A/N: all characters, quotes and places that belong to Charlaine Harris are hers alone. I receive nothing from this work but pleasure, and have nothing worth suing for except my sense of humor.

Post War Dead

Chapter 3

"In a land of sand and ruin and gold

there shone one woman, and none but she."

Eric, Pam and I were awaiting instructions from the three monarchs. Sophie-Anne sat opposite us, at the long side of the table, Russell on her right, and Stan on her left. After enough time to show us who's in charge, she told us to come forward and sit. As we sat facing them, we understood that we were set up for discussion, not for orders.

Russell once again took charge of explanations, "Felipe was a bastard and we were all in danger while he was alive. He wanted to ultimately rule over a united North America, and he didn't care who he would have to kill to achieve his goal. Luckily, Sandy Seacrest had reasons to oppose him, and she was very useful in our planning. Of course, she must be rewarded."

He nodded to a guard, and a door opened on the side wall. Sandy Seacrest, formerly Felipe's number two in Nevada, walked in with her head held high. We were supposed to see her, not as a traitor to her Sovereign, but loyal to ours. Sandy was a tall woman. Not pretty, but handsome and business-like. She wore a well-cut grey suit with rust colored blouse underneath. Her hair was in a short page boy and it was a shining dark red. She sat down next to Pam, and nodded to the Majesties.

"Sandy," Russell continued, "for your help in saving us from Felipe's schemes, you wanted only one thing. Could you tell every one gathered here what that was."

"Yes, your majesty," she replied, "I wish to be Queen of Arkansas."

To say I was shocked was nothing. I didn't know anyone who wanted to live in Arkansas, much less rule it. It was a state full of Bon Temps, and not much else.

Sophie-Anne spoke quietly, "You do realize that Arkansas is mine. Why do you want it? As Felipe's highest ranking underling, you could challenge for Nevada."

"If I tried to take control of Nevada, I'm sure I would not last the night. It is simply too rich, too dangerous, and too much hard work, to be worth it to me. But I don't want to take orders from a boss any longer. So I will trade you Nevada for Arkansas," Sandy was smiling a little. She knew she had shocked everyone by being honest. "I was originally from Arkansas, and I'd like to live there again. My original family is long dead, of course, but now that we're out, I'd like to see if I have any current family who would like to be reunited."

It seemed like a good trade to me, and to Sophie-Anne also. "Done!" she said in a firm voice. "I will help you however I can. Now that you are also a Queen, you may stay for the rest of the meeting."

The rest of us offered our congratulations, but I could feel Eric's mind as a big question mark.

Sophie- Anne spoke again, her voice remained strong, "Pam, you were remarkable at Fangtasia," She grinned. "It looked like you were having fun up on the roof, I was almost sorry to end your playing."

Pam smiled back at the Queen, soaking in her praise. "Thank you, your Majesty. It's true, I haven't had a good time like that for over forty years."

Stan broke in, "That's why we sided with Sophie-Anne. Louisiana is well-run and quiet. We knew that Felipe would drain it for cash, as he tried to take over more and more states. But now we have Nevada to contend with. Eric, we have a proposition for you."

Sophie-Anne must have been feeling better, because she broke in again. "Eric we have decided that Las Vegas should be run something like an international city. Not partitioned, but owned by the three of us, and run by you. You would need to swear fealty to Stan and Russell, in addition to me. That means that you cannot take one partner over another, you couldn't take sides against any one, or two, of us in a war and the good of the city will be your priority ."

"And how would it be for me, your majesty, taking orders from three monarchs? I can see a lot of conflict with me in the middle," Eric was not convinced that this was a good idea.

"Eric, what Sophie did not tell you was that we will not interfere with your running of the city. There will be no conflicts. You will run it as a Sheriff, but with total control. Profits with be split into sixths, with you taking half and each of us receiving one third of the rest. That will still be millions for each of us," Russell added.

"I see no advantage to me. Why not make me King of Nevada? You can still tax me one half of the profits," Eric countered.

