All credit for the characters goes to Charlaine Harris like always. And this chapter is a little long… I had a lot to fit in before it turns to daytime in the next chapter.
Eric began walking out of his office. He wasn't certain if he should hold the door open for Sookie or if he should let her pass through first. He was used to people just simply following behind him. Eric was inexperienced at putting on airs. It was beginning to look like this game of cat and mouse was going to be a little more complicated than he first assumed. He was going to have to consult Pam on the nuances of humans. She was more in tune with the blood bags than he was. Eric had never cared to learn more about humans save for their purpose as prey and a quick fuck. Honestly, what other purpose could they serve? Granted, some of them were useful during the daytime, but one could just hire a shifter to take care of the same tasks. Eric was a great survivalist but surviving had nothing to do with trying to "court" a human female. He couldn't even remember what humans did when he was alive. He was lost in thought trying to remember his past and vaguely recalled something about trading sheep and land for a woman. Eric was sure he couldn't just buy off Sookie; he got every indication of that with the reaction to him comping her drinks at the bar.
All of these thoughts flitted through Eric's mind in a matter of a few short seconds as he passed through the door to his office. He reached behind him to hold it open for Sookie but didn't turn around towards her. She would follow him and he would not turn around to make certain she was following him. That way he would assert a form of dominance over her, a form of leadership. It's best to establish that dichotomy between them sooner rather than later. Just as long as where he led her ended with good result, she would always follow him. He smirked.
They continued down the service hallway towards the employee backdoor. Eric could hear her breathing a little faster than normal. He assumed his stride was a little difficult for her to keep up with so he slowed down slightly. He wondered at Sookie's silence. Maybe her mind was as full of thoughts as his own. Was the drive back to her home going to be just as silent? Eric didn't mind. He thought humans felt the need to speak too much. Body language always spoke volumes and humans hadn't quite figured that one out yet. Maybe this woman was smarter than the average… human? There were definitely things about her that Eric could quite place a finger on. And he would find them out, with all of his fingers. He pushed open the back door and they entered the parking lot.
Eric began walking towards his fire engine red Corvette. He loved his car. If he could claim love for anything in his undead life, it was the love of his car and a few of his other possessions. One thing that most vampires and people didn't know about him was that he did all the mechanical, electrical, and body work on his car. He wouldn't let anyone touch his baby. Whenever he didn't have to deal with area politics, Eric spent a lot of time tinkering in his garage. He worked on other cars, but his Corvette was his pride and joy. Fangtasia wasn't his only business; he owned several repair shops, only Pam knew about those business ventures. Vampires had their hands in all sorts of businesses. Humans would be surprised to find out how much of their lives were consumed with vampire owned and operated establishments. He unlocked the car and the headlights blinked.
"Wow, is this your car?" Sookie finally spoke at Eric's back. Eric didn't turn around.
"Yeah." There really wasn't more to say to her than an affirmation that it was his car. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for her. He figured he would pull some chivalry when it came to the car; that might score him some extra points with her. She slid in and muttered a thank you to him.
Eric walked around to the driver's side and gracefully folded himself into the car. Most people of his height wouldn't have bought a car that was so small. But he found with the adjustments that he made on it that he fit perfectly into the driver's seat. Sports cars were not built with extremely tall people in mind and that had pissed Eric off. He had set out to remedy that problem. He wouldn't drive anything that couldn't break the sound barrier. He definitely was a speed junkie when behind the wheel and Eric had been known to blow the transmission out on a car or two before it was their time to go. He had also balded tires and destroyed brake pads by the dozens. Just thinking about all of the fun he had in the past made Eric smile. He would have to tamp all of that down with Sookie in the car. He would only go about 30/40 over the speed limit. She was human.
"What's your address?" Eric asked while starting up his in dash navigation system.
"What's that? I've never seen one of those." Sookie asked leaning forward towards Eric to get a better look at what he was touching. In smaller quarters, she smelled even better than in Fangtasia. Eric started leaning towards her neck as her head bent over to glance down at the screen. He was very close to her when he spoke.
"It's a navigation system. I put in the address of wherever I want to go and it tells me the best route to take. It tells me what roads to take, where to turn left, so on and so forth. It also comes in handy for humans if they need a place to stop and go to the bathroom. It shows restaurants and rest stops. Oh and gas stations." Sookie jumped when she realized Eric was right behind her but she didn't move. Smart little bunny, don't tempt the wolf. Eric breathed her scent in and then moved away from her. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He couldn't tell if she was scared or not. She probably just realized how close she had just come to being a snack. "I'll let you try it. It's a touch screen. You just click destination and then plug your address in and then press calculate route. The computer will do the rest."
