Chapter 4

"All I'm sayin' is that you didn't have to get my hair wet" Sookie complained as she rubbed a towel over her wet mane vigorously. Erik watched her from where he was sitting on her bed. The second towel was around his hips.

There were only two towels in Sookie's bathroom.

"But then I wouldn't have the pleasure of watching you dry it" he drawled as he took in the jerky movement of her lithe body. She stopped and looked over at him, her head tilted to the side with her arms raised. Erik grinned at her as he read the emotions playing over her face. She had become used to being naked with him to the point where she hadn't even noticed it. And while that was an incredibly satisfying thing to discover, he was also charmed by the full-body blush that he was witnessing now.

Quickly dropping the towel and whipping it around her body, Sookie went to her armoire and retrieved her brush. She was angrily pulling it through the strands when Erik came up behind her. He had his towel in his hands and began to gently finish drying her hair.

He noticed her hands tighten on her brush handle and turned her enough to look down at her closed eyes. He knew she was waiting for him to jump her. And considering their state of undress, along with his current track record of never passing up a chance, he could understand. There was even a part of his anatomy that thought it was a good idea. But after living as long as he had, the only time his penis made the decisions was when he let it.

"You need to sleep" he said softly, the circles under Sookie's eyes making him frown. Then it was her dark brown eyes looking into his and he took a step back. He moved to where his boxer shorts were laying on the floor and began putting them on.

"Where you goin'?" Sookie asked dazedly.

Erik quirked an eye toward the black curtains blocking out the first rays of the morning sun and then at Sookie. "I'm not going anywhere. And that is something that we have in common" he walked over to the bed and ripped off all the soiled sheets and threw them into a corner. Ignoring her sounds of protest he took out the extra set he had gotten from the attic earlier and fitted them on before she could take a step.

"I would'a never imagined you changin' sheets" came Sookie's bemused voice from behind him. He only smiled as he lifted her onto the fresh sheets, removing her towel in the same movement.

"Humans are not permitted where I sleep" he explained as he turned off the lamp and joined her in bed. "And I don't think of Pam as my slave"

"So I'll never go there?"

"You're different Sookie" he murmured. "You'll change your own sheets or you'll share mine, as it pleases you"

"Pleases me?"

"Once you're reborn there will be little that I will deny you. And what I do will be for your own good"

"I don't understand. I thought the point of the deal was so that I belong to you" she said weakly. Erik felt a surge of pride for her courage at discussing this in the first place. He had wanted to make his plans for her as matter of fact as he could, but her easy acceptance was a shock to him.

"The point of the deal was to legitimize my actions and to nullify Bill's claim on you" He cuddled her closer as he felt her fidget. He wasn't sure how she would take hearing his entire plan for her. "He had never intended on turning you, so that is also in my favor. I am giving you a gift while he thought of you as a toy"

"Bill nev..."

Her words strangled in her throat as Erik ran his fingers over the puncture holes that she knew where still visible on her neck. Erik wasn't angry. "Bill behaved the way any vampire would while having a sexual relationship with a human woman. And despite the fact that he was mainstreaming, there was still a part of him that thought of you as food"

"How can you be in love with your dinner?"

The question reverberated Sookie's head as she ate that night in her kitchen. She ate ravenously, it being her first meal in over 12 hours. But her mind still raced with Erik's words. Her own fingers followed where his had traced on her neck and she shuddered. Before Erik she had thought Bill's 'appetite' was normal. But now she wasn't so sure.

Erik hadn't bitten her once. That seemed to take on a special significance now. He had told her over and over that she was special and he was going to make her his forever, but she hadn't understood. He truly thought of it as giving her a gift.

Why did that sound so appealing?

Could it be because with Gran gone she felt all alone? Erik would keep her safe, she knew that without a doubt. He had been too gentle the night before for her to think anything else. She might be leaving all of her old life behind but it had never been much of a life anyway. Her new life would start with being wanted by a strong, and beautiful vampire. It was a powerful thing to discover.

Plus the sex was amazing.

Sookie shook her head to get rid of the betraying thoughts. No matter what Erik said, she had a feeling that the rest of the world would look at her as a slut. But then again, the rest of the world was filled with hypocrites.

She read minds. She worked in a bar. Those two factors alone put her in the prime position to know that almost everyone was thinking dirty thoughts; they just didn't admit it.

Sookie's head lifted and steel seemed to stiffen her spine with pride. She wasn't going to be ashamed of her sexuality. She of all people knew that it was completely natural. The difference between a slut and a decent woman was only self-respect.

Or at least she hoped so.

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Erik stood at the doorjamb and watched the emotions on Sookie's face as she ate. He didn't like seeing humans eat, but watching her when she thought she was alone was illuminating. When others were nearby she closed her face and no one could tell what she was really thinking. So he reveled in seeing her 'unmasked'.

Sookie was already near perfect in bed, but he could tell that she was holding back. So was he. It was natural considering her human frailty, but he still couldn't wait until they could let themselves go wild together.

"Sookie" he said, enjoying the simple pleasure of saying her name and knowing that she would answer. Her head turned just as she was taking a massive bite from her sandwich, and she had to swallow before sending him an embarrassed smile.

"Erik!" she spluttered "I didn't see you there"

"As a vampire you will know when I am within a quarter mile of you" he said matter-of-factly. He went and sat across from her at the table. He enjoyed telling her about the assorted perks of his existence. He figured that it would make the actual event easier for her to take. But no matter how prepared he made her, it was always traumatic.

Pam was proof of that. When he had met her he had known right away that she would be his first. He had seduced her into it, and when that failed he had glamoured her. But afterwards it had taken him years for her to completely forgive him. Erik looked at Sookie with his head tilted to one side. He didn't think she would be begging him for anything. A smile lit up his face.

"What?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I was just imagining what Pam will think when you become my favorite" he murmured honestly. He would never lie to her.

"What?!" she gasped.

Erik chuckled as the blood left her face. Fear at Pam's reaction was obviously the cause and it filled him with humor. No matter how angry, Pam would never touch a hair on Sookie's head. She knew better.

"Don't worry Sookie" he comforted her with a smile still on his coldly handsome features. "She might leave for a while, but she'll be back. She always does"

"She can leave?"

Erik's smile vanished as if it had never existed. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard hope in her question. If she thought that she would be free to leave him once her transformation was complete, than she had another thing coming.

"She has been with me for many years and can come and go as she pleases" he explained, his voice emotionless. "New vampires, like you will be, don't have the same freedom. I will need to teach you. It will be a long time before you are ready"

"Ready?"

Erik softened as he realized that the note in her voice had been nothing but curiosity. She didn't know half of what he had expected. But he wasn't surprised. Bill wanted to play the human, not remind himself that he was a vampire.

"There are rules that have to be followed. These rules protect the individual as well as the whole of vampire society. If a young vampire is allowed to run loose killing unreservedly, people will notice. And the upper echelons of my society don't like being noticed"

"I guess I can understand that" she said shakily. Then her eyes widened. "I'm not gonna kill anyone!" she said firmly, her head shaking to underline her point.