Hey guys,
I just want to apologise about how long it's been between updates, I'm usually much better than this as you all know but I had four exams this week, well three that really count as one was General Studies. As you can imagine I spent a lot of time focusing on those with revision. My next real exam though is next Friday. There's nothing really changed with me, I've had a very boring life this past week. I did however manage to find the first episode of True Blood 3 online, (I'm in England and I don't have cable or anything), and OMG! It looks like this series is going to live up to the last. Aerosmith have played two gigs in the UK this week and I didn't get to go to either due to exams, Aerosmith are in my top four favourite bands. I've seen the other three, so it's just Aerosmith left. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. On with the short story!
"Please," I begged as his hands ghosted across my bare flesh. Glancing down I could see his midnight blue eyes staring up at me in rapt attention whilst his hands sent shivers running continuously down my spine. "Eric," I moaned as he laid an open mouthed kiss on my stomach, letting his tongue lick gently at my flesh. My head was thrown back at the teasing, my hands gripping the sheets beneath me.
"Look at me," he whispered, his voice so low it was bordering on a growl. I obeyed, staring down as his long body hovered over me, not quite touching. My hands relinquished their grasp on the sheets to grip his face, pulling his head to mine. I kiss him with passion, the heat searing between us as our tongues danced together. It was only when I felt him thrust inside me that I pulled away, gasping at the sensation of being so full.
His hands were everywhere as he found a rhythm, so much so that I couldn't keep my eyes open. My eyelids fluttered shut, too much sensory stimulation for me to deal with. "Watch." He commanded and it was all I took to gain some control. I opened my eyes to reveal his face only inches away, the lust and love evident in his eyes. His long, flowing hair was cascading down over his shoulders, putting us in our own cocoon of blond locks. The fangs that I adored so much were elongated, as they had been for hours, I couldn't stop myself from leaning upwards to bring his mouth to mine.
I felt the hard pressing of his fangs against my lips as our lips locked. My tongue snaked out to play with the sharp peaks, dancing with danger. A moan was my reward for sucking harshly on his bottom lip, letting him feel my teeth. I needed more of him. I wanted to be inside of him.
"Bite," I groaned out as he changed his angle, his body rubbing smoothly over mine. "Please, drink." I begged again, knowing that it excited him; it worked on me too, feeling like he was in control.
His lips trailed soft kisses along my jaw and down my neck until he found the vein that I could feel throbbing with my pulse as my heart pumped frantically. He sucked on my flesh, pulling a large lump into his mouth. The pressure bordered on pain, he was an expert at walking the line. Then, before I realised what he was doing, the sharp points of his fangs bit down into my skin, freeing the pressure at once. Blood flowed freely into his mouth, the pleasure swam through my veins as he began to suck and roll his tongue over the wounds.
My hands ran up into his hair, holding his head again my neck as he drank. I moaned as my pleasure increased as more of my life flowed into his. This is what I needed. This is what Eric needed. He pulled back after a few seconds, my blood smeared across his lips, gleaming from his fangs. His thrusts became stronger and yet I still needed more, I was dancing on the brink of bliss. My hands, which still gripped his hair pulled his head down to mine once more.
"Lover," he whispered before his lips crashed into mine with his tongue darting into mine. I could taste my blood in his mouth, on his tongue, as we kissed. It was what I needed; knowing what the kiss did to him it threw me over the edge and into the abyss. As I screamed his name he followed with his lips still kissing mine.
"Sookie," Eric whispered into my ear an undeterminable amount of time later.
"Hmm?" I was too content to respond properly as I was in one of my most favourite places. I was curled up in the Eric's warm bed at his home in Shreveport with one of his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly into his side. My right arm was thrown onto his torso, bent so that my fingers could gently play with the light hairs on his chest. My legs were entwined with his. Simply put I was luxuriating in the feel of his naked body pressed up against mine and I was perfectly comfortable and perfectly happy.
"What do you think about when you have to come over here to Shreveport?" He asked and I was thrown out of my perfect serenity by the strange question. I glanced up at him, not bothering to move my head from its place in the crook of his shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"How do you feel about having to come all the way over here?"
"Well I don't do it all the time; we spend more time at my place for a start. But I don't mind; I don't have to come here, I choose to come here so that I can see you."
"So there's no down side for you?" He probed a little. His fingers were playing the strands of my hair.
"Well of course; the traffic can be dreadful and it's a half an hour drive over here. It's tiring sometimes, when I've just got off of work or if I'm at work early. It could be a lot worse and I'd still do it though." I replied with a shrug before placing a kiss on his chest.
"I have a proposition for you," he stated after a few seconds and I couldn't help but giggle softly; he didn't usually give me a warning before hand. "Not that kind," he added whilst his fingers lightly tickled down my bare side. "Promise to hear all of it first." It wasn't a question which meant he was being painfully serious. I couldn't stop my heart from picking up pace to thump in my chest.
"I promise," I replied because what else could I really say?
"Good." He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before pulling me back to his side tightly. It was oddly disconcerting to be talking so seriously without being to see his face.
