Recap: Sookie and Eric finally have their talk, and Eric confesses his true feelings for her.

Eric seemed almost as surprised as I was at what he had said. His mouth opened to say something else and then closed, and his eyebrows furrowed together. Perhaps he wasn't so used to blurting things out like that; in fact, I knew he wasn't- he was always collected and seemed to think about everything before he said anything. The sudden confession had startled us both and the question I asked hung in the air as Eric's mind seemed to reel with answers. Finally, a very muted yes spilled out from his lips before he pressed them together in a thin line and sat back down on the chair he had occupied.

"Yes. So you do. Well. Okay." I wanted to smack myself across the face with a frying pan. Was that really the best I could do? Suddenly Eric looked very tired and defeated. If I didn't put my feelings in words within the next minute I knew he would mumble some excuse before vanishing into thin air, or doing something else that would leave me wondering how he was so good at making dramatic exits.

"I've been hurt a lot, you know," I heard myself say. For some reason I was never able to just say what I meant and I could feel my mind preparing to make some speech. "And when I think about it... you're right, I guess. You have always stood by me. And the one time you did hurt me," Eric looked visibly pained to hear this, "It wasn't intentional and I can hardly blame you for it. I do have very... strong feelings for you." I took a deep breath and let it out, feeling a little more relieved. It wasn't a huge confession like Eric's, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for me. After saying it all my mind began to clear and my feelings began to sort themselves out.

Eric seemed to feel the decisiveness through the bond and his lips curved upwards in a mischievous smile. "Well, lover. I suppose your response was not quite as direct as I would have liked but..." He leaned forward and covered my hands with his much larger, cooler ones. "It will suffice."

A wave of desire pulsed through the bond and I didn't reject it; I just sent it back twice as strong. Eric licked his lips and rose to his feet, pulling me up with him and I was thankful that Amelia and Octavia were gone for the weekend. "Lover... I have been longing for our reunion," he whispered huskily and buried his face into my neck.

I shivered as I felt him inhale my skin from my collarbone up to my jaw. He began placing kisses at my jawline and then traced his way back down my throat with his tongue. I leaned my head back in pure pleasure and let out a little whimper as I raked a hand through his hair. "Eric...," he moved his lips from my throat to my lips and I didn't hesitate to kiss him. Kissing Eric was impossible to resist; the man (vampire? Creature? Dude?) had definitely developed skills during his thousand or so years of existence.

"I've missed you too... and this," I whispered into his mouth and let one hand roam down his chest and torso and stopped at his gracious plenty. Feeling pretty brave, I rubbed my hand against him and was pleased to realize he was already hard. Eric grunted and lifted me onto the kitchen table, swiftly using one hand to swipe his True Blood and my orange juice glass off the table, and the other to cup the side of my face.

Obligingly, I laid back on the table and arched against him but let out a frustrated sound at the thought of spilled synthetic blood and orange juice on my kitchen floor. Much worse has been splattered on that linoleum, but I had spent a long time cleaning my house today and in no time there was already a mess. Sensing my frustration Eric grunted and mumbled, "I will take care of it. Soon. Do not worry," and then kissed his way down to my chest and let one hand rub my breast. In a matter of seconds my shirt was ripped to pieces on the floor and my bra had been flung across the room. He circled his tongue around my left nipple and sucked at it, using his other hand to fondle my other breast playfully. Since he was preoccupied, yy hands restlessly worked at pulling off Eric's shirt and then traced the planes of his chest before working down to his pants. With ease I unbuckled and unzipped them and he had them down at his ankles, and then pushed mine off.

Eric stopped suckling at my left nipple and his head traveled down further. He took a lick at my nub and I moaned as he began to explore my aching mound with his tongue. Pleasure began to wash over me as he pushed two fingers into my depths, thrusting in and out at a fast pace. His free hand rested on my stomach and he brought his tongue to my spot and focused there. My hips bucked and I rolled my head back as I let out a groan of ecstasy. "Mmm, Eric!" He looked up and then stopped his movements. I felt my muscles tighten against his fingers and snapped my head back to gaze at him frantically.

"You must look at me, lover," he warned. I just nodded and watched as his fingers and tongue picked up their movements. His piercing gaze locked with mine as I chewed on my lower lip, trying to stifle my cries. I bent forwards to grip his head, not once breaking our stare. As my climax began to build I let out another moan. "Eric.. Oh, Eric, please..."

He didn't stop pumping his fingers inside me but he did pull his head up to look me right in the eye. "Tell me what you want me to do." With that, he pushed his fingers in deeper and pulled them out more quickly. I shivered as the pressure built up.

"I want you... unh," I couldn't help but close my eyes, but to help demonstrate I leaned forwards and curled my hand around his shaft and gave it a few strokes. Eric's eyes gleamed and suddenly I was lying back on the table again, still holding onto him, and he hovered only inches above me. I positioned him at my entrance and he thrust inside me. He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to the edge of the kitchen table, angling me up as he did so, which helped him get deeper into me. I cried out his name and he grunted. My breath quickened as he pumped into me, faster and faster until my climax built up again. With a moan I begged him for a release and scraped my fingernails against his back. He brought his mouth down to my neck and I felt his fangs scrape against my neck.

"Yes," I panted, "Do it. Mmm, Eric, take me!" I nearly screamed out when he bit down, and finally I had my release. Nearly right as I had mine I felt him come inside me and I shuddered.

Eric raised his head to kiss me again and I could taste myself and my blood on him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sighed with pleasure as he stroked his thumb along the side of my face.

I closed my eyes, completely intoxicated by him. He was still inside me and I was almost surprised that it felt so good to have him so... close to me.

Something shook and I pushed Eric's face away gently, looking at him curiously. He just shrugged and pulled out of me but then raised his eyebrows when something shook both of us again.

The oak kitchen table that had belonged to my grandmother that we had just had sex on shuddered for a third time before crashing to the floor. Even though he had his feet planted on the floor, the sudden down cast made Eric topple down with me. We both fell with it, but with his vampiric speed he had managed to turn us in the nick of time so that I had fallen on top of him. We stared at each other blankly before chuckling.

"Are you all right?" he asked, scanning me quickly for any bruises. I just nodded meekly and sat up, eying the mess we had made of my kitchen.

"Oh, no," I muttered sadly. There was a puddle of brown, murky liquid on the floor by the refrigerator- a combination of orange juice and synthetic blood. I knew exactly what it was, but the image had me reeling back to when I had found my grandmother, dead, in this very kitchen. Tears welled in my eyes as I glanced at Eric, lying in the midst of broken wood.

Eric jumped up in alarm and held me tightly against his chest. I don't think he knew exactly what was wrong, but he must have gotten the hint because he scooped me up in his arms and began carrying me to my bedroom. I was about to give him a spiel about being capable of walking, but I was too tired to argue and a little shaky from the images I had remembered. He tucked me into the bed and planted a kiss on my forehead. "I will take care of it," he murmured, "And then I will be back."