Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball own the characters. I'm just taking them for a spin around the dance floor.
A/N: As always, thanks so much to all of you who have added me to your favorites/alerts and especially to those of you who take the time to review. Your words keep me motivated to write! And thank goodness True Blood is finally back...I was going through some serious Eric Northman withdrawals! I'm such a geek that I've already watched next week's episode, too. What can I say? If you offer me candy (especially if it's Eric-...I mean, chocolate-flavored) I'm going to take it. ;)
Chapter 8:
Sookie and Eric rode the elevator in silence up to the secured 16th floor. He took her hand casually as they exited the elevator and led her down the long hallway to his suite. After unlocking the door, he stepped back to usher her inside. The suite was decorated in much the same fashion as her room two floors below, but it contained three separate rooms: bedroom, bathroom, and a combined living/dining/kitchen space. Stepping into the room reminded her that she had forgotten to thank him for the flowers he left in hers, and she mentally kicked herself for being so rude.
"Thank you so much for the flowers, Eric," she said shyly. "They're beautiful."
"You're welcome. I wrote the card myself," he said proudly, like a little boy who had just done something to please his parents. She couldn't help but laugh at the adorable expression on his face.
"Well aren't you sweet?" she teased, reaching up and patting his head like a child.
'Not especially," he said with a devious smirk, followed by a wink. "Have a seat," he said, motioning toward the plush sofa before reaching into the fridge and retrieving the bottle of wine he had mentioned earlier. "Do you like Riesling? If not, I can order something else."
"It's actually one of my favorites," she said, plopping down on the sofa, unzipping and removing her boots, and curling her legs beneath her. He opened the wine and poured two glasses then joined her on the sofa, kicking off his own shoes and propping his feet on the low coffee table.
"So tell me about your family," he said. "Are you close? Do you have siblings?"
Sookie leaned back into the luxurious sofa and smiled. She told him about her mom in Monroe, whom she tried to visit at least once a month, about her dad's death from cancer four years earlier (prompting her mother's move from Bon Temps to Monroe,) and about her brother Jason who had moved back from Texas to be close to their mom after their dad died.
"I'm sorry," Eric said softly, brushing away a tear that had spilled down her cheek. "That must have been really hard. I can't imagine losing my dad, or either of my parents for that matter."
"Thanks," she answered gratefully. "You'd think I would be more composed talking about it after four years, but sometimes it still feels like it was just yesterday." "What about your family?" she questioned, changing her focus a bit to regroup.
"My parents sound much like yours in that they've been happily married for over thirty years," he said, his affection for them obvious in his smile and his voice. "They live in LA – we moved there from Sweden when I was a junior in high school - as does my younger brother Chris who attends film school at UCLA. He and I are four years apart in age and we're very close. I hang out with him a lot when I'm at home in California and he spends time on tour with me when his college schedule allows it."
"Touring must be really tough," she said sympathetically.
His brows furrowed for a brief moment, but then he spoke. "It's kind of a double-edged sword," he sighed. "At times it can be really fun and exciting and almost intoxicating, plus it's one of the things that allows me to make a living doing what I'm passionate about. And then other times it can just suck, for lack of a better description," he said, laughing at his own poor eloquence. "I tend to run low on energy and genuine enthusiasm during the latter part of a tour, and sometimes I even find myself resenting it, especially when I'm sick or missing out on a key event like a family or friend's birthday or special occasion. " He stopped and took a deep breath, looking at her with eyes full of conflicting emotions she couldn't understand, but they made her feel strangely nervous.
"This is the hardest part," he said cryptically, waving his hand as if expecting Sookie to understand some unspoken thought.
"What?" she pressed gently. He gazed at her again and she could have sworn she glimpsed pain in his expression.
"Meeting someone in a random city far from home with whom I feel a connection and want to explore it."
What? Can he actually be talking about ME?
Reading the confusion in her eyes, he continued. "Sookie, I've been hard pressed to think of anything but you since the night we met in Shreveport. You were so funny and sweet and not bothered at all by who I am or what I do for a living. I wanted to call you the very next day, but I couldn't think of an excuse that didn't make me look absolutely pathetic!"
"Say something, please," he pleaded after a few moments of silence, beginning to panic at her lack of response. Sookie couldn't answer because her voice had been stolen along with her breath. She felt as if her entire body had turned to Jello and the only thing holding her upright was shock.
"So it wasn't just me," she finally said breathlessly, looking up into his bottomless ocean blue eyes and holding his gaze. Her hands were trembling and she clasped them tightly in her lap to avoid detection.
"No," he smiled seductively, his voice barely a whisper now. "It wasn't just you."
"I was so happy when you called me," she admitted, dropping her gaze shyly. "I was pretty sure I'd never hear from you again."
