A/N: A couple days later than I anticipated. There are some lemony bits in here, so if you are of a squeemish, non-lemony nature, skip to the next chapter! Thanks again to Charlaine Harris for creating these fine characters we love to play with and thanks for not minding that we play!

Chapter 7 Thursday The Plot Thickens

Very early Thursday morning, I woke from another nightmare. I couldn't remember what it was about, but I had a niggling feeling that I had lost something very important to me. I sat up a little and reached over to feel for Eric, but, the bed was cold and empty.

I threw on one of Eric's bathrobes and tiptoed carefully around the house. I found Eric outside looking up at the stars. It was a little chilly, so I grabbed an afghan from the chair in the living room and sent out to join him. "A penny for your thoughts," I said softly.

"Is that all their worth?" he said reaching around to pull me close. He kissed the top of my head.

"No," I murmured, "their worth your weight in gold." I reached up and pecked his cheek before snuggling up next to him. We were silent for a moment, just enjoying the crisp night air and the stars. "I had another nightmare," I said out of the blue.

"I know. I could feel your restlessness. What about?"

"Waking up and finding you gone for good or me leaving forever, or something along those lines. I can't remember it exactly, but it involved us being separated. It scared me. I guess," I said sheepishly. I felt really weird talking to Eric so openly about my feelings for him. I hadn't fully shared all my feelings with anyone since Bill, and I guess I had a jaded viewpoint on the topic.

Eric chuckled softly. "I think I've had the same nightmare too—lived it actually." He hugged me a little closer and kissed my head protectively.

I couldn't shake that niggling feeling from the dream. "Eric, can Victor take me away from you, really or was that just an idle threat? For that matter, can Felipe purposely not recognize our relationship and marriage…either marriage?"

"Victor is the only witness to the vampire marriage. It is his word against ours, but don't worry, lover, I have a trick up my sleeve. Remember two steps ahead…always," Eric said vacantly, obviously thinking about several things at once and only randomly paying attention to me. Suddenly he looked as if he'd thought of something. I was about to ask, but he turned quickly to me and said, "Let's go inside, you must be freezing cold out here."

"Ever the damsel in distress, that's me!" I said flippantly, rolling my eyes, but smiling.

Eric wiggled his eyebrows and scooped me up. "So my damsel, I guess you want your knight in shining armor to sweep you off your feet?" He began walking into the house and toward the bedroom.

"Is my shining knight going to tell me what plan has hatched in his head? The offer of a penny is still good."

Eric came out of character and got serious setting me down on the edge of the bed. "Sookie, I am not going to tell you my plans for Victor. I told you I won't ever lie to you, I just might not tell you everything I know."

"Well, at least you're being honest with me," I said moving back under the covers, "let me know how that works out for you!" I said pulling the covers over my head like a child. I expected Eric to beg me to forgive him—to react in some way, but there was nothing but silence. After about ten minutes, I couldn't stand it any longer and I pulled the covers back. Eric was standing there grinning at me.

"I wondered how long it would take you to get curious. Please forgive me?" he asked earnestly enough that I felt I had to forgive him.

"Forgiven—this time. I don't want to be mad at you, Eric, but don't push me, okay?" As I spoke the words I felt his anger bubbling.

Eric slid into bed next to me. "Are you going to be like this all the time?" I wasn't expecting that.

"Excuse me?" I asked confused, I mean what the heck, I had been the one shut out. I turned toward him and glared.

"Sookie, it's just that every time I can't tell you something, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD," he said, poking me on the nose with each syllable, "you get mad at me and shut me out. You excel at shutting me out."

"What the fu—! I don't—I mean—I can't believe you just said that to me! I do NOT shut you out!" I said. I was so mad, I ripped the covers off Eric and over my own head and rolled away from him—shutting him out. Point to Eric. "Fine," I said rolling back over and uncovering again, "I get it, but you are doing the same thing to me that you always do. You never tell me enough of you 'secret information'," I said in air quotes, "and then I almost get killed. Can't you just tell me everything? Don't you trust me? Ever gonna?"

"I DO TRUST YOU!" Eric said through clenched teeth. "I trust you with my life, with everything, but I also have a duty to protect you and that means that I can't always tell you everything I have planned to the nth degree, understand?"

I nodded but sarcastically said, "No!"

"Sookie, do you want to read my thoughts?" Eric asked. Now where did that come from?

