Chapter 4
I woke in the morning berating myself for falling asleep on Eric last night. We hadn't had time together in ages and I go and flake out. I got up and put on my beautiful robe Eric had brought me and within minutes I was sitting in the porch swing with my morning cup of coffee enjoying the hazy sunshine that managed to break through the trees. I was remembering last night. I didn't expect to see Eric for a while but he had come over. We didn't really talk as much as I would have liked to, I still didn't know exactly what was going on but I was happy that I got to see for myself he was ok. Whatever it was it must be big for him to have Bubba watching me and to have been so worried that he came all the way from Shreveport to check on me. Now my happy mood was quickly turning sour. What could be the problem now? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Victor. He's the only real problem at the moment that would have Eric so concerned. Am I in danger again? Is Eric in danger? I really wished we could have gotten Appius to sort our Victor problem but that was not meant to be. He needed to be dealt with but how? Did De Castro know what Victor was up to? Was Victor getting his orders from the king or going renegade? There were so many variables I did not know. Going round and round in circles was starting to make my head hurt.
"Sookie?... Hey Sookie?"
"Huh" I started and turned to the voice calling me. It was Alcide. He was jumping down from his truck and walking over toward the front steps. I must have been so caught up in my thinking I didn't even hear him come down the drive. Oh no, Alcide only visited when he wanted something and it usually never ended well for me. I was sat here in just my house coat as Eric had put me to bed last night naked (of course), Alcide no doubt would be able to tell I was naked underneath and that made me very self conscious.
"Oh hey Alcide, sorry I was a million miles away. What can I do you for?" I tried to calm myself and smile in welcome but I knew it was a little off by the concerned look on Alcide's face.
"Just thought I'd check up on the pack Sharman, see how you were doing?" He bounded up the porch steps and came and sat by me making the swing jiggle and my coffee slop over the edge of the cup. "Sorry Sook." He said and tried to settle the swing by planting his feet firmly and holding still. It worked but I now had a coffee stain all down my front. Thank god making the fabric wet didn't make it see-through.
"You do realise that was a onetime deal, I don't mind helping if I can but I really don't need to be dragged deeper into pack life. I have my own problems. You need to find a permanent Sharman." I tried to keep my tone even. I wanted to be firm but not rude.
"You're the best we've ever had. Sure I can't convince you to keep the title?" The hopefulness in his tone was hard to resist but there was too much in my life already.
"Alcide, I'm not a pack member, I'm not even a Were, there must be someone else who could do it?" I tried not to whine, I didn't want to come across as an ungrateful child but I also knew I didn't want this responsibility either.
"Sookie please think about it. Don't say yes or no yet, just take some time to really think it through. That's all I ask, that's not too much, is it?" The way he spoke implied I owed him this favour. I owed Alcide nothing! He was treading very thin ice with me. If he is not careful he is going to push me to my limit. There is only so far a friendship can stretch.
"I will think it over, but I give you no promises but I would ask you to make a promise, can you do that?" I was being very careful what I said, I had learned enough of the supe world to know little slip up's in terminology could be used against you later.
"That's all I ask, what do you want from me?" I got a clear thought then, he thought if I asked for something I would owe him and he would be in a better position to persuade me to take on the role of Sharman. It wasn't so much and what he thought but how he thought. There was an undertone of scheming that I had never picked up from Alcide before. Maybe being Pack Master forced this new development. Men in power have to play their cards close to their chest and that meant a certain level of conniving.
"All I ask is that you respect my decision, no matter what that is. Can you promise me that?" There you go... deal with that Alcide. I liked him really but he had a bad habit of trying to use me. The stupid thing is that I would have done all the things that he had me do in the past willingly if he had asked straight out but he always seemed to hide the truth then dump me in situations that were impossible to get out of without doing what he wanted.
"I suppose that is only fair." There was a deflation in his stance and I must admit it made me smug to think I was finally gaining the upper hand with this particular pack master. I finally had enough knowledge to be able to deal with supe's and not always come out on the bottom.
"I'll leave you to your morning, Let me know soon Sook." He jumped the steps and landed on the gravel and jogged back to his truck.
