Eric and His Great Pumpkin One-shot Contest
Title: Eric in the Buff
Your Pen name: BlondOnBlonde
Characters: Sookie/Eric
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Charlaine Harris, I am just borrowing them for my own amusement.
As I placed the last of the glasses wrapped in newspaper in the box, I looked out the window and noticed the cloudless autumn sky that had provided the background for my packing up the kitchen all day. It was tinted orange. Wiping my hands in a moist paper towel to get most of the newsprint off, I went over all I had to do before Eric came to pick me up for the Halloween costume party at Fangtasia.
Definitely a shower; I was more than a little ripe. After months recovering from the torture at the hands of psychotic fairies and getting settled into my relationship with Eric, I had decided to take him up on his offer to move in with him. We were together almost every night as it was, and I was getting very little sleep. After working during the day, I usually waited for him ay home or at Fangtasia. I had never been one for waiting for a man, but whether it was a few hours of many years, I had come to the conclusion that Eric was worth waiting for. Normally, we spent all night together, making love, talking, or just watching TV. We had really settled into being a couple but the schedule was hard on me. Moving to his house was the best solution. I wouldn't have expenses because I was shutting down Gran's house. That meant I wouldn't need a salary, so instead of having to work to pay the bills, I could sleep during the day and be able to spend my nights with Eric. I was looking forward to it.
I had not been looking forward to packing up my stuff. Eric—tall, sexy, powerful vampire sheriff of Area 5 in northern Louisiana—was not into eating, so I had to bring my own utensils. He had bought me a whole new wardrobe to go with my new life, but I did want to take some of the things that made me feel at home, so I had been packing the whole day. The moving truck Eric had hired was coming in the morning, and I didn't think I would be in any shape to finish after spending the night at the Halloween ball and in bed in Eric's arms. Since he had given me a large amount of blood to heal me before the battle with the Fae and during the months of my recovery, the blood bond had intensified and our lovemaking had become even more vigorous.
The phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.
"Hello"
"Sookie. How are you? Are you finished packing? Tomorrow is the big day."
"Almost. I was finishing up the kitchen. How are you?"
My friend Amelia, who had been living with me since Hurricane Katrina had damaged her apartment in New Orleans, had finally returned home. She had been there for me for the first few weeks because I needed help, but everything in Bon Temps reminded her of Tray Dawson, the werewolf she had been dating and who died protecting me. I guess their relationship had been more serious than I had noticed. I had been dealing with my own feelings for Eric and my Fae relatives at the time, so I probably hadn't been paying as much attention as I should have. She sounded good, better than she had in a long time.
"You know, I think I'm OK," Amelia said, hesitantly. "I can't believe that you are really doing this, moving in with Eric. And you quit Merlotte's. A year ago, I would have never imagined you doing either. I guess a lot changed last January."
"Yes, a lot changed. A lot has definitely changed. I saw that Eric really loved me after that day, and that Niall had been talking about him when he said 'the vampire is a good man and he loves you.' Once I knew that in my heart, I knew I loved him back and that I couldn't stay away from him. He makes me laugh, he protects me, and he has other attributes that make him, well, irresistible," I said as images of last night with Eric flashed in my mind.
I could almost feel again how his hands swept my skin, applying pressure in just the right places to set me on fire. I had been in bed naked, waiting for him to arrive but must have dozed off because I woke to his weight on the mattress as he slid his naked body toward me. He was already hard and ready. I felt my own juices flowing in response. Normally, he would have taken me without preamble, but last night he had taken his time, bringing our bodies together as if wanting us to meld into one. He gently pumped his hard member against my bottom as he circled my body with his arm, letting his right hand travel down to rub my aching nub, matching the rhythm of his pumping hips. I heard him sigh with pleasure and felt his lips on the back of my neck. I pressed myself harder into him and moaned as he increased his speed. He whispered something into my ear but I was beyond trying to understand what he was saying. I screamed his name as the orgasm shattered me and laid limp in the fold of his arms while he drove his gracious plenty almost through my back a few more times before exploding. I found the primal grunts he uttered just at the moment of orgasm to be the most irresistible aphrodisiac. I managed to regain enough strength to turn myself into him and kiss him deeply, a gesture that he returned enthusiastically.
