A/N: Not gonna lie, felt a little sad about the drop-off in reviews for the last chapter. Especially with the mini-cliffie I left the that chapter on. I'll live. A whooooooooooole lot gets explained in this chapter. Please remember I'm trying to keep this Eric as canon as possible and I in no way think he was celibate while he waited for Sookie to come to her senses. Charlaine built the dollhouse, I'm just dressing her dolls the way I want them to look.
"Sookie, I told you from the beginning. You can trust me. I don't want any harm to come to you."
"Can you do one more thing for me?" Her neck and cheeks started to turn that amazing shade of pink yet again.
"I will do everything I can for you. You need only ask." I was truly curious as to what she wanted. Her emotions we flaring too fast for me to get a read on a single one.
"Will you kiss me?" she asked.
x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
I looked directly into her stormy blue eyes, wishing, not for the first time, that I could hear her thoughts. "Why do you want me to kiss you, Sookie?"
She sighed and began absentmindedly playing with her hair. "I don't know. I saw and heard all the thoughts and fantasies at the bar tonight. Something about them, and you, push on my brain like I should remember something. I've been trying so hard to recall anything that my head hurts! Maybe if you kiss me, something will click."
I was a little let down that it wasn't an all-consuming attraction to me that prompted her request, but if she thought that it would help her remember anything, then it would be careless of me to deny her. Every other time I had kissed her had been hasty, passionate, and in the heat of some very dangerous moments. Vampires are normally not big on kissing for more than a means to an end. This would be different, as I knew Sookie had no intentions of going beyond a kiss.
I leaned down to gently cup her face, enjoying the way her eyes widened and her pupils dilated slightly. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, making me smile. I could feel her heart rate increase as her cheeks and neck blushed the deep pink I was becoming more and more fond of. I leaned in closer to her. "Are you sure you want me to do this?" I asked, needing to know she was comfortable with me.
She reached up and laced her fingers behind my neck. "Something about this seems so familiar," she whispered. "It feels like I've done this before. When you said we'd come close..."
"You and I have been very, very close," I said, lowering my voice to match hers. I leaned in an brushed her right cheek lightly with my lips. "You have been in my arms many times," I whispered, brushing her other cheek. "If anything about this feels familiar to you, it should be this," I breathed against her ear before pressing my lips to hers. She gasped, her breath shaky, and pulled away just enough to break the kiss. I leaned down again, but nothing else. If she wanted more, she would have to make the move.
She didn't disappoint. She stood on her toes while pulling down on the back of my neck. She nipped at my lower lip before sucking it between her teeth. After letting it go, she fully kissed me, threading her fingers into my hair. I felt a strange mix of frustration and arousal coming from her before she removed her arms from around me and leaned back.
"As nice as that was, the only thing I know now that I didn't before is that you used a thousand years of kissing experience to your advantage. But I still don't remember anything about my life before last night. Thank you for letting me test my theory, even though it failed," she said, sounding defeated.
"Sookie, anytime you want to test a theory like that, please consider me your personal guinea pig," I growled, fighting to keep from claiming her right then. "I'm sorry you don't remember anything new, but we have many other avenues to pursue before we lose hope."
She looked up at me shyly. "Would you mind laying with me again until I go to sleep again? I know it's strange, considering it feels like I've only known you for a day, but I feel so safe with you. Thank you for helping me Eric."
I nodded silently and followed her to the guest room. If I told her the things her kiss had made me want, I doubt she would have felt safe and she definitely would not have invited me to her bed. She may not have had the centuries of experience that I did, but she could absolutely hold her own. I bit back the carnal delights that she brought to my mind and focused on her comfort so she could sleep. The night had been hard on her.
She slid under the comforter and positioned herself on her side. I laid behind her again, spooning her body to mine. Again, she pulled my arm over her and held my hand as she snuggled against my body. I choked back the groan that threatened to escape when her ass innocently wiggled against my dick as she sought a comfortable position. She brought my hand to her lips. "Thank you so much," she mumbled as she placed small kisses over my knuckles. She suddenly turned onto her back and looked up at me.
"You have done so much for me, inconvenienced yourself in so many ways. I want to do something for you."
I felt my eyes widen in surprise. "You don't need to do anything for me," I told her, wondering what she would offer and how hard it would be for me to turn down.
"I know that if you hadn't been caring for me the past two nights, you would have something more satisfying than the True Bloods. If I let you bite me, does it hurt?"
Shit. There was only one other thing she could have offered me that would have been harder to resist than that. The taste of her blood was now seared into my memory and I wanted more. I didn't have the willpower to resist her offer, but she deserved to know what went with a blood donation to a vampire.
"Sookie, when a vampire bites, other... hungers become more pronounced. Feeding and sex are very closely intertwined. While I would love to taste your blood again, it would hard to resist the other urges."