"Ok." He watched as Sookie slowly pressed the buttons. She was concentrating very hard on typing everything in. Her tongue was poking out of the side of her mouth in her concentration. Eric had his head cocked to the side while observing her. She spoke to him as soon as she pressed the calculate route button. "I'm not used to electronics. I don't even own a cell phone or a computer so I'm not used to these little keyboard things."
"It's ok. I'm a sucker for technology. It's a terrible habit of mine. Every time my cellphone becomes obsolete, I feel the need to go buy a new one." It was very true. Eric couldn't count how many cellphones he had gone through since the stupid things had been invented. He had to have the newest piece of equipment that was on the market. Now that there were touch screen blackberrys and iPhones, he had to replace his phone almost every other month. At least he kept the same phone number so people were able to keep in touch with him regardless of his affinity for the baddest and the best technology.
They pulled out of the parking lot and drove in silence until they had reached Bon Temps. He noticed while they were on the highway that she had gripped the seat when he had hit almost 100mph. I'll teach her to be a fan of going fast. He thought with a slight curve to his mouth, the beginning of a smile. There were so many things he wanted this human to experience. She was just too sheltered. She needed her eyes opened. Who better to do that than him? Sookie should feel lucky that a vampire like Eric took notice of her. He had centuries of experience and if anything happened to her by anyone's hand, he could protect her somewhat. This somewhat protection would only extend to the length that it wouldn't directly cause a threat to his own life. He wouldn't sacrifice himself for anyone, not even Pam. But what would he do after he was done playing with Sookie? He had been bored for so long, now he had the prospect of a little spark of adventure, what's going to happen when that spark wanes? Vampire politics were starting to get so mundane, there hadn't been a good coup in a long time, the shifters had been keeping to themselves, and the humans hadn't made too much fuss about the vampires coming out of the closet. Eric sort of hoped something violent would happen soon; just to give him something to do for a while. This boredom is what led him to Sookie. What was going to happen when he was done with Sookie?
Eric was lost in thought and was barely paying attention to where he was driving until he had pulled into her driveway. He glanced around at his surroundings and let out an involuntary hiss. Sookie glanced over at him with a look of fear in her eyes. He had just been musing about things not being interesting, and here Eric was in a car with Sookie at her home, across the cemetery from Bill Compton's house. Sookie reached for the door to scramble out of the car. This entire night she had been wary of him, now she was downright scared. He couldn't blame her. Hearing a vampire hiss wasn't exactly comforting. Eric grabbed her wrist in his steel grip. She choked back a cry of pain and instead a tear escaped from her right eye. Eric watched it travel down her cheek and caught it with his other hand. He licked it off of his finger and she looked slightly disgusted at that. She tried to wriggle away from him but Eric grabbed her other arm and pinned her to the seat. In a very measured and controlled voice Eric said, "Do you associate with Bill Compton?"
Sookie finally met Eric's eyes. She had tears running from her beautiful blue eyes and she looked into his intense ice blue gaze. Sookie stopped struggling. He assumed it was because when she looked at him she realized that he wasn't going to hurt her. "I wouldn't say we're friends but he's helped out my Gran with her club. She has a civil war club and Bill fought in the civil war. He's also helped with some roofing and plumbing problems we've had. But he and I don't hang out alone." Eric let go of her and Sookie began rubbing her wrists.
Eric moved back into his seat and looked at her. He was silent for so long. Eric's mind was a whirl of thoughts. He wasn't sure how much he was going to reveal to the human. So this was the human Bill was sent for? Eric had wanted himself some excitement and he had just gotten himself the all time motherload. Should he continue to play his games or should he back off and bow down to powers that were definitely greater than him? He mentally shook himself. No, these powers were not greater than him; he just chose not to fight upwards to control more territory. Physically, he was probably the most powerful thing in America. Politically, that was a different story. He could feign innocence and see how far he could take things before he would be brought to task for his actions. But why was this human wanted? I couldn't be the fae blood alone? This woman was certainly a conundrum. The sooner he could get his mark on her, the better. He wasn't exactly in the loop. He had tied all of these loose ends together in a matter of a minute. The queen had superseded his authority and used Compton. It wasn't his fault if he acted upon a human and had no clue who she was and what value she might be to anyone other than to himself. That's what he would do. He would feign innocence. Sookie had come to him. His entire bar could attest to that.
