A/N: Whoopsie! Sometimes when I write I leave blanks when I need to look up something and I left one in the last chapter. The __________ was supposed to be Pat Benatar. Hehe! My bad :)
Chapter 7
Unsurprisingly, I slept the entire day alongside Eric and awoke to him kissing my temple and stroking my back. I stretched lazily and pressed myself to his wide chest.
"Good evening, my Dear One", he crooned in my ear. I smiled contentedly and reached my arms around his neck. He kissed me lightly and reverently – with love. My heart nearly exploded.
"Mmmm, my Love," he purred, "I wish nothing more than to stay in this bed with you all night, but I'm afraid that our presence is required within the hour."
The words jerked me out of Eric's arms. "Within the hour?! Oh crap, I don't have anything to wear!" I leapt out of bed in a frenzy. "What are we attending?" I demanded. He caught my wrist and restrained me from having a full-on panic attack.
"Relax, Love. It is a ball, and as promised there are suitable clothes here for both of us." He gestured toward a set of large double doors in the corner of our suite. "But first I would like you to take my blood", he stated firmly. My natural stubbornness wanted to balk, but I didn't need to ask for his reasons; I could see them in his eyes and feel his conviction through our bond. I had to be strong and sharp if we were going to make it out of Las Vegas alive. I nodded my head agreeably at Eric and he seemed genuinely surprised.
"You aren't going to fight me on this?" he asked with wide eyes.
"No", I said, "I can feel your reasons and they make sense. I do need to be stronger for this."
My Viking reached for me and I saw bloody tears in his eyes. He crushed me tightly to his chest. "How…?" he rasped into my hair. I felt my own tears start to trail silently down my cheeks as he held me. In Eric's arms, I felt warm and entirely safe.
"I gave you my heart. I am yours, and you are mine. I trust you" I breathed. "Thank you, Love", my Eric said, then he spun me around and settled my back against his chest. I heard a little crunch and then his bleeding wrist was in front of my lips. I licked his open vein and then latched on, sucking his thick, sweet blood. My Love gasped and his body rocked behind me, against me. I knew what he wanted (blood and sex are like the same thing to vamps) and I wanted it too. I maneuvered my knees to the outside of his thighs and lowered my hips, impaling myself with his hard length.
"Uuuuuuh, Sookie", he groaned. My mouth drew deeply on his wrist as he guided my hips up and down on his throbbing erection with his other hand. His trusts became quicker, harder, and deeper; I threw my head back against his shoulder and moaned with a trickle of blood spilling down my chin. His body and his blood were singing through my veins, begging for more – for us to become one.
I could feel his climax building through the bond as well as my own. A delicious heat was pulsing through my core and I desperately needed to feel his teeth in my flesh. "Ahhh! Uh! Bite me! Bite me, Love!" I cried out.
Ask and ye shall receive. Eric growled as his fangs sunk into the soft skin of my shoulder. Drawing blood from one another, we exploded and rode the wave of our pleasure together. Gasping (well, again, at least I was) we collapsed on our sides. I felt more like a part of him than ever, and I could see in his gentle blue eyes that my vampire felt the same.
A couple of minutes of after shocks and kisses, and then we both realized how quickly time was a'wasting. Eric pulled me towards the pair of ornately carved doors in the suite (honestly, how had I missed those?) which opened into a fully-stocked closet and dressing room. Rows upon rows of pristine garment bags lined the walls, half black and half white. Well, actually more than half were white. I could guess which color bags were meant for me.
There were dozens of drawers full of everything we could possibly need: underwear, shoes, belts, jeans, tee shirts, accessories, the works. There was even a little rack of designer sunglasses. Now what in the heck do vampires need sunglasses for? I wondered. Must be purely a fashion thing.
Beside a rose-colored divan hung a beautiful black tuxedo. It looked to be exactly Eric's size - impeccably made - cut impossibly wide in the shoulders and narrow in the waist. Oh goodness, I couldn't wait to see him in it!
The space on the opposite side on the divan was occupied by an old-fashioned dress form draped with the most beautiful gown I had ever seen.
The ball gown was floor length and constructed of heavy rust-colored damask embroidered with golden roses. A throwback to the 1880's (heck, maybe it that's when it was made…), the gown had a gorgeous bustle and a flowing train. The bust line was low and gathered, and the thick fabric flowed seamlessly into two thin straps across the shoulders. Delicate cream lace fringed the bodice and trailed on the floor beneath the heavy damask. It was easily the most beautiful garment I had even seen.
With our short deadline I had to forgo another fieldtrip to the shower with my smoking-hot vamp. Instead I primped, curled and pinned my hair with care and haste. I ended up with a very Victorian up-do with loose ringlets hanging sporadically from the crown of my head and my temples. I discovered a delicate double headband made of gold wire twined around rows of shining crystals. Like everything else in this suite it was lovely, and I pinned it amongst my curls. Next, I found a drawer stocked with makeup in an antique vanity. I dusted on some smoky eye shadow, applied a bit of mascara and painted a pretty pink gloss on my lips. My skin was literally glowing due my very recent ingestion of Eric's blood. At last I dashed across the room in excitement to get into that absolutely stunning gown.
