A/N – I credit the lemons in this chapter to "Pony" by Ginuwine, "Twisted" by New Kids on the Block, and "Carryout" by Timbaland. And here's my warning that it's graphic.

These characters belong to Charlaine Harris.


SPOV

A million thoughts were going through her head. One part of her, she was almost ashamed to admit, was thrilled at the confrontation between Eric and Bill. Well, not the confrontation so much, but the fact that Eric didn't back down. It might be sexist, but a confident man was sexy as hell. And Eric Northman was a confident man.

Her mind was also abuzz with what she was doing in his car, heading God knows where. What were his intentions with her? She had to make it clear to him that she wasn't easy, despite her previous actions. And what were they? She couldn't be casual, or just jump into bed with a man – it wasn't in her makeup. So was he willing to have a girlfriend? Did she want Eric as a boyfriend?

The ideas were so frantic in her head that Sookie didn't notice they had stopped at the light in the middle of town.

"Hey," His voice was low. She turned to look at him; his eyes were full of warmth and his usual spark of mischief.

"Hey," she whispered back.

Eric unbuckled his seatbelt and slid his hand under her hair to the back of her neck. He pulled her toward him and kissed her. Softly. Sweetly. Slowly.

He kisses like he's been doing it for a thousand years. All of her nerves melted away.

Eric eventually eased back to look at her. "Better?" he asked. Jeez, was she that obvious? She could feel the blush spreading up her face.

Sookie nodded. Eric re-buckled his seatbelt and drove through the now-green light.

"So," Sookie tried to be nonchalant. "Where are we going?"

"Well, it's about three in the morning, so I think bowling is out."

She gave him a wry look.

"Is my house okay?" he asked.

"What about Hadley?" Sookie was concerned. "No offense, but I don't think I can do what we did before with her upstairs again. That was just way too risky. And I felt horrible about it."

"I noticed." Eric chuckled. A teasing note crept into his voice. "Besides, what gave you the impression we were going to make out again?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Ah, I um…"

Eric's laugh filled the car, and his hand moved from the gear shift to rest just above her knee. "Sookie, I'm teasing you. Believe me, there is nothing I would rather do than have you under me."

Sookie's breath hitched at the image.

"Or on top of me, for that matter." He gave her a heated look, and his hand casually rubbed her thigh above her shorts. She broke out in goosebumps. "I certainly loved you being on top last time."

They pulled into Eric's driveway with Sookie's question unanswered. "Hadley?" she asked again, as they pulled into the garage.

"She's next door, spending the night with Mrs. Fortenberry." He answered, as they exited the car and he unlocked the door to the house. "I was worried that Mrs. Fortenberry wouldn't be up for the challenge that is Hadley…"

Sookie snorted.

"…but I was wrong." Eric glanced at her. "You must know her?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "She and my gran are close, and her son, Hoyt, is my brother Jason's best friend."

"You have a brother?"

Sookie leaned against the island as Eric rummaged in the fridge. "Jason's about four years older than me. We're not very close, but our parents died when we were young, so it's just me and him and Gran. She raised us."

Eric poured her a glass of white wine, and took a beer for himself. "That must have been hard."

"It was," she agreed. "But Gran was awesome. She was dealing with her own grief at losing her son and daughter-in-law, and still had to look after two kids at her age. It couldn't have been easy. She was totally there for us and she helped us through it."

"Sounds like an amazing woman."

"She is," Sookie nodded. "I still live with her, but Jason lives in our parents' house."

"Kids are so resilient," Eric mused. "Hadley was only two and a half when her mother died. She really doesn't remember much of Felicia, but it still wasn't easy."

"I'm so sorry, Eric," Sookie said quietly. "You must miss her very much."

A weird look came over his face, and he quickly changed the subject. "Hadley has really bonded with Mrs. Fortenberry. My daughter seems to have inherited my propensity for respecting people who don't put up with our bullshit." He shot her a wry look. "Like outraged babysitters."

Sookie knew he was teasing her, but was determined to stand her ground. "I know I overreacted a little last week. I'm sorry I ran out on you, but I think I was right."

He raised one eyebrow.

"We shouldn't have done…" she struggled for right words without blushing again "…what we did with Hadley upstairs." Fiddling with the stem of her wine glass, she waited for his reaction.

Eric took a long pull of his beer before nodding. "You're right. Not a good parenting moment. I won't let it happen again."

"What?" He responded to her surprised look. "I'm thirty-two years old. If I didn't have some control over Little Eric by now, I'd be in big trouble."