She bit her lip, looking indecisive. "Hard, but not impossible?"
"No, not impossible. But..." I paused. For the first time ever, it felt like I was trying to talk a beautiful woman out of giving me her blood. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Eric, I want to give you something for all you have done for me. Let me do this for you." She gathered her hair at the nape of her neck and pulled it to the side, tilting her head and baring her neck to me.
I was fucked. At that sight alone, my fangs dropped and she gasped, seeing them for the first time. She reached up and ran a finger over one, making me moan. "Does it hurt?"
"No more than a bee sting, and it can be quite pleasurable under the right circumstances with the right vampire. I promise to be gentle. Thank you for this."
I leaned over her and nuzzled her neck. The smell of her hair and skin made me slightly dizzy. Finding the vein, I licked and kissed the spot, preparing her for the bite. She gasped slightly as my fangs entered her skin and the exotic taste of her blood flooded my mouth. I kept my fingers on her pulse point on the other side of her neck, not trusting myself to not get lost in the pleasure that was her blood. After a few mouthfuls, I withdrew, licking the wounds until they stopped bleeding. I pricked my finger with a fang to smear blood over the puncture marks to heal them completely. I tried to will away the rock hard erection in my pants, but that wasn't going away on its own as long as the taste of her lingered on my tongue.
"Sookie," I started, my voice heavy with lust that I couldn't keep away, "you have given me a great gift. Thank you again."
"Please don't thank me anymore. It's only fair to compensate you for losing out on feeding by giving you my blood. If we keep doing this dance of me thanking you and you thanking me, we'll never get anything done." She smiled at me as she resettled on her side.
I wanted more than anything to give into my other urges, but, with her, I couldn't. Not while she was so innocently trusting. Unaware and naïve of the world that I had brought her into when I picked her up on the road. I knew she was the same feisty Sookie that I had wanted to claim from the first time that moron Compton had brought her into my bar, but she was so different in so many ways. I had to remind myself constantly that, while she was the same person in the same body, she was learning the rules all over again.
Soon, her deep, even breathing gave away that she was asleep. I removed my hand from her grasp, left the room, and paced the main floor in irritation. Making a spur-of-the moment decision, I left the house and flew back to Fangtasia right before last call. Finding a willing woman there was ridiculously easy, and I had to release the buildup of sexual frustration that had been growing. I wasn't biding my time chastely while I waited for Sookie to yield to me. The slender blonde that was chatting with Chow at the bar would fill the fantasy role perfectly. Catching the eye of my bartender, I flicked my eyes toward her and he retreated from the conversation to give me time to approach.
With very little small talk, I took Amanda to my office, bent her over my desk, and fucked her until I could see straight again. Before releasing her, I glamored her to think she had a fun evening dancing with her friends, but didn't want to return to Fangtasia. I felt disgusted with myself for an unknown reason, which became worse when I saw Pam's knowing smirk.
"I was wondering how long you were going to hold out, Eric. She was pretty, but not of the caliber of the tasty little morsel you have at your home. You know, she would give herself to you with very little coaxing in the state she is in now," she said.
"Pamela," I said, a warning tone in my voice. "I have never forced a woman, and taking in Sookie in this condition would be akin to that."
"Like hell it would," she reasoned. "It would be working the advantages to your benefit. You wouldn't be forcing her."
It was hard to explain to my child, but this Sookie was more appealing than she usually was, not having her stubborn streak keeping her from me. At the same time, she wasn't the same Sookie that I wanted so voraciously that I couldn't stay away from her. It was hard to comprehend for me, who had never wanted something that I couldn't take by force or have handed to me. I bid another good night to Pam before flying home.
I landed in my yard, preparing to let myself into the house, when I froze, hearing footsteps approach from the woods. My fangs dropped and instantly took a defensive crouch. "Show yourself," I growled in the direction of the sound.
"Calm yourself, Northman. I mean no harm," a deep, familiar voice replied, getting closer. "Put those fangs away, first."
I rose from my crouch, but did not retract my fangs. The footsteps paused. "I don't have my father's masking ability. I will not come any closer. I need to speak with you about the woman in your charge."
I knew that voice. It had been a long time since I had heard it, and it was taking a moment to place a name. I sniffed the breeze that had blown from that direction. "Fairy," I moaned, and stalked the scent.
"Freeze, vampire. I have information you need about Sookie and I am the only one who can give it to you. Come closer and I am gone."
I wanted the fairy. I wanted to drain his delicious blood. Never mind that it would probably result in me raping and draining Sookie in the following intoxication. I wanted him. I stalked closer.
"Fuck," the man groaned and I heard the pop of him disappearing. With the delicious scent gone, my mind cleared and my fangs retracted as I tried to recall what he had said. What would a fairy know about Sookie?