"I love you, Eric," I said, as I reached down to clasp his already-hard member.
"I know, my lover. I have always known," he said as he nibbled on my lower lip.
"Do you love me, Eric? Truly love me?"
Eric stopped what he was doing and turned to face me so he could be looking into my eyes when he said, "I have never loved anyone as I love you, my Sookie. In the 1,000 years I have been a vampire, I have never encountered another being who fills my soul like you do. I want you every minute I am away from you and cannot get enough of you when I am. I am completely and irrevocably in love with you."
It was my turn to kiss him, hard and hungrily. His tongue responded in kind, as he plunged deep inside me. He then pressed me into the pillows and slowly moved down my body, leaving an incandescent trace of kisses on my breasts and my belly until he found the spot that yearned for his lips. Having Eric inside me was one of the most sublime feelings I had ever experienced, but he was truly a master with his tongue and his lips. He alternated between lapping up my juices and sucking on my throbbing nub before he inserted his tongue. I moaned and wriggled on the bed, holding onto the headboard for dear life, and just a moment before I came, I felt Eric's fangs fully elongate and break my most sensitive skin. I screamed like I had never screamed before as he sucked my blood, and I bucked with the spasms of my ecstasy.
Before I could sag in exhaustion, pleasure still pumping through me, he moved swiftly up and thrust himself inside me, filling me completely. I came again. He braced himself on his forearms as he continued to pump his hips, trying to go deeper and deeper into me. He looked at me and smiled as he came: "Mine." And I was, utterly his.
Amelia's chuckle brought me back to reality.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part."
"I was just saying that I imagine he does have irresistible attributes," she said, the smirk I knew was plastered on her face coming through in her tone. "Now that I know him, I have been paying attention to what vampires say about him here in New Orleans. He's quite a catch. And everyone is jealous because he hasn't been with anyone like this for centuries, and no one seems to recall him ever actually being married, much less to a human."
"I know. I'm so lucky that we found each other. I still can't believe this is really happening. Just two weeks ago we were sitting on the couch watching 'Once More with Feeling' to get the details of our Spike and Buffy costumes for tonight, and tomorrow, I am moving in with him. Big changes."
"Yeah, speaking of changes, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said seriously, a strange inflection in her voice, almost like she was afraid of what she had to say.
"It's about Bill, isn't it?" I asked, feeling a lump in my throat starting to rise. My neighbor and ex-lover, Vampire Bill, had been horribly injured when he rescued me with my great grandfather from my torturers. His body had been poisoned by silver, and he hadn't recovered as well as doctors had expected. He had been transferred to a specialized vampire convalescence clinic just outside New Orleans during the summer. I feared the worst. I still loved him, but only as a friend. He had his charms but next to Eric and the love we felt for each other, Bill had never had a chance.
"Oh, no, Sookie. It is about Bill but not the way you think. He's fine. In fact, he has been recovering thanks to a new experimental treatment. It's sort of like dialysis. He has been responding so well, he is able to walk around the hospital grounds almost on his own now," Amelia described excitedly. The last time I had seen Bill, he barely had enough energy to sit up straight in his wheel chair to drink his favorite O+ TrueBlood.
"So, he is improving. That's great news. But how do you know? Have you seen him?"
"I have. That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said and let the story come out in a rush. "I went to see him with Pam when he was first brought here, and he looked so lonely that I kept going back almost every night. It just became a habit. Then he got stronger, and I didn't go as frequently. He called me and asked me why I had stopped visiting. I didn't have a good answer. I missed him, so I started going again. We walked together and talked. He helped me get through Dawson's death. Then, one day, I kissed him, and he kissed me back. I… I… God, I let him bite my neck. It was incredible. I'm so sorry, Sookie. I feel so bad, and I didn't know how to tell you, but I think I love Bill. I think he loves me, too."
Amelia's sigh of relief at having finally come clean with me was almost palpable after all those weeks of skirting the question of Bill's condition for fear of giving herself away. No wonder she hadn't come back to visit at all. She knew I couldn't read her mind through the phone but couldn't risk a face-to-face meeting. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and realized with a start that I was happy for her and for Bill. I felt no regrets whatsoever. I was about to embark on a new life with Eric, the love of my life, and I had nothing but goodwill for my friend and my former lover.
