"Sookie Stackhouse, since the moment I first saw you in my bar, I knew you were special. I've come to love you in the past couple of years, and I don't want us to ever be apart. There's so much out there that I want to show you, and I'm willing to spend the rest of my existence experiencing the world anew with you. Will you marry me?"
I was speechless. For a moment, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open and the stupidest of grins on my face. I managed to choke out a few unintelligible letters before finally just nodding, sending him waves of love and assurance and every other emotion that I was feeling. I couldn't help but tear up as he put the most gorgeous ring on my finger. Looking at it, I doubted that I'd ever seen anything so beautiful. It consisted of a simple white gold band, with a large white diamond surrounded by blood red rubies. It was perfect. I fell into his chest, throwing my arms around his neck, and he lifted me up against him. His lips sought mine, and I continued to kiss his neck when he turned his face away to growl, "Go away." I knew he was talking to Pam, and after arching a seductive eyebrow, she disappeared out the door.
"See you at work!" I heard her call behind her.
We got ourselves into Fangtasia, just as the midnight rush started, and I was feeling more energized than ever. Eric and I had bonded for a second time, and I couldn't have been happier. Pam pulled me back to the bar when we first got there, while Eric took up his throne. "Let me see!" She demanded, and I lifted my left hand.
She examined it for several seconds before releasing my hand with a proud look on her face, "At least he's fashionable enough not to get a hideous looking ring." Her tone was teasing, but I knew that she meant it, and we started to discuss dates for the wedding. Finally we settled on March first, and she agreed to start making up different invitations for me to choose from. She was mid-sentence about colors for the paper, when she suddenly stopped and looked at Eric. "He would like to see you." She told me, and escorted me up to the stage.
He pulled me into his lap, before I could say a word, and Pam returned to her post at the door. I waited for him to say something, but when I realized that he wouldn't, I just leaned into his chest and enjoyed the contact. His hand found its way to my hair, where he stroked it slowly, and his other hand rested on my thigh. Of course his face was a careful mask of indifference, but through our bond, I knew that he was anything but stoic. Despite his lack of expression, his mind was racing with activity, buzzing away in our bond. I wondered what he could be thinking of, until it occurred to me that he had a thousand years of thoughts behind him. All of that could be replaying in his mind, or he could be thinking of new things, and I didn't even know how many businesses and deals that he ran all on his own. My own mind reeled at the prospect of how much he had to keep track of, and I considered the possibility of him ever taking a real break.
Perhaps I could convince him to go on a vacation, and let Pam take over for a bit. She was certainly capable, I was sure of that, and if she wanted it then she would probably be a benefit to his ventures.
His mind seemed to calm after several minutes, and at one point, he leaned down to kiss my forehead. I assumed at that point that he was thinking about us, and what the future might hold. Looking up, he didn't meet my gaze, and I noticed that his eyes looked slightly glazed over. I'd seen him with this look before, and I understood that for the moment, he was lost to the workings of his own mind. A deep sadness filled him at one point, only to be followed by fierce determination, and finally acceptance, and I touched his arm in question. He snapped out of his reverie, and just shook his head at me.
We sat there together for a long time, before my curiosity got the better of me, and I dropped my shields. Eric had become accustomed to me doing this, and felt it when I did so through the bond. The flood of emotions and thoughts usually sent me reeling for a split second, but this time I was gradual about it. I let them drop slowly as I drank in the images from every thought in the room.
Most of them were vicious towards me, while others wanted to take my place, and a rare few of them assumed that the lonely old Viking had finally found someone he liked.
She looks happy…I wonder if that's an engagement ring on her finger…maybe I'll be invited. Mark's thoughts were interspaced with his work, as he focused solely on what he was doing while he was doing it, and I respected his work ethic.
This is new. I know I haven't been around for a few years, but I can't believe that Eric would let any fang banger just sit on his lap. Maybe he's doing a favor for someone and protecting her…is that a ring on her finger? Well that's good, at least I know she's not engaged or married to him, and she belongs to someone else. The sudden wave of inquisitive thoughts came from a woman not standing too far from the bar, with her hair done in fancy curls, and an absurd amount of black covering her body. Maybe this time, when my works done, he'll let me into his bed unlike the last times. I picked up that her name was Kristen, and I suddenly realized who she was.
"Eric, I think your witch friend is here." I said it barely above a whisper, and he only sent me the feeling that I was right as his eyes focused on her. Reaching into his pocket, I pulled out his cell phone, and started to text Jessica. More than half way through telling her about the witch, it occurred to me that Bill might snoop, and I quickly revised it. I typed, Can u com to fangtasia? I been thinkin and I want to talk to u bout Bill. Eric snatched the phone before I hit send, and added something of his own, then pushed the send button himself. I leered up at him curiously, and he just smiled mischievously.
It didn't take long for Kristen to approach the stage, and by that time I had closed my eyes, to skim the bar for any dangerous thoughts. My focus was completely on the other minds, and Eric knew that. I felt him hold me protectively in his arms, and pull me a little closer, so as I didn't have to worry about my safety while I was distracted.
She seemed taken aback at his actions, since he had never shown affections for a human, and her curiosity was only peaked.
"Eric, who is this?" She asked in an overly loud voice, distracting me, and suddenly the voices of the minds in the room were uncontrollable. I gasped at the cacophony of sounds, and focused on Eric's void to regain myself.
