Look, another chapter! This has turned out a little different to expected, but it should fill in some blanks!

I hope you like it!

Sookie

I felt physically sick and I could feel the blood drain from my face as I looked at simple four word message on my screen.

'We need to talk.'

Nothing else, just those words. The sender was very clearly Eric Northman with his signature, company logo and contact details at the bottom of the email. Arlene, Lafayette and Sam were still deep in conversation but I had no idea what they were talking about. I only noticed a change when Lafayette started calling my name from across the desk. I looked up feeling a little flustered.

"Sook, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I … uh …. I feel a little sick and dizzy all of a sudden. Sorry." I quickly deleted the email as Sam and Lafayette came up to my desk. Lafayette was eyeing me suspiciously but Sam had a look of genuine concern.

"Cher, are you okay?" he asked in an overly sympathetic voice that did nothing for my nausea. "Would you like me to call a first aider? You look very pale." I shook my head in protest not quite able to find the words. He raised one of his clammy hands to my forehead. "You feel very warm, maybe someone should drive you home so you can lie down."

I jumped at his opportunity to leave. Hell, I was considering leaving the state – it wasn't as if Eric didn't know where I lived. "I can drive myself, but I think you're right, I probably do need to go home and lie down."

"Well, if you're sure. Give us a call when you get home so that we know you're safe – you have my number?"

"Yes, Sam. And thank you."

I quickly turned my PC off and grabbed my bag, avoiding looking at Lafayette until he was stood directly in front of me and blocking my escape. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't, Laf. I need to leave."

"You will tell me, Sook."

I gave him a half smile as he stepped out of my way and I made my way to the elevators, pressed the down arrow and waited a few seconds for one to turn up. Luckily it was empty and I leaned against the cool mirrored walls trying to regain my composure. What the hell was I going to do? Maybe I could go back to California with Amelia …

The elevator doors opened and I hurried out with my head down in the direction of the exit. Until I hit what seemed to be a brick wall.

I looked up straight into the eyes of Eric Northman, who was the wall of muscle I had just planted my face into. He had hold of my arms and didn't seem to want to let me go despite my struggling to get past him.

"Going somewhere, Ms. Stackhouse?"

He still wouldn't let go of me so I was forced to answer. I pulled my eyes away from his and stepped back as far as I could, keeping my attentions anywhere other than his face.

"Um, yes. I was going home, I'm not feeling to good."

I tried to move again, but I could not escape his firm grasp. I was forced to look back at his face and I was met with a raised eyebrow. Damn he looked hot.

"Why don't you let me drive you home then, you don't exactly live very local."

"I'm fine, honest. I just want to go home."

"I'll tell you what, come up to my office with me now, and then I will let you leave."

"I'm fine …"

"It wasn't a request." His voice was firm and I could tell from his eyes that he was not going to take no for an answer.

I took a series of deep breaths to calm myself and looked away from him. "Fine," I huffed.

"Good. Now if you'll just come this way …"

He let go of my arms but placed his large, warm hand on the small of my back to guide me through the lobby of the building in the direction of what I assumed was a private elevator. I honestly felt like his hand may well leave a scar due to the heat coming off him.

Luckily the lobby had been quiet with no one around to witness our confrontation other than the fake blonde receptionist who was giving me a very dirty look but at the same time trying to smile flirtatiously at Eric. He stopped us at her desk and leaned down close to her, almost as if to whisper into her ear. "You will mention nothing of this to anyone. If you do, I will know it's you and you will be fired immediately without a reference. So stay quiet if you want to keep your job." His tone was threatening and menacing and the poor girl looked like she was about to cry. I suddenly felt sorry for her despite her rudeness to me the week earlier.

He stood back up to his full impressive height, ignoring the girl and carried on pushing me towards the private elevator. Once inside I kept my eyes away from him, staring at the door instead until it opened to reveal a large and light office. Eric stepped out of the elevator and placed his hand over the door so it wouldn't close and indicated for me to follow him into the office.

I stepped forward onto the thick carpet which seemed to absorb the heels of the shoes I was wearing. Eric strode past me and I somehow managed to resist the temptation of running back to the open elevator door. The room was large and luxurious with a large, dark wood desk dominating the room, a few cabinets against a wall, two chairs sat opposite his desk and a large black leather sofa which Eric was indicated that I should sit on.