"Oh, Alcide is Annabelle ok?" I knew it should have been one of the first things I asked, but so much had happened after the pack meeting it felt like a lifetime ago.
His face got serious and it had me worried, I was sure he would get his way and she wouldn't be killed but maybe I was wrong, maybe Jannalynn had persuaded him otherwise. "She is serving her punishment." He said it in such a flat voice, there was no opening to ask further questions. He jumped in his truck. I waved as he went down the drive and out of sight. I wandered back into the kitchen and saw my phone flashing on the counter. I flipped it open to see I had a text from Eric.
My sleeping beauty, I would like to spend some time with you and noticed on the calendar you have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. Would you like to go away with me? E
My heart was racing ten to the dozen, how could he have this affect on me when he wasn't even awake! I stood daydreaming where we could go in 3 days, nowhere to cold as it was not enough time to go to far, I don't think Eric would want to go anywhere to hot either. In all honesty if we were spending 3 uninterrupted days together I didn't really care where... I shook myself and started toward the bedroom to get dressed ready for work.
Before I left I replied to Eric's text.
Couldn't think of anything better to do with my time off... S
At least he asked and not tried to order me. I was surrounded by strong men in authority who are used to getting their own way. I was worried about the pack but I was trying to play it down as I didn't really want to be dragged into their politics, it was bad enough with the vampires.
Work was slow but at least I didn't have to face Sam, he was out on a date with Jannalynn. Kennedy and I managed to get the all the glasses and even most of the bottles behind the bar clean. We were both in a silly mood and were giggling like school girls when Bill walked in. He stopped short in the doorway and nodded to me and went to a booth in my section. I wondered where Judith was. I hoped they were getting on well, Judith seemed genuinely pleased to reconnect with Bill and from Bills note I thought the feeling was returned. He had written she was to stay for a week or two, maybe she was running errands?
"Hi Bill, what can I get you?" I smiled a genuine smile as I was glad he was clearly on the mend.
"True blood O neg Please, Sookie, have you seen Eric?" I could tell he was trying to be nonchalant but he wasn't fooling me.
"Yes, Last night. Why do you ask? Do you need to speak to him?" I knew if he really needed to talk to Eric he would have gone to Fangtasia but I thought I'd ask anyway.
"No, no. Just asking." With that I turned to the bar to go and get his blood. If he wasn't going to volunteer information I wasn't going to try and get it.
I came back a couple of minutes later and dropped off his drink. "I'm glad you're looking better, how's it going with Judith?" I know it was a bit personal but since I brought them back together I felt it was ok to ask.
"Well, thank you" He looked up but that was all he was going to say on the matter. Bill was never one for sharing. I smiled and went back to Kennedy and our cleaning frenzy. Within 5 minutes Bill had gone with only half his drink drunk and a hefty tip left on the table. I thought it was a bit weird but put it to the back of my mind and finished up my shift with no further incident.
As I walked to my car a familiar shape was leaning up against the driver's side. A smile spread across my face and I felt my mood lighten. He was glorious, tall, lean, muscles well defined from warrior training and that hair. It was the most gorgeous shade of blond. He knew I was getting closer; he pushed off the car and turned to face me. As I walked round the car he stepped toward me and engulfed me in those big strong arms and held me close. He sniffed my hair and trailed kisses down my neck and made a rumbling noise deep within his chest that I could feel vibrate through me.
"Even with the smell of that shitty bar you have the most wondrous aroma." What do I say to that? Vampires have the strangest small talk. I pulled him tighter and buried my head in his chest. I felt so small, so protected, and so feminine sheltered in his embrace.
"Let's go home."
"Yours or mine? Lover."
"Mine, I think. I don't think I could wait that long after missing out last night." He laughed at that and let me go, swatting my bottom as he walked toward his car still laughing.
As I drove past him on my way out of the car park I rolled down the window and said.
"Race Ya!" and giggled at the surprised look on his face and with a screech of tyres I pulled off into the night leaving a cloud of gravel behind. I wasn't usually a flashy driver but Jason was my brother and I had picked up a few tricks. I knew he would not be able to over take me on the lane that lead to my house but I hadn't even seen his headlights behind me, What was he doing and where had he gone?