His eyes looked down at me in concern, before glaring at Kristen. "Was that necessary?" He demanded and she just shrugged, not understanding what she had done. I heard the click as he dropped fang, making her jump, "I…I'm sorry? I really don't know what I did."
"It's alright, she doesn't know." I said, putting my hand on his chest to soothe him. He grunted, before retracting his fangs and looking away from Kristen, and toward the door. Pam appeared, and she didn't seem happy with the state Eric was put in.
"Escort her to my office, and wait with her there." He ordered, and Kristen followed her without question at the sight of Eric's anger.
We stayed there for several more minutes, while I forced my shields back up, and finally I smiled at him. He set me on my feet, and kept a hand on my waist as we walked to the office. The crowd parted, no one daring to get in our way, and when the office door opened I was surprised to see Kristen kissing Pam. She backed away, looking at us as though nothing had happened, and I'm certain Pam touched her butt as she moved to leave. "Sookie, do you want to go work the bar while I talk business?" Eric asked me, and Kristen looked oddly triumphant.
"Sure." I mumbled, and left them to join Mark at the bar. He smiled at me when I started working, but stayed silent, and I didn't mind.
Dropping my shield slightly, I reached for Kristen's mind, and watched the scene play out.
'So Eric, why did you ask me to come here?' She leered at him, hoping it was for something other than business.
'I have a vampire that wants to be severed from the control of her maker, and I was hoping you could make this possible.' A dozen different spells sped through her mind as options, and she finally settled on one that she had used with success in the past. 'Yes, I believe I could. I'll be needing a few things.'
He waved a hand for her to go on with what she needed, and she started to list things off, 'I need at least a few drops of blood from the maker and child, as well as a few feet of rope, a metal bowl, unpurified water from a natural spring, and a lighter or some matches.' It was obvious that he wasn't worried about getting the things, and she thought about how she already had a bowl, water and matches. But that was only a side thought, while her mind was predominantly focused on something else.As I listened in, she started to imagine Eric naked, and what she would do if she had him in bed. I pulled away from her mind, focusing on my work.
It was only ten minutes later, when I felt Eric's irritation seeping through the bond, and I knew he was getting tired of being alone with her. I found her mind again, and listened in. Eric was only a foot away, and baring his fangs at her, 'You do not know what you speak of. Sookie and I are bonded, and I would never betray her. Now leave. Mill around the bar until I call for you again.' I assumed what had happened, and smiled to myself. Grabbing onto the bond like I never had before, I tugged it while sending him as much pride and love as I could, along with a hint of lust.
Suddenly he was behind me, pulling me against his chest. His mouth found my neck and he sucked without biting while his hands roamed my chest. The world fell away, and I had no thoughts about where we were. Biting my lip, I moved my hands up to his arms, unable to resist. "How did you do that?" He whispered into my ear, before kissing just beneath it.
"What do you mean?" I breathed, and he growled low in his chest.
"You summoned me, and I couldn't resist. I had to get to you." Even though he didn't need to breathe, he was nearly panting, and I pressed back against him. His arms came around my stomach to hold me, and I felt his fangs snap down as he continued kissing and nipping at my neck without breaking the skin. I noticed for a moment that it was too silent, which seemed odd for some reason. Then in less than a second, I realized exactly where we were, and started to pull away from Eric. The entire bar was dead silent, and considering the number of hungry looks, I suspected that that was at least partly true. Even the music had for some reason stopped, and every set of eyes were on us.
I glanced toward the door, but stopped myself before I had to face Pam's stare.
"Eric, stop. You need to stop." I said, losing my resolve as he didn't relent with my neck.
"Why?" He growled, and I nearly gave up as he drew a drop of blood and licked it away.
"Eric…where do you think we are?" I asked, but I was ready to just give up.
Suddenly I was facing him, and he lifted me up to wrap my legs around him. I did so, and with a blur of motion, we were suddenly pressed against the inside of the basement door. "Not in the basement." I said, unsure, and he just smiled. With myself still wrapped around him, he walked us down the stairs, and I was relieved to see no one chained to the walls. Although it did make me wonder about what had happened to the men that had ended up in the place. He moved us through the room quickly, and stopped at a trapdoor I'd never noticed in the darkest corner. He lifted the hatch and floated us down, and suddenly we were in a bright lit hallway. It looked like something out of the bar upstairs, with black and red wallpaper, and black plush carpet. Two doors stood on opposite walls at the end of the short hall, one pink fur and the other sleek black leather.
"Pam's idea of a joke…to color code the doors." He explained, and I smiled as he took us down to face the black door. I noticed a keypad and fingerprint reader next to the knob, and after he used both, the door swung open automatically. As we stepped inside, he swung the door closed, and I noticed that it was nearly a foot thick and solid metal, similar to a bank vault door. The steel bars slid into place with a soft clank, securing the door, and he started back on my neck. "This place has everything you need…and no one can get in here but me and you…not even Pam."
I tried to listen as he placed butterfly kisses along my jaw, and we suddenly fell into a large soft bed. "I'll teach you the code, and you can look around…later." He loomed over me with a goofy smile on his face, before pecking me lightly on the lips. I eyed him for a second, before leaning up and wrapping my tongue around his fangs one at a time, and he froze. I worried if I'd bothered him for a second, before he rumbled with a loud growl, and pushed me back into the red pillows with a strong kiss.