Sookie couldn't help but giggle. "Little Eric?"

He gave her a very male look.

It was the complete opposite of little! Her mind screamed, but Sookie kept her mouth shut.

Eric stepped around Sookie to place his bottle in the sink, and then stepped close behind her.

"We're all alone now," he whispered hotly in her ear, before nibbling her earlobe.

Dear God in heaven! Her mind blanked as she felt his mouth sear a wet path down the sensitive side of her neck. She couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips.

Concentrate! She told herself, trying to hang onto rational thought. "Eric," she practically groaned as she felt him press against her back. Little(!) Eric had definitely made an appearance. "What are we?"

"Hmmm," he hummed as his mouth found a spot just below her ear. Sookie couldn't help the gasp that escaped.

His hands moved to her waist, up her ribcage to brush the sides of her breasts, and then back down to grip her hips and pull her to him. He rubbed against her. "I'd say we were hot for each other."

Sookie struggled to maintain her line of questioning, despite his distracting her. "No," she gasped as he bit her lightly.

He froze. "No?"

"What?" she was confused. Why in dear heaven did he stop? Then she realized. "Oh! No, not 'no'!" Sookie turned in Eric's arms to look at him. Oh God, that makes it worse! He was so incredibly sexy. She rushed the words to get them out. "I didn't mean for you to stop."

Eric began again instantly. His mouth was hot on her collarbone. Who knew her collarbone would be so sensitive? His hands drifted down her back to caress her butt, eliciting another moan. Sookie had absolutely no idea that could be an erogenous zone. Everywhere is an erogenous zone when I'm with Eric, she admitted to herself.

"I meant," she tried again, "what are we to each other? Are we dating? Are we just friends?" She couldn't stop her own hands from touching the hard muscles of his chest, the chest she had dreamed about for the past week. The chest she wanted to see naked again.

Eric kissed his way back up her neck. He moved one hand to tilt her face up to his.

"Sookie, I don't want to be friends." And then he kissed her.

EPOV

God, he couldn't get enough of her. He was addicted. He had yearned for her all week, replayed their time together over and over until he had to relieve the pressure in the morning shower.

Her ass was so round, so juicy. He loved squeezing it.

Eric had no idea why this woman had him so worked up, but he wasn't going to take time now to find out. Fuck, he thought he was going to die when she told him to stop. Stop?! Eric amazed himself that he had the control to pause, despite what he had said earlier about being master over "Little Eric". Thank Christ she didn't mean it.

Eric gripped Sookie's ass again, and bent his knees to grind her against his erection.

He still had enough rational thought to realize she needed reassurance about being there with him, doing what they were going to do. Eric knew she was trying to tell him she was a good girl; a girl that didn't hop into bed with just anyone. Hell, he knew that. He knew from her reaction after their last erotic session that this wasn't her usual modus operandi. She'd been raised by her grandmother, for God's sake.

He grabbed the back of Sookie's thighs to lift her and sit her on the island, which was at a height more conducive to grinding. Ah, much better!

Eric didn't have the ability to reassure her with words right now. He wasn't sure where this fascination with Sookie was going, and he wasn't eager to define it. He was, however, eager to enjoy it; without any expectations, aside from pleasure.

He un-tucked her tight t-shirt that had taunted him all night, and pulled it off. He ached to touch her. He caught sight of the white lace demi-bra cupping her breasts. So fucking virginal and sexy at the same time; it was one hell of a combination. The sight of the bra changed his mind, and instead of unclasping it, he reached into the cups to pull her breasts out for his viewing. Now the gorgeous globes were framed by that white lace. God, she took his breath away. He wanted to devour her.

Eric leaned down to pop an erect nipple into his mouth, and was rewarded with a moan and her hands in his hair. She had this way of lightly scraping her nails against his scalp that made him so hard. He sucked her nipple and was rewarded with a slight tug of his hair. It inflamed him.

He reached down and quickly undid her shorts. Kissing his way back up her neck, he lightly bit her jaw before dragging his lips across hers. He licked and sucked her lips, taking his time and losing himself in the pleasure. He loved to kiss, loved to devour. He slid his tongue into her mouth and he growled when she sucked on it.

Eric had to focus, or she was going to make him end this too soon. He wanted to drag it out, make every moment count so that when he was away from her he could relive every second until he could have her again. He knew from the way she was clinging to him and hitching her breath that she was getting close.

