Update: My dear followers and readers, I return from the dead. If by dead you mean an insanely terrible, wonderful, insane, ridiculous, and chaotic year of so much drama and bullshit that I suspect that my life is turning into a movie. I wish I was kidding. But alas, I return to you now while it's relatively quiet so I can continue and finish this story of Eric and his captive, Lana. Hope you enjoy
Chapter Nine: Taste
Eric could hear the click of Pam's heels as she came down the hall looking for him. He had given into his craving and opened up a bottle of the subpar Tru Blood, but the substitute was weak, a poor replacement for what he really wanted.
He closed his eyes and remembered the feel of Lana pulling, drinking from his wrist. She had been reticent at first – and with good reason, he believed – but when the impact had hit her… The image of her arousal as she sucked down his blood like it was the only water in a desert had made him instantly hard. The sounds of her moan and the smell of her desire had made his fangs extend with longing and he worried that his own arousal would be so noticeable that she'd make fun of him. But she'd been lost in the taste and the sensation of his blood flowing through her, and it had been one of the most erotic things he had ever seen in a long time.
"What are we gonna do about fucking Marina?"
Eric broke himself out of his memory and silently exhaled a long breath. "Right now, there's nothing we can do but make sure she doesn't know about Ray… or Lana."
"So we're gonna ignore the fact that that Russian cunt is gonna be stealing forty fucking percent from our profits?"
Eric snarled, "What do you want me to do about it, Pam? Don't you remember what happened the last time we tried to take on the Authority?"
"Of course I fucking do," she spat. "But just because there's a new queen doesn't mean you're not Sheriff. Or did Sookie steal your balls too?"
He snapped at that, pinning his progeny against the door with his hand on her throat as he flashed his fangs in warning. But she didn't flash hers.
"You're hard up, Eric. Go to Austin, fuck that little brunette, and get some sense in that brain of yours. You're not powerless, no matter what you think."
He retracted his fangs but Eric paused a moment before releasing his grip on her. He hated that she was right. He was hard up. He was hard up, angry, frustrated, and scared. Fuck. The thought had never processed consciously until now but now that it was here, he couldn't believe he had been so weak. He was Eric-fucking-Northman. He wasn't going to be afraid anymore.
Eric turned away from the knowing eyes of his child, but said, "We'll strategize when I get back, Pam. I have to attend to something in Austin first after I wake."
He could feel her grin. "That's more like it."
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When Lana got out of the shower, which had been the size of her apartment back home, she had found a fluffy robe by the bathroom door and a platter on her bed. Creamy macaroni and cheese, collard greens, a buttery biscuit, and glazed ham. Southern soul food. She couldn't help but smile just a little.
She had eaten a little and then gotten dressed in the jeans and shirt Eric had told her to bring. It was about 5:30 PM. She looked outside at the late daylight and wondered if Eric would come back tonight or if he was so much trouble that he'd be gone for a few days. What the hell was she going to do then?
Lana didn't really have down time. She worked pretty much seven days a week. When she wasn't working she was cleaning her apartment or working on her application for school or taking her poor dog out so the beast could get some fresh air and exercise. Since Damien had left and she had switched restaurants, she had lost some of her closest friends and she didn't go out as much as she used to. In some ways, she often wondered if it was because she had actually lost her friends or because she was too embarrassed to see them. Ignoring people's calls and saying you had to work double shifts was a good excuse for saving face. She was tired of feeling like a pathetic idiot.
That had been part of the reason that she had been so mad at Ray. He not only betrayed her but he had made her look like a fool for ever giving him the benefit of the doubt. She should have listened to her instinct and never trusted him. Instead she was in Austin under the control of a vampire – a vampire for whom she still had not worked out her feelings.
She could admit it: she was attracted to the big, blonde Viking vampire. Who wouldn't be? And she suspected that drinking his blood had made her a little warmer towards him. But she still couldn't figure him out. She wasn't sure she could trust a man who agreed to basically own a woman as part of some business deal, no matter how handsome or charming he was. Ray had not even hesitated to trade her in as payment for a loan and Eric had not hesitated to take him up on the offer. In her perspective, neither of them was guiltless.