"If you're still here and can stay upwind, I'm prepared to hear what you have to say," feeling slightly ridiculous calling to the darkness, hoping the fairy had the sense to keep his scent away from me if he wanted to talk to me. I heard another pop from the other side of the property and turned, hoping the wind didn't shift.
"I need to give you some information about Sookie and why she may have been attacked. I'm taking a large risk coming here, Northman. I hope you can appreciate that once I tell you."
"I know your voice. Some closer," I called. My night vision was excellent, as it is for all vampires, but something was cloaking him from my sight. I saw a shimmer like a mirage in the air, and a man I hadn't seen in centuries appeared before me.
"Fintan? I haven't seen you in this realm in about three hundred years. What about Sookie calls you to the home of a vampire from the land of the Fae?" I asked calmly, since his scent was blowing away from me.
"I need to tell you why she was attacked."
"I'm all ears. Anything that can help her would be appreciated." I told him honestly.
He sniffed as the breeze blew toward him. "You fed on her?" he asked, anger flavoring his voice.
"She willingly donated. Don't change the subject. What do you know about Sookie?" I demanded.
"The witches were making demands on her shifter employer and caught her scent. They followed her to her home after she left, where she would be isolated and unprotected. They could tell what she was and they wanted her magic. It was only by chance that I was able to extract her before their spell to pull it out of her was complete. It was coincidence that you were the one to find her."
"What is she?" I asked, knowing those fucking witches had had something to do with this.
Fintan chuckled, surprised. "Really, Vampire? You don't know? And here I thought that was the reason my sweet grand-daughter had you so captivated."
Never let it be said that a creature over a thousand years old cannot be surprised. "Your grand-daughter!" I exclaimed. She was part Fairy. That explained the scent, the taste, everything.
"She and her brother," he said, rolling his eyes at the mention of Jason, "are both one eighth fairy, but she was the one that got the essential spark of our kind. Jason only has the ability to attract lovers, much like my twin."
I was stunned that I hadn't picked up on the fae in her earlier and felt disappointed in myself for missing it. "So by removing her from the witches, you saved her life, but removed her memory. Am I summarizing that correctly?"
"That is the abridged version, but is accurate. I tell you this for a reason. I am hiding her from Niall for her own protection. It is dangerous for me to spend time on your property for my own safety; you need to protect her in my absence," he said, alarming me with the urgency in his voice.
"What does Niall have to do with this? Surely he knows of her," I said. The prince would have made it a priority to know any of his kin with the spark.
"Of course he knows of her. But I have been hiding her from him. Rogan went to the Summerland. Now Breandan has free reign and wants to cleanse both realms of part-breeds, and if Niall gets near her, she will be marked. The last thing he should do if he wants to keep her safe is meet her. But my father feels himself above such restrictions. To keep her safe, I have hidden her from him and myself from her."
"You realize that you have made this entirely more complicated than it needs to be. Take the fucker out," I said, feeling fury at any creature posing a threat to Sookie.
"He's a prince, Viking. He has several like-minded fairies on his side, feeling that the race should be pure again. I myself am at risk. He also has Neave and Lochlan working to... convince those not willing to choose a side."
I shuddered unwillingly. I had only heard of the siblings that specialized in torture and knew that, even for the fierce, blood-thirsty race that are Fairies, they were fearsome. A powerful catalyst for someone undecided to pick a side.
"Well, thank you for the knowledge. How can it be fixed?" I asked, irritated that the steaming pile of shit that was this entire situation was dropped on my doorstep.
He grimaced. "I'm working on that. Not only does she need to be hidden from Breandan and Niall as well as Neave and Lochlan, but also from the witches that are surely still looking for her. Protect her, Viking. You will be generously rewarded for your assistance."
I took a step toward him, my fangs dropping down again. "I need no reward from you for taking care of Sookie. I was protecting her before you popped here tonight to tell me about this Tinkerbell clusterfuck that your realm has going on. The information helps, but I am doing this for her, not you."
"Keep doing it. You are a worthy adversary, Northman. You are uniquely capable of protecting the 'danger magnet' that is my grand-daughter. Now you know who and what to look out for."
And with that, the loud pop signified that he was done with the conversation echoed across the property. I entered the house, making sure the locks reset behind me. I had felt dawn's pull while I was outside and barely made it to my basement resting place before sunrise pulled me under.
A/N: So. I hope this helped explain a little of what happened. Not really much more to say than that. I assure everyone that I have NOT given up on "Angel Wings" or "What The Hell", but, thanks to Evy kicking my butt wanting more vamp!Eric, I'm kinda grooving on this one for a little while. I am AMAZED by the favorite and alert notices that have been flooding my email lately, but the reviews make me swoon. Work sucks lately, so make me happy by letting me know whatcha think about how I fill my breaks (writing this).