"Drink?" he asked, pulling a bottle of expensive looking liquor out the cabinet of his desk and pouring himself a glass.

"Isn't it a little early for that?" The large clock on his wall only said nine-fifteen.

"It's needed. Did you want a drink or not?"

"Just some water would be good, thank you."

He got up and pulled a bottle out a small fridge I hadn't noticed and handed it to me before sinking down into the large chair behind his desk, his eyes on me the whole time. The tension in the air was palpable.

"Why am I here?" I asked to try and break the tension in the room.

"I was going to ask you the same question."

"Are you firing me? You don't want me working here? You want me gone, is that it?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then a look of anger spread across his handsome face as he stood up and stalked closer to me. "How much did you overhear?" It was almost a growl.

I was starting to feel very scared. I'd always found Eric intimidating as a child, he was always bigger than the other kids, better looking, smarter and richer. And he knew it and used it for his own advantage. But this was different, I'd never seen his angry like this and I genuinely thought I could be in major trouble.

"Nothing," I stammered. "I only heard you say something about finding out why 'she' was here and that you wanted 'her' gone on Monday. I didn't know if you were talking about me or not."

I was desperately trying to sink into the couch to hide myself and I stared down at my feet fiddling with the bottle of water in my hand and relishing its coolness. I felt annoyed at myself for allowing him to affect me in this way – I was a normally a strong woman who didn't take shit like this, but Eric had always had some kind of power over me. I suddenly noticed that Eric had left his position and was sitting down on the sofa next to me. I felt myself flinch as I turned into the corner of seat.

"Sookie, I wasn't talking about you. I have some other … issues at present. I'm sorry if I've scared you and I don't want to upset you."

"Then why am I here?"

He let out a sigh and sank back into the seat. "I was somewhat surprised to see you on Saturday. I wanted to talk to you yesterday but you weren't home."

"I was at Tara's." I watched him visibly flinch at Tara's name.

Neither of us quite knew what to say next. I knew why I was in his office and it was about what happened ten years earlier. If I was to open my mouth he knew it would look bad on him.

"I won't say anything."

"What?" He'd obviously been lost in a world somewhere else.

"I won't say anything," I repeated. "About what happened. Your secret is safe."

He visibly relaxed and ran his hand into his shoulder length blonde locks, pulling at his hair a little. I couldn't help but feel jealous of that hand. I never really thought it possible that a man could be considered beautiful, but Eric Northman was just that – he was more than handsome. If the wall of muscle I ran into was anything to go by he was toned and strong with muscles upon muscles, but not to excess. He had a strong jaw, high cheek bones, strong nose and beautiful cornflower blue eyes. And I'd always loved his hair, which had been shoulder length and thick for as long as I knew him. It was exactly the same shade of blonde as mine.

"So why are you here?" his voice dragging me out of my daydream.

"You mean other than the fact you forced me into your office?" He didn't answer. "I needed a job and this was the only marketing position in the northern half of the state."

"You're over-qualified."

"You've been checking up on me?"

"I needed to know if it really was you that I saw. You shouldn't be working for Merlotte, you're probably better than anyone else in that department at what you do. You certainly have better qualifications."

I didn't quite know what to say to that. "Thanks," I muttered.

"I mean it. I should promote you, find a position for you."

"That would be nepotism." I stated without truly thinking it through.

He smiled. "Does that make you my friend?"

"What? No. We're not friends, Eric."

His face fell again. "Then why work for me? Why move back to Louisiana?"

"It's my home!" I almost yelled at him.

"Really? What do you actually have here?"

"My home is here. Nothing else matters. It is where I was brought up."

"But why take such a step downwards? You surely knew that in this climate you weren't going to get a good job in marketing in Shreveport other than at my company, and even then not at the level you should be working at. You could have moved elsewhere."

I was feeling exasperated. "I don't expect you to understand. Louisiana is my home. I missed it when I lived in Washington. My ex-husband never wanted us to come down here. I didn't get to see as much of Gran as I would have liked and now she's gone. Being here now … it just reminds me of her, of my roots ..." I finally opened the bottle of water in my hand and drained half the bottle. I wished I'd taken him up on his offer of an alcoholic drink. "Even if I have no family left," I added at the end.