"I've been thinking and this arrangement is starting to become a little tedious for both of us." I gasped at his words; I couldn't understand where they were coming from or why he was choosing this moment to voice his opinion. He was speaking for me as well yet he had no idea how I truly felt so I opened my mouth to speak up but I was silenced by his forefinger resting on my lips. "You promised." He chastised softly. "It's nothing bad. I've wanted to sell one of my houses for awhile now, or more favourably rent it out. This situation of events has proved to be a catalyst in my thinking. I want to buy a home between Shreveport and Bon Temps. I want you to move in with me." I was speechless.
"What?" I stuttered, letting all of my emotions leak into my voice. I pushed up and away from his chest so that I could rest on my elbows, finally able to see his face. Tension had filled his previously languid muscles no doubt from my reaction but he still looked honest and sincere. "What?" I asked again, finding nothing else that could even begin to portray what I was feeling. He wanted us to live together, in a new home.
My mind was a convoluted mess of swirling thoughts as I tried to think through what he'd just asked me. We'd been dating for months, and if this was a standard human relationship the next logical step would have been cohabiting but this wasn't a standard relationship. He was a vampire, I was a human, and would it be practically possible to live together? I wasn't sure we'd really see each more than what we did now. Without thinking over any of the complications or factors my mind screamed to say yes to this man. The fact that really clinched it for me though was that I just wasn't ready to leave my grandmother's house, I couldn't say goodbye to my memories yet.
"I don," I didn't get any further than that before he cut me off with his finger over my lips again. I could tell my eyes were burning with my desire to speak and with the startled shock of what he'd asked me.
"I'll explain further. I didn't think you'd be ready to leave your home properly and I only know a fraction of what you think of that place." Sometimes he seemed to know me better than I thought I knew myself, it was always shocking when he came out with one of his insights. "We don't change our routine much, but instead of coming all the way to Shreveport we go to our home. You can go there when you want; I can go there when I want. It would be a safe haven for us. The nights we normally don't get to spend together because of travelling we can. We still have our own space."
"You've thought about this a lot." I stated as mind began to pick over the new pieces of information.
"Yes. I had a feeling you wouldn't want to move straight in with me so I thought about a compromise." He really did seem to know me too well; he was also remarkably good at getting what he wanted.
"You asked me anyway though."
"Yes, I may know you well but I can still hope. Sometimes you shock me beyond belief, I had to see what you would say." He shrugged his large shoulders, his muscles less tense, before the serious expression returned to his handsome features. "What do you think?"
"I think a lot of things. Without considering the factors, I want to scream yes." A bright smile spread across his lips.
"I can make you scream yes again if you want." I slapped his chest lightly, his tone wasn't right for his usual joking self.
"You know what I mean. Plus that's without factors. I can't leave Bon Temps, it's all I've ever known, I definitely can't leave fully. I won't quit my job at the bar. I don't think I can let go of my memories of my home yet. I don't know. Can I have some time to think?" The strange question wasn't without humour though; I was asking a vampire for time, they had more than enough to spare.
"Of course. Now, would you like time to think right now," he grasped my small hand in his large ones so that he could lay a lingering kiss on my palm. "Or would you like a distraction so that you can start thinking clearly later?" He placed another kiss on my palm, this time his tongue darting out to briefly dart across my skin. I knew I shouldn't give in, but I wanted to give in. I think my undoing was that I wasn't ready to think everything through; he offered the perfect get out of jail free card.
"Come here." Before I could begin to think what he actually wanted his strong arms picked me up so that I was lying on top of him, the covers still hanging around my shoulders. "Better." My heated skin was flush along his long body and feeling his hard muscles underneath me was extremely comfortable and comforting. "Sookie?"
"Yes?" My arms were folded across his upper chest, the side of my head resting against my forearms as I stared up at him.
"What happened to you when you were younger?"
"Huh?" I asked eloquently, I couldn't think of what he meant for a few seconds until realisation came rushing to me. Uncle Bartlett. "You're in a strange mood today," I remarked, trying to change the subject whilst also speaking something that had been on my mind.
"I don't think so," he replied sounding as unsure as he really could.
"We've been busy for hours and the two times that we stop you start up heavy discussions, you usually have the discussions whilst clothes are on and then unwind from the conversations without clothes."
"That may be so, but stop avoiding the question." I'd alluded to a little of what had happened when I was little when Jason had mentioned something about Uncle Bartlett a few weeks ago. He hadn't pressed me for information at the time and I'd assumed that I was safe, but it really was time I told him everything.
"What do you want to know?" I asked quietly; I could feel the shadow growing across my eyes.
"About you? Everything. You interest me like no other woman has. What happened with your uncle Bartlett?" He brought one of his hands up to stroke my free flowing hair away from my face, working to sooth my tense body as well.
"I don't know how small I was when everything started; my parents were still alive so I was maybe five. My mother didn't want to believe me so she didn't, she never told my father and I just couldn't tell him. I was his little girl and he was my hero, I didn't want him to think that less because of the things that were happening. So it continued, he was my grandma's brother so we saw him a lot. Every time he visited he found a way to be alone with me. I could hear everything that he wanted to do; sometimes I even got the graphics. It was horrible." Without my consent a tear began to roll down my cheek to be wiped away by one of Eric's thumbs.
"Don't cry, I won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe with me, you know that?" He held my face in his hands so that I had no choice but to look straight into his tender eyes. It was moments like these that I truly had a grasp of the emotions, of the love, he felt for me.
