A firm knock at Eric's office door alerted him about the arrival of Alcide Herveaux, a werewolf he needed to protect Sookie. Eric didn't really like shifters of any kind, but he was of no use to Sookie during the day - and Alcide, or rather his family, owed him.
"Come in," he called.
The door opened and a tall, dark haired man entered. Eric let his gaze travel over him slowly. The man was tall, probably even taller than Eric, hard to tell from his sitting position behind the desk. Broad shoulders, muscular arms, dark curly hair, tanned skin - the exact opposite of Eric. And it was obvious that he would rather be anywhere else but here, in the office of a vampire.
"Take a seat, I would like to discuss business with you." Eric gestured at one of the chairs in front of his desk. Alcide hesitated a moment in the doorway, then took a deliberate step into the office, closed the door behind himself and sat down. Yes, he definitely didn't want to be here. Eric enjoyed the man's discomfort.
"What do you want?" Despite his unease, Alcide's voice was firm. He seemed to be prepared to do what was necessary to help his family. Good, that would make this easier for Eric.
"If you do me a favour, I'm ready to forget about what your father owes me." Eric grinned at Alcide, decided to play with him for a bit. He quite enjoyed the wolf's unease. "I need a shifter, someone who can change whenever they want, someone powerful enough to protect something for me." He let his gaze travel over Alcide, noticed his pride when he called him powerful. Well, he'd see soon enough how proud the man really was. His grin got even wider. "Show me that you are the right man for the job, change."
Alcide suddenly seemed to be even more uncomfortable than he'd been before, squirmed in his seat a bit. "Now? Here?" he asked.
"How else can I see that you really can change whenever you have to? Prove it." Eric suddenly realized that Alcide didn't hesitate because he wasn't able to shift, but because he didn't want to be naked in front of him. Interesting, that made this even more fun. He smirked. "I'm waiting, or have I been promised too much and you are not strong enough?"
The teasing seemed to get to Alcide. He slowly, hesitantly got up from the chair and started to undress. He dropped his shirt carelessly to the floor after he'd shrugged it off his shoulders, took off his boots and socks, then hesitated again. Still smirking, Eric let h is eyes travel over the well built body in front of him in a suggestive manner. He licked his lips, he quite liked what he swa. Alcide blushed under his gaze, then turned his back to Eric's desk. With jerky motions he took his jeans off, stepped out of them, and immediately started to change into a huge wolf. Too bad, Eric wouldn't have minded getting a better look. Werewolf or not, the man had a great body.
The wolf walked up to the desk, looked at Eric with eyes that were way too intelligent for an animal, then turned around and walked back to his clothes. The air around him shimmered again, then Eric got another glimpse at Alcide's naked body, crouched on the floor. Faster than Eric would have thought possible, the were stood up and put his jeans back on. When he turned back to get to the rest of his clothes, he looked at Eric with defiance. "Satisfied? Or are you trying to play another round of 'embarrass the wolf' with me?"
Eric gave a surprised laugh at having been caught. "I don't think you'd play along again, but yes, I am satisfied with what I saw." He licked his lips suggestively.
Alcide hurried to put his shirt on and button it, obviously not willing to let Eric look any more than he already had. "So, what is it that I'm supposed to keep safe? And how long will the job take?" Fully dressed he was a lot more confident again. He stayed behind the chair, leaned his hands on the back rest.
"Sit down and I'll explain." Eric fixed Alcide with a cold stare, waited. He wasn't willing to let the were take charge of the situation. Not here, in his own office. Alcide sighed, but did as he'd been told. Eric waited another moment, wanted to make sure that he was the one in control, then continued. "There's a woman, human, who needs someone to look after her, to protect her during the day. For obvious reasons I can't do it, that's why I need your help."
He explained what he expected Alcide to do, but he didn't have to convince him to take the job. Eric made it sound rather easy, a good trade to get out of his family's debt. When the were had left, Eric grinned again. That was definitely worth l osing a bit of money. Sookie would be kept safe, and Eric had gotten a good look at a gorgeous man. Yes, he'd gotten the better part of the deal. With a small smile on his face, he left the office and went into the club.