NOTE: This fic discusses mature themes, including those of sexual violence and assault. If these themes disturb you, please do not read! This fic may be triggering to survivors of sexual violence.

Dead from the Waist Down

Chapter 1

Eric walked into Merlotte's at a little after midnight, glanced around, nodded to me, and sat down in my section. I couldn't help but smile a little. Eric and I had been seeing each other regularly for a few months, but we hadn't actually let that out to the rest of the community yet, vampire or not. As far as anyone knew, Eric Northman was responsible for my protection, along with his assistant, Pam, and that was the extent of our relationship. What we did on our own time was anybody's guess.

I moved from one table to the next, taking my time before I reached Eric. Try not to seem suspicious, Sookie. Eric isn't your lover. He's just some guy that you see every once in awhile. He's the slightly irritating owner of a bar in Shreveport. He definitely doesn't make love to you on the bathroom tile, or the kitchen counter, or in the middle of a cemetery. That small two-prong scar on the inside of your thigh is most certainly not from his teeth sinking into you three nights ago when you screamed loud enough to wake the dead. I stepped briefly in front of the mirror behind the bar. Was it just really hot in here or was I blushing?

Yep, blushing. I dabbed my face with the bar rag before turning on my heel to walk to Eric's table.

'What can I get you?" I asked. I looked discreetly at him through my lowered eyelashes. He smiled back at me, that sexy Eric smile that's partly smirking, partly laughing, and partly wondering what you have on under your uniform shorts. I wasn't wearing anything.

"True Blood, O Negative," Eric ordered without another word. I nodded and walked back to the bar, making sure to brush his shoulder with a sweep of my arm. Oh yeah, we were stealthy. I stuck a bottle of synthetic blood into the microwave, delivered the drink when it was ready, and went back to my other tables. It took all of my willpower not to glance up at him every few seconds, just to make sure his eyes never left me.

The traffic didn't wind down until about ten minutes to closing, and it was then that Eric got up from his table. He left cash in a bundle on the table, gave me a sidelong glance, and left. I knew that look. He'd be waiting outside for me as soon as I got off. Oh how I wanted to get off…of work. Yeah. I stumbled over to the table (tripping over my shoelaces), and grabbed the money he'd left on the table beside his check. I pocketed the twenty dollar bill (which I realize is about a 200% tip, but I'm working on the pride thing…), made change in the register, and kept the rest. I cleaned the tables faster than you can perform Meg Ryan's fake orgasm, then grabbed my purse, and stumbled out the back door.

Eric was standing at the foot of Sam's trailer. Well, that was a little odd. I looked around, and I listened, stretching out my mind to probe for those blank spots that indicate vampire minds. There was only one, and he was standing right in front of me.

"Can I walk you to your car?" He smiled, keeping up our mutual charade. He climbed into the driver's seat. I looked up at him with doe eyes after I'd pulled the passenger side door shut. Kiss me, oh please kiss me.

He brushed his thumb along the line of my jaw, fingered the underside of my chin, and then bent his head to touch my lips with his. Oh, it was good. Vampires tend to kiss well, in my limited experience. Eric was the best kisser I'd ever had the pleasure to make out with. He wasn't so bad at the other things either.

"I have some bad news," he said, keeping one eye on the road as we drove out to the house. I frowned. Couldn't he wait to tell me the bad news later, maybe after we made love six times and I'd already passed out? Okay, so I wouldn't appreciate it then, but I wouldn't have to think about it now. I stuck out my lower lip to prove how pouty I was about his news. He half-smiled at me before returning to serious mode. "Pam and I have been summoned to New Orleans to attend to the King." Oh he was not pleased. That was a displeased frown.

"Oh," I replied quietly.

"I spoke to Sam. Things are still…up in the air with the new regime, and I'm worried about leaving you unprotected."

"I…" I started to protest but he held up his hand and cut me off.