"I am so happy for the both of you, Amelia. I'm glad he has recovered and that you were able to get through the grief of Dawson's death. You know I still feel responsible for that."
"Sookie, it wasn't your fault. Dawson made his choice and he died like the hero he was. I'm glad for the time I spent with him, and I'm finally looking forward to the future."
"Me, too," I said, thinking about tomorrow, the first day I would be living with Eric and waking up in his strong arms. "I can't wait to move into Eric's house. It's plainer than I had imagined but very comfortable. It's very him, practical but comfortable. I feel safe there, tucked away from the world and all its dangers.
"I did already start bringing a little of myself into the house," I said, smiling.
"Mhhhmm?" Amelia said, trying not to laugh.
"You know how I love to decorate for Halloween, but I didn't get a chance to even think about it this year between the recovery and the move. Then, Terry, who grows these great big pumpkins, called me to let me know he had a few good ones this year. I couldn't let it pass, so I went over there last week. Can you believe he had one that looked almost like it had horns? Viking horns. It took me forever to carve it with fangs and everything. I went with Terry to deliver it at dawn this morning. I did a whole pumpkin patch on Eric's front yard with bales of hay and everything. I loved it. I can't wait to hear what he has to say."
"Awww, it's like he has his own great pumpkin. That reminds me that I need to go get some more candy for tonight. I hope we get lots of trick-or-treaters. I'm wearing this gorgeous antebellum gown and Bill is… You really don't mind?"
"I don't mind," I reassured her. The more I thought about it, the happier I was with my choice. Bill was my past, completely eclipsed by Eric and all the possibilities of our love and our life together.
"Well, Bill is wearing a Civil War uniform, and he's going to bite me right after he wakes up so the fang marks show. We're going to the ball at midnight."
"That sounds like fun. I hope you don't look too scary. I can't wait to see what Eric looks like. He said he was experimenting with the hair to get it just right. Fortunately, whatever he does will just grow back by the next sunset, so I'm game for whatever. Bring it on, I say."
"Make sure you take pictures. You're going to make a great Buffy."
"I hope so. After all the videos we've watched, I think I can channel her. And speaking of costumes, I need to go shower and get ready. Take care of yourself."
"You, too."
I hung up and looked out the window. Dusk had settled, which didn't leave me a lot of time to get ready. I made sure that the candy was in the pot and the porch light was on, in case any kids made it all the way to the house. They wouldn't come until full dark because my house was one of the last ones on the trick-or-treating route.
I spread out the pieces of my costume on the bed: tight boot-cut jeans, dark wash, of course; red long sleeve shirt; leather jacket. I couldn't keep myself from caressing the supple leather of the jacket as I smoothed it down on my bed. I didn't have anything as nice as a leather jacket but Eric thought I needed one to go with some of the other pieces he had bought to make my wardrobe a bit spiffier. He had first alluded to my wardrobe lacking sophistication before we went to Rhodes, so once we began dating, he gifted me with outfits whenever we had a special occasion. As the consort of the sheriff of Area 5, there were lots of those. I had been somewhat miffed at first, but I couldn't argue with him after seeing some of the beautiful clothes he picked for me. My closets were now full of satin and sequins, silk and lace, the leather jacket and a fur coat. Not that we had much call for fur in Louisiana in winter, but I loved the glint in Eric's eye whenever I came out clad in white ermine and nothing else. I reminded him of home, he whispered more than once as he carefully slid the coat off my shoulders.
I shook myself back into the task at hand. If I spent any more time reminiscing about Eric, I was going to be late.
I ran into the bathroom to get the water hot. I had left out the bare essentials to get ready—shampoo, conditioner, washcloth, body wash, one of those fancy ones that smells good enough to eat. Eric had introduced me to scented body scrubs and essential oils, but, frankly, I never used them when I was on my own. My bathroom looked so bare now that I had packed almost everything away. I felt a pang of sadness but I knew that I was going to a much better place. Living with Eric was a dream come true for me, and I really didn't mind giving up my house.