But Lana didn't want to waste her time ruminating on her fate or the true inner workings of her captor. For the first time in a long time she was free to do anything she wanted and she was going to take advantage. Wide awake after sleeping all day, Lana enjoyed catching up on the movies she had missed over the past years. The TV was huge and came packed with movie channels. She was sure Mr. Northman wouldn't mind if she rented a few. The room service provided entertainment on the menu by the bed: board games, books, and of course, "companionship." She passed on asking for what she only assumed was a blood prostitute and opted for some books instead. But by the time the books arrived and she had settled in to read, Eric had come back.
He looked smug in his black sweater and black slacks. He looked like a vampire.
"Enjoying yourself?"
She sat up a little straighter from her spot on the bed. "Get all your vampire drama sorted out?"
He smiled a little and came closer, pulling out a box to hand to her. "I thought I'd bring you something to enjoy."
She made a face but took the box, remarking, "This better not be a dildo."
Instead, when she opened up the small little package, she saw an array of chocolates. She gave him a bemused look. "Candy?"
"Swiss chocolate from the Alps. I picked them up right before I got here."
"So you're resorting to the chocolate as seduction technique?"
He sat down on the comforter in front of her and she tensed a little. "Depends on its success rate. Don't you like chocolate?"
She loved chocolate. "Maybe. But just because you bring me incredible chocolate doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you or give you my blood."
His eyes – which were an impossible shade of blue by the way – stayed on her. "No, but perhaps you can enjoy them more after we do both."
She rolled her eyes but still felt a little skittish at his confidence. Something was different. "Oh, yeah, let me just slip into something a little sluttier."
He came forward then, so close that she was sure he could hear the rapid fire of her heart beat which had started slamming against her chest.
"Perhaps I could surprise you. You're not even the least bit curious?"
Lana scoffed loudly but she hated to admit that yes, she was a little bit curious. She didn't like vampires or trust them, but she had heard rave reviews from friends who had slept with them. She had a friend whose sister had died because of her penchant for having sex with them but even the sister had admitted that the best sex she had ever had was with a vampire.
Not that she was going to tell him that. "Not so curious that I'm going to risk my life."
"What if you didn't have to worry about that? What if I promised to just kiss you and nothing more?"
Her eyes widened a bit. "Seriously? And I'm supposed to trust that you'd just stop at that?"
"I haven't you harmed so far, have I?"
True, he hadn't. He had not raped her or beaten her. He had even tried to protect her. Even though he was frightening and intimidating, she had seen a softer side to him. What if some of this was just an act? Maybe she would even call him on his bluff.
"You'd only kiss me?"
A grin of satisfaction flickered at the corners of his lips. "Even if you asked for more."
She stood up then and straightened the wrinkles out of her shirt, lifting her chin up to appear as haughty and in-control as she could pretend. "Fine, but we do it standing up. I'm not going to risk you trying to weasel me onto my back."
He smiled in cocky triumph and stood up, making her suddenly realize maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. He was huge.
"I agree. Besides, I'd prefer you to be on top of me."
"Oh fuck y…" Before she could even finish her sentence he bent down and brought her face to hers, immediately cupping her head so he could kiss the ever-living breath out of her.
She tensed at first, unsure as what to do after the shocking impact of feeling his lips on hers. But then she felt her mouth open and his kiss became even hungrier, wild, almost shockingly hot as he slid his tongue in to coax her into abandoned complacency. Without even thinking, she relaxed against him and she felt him pull her entire body against the long, hard length of his. She heard herself whimper in defeat and he groaned hungrily against her, savagely taking her mouth with such skillful passion that she felt her own hands grab onto his shoulders for support. Oh, Jesus, they were corded with muscle and she felt instantly wet at the feel of the erection tenting his pants, at the idea of what it would feel like to have his body on top of hers. She was gone, she realized, as she kissed him back with the painful fervor and longing that she had forgotten was even there after being chaste for so long, and she felt herself melting against his body as his hands gripped her hair.
But when he pulled back for merely a minute and tried to kiss her again, she stopped him.
What the fuck? Her brain screamed at her and she tried to quiet her pulse. She had to avoid his gaze which had lit up with fire.
"I get it. You're a good kisser. But then you've had thousands of years to practice, I guess."
He whispered, "Lana…"
She felt a little drunk. "Feel better now?"
He pulled back a little but his eyes were still intense, lit with emotion. "That's only the beginning."
She knew. That's why she was afraid.
