Thanks to everyone for the continued reviews. I have a plot line in my head for many more chapters. Thanks for correcting my spelling of Felipe, I'm sorry for the error, I wasn't thinking. You're the best. Thanks again to CH for her great characters. Also if you read Chapter 8 and thought it ended abruptly, for some reason the upload got cut off. I've reuploaded the entire chapter if you want to find out what happens at the end.
I was a nervous. This would be my first encounter with Felipe in almost six years. Eric tried to push his calm onto me. I felt the warmth, but I was still nervous. King Felipe walked in the door surrounded by six other vampires only one did I recognize, Heidi. A couple others looked familiar upon closer inspection, but I didn't know their names nor did I care too. Felipe took my hand and brought it to his lips. "My darling Sookie, you are looking lovely as ever, it is so good to see you again, and it has been so long." He crooned. "Thank you Felipe, you are always the gentleman, I have been well." I replied. "Eric, you are looking better now that your wife has returned to your side." Felipe commented. "Yes, well it beats the once a month updates." Eric replied. "Once a month, I didn't realize you got to be with her that much in where was it again." Felipe questioned. "Oh Felipe, you didn't really think Eric and I could stand to be away from one another for very long did you." I said as I draped myself around Eric and leaned up and nipped his neck. "Later lover." Eric grinned.
"Felipe lets all sit down and get to business, I don't want to be here all night long if you understand me." Eric said in his sheriff's voice. "Sure Eric, I understand completely." Felipe replied. "Everyone grab a chair, I've called this meeting to prep for the trip to Hot Springs in a month." Felipe stated. Eric sat down on the chair backwards, Felipe, Pam, and two others sat down also. Heidi, Rasul, and I remained standing. I walked over to Eric and casually leaned into him, playing with his hair, stroking his back, staying in constant contact with him to show Felipe how enthralled I was with him. I kind of tuned in and out over the next hour of conversation. I jumped when Eric went to stand. "Eric it looks like Sookie is getting bored so we will be going. I'll call you next week with more details, but as it stands only Rasul, Pam, and Sookie will be attending with you, oh and of course Bill from your area. I don't feel it is necessary for anyone else to attend with the other sheriff's but one other attendant, I trust you to convey that message." Felipe said and then stood up. "I'll take care of it." Eric replied as he also stood and began walking everyone to the door. As soon as we heard their cars pull away it was like a sigh of relief come across all of us.
"Pam, call gets the other sheriffs on a conference call for me right away. Rasul, contact all the vampires in my area and tell them that for the next month they are to not just put in their time at Fangtasia, but also rotate shifts of two at Sookie's house. I want protection for her at all times. I will pay them double their usual monthly salary. Sookie, you did very well tonight, but now I need to take the call Pam has waiting for me, do you want me to escort you home, or are you ok driving?" Eric said in hurried tone. "I'm fine driving, but Eric, I thought that went well, while all the security." I said to him wondering what the hell I missed. "Sookie, he does believe we are together, but by him limiting the numbers from Louisiana allowed to go to a summit, he is clearly taking control of the situation, he must sense something is up, and we can't be too careful." "Eric, I have the sheriff's on the line." Pam stated. And Eric stalked to his office to take the call. Rasul came over to me. "Bill and his assistant Jeremiah will be on watch tonight since they are the closest. They'll be there when you get back." Rasul told me. "Thanks Rasul, well I better get going now." I said a bit confused by what was going on, I'm sure Pam or Eric would explain it to me later. "Sookie, drive carefully." Pam said with a smile.
I left then with an almost ominous feeling. As I drove back to Bon Temps I called the house. "This is Jason." My brother answered the phone. "Hi Jason, I was calling to tell you that I'm on my way back, and that Bill and another vampire Jeremiah will be coming onto the property for night protection. So let your pack member know." I told him. "Ok, we'll see you soon." He said, and hung up the phone.
I replayed the evening in my head. Did Felipe not believe us? Did I understand the unsaid words of Eric that he thought that the break up of the Mississippi-Indiana marriage would play into the vote for whether Nevada could maintain control of Louisiana? Was Eric trying to become king, or did he think Russell wanted to make a play for it, and Bart didn't. I thought of all of these things, and then my mind turned back to Mike. I picked up my cell phone and called him. It rang three times and went to voice mail again. "Its me, I know its late, I was just calling to see how you were, to check and make sure I had the time right for your flight, I wish you'd answer me, but you never were the kind to talk much. Please be careful tomorrow. There is a group of people that are very dangerous in the area, and they are watching everything I do. I don't want anyone to get hurt, but I'd hoped to talk to you by now. I hope you called Aidan at the house, or he's going to be upset. I love you." I hung up.
"You still love him." A voice said and I swerved off the road and back on again. "Damn Claude, don't scare me like that." He laughed. "I just wanted to check in on you. When I stopped by the house Jason said you had just called and I didn't like you driving at night alone." "I'm fine." I said crankily. "So you didn't answer my question." Claude said. "Yes, of course I still love him. A part of me will always love him; he gave me five years of a wonderful marriage, and two children. You don't just stop loving someone, I never stopped loving Eric even though my relationship with him is not completely what I want or even healthy for me. I want to find a way to keep Eric and Mike in my life. Maybe that's selfish of me, but I owe it to my kids to find a way to make it work." "Sookie, if anyone can make it work, you can. You always find the silver lining." Claude said, and then he was gone again. I pulled onto hummingbird lane and into my drive, I saw Bill on my porch speaking to Calvin. I parked the car, and got out.