"No!" I answered quickly and honestly.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to know everything you're thinking every minute of the day. I don't want to know if you think my breasts are too small or my butt's too big. That's one thing that attracts me to your type. You're silent."

"So then you admit that you don't want to know everything I'm thinking and doing, right?"

"Right," I had to agree. Point again to Eric.

"So if I don't tell you something, that would be my personal private business, right?"

"Yes, except when that business gets me half killed."

"Or when it keeps you half alive?"

"Fine, you win again, Eric. You always win," I said rolling my eyes again, but twinkling them in Eric's direction.

"Oh I win, huh?" Eric said with a keen look in his eye. Suddenly he was on top of me and quick as a wink I was naked. "If I win, I am going to claim my prize." He started with my toes, nipping at each one. By the time the littlest piggy was ready to come home, so was I, but Eric had other plans. "Sookie," he said kissing my belly button.

"Yes," I replied, raising my head a little to look at him. He wasn't looking back, so I dropped my head again and closed my eyes. Oh god! I felt his hands go a little lower under my butt and lift me up. "Yes," I said again, a little involuntarily. His tongue flicked cool inside me just once.

"Sookie, I want to send you…away…for a while," he said while darting his tongue back in and out a couple more times, masterfully curling it at just the right moment for maximum yum effect.

"Away," I said barely coherent. "Where…why?" My thighs were behaving by themselves and trying to ride Eric's face, to get tongue in just a little deeper, deeper, deep—"oh god!" I cried as I gripped the sheets. It worked and as Eric seized my hips, his fangs came out and sent me completely over the edge. While I was still recovering, Eric thrust something a little larger—well a lot larger—than his tongue in me and we both came together, shaking in each other's arms. We held each other for a long while before I spoke again. "What were you saying about sending me away?"

"We need to have a fight…" and while we were still coupled together, Eric told me everything about his idea. I didn't know if I could carry it off, but it would work brilliantly if everything went according to plan.

At Fangtasia that evening, I was tired from all our planning, but Eric invited me to dance. He seemed very distracted on the dance floor, and he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked a little loudly. A few people stared.

"Nothing is wrong with me, lover," he said looking over at an attractive red head at the bar. He made eye contact with her and glamoured her from across the room. The woman came over and smiled at the two of us.

"Hello, tall blond and well hung," the woman said with a thick Texan accent, "my name is Roxie."

"My name is Eric, and this is Sookie, my wife."

"Well, she can watch if she wants too, or maybe she wants to play a little?" asked Roxie, tickling me behind my earlobe.

"Play? PLAY!" I shouted. "Eric, I am your wife—"

"And you will do as you are told. Into my office, wife!" he said, carrying me forcefully from the dance floor. "You too Roxie."

We went into Eric's office and shut the door. Eric was on me in a New York minute. Kissing me frantically on the mouth, working his way around to my ear, nibbling on my earlobe and whispering delicately into my ear, "Step One complete, lover. On to step two. I'll miss you while you are gone. BE SAFE," he finished with a growl, returning to my mouth."

"Hey can I play too?" Roxie said on cue.

Eric leaned over and gave her a big wet kiss. I was appalled and felt remorse stream through the bond. I must have sent back a bit of jealousy because Eric winked at me and pulled me toward the two of them, kissing me and fondling Roxie.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping everyone could hear it. "I will not be made a fool of and I will not do a threesome!"

"Oh yes you will!" Eric bellowed back. "You are my wife and you will do as you are told!"

"Well up yours, you high handed, womanizer! The fuck I am going to do shit like that, just so you can get your jollies; the day I do is the day I die! Consider this a divorce, asshole," I shouted. As planned, I through my ring at him. He caught it deftly, thank god!

I ran out of the building with Eric still holding Roxie in the open office doorway and went out into the night, taking my car to the airport, buying a plane ticket for a flight to Chicago. At the airport I retrieved a bag I had stored earlier in the day. I arrived in Chicago and took a cab to the train station and bought a ticket there with my credit card. I went to the bathroom and pulled out the box of hair dye I had purchased and the pair of scissors and cut my hair shorter than I'd ever had it before. I looked like a refugee from a concentration camp, mixed with a pixie. I dyed the rest of it jet black, donned some Goth looking makeup and dressed up in a couple of items that would have done my cousin Hadley proud.

I looked at the stranger in the mirror as she said, "step three complete."