3.

A/N: All right, I admit it. I am a feedback whore. The more feedback I get, the more I smile and the more excited I get, the more motivated I am and the faster I write and post. There I said. Have at it.

~Sookie~

As someone who can hear men's thoughts and has heard my fair share of pickup lines, that sounded pretty damn sincere. I know he's had a lot of women. I was willing to bet he couldn't possibly remember all of them and wasn't broken up about it either. I was about to go to bed with someone who I didn't know; someone who could kill me with the flick of his wrist. I certainly couldn't fathom the amount of people who have died at his hands. I didn't know the first thing about his life and I was taking him at his word.

Yet, it felt right.

It felt so right I almost laughed with the joy of it. I couldn't hear him and that alone had me excited. He could be thinking he'd walk right out the door when he was done and never look back, I was blissfully in the dark in that regard. And I didn't mind saying that that made me feel a little trashy.

But the way he was softly running his hands over my skin made me feel beautiful. It was as if he was committing each inch of my skin to memory. His lips followed the path of his hands and I was shocked to hear myself moan. He was so amazingly skilled and I was so embarrassingly not.

So why did it feel like I already knew what to do? How did my lips know that he had a sensitive spot behind his ear? Why was I so sure that he meant me no harm? I was keenly aware that every word out of his mouth tonight could very well be a lie, but something inside was preventing me from believing that.

I giggled with the danger and mischief of what I was doing. I was enthusiastically offering my virginity to a total stranger. How many virgins had he had in his thousand years? As he slowly stripped away my clothes, I found myself not caring.

"You are Venus sprung to life." He murmured, taking one rosy peak of my breast into his mouth. I gasped when I felt the slight prick of his fangs. God, that felt…erotic. I giggled again.

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

He picked his head up and looked me right in the eyes. "I won't lie to you, Sookie. I've had sex with women hours after I've met them. I've had sex with women when I didn't know, nor care, what their name was. I have never taken one by force; with my glamour, I haven't needed to. I won't apologize for my life up until I met you this evening. But I promise you, I wasn't lying when I said this was the beginning. Something started between us tonight. I don't know what it is."

I nodded my head. "I know," I said breathless. "I feel so much; it's scary and exciting."

He made me feel beautiful everywhere and that made me brave. I pulled his shirt free and over his head. I had seen men without their shirts before; even seen some naked when Tara and I would hide in the woods while Jason and his friends would go skinny dipping in the creek. I always closed my eyes when Jason came out of the water. Tara didn't. But I knew what the boys around town were carrying.

And they had nothing on Eric.

He looked like he was sculpted with an artist's hands. Smooth and solid, a little cold. I ran my fingers over and over his chest, getting myself acquainted with the terrain. I kissed along his broad shoulders and ran my tongue along his pecks, swirled it around his nipples. My hands ran up and down his washboard stomach.

The way he moved under my fingers made me think he liked it. He hissed in some spots and groaned in others. The more noise he made, the more empowered I felt. The rest of my clothes fell away in a blink of an eye and I was naked beneath him. I blushed furiously as he gazed at me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, drinking in all that God gave me.

"Perfect," he whispered, then leaned forwarded and kissed me. It started out tender, but quickly got heated. My fingers fumbled clumsily for his pants. God, I was such a moron at this. Could I be any more virginal? "You are perfect."

"Lover," he said softly. I melted at his words. That just slid right off his tongue like silk. "You are beautiful." His hand glided from my hip, up over my stomach, rounded my breasts and came to rest on my shoulder. My whole body seemed to calm under his hands. After that, I had no more awkward hand movements.

However, I did have massive concerns when I saw how large he was.

"Oh Eric, I know I don't know much, but are you sure this is going to work?"

I watched wide-eyed as his fangs ran out and he punctured a small hole in his finger, then slowly inserted his finger inside me and swirled it around. My hips moved with his motions. "For the pain," he whispered. "Our blood has special healing agents in it."

My hands slid down the plane of his back, my fingers swirled around his waist as he moved his hand expertly. My hips moved, my eyes slammed shut as the most amazing feeling swelled inside me. My hands fell away from him and grabbed onto the sheets, leaving my body completely open to him. I knew at some point in this experience he was going to bite me and I found myself not caring. I was almost looking forward to it. Was that sick?

I threw my head back and screamed my released. "Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea." I gasped, frantically trying to catch my breath.

"Sookie," Eric's voice was a whisper away and when I opened my eyes, I saw he was perched above me. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I sighed. "I'm probably an idiot for it, but yes."