As I turned on the hot water and the steam began to billow, I smiled at the memory of the last time I had taken a shower here. Eric and I were being nostalgic and decided to say good-bye to the shower that had first brought us together. We had done a little reenactment of that first time. I got in first and had just begun massaging the shampoo into my hair when I felt him step in behind me already primed for action, and just like that first time, I shuddered at the realization of his size and was immediately ready for him. As he pressed his manhood into my back—or maybe I had pressed my butt into him, it's hard to tell—he took over the shampooing. Having someone wash my hair is one of my favorite things in the world, followed by what he did next when he pushed my head under the shower. As the hot water cascaded down my head and body, he held my hands firmly against the wall and spread my legs with his knee to gain better access. I gasped when he entered me in one swift movement, and he groaned as I tightened around him. My hair was soap free, but Eric continued pumping into me and holding me against the wall, and, as soon as I came, he turned me around and lifted me so that I could wrap myself around his neck, giving his tongue complete access to my pleasure nub.
I'm sure I said something and that it was in English because that's the only language I speak, but I would not have been able to swear in court as to what that was. I do remember the orgasm after orgasm that I had thanks to Eric's tongue and lips switching between probing the depths of me and tormenting my nub. I was glad for Eric's vampire strength because I had none left in me to hold myself up. In fact, when I untangled myself from his neck, I could do little but slide down his tall, lean body as he held me by my butt. I looked up at him and saw the wild, lustful look in his eyes that I imagined he had worn as a human. It spoke to me of the depths of the passion that had moved him as a man and that I had been able to renew in him. It made me feel like a woman, and I repaid the compliment by sliding all the way down to my knees and taking his swollen marble-white, hard cock in my mouth. I wasn't as practiced as I would have liked, but I could get almost all of him down my throat, now. I felt the pleasure pulse through him with every movement of my mouth and tongue over him, and when I scraped my teeth over the veiny underside of his magnificent penis, he groaned in pleasure and pushed my head down farther. Sensing that he was ready to come, I squeezed his butt cheeks and increased both the friction and the speed of my mouth until he pushed into me like he wanted me to swallow him, and a primal scream tore from his throat. I savored the coppery, salty essence of Eric as it slid down my tongue into my throat. I slowly pulled my mouth away and licked my lips as I looked up at him in complete surrender.
He slid down to his knees and we embraced with the same passion and love as we had that first time. As the water washed over us, my heart swelled with love, and the realization of how lucky I was made me giggle.
"You find this funny?" Eric said, pulling back to he could look at my face.
"No, not funny. Sublime. Passionate. The best sex ever. Not funny," I answered in response to his frown. I guess no matter how long a man lives, his manhood will continue to be easily offended. "I was just thinking how much I love you and how lucky I am to have you in my life. "
"Ah," he responded, satisfied and proud of himself. I know he liked my response because his big hand, warmed by the water, cupped me and his fingers began a lazy dance over parts that were, by now, a bit sore. But I forgot any discomfort when I felt his mouth trailing down my neck to my nipple. He tongued and sucked, first one, then the other, teasing me mercilessly until I grabbed his member and squeezed to send him the message. He bit into my nipple then, and I melted into the pleasure. The power of the orgasm from the bite and from his hand left me without coherent thought, and all I could do was collapse into his arms, where he lovingly cradled me while he opened his wrist and fed me the elixir that is his blood. All it took was a few sips—Eric is so old, his blood is amazingly powerful— and I could manage to sit up and kiss him, while I positioned myself to straddle him…
The light in my bedroom, which was on a timer for 7 p.m., startled me out of my fantasy. I was flushed and breathing quickly but unsatisfied. After having the real Eric, pleasuring myself was never as satisfying. I finished my shower quickly, making sure that my skin was still smooth from last week's waxing, and stepped out of the shower, turning the water off for the last time.
I slathered on lotion all over my body and then stepped into the red lace thong that Eric liked so much and slipped on the matching balconette bra. I poured myself into the jeans and threw the red shirt before I dried my hair. I was almost done curling the ends so that they would look like Buffy's when the bell rang. I looked at the clock on my nightstand in puzzlement. It was too early for Eric, and he never came in the front door. Trick-or-treaters, maybe? It was early for them, too.