"I know, it's just difficult to talk." He nodded his head and went back to brushing strands of hair back from my face, the repetition easing my frayed thoughts. "It went on for at least a year. It started out with just stroking my face, then he went to my arms, my legs, my thighs. I could see what he wanted to do with me. Eventually, just before my parents died he was touching me around my, "I struggled to find the right word, not wanting to give Eric the wrong impression. It had been years since these things had happened but they still haunted me, I didn't like people knowing about it for fear that they would blame me. "My pubic region. When I was staying with my grandma, it was only a few weeks after my parents' funeral, Uncle Bartlett came to visit. I didn't know about it and the first thing I saw was what he intended to do to me that day, I picked it right out of his head from two rooms away. He was justifying it by saying he hadn't been alone with me for so long. I did what I could think to do at such a tender age." I paused to calm my breathing, letting the memories come flooding back so that I could tell them to him.
"Go on Sookie," he whispered, using my name instead of 'lover' which he hardly ever seemed to do.
"My grandmother found me and I told her what he'd done. He of course denied it but she believed me, she cut him out of our lives completely. She gave up her own brother for me, for what I told her even though she couldn't prove it. I found out later that there'd been a similar incident with my aunt, but it hadn't been anywhere near like what had happened to me. I had nightmares about it for hears; I'd wake up in the night feeling like someone was touching me all over, sometimes even inside me." I shuddered at the memories. Fortunately they hadn't haunted me in a long time, the last time had been when Bill had cheated on me and I'd been feeling very sorry for myself, allowing these memories to resurface on their own.
"How did he touch you?" Eric asked, his voice taking on the deep growling tone that showed his anger.
"What? I'm not answering that Eric, I honestly don't really know anymore either. I blotted a lot of details out." I was aghast that he could think of such a thing.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, did he actually touch you inside? Did he rape you?" He asked with his voice barely audible.
"No. That's what he wanted to do the day that I hid." Tears were rolling freely down my cheeks but I'd been lucky, there were children out there that hadn't been as lucky as me.
"Good. Don't cry." His thumbs were back to stroking over my cheeks, wiping away the salty liquid as they spilt from my eyes. The sobs never came though; I felt too safe wrapped up in him like this. "I could kill that man for doing this to you." He growled out a few seconds later and I realised that his fangs had run down, I could see them as he spoke and the tiny tell tale bumps on his upper lip.
"You can't," I replied coolly, that had been sorted out a long time ago, Bill hadn't even voiced what he wanted to do, he'd just simply done it.
"Why not? He hurt you in ways that I can't really imagine. I could rip him limb from limb whilst his heart still beat."
"He's dead. Bill killed him."
"Well, at least the pathetic excuse for a vampire did something worthwhile." The juxtaposition of his words with his tender movements were startling.
"Why would you say that?"
"It's what I am lover." At least we were back to 'lover'; this conversation wouldn't last for much longer, at least not about Uncle Bartlett. "It's written in me to kill him for what he did to you. I know you wouldn't like it and I wouldn't actually kill him because it would alienate you from me. I would terrify him though; he would never dare to even think about hurting anyone else." I softly smiled up at him. He was fighting a millennia's worth of instinct all for me.
"Can we not talk about Uncle Bartlett now? Please." My tears had stopped rolling about the same time shock had registered at his clear desire for killing someone, but I hadn't moved from my position of lying along his body.
"Okay, I have a feeling you won't like this either."
"What is it?"
"Something else I want to know. If it helps, think of it this way. We need to have these conversations; you can have them in one night and get them out of your way. We have two more hours before sunrise; I expect to have you in my arms, peaceful, beautiful and resting well before then."
"Okay then," I replied even as my body relaxed against him at merely the thought of being snuggled up to him. For the big bad vampire he portrayed he sure could give very nice hugs. I had the feeling it wasn't natural for him though and his actions were brought about because of his feelings for me, and therefore, his actions were for only me.
"Who was your first?" He was right, I didn't like where this was going. "I had feared it would have had something to do with your experience as a child, but I was thankfully wrong. So, who was your first sexual partner?" He spoke without even a hint of embarrassment, in fact his voice had dropped and his intonation was perfect as usual, with just the hint of his accent peaking through.
"You won't like my answer, but it was Bill."
"He was good to you?" I couldn't believe he wanted to hear these things; he was so protective and possessive over me, I'd assumed he wouldn't want to even think of things like that, things involving someone else other than him.
"Yes, he wasn't all bad Eric."
"I think we'll have to agree to disagree there lover," Eric replied with an almost chuckle.
"I'm not defending him; I'm just saying that in the beginning of our relationship he was good."
"I'm better than Bill." He didn't pose it as a question but I could hear it in his voice; he may be a vampire but he was still a man. He needed his ego stroking occasionally, even though it already seemed to be inflated most of the time.
"Much. Not even on the same scale," I replied. I leaned up, my hands flat against the slightly bulky muscles of his chest, to kiss his lips, letting my tongue dart out to dance with his. When I pulled back his lips were pulled into a devilish smirk, the mischievous look in his sparkling eyes making me nervous about whatever he was planning. "What?"
"Nothing." I raised my eyebrows at him pointedly until he continued. "Bill's supposed to be stopping by Fangtasia later this week on his way back to Bon Temps from South America." I hadn't even realised he'd been gone this time, I also couldn't recall him mentioning an impending trip to me. Something told me that Eric had had something to do with that. "I was just thinking how much more bearable it will be to face him now. Will you do me the honour of joining me?"