"I'm serious, my lover. I worry about leaving you alone in the day, but I worry even more that you are alone at night. If someone were to attempt to hurt you…" He clenched his teeth together. I sighed and reached across the parking break to touch his hand. We pulled up behind the house, alongside Amelia's car, and walked in together. He took my hand once I'd shut the door, and we walked quietly to the back of the house, into my bedroom. I shut the door with a quiet click.

"So you spoke to Sam?" I asked. I sat down on the edge of the bed and removed my shoes. Eric remained standing, his eyes darting toward the window. I'd shut the curtains, but he still watched them.

"I did not let on about our relationship, Sookie. I only asked Sam to keep an eye on you while Pam and I are away. He didn't ask questions. He doesn't seem to like me much."

"You don't like him much," I shrugged.

"He wants you." Eric said simply, as if that excused his dislike. I sighed. I didn't think Sam actually had feelings for me, at least not anymore. Maybe it was some sort of man thing, like a jealousy schtick that meant you couldn't like any of the male company your lover kept. Or something like that.

"So now Sam's going to be…what…coming over for tea after work?" I raised an eyebrow. In the closet, I yanked out a nightgown.

"I've asked him to keep an eye on you at work, in the parking lot. Bill will watch out for you when you're home."

"Bill?" I squeaked, taken aback. As in Vampire Bill? As in my ex-boyfriend, ex-lover, asshole Bill?

"Yes." He answered shortly. When I shot him daggers with my eyes, he frowned. "You do not need to invite him in, my lover. He will keep an eye on the house when you are in it. I've asked him to drive home with you from the bar. He cares for your well-being, even if you do not care for his."

"Why should I?!" I retorted angrily.

"It is only until I return, my lover," Eric sighed, moving across the room, around the bed, to embrace me. I let my guard down just a little. I wanted to be angry, but Eric's presence tended to have a calming effect on me. I took a deep breath and relaxed.

Cool fingers touched my jaw. My eyes lifted to meet his. I took a smaller breath, let it out. Peaceful thoughts trickled down my arms, my legs, and my spine. Though I had just finished dressing in my nightgown, I wanted him to take it from me. The Viking gathered me in his arms and laid me out on top of Gran's quilt. I leaned up, reaching for his mouth with mine. Tender fingers brushed my hair back from my face.

"Kiss me," I whispered anxiously, reaching up to take his neck in my hands. He half-smiled and pressed his lips to mine. Our tongues intertwined, and I sucked on his bottom lip. Hands were up under my nightgown, and Eric was rubbing my nipple idly with his thumb. I split my thighs open to welcome his hips. His pants were still on, so I reached down to fumble with the button. Oh please don't take your hands off of me. I was moaning softly into his mouth, murmuring sweet discourse. My trembling fingers slid over his shaft, and I stroked the skin excitedly.

Eric lifted his head, breaking the bond of our lips. He chuckled at me in all my nervous desire. My cheeks felt bright red, glowing in the dark. Eric's hand dropped from my breast and snaked between my thighs.

"Is there something you want, my lover?" He grinned, using his thumb to spread me open like the petals of a rosebud. I opened my mouth to speak, but could only manage a tiny sound that might have been a 'yes'.

"I won't know what it is unless you tell me," he teased. He was stroking me, up and down the length of my vulva. I made a brief whimpering noise, but I couldn't seem to find words to express myself.

"Tell me, Sookie," he growled, bending his head near my ear. The rough hair on his chin tickled my cheek. One of his fingers slid down inside me. He crooked it and rubbed at a spot he'd only mentioned in passing before. My throat clamped up. If I'd been incapable of speech before, I was definitely mute now. My back arched and I clenched my fists together. Another finger dove inside me. Like a spark, I doubled up, bending my entire body into a tight fetal position. I stretched back out again almost immediately.

Then I found a word. "Eric," I breathed.

"Sookie," he whispered with an undertone of aggression.

"What…"

"…am I doing to you?" Eric finished my question and I was immediately glad. I nodded. He chuckled, still hovering near my earlobe. His deep voice spurred on whatever he was doing to me with his fingers. I couldn't think clearly. Shaking—my whole self was shaking. "I believe I'm giving you the best orgasm of your life."

I nodded. Got that right.

