A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter. And to all of you who have added me to your alerts and favourites. I'm just so flattered by all your interest in this story!
It's really fascinating for me to see the divide in opinion in your reviews in relation to Eric's actions over the last couple of chapters although dislike for Niall seems to be pretty universal (albeit still not a patch on your Bill vitriol!) I can't tell you how much your reviews inspire me to think things through and really help me flesh out the bones of my plot. So thank you and please keep them coming...
And to the one delightful reviewer who this week left me my first real negative and actually fairly insulting review, I would direct you towards the 400-odd other comments indicating that other readers seem to like this story and my originality (or lack thereof) just fine. On that note, let's get back to it shall we?
Charlaine Harris owns the rights to these characters. Jeaniene Frost also deserves a mention.
I lay on Eric's chest, our limbs entwined, drawing lazy circles on his skin with my fingers.
"So when do we leave for Dallas?" I asked, eyelids suddenly heavy.
"Tomorrow evening," Eric replied. "It's a short flight so we can start looking for Pam and Compton immediately. If my theory is right, he should be there by then. We'll start with the usual vamp hang-outs and go from there." I nodded sleepily. "So that will give you tomorrow day to pack. Meet me here tomorrow at sunset and we'll go to the airport together?"
"Okay," I murmured, snuggling into his chest as Eric stroked my hair. I could feel my limbs get heavy as sleep began to take over me.
"Sookie," Eric whispered with a chuckle, giving me a little shake. "There's a couple more things we need to discuss before you nod off, like how you get out of here in the morning..."
"You've exhausted me," I grumbled jovially. "I feel like we're back in the woods after tonight's work out." I shifted my position slightly. I was a little sore but I didn't want Eric to heal me; I almost liked the feeling, it made everything more real.
"Hey," Eric laughed. "You came here and seduced me, remember? I'm not taking any blame." I pulled back to look at him and raised my eyebrow. "Okay," he admitted, with a smile. "Maybe I will take a little of the blame."
I planted a lazy kiss on his cheek and Eric resumed stroking my hair. "So as I was saying..." He paused and I could almost feel him frown above me. "Sookie, how exactly did you find my house? No one knows where I rest except for Pam..."
"Location spell," I replied with a sleepy giggle. "I really did use your business card."
Eric sat up immediately, pulling me up with him and effectively ending my dreamy state. "Explain," Eric commanded, suddenly very intense.
I let out a sigh; he really wasn't going to let me sleep. "Amelia, among her many other talents, is also a fairly skilled witch or 'practitioner of the magical arts' as I believe we're supposed to call them these days. So I, well, I asked her to perform a location spell on you. I wasn't sure if you'd talk to me otherwise..." I stared down at my hands for a second, recalling how desperate I'd felt just hours earlier, and then continued with resolve. "Well, I needed something personal of yours, the business card was all I had but we made it work. Amelia was concerned that because you were... um... not strictly speaking alive, it might prove an issue but it seems that, magically anyways, you're just like everyone else..."
Eric was staring at me with his mouth open. "What?" I asked. Was I missing something? "You need a personal effect otherwise I would have done it on Compton years ago..." I reminded him, shaking my head. And then I had a sudden moment of clarity. "Pam!" I cried. "We can use it on Pam."
Eric got out of bed, whizzing out of the room for a moment. He returned after a second with my purse, chucking it gently into my lap. "Call the witch," Eric instructed. "She's coming with us to Dallas."
0-0-0-0-0
Amelia and I strapped ourselves in to our luxury aeroplane seats accepting a glass of champagne and some salt crackers from the stewardess as she walked by. Eric was in the row behind us on his own; he'd bought the seat next to him as well. When I asked why, he stated that he "didn't do small talk" as if that explained everything.
Amelia shifted around on her knees like a child, peering over her seat to talk to Eric. I followed suit.
"Well I've got to give it to you Eric," she said, waving her champagne flute grandiosely. "You know how to travel in style."
"Thank you," Eric replied with a small smile.
It had been fairly easy to persuade Amelia to come along on this trip. She was always up for a little adventure and, even though she was still a little wary of his being a vampire, she was willing to give Eric a chance for my sake. As she was pretty much the only person close to me who was likely to do so, I couldn't have been more grateful.