Eric had taken his tux into the bathroom before his shower, so I was left to dress alone. I rubbed in a liberal dose of some expensive looking body lotion and I selected a lacy cream-colored thong from a nearby bureau. (Who had picked out these spectacular clothes?) Finally, I eased the gown carefully over the dress form and registered its weight. Holy crap, this thing must be able to stand on its own! The bodice and skirt were fully lined with cream silk and whale boning along the torso and bust eliminated the necessity of a bra. I stepped into the gown and pulled up the zipper, holding my breath.
It was snug, but in a slimming way. I could still breathe, but I felt secure and in place. The hem was a bit too long, but I was sure that was in order to accommodate extra height from heels. I couldn't believe it! This lovely gown was a perfect fit and I couldn't ever remember feeling more beautiful.
I searched around for shoes, but found nothing suitable. Hmm. Surely there is something to go with this? Nope. Well, crap. That put a slight damper on my buoyant mood.
I opened the dressing room doors to whine a little to my vampire about shoes (a sure-fire-man-pleasing-topic) and stopped short. Eric was standing before me in his tux, looking as beautiful as a god come to earth. The suit hugged his wide shoulders, his trim waist and his long legs. His shirt was snowy white, and a black bow tie sat perfectly at his collar. My Viking's long blond hair was pulled back from his face in a neat low ponytail and his face looked flushed and, ironically, full of life. Soft light from the table lamp glinted in his azure eyes. He smiled at me tenderly and with pride. I realized that this must be the look I was giving him – stunned speechless and glowing with love.
"Dear One," he breathed, "you are exquisite."
"Right back at 'cha", I managed breathily.
His chest rumbled in amusement. "Come here and I will help you with your shoes." Eric held his hand out to me.
I was overcome with relief. "Oh, goodness! You have the shoes?! Whew! I was so worried! I couldn't find anything at all in that closet to go with this!" I waved my hands up and down, indicating the gown.
Eric chuckled as I practically bounded toward him, gown or no gown. "Oh yes, I have the shoes." He dangled a glittering gold sling-back heel from his fingertip. "Oh, they're so pretty", I said in amazement. Of course, by this point I should have expected lovely shoes to go with this heavenly vintage number.
"Allow me", my vampire said, crouching down his enormous frame to fit the shoes on me. He slipped the heels on each foot and I wobbled uncontrollably, giggling as his hand gripped my calves to steady me. This heavy-ass dress was seriously upsetting my equilibrium.
I looked down at Eric, who was just releasing my legs - I think I was steady now - and said, "Thank you, Honey." I noted that the hem hung perfectly now.
My vampire was gazing up at me with an intensity that I had never seen before. His eyes were fathomless and glowed like the fire of twin blue suns. He was so handsome and so overpowering that I longed to yank him to his feet and wrap my whole soul around him.
Eric didn't stand up.
"Sookie. My sweet Sookie," he said kneeling before me, "I have lived longer than you could ever know. I have seen things you could not imagine. War, pain and suffering; more than any one being should be asked to endure. But now… I don't regret a single moment of it. All the lives that I have lived, all the blood that I have spilt over a thousand years has led me to you. When you walked into my bar and into my life, you made me the happiest being in existence." I could feel the tears brewing in my eyes as I gazed at the powerful Viking, kneeling at my feet.
"A millennium has passed since my birth and I have finally found my home. You make me laugh, you challenge me, and sometimes you downright piss me off" – I somehow managed to sob and laugh simultaneously as he kissed my palm – "Dear One, you are my heart, and I know you didn't have a choice when I ninja-vampire-married you…" I giggled tearily again – I remembered saying that.
"I love you Sookie Stackhouse, and I want you to choose me." I stifled a sob as Eric's free hand opened a powder-blue box. I didn't even glance at it; I only had eyes for him. "My only Love, my only Bonded, my only Sookie… will you be my wife?"
My legs couldn't hold me up any longer and I collapsed in a puddle of tears and petticoats. My mouth sought his and I kissed him fiercely and lovingly, pouring my heart out through my lips. "Yes, my Love. Oh yes," I whimpered, "Eric, I will marry you."
We were both on our knees when he slid the stunning diamond on my finger. When it settled on my hand, heavy and glowing, I knew it belonged there. Just like I always knew this man belonged to my heart. I smiled up at my vampire with tears in my eyes and he crushed me to his chest with joy. Our happiness danced across the bond, singing from my scalp to my toes.
I had nearly cried all my makeup away when Eric tugged me gently to my feet. "Come, future Mrs. Northman, we are going to be late."
A/N: If anyone wants to see Sookie's dress, here's the link (just take out the extra spaces): http : //www . vintagetextile . com/images/Graphics/Worthx . jpg
