I grinned at her. "No, I won't."
She sighed. "Fine, then let's just get it over with."
I couldn't resist teasing her a little. "Are you yielding to me, Sookie?" I winked at her.
"Yes," Sookie said warily. "To your questions! Don't get any bright ideas."
I chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it. Though perhaps you have?" I gave her hand a little squeeze.
When she didn't bite, I continued. "So how long were you able to resist me?"
"Oh for Pete's sake, Eric!"
"It's a valid question."
Sookie narrowed her eyes at me. "Two days."
"That long? I must be losing my touch." I stroked her palm with my thumb. Her face was impassive, but I could feel her pulse quicken. She wasn't as indifferent to me as she wanted me to believe. Interesting. "Tell me what happened."
"I already did."
"No, Sookie. In detail. That was part of our deal, don't you remember?"
"Eric, I am not giving you a play-by-play, and even if I could…" Sookie trailed off laughing.
"What?" I smiled back at her.
"I was just thinking it would take the better part of the night to go through it all and I don't have that kind of energy."
I raised an eyebrow. "Well I was hoping you'd just tell me about it, but if you're up for a re-enactment, I'd be happy to oblige—"
"Oh hush," Sookie cut me off, still laughing softly to herself.
This was fun. I'd missed this. "So I said you were the best I've ever had."
"Yep, you sure did." I thought I could detect just a trace of smugness in her expression.
"That's high praise, coming from me."
"Oh yes, I was very flattered," Sookie played along. "Though of course, you couldn't remember all the women you've had, so while I appreciate the compliment, I've managed to keep my ego in check."
"Well I'm sure it was deserved, in any case. I can't imagine sex with you being anything short of spectacular."
Sookie flushed bright red. I let my eyes graze over her luscious body. She watched me do it, and I was glad to see it. I wanted her to know just how much I wanted her. Not that I'd ever kept that secret.
I was surprised when she returned the gesture with a surreptitious appraisal of her own. I pretended not to notice.
Sookie lowered her lashes. "You weren't so bad yourself," she breathed, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips.
"Oh really?" I grinned broadly. "Tell me, Sookie, was I the best you've ever had?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Yes, I would very much like to know." I looked her straight in the eyes. She looked away. "But I see I've upset your human modesty, so I'll move on. For now."
She tried to conceal her exhale of relief but I caught it anyway. Silly woman, trying to hide her emotions from me. She'd had my blood. She couldn't keep anything from me for long. I inhaled slightly. Even her scent betrayed her. She was aroused. I could smell it, hidden as it was beneath the lingering odors of shifter, Were, and fae. The sweet, intoxicating aroma of Sookie drowned everything else out. I could feel my fangs start to run out in response. I changed the subject quickly.
"Take off your shirt."
Sookie laughed a little nervously. "Wow, that's fresh, even for you."
I made a frustrated noise. "I'm not trying to ogle you, Sookie. I want to look at your wound." Okay, maybe I was trying to ogle her. But I was genuinely concerned with her injury. Honest.
Sookie eyed me dubiously, but obligingly lifted her top over her head. As the fabric briefly hid her face from view, I took the opportunity to admire her generous cleavage. Her breasts were as gorgeous as I'd remembered, that night the maenad had attacked her and I held her in my lap as Pam took her turn sucking out the poison. I'd never been more grateful I kept my office on the cool side. Her breasts jiggled a little as she pulled one arm free from the top, the fabric straining to contain all of her within it. I wondered how they'd taste.
But the gaping wound in her left shoulder captured my attention. I would enjoy murdering the son of a bitch who did this to her. I would do it slowly. I would take my time.
Her arm caught as she tried to slip the shirt over her injured limb. Wordlessly, I moved to help her. As I pulled the garment free, I knelt between her legs, pushing them apart so I could closely examine her injury. I was not insensitive to the effect our new position had on her. I inhaled again. Her scent was stronger now.
Her breath caught. "Eric, this is really not necessary. The doctor says I'll be totally healed in just a couple weeks and—"
"Shut up and let me take care of you." She threw me a dirty look, but held still, which was my objective. After studying her shoulder for a minute or two, I glanced up at her. "This will hurt, but it will be over soon, I promise."
She nodded and braced herself. I leaned over and bit open her stitches, exposing her wound fully. She yelped in pain, and her blood started to flow. I lapped up a few delicious drops but then contained myself. Now was not the time to feed, no matter how heavenly she tasted.
I bit my wrist and pressed it directly onto the wound, squeezing with my free hand to encourage my blood to flow into her. In under a minute, the healing was complete. I removed my wrist and observed the pale, new skin covering Sookie's shoulder. It contrasted sharply against the rest of her tan flesh. I brushed a kiss where the bullet had entered her body before licking her clean of any excess blood.
"Try raising your arm a little." She tentatively did as I bade her, and was pleased with the result. She experimented by rotating her shoulder, testing her full range of motion. I saw her getting ready to swing her arm back and forth and stopped her. "Whoa, not so fast. You've just healed; you'll want to take it easy for a while."
