Swiftly the Heart Falters

Chapter Three

Bon Temps, Louisiana

Present Day

Heloise sat in a corner booth at Fangtasia, slowly sipping her lukewarm True Blood, scowling deeply at the activities happening around her. She'd been brought back to Shreveport, against her desires to stay with Bill for a short term, and was now told to make appearances at the club, to somehow add to the appeal. Whatever that meant, she was not sure, but she knew that there were plenty of younger vampires traipsing about in clothing that could be considered dental floss, and she was certainly not going to go there. She had little to offer the humans that came in the club. It was what they had to offer her that she was more interested in. Sure she had benefited from the deal, getting a steady supply of willing humans to offer up their jugulars for a quick drink of real blood, but other than that – what was the point?

Oh she was pretty sure she knew the point. Eric wanted to keep constant watch over her. If she had to grudgingly admit it, she would certainly agree that he was a handsome man. Tall, well defined body, that blonde hair and those eyes. It was all a wonderful exterior package, but it was in the inside that she loathed. The arrogance, controlling, egotistical bastard always seemed to say or do something that set her off. It was that physical attraction that had led to her succumbing to him so many years ago. She'd been in a frenzy; having gone without blood for far too long, as a sort of self-punishment to herself for the death of her beloved Marcus. He'd been there, and in her desperation, she'd bent to his demands. He was certainly a skilled lover, but then he'd had a thousand years to perfect that craft, hadn't he? That had been the first time she'd run from him. He'd let her stay away for some time, but in the end, he'd ordered her back-just as he had done now.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Where you looking for some company?" Heloise looked up the voice and met a pair of pale blue eyes. He was certainly a very good looking human. He was tall with black hair and a body that was fit and toned. Heloise patted the seat next to her. He smiled and sat down next to her.

"What's your name?" Heloise asked.

"Jordan. What's yours?"

"Heloise."

"Are you from London or something?" He asked. Heloise smiled and ran the tip of finger along his jawline. She felt the tremor roll through his body and she leaned closer.

"Paris." She replied, her mouth near his earlobe. "Don't be shy, Jordan, you can touch me too. Vampires do find pleasure in touch as well." She said when she noticed his hand poised, but he seemed unsure if he could touch her. He sighed and cupped her face, his thumb running along her lower lip. He jumped back slightly when her fangs popped down and then, intrigued, he moved his thumb back over her lips, running them along the jagged points of her fangs.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked breathlessly. Heloise nodded. The kiss was gentle at first, his tongue running along the seam of her lips, before her lips parted, allowing him access into her mouth. Their tongues rubbed gently across each other, while hands slowly slid along the surfaces of the others body. They kissed before Jordan slowly pulled back and leaned his head to the side, offering his neck to her. She nuzzled to fragrant scent of his neck before closing in on the desired location. Just as she was about to sink her fangs into the soft flesh, she happened to look up, a feeling someone was watching her too powerful to ignore. She usually like to feed in private, but well when in Rome…

Her eyes locked with Eric's. He was watching her intently, an unreadable expression on his face. With her still on his, she sunk through the layers of Jordan's flesh till she reached the vein and then began to fill her mouth with his deliciously warm and tasty blood. It was powerful, taking the blood of a human. You connected with that person, almost felt there emotions. It was also a completely arousing process for a vampire. The next best thing to sex really…maybe even better…?

Heloise was unsure what to make of Eric and the way he seemed to have straightened in his chair and the way his hands clenched the arms of his chair. Was he affected by this? It was a bit too confusing for her and she pulled back from Jordan's next. She licked his lips and then leaned forward she gently licked the two small puncture wounds on his neck. He was slow and sleepy from the blood loss. This wasn't the first bite of the evening. Heloise looked around the club and caught the eye of a vampire who was there to keep things in order.

"This young man needs a taxi, darling. Could you be a sweetheart and call one for him?" Heloise asked, after motioning the man closer. He nodded and went off in search of a phone.

"Wow." Jordan said, looking up at Heloise. "Are you…have you been around long?" He asked. Heloise smiled and nodded.

"Why don't you rest here and wait for you taxi. Make sure you eat before you go to bed." With that Heloise placed a small kiss on Jordan's lips and rose from the couch they'd been sharing. She brushed past him and headed towards the back room of the club, intent on finding some excuse to leave. She'd grown weary of being here, and just wanted to be alone.