"I know you just met me, but you must uninvite Compton from your home. Tell your grandmother to never invite him in again." Eric watched as a series of emotions flickered across her face to fast to read. He figured he would tell her something that may sway her a little more, though it revealed a little too much about his world for his liking. It made him feel like he was spilling secrets he had no right to spill, especially to a human. If he were human, he would have felt bile rise up as he opened his mouth to say the rest. "In our community we have our own government. Queens and Kings of states and then those states are divided up into Areas. Those Areas are controlled by Sheriffs. In Louisiana we have a Queen and I am Sheriff of Area 5. Compton is my subordinate. He did something that superseded my authority and that which is dangerous to your life and the life of your family. I just now put two and two together when I pulled into your driveway. He lives across the cemetery does he not?" Sookie nodded her head at Eric and her eyes were still wide with fear. "He was told to move back into his family home so that he could be in close proximity to someone he was suppose to keep watch on for the Queen. That person is you." Sookie began crying again.
Eric got out of the car and walked to the passenger side of the car. He opened to door and pulled her out of it. She willfully went into his arms. This is the closest she had been to him conscious. Eric just held her as she cried. He wasn't sure what he should do. He wasn't used to human emotions. He had one hand on her back and one in her hair. Sookie was gripping his shirt as she cried into his chest. When she finally got a hold of herself she looked up at him and said "You'll help me, won't you?" She looked like a doe staring up at a hunter who was holding a shotgun.
"Why do you think I told you to uninvite Compton? I don't want him near you. I'm selfish. I don't like people taking things away from me when I haven't had a chance to play with them yet." Eric may not always be tactful but at least he's honest. "I will tell you that for now, you'll have to come see me if you want my protection. It will tip someone off if I keep coming here. We need to make it look like exactly what this is, you came to me first. We accidentally met, which is the truth. You walked into my bar. You sought me out. Not the other way around. I've lingered too long. Someone might be watching your house. I'm about to do something to you that you might not agree with but it is for the sake of keeping up appearances." Eric's fingers fluttered across her neck to push the hair that fell there away.
"Are you going to bite me?" She asked without any waver in her voice.
"Yes. I promise I'll be gentle. Come here." Eric guided Sookie towards the hood of his car and he sat down. He pulled her up onto his lap. She was straddling him and that slight contact had him on fire. He was already hard. Eric could feel her heat. She wasn't wearing anything underneath his t-shirt; it was only his jeans that separated them. He could smell her arousal. He stopped himself from sliding his fingers in-between them and instead rested a hand low on her hip and the other on her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm ready." Sookie said as she leaned further towards his mouth. Eric turned her head so that their lips met gently. His fangs came down instantly at that slight contact. He wanted to kiss her deeper but knew he'd accidentally bite her mouth. He'd have to teach her how to kiss him when he was this aroused. There were ways to get around the teeth without getting bit.
"Hold very still," came Eric's warning as he started licking down a pulsing vein from her lips down her chin to her neck. Sookie was shivering in anticipation. Eric couldn't smell any fear rolling off of her. She was just as turned on as he was. When he reached the sweetest spot of the vein he kissed the skin gently before he slid his fangs slowly into her skin. She let out a low moan. Vampires that aren't as old as him and don't have as much control don't realize that the slow insertion of the fangs is such a sexual act, and can cause an orgasm in much the same way that sex can. Younger vamps are too busy trying to drain things dry to experiment with how they insert their fangs.
Eric barely had the tips in and Sookie was already enjoying it immensely. She was wetter and she had begun rolling her hips against his. He slid his fangs in just a little further. He wasn't drawing much blood. Just little sips. She was breathing heavy, moaning, and had her hands gripped in his hair. Eric moved the hand he had on her waist slowly around to her stomach and lifted up her shirt so that his hand could touch skin. His fangs still weren't fully into her neck. As he let his hand drift lower, he let his fangs sink deeper. He made contact with her clit at the exact moment he bit all the way down. Sookie came so hard she started shuddering against Eric. He withdrew from her neck and below and just held her. When her breathing returned to normal he looked down at her. He had been glancing out towards to cemetery, as if waiting for Bill to come running out at any minute.
"That wasn't like what I expected." Sookie said as she looked up into his eyes. "Everyone makes it to sound like it's a terrible thing and it hurts and that vampires are these big scary evil things."
Eric smiled down at her. "We are terrible and evil. I made the experience nice for you. Most bites aren't pleasant. I make it a point to not make it painful, unless the person deserves it." This ended the conversation between the two and Eric helped Sookie off of his lap. He walked her to her porch and kissed her hand. "Remember what I told you. I hope I see you again Ms. Stackhouse."
"Bye Eric." Sookie turned away from him and walked into her house.
