It was just after midnight when Sookie blew into Fangtasia, slamming the door behind her. Business was booming, and the lazy, early evening pace was just beginning to quicken. "Where is he?" she asked Pam, who was standing behind the bar mixing a not-so-tempting-looking concoction in a martini glass.
"In the rear," she replied. Sookie wondered briefly at the twinkle in Pam's eye but shrugged and marched through the door indicated by the blonde vampire's sidewise glance. She took one step into the office, opened her mouth to speak, and froze. Eric was much too involved in the task at hand to notice the interruption. In a single glance, Sookie took in the polished mahogany desk top, an expanse of pale thighs highlighted by dark bruises, brightly flowered fabric...
One step backward, and Sookie closed the door. She glared at Pam, who raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "You can't say I didn't warn you, Sugah!"
Sookie took a seat at the bar, fuming. She stared at the wall, trying to ignore the cacophony of voices in the room and inside her head, until a blood-curdling wail reverberated through the room. It sounded like a searing medley of agony and ecstasy. There was not even a pause in the din, though the scream was clearly audible to everyone in the bar. A minute or two later a human girl, small and brunette, emerged from the office, smoothing down the folds of a flowered dress that had recently been bunched up under her armpits. She was walking with some difficulty, and Sookie tried to shield herself from the girl's inner monologue. It was no use.
With a final glare at Pam, Sookie pushed off the stool and stomped into Eric's office once again. He had not bothered to dress, and he resembled an exquisite marble statue as he raised a crystal goblet of blood to his lips. Other than the hand that held the glass, only one part of his perfect anatomy reacted to her appearance with a slight twitch. She shook her head, picked up a pair of grey sweat pants from the single chair, and tossed them to him. "Do you mind?"
He smiled, a self-satisfied smirk, and set down the glass on the polished desk top. Taking his time, he stepped into the pants and pulled them up, tying the string at the waist in a perfect bow. Perching on the edge of the desk, he finally glanced at her. "To what do I owe the honor…?" he drawled.
"You're the sheriff of this district, Eric. Can't you do something about the vampires? There was another one poking around my house last night. I know they're attracted to my fairy blood, but couldn't you post a sign or something?"
"Anybody we know?" Eric asked. His eyes hardened, and she knew she finally had his undivided attention.
Sookie shook her head, then changed the subject without preamble. "You know you hurt that girl, right?"
Eric widened his eyes and cocked his head in that irritating way of his. "She begged me to, Sookie. Surely you know that if you read her thoughts." He summarily dismissed the subject. "Now what about this vampire? Male or female?"
"Male. Maybe five ten, dark hair. He was hovering outside my window. These guys are giving me the creeps, Eric! Alcide snarled at him and he laughed. Then he disappeared."
"I'm pretty sure he's not afraid of your werewolf, Sookie," Eric offered with a smile. "It sounds like your new neighbor, Bill Compton. Maybe he's just checking out the neighborhood."
"From twenty feet off the ground?" She shivered. "If you run into him, would you ask him politely to stay the fuck off my property?"
Eric laughed. It always tickled him to hear Sookie using that kind of language, since it was so out of character. "Would your grandmother approve of that kind of talk, Sookie?"
"My grandmother's not here, Eric. And it's been hard enough on her, sharing her house with a werewolf. She's never quite trusted any of the supernaturals in the area. Lord knows she doesn't need this Bill peeking into her bedroom window in the middle of the night!"
"I will have a talk with him." He strode to his desk chair and sat, his eyes never leaving his visitor. "Was there anything else?"
"Just one thing. That couple seated closest to the entry door? They're were panthers."
Eric nodded, his expression patronizing. "I know that, Sookie."
She continued, "Well, did you know that they're very drunk and looking for a fight?"
"Shit!" His eyes went to the door just before it swung open and Pam fell into the room, landing unceremoniously on her pretty little derriere. "I think you should head out the back door," Eric muttered hurriedly and pointed behind him as he rose from his desk and, with a warning snarl, waded into the melee. Sookie shot Pam a glance, and just the tiniest of smiles, before she scurried out into the night.