"What made you think that?" he asked incredulously, cupping her chin in his hand and tilting her face up until their eyes met again. "It only took me this long because I couldn't think of a plausible excuse any sooner. I have Thalia to thank for suggesting the idea of inviting you here to the Jackson show."
"Thanks, Thalia," she giggled, trying in vain to slow the pounding of her heart which had increased in direct reaction to the touch of his hand on her face.
"Yeah," he said softly, his face moving closer to hers. "….thanks…Lia…" and then his lips were on hers and there was no more rational thought. His kiss was tender, hesitant, gauging her reaction. When she moaned softly and pulled him closer, he took it as a sign of her consent and deepened the kiss, his tongue now gently exploring the depths of her mouth. His hands slid up her arms, over her shoulders and along the sensitive skin of her neck before coming to rest on the sides of her face, his thumbs softly stroking her jaw. Her fingers moved to tangle in his silken hair, something they had been aching to do since she first met him. He tasted of wine and Sookie thought happily that this would be a most enjoyable way to get drunk.
Slowly, Eric pulled away and looked at her, his dilated eyes echoing the desire in hers. "You're so beautiful," he whispered reverently, his thumb caressing her full lower lip. Is there someone else in the room? She thought. He can't be talking about me. But when he lowered his head and captured her lips once again, she knew he was. Sliding his hands firmly around her waist, he leaned back into the sofa and pulled her on top of him. Sookie gasped aloud at the sensation of him pressed fully along the length of her body and he smiled against her lips.
As their tongues danced together with perfect rhythm, Eric's warm hands slipped beneath the hem of her shirt to caress the bare skin of her lower back. Craving the feel of his skin, Sookie's own hands fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers slid eagerly over his now bare chest, reveling in the firm definition of his musculature. He groaned aloud as she teased his flat nipples with the pads of her thumbs.
Temporarily leaving her lips, he worked his way downward, kissing the sensitive skin below her ear, followed by her neck and the hollow of her throat where he could feel her pulse throbbing. His hands moved higher under her shirt to cup her full breasts, his thumbs stroking her nipples through her satin bra. Her soft moan of pleasure was all the encouragement he needed and he swiftly unhooked her bra, removing it and her shirt. Grasping her hips firmly, he lifted her until she sat astride him with her breasts spilling down like ripe fruit. He locked his gaze with hers as he leaned forward to take one rosy nipple in his mouth, suckling hungrily. The feel of his mouth on her breast sent a shot of molten heat directly to her core and her breath began coming in frenzied gasps. He lavished the same treatment on her other breast as she dug her nails into his shoulders. Sitting up swiftly, he wrapped her in his arms and crushed her against his chest, capturing her lips passionately once again. She could feel his arousal straining against the denim of his jeans and pressing to her sensitive core. Suddenly he broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of her neck, groaning loudly in frustration.
"Are you okay?" Sookie asked breathlessly.
"I'm too okay," he sighed with a laugh, kissing her forehead gently before pressing his own against it. "I'm getting carried away and I don't want to stop."
"No one said you had to stop," she said boldly, tangling her fingers in his hair and pressing a kiss just below his jaw.
"God Sookie!" he growled in her ear. "You're making it nearly impossible for me to be any sort of a gentleman. And while my raging hormones want nothing more than to throw you down right here and have my way with you, consequences be damned, the rational part of me knows that it's too much too soon. When I do make love to you, I don't want you to have any regrets," he added softly, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand and gazing deeply into her hazel eyes.
Oh my god, he said WHEN, not IF! she marveled.
"So, how does this work?" she asked, crossing her arms over her suddenly chilled torso. "I mean, I live in Shreveport and you're touring all over the country."
"I can't lie…it won't exactly be easy," he admitted with a pained sign, removing his shirt from the back of the sofa and wrapping it around her upper body to warm her. He shifted so that she lay across his lap and cradled her head against his shoulder. "My travel schedule is brutal and I'm rarely in one city for more than 24 hours. My relationships end up being about 75 percent via phone and email…not exactly a romantic ideal."
"Wow Eric, you make it sound so appealing," she said rolling her eyes.
"I'm just being honest," he said, sadness evident in his voice. "I want you to know what you're getting into. I think you're amazing and obviously I'm physically attracted to you, but you'd be getting the short end of the deal here. You deserve someone who can lavish all of his attention on you and has plenty of time to spend showing you in person just how wonderful you are."
"Yeah, well waiting for that guy you're talking about hasn't really worked out for me so far," Sookie said sarcastically. "So I could keep waiting for god knows how much longer, or I could take a chance on someone I already know that I'm attracted to and enjoy spending time with, even if it isn't an ideal 'dating situation'. What would you do?"
"I would give me a chance," he said with a half smile, "but then I'm selfish that way."
Sookie didn't answer, but leaned up and kissed him softly.
