A/N: Heyo all. So, it seems like people only review steamy chapters. I am nothing if not accommodating, so don't expect them all to be like this, but this one is for mature audiences only, kiddos! The lemons take me ages to write, so the next chapter, being less citrus and more plot, should come quicker. Ack, I just realized I made a mistake as to when Sookie needed to be back for work. I'm sorry, but I like her going in for the lunch shift, so I've gone back to chapter two and switched that around. So, Sookie needs to be back in Bon Temps for the lunch shift. Sorry for the confusion!

Pam hung out with me in the bar for a while, making sarcastic remarks about the fangbangers until Eric needed her for something. Apparently, they hadn't had time to replace Felicia, killed by Eric's brother during a psychotic break, since a human was tending bar tonight. She wasn't as quick as the vampire, but she made sure a waitress kept my iced tea topped up, which was fine by me.

By the time Eric got done with his business, the bar was getting ready to close and I was pretty tired. If I hadn't needed to get back to Bon Temps before he got up for the night, I would have left my car in the Fangtasia parking lot, but instead I followed Eric home. He actually kept to the speed limit, which impressed the heck out of me. He got into the house first, through the garage, and had the front door open by the time I got to it.

He didn't lead me straight to the bedroom, which came as a slight surprise. Instead we settled onto his huge couch, me snuggled into his side. We just sat like that for a good long while, his arms wrapped around me, both stretched out with our feet up. I was so comfortable I actually started drifting off before Eric spoke. "I do not understand you reluctance to take money from me. I paid you in the past when you used your telepathy."

That made me sit up and rub the sleepiness from my eyes. "Seriously, Eric, you choose to start this conversation now?" I sighed and sagged back into him. He grunted a yes. "I guess I don't mind doing things for you with my telepathy, and you paying me. But tonight, you asked for a favor. I came here, as a girlfriend, to do a favor for my boyfriend and you handed me a check. I wasn't helping you for money, I was helping you because I wanted to be sure you didn't wind up with some psycho as a day man."

His fingers teased their way through my hair slowly. "What bothers you so much about being paid to use your telepathy?"

I thought that through before I replied. "I don't know. I guess it's more of a line kind of thing. I don't mind doing a favor for you, or Alcide's pack, but if I start doing this as my income, where do I draw the line? If I hear something in Fangtasia, I'm not going to expect you to pay me for the information. It just feels wrong, I guess. I mean, I know I get better tips because my boobs are big, but that doesn't mean I'd be okay with working at Hooters."

Eric laughed at that. "You worked at Rhodes without qualms."

I shrugged. "Sophie-Anne hired me for a specific job, for specific dates. Plus I didn't really know her on a personal level. I mean, we'd met, you know, because of the whole Hadley thing, but I didn't think of her as a friend."

"So if I hired you for specific things, you would be alright with me paying you for that?"

It took me a few minutes to think that through. Why did I find it so irritating that Eric had tried to give me money? I certainly didn't like feeling kept, and I liked being able to do things for my boyfriend from time to time. If I did decide to take some college classes, I'd probably need to cut back on my waitressing hours, and it would be nice to have a source of income, even if it was just the occasional job. I didn't want to start living off the money Claudine gave me. "I guess that would be alright. What kinds of jobs?"

Eric seemed inordinately pleased with himself. "If I have a meeting with humans, I would like for you to be present. If I need to hire a human, you would help question them. Occasionally I would ask you to simply sit in Fangtasia and listen, to see if there are any problems I should be made aware of. If there is a vampire event I need to attend and humans will be present, you will accompany me. It would only be a few nights a month, maybe twice a week or something similar."

I frowned slightly. "Well, apart from the events, that sounds fine. If you want to take me along as your date, fine, and I don't mind keeping tuned into other people, but you're not paying me for that. I'm not an escort." He nodded against my hair. "We'll need to negotiate my fee." He nodded again, and I took a second to think of a suitably obscene number to get started. "Seventy-five bucks an hour."

"Done."

I sputtered. "Eric, that's insane. I thought we were going to negotiate."

"It's not my fault you started too low. I pay my lawyer far more per hour, and his skills aren't nearly as unique as yours. In fact, I'll have him draw up a contract. We'll keep it nice and professional." I could feel him smiling against my hair. "Since I'm feeling generous, I'll even stipulate that you have the option to renegotiate your fee in six months. I may come to regret that, once you see what others are willing to pay for your skills, but hopefully you'll take pity on your husband."

