A look inside Eric's head as he and Sookie dance together in Rhodes. Not canon.
This scene came to me when I was listening to Lee Brice's "I Don't Dance". It's a truly lovely song written as a wedding gift to his wife. I seriously suggest having a listen as you read.
As always, I don't own these characters. I just like to play with them. Charlaine Harris owns all rights.
I don't dance, but here I am, spinning you round and around in circles
It ain't my style, but I don't care
I'd do anything with you, anywhere
Yeah, you got me in the palm of your hand, girl
The simple purity of her joy was plain to see on her wonderfully expressive face. Her beauty was staggering this evening; the exquisite ice blue dress she wore shimmered with tiny white and silver crystals, each catching the light from the ballroom's chandeliers. She looked perfect, every aspect of her wardrobe and makeup giving her the appearance of the fairy princess she was, right down to the matching silver and white earrings brushing delicately across her graceful neck, just above her rapidly beating pulse point. I'd never seen her attired in such finery, but then again, I doubted she'd ever had the opportunity to attend such an event.
My hands found purchase at her slender waist and gripped as we spun circles around the dance floor. Finding the right opportunity, I spun her quickly up into the air, throwing her as high above me as I dared. The peals of laughter spilling from her lips alerted the other dancers to her joy, but I needed no such announcement. Her amazement and joy bubbled effervescently in my blood, dancing and popping like the miniature bubbles in a champagne flute. To my surprise, even though I'd never desired such a permanent bond before, I found I liked feeling her presence in my blood. It was a heady, addictive sensation. I truly hoped, as I'd suggested after our impromptu blood-sharing earlier, she would learn to like the sensation, too.
I always thought I would never settle down; I'd privately scoffed at those who did and rolled my eyes at their protestations of love and commitment. I just wasn't that kind of guy. The appeal was lost on me. Love was a human construct I did not understand or believe in. Love, the way those proclaiming themselves to be in love described it, had never come my way. It wasn't something I ever gave any thought to, most likely because it was not something I yearned for. Everything I ever learned, everything I ever witnessed, told me love was a seething cauldron of irrational emotion constantly threatening to boil over. It was a weakness I could barely comprehend, let alone tolerate.
You could ask anyone who knows me; after laughing in your face, all would confirm the truth of my existence: I just wasn't the kind of guy to settle down, much less fall in love. Should you ask, however, those same people would likely confirm another truth for you. I don't dance. I can dance and dance well, but it not something I am often seen doing in public. But yet, here I am, spinning round and around in circles. It's really not my style, but I find I just don't care. For the girl in my arms, I'd do anything she wanted, anywhere she wanted.
Simply put, Sookie Stackhouse had me in the palm of her hand. My beautiful, lively dance partner possessed a fiery spirit and tender heart, but more importantly, she now possessed enough of my blood to tie her to me forever. Without missing a step, I caught her securely as she fell back to earth. I took one look at her delighted expression and swung her round in a wide circle before launching her again into the air above. Her long golden curls flared wildly about her laughing face, just as her skirt billowed out into a silvery bell about her well formed legs. Her laughter could be heard above the music and others dancers paused mid-step to stare up at the stunning spectacle she presented.
As the floor cleared around us, I repeated the cycle of catch, spin and toss until I made the final catch, pulling the breathlessly laughing telepath into my arms for one last spin around the dance floor. With the final notes of the song coming to an end, I twirled her into a tight circle before dipping her down until her curls brushed the polished floor. Her chest was heaving with effort as I pulled her upright, cradling her in my arms as she regained her equilibrium. Those beautiful, bountiful breasts I wished I could remember more of quivered as she laughed once more.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed happily, her eyes rising to the airspace she'd recently occupied. "I honestly felt like I was flying up there. Thank you so much."
"You are welcome, little one," I could no more prevent myself from smiling down on her than I could forgo blood. Perhaps it was the newly formed bond at work, but I desired nothing more than to stay in such close proximity to the elusive beauty in my arms. "Perhaps you might like to really fly some evening. I could take you, if you like."
Her wide blue eyes crinkled just a little in the corners as she gave me a brilliant, genuine smile. It was a look I could truly learn to appreciate, I thought.
"I don't know how I could forget something like that, but I do forget you can really fly," she confided. "I would love to try it sometime. I'm sure I'd be scared to death, but it must feel so good up there." Her wistful expression made me realize once more how little fun and excitement she'd experienced. For one so full of life, it was unthinkable.