"Mind if I ask you a question?" Amelia asked Eric.
"Not at all," Eric replied with a smirk. "Although whether I answer or not depends on what it is..."
Amelia lowered her voice to a whisper. "Why can't you find her? Pam, I mean. Why do you need me? I mean you can locate Sookie if she's in trouble right? And this Pam chick must have had way more of your blood seeing as she's your... um..."
She looked to me. "Vampire progeny," I added helpfully and then turned back to Eric, suddenly brimming with curiosity. Amelia always asked the right questions.
"Exactly," Amelia agreed. "So why can't you locate Pam?"
Eric nodded, as if he'd expected the question. His face was pensive, his tone measured as he answered. "The simple answer is, I don't know. Blood bonding isn't an exact science. I've only ever made one child and only ever given one other human my blood, so I only know how it has been in the past between Pam and I ... and how it is with Sookie."
He gave a small shrug, while I tried to process his words. I was the only human he'd ever given blood to aside from Pam? In a millennium?That couldn't be right, could it?
"I do know that the bond dulls with distance," he continued. "It would be a lot harder to locate Sookie, for example, if she were in the US and I were in Europe... But even in those circumstances, I'd still be able to feel her somehow. There would be a slight... hum, is the best way to describe it, always making me aware that she is out there."
"And there's no hum with Pam?" Amelia asked softly. Eric shook his head, mournfully. "And that's why you thought she was dead?"
"Until we questioned Andre that was really the only logical conclusion. But now... I don't know. We didn't get any real information from Compton but..." He sighed as if he were a little embarrassed.
"Go on," I encouraged.
"I may be reading far more into this than I should but, when I asked him where Pam was, if he had killed her, I, well, I would have thought he would have acted... differently." He shrugged again, not looking up.
"There's nothing weak about hope Eric," I whispered and his gaze rose to meet mine.
"For what it's worth, Eric," Amelia added softly, "I've got a real feeling she's alive. And if she is, I know we'll find her." I nodded encouragingly in agreement.
Eric gave us both a grateful smile. "Thank you ladies," he said. I leaned over the back of my chair to kiss him and he reached up to meet my lips, tenderly.
"So Lover," he murmured sexily, mercurial as ever, "have you ever considered joining the mile-high club?"
"Eric!" I shrieked, a little too loudly, slapping him playfully on the arm and receiving haughty looks from a couple of the other passengers. I glanced at Amelia, full of embarrassment, but she was just grinning at me.
"I think it's time for me to close my eyes and listen to some music," she leered. I rolled my eyes; she was as bad as he was.
"No I have not," I hissed sternly at Eric in reply, trying to stifle the smile that was threatening to give me away. "And no we will not!"
He just just smirked at me. "Don't forget I can feel what you feel; I can feel your excitement at the prospect. Why deny yourself?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Eric," I replied obstinately, rolling my eyes. "But I can assure you I feel no such thing. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'll join Amelia and listen to my i-pod."
I turned back to face the front of the plane, slinking down into my chair with an exaggerated huff, trying to ignore the sound of Eric's chuckle behind me for the rest of the journey to Dallas.
0-0-0-0-0
We pulled up outside the Ritz-Carlton at about ten and made our way across the marble lobby as Eric carried our bags up to the front desk.
"We have two suites booked in the names of Mr and Mrs Leif Halverson and Miss Amelia Broadway," he announced authoritatively. The receptionist immediately began fawning all over Eric as she got our keys together. I resisted the temptation to glare at her turning, instead, to talk to Amelia.
"Suites, huh?" Amelia mused. "Not bad. Can't believe you didn't invite me to the wedding though. I'm offended," she teased, whispering so the receptionist couldn't hear.
"I'm not sure I was invited either," I joked, trying to ignore the secret thrill I had got from being Eric's fictional spouse.
"Well at least I got to keep my real name, I suppose," she whispered. "What's yours gonna be? Agnetha, maybe? Anni-frid?" We shared a conspiratorial giggle.
"You'll have to ask Leif," I suggested with a wry smile as Eric shot me an amused look. I raised an eyebrow at him. Two could play at that game.
The receptionist handed Eric the key cards as a bellboy came and wheeled away our luggage. "Come on, my dear wife," he said putting an arm around me with a sly grin. "Let's go check out our room."