I punched him in the arm gently. A contract was a good idea. I thought that maybe I should get Gran's lawyer to make up a general one that I could give to anyone I worked for. That would make it easier to keep things formal, and if I did something without a contract, it was my call and I wouldn't expect to get paid for it. Of course, I didn't know how he'd word out exactly what I was doing. I guessed the lawyer could just copy whatever Eric's lawyer drew up. "That's a pretty good idea, Eric. I'll have to work around my hours for Sam, but with advance warning, I can work things out."

I covered a yawn with my hand, and Eric shifted to look at me. "Good. I will send an email to my lawyer, and we can discuss what he draws up in a few days. For now, let's go to bed so that I can put you properly to sleep before I finish my work."

He led me to his bedroom, and I couldn't help but smile. I was happy to do the odd telepathy job and get paid for it, even by Eric. Maybe his idea of using my telepathy as a potential career wasn't such a bad idea. I could take some business classes, learn how to build a client base. It could be fun.

As soon as we got to Eric's bedroom, I found myself not caring so much about which classes I wanted to sign up for. Even before he got the door closed, his hands were roaming all over me, under the hem of my skirt, pushing it up, untucking my blouse and pulling off my cardigan. I quickly found I wasn't quite as tired as I thought I'd been, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss me.

Kissing Eric was always exciting and tonight was no exception. I got that wonderfully tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach as soon as my mouth opened to his, and it spread quickly to fill my body. He broke away from my lips, kissing his way down my neck, over my collarbone. He paused at the edge of my blouse, pushing me backwards onto the bed. "Did I mention how much I like what you're wearing?"

I laughed at that, my head dropping back to the pillows as he continued his journey south. His fingers were setting me on fire, gently teasing each button of my shirt open. The coolness of his fingertips brushing over my skin. "Jesus, Eric." As soon as the words fell out of my mouth, I lapsed back into silence, too full of the feel of him to say anything more.

Now he laughed, softly against the skin of my stomach. "Sorry, lover, just me here. Though of course, should you wish to add that sort of element to our repertoire, I'd be more than willing to satisfy you. Pam has been giving me a hard time about keeping you to myself."

I gently smacked the top of his head. "Knock it off, Eric."

He slid back up to my face, kissed me again. Once he broke away, I could see him grinning at me. "You really want me to stop, lover?"

I didn't say anything, just pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips, grinding into him as we kissed again. Now it was me sliding down his body. I slowly unbuttoned his shirt, nipping him gently where his skin was exposed and he groaned, lighting a fire within me. It was so gratifying to know I could turn him on just as much as he turned me on. He sat up slightly so I could pull off his shirt, and I slid down further, catching his eyes as I unbuttoned his jeans and slid down the zipper.

His eyes slid closed for a second when I took his cock in my hand, stroking it up and down. When I slipped the tip into my mouth, his eyes locked on mine, just for a second as I paused before sliding him as far into my mouth as he would go. I was pretty sure I would never get tired of the noises he made as I blew him, the grunts and moans as he fell apart under my hands and tongue. I felt powerful, as I brought him close to orgasm, slightly awed that I could elicit such a response from a man who had so many more lifetimes of experience than me.

His groans brought me back to the moment, one of his large hands threading into my hair as I pushed him into the back of my throat. He spoke just before he came in my mouth, but I had no idea what he said. By the tone it was a curse or an entreaty to some long dead god. I swallowed, his hips shuddering under me as I let his penis fall from my mouth. I grinned as he lay there staring at me. "So I guess I'm getting better at that?"

He just stared at me for a second before he managed a slight smile. "Oh, yes. That was," he paused, leaning back into the pillows, "most excellent. You have considerable talent in that area."

I looked at him for a few seconds, enjoying watching him relaxing in front of me, knowing I was the one who had gotten him into that state. I sometimes wondered how he could enjoy our sex life, if he thought it boring and vanilla compared to everything he must have done over the past thousand years. Looking at him like this, satisfied and deliciously content, it was hard to imagine he hadn't loved everything I'd done to him. He pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly.