"It can be arranged," I told her, reaching out to smooth an errant lock of hair until it lay smoothly behind her ear. I knew all eyes were still on us, but I simply didn't give a fuck. Barring the times I cannot remember, this was the most perfect moment I'd ever experienced with Sookie and I was damned if I was going to let anything spoil it. "I will call you when we return to Area Five."
"I'd really like that," she replied, giving me a thoughtful look. Her plump bottom lip twisted as her small, white teeth dragged at the lower right corner. It looked as if she had something to say, but the moment passed silently.
"Would you like to dance again?" I asked. Disappointment wafted through me with every small shake of her head.
"I was about to visit the loo," she explained. "Perhaps a raincheck?"
"The night is young," I conceded with a smile. "Perhaps we will see each other again."
Rosy, full lips twisted upward as she smiled and nodded. Turning away, she walked confidently through the crowd, her head held high. Again, I was struck by her royal bearing this evening. Was it her designer ensemble truly creating an optical illusion, or was it the newly formed bond prodding me to see what always lay before my eyes? My internal debate continued as I watched her weave through the crowd, but I decided it really didn't matter. It was simply further confirmation of what I already suspected.
Sookie Stackhouse was my destiny. She may not know or be ready to accept it, but I was certain. What happened between us in January may be a mystery to me in fact, but in theory, all the blanks had long since been filled in. Pam had told me all she knew; as unbelievable as so much of it was, her revelations settled around me, at first feeling like burden and responsibility but becoming more like a warm, familiar cloak with every passing night.
Staying near the outer edge of the crowd - the hangers on at the periphery were far less likely to waylay me than the political, power mad vampires congregating in the middle of the room - I kept a close eye on the washroom door Sookie disappeared behind. Our paths would cross once more; I would make certain they did. What lay dormant between us for so long was now impossible to ignore. The blood would not permit me to lie to her, or myself, any longer.
From my vantage point leaning against the fake velvet drapes covering the stark white walls of the Pyramid's ballroom, I easily tracked the telepath as she exited the washroom and wandered through the crowd, my blood assisting me as I periodically lost sight of her diminutive form in the masses crowding the large room. It was more than the selfish desire to hold her in my arms once more; there was much she needed to know about what the blood exchanged truly represented. Knowing her as I did, I was sure she assumed it to be a quick fix applied to a difficult situation, probably assuming it would fade and become nothing more than a memory. It was imperative she understand the larger implications, not just for herself, but for me, and by extension, Pam and all the other vampires in my retinue. The involvement with the were-tiger was a prime example.
The situation with him had been a thorn in my side since it's inception. Humbling was the best word to describe how it felt to pretend to the world at large that I didn't care she was fucking someone else. I swallowed my pride and acted as if I didn't fucking care John Quinn was sampling all I was denied. If he was what she wanted, I could stand aside and let her be happy. I thought I might be able to do that for her. But that all changed when those ruby lips closed over the wound in my chest and drank deeply of the blood which ties us together. As she pulled away from me, her lips stained crimson with my blood, it was too late. Our futures irrevocably changed in that moment, our fates inextricably linked for all of time.
My searching gaze found her, just a brilliant flash of sparkling silver and white as she moved fluidly across the dance floor with a new partner. Straightening, I casually made my way closer until I could identify the man she was with. I wasn't surprised to see the hotel bellboy - what the hell was his name? Billy? Bobby? No, Barry it was. Barry the Bellboy. - squiring her around the floor, but I was surprised by the dance moves exhibited by the normally demure telepath. My eyes widened as I watched her shimmy and shake to the beat of the music. She was an impeccable dancer, every muscle moving in time with the song playing. The same crowd who'd watched us dance was now watching Sookie shake her wares with yet another man. How many of the were thinking, as I was, of the tiger currently occupying space in the hotel infirmary? Did they wonder, as I did, whether the voluptuous Ms. Stackhouse would return to the tiger before the end of the evening? Or were their thoughts decidedly darker, wondering perhaps if the telepath were perhaps available, considering how she cavorted with other men, myself included, as her boyfriend lay wounded in bed?