Eric was looking at me with a strange look on his face. "I know Jason would like to hear from you."

I scoffed. "Well the last time I saw him was at Gran's funeral and we didn't speak. I don't want to ever see or speak to him again."

"But you're here talking to me." He spoke in a soft voice and it was almost a question.

"Because you forced me to! But you're right. I should leave. I can work elsewhere. I'm not entirely sure why I thought this would be a good idea at all." I got up to leave and I walked towards the elevator. I was about to press the button when he finally did speak. Was he testing me?

"Sookie, please don't go." I turned to face him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry for hurting you. And I'm sorry for what we all did. I … I don't know what else I can say. It was wrong." I could see his sorrow and shame in his eyes. "What I did was wrong, but …"

But? Seriously? "There are no 'buts' mister." I span on my heel and pressed the little button.

"Sookie, I wasn't going to say that. I wasn't going to excuse what I did."

"Then what?" I demanded.

He ran his hand in his hair again, it almost seemed to be a nervous trait. "I was going to say that I did want you. I wanted to be your first."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think I wanted to have sex with you on the floor of a cemetery? That's not how I planned my first to be. And certainly not how I wanted it to go with you."

He looked stunned for a moment. "Shit, you actually liked me didn't you."

What? "Who the hell didn't? You probably still have women literally feeding from your palm."

"I don't mean like that. I mean you actually liked me."

I really didn't want to answer that question, but Eric was waiting on an answer. I nodded.

"I never meant for you to get hurt …"

"How did you think that I wouldn't be hurt?" I yelled walking closer to him. "I was eighteen years old and you knowingly played me. For what? Some stupid bet between you, John Quinn and my fucking brother? There is no way I can ever forgive him because he allowed it to go ahead. I never had such high expectations of you."

"Sookie …"

"No. I don't forgive you, Eric. I will never, made a promise to myself when I found what you did that I would never forgive you." I walked towards the elevator door again and pressed the button which made the doors open. "And oh yeah, I quit."

Sookie - 10 years earlier

I was sat on the sofa curled up with the latest romance novel I'd picked up from the library when there was a knock at the door. Gran had been at her Descendants of the Glorious Dead meeting for the afternoon and Jason was out on some date with some poor girl or other. I reluctantly got up and answered the door to see the the tall frame of Eric Northman filling up the doorway.

"Jason's out on a date, sorry."

I turned away from him letting the door go in my hand. I knew I was being rude and that Gran would probably smack me round the ear if she knew I'd spoken to him like that, but I was desperately trying to stay away from Eric. He was just so god damn hot though. He was the star of many of my fantasies, whether planned or otherwise, and even through I knew him to be a complete manwhore I was knew that given half a chance I'd cave in.

"I came to see you actually."

I span on my heels to see that Eric had followed me into the house.

"What? Why?"

He smiled a beautiful smile and shrugged. "Why not, I don't really know you and I'd like to get to know you better."

I snorted loudly. "You're kidding me right? The great Eric Northman turns up at my door and wants to know me better. What's the matter, ever other girl in Louisiana busy?"

"Sookie, you underestimate yourself. You're an attractive, intelligent and kind girl." He stepped closer to me, his blue eyes blazing on my own. I wanted to step away but I was rooted to the spot.

"I hardly think I'm your type." My resolve was waning. I was quite aware that he was seducing me, but I was determined to not give in to him. I liked him too much to be another notch on his bedpost. Assuming he had a bedpost left at all.

"You're exactly my type, Sook. I'm not the same kid I used to be. I've spent three years at Harvard now, I like smart girls. Sure, I've always appreciated beautiful girls, but you're that as well. You've got a good heart. You'll make some man very happy one day when you decide to settle down."

I swallowed audibly. What the hell was he getting at? "Eric, I'm not going to jump in bed with you just because you've said a few nice words to me. I'm not that kind of girl."

He smiled. "I know you're not. Its another of your charms." He moved closer to me a tucked a stray strand of hair behind my right ear. "Our hair is exactly the same colour," he commented. He reached behind my head to pull my hair out of my pony tail and picked up one of the longer locks so he could bring it to his head as he bent down. "See?"