"And where exactly are you running off to?" Heloise stopped short and turned to face Eric. With a roll of her eyes, she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Away." She stated simply, and turned to continue doing just that. She gasped when Eric grabbed her arm, and whirled her around into his solid wall of a chest.

"Why do you try my patience?" He asked. Heloise snorted out a laugh.

"You have patience? When did you acquire this skill? My, my how your pow-" She was cut off when Eric slammed his lips on to hers. It was the only way she could describe the way his lips landed on hers and began to ravage her mouth. She attempted to fight him off, but he was far more powerful than her, and his held her arms tightly behind her back, pushing her chest into his. She may be dead, but she was still able to feel things and she could not deny that having him attack her senses like this was very pleasurable.

She allowed herself to enjoy the kiss, even kissing him back, much to his satisfaction. The low growl of approval he made, made her smile against his mouth, and try harder to gain control of the kiss. He was certainly was good and she allowed herself to enjoy the way his tongue invaded her mouth and, in the end, gain control of the kiss. He held her arms with one powerful hand and with the other, he cupped her face, turning his head and angling the kiss for deeper penetration of her mouth. Heloise felt her cold body slowly begin to heat up and only when she began to entertain thoughts of continuing this in a more private area, did reality come crashing down on her like a bucket of cold water, dousing the passion that had momentarily halted her senses. She began to pull back from the kiss. Eric soon felt the lack of lust and pulled back, giving her a puzzled look.

"I told you that this would never happen again." Heloise said, breathlessly. It was amazing how even though they didn't need to breath, they could still manage to end up breathless sounding. She'd once been told it was their bodies inability to accept change, and that was why once in a while they would find themselves performing very human like functions.

"Yet, here we are." Eric said, smirking and raising an eyebrow. Heloise growled and began to pull harder against the bond his hand was causing on her arms. He held her there for a moment, letting her struggle to free herself, before he let go of her arms. Heloise brought her arms up in front of her, and rubbed the wrists that he'd gripped tightly. They didn't hurt, she didn't feel pain in the normal sense, as humans did, that is unless she was stabbed, or worse, but it was again, a human trait that was hard to get rid of.

"Call it a momentary lapse in judgment." Heloise said, and with a sniff and a raise of chin, she turned and walked out the back door, heading anywhere but there.

Eric stood there for several moments after Heloise had stormed out of the door, before smiling slowly and running his tongue over his lips, he turned and headed back into the club, a chuckle escaping his mouth.

"It always makes me nervous when I see that expression on your face. What did you do now?" Pam asked, appearing at his side. Eric peered at her and continued on his path to the bar.

"Hmm, nothing that wasn't wanted. What makes you think that it was something that I did?" Eric asked, leaning against the counter of the bar, in his usual relaxed stance, hands folded loosely in front of him. He feigned an innocent expression but it was not working on Pam, because she knew him too well to believe it.

"When is it not you?" She asked. She glanced to the side when a human walked by, staring at her in awe. She all but growled and he continued on his way. Eric laughed and looked behind him and the retreating back of the scared human.

"You really should be a bit nicer, these people are our customers; they pay us." Eric said. Pam rolled her eyes, and fixed him with a look.

"These people are merely here to appease their own selfish desires, and if they happen to spend a little money in order to get it, they will. They are all weak willed and they are all…weird." Pam finished, for lack of a better word.

"Weird?" Eric asked.

"Yes. I mean have you noticed the general theme of the people that come into this place? They are all those gothic types, as if that is what we are into, gothic dress and manner. Do they have any other impressions other than what silly movies feed to them?" Pam said, with a disgusted look on her face as she roved the crowd and took in the sea of black leather, chains, and fishnet stockings. Girls with heavy makeup and boys with green colored mohawks. It was almost an insult really, but then this was not her establishment alone, Eric was the controlling owner.

"Have you taken a moment to see what some of our fellow vampires wear? They too wear that garb. Missing the fashions of your mortal life?" Eric joked. Pam smiled and rolled her eyes.