It made me smile, the incongruous image of the fierce sheriff vampire who loved to cuddle. "You really love to snuggle, don't you?"

He nodded against my head, tangling our legs together. "I told you that even before Jackson. What is wrong with snuggling, anyway? I like being close to you." He tilted my head up, capturing my lips in a kiss, as one of his hands drifted down to the zipper of my skirt, slipping it down. "You really are an amazing creature, my love."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just kissed him. He didn't seem to mind my method of silencing him, just slipping my unbuttoned blouse over my shoulders and unhooking my bra. Both items of clothing disappeared off the bed, followed shortly thereafter by my skirt and his jeans. We settled back to kissing for a time, our legs wrapped together, his hands running along my body, teasing me. When I started grinding my hips into his, I felt him smile against my lips.

He pushed me onto my back and slid down between my legs, pulling my underwear down as he went. Once I was completely naked, he grinned at me and settled between my legs. His fingers traced slowly over my thighs, making me giggle slightly. "Tickles," I whispered. He just smiled and kissed where he'd tickled me.

"Hush, Sookie." His fingers continued to trace their way over me, inching closer to where I wanted him to be. The air was cool as it hit my wetness when he spread me slightly open. "You do have the most perfect pussy, lover."

I blushed. "Eric!" I objected quietly. I found myself not caring as he slipped a finger inside me. My eyes slipped closed and I couldn't help but raise my hips to meet him.

When I looked at him again, he was smiling. "I will never tire of pleasuring you. I think those are my favorite memories from when I was cursed. Watching you come is truly a wonderful experience." I felt like my face was on fire, but it was hard to focus on his words with what his hand was doing to me. He slipped a second finger inside of me and I moaned as he stoked me. I was going to object when he pulled his fingers out of me, but he shifted them slightly farther down, rubbing a very sensitive area. He brought his other hand into play, slipping two fingers inside me again, while his first hand continued rubbing. His face leaned closer to me, and I cried out as he started licking my clit, slowly and carefully.

Everything he was doing felt so good, I couldn't bring myself to object to exactly where he had his hand. Right now I could barely bring myself to think. It was all I could do to keep breathing. I was panting and squirming, cursing quietly under my breath, feeling a clenching low in my abdomen as he brought me closer and closer to orgasm. My hips were bucking against his face, and I know I was yelling, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what exactly I was screaming as I came, or even what exactly he was doing that made me come so hard. I swear, the world momentarily went white.

I don't know how long I was laying there, but when I finally became aware of what was going on around me, Eric was laying next to me, his fingers stroking my arm as he nuzzled my neck. The only thing I could manage to say was, "Fuck," which made him laugh, then kiss me. The kisses started out gentle, but we soon found the intensity increasing, our hips pressing together as we rolled around on the bed. Eric moved on top of me, then slowly slid himself into me, making me gasp against his lips. He moved slowly at first, making sure I was meeting his every movement with approving moans. Our pace gradually increased, and we were both moaning, enjoying the feel of each other, being so close, so connected. Soon I was clenching down around him, coming as he thrust into me, screaming as I came. He bit my shoulder, pulling at the wound for a second before he released, then collapsed on top of me.

After a second or two he rolled to the side so that he wasn't crushing me, but I didn't have the energy to move, or even open my eyes. By his tone I could tell he was grinning. "So, Sookie, I suppose you'll sleep well?" I mumbled something affirmative. "I'm glad I did a good job." I probably would have given him the finger, if any of my limbs were working. "What time do you need to wake up?"

I forced my very sleepy and satisfied brain to think. Wake up? Oh, I had to be at Merlotte's at 10:30 to do my prep for the lunch shift. Why hadn't I thought to call in sick? Since it was going to take me an hour to get home, and I would need to shower, get dressed and eat something, I really should get up at 8:00. I groaned. "Eight, I guess."

His fingers ran through my hair. "I will most likely still be up, but I will set an alarm for you."

My brain still wasn't firing on all cylinders. "What time is dawn?"

"About seven, but I can stay up for a bit, and I have work to do." I figured that was something I could ask about later, so I just nodded against his hand and drifted to sleep.

A/N: Phew! Is it hot in there or is it just me? I need a glass of water. Let me know if you liked it please. I'm working on the next chapter now so that should be along in the next few days.