"No." I'd already been witness to one of their fights over me, I wasn't about to walk up to Bill on Eric's arm to flaunt, no matter how much I wanted to do it, it simply wasn't right.
"It was worth a try. So, as Bill was your valiant guide to sexual bliss, what did he teach you?"
"What do you want here? Touch by touch or generals? You might want to ask a question and I'll just respond with yes or no." I could feel heat beginning to flame my cheeks at my words, so unlike me.
"Okay lover. Did he drink from you during sex?"I nodded my head but he seemed to have already known that answer. "Where did he drink from?"
"My neck, it was always my neck." My voice became raspier with each word as vivid memories flashed across my mind from other places that Eric had taken blood from.
"Did you ever have anal sex?" His hands skirted down my hair to gentle stroke up the line from hip to shoulder, both hands running the same motion.
"No and I don't want to either."
"It can be pleasurable lover, trust me on that. For both people involved." Was my reply but my body shuddered at the thought of being taken in such a way.
"I do trust you, but I still don't want to. Sex with you is more than enough." A large grin spread across his lips again at my words, no doubt his pride and ego were growing further.
"I will never make you do anything you don't want to. Did he ever share you with anyone? Ménage a trois?"
"No. Can you really imagine Bill sharing with me with someone? Honestly I don't want to try that either, and never have done." I nodded my head to emphasise my point and I saw the edges of his lips tweaking.
"Why don't you want to try it?"
"Because I would only want to try new things with you and I'm not going to share you. You have plenty enough for me." My fingers danced along his pecs as I let my words sink in, stooping my neck to lay a kiss on the centre of chest. "Do you want to do these things?" I asked suddenly, worried that this may be the reason he was asking; I was a human could I really fulfil him for long?
"Not really. I've done them before but I have you lover, as you put it, you are plenty for me. Now, I think it's time for you to rest. I can see sleep gliding into your eyes." I was gently moved from on top of him then, to lie beside him. A moment later the bedside light was switched off and I felt his bare chest brushing up against his back as he folded his tall frame around mine. His strong arm slunk around my waist, pulling me in tight against him so that his mouth rested just above my ear.
"I love you," he whispered before placing a barely there kiss on the part of my neck just below my ear. My heart still flip flopped in my chest every time I heard those words spill from his mouth.
"I love you too," I replied sleepily. I hadn't felt tired before but now my body and mind were already walking the thin line between waking and sleep.
"You are mine, I am yours." He added. It had become one of his favourite things to say whilst we were alone; it gave into his possessive streak whilst allowing me to feel like I was maintaining control. Deep down though, I liked feeling that I belonged him in lesser way than most vampires meant it. I loved knowing that I had the same control over him that he did of me. He really was my vampire.
The next morning when I awoke it was to a perfectly still and dark room, only my deep breathing breaking the silence that I truly loved. Eric's arm was still wrapped around my waist although he was now laid on his stomach, limbs stretched out in a spread eagle manner. I couldn't imagine him sleeping a coffin like a lot of vampires actually do and like he sometimes has to; it made my joints ache at the thought of tucking up his tall body for so long. Stealthily I slipped out from under his arm and out of the bed; he had developed the habit of tightening his grip if he realised I was leaving. If that happened my only option was to rouse him enough to let me go, which is no easy fete, trying to wake a vampire during the day. I grabbed a pair of pyjama pants from my drawer and pulled his shirt on over my head when I found on the floor before padding into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from my eyes.
When I opened the refrigerator door in search of breakfast I expected to see the typical disarray of True Blood bottles strewn around on every shelf with a few bits of food that I could actually eat scattered in between. When I actually found surprised me in a very good way; all the bottles were quite ordered, only occupying one shelf with lots of different groceries taking up the rest of the space. Two different types of juice sat in the door side by side with the milk carton, fresh food sat on the top shelf, meat products on the bottom shelf. There were easily enough ingredients to make a proper meal. Smiling I grabbed the bacon, eggs and sausages, deciding to give myself a treated.
When I placed everything on the counter for my cooked breakfast I discovered something else rather startling; new appliances were dotted about on the work top. A programmable coffee maker that was just whirring to life, grabbed my attention first as the bitter scent of coffee percolated through the air. Other things that were standard in a human's kitchen were there as well but it was the most nondescript item that really got to me. There, nestled between the windowsill and the counter, was a wooden breadbin with an honest to God fresh loaf inside. I giggled happily to myself; he was really trying, before making my breakfast that would now be accompanied by toast.
An hour later I found myself sitting in Eric's leather office chair in the study, trying to figure out his computer. You know you're behind on times when vampires can work modern machines better than you. Fortunately, I'm a good problem solver and I found the word documents rather quickly; it was now time for my list. I knew I couldn't move in with him fully but that didn't stop me from desiring it. He had spoken the truth yesterday; I needed to organise my thoughts and start fresh, the best way I knew was to create a pros and cons list. I just hoped it wouldn't turn out the same way it did for Ross and Rachel.
Among the top of my pros list were things like being able to spend more time together, it was true enough that our journey times seriously ate into our time spent together. The fuel I'd save would be a great help on my funds and my car would probably last longer, of course I usually used the truck now anyway. Overall, if you looked at this side of the list you'd wonder why I wasn't looking at houses.