He tugged at her shorts, and Sookie obligingly lifted her hips so he could slide the shorts and underwear off of her. He slid his hands up the insides of her thighs, feeling the silky soft skin, rubbing roughly, then gently, arousing her steadily. He spread her legs wide, knowing she felt exposed and open. He knew she yearned for him to touch her, and he denied her that pleasure, teasing her to the height of arousal. When he finally slid one finger between her folds to brush against her clit, she practically screamed into his mouth.

She was soaking wet, and he wanted to lap at her, make her beg for him. He plunged two fingers inside of her, moving deeply in and out. He brought his other hand to her breast and teased the nipple. Her hips bucked against him.

Later he promised himself. I'll make it longer for her later. Right now, he couldn't wait. He had to have her.

Eric plunged his fingers back inside her and curled them up to hit that sweet spot.

Sookie exploded. She threw her head back, crying out his name. Eric felt her clenching around his fingers as her orgasm continued.

Fuck, she's beautiful, he mused as he watched her release. He took his hand from her breast and plunged it into her hair, removing her hair tie. He cupped the back of her head and drew her lips to his. Eric used his mouth and tongue to kiss her, ease her down until she stopped shaking so badly.

He eased his fingers out of her and she moaned at the loss. Eric smiled against her mouth, and then leaned back to look her in the eye as he slid his fingers in his mouth and sucked her essence off of him. She was mesmerized. She was delicious.

His erection was straining in his pants. He reached his hand down to rub himself. "Let's continue this upstairs."

SPOV

There weren't words; not syllables or sounds she could wrap together to express the feelings that had just pummeled her body. She was undone.

And as she looked at Eric, with that intense look in his eye, sucking her essence off his fingers, she was ready to do it all again.

He made her insatiable.

She couldn't say that her previous experience was bad. In fact, she had thought it quite good compared to the backseat fumbling her friends had experienced in high school. After all, she had lost her virginity in an actual bed, with a man who had waited for her, told her he loved her, and worked to make sure she experienced pleasure before he achieved his.

But Sookie had absolutely no idea it could feel like this, be like this. Bill was like a motor scooter, a fun ride, reliable and steady. Eric was a Harley, all sleek and powerful, dangerous and thrilling. She probably could have lived her life riding a scooter, but now that she had experienced a Harley, there was no going back. She was ruined.

And she wanted more.

Her breath hitched as Eric pulled his fingers out of his mouth, reached down and rubbed the enormous bulge in his jeans.

"Let's continue this upstairs."

She had just a moment to hesitate before he wrapped her legs around his waist, and cupped her butt to lift her against him. Her core brushed against his erection and they both moaned. Sookie wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her exposed breasts against his chest. She kissed him, putting all the passion she felt into her tongue and lips, trying to convey her overwhelming emotions. Her lips traveled down the strong column of his neck, biting and sucking. He seemed to especially enjoy the biting, flexing his hips and groaning.

Sookie had this primal urge to leave a mark, to identify him as belonging to her, a warning to all other females that would desire him.

Eric carried her down the hallway and started up the stairs, just as Sookie bit the side of his neck, hard.

"FUCK!" he stumbled on a step, and they fell forward. Eric had one arm wrapped around her back and the other braced their fall on the stairs.

Sookie was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry," she murmured, kissing the spot to make it better. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Eric was panting. "Don't do that again," he growled.

Oh no! Her heart fell.

Eric rose up to look at her. His eyes were blazing. "Not unless you want me to fuck you right here." He ground against her.

Sweet Jesus! Her heart started pounding again, as she felt just how much the bite had affected him. She had no idea he could get bigger!

An idea occurred to her, something she had never tried, something that sounded so incredibly attractive and appealing that she didn't want to hold back. And, with Eric, she didn't feel like she had to.

Sookie removed her arms from around Eric's neck. She grasped the hem of his shirt and quickly slid it up over his head and off. Then she skimmed her hands slowly down his chest and rubbed his nipples lightly, causing him to hiss and his hips to flex against her.

Sookie took her time, touching him, feeling the texture of the light hair across his pecs, feeling the hard muscle under smooth skin, tracing the line down the middle of his muscled stomach. Her finger dipped briefly into his belly button before following the line of hair below it to the button of his jeans.

Knowing how much it turned him on, she looked up into his eyes as she unbuttoned his jeans and eased the zipper down.

He stopped breathing.

With the back of her hand, she slid down his abs to stop at his erection. She released him from his pants and gripped him, wrapping her fingers around his base firmly. Sweet Lord he was large. She felt a moment of nervousness, but her hormones wouldn't allow her to falter.

Sookie gave Eric a slow, experimental upward stroke, and was rewarded with a forceful moan as he released a breath.