"Oh, but it feels great!"
"Well, yes, you still have my blood running through your veins. But once that wears off, the soreness will return. It looks like the muscles and tendons have regenerated nicely, though. You should be good as new in a day or two."
"Thanks, Eric." I grunted an acknowledgment before checking over the rest of her body for signs of injury. She had a few marks here and there from that asshole, Mickey, but I could see they were already beginning to fade. The remaining blood that didn't go towards healing her shoulder would take care of these smaller cuts and bruises.
Satisfied her body was as healed as I could make it, I reached up and took her chin in my hand. I looked her face over carefully, but whatever damage Mickey might have done, I could no longer detect it. I released her but didn't move away. Her lips were slightly parted and she was staring at me with an intensity I found very exciting. I moved in to close the distance between us, but she shook herself and fell back against the couch. I stifled a groan. Why was she fighting this? She wanted me, it was plain to see, and she had to know I wanted her, but still she resisted.
"Very pretty bra, by the way." She scowled at me and I smirked. "Oh, but I got a little blood on it. I'm sorry. Here, let me take it off and wash it for you." I reached around her to undo her clasp, but she batted me away with both hands.
"Yeah, I don't think so, Eric."
"But it'll stain."
"I'll throw it in the cold water wash. It'll be fine." She looked at me darkly.
I laughed and got up from my knees, reclaiming my seat by her side. Sookie reached for her discarded shirt and pulled it back on. I pouted, but I couldn't come up with an excuse to keep it off of her.
I moved a little closer to her and reached for her hand again, brushing my fingers against her thigh as I did so. She didn't object.
We sat together quietly for a few moments. Sookie interlocked her fingers with mine and rested her head against my shoulder. I could hear her breathing slow and deepen as she relaxed against me. This felt wonderful. This felt familiar. This felt right.
So of course I had to ruin the moment with a stupid question.
"Why were you so reluctant to tell me all this?"
As I watched her face fall, I regretted asking what had been gnawing at me for weeks now. It was bad enough not knowing, but her obvious discomfort in revealing how we'd spent our time together… what did it mean? Did she regret the sex? Had I frightened her in some way? I didn't think I was imagining her avoidance of me lately. Had it not been for the shifter's injury, I strongly doubted she would have stepped foot in Fangtasia again. That evening I awoke in her house, I knew something had changed. There was a tension between us that hadn't been there before. I needed to know what was behind it all. Did she love me? Hate me? Want nothing more to do with me? I had to know.
But I thought it would have been better to go on not knowing when I saw Sookie start to shut down at my words. She abruptly pulled away from me, dropping my hand and wrapping her arms around herself. I felt cold, my body already missing her warmth.
"You know why. Now you'll always have power over me."
I frowned. "Why would you think that? Because we had sex?"
She threw me an exasperated look. "No, because now you can blackmail me into doing anything you want. Don't bullshit me, Eric, I know that's what you've been thinking since I confessed to you."
I blinked. I had no idea what she was talking about. "I don't understand. How could I blackmail you? Why would I even want to?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you? I killed someone, Eric! You are the only witness. You could go to the police and tell them I shot Debbie and ruin my life in an instant."
I was hurt she could even think I would betray her like that. Did she think that lowly of me?
With a stony expression, I appealed to her reason. "That doesn't make any sense, Sookie. First of all, I don't remember what happened that night for myself. How could I testify against you, if all the knowledge I have is hearsay? From you, I might add. Somehow, I don't think the police would be too willing to accept 'amnesia brought on by a witch's curse' as an explanation for my not coming forward until now. It would be your word against mine, and whom do you think they'll believe? The local darling, or the foreign hellspawn?
"Secondly, I am your accomplice. According to you, I buried her body and hid her car. If this were to get out, we'd most certainly be co-defendants. I would be there right alongside you. I am just as guilty as you are, and as vampire, I am a far more attractive scapegoat. I find it hard to believe a jury of your peers could convict you of anything, Sookie. Me? They would execute in a heartbeat.
"And thirdly, we already have an arrangement. You agree to work for me as long as I don't kill any humans. This has worked out well for both of us for months now. Why would I need any more leverage over you? You already willingly work for me. I would gain nothing by blackmailing you that I couldn't just ask for now."
I left out my fourth point. If she really thought I'd blackmail her into doing something against her will, she'd never believe me anyway.
Sookie looked unconvinced. "I'm not so sure what I just told you is hearsay so much as a confession. That is admissible in court." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I've seen Law & Order, too, Eric. And you probably have an army of lawyers at your disposal, not to mention powerful friends in both the human and supernatural communities. There's not a doubt in my mind you could finagle yourself a way out of any legal trouble. Plus, I'm already public enemy number one in Bud Dearborn's book, and Amanda, the Were in charge of the local supe investigation, isn't such a big fan, either. The Shreveport police and the private detectives Debbie Pelt's family hired all think Alcide and I were having an affair, which gives me ample motive in their eyes. All I need is a whiff of suspicion aimed in my direction, and I'm up shit creek without a paddle!"