I nodded fervently at his question as his closeness had disabled my ability to make a cohesive sound. He was moving ever closer to me and I found myself unconsciously tilting my head towards him. His hands went into my hair and he gently stroked his large thumb across my cheek.

"You are beautiful, Sookie."

I was being called beautiful by Eric 'the god' Northman and his luscious lips were mere inches away from mine, his hot breath on my skin. I could feel my heart pounding within my chest and I wondered whether he could hear it. My breathing was shallow and erratic. He moved one of his hands from my head and onto the small of my back to pull me closer to him. I could feel his bulge growing in his pants.

Fuck. Eric Northman was turned on by me?

I could feel the wetness pool between my legs as his lips came down to mine and his soft and full lips kissed my own with expert precision. I'd kissed a few boys, but most of my experience was with the back of my hand. I let him lead the kiss as he gently sucked on my bottom lip and then ran his tongue along it, silently asking for entrance.

I obediently opened my mouth slightly and he deepened our kiss, pulling me even closer to him, his hand gripping my ass. My own hands somehow picked up bravery and began to move over his hard, muscled body and up to his hair which I'd always loved so much.

He started slowly pushing me backwards and my butt made contact with the back of the sofa. He pulled away slightly to allow us both to allow some oxygen into our lungs, but he also picked me up so that I was seated on the back of the sofa. I instinctively opened my legs as he moved closer to me, my dress rising up around my hips as I did so.

His lips were forcefully back on mine as he ground his hardness against my centre giving me the friction I was desperately wanting. I pulled myself as close to him as humanly possible, my hand finding its was to the glorious ass I'd ogled on many an occasion. It felt as perfect as it looked. I started to moan into his mouth as his hips thrust against mine, and he pulled back to look at me, his eyes dark with lust.

"I want you, Sookie."

"Eric, I've never …"

"I'll be gentle."

Fuck, he was so hot. I knew that what I was doing was wrong on so many levels, but I couldn't resist him and my body was betraying my mind. I wasn't sure that I truly knew what love was, but I was certain that I'd loved him for years. He was the one you shouldn't want but you just couldn't help yourself. He was that last chocolate brownie that tipped the scales.

"Do you want me?"

His voice was warm and sultry in my ear as he started nibbling and kissing down my neck, his hand pinching my nipples through the thin fabric of my dress. I moaned in pleasure and bucked against him. He moved one hand to my knee and slowly ran his large hand up the inside of my leg. I trembled with anticipation knowing where his fingers were going. I felt one of his fingers trace the outline of my slit through my soaked panties and I almost screamed in pleasure.

"So wet for me, Sookie."

He lifted me slightly so he could remove my panties altogether and stuffed them in his jeans pocket. He then resumed kissing my neck while one hand caressed my back and the other started making small circles on my swollen clit. I knew I was not going to last long when one of his long fingers dipped into me. It made me very glad that Dawn had bought me that bullet vibrator for my seventeenth birthday as otherwise what he was doing would have been very painful.

His thumb was still making rhythmic circles on my tender mound as he entered a second finger into me and curled his fingers upwards, instantly finding contact with some spot deep inside me that I'd never been able to hit. I could feel the warmth spreading through my belly and down my legs as I got closer and closer to my orgasm. When he started to thrust his fingers in and out of me I was done for and the orgasm that had been coming shot through my body and I cried out his name in ecstasy.

When I managed to come back to the world of the living I looked up at Eric and found a smug smile on his face. That man certainly knew what he was doing.

"My turn now," he whispered, the look on his face predatory.

I took hold of his hand gently. "My room's back here."

"No, not in your bedroom. Come with me."

He scooped me up into his arms and grabbed the afghan off the couch. He kicked open the door and turned right out of my house and into the cemetery that was between our houses. I was shocked that he was taking me outside and that this was the place he was taking me. I fully intended to tell him 'no' when we stopped.

He led me to a clearing in the woods and threw the afghan down onto the floor before depositing me on top of it.

"Eric, I don't think …"

"Sookie, lover, you're over-thinking this. You want me, don't you?"

"You know I do." And I did, so badly.

"And surely your Gran will be home soon?" He started to kiss down my neck.

I'd completely forgotten that Gran was due home. What would have happened if she walked in on Eric and I doing that on her couch? I was suddenly mortified.