I hurried to the living room and opened the door to find an outrageously clothed demon surrounded by a gaggle of what looked like children, all staring at me with greedy expectation. I wasn't sure whether to be afraid or amused. I went for amused.
"Diantha, hello. Er, what are you doing here? And who do you have with you?" I greeted the half-demon niece of Mr. C, the lawyer for the Louisiana vamps. I opened the door completely and stepped out into the porch to get a better look at the eight or ten little ones.
"Weare-trick-or-treating," she beamed at me. "Likemycostume?"
I smiled because the fishnet stockings, high-heel boots, short plaid skirt and tight red corset of her costume weren't all that different from what she usually wore. The sparkly horns atop her head were definitely not hers.
"It's very clever. I would never expect a demon to go as a demon for Halloween. I like it."
"Thesearedemonyoung. Theyhadneverbeen trick-or-treating. Vampiresdon'tgivecandy. Wedon'tknowotherhumans. Thisyear, weknowSookie, soIsaidwegotovisitSookie. Shewillhavecandy."
As usual, Diantha delivered the explanation without catching a breath. I had probably missed some of her speech, but got the gist of it. Candy. I looked down at the young demons, wearing horns and vampire capes and witch hats, and smiled. They grinned back expectantly in what to them must have been a charmingly, but the pointy teeth they displayed didn't look very friendly.
"Can they eat candy?" I asked, wondering what their parents would do if I gave them something that would make them sick.
"Oh,theycaneatanything," Diantha responded proudly. Something about the certainty with which she said it made me very nervous about what that anything could include. I hurried inside to fetch the bowl of candy and returned to a collection of raised bags and plastic pumpkins and caldrons. I put a large fistful into each one, and the little demons started chattering excitedly as they riffled through their tasty treasures.
"You don't have a bag?" I asked Diantha.
"Don'tneedone. Iwillgettributelater," she answered eyeing what the little ones had gotten. "Ilikechocolate. Saythankyou,everyone."
"Thank you, Ms. Sookie. Good-bye."
And with that, they all disappeared in a flash from my porch. My trick-or-treaters couldn't get any weirder tonight, I thought as I made my way back to the bedroom to finish getting ready. I had barely had time to put on a big gold hoop earring when I heard another knock on the door. I was going to ignore it in favor of finishing getting ready and put on the other earring. The knocking got more insistent. Really. It's not like there was a shortage of candy during Halloween that they had to have some from every house. Maybe it was Diantha again.
"I wonder what she forgot."
I hadn't heard a car approach. I put on my leather jacket and went to the front of the house.
"All right, hold your horses. I'm coming."
I swung the door open expecting to see the colorful she-demon in front of me but instead, I saw two tall, ridiculously beautiful men, one of whom wasted no time in pushing his way into the house. Fae. I flashed back to the last time I had an encounter with them, and my stomach clenched. I had been tortured for hours until Bill and my great-grandfather rescued me, and then I been in the middle of a battle between the Fae that we had all barely survived. Well, not all, Clancy, Claudine and Tray Dawson had died.
With all the blood I'd had from Eric, I wasn't such an easy mark now. I managed to get free from the fairy who had gotten a hold of me and was dragging me outside, and I ran to the kitchen. Just the other day, I'd bought one of those big bottles of lemon juice at the Wal-Mart so I could refill my water guns. It was still on the counter. I grabbed it and tore off the cap seconds before the fairy was on me. Out of pure reflex, I dumped the whole contents of the quart-sized bottle on him. The fairy made a horrendous screeching sound and fell writhing in pain to the floor.
"That ought to teach you to attack me again." I said in a brief moment of triumph before running to the back of the house. I could hear the other fairy moving on the gravel toward the house.
"I don't blame him for not rushing in. After all that screeching, I'd tread lightly, too," I said to myself. At least his caution would give me time to get out the back and into my car, a twin of Eric's red Corvette, fast and heavy. If nothing else, maybe I could run the remaining fairy down. In my rush to get away, I had left my weapons, the iron spade and the lemon guns in my purse in the living room.