"Good evening Sookie." Bill said. "Hello Bill, it's nice to see you looking well." I replied. "Thank you. I was just telling Calvin that he could send his kids home now, Jeremiah and I will be here until sunrise." "If you need anything Bill, there are True Bloods in the fridge, your welcome to them." I told him. "That's ok Sookie, my house isn't far." Bill answered. I went into the house. Jason was watching TV on the couch. He sat up when I came in. "Both kids have slept the entire time, I thought Eric would have come back with you." He questioned. "Eric has business to attend to in preparation for the next few weeks. He's provided protection, we'll be fine, thank you for coming tonight, tell Calvin and his sons thank you too." I told him. "Night Sook." He said, kissed me on the cheek and walked out the door.
I went up the stairs and checked on both the kids. They were sound asleep. I came back down and went to the fridge and poured me a glass of tea. As I came out of the kitchen Bill was standing in my living room. "Did you need something?" I asked. "No, I just wanted to have a look at you in the light." He answered. "Bill, nothing has changed for you and me. I appreciate the fact that you are here to protect me and the kids. But I still belong to Eric and now my husband Mike too. I do not need a third suitor." I exclaimed. "I'm happy for you Sookie, I'm happy that you found a man, and married, and had children and got a chance to have all those things that Eric nor could I give you. You deserved it, you still do. I don't understand why you didn't run further away from all of this. Why you didn't take your husband and children and go to the ends of the Earth to get away from all of this." He asked. "You know as well as I do, that there is not running away from this. To make four people disappear into today's world is next to impossible. How could I ask my husband to give up everything to run from something he doesn't understand? An enemy he's never met. Although I'm sure that will be his first response tomorrow or maybe not, maybe he'll be so disgusted with me he'll want nothing to do with any of it. I don't really know." I explained with a hint of exhaustion. The front door opened then. "Bill, your instructions were to monitor the perimeter, not my wife." Eric said in jealous anger. "I was just saying hello Eric, I wanted her to know we were here and she'd be safe to go to bed." Bill spat back. "Bill, thank you for checking on me, I appreciate your kind words." I told both of them. Bill left. "Eric really, if you can't control your jealous anger towards Bill after all this time, then how you do expect to control it tomorrow while meeting with Mike." I shouted, and marched to my room and shut the door.
I was tired and angry at Eric's constant jealousy. I had shown him more than once he had nothing to be jealous of, I was his. I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I quickly undressed and tested the water with my fingertips, and then stepped in to the warmth. The heat and pelting stabs on my skin felt heavenly after a day like this. It had to be close to three in the morning. The kids would be up in a few short hours, I needed to get to sleep. I reached for my loofah and soaped it up, just as I went to pull the loofah up my arm, Eric's hand grabbed it and he stepped in. Please let me he said. He was standing there in all his glory. It took my breath away. He began to glide the loofah across my skin and followed it with a kiss. First my arms, then my legs, stopping at the top of each thigh to pay attention to that sensitive spot wear your thighs sometimes touch. He then moved over my stomach and turned me around to do my back. His touch was electrifying. He then turned me back around and moved to my breasts. They were so sensitive and full since I hadn't nursed Adele in a while, and I hadn't had a chance to pump. When he took my breast into his mouth I moaned with release. He moved to the next one, and then up to my neck. When his mouth met mine he pulled me to him. I felt his manhood against my thigh and reached down to take it in my hand. I slowly rubbed my hand up and down, and he moaned into my mouth. 'Sookie your milk is the sweetest thing I've ever tasted." He said. I laughed but not for long because he pushed me against the shower and lifted me up so my legs would wrap around him. "Tell me you want me Sookie." Eric said with all the passion of a man in agony to make love. His fingers had already entered me, and were moving in a rhythm I started to match. "Please Eric." I whispered. "Tell me you want me." He said again, as he positioned himself to enter me. "I want you." I whispered. I barely go the words out and his mouth was on mine again. He deepened his kiss as he entered me. He moved quickly at first and then slowed it down, and then fast again. It was maddening. I ran my nails over his back as I got close to my climax and then he stopped. He pushed open the curtain with one hand and supported my weight with the other. I turned off the shower and he grabbed a towel and threw it on the bed and laid me on to it slowly never coming out of me, and then he started the pace again. His hands and lips were everywhere, and as he brought me to the brink again he bit down as I climaxed and I bit back and his release came also.
We lay perfectly still for a few moments, and then he rolled off of me. I was still trying to catch my breath. "My God Eric, what was that?" I asked ragged in breathing. "That my lover was five years of pent of sexual tension." He answered. He rolled back to me, and stroked my breasts. "That was taking my wife back into our bed, and consummating our relationship, and that was fun. Are you ready to do it again?" he asked. I laughed. "No, I'm not, I will have to be awake in a few hours with the kids, and I need my sleep to be ready for tomorrow. I hope that doesn't disappoint you." I said. "You could never disappoint me Sookie." He said and then leaned down to kiss me softly. I got up and took the towel with me. I combed my hair, brushed my teeth, and found a nightgown. Then I slipped back in bed with Eric. "Goodnight Eric." I said lovingly. "Goodnight Sookie, and thank you." He said. I was almost asleep when I said "Eric you know you can't sleep with me when Mike is here don't you." I asked. "I thought you would say something like that, Pam had told me you'd want me to be respectful and that it was disrespectful to have sex with company in the house, but she didn't say anything about company listening outside the house." He jokingly said. I hit him with the pillow. That's why he ended our shower; he wanted to make sure Bill heard our lovemaking. I scooted away from him in the bed, and he wrapped his arm around my waist and yanked me back to him. "It was only a joke my lover. I don't like you so far away." So I snuggled against him and drifted off to sleep.