"Unless you'd like me to stop," and then his hand stopped moving. I let out a choking gasp.

Don't stop don't stop don't stop.

"No!" I squeaked with all the might and power of a mouse in a mouse trap.

"So you like it then?" Eric asked me. He was grinning. His fangs were partially extended.

Yes yes yes yes yes.

"Yes." Breathless. I couldn't find air even if I'd wanted to fill my lungs with it. His fingers started moving again, faster than they had before. His lips found my throat and I lost control of every thought, every ability, every extension of my self. Fangs grazed my skin but didn't bite down. I squeezed my eyes shut and rolled this way and that. There was so much pleasure that it was painful to experience. A part of me wanted to roll away, but another part of me wanted him to go faster.

Sex is all about inner conflict.

And then it's all about orgasm. Eric's free hand clamped over my mouth as I screamed with delight. I knew he was right to keep me moderately quiet. Amelia was asleep upstairs, and no one was supposed to know what we were up to anyway. I screamed until my throat was sore, and then I screamed until my lungs gave up. And then tears stung my cheeks and I was weeping. I didn't know why I was crying, but it seemed like the right thing to do, and I couldn't have stopped.

Eric slid inside me while I was still sore, tired, and somewhere between Cloud Nine and Earth. I spiraled up again, wobbling uneasily toward another orgasm. He'd been ready for some time now, and whether or not he was being thoughtful, he came quickly and I followed right behind him. I was still in the throes of latent ecstasy when he pulled me against his naked chest and kissed my damp forehead.

When I woke up at nine the next morning, he was gone. My legs wobbled when I got up to use the bathroom.

I walked into work that day with a bright, unrelenting smile on my face. I was sure my cheeks looked a little rosier than normal, and I even had a little bounce in my step. It helped that I had taken a couple of Tylenol before I'd left the house. Whatever Eric had done to me the night before (I'd have to get hold of Amelia's computer to find out just what that had been), it had left me incredibly sore. I had felt like I'd been ridden hard and put away wet.

Which, come to think of it, I had. I suppressed a giggle. Sam raised an eyebrow at me when I passed by the bar to relieve Danielle.

The shift at the bar was ho hum, and I spend at least 75 percent of it reliving the previous night in my mind. I desperately wanted to know when we'd do that again. It really was breathtaking and crazy and out of this world wonderful. My knees shook a little and I grabbed onto the bar top for support. Some of my customers, including my brother Jason, commented on my saccharine sweet attitude and my vibrantly rosy cheeks.

"Oh, I just bought the cutest new outfit," I giggled at Halleigh Bellefleur when she remarked on my perkiness. Okay, I know I lied, but what was I going to say? Yes Halleigh, I had the best orgasm ever last night. Please let me tell you all about it! Yeah. Don't think so.

Of course, as soon as I denied myself the pleasure of gushing to Halleigh, I thought about calling Claudine to gush to her. The only thing was, Claudine didn't know I was dating Eric. Then I thought about calling Pam. Pam definitely knew. She spent 95 percent of her time with the Viking, and I talked to her pretty often about gushy girly stuff. If Pam had been home, or at work, I would have called her on my way home from the bar. But she was in New Orleans, on business, with my hot hunk of vampire lover. Damn. This is why a girl needs a diary.

For the last half hour of my night, I thought about writing diary entries about really good sex. I could turn back and read them when I was alone, like watching yourself in a pornographic movie. Okay Sookie, now you're just being weird. Calm down. Get ahold of yourself! There will always be great sex. With Eric. Sex with Eric. Eric and sex.

Plan B. Plan A is obviously not working. Plan B was to go home and take a cold shower, then climb into bed, read a book, and fall asleep.

I grabbed my belongings out of Sam's office and walked out into the parking lot. It wasn't until right then that I remembered Bill Compton was escorting me home. He was leaning against my car, his arms crossed over his chest. When he saw me under the security light, he was on me like white on rice. I didn't feel so hot and bothered anymore. Seeing Bill made me feel like a cold fish.