On the downside however there were two major points stopping me from nipping home, packing my bags and moving in here straight away. I couldn't leave my grandmother's house but I'd essentially reasoned that out; he'd suggested a partial move. I'd still have my own space and I wouldn't have to say goodbye to my childhood home. The other thing seriously stopping me was almost shameful; it was my pride.
If I was to share a home I would expect to pay my share of everything and I simply didn't have the funds. Even if I had some funds available I wouldn't be able to afford that extravagance that Eric was accustomed to living in. Right now it surrounded me; I was sat in a leather chair working on a brand new computer even though he hardly ever worked here, preferring to spend his time at the office in Fangtasia. This place, although only consisting of one floor, was bigger than both floors of my home. Every wall room was freshly decorated; the floors were all shining wood and covered with fur rugs. I couldn't afford anything like this. I could take extra shifts at the bar but it still wouldn't be enough to cover what I'd need, not even enough for bills. Resigned, and hoping that Eric had a solution, I shut down the computer and returned to the bedroom.
It was already early afternoon and given the time in winter, the sun would be setting soon. I'd only been lounging in the living room on the plush sofa for just over an hour when I heard the tell tale signs of movement coming from the bedroom. I popped my book down on the coffee table and drew the blackout blinds so that it was safe for him to leave the room. Twenty minutes later he exited wearing only his jeans, a t-shirt over his impressive shoulders and towel drying his long hair.
"Hello lover, did you have a good day?" For all intents and purposes, in that moment we were just like any other couple seeing each other in the evening, wondering how the others' day had gone.
"It was good; I did a lot of thinking. Thank-you for the kitchen," I smiled at him, taking in the taught muscles on his stomach that would forever be on the verge of a deeply etched eight pack. For me they were perfect; showing his muscles and strength without being bulky. They were also fun to run my fingers over.
"Good," he smirked as he noticed where I was looking. He disappeared for a couple of seconds to come back without the towel; I could only assume he'd chucked it into the washing machine. "Did you come to a decision?" He asked with his eyebrows raised before pulling his shirt swiftly over his head. It was deep blue.
"I think so," I replied. I swung my legs down from the sofa before patting the cushion next to me, inviting him to sit down. He did so without question, choosing to sit close to me with one leg stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles and completely relaxed. I loved being with him when he was like this, it was the real Eric. I could find hints of the person I'd first fallen for in him clearly at times like these. Of course my love had changed, evolved with the full personality but I still had special feelings for those early days.
"You won't like this, but I don't think I can move in with you." I started out, not wanting to just say no when I really wanted to say yes, but I was not going to be kept, I would not simply be a trophy on his arm.
"Why?" He asked with all of the emotion drained from him, he sounded slightly hollow. I knew that he hadn't expected this; he knew I'd be stubborn about it but he hadn't expected a refusal, I had an inkling that he'd wanted to ask me before but had waited until he thought he wouldn't be rejected.
"Earlier I wrote a list of the pros and cons, there were many more pros than cons."
"Then live with me," he sat up straight, his knees bent. It was a goodbye to the relaxed persona from only a few seconds ago.
"Wait, let me explain." He nodded his head in affirmation. "I do want to live with you. I wasn't sure if it would work, a vampire and a human, but you showed me that you can adapt and I can adapt. We could make it work. I'd love to spend more time with you, somewhere we can be alone together and be relaxed but the cons seemed to be weightier than the pros. I can't leave my grandmother's home, and I can't rent it out, but you already thought of that so I'm not going to be considering that much anymore. I realised earlier that I would expect myself to pay my way, I wouldn't let you keep. I'd need to pay my share but I can't do that. I don't physically have enough money to do it. So, I can't move in with you."
"Lover, you won't like what I'm about to say either. But that seems like an excuse to not live with me, no matter what you say about wanting to. You're scared to take the next step. Probably understandably. I won't let you back out of this for such an almost trivial reason." He paused for a quick breath, during which he saw me balking at the last bit he'd said, a strange emotion washed over his face, it looked almost like regret. "You know I didn't mean it like that. I know it's important to you; trust me, I understand pride. But I won't let it stop us." His face grew determined as he stared into my eyes, their only similarities was that they were blue. His were a deep blue shade, true blue with sometimes a hint of green, mine tended more towards steel. When he looked at me like that I couldn't turn him down, I knew in my heart it was what I wanted. I realised he spoke the truth as well, I was scared, at least a little but it honestly wasn't the only thing stopping me.
"I promise that if we can find a solution that lets me pay for my share, I'll move in with you gladly." I leaned towards him, cupping his face with my small hands, letting my words sink in for a few seconds until I bent my head to his and kissed him.
The kiss was sweet, soft and caring, our lips working perfectly together as my flesh yielded to his, giving him everything I had. Soft flesh moved together as we continued to kiss, no rush in our movements but our bodies were getting closer with each second. When I finally had to break away, gasping for air, I was sat in his lap with my arms wrapped around his neck with his hands enveloping my body, holding me tightly to him.
"Then I promise to find a way." He laid a more forceful kiss on my lips letting me feel the hard press of his fangs before he laid his head back, resting it against the back of the sofa.
"Are you okay?" I asked as my fingers traced down his neck, along the tendons that were stood out at the stretch.