"Good." He slid into me then, slowly, inch by wonderful inch. I didn't think it was possible that all of him would fit, but when he stopped and whispered, "So sweet," I felt my eyes well up with tears. He was right, there was amazingly no pain. Little aftershocks from my first orgasm shot through me. I was surprised when Eric chuckled a bit. He had yet to move. He seemed content just to be buried inside me.

"And just what the hell is so funny?" I demanded.

"I can feel that." He looked down at me, eyes wide in wonder. All I could think was, 'hey, that's supposed to be my look.' "I can feel little shocks inside you. Sookie, is there anything else you can do?"

"Shock the ever loving shit out of you, it seems."

"Literally."

He moved slowly at first, almost cautiously like he wasn't sure what was going to happen next. That made two of us. I matched his rhythm. I was pretty proud of myself so far for keeping up. Something was happening inside me and it was more than another building orgasm. Each time he kissed me, each time he thrust deep within me, I was being freed more and more. I felt like I could fly. I laughed with the exhilarating feeling of it and Eric smiled down at me. I reached up and tentatively touch his fangs with my fingertips and he gently ran them along my wrist. I wasn't afraid of them now. I wasn't afraid of him either. How could I be afraid of anyone that could make something so beautiful?

He started speaking in a language I didn't understand, over and over. His rhythm sped up. I was shocked and gasped when he bit into his wrist. Wow. But it all made sense when he moved his wrist to my mouth. He didn't have to say anything. I wrapped my lips around the wound and sucked as hard as I could. He groaned. It was sweet and thick. It didn't flow as smoothly as I might have expected. He muttered in that language again. I shouted out as my next orgasm slammed through my body like a freight train. I came so hard I thought for sure I'd bruise somewhere.

He whispered something and then bit into my shoulder. I gasped in surprise, but he was right, it didn't hurt. He drank deeply and my eyes crossed with the pleasure from him. Then I felt his tongue swirl around the puncture site like he was cleaning it up. Finally, he collapsed next to me.

I couldn't move if the house was on fire.

We lay like that entwined, neither moving for a while, until his hand started stroking my side. I turned to face him. He looked perplexed, like he was trying to read Chinese algorithms or something.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Yes. But I just don't care at the moment."

He laughed, then reached down and pulled my comforter over us.

"Eric, that was…more than I ever thought it could be."

"For me, as well."

"How is that possible?" I asked. "I mean, with the experience you must have…"

"I've never had an experience like that. Sookie, there is an energy around you, inside you and it engulfed me. There is something more to you, something powerful. Something that has not been harnessed. It makes me more nervous about the queen."

"Eric, I swear to you, there is nothing else I can do."

"That you know of." He shrugged. He seemed so sure. I was sorry he was going to be disappointed. "How do you feel?"

I laughed and rolled back to face the ceiling, raising my hands above me. "Everything is tingly and so much more clear. I feel warm all over."

"It is the vampire blood." He smiled. "You're high, my beauty. It will level off. You'll notice some physical changes that will last as long as the blood runs through your system. Your hair will be shinier, you'll be stronger, you'll have more energy and your sex drive will probably increase."

"Well, considering I wasn't having sex before tonight, I'd say you were right on there."

"This part is important." He said solemnly. "You must take care of yourself. You must take vitamin B supplements. Eat foods with plenty of protein and iron. I drew blood from you, not a lot, but it won't be the last time. Your body needs to stay strong."

"How did I taste?"

An oddly dreamy look came over his face and that surprised me. "Like I've only ever been drinking sand and just found a lush, undiscovered river. You are the sweetest thing I've ever tasted. I will have to be careful never to take too much from you. I think I could lose control and that scares me."

I found it hard to believe he'd ever be scared of anything, but I planned to do as he instructed. Lots of protein and vitamin supplements; I could do that. I liked that he was planning on coming back. It was possible I just fell in love. I supposed it could be the vampire blood. I had heard that it was the drug of choice these days and there were scums that actually drained vampires for their blood and left them for dead. I shuddered at the thought of that happening to Eric, but then again, I don't think anyone could get the upper hand on him. He seemed very strong to me.

I shimmied up against him and his arm curled around me. He kissed my shoulder and seemed content just to look at me. I knew he wouldn't be there in the morning, but at least I knew why. I pressed a kiss to his chest and drifted off to sleep.

~Eric~

Sookie's eyes drifted closed and I pressed a kiss to her forehead. I was glad she was falling asleep. Half of me wanted to rouse her and have another amazing experience with her, but the half that was winning out wanted to regroup and try to figure out what the fuck just happened.

