in a towel.

The air of the house is frigid as I am carried through the living room and into my bedroom. Eric lays me on the bed and he crawls on top of me. I feel Alcide's weight on the mattress as he lays next to me and turns my head to kiss me. Eric enters me and we cry out together. Alcide's kiss is rough as his tongue duels with mine for dominance. I can feel Eric's gentle thrusts start to accelerate. Alcide turns my head and I stare at Eric as the were moves his attention to my neck. The sensation is indescribable. I feel the blackness of my impending release as it builds. I can sense that Eric is close too. I want to come with him, I beg him to wait for me. Alcide's hand makes its way to my center and begins to rub circles. It's all I need, I feel everything explode, my body has gone supernova. I feel Eric coming inside of me, saying my name. As much as I don't want it to be true, my body has reached it's limit and I feel sleep invading. Tomorrow I will find that this has all been a dream. A beautiful, impossible dream.

"What did the fairy promise you, were?"

"I did this for Sookie, you fucking leach. But if you must know, there were assurances that business would be good for me for several years." Alcide felt slightly ashamed but he knew the vampire had his own agenda. "And how about you? What was in it for you? I know you couldn't have been happy seeing me between her thighs."

"Oh, nothing more than an unending supply of fae blood. It's an intoxicant for my kind."

Eric smiled at the thought of the money he would make from selling it to fellow vamps.

"Just so you know, I plan on calling on Sookie."

"And just so you know, dog, if you do I'll kill you myself."

"Sookie's a grown woman and she can make her own decisions."

"Sookie is my bonded. This is something that she desired and I allowed once and only once. Don't make me prove that what I say is true."

"Gentlemen, lets not fight. The important thing is, Sookie got her deepest desire. It would be wise for both of you to keep our bargains a secret from her. If I know our Sookie, she would not be pleased to find out the truth."

And within minutes, Sookie Stackhouse is alone again in the farmhouse she inherited from her Gran, sleeping soundly under a homemade quilt in her air conditioned bedroom. A smile crosses her face as she realizes, in her dream, that she did not hear a single thought intruding from someone else's brain all day long.

Thank you, Claudine!