When we got to the eighth floor, he handed Amelia her key and we agreed to meet in our suite in an hour. He opened our door and the bellboy bustled through, unloading our luggage with an apprehensive look in Eric's direction. Eric paid him no attention, tipping him as he made his way out, ignoring his polite good bye.
The minute the door closed Eric had lifted me and chucked me gently onto the bed. I bounced a couple of times with a squeal before being absorbed into the huge decorative pillows that were strewn all over. He crawled up the bed, balancing himself above me and leaning in for a kiss.
"Hey, no time for that Mr Halverson," I teased.
"We have an hour Mrs Halverson," he replied, touching his lips to mine for another kiss as one of his hands pulled my blouse out of my skirt and began to snake up under the fabric. "And you wouldn't want to deny your husband, would you?"
"Mr Halverson?" I asked, talking into the kiss.
Eric pulled back with a smirk. "Yes Mrs Halverson?"
"What's my fake first name?" I giggled.
Eric laughed, deep and throaty, rolling off me onto his back. "Your fake first name is Elin," he answered, after a while.
"That's pretty," I suggested. He nodded. "What does it mean?"
"Well it's Swedish for Ellen of course..." I looked at him pointedly, knowing there was more. "Ray of sunlight," he finally admitted. "It's Greek for 'ray of sunlight'."
"Oh." I considered the connotations of his choice not quite sure how to take that.
"It's just a name Lover," Eric explained, kissing the top of my head, as if dismissing the issue, but I knew, Eric never did anything randomly. "And what about Leif?" I asked, suddenly curious. "What's the meaning behind that name?"
Eric smirked. "It's Swahili for 'well-endowed and adored by many'..." I rolled my eyes. I should have known I would never get a serious answer. With a giggle, I leaned in to kiss him again, making a mental note to look it up next time I got a chance.
After a few minutes Eric pulled away. "You should order something to eat from room service," he suggested. "We've got a long night ahead." He paused, looking slightly guilty, something on the tip of his tongue.
"You can say it Eric," I encouraged thinking of our pact.
He nodded. "I should also feed," he said, tone and face impassive. He made to get up, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I may have to fight tonight," he explained. "I'll need to be at full strength... I won't be long. There's plenty of people around."
I suddenly felt sick at the thought of Eric feeding from someone else, some random stranger. Rationally I knew he had to eat the same way I did, but the irrational jealous part of my brain didn't want him touching anyone else, let alone doing something so intimate with another person.
Eric looked at me with an apologetic shrug, obviously feeling my distress through the bond. "This is how I survive, Sookie," he stated matter-of-factly.
"I know," I agreed. I did.
"I'll make sure it's a man?" he offered. "Someone ugly?" he added with a small smile.
"I don't want you feeding from anyone but me..." It just slipped out. I didn't realise I was going to say it until it was out there. Eric's eyes widened, mirroring my own.
"Sookie, you don't have to do this," Eric said slowly, his eyebrows knitted into a frown. "If it's really an issue, I could go to the hospital, maybe steal..."
I shook my head. I knew now what I wanted. "No Eric," I said, firmer now. "I want to give you my blood." It really was the last barrier between us. He'd given me his blood so many times in the past, no holding back, unwaveringly. Me, the only human he had ever done that for. I was suddenly a little ashamed that I had been so unwilling to do the same for him.
"But Sookie..."
"I trust you Eric," I interrupted, trying to keep my voice steady. I was incredibly nervous but I knew it was the right decision. I reached over, pulling him back down towards me with trembling hands. "I want you to."
Eric closed his eyes for a moment as he considered my offer and I knew he was probing my emotions, confirming that I really was sure. When he opened them, his eyes were bright, unhesitating, bluer than I had ever seen them. He launched himself on me, hungry kisses devouring my lips as his fingers began to dance over my body. My nerves began to dissipate as I relaxed into the feel of him.
After a moment, I turned my head to the side, gathering my hair and exposing my neck. I took a deep a breath. "Do it Eric," I insisted, closing my eyes, my body tensing involuntarily as I braced myself for the pain.
It never came.
Eric kissed up my neck, running his fangs teasingly over my earlobe. "Not like that Lover," he whispered. I could feel him smile against my skin and the tension seeped out of my body again.