I almost felt like I had an out of body experience. Sex with her was literally electric. I found myself more and more sure that she was part fae. She had the sweetest blood I'd ever tasted. By the time I drank from her, I wasn't surprised to discover that considering I had literally been shocked by her. Little electrical currents danced from her body into mine. I wanted to feel them again; I wanted to feel them always. A telepathic fairy hybrid.

Fuck.

I was one of the few vampires around that knew that there were still fairy that walked the earth. Vampires were deadly to fairies. They were intoxicating to us. That is why I had to be very, very careful with Sookie. And I needed to tell her. There was a lot I needed to tell her.

I rested my head on my arm and pulled her as close to me as I could get her. I was still reeling from what had happened to me tonight. What had happened to me tonight? I was enamored. I felt her flow through me and seep into all the nooks and crannies. I closed my eyes and let her wash over me. I could feel she was asleep. I felt happy, almost giddy. That was the blood exchange. I tried to imagine how much more amplified this would feel if were fully bonded. Did I want that? There was a lot of responsibility to a person with something like that. First of all, she would be human. She would feel things that Pam did not.

There was a lot going on inside me. Unrest. No doubt Pam and Godric were wondering just what the hell happened to me tonight. It was only a matter of time before Godric summoned me or came to see for himself. That scared the hell out of me. Godric was a gentle soul, but that didn't mean he wouldn't or couldn't hurt her, or worse, order me to hurt her. I would never do so otherwise, but I could not defy a command from my maker. Just as I couldn't enter her house uninvited, I couldn't ignore the will of Godric.

Of course, I couldn't imagine any circumstances that Godric would want to make me suffer in that way. And I would. If something happened to her, by my hand or not, I knew I'd feel great pain. That was the most frightening feeling running through me. I now had a weakness. A big, blonde, delicious, beautiful weakness. How exactly had this happened? How could I come to care about her so quickly? Or was that part of the mysterious magic of her? Was it the fae blood that attracted me so thoroughly?

More to the point, did I care what higher powers were at work here? I felt again; I cared again; I was happy. It couldn't possibly be love but I thought it would be one day. Or maybe it was and I just couldn't recognize it.

What I knew without a doubt was that she was mine and I protected what was mine.

Fiercely.

"Lover," I nudged her gently and she murmured something unintelligible. I smiled at how reluctant she was to rouse out of her blissful slumber. I was willing to wager she wasn't a morning person.

She lifted her head to me and smiled drowsily.

I forgot what I was going to say.

"Let's do that again." Her voice was thick with sleep and sex.

There was another reason I woke her up, wasn't there?

Her hand touched my cheek and it tingled. Her lips pressed to mine and I yielded to her. She pushed me onto my back and climbed above me. Her hair fell down and tickled my face, her luscious breasts dangled right there in front of my eyes.

Yes, this was definitely why I woke her up. Look at her up there, all hot and sexy…

"Bill Compton!" I suddenly remembered and sat up.

"What! Bill Compton?" She yelped, hopped off me and yanked the sheet up to her chin like she was about to find him standing in her bedroom.

"No, lover, sorry." I quickly tried to reassure her. "I only have few hours before dawn; I have to find Bill Compton."

"Cheese and rice, Eric, you scared the shit outta of me." I didn't know what the hell that meant, but my God, I loved that sweet drawl of hers. Her heart was pounding. The sound of it was echoing around in my head like a metronome. Her chest heaved while she tried to regain control of herself. I was drawn in to her breasts again.

What was I saying?

Oh, Bill Compton.

God dammit, she drove me to distraction. She was a seductress! She was sent to me from hell. She had to have been. I just didn't react like this to women, human or otherwise and I was operating under the impression this one was an otherwise.

"Are you working tonight?" I asked her.

"No," she shook her head.

"Come to Fangtasia at dusk." I ordered.

"Why?"

Why? So I can fuck you blind again, that's why.

"There are things I need to talk to you about." I said instead. "There are things you need to see. I need to start exposing you to my world and I want the vampires in the area to know you. I want them to understand you are mine and not to be harmed."

"What makes you think they'll listen to you just like that?"

"I am sheriff."

"So?"

"If one of them harms one hair on your head, Sookie, I will give them the final death. That is what being sheriff means."

Her heart rate sped up again and she licked her lips then smiled. "Are you the Godfather?"

"I'm something a lot like it."

"Eric, you can't kill everyone who hurts me." She whispered as the enormity of being mine began to sink in.

I looked her straight in the eye and glared. "Watch me."

"Eric!"

"Remember when I said some things were unforgivable?" I asked and she nodded her head quickly. "That is one of them. The vampires in my area are sworn to me. There are about to be several laws put into place concerning you." Her smile got bigger, but I don't think it was because she liked what she was hearing. "If a vampire hurts you, Sookie, they will be staked for it."