She rubbed the tip with her thumb, feeling the wetness there and spreading it around before sliding her hand back down to the base.

Eric sucked in air. He's gonna pass out if he doesn't breathe more often than that, she thought saucily, feeling heady with her sudden sexual power. She decided to go for it.

She placed her left palm on his chest and pushed him back from her, while her right hand still firmly gripped his erection to keep him from going too far.

With their eyes still locked, she began sliding down the stairs underneath him. Sookie leaned up to kiss down his stomach, dip her tongue in his belly button and follow the line of hair to where her hand held him captive.

She stuck out her tongue, watching his blue eyes darken to sapphire, and licked his tip.

"Yes," he whispered, panting.

She broke eye contact to look at the straining manhood she held in her hand. Sookie had thought she would feel awkward and inexperienced, but she didn't. She felt sexy and powerful and liberated. She felt the control he was giving to her, the trust, and she reveled in it.

Sookie rested her forehead against his lower belly, taking a moment to breathe in Eric's musky, soapy scent before placing the tip of his erection in her mouth and sucking on it.

His whole body tensed, and he moved to brace his knees on the steps beside her.

She slid her left hand behind him to scrape her nails down his back, across one rounded cheek, and then cup it to pull him toward her and into her mouth.

Eric cried out, tensing again as she pushed him out of her mouth and then pulled him back in. She continued this until she felt confident he understood the rhythm she had found comfortable, and then she moved her right hand to join her left in caressing and squeezing his butt. Holy cow, I love his ass, she thought as she sucked and licked the hard length sliding between her lips.

With her hands, she could feel his hips flex, and that turned her on so incredibly. She felt the cool air on her exposed nipples and her own hips moved in time with his. Her hands roamed his rear, tracing the crease between his cheeks, finding that it made Eric's hips thrust a little harder and his breath come a little faster.

"Sookie," he groaned, and she adored sound of her name said in his passion-soaked voice. She increased the tempo of his hips, urging him to go slightly faster, taking a little more of him into her mouth in each stroke. She felt like she wasn't able to take much, but he was obviously enjoying what she was doing.

"Sookie," Eric sounded desperate, "Lover, I'm close." He hissed in a breath as she rolled her tongue around him on a downstroke. He sounded like he was choking. "You need to stop."

Stop?! Why would I stop? She moaned a negative, refusing to stop the pleasure she was giving him, and herself. Sookie had never realized how turned on, how much ecstasy she would receive from giving pleasure. She never wanted to stop.

Sookie sucked harder, deeper, and felt a thrill when she heard Eric cry out. She felt something explode down her throat, and instinctively swallowed the hot saltiness.

Eric's movements stilled, and she slowed her own movements until he pulled away from her mouth.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, Sookie," he sighed, and sat back to reach down and pull her up the stairs and into his arms. He hugged her to him for a long moment, his face buried in her neck.

She cherished the moment, running her hands soothingly up and down his back, feeling the slight sheen of sweat all over his skin. Everything about him, about the whole experience, was beyond incredible.

After a warm squeeze, Eric lifted his head to brush his lips against hers, dipping his tongue into her mouth in an unhurried caress.

His kisses made her knees weak.

Eric finally leaned back to smile at her. His hair was a blonde mess, falling into his eyes, and it made her want to do everything, all of it, again. He was sex on fire, and Sookie felt suddenly lost, adrift with only Eric as her guide.

She reached up to brush a sweat-dampened lock of hair out of his eye, and he turned his head to kiss her hand.

"We may have to sleep here," he said grimly.

She didn't understand.

At her questioning look, he smiled ruefully. "I don't think I have the energy to make it upstairs."

She couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled out of her. Sookie pushed her breasts back into her bra as he tucked himself back in his jeans. She noticed him watching, and giggled again at his crestfallen expression. She grabbed his hand and they walked up the stairs together.

At the top, Eric guided her toward his dark bedroom to his king-sized bed. Sookie took off her bra and slid naked between the sheets. Eric removed his jeans to slide in beside her.

He laid on his back, reaching out an arm to tuck her close into his side. Sookie rested her head on his shoulder, her hand splayed across his chest.

She felt her eyelids growing heavy as the enormity of the evening's events pushed her to sleep. So many thoughts chased circles in her head, but her exhaustion reigned supreme.

One thought escaped.

"Eric?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wear underwear?"

She felt the vibration of Eric's chuckle rumble through his chest. He leaned over to kiss the top of her head, warming her heart.

"Not around you, Lover."