Well I definitely didn't think I would be writing something new so quickly but... I had a sudden burst of inspiration last night while watching True Blood on demand. ha. I tried to commit myself to the idea of making Lotus Eater a story with chapters but since I haven't written anything in a very long time besides that and now this, I'm just going to keep making this short little things until I gain some confidence. No one proofread this for me, so please forgive me if you find any mistakes. I hope whoever reads this enjoys it. Thank you very much to everyone that wrote me something about Lotus Eater, each of you made my day.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Southern Vampire Mysteries, Miss Charlaine Harris does I just love 'em and promise I'll give them back when I'm done.

"Lover..." he hissed against her throat.

Sookie screamed, dropping the plate she had been washing and jumped around. "Sweet Jesus, Eric! Don't do that! I didn't sense you come in the house!" She turned to look at him, her exquisite face drained of all color from her scare. She reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, taking in deep breaths and hunched over as he took a step back. "You made my stomach hurt from scaring me so badly. I'm okay, I'm okay," she muttered to herself, wrapping both arms around her torso as she leaned down.

"I can't be held responsible for my actions when you're leaning over the sink wearing such tight pants," he chuckled. Placing two hands on Sookie's forearms, he gently made her straighten up and moved his hands to cup each side of her face. He brushed his finger tips across her cheek bones and placed soft kisses across her forehead. He could still hear her heart beating rapidly from the surprise but she sighed at his actions and leaned into his much taller body, wrapping her arms around his waist. It worried him that she had become so skittish since the fairy ordeal but he knew that it should be normal for her to react like that. Her external wounds had not yet healed so he couldn't expect for her inner wounds to have made much more progress either.

"I thought you weren't coming over until later and I was just trying to clean up. I knew you were close but I didn't realize you were already here." Her cheek was pressed against his chest and he could hear her smelling him. She moved her head to smell the area around his other pectoral a little more loudly this time before snorting. "Are you wearing cologne?"

Eric chuckled, letting his hands trail down from her lower back to very gently squeeze her bottom. "I'm not.... but my dinner was. The scent was distracting. Such disgusting things these pathetic men wear to get a woman's attention. What woman in their right mind would want to bed a man who stinks?"

"You fed. From a man. Tonight?"

"Why yes I did," he murmured against her hair as he squeezed her bottom again.

He could feel her tense up under his touch but he could tell from the bond that she was confused. "But a man?"

"Why they're much heartier than a woman, I can draw more blood, lover." Eric could tell she was a taken back by his admission. They had really not discussed the terms and conditions of their bond since the fairy madness and he didn't want to push her into anything. He knew she would come to her senses. Eventually.

She snorted. "Okay."

"I wouldn't want my wife to give blood to another vampire unless she wished for him to die at my hands, so why would I expect for you to want otherwise?"

She pulled away from him, shaking her head. "You're insufferable, you know that? Please quit with the wife thing, I don't see any ring on my finger proving anything, Eric." Sookie turned around to face away from him, but he caught a slight blush on her face as she walked out of the kitchen and into her living room leaving him in the kitchen alone. If there was oxygen in his lungs he would have sighed right then in frustration at her stubborn nature, but he knew what he was getting himself into with his bonded. Nothing with her was ever easy and even though she was difficult, he wouldn't have her any other way. It kind of turned him on actually, now that he thought about it. The journey would be worth the destination. Reclining against the kitchen counter he gazed at his lover's blonde hair grazing the top of the couch from her seated position watching the television. There was a time a century ago, even five years ago that he would have lost his temper at a human telling him what to do. Eric Northman was not one who liked to feel anything besides satisfaction. Yet, here he stood in the kitchen of a telepathic barmaid whose blood sung through his veins and smell intoxicated every cavity in his nasal passage. He had fed from an overweight man willingly for this creature he called his lover. He had sent away women for the last month who he would have had no problem taking months ago and did not think twice about it. Every human being he encountered just seemed so plain in comparison to his dear one.

Monogamy was not a word he was very familiar with despite the hundreds of years he had spent on English-speaking lands. Having travelled the world ten times over and experienced the many differences in human cuisine available at the ease of a glance, he could not understand this notion. Why would a being with a short life span as a human choose to limit their experiences to one person for the duration of their lives? It had been mind boggling for him to comprehend after the delicacies he had tasted. Princesses, movie stars, athletes, models, strippers, farmers... the spectrum was not limited to any continent or language.

But as life and the full circle of all things meant to be comes around... he had found someone that he wanted to be with. For a very long time. A chill ran down his spine at the very idea of having to swallow the thought. It was not the thought that he would be giving up mindless women but that he was okay with that; that it actually didn't phase him in any way, that felt like a pill. How had he let this happen? How had he let himself get not only physically attached but emotionally, mentally, and if he still had a soul, let her own that too? If it was possible for him to throw up, he would. A bachelor for a thousand years and now married to a mortal who did not yet fully accept his commitment. 'Thor is laughing right now,' he thought bitterly before chuckling at no one but himself.

"Are you laughing by yourself?" her gentle voice mused from the living room bringing him out of his puddled thoughts.

A grin eased its way across the contours of his face at her comment. "Never." He moved towards the warmth of her body that radiated from the bond, not letting him forget for a second how close he was to his dear heart, and settled his hands on her shoulders. A muscular sandy haired man flashed across the television screen wearing a white apron and holding a small knife in his hand, crouching over a naked couple. "Are you watching Dexter?"

Praise be to Thor.