I had to hand it to her. She made a pretty convincing argument.
"As for you, you tricked me into drinking your blood in Dallas just so you could gain some leverage over me. You're not exactly Mr. Straightforward in your dealings with me or anyone else. Why wouldn't you relish the thought of having just one more card to play against me, should I ever step out of line?"
Again, I silently admired her logic. I'd given her little reason to trust me in the past, though I'd hoped my actions in Mississippi had gone a ways towards rectifying that state of affairs.
"You've made several excellent points. I'd argue that you have entirely the wrong idea with respect to my motives, but of course, if you were right about me I'd say that anyway to win your trust." I smiled ruefully at her.
Sookie snorted. "So you admit you're just tickled pink to find out about Debbie?"
"No, Sookie, I couldn't give a fuck about her. I wish I'd killed her myself back in Jackson for all the trouble she's caused you. You did the world a favor, and if it hadn't been you, someone else would have taken her out eventually. She had it coming."
"Well I know you never thought much of her, since vamps dislike all the two-natured, but don't tell me you're not glad I confessed to you?"
"I am glad you told me, Sookie. But not because I can use the information against you. As I've been trying to explain, I'm on your side. I want to help you, though you make that difficult when you keep things from me."
"Why? What do you care what happens to me?"
"What do I care what happens to you?" I repeated incredulously. "How can you say that? Sookie, you're my… friend. I very much care what happens to you."
"I'm your asset, is what you mean. You'd hate to lose my telepathy."
"Your gift is very useful," I admitted. "But you can't honestly think that's all you are to me? You think I regularly travel out of state to watch over my other employees? You think I assign bodyguards to them? Drop everything and fly to them when they call me?"
She was breathing a little heavily now. "What are you saying, Eric?"
"I'm saying you're important to me. And I don't like that someone's after you. First your house gets burned down, and now this?" I gestured to her shoulder. "You should have called me as soon as it happened. Why didn't you?"
"I got shot during the day, Eric."
"You should have called Bobby, then."
"Who's Bobby?"
"My dayman." I pulled out a notepad from my pocket and gave her his number, and my cell, too. "If you're ever attacked during the day, call Bobby and then leave me a voicemail. He knows all my contacts; he'll send you protection until I can get there myself."
"Okay." She studied the slip of paper and then slipped it into her pocket. "Thank you. But it's rare that someone's attacking me within convenient range of a pay phone." She gave me a sad little smile.
I frowned. "Don't you have a cellphone?"
"No."
"Sookie, what millennium are you living in? Everybody has a cellphone."
"I don't need one. I do just fine without one." She sounded defensive.
I opened my mouth to point out how stubborn she was being, and then closed it again. Of course. She couldn't afford one. "I'm adding you to my plan."
"No, thanks."
"I'm doing it. It'll make contacting you more convenient when you're working for me, and anyway, I have a ridiculous number of rollover minutes just sitting in my account. Someone might as well make use of them."
Sookie looked at me curiously.
"Free nights and weekends? Vampires never use their plan minutes."
She laughed. "Of course."
"The telecom industry has a good racket going, charging us their human rates. Wish I'd thought of it."
"Oh, would you have started your own vampire cellular company?"
"Maybe. That's not a bad idea, actually. But the FCC would never go for it. Unless…" I wondered whom I could bribe on the Senate communications subcommittee. Who was up for re-election? I bet Maxwell Lee would know. If I sold my shares in AT&T, I could easily raise the capital, and drive down their stock price as well. Two birds with one stone. I smiled to myself. Or maybe it would be better to approach the board of the company and form a subsidiary branch over their existing network. After all, they already had the infrastructure in place; all I'd need to do is restructure their plans to suit an undead clientele. With the vamp population on the rise in the US, a cellular plan catering exclusively to my kind could be immensely profitable. The competition wouldn't know what hit them.
Sookie cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt your plans for global domination, but I'm tired, Eric. Thank you for all your help tonight, but I think I'd like to go to bed now."
"Sure, Sookie." I scooped her up and carried her off to her bedroom.
"Uh, Eric? I think you misunderstand me."
"Do I?" I feigned innocence. "Didn't you just invite me to go to bed with you?"
"I most certainly did not!"
"Well I accept anyway." I slipped through the open doorway and carefully laid her on her bed, mindful of her healing shoulder. I bent and removed her shoes and socks before turning to the dresser and pulling open the top drawer. Hmm. Sookie's underthings. I'd inspect that later. The drawer below held her nightgowns. I retrieved one and handed it to her. She didn't move. "Oh, would you like me to undress you? I thought that would be just a shade too impertinent, but if you insist—"
"Eric, get the hell out of my bedroom!" I laughed as I pulled the door shut behind me.