"Yes, you drive me wild lover. I'm just calming down." A few seconds later he lifted his head, his fangs retracted and a smile spreading over his lips as he gazed at me. "Will you do something with me tonight?"
"What is it?" I questioned cautiously, it wasn't a good idea to agree without knowing the details when dealing with vampires, no matter how close you were to the vampire in question.
"Come looking at houses with me tonight, don't question it. I'll find a way." I had the strong sensation that he would find a way too; when he set his mind to it he could be stubborn until he got his own way. Which was all of the time.
"Okay." I couldn't disagree, not after the words I'd just relayed to him and it wasn't like we were going to buy something on the spot. It was a reasonable idea although there was probably more to it that he wasn't telling me.
An hour later I found myself sat in a nondescript bar that was supposed to cater for the undead and all of their followers, which actually meant it, was a hangout for fang-bangers. However, like the excellent bar owner that Eric is he had to check out the competition to see if there actually was any competition. I'd done several things like this with him before but this seemed to take the biscuit. Garbed in gothic colours with a lace design printed on the walls it was like Disney World gone wrong, if Walt had ever gone stark raving mad. Perhaps it was more like Universal at Halloween when catering for the pre-teens.
A gin and tonic was sat in front of me and Eric was nursing his own drink, a bottle of O positive that he'd barely taken a sip out of. Spread out on the booth table were sheets and sheets of paperwork, most sporting pictures of different types of houses all in different areas and with different price tags. It was actually a little overwhelming.
"I imagine you want something in the popular style, antebellum perhaps?" Eric asked as he flickered through some papers at an alarming speed.
"Maybe, I've never thought about it, I've always imagined living in my grandmother's house forever." I shrugged knowing that my eyes were wide as I wracked my mind for features I would like.
"Take a look at these." He handed me the stack he'd been looking through, all of them neatly lined up with the ones below. He took another sip of his drink then, grimacing at the taste of the common blood group. "They need to stock better supplies if they're going to interest any vampires," he said loudly and clearly as he popped the bottle back on the table. He'd once explained why he didn't like the common blood groups; when you've been around for a thousand years everything becomes mundane, wouldn't you tire from eating the same thing day after day for a millennia?
Starting at the top I saw a large brick house, boring in style, that looked like it could come from any part of the country and be from any estate. It lacked character and charm and everything that I associated with a home, although it had everything necessary for a house. By the time I'd looked through half the pile I'd realised something; I wanted what I already had, I wanted a house that had personality, with that lived in air. Apparently Eric was becoming more adept at reading me, even though he swore I had the ability like no other to surprise him, because he looked up at me expectantly, questioning me with his eyes.
"I don't like brick houses," I started with the easiest of my desires.
"Perhaps, you should tell me what you do want."
"I want a house with wooden slats, shutters on the windows, a porch that wraps around the ground floor although there doesn't need to be a first floor. I want a big enough garden that I can sit outside in the summer, work on my tan and I want a home, not just a house." When I stopped looking at the house on the sheet of paper than I was basically describing, I saw that Eric was staring at me with small smile on his face.
"What?" I asked self consciously, a small blush working its way up my cheeks.
"Your face, you become more animated when you talk about something you love. You talk about your family and friends like that, and you talk about houses that you love like that; you basically described your grandmother's house though. But the best part is, you talk about me like that."
I grinned back at him before continuing through the rest of the pile of papers. It was only then that I wasn't taking any of Eric's thoughts into consideration. We would have to compromise on a lot of things which would be difficult for both us and God bless him, Eric was trying and he was thinking more about my human needs as well. "What kind of house would you like?" I downed the rest of my drink and pushed the glass to the side where it joined Eric's still half full bottle at the edge of the table, ready for the waitress to clear up.
"Anything reasonable, I've lived in many different places and houses, I've discovered a few things over the years. It doesn't really matter where you live but who you share it with." He shrugged his large shoulders as he sat back against the booth.
"So you'll be happy with anything I pick?"
"Yes, within reason. I'm not going to live in something with sprawling windows and decorated with flowers in every room." Just the idea of Eric sat on a cream sofa; everything around him decorated in old woman style, looking out through a window that took up most of the wall was enough to bring laughter to my lips. "Now, which ones do you like the look of lover?" I praised myself for organising the papers as I'd been looking through them so I simply handed over the pile that had passed my approval, of which there weren't actually that many. "Would you like to go looking at some of these? We can drive our way over to Bon Temps; we can stay at your place."
"That sounds good; we didn't have anything planned for this evening anyway. It can't hurt to look," I replied.
"Good, come on, I don't like this place." He stood up gathering the remaining papers up as he moved. I stood up more slowly, the late hour already beginning to take its toll on my energy reserves and it would be nice to sit in the corvette for awhile with its comfortable seats with intra seat heating.
"Where are we going first?" I asked once we'd been on the road for about fifteen minutes and we already more than halfway to Bon Temps, speeding down the back roads, taking in the small towns or villages, most places we passed even smaller than my hometown.
"We'll be there in two minutes, it's a place called Lower Denby."
Just over a minute later we pulled up outside a house that was illuminated from within by what appeared to be every light in the house switched on. The house was large, with two storeys that seemed completely unnecessary for just the two of us but everything else seemed to fit the criteria; wraparound porch, sprawling garden with a separate driveway, wooden slats and even the shutters on the window.
