Sookie literally fucked me six ways from Sunday before she actually gave me the chance to "have" her. With every thrust of her hips, she claimed a little more of me. I was left panting, sweating, and practically begging for more. After our fourth round of orgasms, that we had on the floor, she finally relinquished control.

I stood up and surveyed the damage. At some point we had tumbled off the couch and carelessly crashed into the coffee table. It was now only good to be chopped up for my fireplace. The rug had been pushed halfway under the couch, which was a good three feet to the left from its original position. I shrugged mentally and looked down at the goddess staring up at me. I bent down and threw her over my shoulder. She turned her head and nibbled on my side, being careful not to break the skin with her fangs. I slapped her hard on the ass, and she repaid me by pinching my inner thigh.

"Woman! Stay still."

"I think you know very well, Mr. Northman, that I am no woman. I am a thousand year old vampire, who is kind enough to allow you to be so barbaric."

I tossed her on the bed, enjoying the sight of her body bouncing. "You know, I'm not sure I want someone as old as you."

"You not only want someone with my experience, you need it. You are a baby after all."

"I thought you were a vampire, not a cougar."

Sookie actually looked confused for a moment at the term. "Older woman hunting down a much younger man. You certainly did stalk me didn't you." I laid myself on top of her, fully enjoying the feel of her skin against mine, and ran my fingers through her hair. "How did you know I was going to the strip club?"

"I overheard you talk about Claudine."

"So, it was you at my door."

"Yes. I was planning on just taking you for a walk alone in the moonlight for a talk. You seemed to have other plans, I felt it would be rude to disrupt those plans."

"Is the sex hunting vampire really a closet romantic? I didn't know you read my singles add." Sookie actually snorted her amusement. "And as far as interrupting my plans, you have succeeded a few times over on that account. I had no intention of coming home with a small amount of alcohol in my system in the arms of a woman."

"Oh, so you prefer to be drunk when you bed a woman. You do realize I own a bar?"

"Well, that is a most intriguing thought that will have to be dwelled on later." I shut us both up by interlocking our mouths, breaking apart only when I finally needed to breathe.

I kissed along her jaw line and down her neck. I gently pinched her earlobe with my teeth causing her to rake her fingers down my back so hard she drew blood. She smeared her fingers in my blood and brought her fingers to her mouth. When she brought her other hand to her mouth, I caught her mouth with mine. Our tongues warred for ownership of her finger.

My own fingers traced down her side, over her legs, and onto her cool, but very moist mound. Gently, I learned the topography of the hills and valleys hidden within her flesh. My mouth moved to her breasts. I flicked her hardened nipple with my tongue and then bit down roughly. She raised her body up to mine and pulled me harder down onto hers. I kissed down her stomach and side, enjoy the soft parts of her flesh as I passed them. My mouth finally met my fingers and they took turns devouring her. Her fingernails tore through my bed sheets and she whispered raggedly, "Eric, Þú ert fullkominn."

When I couldn't stand it any longer, I sat up and pulled her into my lap. She didn't need my hands to help her, so I let them roam along her hair, back, and ass. Her legs wrapped around my back and she used her feet to pull me farther inside herself. We rocked our bodies in a perfect rhythm, building together until we yelled out our pleasure. I shuddered into her neck and then fell back onto the bed.

Being inside Sookie was something I would never get used to, never wanted to get used to. Unfortunately after the fifth mind-blowing orgasm, I was going to have to be satisfied for the evening. Human women may have complimented my stamina, (hell, a few complained about it; yeah,I didn't get it either) but Sookie damn near broke me.

She sat on my lap, looking down at me, for all of thirty seconds before she was out of my bedroom. She brought back a tall glass of ice water.

"I assume you are thirsty."

"Yeah, thanks." I was vain enough to know that I was sweaty, my hair was a tangled mess, and I was still breathing heavy. She on the other hand merely swept her hair up into a tasseled bun and curled her legs up underneath her on the bed. She was absolutely perfect. I drained the glass of water and pulled her to me as I propped against my headboard.

"Would you tell me more about you, Sookie?" I traced my fingers down her spine.

"It depends. You are mine now, but that does not mean you will know everything about me."

"Alright," and I was oddly okay with what she said, "start with that then. What does the mine thing entail? Am I going to have to follow you are in some leopard print speedo all night like some cabana boy?"

Sookie actually giggled. "I used to have one of those. Not as fun as it sounds, although I may have to see you in a speedo. You weren't wearing anything tonight."

"I only own one pair of underwear. I only wear them when I go somewhere I can't wear jeans. Denim can hide my eagerness, but dress pants can not."

"I'll get you a red pair for Christmas."

"I'll wear them only if you take them off."

"I think we have a deal."

"And what should I get you for Christmas? What is there left to get the vampire who's been around for a thousand years."

"All I want for Christmas is you." The sap dripped from her voice as she batted doe eyes at me.

"You saw my Love Actually dvd didn't you." Call me a pussy if you want, but it's one of my favorite movies.

"Of course. I am rather a bad ass vampire with a reputation to protect. I also do not celebrate Christmas. I was born before the cult of the Christ reached my village."

"Will you tell me about you as a human, when you probably were a sappy human woman with romantic dreams?"