"Because we want no one vampire to own Vegas. There's too much capital available there, and we don't want to create another monster like de Castro. As Sheriff of Las Vegas, you'll be in control, but we can audit the books annually, and we'd know if you were up to something," Sophie Anne said.

That seemed like a sensible reason to me. I didn't know how Eric felt about it. He was quiet for a minute, then he spoke, " I see your point. But before I make a decision, I need to think, and to discuss this with my bonded and second."

"You may have until tomorrow night. We have rooms prepared for you, so you can stay here, Sophie-Anne said cordially.

Eric, Pam and I were led away to a suite at the far end of the mansion. At least it would be quiet, although I was sure it was bugged. I felt disconnected. I knew I was in Louisiana, but just yesterday we had fought off a take over by Nevada, and now Eric, at least, would probably be moving there. I was sure Pam would go with him, and that left me feeling very alone. Would I move to stay with Eric? That was the question.

"Lover, let's put on comfortable clothes and walk in the garden," Eric suggested, "Pam, we'll be back in a while. Why don't you find someone to eat while we are gone."

I dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and flats, grabbed Eric's hand and walked out onto the patio, then into the garden. The grass was soft underfoot, and the air was perfumed with flowers. It's so warm here, we have flowers blooming for most of the year. We walked to the far edge of the formal garden, and sat on a bench under the stars. I waited for Eric to speak, and he waited for me, so we spent some time in silence.

"Lover, what do you want to do?"

That's my Eric, right to the point. "It depends on what you decide, Eric. Are you going to take their offer? Could you refuse it, if you wanted to?"

"I don't think they would let me refuse. If I turn them down, they'll make adjustments, but in the end, I will have to accept. Will you come with me?"

"Can you ask nicer," I smiled.

"Angelic Sookie, vision of love and beauty, would you do me the honor of joining me as my life mate and wife in Las Vegas?" Eric looked serious as he asked, his blue eyes beaming into mine.

How could I refuse those words? "Yes, Eric, I will. We'll face this adventure together."

I should have known that I would be tackled by my Viking. He took me in his arms and we landed together on the soft grass. He kissed my lips, all over my face, then my lips again before I could react and kiss him back. It was all I could do to keep my hands from opening up his pants, but I thought of the guards that were surely outside, and kept my head.

"Come on, Viking, let's go back to the room," I giggled, "we need to talk to Pam. Then we can go to bed."

He flew us back to the suite, and into our bedroom. Pam wasn't back yet, so we waited doing what we usually did to pass time. No, it wasn't talking, watching the boob tube, or playing Parchesi. As soon as he landed at the foot of the bed, my hands reached for his belt buckle to unhinge it. I pulled down his jeans, and he lifted off the ground so they dropped to the floor. He usually had me naked first so this was a change, and I intended to take advantage. He was carefully trying to remove my jeans, without ripping them, when I pushed him back to sit on the bed. I pulled off his shirt and he was nude before me. Oh my! It's not as if I'd never seen him like this before. But I wasn't sure what I wanted to do first. I had to make a decision, so I reached out both my hands to put around his enormous cock. I started stroking from the bottom to the top, then circling the top with my palm. His skin felt like velvet covering steel. I felt the pre-cum bead on the surface, and bent over to lick it from the head. He growled and I looked up to his face, then opened my mouth and took him in. His hands immediately grabbed my hair and held on. Not pushing, just hanging on to his sanity. As I moved up and down, my hands were working the parts below that I couldn't reach with my mouth and my tongue was searching out the sensitive spots around his tip. Responsive noises were coming from his mouth and throat, and I loved that I could make him feel this way. Suddenly he pulled my head up and mashed his mouth to mine. He picked me up and pushed me on to his erection until it was completely within me. God, he felt so good. I was filled, and no longer wanted to think about anything, as he lifted me and dropped me down, moving faster and faster, until he released before I was done. He rolled over, and keeping me under and around him, started moving slowly as he regained his hardness. This time, he was in control, and it was my turn to gasp and whine and cry out. When I finally called his name in ecstasy, he sped up and came again soon after. We laid there, content in each others arms, until we heard Pam return to the suite.