No, this conversation must happen, and quickly. Nothing would be accomplished leaving her in the dark; the Sookie I knew would function more efficiently with the right information. Knowledge was power, after all, and power was everything in my world. Connecting the dots for her may well be necessary, but I was confident she would see the larger picture once armed with the knowledge she needed.
That was my hope. I had faith in Sookie, even without all of my memories being intact. The time we had together had been special, even I knew that. Love, that elusive, human construct I'd fought so hard against, had found a welcoming home between us during that time period. She'd loved me, of that I was certain. Her feelings had not gone unrequited, either. I was sure I had fallen just as much in love with the telepath, or as much as I had been able to. Love may be a foreign concept to me, but the simple, uncomplicated part of me who'd stayed with her had loved her.
Love was what kept me from her doorstep all of these long weeks since the curse was broken. Confusion may have played an immediate role - Why would I have automatically assumed love when I woke to find myself memory deficient and in Sookie's house? She had never given me the time of day before. - but it had been the persistent emotional turmoil I experienced which kept me from her side.
My absence had been a costly error. Perhaps it had been my innate unwillingness to let go of the arrogance of an incredibly long life, but it had not occurred to me she would find another to love in my absence. By the time the tiger had infiltrated himself into her life, I recognized my own feelings and my own shortcomings, but it had been too late to confess my love at that juncture, even if I thought she might feel the same way.
Now, it was too late to consider the tiger, or her feelings for him. Seven minutes inside a dimly lit hallway had seen to that problem, even as it created larger issues to conquer. An understanding would have to be reached lest the Queen or even worse, Andre, should notice something was amiss. I'd bold-faced lied to my Queen's second in command when he asked me about the telepath's ability to heel. The simple fact of the matter was Sookie Stackhouse did not heel for anyone, least of all me. It was a little white lie told under duress, but it was one I knew could come back to bite me in the ass should they realize that not only do I not have control over the telepath, I was unable to even make her appear to be happily at my side, rather than the tiger's.
The current song ended and I watched through hooded eyes as Sookie laughed and spoke with her new friend before he turned and headed into the throngs lining the dance floor on the far side. Unexpected anger rose through me as I contemplated the situation we were in. Logically, I fully accepted this was none of her doing, but the anger persisted regardless. It wasn't even her I was mad with, but I found myself moving, my feet carrying me relentlessly toward her.
Likely feeling the force of my seething glare, the telepath gave a glance over her left shoulder before her nervous gaze flickered to mine. Wide, innocent blue eyes met mine and a small smile crossed her face as she held my gaze. The anger building in my veins ebbed away, flowing like a river into a stream. Relief rushed into the wake, filling me with a sense of calm and clear-headedness. Losing my temper, and my mind, would only alienate her further.
My feet stopped moving and I simply stood in the middle of the ballroom and locked eyes with the enchanting, infuriating woman I loved. The world did not stop as we did and vampires and humans alike moved and danced around us, filling the thirty foot gap between us with life. Sookie and I remained as still as statues, our entire focus on each other. Moments passed seamlessly into minutes as we regarded one another. I felt weighed, measured and appraised in those minutes, but the silent approval in her eyes gave me hope. Her smile widened further and I could almost feel her decision to finally direct her delicately shod feet in my direction.
The fates, however, once again dictated this was not to be our time. The welcoming smile I wore disappeared as the professional dancer we'd watched perform earlier in the evening appeared by her side and immediately swept her into a dance. I watched for a moment, feeling the acidic jealousy burn a hole in my stomach. Casually, I again wandered through the crowd, my movements appearing aimless until I found the perfect spot to watch the dance floor, and Sookie.
"Quite a show you put on earlier." Pam appeared at my side, speaking softly in Swedish. "She's really quite beautiful. You make quite a striking couple."
"She is a unique beauty," I agreed easily.
"If you didn't mean to announce your attachment to the entire Clan, you need to do some major damage control. All eyes were on you."
"The blood cannot lie, Pamela. She is mine." I shrugged, my eyes still trained on the graceful couple on the dance floor. Sookie easily kept up with the professional dancer, her steps light and fluid. "Everyone will know it sooner or later."
"And what of the tiger?" Pam's derisive tone spoke volumes. Her respect for that relationship was as genuine as my own. "What will you do?"
"I'm going to give you a great gift, my child." A dark smiled appeared on my face as I looked away from the beguiling telepath and into the expectant eyes of my loyal progeny. "You're going on safari."
The End.