"I never had romantic dreams. My husband, Leif, was the son of the chief of a neighboring village. I was the second wife, his first wife had died during childbirth. I was required to take over the care of his first three children. I was required to bed my husband when it meant nothing more than for me to lie there and take it. Some women bragged about their husbands' skills, I never did. I gave birth to two children in rapid succession and was worn out by the demands of my two small infants and the young, needy children of my husband. Surely, once, when I was still a young unmarried girl, I prayed for a good husband. But, whatever delusions I may have had quickly died in my role as wife."

"You are still young, were you glad to be turned? Your own children must have been still young."

"No, my first died after a year, and my second followed only a few weeks later. Neither had been weaned from my breast." Sookie became quiet as she thought about her lost children. "So, yes. I was glad to be free from the demands of the children that were not my own, but still needed me. I was glad to be free from a husband who only desired me for the warmth I provided in his bed. But, I had been turned by an even harder man. Appius did cruel things to me and to my body. He taught me how to survive, which at the time meant that I had to be cruel."

My desire to protect her from the rest of world rose in my chest. I pulled her closer to me and whispered my sympathies in her ear. She pulled back and looked at me with confusion.

"Do you feel sorry for me, Eric?" When I nodded she snorted her contempt. "There is no need to look upon the past with sorrow. It is done, I must live for today. If I am to survive I must adapt to the present. I have been able to let go of my past. I shared it with you because you asked. What good can come from you feeling sorry for me?"

"I just . . ." How could I explain it to her.

"Did you think I needed your sympathy? Did you assume I told you these things so that we could be closer? I do not need your protection for emotional distress. I do not need your protection from anything. When it comes to the traditional roles of who needs who, you will just have to learn to accept that I am stronger than you in every regard."

Sookie had sat straight up in the bed, her eyes flashing with indignation. Her teeth were bared, and I had a feeling she was about to show me exactly how much stronger than me she truly was.

"Look, I'm sorry. Hell, if I'm gonna get the crap kicked out of me by a woman, I'm glad it's one that's undead, but still."

The fire died out of her eyes. "I apologize, Eric. It is dangerous for a vampire to be considered weak. I was reacting out of instinct, and forgot momentarily that you are not a threat to me."

"I'm not sure I know how to take that. I can be pretty intimidating."

"Yes, Mr. Northman, you certainly can be. But, I have to go now. I'm one woman you'll never have to worry about kicking out of bed. I go all on my own."

"Ah, shame, the one woman I wouldn't mind sticking around."

"You would once the same came up."

"Lovely thought to leave me with."

"How about this instead?" She straddled my lap and kissed me for all she was worth. She's worth her weight in diamonds.

"Eh, I guess that could work."

"Well, I just have to try harder next time." I felt a tingle of expectation shoot down my body. She walked out of the room, and after a minute, I heard the door open. Sookie's voice floated back to me from the living room, "And Mr. Northman, next time, I won't be gentle."

The door shut, and I fell into very pleasant dreams.

Unfortunately, I had to work the lunch shift the next day, so I was up at the ungodly hour of nine. I cleared the living room of its casualty, and then fixed me a bagel sandwich for breakfast. Jason liked to make fun of me for actually making them, but damn they're fucking good! I just sat down to eat it, when the phone rang.

"Eric, this is Kevin. I'm calling to let you know that we're going to be releasing Jason. You want to come by and get him?"

"That's a stupid question Kevin. I'll be down there in ten minutes."

I scarfed down my bagel and brushed my teeth, glad that I had already gotten dressed for work. Despite being happy about my brother's release, I was nervous what that meant. Sure enough, I didn't like the reason.

I pulled up to the Sheriff's Office, and Jason was sitting outside with red-rimmed eyes. He got up when he saw my car and sat down without saying anything. We drove back to his house in silence.

When we finally got inside I asked, "Jason, what happened?"

"They let me go, because there was another murder that had too many similarities in details that weren't known to be a copy-cat."

"Well, that doesn't sound like the bad part."

"No, man. The victim was Dawn."

I sat there on the couch and just stared at him. Dawn was the one girl Jason and I had a fight over in high school. She was in my year, and Jason had been trying to play her, but I had a huge crush on the girl and gave him hell over her. I finally got Jason to leave her alone and dated her for, you-guessed it, two weeks. Back then, she was still sweet, although not exactly innocent; I'm not ashamed to admit that she was the first girl I ever slept with. Dawn was beautiful, smart, and talented in more areas than just the bedroom. Sophomore year was the start of all the bad shit that went down in her life, and she never could bounce back from any of it. She started looking for acceptance and love in the bedroom, and it changed her for good. She had slept with just about everyone I hung out with. Even though I hadn't been involved with her since high school, I still had a soft spot for the woman.

"So, did they give you any information?" I finally snapped out of my reverie.

"She had fang marks and bruises on her body. She wasn't drained. She was found naked, just like Maudette had been."

"So, the killer touched her skin. I think I'm going to ask Sookie for another favor. You want to ride out with me to Shreveport tonight?"

"Sure. If this vampire of yours can help find the fuck that killed Maudette and Dawn, I'd be willing to drive to fucking Alabama."

Lucky me, I had a good excuse to see Sookie tonight. Somehow, I couldn't make myself feel all that thrilled about it.

Okay, sorry this took longer than normal. Lemons aren't my forte, and so I had trouble with getting this chapter started out right. I hope you enjoyed your sippy cup's worth of lemonade. Maybe it was only a shot glass worth. Thanks for your patience. Happy Reading.