I hadn't quite stepped off the enclosed back porch when I felt something try to grab my back. Fortunately, the leather didn't give my attacker a very good grip, and I managed to get loose. I had a harder time staying upright. The momentum sent me sprawling on my face on the grass and the fairy followed me down. He grabbed my face and looked me in the eye snarling.
"You will pay for this, mongrel. You will know the torment my brother experienced, and it will be my pleasure to be the cause of it."
The viciousness in his voiced chilled me to the bones. I started struggling and felt a sharp pain in my left ear. He had pulled the hoop right off and I was bleeding. Seeing my blood made him smile, a horrifying grin that brought tears to my eyes.
"If I let you, you bastard," I spit out with what conviction I could muster and continued to struggle as he grabbed my ankle and dragged me across the lawn toward the front. I guess he had been busy opening a portal while his buddy was attacking me inside. I held on to anything I could, grass, a bush, the border of the flowerbed, but the fairy was too strong, too determined for me. We were almost around to the front when my hand felt a rock in passing and grabbed it. The second he stopped, I braced myself and threw it with all the strength I had. The rock hit the fairy square in the head, and he turned to face me. I think he was growling. He had pulled a knife out of nowhere and looked like he was eager ready to use it—on me. Well, better a quick death than hours of torture.
"Oh, Eric, I'm so sorry," I thought. "I love you, and I wanted to spend my life with you."
As if my good-bye had invoked him, I saw Eric land a few feet behind the fairy. But I must have been hallucinating because it wasn't Eric. This tall, Nordic god had platinum spiked hair and was wearing a long, black leather duster that billowed as he walked toward me. I couldn't help it; I smiled broadly at the sight. He did look like Spike. And he had a sword.
The fairy never knew what hit him. He had been so intent on killing me that he never noticed the danger that loomed behind him. In one beautiful swing, Eric cut off his head, which flew several feet from the twitching body. Almost in the same movement, Eric was scooping me off the ground and holding me against him.
"My lover, I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," he said, as he licked at the blood from ear, healing the wound.
"How did you get here?" I asked, peeking over his shoulder and not seeing his car.
"I was on my way when I felt your terror and left the car to fly here. I'm faster than a car," he said as he ran his hand over me, half in a soothing caress and half checking for injuries. Now that the tension was beginning to ebb, I could feel all the cuts and bruises I was going to have tomorrow. And I didn't think my costume had survived the ordeal intact, either. I wouldn't be able to wear it to the party tonight. I began sobbing.
"What's the matter, my lover, are you hurt? Tell me," Eric asked anxiously.
"No, no. I'm OK. Just a few bruises," I said.
"You will feel better in no time," he said, biting his wrist so I could drink his healing blood. I did and felt immediately better.
It wasn't very ladylike but since I didn't have a tissue, I wiped my nose on the jacket. I noticed a tear on the sleeve where the first fairy had grabbed me. Too bad Eric couldn't heal the clothes. The loss of my costume just added insult to injury and I started crying afresh. Eric looked at me at a loss for what to do to soothe me. He kissed the top of my head and carried me to the back door.
When he put me down, I saw just how trampled I looked. At least I hadn't had time to put on my make up, so I didn't have black streams running down my face.
I hiccupped, and Eric embraced me. "What can I do?"
"Nothing, I'm fine, just disappointed. I feel like I'm wearing half my backyard, and the costume is ruined. My beautiful jacket is torn. See?" I said pulling back and sticking the ripped sleeve under his nose. I may have been pouting. "And you look so good as Spike."
Eric's relieved face broke split into a grin that made me a little wobbly at the knees.
"Do you like it?"
"It's amazing. You look just like Spike, but better and taller. If my hands had been free, I would have applauded when I saw you walking toward me with your coat flapping around in the wind. It was breathtaking."
"You look beautiful, too. And, Sookie?" he said as his lips found my mouth and his hands found my butt.
"Mmmmmmm."
"I liked my big horny pumpkin."
I smiled and kissed him back passionately. From the intensity of his response, I had the feeling we weren't going to make it to the Halloween party, but chances were pretty good that we would be saying good-bye to the shower once again