"Sookie, it's okay, really. She didn't walk in on us, and no one is going to find us here. It's just the two of us."

I felt my body relax and my mind somehow calmed itself. All I wanted was Eric. We had resumed kissing and I allowed my hands to go underneath his t-shirt and run over his body. He broke away momentarily to remove his t-shirt altogether and I marvelled at his chiselled torso. I had no idea a man could be so attractive.

As Eric began kissing down my neck and onto my chest he started to undo the buttons at the front of my dress until it was completely opened. He suckled at my nipple through the fabric of my bra as I moaned and writhed beneath him.

"Can I taste you?" he asked in a husky voice and I nodded enthusiastically.

He lips were at my centre, his warm breath increasing the heat my body felt. His tongue ran along my folds and I heard him mutter something to himself as my body seemed to melt under his touch.

I wanted him, I needed him. There was a small voice at the back of my mind telling me that this was too good to be true, but I silenced that voice. There was no way I was not going to go through with this now.

"Eric, please. I need you."

He smiled above me, stood up and pulled out what I correctly assumed to be a condom and kicked off his jeans. Did he always have a condom in his back pocket? It should have sent of warning bells but my body was to far gone to allow my mind to think coherently.

I looked up at him to see that he had gone commando, and he was stood in front of me with an enormous erection. I swallowed my breath as I looked at him – there was no way that that was going to fit inside me. He obviously sensed my trepidation as he quickly scooted down onto his knees so his naked body was on top of mine, his weight on his knees and arms.

"It's okay, lover, I know what I'm doing. It is likely to hurt a bit though."

I nodded. All I could do was trust him. He reached between us and dipped his finger into me, rubbing my moisture around my entrance before he placed the tip of his erection at my opening. He moved in slowly and gently as I felt myself stretching around him. It was painful, but more like a dull pain than a sharp one. As he pushed in further the pain did increase and I felt a tear escape from my eyes, which he wiped away.

It seemed an eternity until he was fully sheathed inside me, and once in he remained still, kissing me softly and whispering words of encouragement. When I felt the pain subside I started to move underneath him, desperate for some friction. He took the hint and began making shallow thrusts into me, my pleasure building the whole time and my nails digging into his muscled shoulder blades. As his stroke increased as did my pleasure. We were both moaning and panting heavily and when he shifted angle slightly he hit that place deep inside that sent my orgasm pulsing through my body.

He was grunting on top of me as he started to thrust hard into me and I felt him swell inside me before he let out a guttural moan as he spilled his seed. He rolled off me and collapsed onto the afghan, both of us breathing heavy as we took the time to recover. His eyes were still shut as I sat up and heard the sounds of Gran's car crunching up the gravel road. I did up my dress and leaned in to kiss him softly on the mouth.

"Thank you, Eric."

He smirked, "glad to be of service to you!"

He stood up quickly, disposed of the condom in the bushes (which I was not happy about) and started putting his clothes on. I heard Gran shouting my name in the distance.

"I should go. I'll see you again soon?"

He smiled an evil smile at me. "I'm sure that you will." And with that he headed in the direction of his parents house.

I stood and watched him until he was out of sight, not quite sure what had happened. I picked up and brushed off the afghan before heading back into the house. I went in the back way, depositing the it into the washer as I went past so it wouldn't smell of sex. I shouted to Gran that I was home and went into my bathroom and turned the shower on, suddenly realising how dirty I felt.

.

I never saw Eric again after that. I tried to see him for the first week or two afterwards, concerned that I'd done something wrong. But once I found out about the little game him, Jason and Quinn had played I knew I never wanted to see him again.

I knew that I had been used by him and I felt stupid that I hadn't listened to my own doubts. I guess I leant the valuable lesson that if something was too good to be true it normally was. When I told Tara about what happened I was shocked that something similar had happened between her and Jason, who she had been very much in love with for years. I'd have happily killed both of them when I found that out. It was only later that we found out about Dawn.

I never told Gran about what happened between Eric and I, although she knew something was up as I hardly came out of my room that summer before leaving for Stanford. And I certainly refused to speak to Jason, deliberately leaving the room if he walked in. I was glad when it came to the time to leave – I needed a new start away from the horrors of that summer.

So do you all hate him or feel Sookie shouldn't have caved so easily?