Peggy stared out the window of Bill's car as he drove back to Bon Temps. She was relieved that Eric, sitting in the back seat, had decided there was no need to return to Fangtasia tonight. That meant she would have a few hours alone with him before dawn when they got home. Well, alone with him and Bill, but she knew Bill would give them privacy if they needed it.

She thought they did. She and Eric needed to talk. She wondered if Eric even realized how badly they needed to talk. He had been going on about his new chair since they had left Monroe, pausing only once in a while for a response from her or Bill. She wondered how he would react if she asked him to get rid of Elise.

He had never denied her anything she had ever asked of him… but this time, she feared he would say no. She feared that he would consider this a ridiculous and unreasonable request. Maybe she shouldn't bring it up. Maybe she should just take him to bed and reinforce to him how good they were together.

"Who do you think set that bomb, Eric?" she said suddenly, interrupting his monologue on why oak was better for a chair than cypress.

Eric let out an audible sigh. "I have not one clue, Margaret," he said.

"Could it have been a human?" Bill asked, his voice low and serious.

"It is possible. In fact, I prefer to think it was a human rather than another vampire," Eric mused.

"Someone who works for you?" Bill suggested.

"That is unlikely. Pam keeps them under close control."

"Are there other vampires who might want to be the Sheriff of Area Five?" Peggy wondered.

"Possibly," said Eric.

"Well, we know it wasn't Chow," Bill said.

"If it was, his plan certainly backfired," Eric replied, sounding amused. "What about Pearletta? It is convenient for her to be without her maker."

"She would never do that!" Peggy protested. "Besides, Chow was decapitated by a piece of glass from the mirror behind the bar, which only broke when it got hit by the disco ball. It was clearly an accident."

"Was it?"

"She is not very fond of Eric," Bill pointed out.

"And she has connections to the shifters," Eric mused.

"You don't think shifters are behind this?" Peggy was aghast. "Sam—"

"Not Sam," said Eric. "Even I think more highly of him than that. However, we have always had trouble with the Boudreaux family. It would not be the first time they have tried to kill me."

"What about the truce?" said Peggy.

"Pearletta is supposed to be the truce," said Eric. "If she did this, it is broken."

"If you think the Boudreauxs might be responsible, you should arrange a meeting with Anne Marie's grandmother," Bill suggested. "She is an honorable woman, and can get to the heart of the matter before there are further casualties."

"Anne Marie would never have let Pearletta do this," Peggy said.

"Maybe she didn't know," Eric responded. "Or maybe she is not to be trusted either."

"You just hired her to work at Fangtasia," Bill said, sounding frustrated. "Why would you do that if you thought she might be trying to kill you?"

"Haven't you learned, Bill, to keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" Eric murmured.

All three of them fell silent, and the silence lasted until Bill parked the car under one of the large oak trees that framed the drive up to the house. Peggy slipped out of the car and took a moment to admire her home. She loved the restored antebellum plantation house. Its white Grecian columns, its gallery and huge windows were silent beacons to an earlier era.

"What was it like, back in those days, when it was new?" she asked Bill softly as he came to stand next to her.

"It was bustling with life," Bill said. "There was a huge family – the Beauregards, if I recall. They died out during the war. Dozens of slaves. Parties every month. You would have loved it."

"I love it now," she said, looking at Eric. He was already crossing the yard, and he paused on the steps to look back at them questioningly.

"I know you do," said Bill, and both of them knew that she meant Eric and not the house. The wind lifted the Viking's blond hair and though he didn't seem to notice, it made him seem even more fair and dangerous. Peggy shivered, walking towards him without taking her eyes off of him. Bill followed, but he paused at the threshold.

"Are you coming in?" Eric asked.

"I think I will go take a walk," Bill said.

"Perhaps Sookie will be willing to speak to you," Eric said hopefully, but Peggy didn't delude herself that he was worried about Bill's happiness. He just wanted Sookie to come work at Fangtasia and use her telepathy to find out who had set up the bomb.

"Perhaps," said Bill, then he turned and headed off into the trees.

Eric opened the door and held it for Peggy to enter. They were home, and they were alone – completely alone. Simone had called to bid them farewell earlier.

"This is the first time we have had the house just to ourselves in nearly a year," she said.

The corners of Eric's mouth turned up. "Do you want to make love in the kitchen?"

Peggy laughed. "Eric!"

"The living room sofa?"

"Every time I have tried to make love to you on the living room sofa you say you don't want to get blood on the suede."

"It is a light color, and bloodstains are so hard to get out," Eric mused. "Perhaps we are better off just going up to the bedroom."

"Maybe so," Peggy conceded. "At least until Bill returns, we know that no one will be listening!"

Eric scooped her up into his arms and headed up the wide, central staircase to the upper floor. Peggy put her arms around his neck and looked at him adoringly.

"I am glad you are in a better mood," Eric said as he carried her down the hall to their huge bedroom. It was decorated in chocolate brown and robin's egg blue at the moment. The colors were a perfect combination of the masculine and feminine, though Peggy knew that Eric would let her do it all in hot pink if she wanted. The brown in the curtains and coverlet brought out the rich tones of their dark wood furniture. Peggy had found period antiques to suit the house, though she had done most of the shopping back when they had first bought it, before she was a vampire.

"Am I?" she murmured as he pressed her onto the bed and kissed her slowly.

"You were upset earlier."

"Was I?" She kissed him back, sliding her tongue over his bottom lip. He already had a hint of fang showing and she suspected that she did as well.

"You cannot hide your moods from me, Margaret." Eric kissed his way down her throat and she turned her head, offering herself.

"I have never wanted to hide anything from you, Eric," she replied. "Every bit of me is yours."

"You are jealous of Elise."

She turned back to face him and looked into his blue eyes, which matched the color of their sheet set. "Yes. Silly of me, I suppose."

He nodded. "She is only a human."

"I was a human, once."

"I like you better as a vampire," Eric said firmly.

"Why?" She wondered if this question would test his patience, but it didn't seem to.

"Because you can be mine, always."

"And will you be mine always as well?"

He looked at her tenderly. "You do not need to ask."

She turned her head back, and Eric sank his fangs into her throat. Peggy moaned with the rough pleasure of it. Her blood could not feed him, but it still felt so very good, and this exchange bound them even more tightly together. Always. Forever. She wanted that. So badly. Eternity with Eric.

She heard him swallow, and his hands deftly freed her of her clothes while her essence flowed into him. When he withdrew his fangs, he licked his lips. His smile was wicked and wanton and encouraging. When their bodies came eagerly together, he shifted her up so she could thrust her own fangs into his flesh. The ivory column of his neck was cool beneath her lips.

He tasted different.

The thought struck her as his blood filled her mouth. There was a strange, added element to his blood that she had never encountered before. It was quite delicious, actually, and Peggy began to suck even harder at his throat. Normally they shared only a few mouthfuls, but tonight she didn't want to stop. She couldn't bring herself to tear away from him, even when he started to protest. His blood was so good!

"Margaret!" Eric's voice was raw and hoarse. "You must stop!"

But she didn't want to. She wasn't going to.

She was going to drink every last drop of him.