He began to lower his mouth, slowly unbuttoning my blouse as he headed south, placing open-mouthed kisses on my skin. My body chilled as he left a cool trail where his mouth had been, heightening my skin's sensitivity as he continued his descent. He ran his tongue around my belly button as he slowly pulled down the zip at the side of my skirt, my body flexing in anticipation as he pulled it and my panties off in one fluid movement.
Eric ran his fingers between my legs as he butterflied kisses over my belly. "So wet for me as always Lover," he murmured into my skin, the vibrations of his voice causing me to shiver.
He ghosted kisses on each of my hip bones and then his hands settled on my knees, parting them wide, opening me up for him. "So beautiful," he whispered and then ran his tongue up between my legs in one firm stroke, swirling it around my clit. I was already so aroused, I bucked off the bed at the feel of him and he repeated the motion over and over, holding me firm as I thrashed around. My breathing grew laboured as his name fell off my lips, a benediction. I ran my hands through his hair, tugging at him forcefully, pleading for more. Eric moved to suck my clit between his lips, the feeling was so intense, sending ripples of pleasure shuddering through me. I was close. I closed my eyes, the sensation building inside me as Eric pushed his fingers into me, causing me to cry out incoherently.
"Look at me Lover," he demanded, voice firm, commanding. My eyes shot open and met his; his gaze was dark, wild and filled with lust. "You don't know how much I have wanted this," he whispered hoarsely, running his tongue over me one last time before placing the pad of his thumb on my clit and turning his head to my inner thigh.
I cried out as he sank his fangs into my flesh, the sharp jolt of pain quickly replaced by deep surges of pleasure as he drew on my blood, all the while working me with his hand. The heightened sensation sent me crashing over the edge, my orgasm surging through me in intense waves.
Nothing had ever felt this good.
I don't know how long it took me to regain my equilibrium but Eric was still between my legs, lazily running his tongue over two tiny little puncture marks on my thigh.
"How was it for you?" I tried to joke as I ran a shaky hand through my hair. I could barely speak, I felt drugged.
Eric looked up at me, eyes full of emotion. "Exquisite," he replied with an honest smile. "Even better than I imagined."
"I feel a little woozy," I admitted.
"I didn't take that much," Eric explained, "but it's fairly intense like that."
"I'll say," I murmured dreamily and Eric laughed.
"Come on Lover," he said, picking me up off the bed. "I'll run you a bath."
0-0-0-0-0
"It's just textbook Amelia," I explained, as I tied my hair up into a high ponytail. "She's never on time. She's probably having a shoe crisis or something."
Eric let out a huff. I knew he wanted to find Pam but another five minutes really wasn't going to make a difference. Amelia was doing us a real favour by being here, I wasn't about to get on her case about her time-keeping.
I gave my make-up the once-over, trying to ignore him as he paced, impatiently, around the living area. Finally I gave in. "Fine, I'll call her," I offered with a shrug, walking over to the phone and dialling the number of her room.
The phone rang three times before he picked it up.
"Hello Sookie." His tone was composed, cold even, but the drawl was unmistakable. "Or would you prefer I called you Amelia just like old times?"
"Bill," I whispered in apprehension and the corresponding onslaught of emotion was too much; my legs gave out under me and I slumped to the floor.
Eric's head shot up, his face dark with rage. "Where is she?" I rasped, feeling suffocated, dizzy. Oh God. What had he done to her?
"Don't worry your pretty little head Sookie, Amelia and I are firm friends already. And she won't be harmed if you do as I say..." His tone was so smug, I felt my stomach clench with nausea.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"For now, all I want to do is to talk," he explained. "I want to see you and Northman down in the lobby in ten minutes or I'll rip her throat out. You try anything in the meantime, I'll rip her throat out. Anything happens at our meeting that I don't approve of, I'll rip her throat out. And she won't be as lucky as you were. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes," I muttered, blinking back tears, voice so low I could barely hear myself.
"What was that?" Bill asked spitefully, obviously enjoying the power he had over me.
"Yes," I repeated, louder, firmer, voice cracking with emotion.
"I look forward to seeing you again sweetheart," Bill purred, hanging up the phone with a click.
A/N: Oh I know, I'm evil but I couldn't resist! It's like I have some kind of sickness.
Want to know what happens next? You know what to do...