"This place seems nice," I stated because it honestly was, but I couldn't help feeling like it was too big. It was larger than my grandmother's house and I didn't use at least half of that on a regular basis.
The next four houses we looked at were the same; all perfectly nice but nothing seemed to jump out at me, I couldn't imagine myself living in one of them, even if it was only a partial move. That all changed though with the second to last house. We were closer to Bon Temps than we'd originally thought would be a good idea; however we weren't that far out of our original scoping area. The home that I was interested in was a quaint little house that was nestled into the back of a larger properties garden.
The wooden slats were painted a pale colour, what the actual colour was I couldn't actually tell due to the darkness of the night yet I could tell that it was a modern build house in the antebellum style. The roof tiles were dark with two windows peaking out of them, giving the house a sort of smiling expression with the wraparound porch just underneath. The porch itself went around the entire ground floor, only stopping when it reached the brick chimney that climbed into the sky higher than the roof. All of the windows had old style, plain shutters that gave some character to the peaceful looking place. The small for sale sign though was sat between the little house and the larger one it shared land with.
"Which one's actually for sale?"
"Both, although the listing is ambiguous, which one do you like best?"
"The little one."
"I shall have to look into it," Eric replied sounding as though he was deep in thought.
"Eric, there probably isn't much point. You know it's not even definite that we're doing this, I'm not entirely sure why we're looking."
"Trust me, I'll find a way." I did trust and I did know that he would make this happen, when he set his mind to something he wouldn't let anything stand in his way. "Would you like to call it a night? You're getting very drowsy," he added. It was true; my eyelids had been drooping steadily lower for the past twenty minutes and I was ready for sleep, I'd been thinking of curling up in bed for quite awhile.
"Let's go, we're not that far away."
"What do you mean you can't make it happen tonight? You're the night lawyer; you get paid to make this happen!"
"Oh Sookie, thank goodness you're here," Pam greeted me as soon as I stepped through the staff door at Fangtasia the next week. Eric's shouting was ricocheting down the corridor, reaching us easily even though we were near the bar. "That's a lovely colour for your skin tone," Pam added with a secretive smile gracing her pretty face.
"Erm thanks Pam. You look good too!" I just couldn't not return the compliment, besides, it was true, and she looked as good as ever. "What's going on?" I asked with a speculative glance down the corridor where shouted words were bleeding into each other, no longer intelligible.
"He's been like this for a few days, he won't tell me what's going on, and he says I'll tell you. He's in negotiations with some form of lawyer. From what I gather it's something to do with property." She shrugged her slight shoulders before swaying off through the door to the bar.
"Okay then," I said to myself. I had the feeling that Eric was doing something he knew I wouldn't necessarily agree with. It would explain his secrecy with Pam; especially if it had to do with us possibly living together it could raise his emotions quite high.
I walked down the hallway in silence, trying to make out what Eric was saying but he was speaking so fast his words were all merging into one; I felt truly sorry for the person on the other end of the phone. When I was about three paces from the door there was a loud smashing sound as something hit the door. "Eric?" I questioned loudly yet timidly as I reached the door. There was no response, which should have been immediate, so I opened the door, keeping my body behind it. I knew he wouldn't harm me on purpose, but with him this angry there was a lot of room for accidents.
I found Eric stood with his back to the door, one hand running continuously through his long hair that was in complete disarray around his head. The other hand held a clump of metal, moulded I imagined into the shape of his hand; the vampire equivalent of a stress toy. He was facing his desk, stooped over and visibly shaking with rage. The phone, which was the object that had hit the door, was shattered into tiny pieces on the floor. It was in such tiny pieces that I could only guess it was his phone.
"Eric?" I asked again which sent him whirling around to face me.
"Sookie," he breathed and I saw some of the tension leave him, for one he stopped shaking. The chunk of metal he was holding thudded to the floor, rolling slightly to rest under the desk. It was then, following the motion that my sights came across the edge of one of the filing cabinets. It was barely standing up several fist shaped dents married the side and one of the drawer fronts was completely missing, at least that explained where the stress ball had come from.
"Are you okay?" I asked, knowing it was a stupid question, something was clearly wrong to provoke this reaction but I just couldn't think of anything else that was more appropriate.
"I'm getting better," he replied as he covered the distance between us in two strides, immediately wrapping his arms around me tightly when he reached me. The door was pushed shut behind me as somehow. My own arms snaked around his neck as I stood on tip toe to better reach him. "Can I borrow you phone?" He asked after a few seconds of just holding me, with everything passing beat of my heart more tension left him until he was merely angry.
"Yes, just promise not to break it." I said whilst I was already fishing for it from the pockets of my trousers.
"You know I can't promise that, but if I do break it I will replace it," he replied with a chuckle. His fingers flew over the keys as he dialled a number from memory. He held one finger up at me and I took it as my queue to get comfortable.
"Salvas, tell me you've sorted something out." His angry tone was back but it was less harsh than before, I really couldn't tell if this was the same person from before. "Finally. Tell them I want word from them tomorrow evening with a full download of the situation and whether it's likely to have spread to other areas." The call abruptly ended and he tossed the phone, somewhat gently, onto the desk.
"What's wrong?"