"What if someone just pisses me off?"

She really was adorable. "Well, somehow I do not think you would let me kill them for that, though I would, you know." She shook her head frantically, deflating some of my fun. "Believe me, lover, people are about to be a lot nicer to you." Because if they weren't, they'd experience many unpleasant things.

My phone began to ring again, and this time I fished it out of my pants pocket. It was Pam, of course. I wedged the phone between my shoulder and ear and began to get dressed.

"What?" I greeted.

"Bill Compton is here."

"Has he left tonight?"

"Yes, but he's back here now."

"Keep him there."

"Any suggestions on how?" She purred into the phone.

"By any means necessary, of course." I pulled the phone away from my ear as she screamed in glee.

"Where are you anyway?" She demanded.

"I'll be there momentarily."

"Are you with the girl? Still?"

I didn't respond; I simply hung up and slid the phone into my pocket. Sookie's eyes had stayed on me as I moved around the room. I looked down at her and trailed my fingers down her cheek. This one was trouble and I was looking forward to it. I was excited again. I had reason to feel again.

Her eyes were wide as she watched me return to the bed, now fully clothed and prepared to leave to go meet Bill Compton. "I will never hurt you." I said firmly. When her eyes were locked with mine and I was sure she understood, I said, "Ever. As long as my power is my own, that is my vow." I knew she didn't understand what that meant and I would have to explain it to her, along with a vast many things. "Fangtasia, at dusk." I instructed again. "My dayperson will contact you with the directions."

"All right." She nodded. "What do I wear?"

God, she was sweet. "Whatever you want?"

"I am positive I don't have anything appropriate for a vampire bar."

"Doesn't matter." I shrugged. And it really didn't. I didn't want her to be fake in any way. She was who she was and I didn't want her to compromise anything because of any expectations she thought I had for her.

I was reluctant to leave her. Soon the time would come when I wouldn't have to, but I gave her my protection and promised her I would talk to Bill Compton tonight. She gave me her trust, among a great many other things.

I pulled her face to me and crushed her lips to mine, sinking my hands into her hair, which was delightfully disheveled already. Her hands slid up to my chest and when she started to climb onto me, I stepped reluctantly back. She could really make a vampire forget his responsibilities.

I gave her one last kiss and then dove out her window. I did open and close it again, but to her it probably looked like I just slipped through it.

The flight back to Fangtasia didn't take long. It gave me the chance to clear my head. Or it should have anyway, but when I touched down outside Fangtasia, I was still all twisted up inside. I landed at the front door instead of the employee entrance. I was the only vampire in the area that could fly, one of the very few in Louisiana, so the tourists loved it. I straightened my shirt for the pictures and strolled by the vampire working the door.

"Master," he welcomed with an incline of his head. Pam was on me as soon as I walked into the bar.

"Eric, what the hell happened to you tonight?"

"I'm not entirely sure." I admitted. She followed me behind the bar, where Long Shadow gave me a bottle of blood, and then right out the other side.

"How are things here tonight?" I looked around the room for anyone out of place or suspicious. It was the same faces, some new humans though and a pair of Weres, but they didn't concern me. We knew them.

"You said you found the girl." Pam crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at me. I gestured her to follow me in the office. She closed the door behind us, put her hand on his hips and glared.

"Something happened to me tonight, Pam."

"No fucking kidding!" she snapped. "You were all over the map. Eric, I swear to God, if I didn't know better I would have thought -" She cut herself off and cocked her head to one side. "Wow."

"I don't understand it myself."

"Tell me about her?" She asked sitting down on the couch.

"Well, she's very beautiful."

"Would I like her?"

"Yes, but she's mine."

"Of course." Pam pouted, but gestured for me to continue.

"She's a telepath and I'm almost positive part-fairy."

Pam gaped at me, but recovered after a few moments. "That must be why the queen wants her."

"I don't think the queen knows she's part fae. Sookie doesn't know she's part-fae. But her father carried the Brigant name and she certainly tastes like there is a trace of fae."

"You've had her already? Thank God, I was worried. But here you are, operating at your normal speed."

"Do not write her off like that." I snapped. The strength of my order shocked her and she immediately nodded. "Is our guest still here?"

"He's downstairs. Not enjoying my hospitality."

"What a shock. Let's go see what he has to say." We rose and crossed the office. I stopped her at the door.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, but it wasn't necessary. "She…matters. I still don't know what happened tonight and its confusing…and irritating."

A bloody tear escaped Pam's eye and she quickly brushed it away. Pam didn't like me to see her any way other than a cold-hearted bitch, but I still knew better. "Oh no, master. It's very obvious what happened tonight."