"Sookie," Bill greeted me abruptly. Yep, Bill, that's my name. I thought of about fifty words that described what a turd he was, but I didn't say them out loud. I was content to fume in silence.

"Goodnight Sookie," Sam called from the backdoor of Merlotte's. I turned around and waved. Bill got into the driver's seat, and I slid in on the other side.

"How was work?" Bill asked me, as if we were making casual conversation now.

"Fine," I grunted.

"Sookie, since we are alone…" Bill started. Oh no. Oh no he was not going to use this opportunity to explain his behavior with his maker. I was NOT going to sit there and take that.

"Don't you start!" I growled at him. "This little Driving Miss Daisy arrangement is just until Eric gets back from New Orleans. I am NOT some willing participant in the Reasons to Give Bill a Second Chance game show. You can drive me home. You can watch the house. But if I hear a PEEP out of you about Lorena, I'm calling Sam."

Bill didn't peep again.

That night, I stared at the ceiling in my bedroom. I could not hear Bill Compton out in the yard, watching the house. His empty mind hovered like a black hole, a big empty space in the dark. I tried to think about Eric, to relive the last night we'd spent together, but with the ex looming outside, it was impossible to concentrate. Claudine had thoughtfully mailed me a pretty pink vibrator, shaped like a rabbit, for my birthday, but it just sat in my drawer like a limp noodle. Bill was the antithesis of sexual thoughts. It was like I was dead from the waist down.

I had to work again the following day, and I drove myself to work at five to relieve Danielle from another day shift. I walked into the bar and stashed my things in Sam's empty office. When I walked out into the bar, Terry Bellefleur was pouring a Jack and Coke for his cousin, Andy. Holly did a turn around the tables and waved at me. I snuck behind the bar to grab an order pad and a pen.

"Sam wanted me to give you this," Terry frowned. He handed me a white piece of paper, folded twice. I thanked him and opened the note. It was covered in Sam's hasty scrawl. I blinked, held it away from my face, and read it to myself.

Sookie, I've been called away from the bar on urgent business. I know I told Eric I'd keep an eye on you, but I couldn't get out of this. If you need anything, call my cell phone. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but you should call Bill Compton first since he's closer. Be cautious, Sook. Sam.

I folded the note and stuck it in my pocket. So much for that whole calling Sam thing. Now I actually had to rely on Bill if I happened to get into trouble. Not good. It was all very not good.

I wandered around the bar in a partial daze, thinking about the remote (or not so remote) chance that I'd actually need protection while my lover was away. No one knew that we were seeing one another, or at least, that hadn't worried Eric enough to keep him from seeing me. Even if someone did know, would they want to take the chance to make Eric really angry by hurting me in some way? Let's face it, Eric may be beautiful and good-natured and great in bed, but he's a very scary, rather wealthy, competitively powerful vampire. I'd seen Eric mad, but I'd never seen Eric really, really pissed off. I was actually a little scared of the possibility. Someone would have to piss him off a lot to make the proverbial fire come out of his nostrils. I wasn't about to get on his bad side.

Terry Bellefleur caught me by the arm as I walked past him with a couple of empty glasses. He gave me an attempt at a smile. "Sookie honey, could you grab some more lemons from the store room?"

I smiled at him and nodded. Terry was a good guy, even if he was a little nuts. War does crazy things to people, and it had done even crazier things to Terry. I touched him lightly on the shoulder and went down the hall to the supply closet.

Stupid Sookie. Stupid, stupid Sookie.

I opened the door to the supply closet to grab a bushel of lemons when something or someone ambushed me from Sam's office. I wanted to scream for help but a heavy, incredibly strong hand clamped over my mouth. I kicked away from the wall, but the thing behind me didn't even budge backward. He held his ground like some kind of wall with arms. As silent as the grave, he bustled me out of the back door. We were in front of a fancy blue Beamer in seconds. Vampire. It had to be a vampire. Oh shit. Shit shit shit! A second man popped open the trunk. They picked me up, one holding my legs, the other with his hand clamped over my mouth. The lid slammed shut and blotted out my screams.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.