"I've several things over the past week, many interlink, the first is the most troublesome." He indicated the sofa to the side of the room which I gladly accepted, taking his hand so that he would follow me. He began to speak again as soon as I was sat down, my legs folded up underneath me. "I've been speaking with the sheriff of area 6; they've been the latest victims." My stomach sank at his words, I had no idea what offense had been committed against them, but I knew they were a strong area; Eric actually respected the head vampire.
"What's happened?"
"They've had a human traitor in their midst, they've been under investigation for a couple of weeks and they've finally found their mole. Around the country humans that have been sworn allegiance to vampires have been influenced by the new church, giving them information on vampire politics mainly. In some areas worse." His voice was grave and low as he spoke, obviously worried by the recent events. He curled up his long body to sit on the floor, his back against the sofa near my knees. One of his legs was stretched out in front of him whilst the other was folded with his arm wrapped around it. It looked surprisingly human.
"The Fellowship of the Sun church?"
"Yes. Recently cities across America have been victim; Los Angeles, Detroit, Montgomery, Jacksonville, my friends in Dallas. A couple of places have had serious incidents, vampires being attacked although none have been successful, more irritations at this stage. What worries me is that the church has potential. They can cause us great damage and the number of followers they have seems to be growing by the day."
"I can't allow myself to be at risk, and I know that I am. I want to protect you and I'm scared that I can't. Which is the reason for what I'm about to ask you. I need you on my staff Sookie; I want you to use your gift of telepathy if you can and will, to help keep us safe."
"What would this entail?" I asked, wanting to help but not knowing if really could.
"I want you to do regular checks on my human employees, more than the few checks you've run on some of them. Ideally every month so that we can catch any possible traitors before any true damage is done. You will be given a salary for your services in keeping with everyone else here." He turned his head to look at me, the worry plane in the slight crinkling around his eyes. "Would you be willing?"
"Of course, if it helps keep us safe." I spoke the utter truth, it would break me if anything ever happened to Eric, the knife would cut even deeper if I knew I could have done anything to help him. What he was asking was reasonable, something that might actually work, it wasn't foolproof they the person being tested would have to been at least half thinking about the church, but with the right questions it could be brought about.
"Thank-you." He grasped my hand from where it had been laying atop my knees to place a gentle kiss on my palm. "We can arrange details when I don't have other news to tell you. I'm afraid you might like this even less."
"I placed an offer on the little house we saw, below the asking price and they accepted. I'm in a legal contract to buy the house now."
"But Eric, I can't afford anything yet!" I replied, getting angry at him going behind my back. My legs uncurled from underneath me so that I could sit up straight, no longer leaning against the arm of the sofa. "We already talked about this."
"I know, but with not having to come through to Shreveport you can work more late shifts, get better tips. You'd save a lot of money on bills from your home and with the new telepathy job you'd have enough, I think." My mind clicked into gear; had he purposefully asked me to do the new job so that there'd be nothing stopping us moving in together? I'd known him to be this devious before, but only with other people, he'd never done anything this close to pure manipulation with me before.
"Did you create this job for me? Just so I'd move in?" I shrieked, standing up and pacing across the room.
"No!" He replied, standing up so I was no longer taller than him.
"Honestly?" I turned around and stared up at him, straight into his beautiful eyes, looking for any hint of a lie in them.
"No." He was telling the truth. "I've been hearing of these incidents for awhile and they've been getting closer to home, the Dallas problems reached me tonight which is why I asked you to use your telepathy. I admit though, it is helpful in this situation." His pale hand ran through his blond locks again, sending the locks into disarray once more. He was telling me the truth and this seemed more like him with the way he acted with me, not deceitful or lying but making the absolute best out of any situation.
"Then what does this mean?" I asked aloud, but really for myself.
"If you take this simply, it means that you can get the extra cash you need and we're safer than we were."
"I don't know Eric," I replied whilst my mind was still reeling.
"Sookie, don't use the situation as another excuse to not do what you want because you're scared!" His words stung and rung with clarity in my mind because deep down I knew that's what I was doing. I'd never committed myself to anyone so much and it was terrifying but it felt right. I knew what I had to do.
"I want two months, let me build up some money so that I know I have enough and I'll do it." My breath rattled out of me as I agreed but I knew instantly that I'd done the right thing, the broad grin stretching across his lips was enough reward for my bravery.
"Two months. I have to go along with proceedings now but it's likely to take longer than that. Two months." He crossed the gap between us in two long strides so that he could wrap his arms around my shoulders, bringing me in tight to his body. His lips found mine instantly. I kissed him with everything I had, letting my convoluted emotions out into my actions but making sure that he knew I loved him. "We have so much to discuss!" He cried out, the happiness clear in his voice and all the anger from earlier completely gone. I grinned back at him; I just couldn't not smile, as his mouth descended on mine once more.
"Do you know what I'm looking forward to?" He whispered against my lips, barely pulling back enough to speak.
"What's that?"
"Christening every room."
So what did you think? I would love some feedback; you know I love reviews almost as much as being bitten. I'm going to update the timeline/synopsis page tomorrow and I don't know how to do that without deleting it first so I warn you now, one of the alert things some of you guys get will be from that. Another question, which sounds very stupid, the Halloween Massacre that Eric references in Living Dead in Dallas, St Petersburg Russia or St Petersburg Florida? I'm thinking Russia but I wanted to be sure. In my defence I'm highly blond. Thanks.
Oh, this story takes place about six months after they've been together properly, sometime just after Christmas I think.