"What's up, dudes?" Eric and Pam both turned to look at a young human who was standing there, a glazed look in his eyes. It was obvious he was high and the goofy look on his face was nothing compared to the goofy get up he was wearing. Safety pins pierced the skin of his eyebrows and the all black leather ensemble was a walking cliché.

"Did you guys know this place was, like, totally run by Fangers?" He asked, trying to strike a nonchalant stance, while holding a cigarette between shaky fingers. Eric and Pam exchanged glances.

"You don't say? Hey, did you see the wicked set up in the back? No, let me show ya." Eric said, nodding his head towards the back rooms before pushing off from the bar counter and leading the boy away. Pam watched with a raised eyebrow as they disappeared. So many advances, yet the humans still acted like this. It was a crying shame.

"So I was thinking that maybe you might want to meet up? We could hang out, go shopping, grab a bite to eat…wait, that wouldn't work out so well, but you know what I mean." Heloise listened to Sookie talk over the phone and smiled and the slip up. She'd been known to do a little shopping and grabbing a bite to eat, just not in the sense Sookie was thinking.

"That sounds like fun. When did you want to come up here?" Heloise asked. She was back in the hotel room that Eric had put her up in. She had an agent looking for a cozy little hideaway for her, and until that was purchased it was live here or with Eric, naturally she chose this location.

"Well I have tomorrow and the next day off. I know its short notice, but I thought it would be fun. I mean, you aren't busy, are ya?" Sookie asked.

"No, not busy at all, and it would fun. You can even stay here, if you would like." Heloise said. She sensed the hesitation on Sookie's end and smiled.

"I don't mess with things that are Bill's, chere, you are safe with me." Heloise said, to ease Sookie's mind. It was true though, she wouldn't be as callous as someone like…say…Eric. Damn, she really needed to stop thinking of him, and comparing things to what he would and wouldn't do. She was almost acting like a silly school girl with a crush on her teacher.

"That's great! I will head up there in the afternoon and get there just after dark and then we can hit the town!" Sookie said. They finalized the plans for tomorrow and after saying goodbye, Heloise hung up the phone. It had been a long time she had spent some time with a girl-friend, especially a human one. Sure she'd spent time with female vampires, but for entirely different reasons.

The phone conversation over, she was left to think and think of Eric and the kiss that they had shared in the hall way behind Fangtasia. Why had she not seen it coming? Why had she not fought harder? Sure he was much stronger, but she was no weakling herself. She could have at least tried a bit harder. She didn't like having unanswered questions popping up and when she was around Eric, there seemed to be endless barrage of them. Maybe that was another reason she chose to escape him as much as possible. One thing was certain, and that for whatever reason, she'd enjoyed that kiss, no matter how much it pained her to admit it.

Eric watched as the lifeless body of the human was dumped into a dark sedan. He'd given the orders to have the body disposed of, and two of his employees were currently doing just that. He'd taken no real pleasure in sucking the blood from the foolish kid, the blood tainted with an assortment of drugs that left his brain slightly foggy for a moment. It was more or less out of boredom, or because he had a lot of pent of aggression…sexual…left in his system from the run in with Heloise earlier. He couldn't get past the need to possess that creature, no matter what cost. Why she fought him was a mystery, any other female, vampire or human, would have submitted almost immediately. Perhaps it was the chase that spurred him, not being able to capture her attention with his wit and charm, hell even his looks, pushing him to try harder.

Movement from the side of the building caught his attention and not knowing what he heard, and hearing no more noise, he went to see what it had been. He stopped short when he rounded the corner. The woman leaning against the hood of his car was all too familiar with him and if his heard had been beating, it certainly would have tripped over itself. She was long and graceful, possessing a cat like quality to her, her long legs encased in skin tight jeans and a belly baring tank top covering her bountiful chest. Long red hair was flipped over her shoulder and her ruby red lips were positioned into a wide smile. He looked into the black almond shaped eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Eric, long time, no see." She said, in a husky voice that oozed sex.

"Meredith."

A/N: Another chapter, as promised, and it's also longer too! Ended it with a bit of a cliffy too! ;0) So I started a Wiki, thought that maybe my adoring readers would like to join it, we could talk about story ideas and what not. .com Please consider checking it out, maybe even joining it, so I don't look like a complete moron, posting threads just for myself!

~Inked4Life