He was at the side of the Corvette, opening the door--his own, of course. Eric's not without his touches of chivalry, but he's used to being the Big Kahuna, after all. More slowly, I walked to my side of the car. "She'll come fetch your car and I'll drive you home." He shot me a look to stress this was not subject for discussion. At least it wouldn't be that much of a hog of his time--Eric drove like a bat out of hell (a comparison he appreciated greatly), and he could easily halve my road time. Of course, my body could be easily halved around a tree, and his couldn't. "It'll be at your home in the morning." His eyebrow slid upward teasingly, promisingly. "I could be, too."

I kept my eyes closed for most of the drive home--not because I was tired, not because Eric drove like a maniac (and he did), not because he was still shirtless, but because he kept flashing smiles that were entirely too inviting in my direction. It was just too distracting, wondering what was going on beneath that golden mane. We chatted about a bunch of safe topics--TV shows we'd watched, Merlotte's (he asked if Sam had fleas), Fangtasia (I asked if the fangbangers were cleared for diseases)--before we fell into a comfortable silence.

"Tired?" I heard him murmur softly. "Or asleep?"

"Nope." I caught the hand sliding up my thigh. "And watch the road, please."

He ignored the rebuke, naturally, managing a caress before I pushed his hand away. "We'll be at your home shortly. Save your energy."

It was quiet when Eric pulled into Hummingbird Lane, nothing but the music from his iPod playing. (If he had a playlist dedicated to my seduction, he wasn't using it; we were listening to some up-tempo rock. And at least it wasn't Bill's endless Kenny G CD.) I didn't realize I was listening that hard to the music until Eric cut the engine, and the world was abruptly just us, staring at each other across the dark red cabin.

"Well, um, thank you for getting me--"

"It was my pleasure." He smiled at me softly, and it was like someone took a jackhammer to my heart. I leaned in and brushed a kiss on his cheek--one had to remember one's manners, after all--while he kept watching me with that amused expression on his face. Damned vampire.

"Thanks--I'll be seeing you." I galloped up the steps to the front door, key in hand. I know I was being brusque, but it was that or lose my Corvette virginity, which had already been severely tried tonight.

"Sookie." His voice wasn't loud but it had a certain steel behind it; you could really tell this man was a leader. I spun back around and saw a certain Viking had emerged from the car, standing there, still shirtless. I squished a rebellious part of me--okay, everything located under the belt--which danced happily at the sight.

"Yes?"

"You didn't give me a chance to say goodbye." And with that he began to move towards the steps, with torturous slowness, almost as if in slow-motion. Or maybe that was the perception of hormones, because as he poured himself up each step, the muscles rippled under that golden skin like the flow of the ocean, like the flow of all things rhythmic; my abdominal muscles clutched at the sight. I saw the moonlight glint like water off the darker hairs of his forearms, the little bit of hair on his chest, the promised land above his low-slung jeans

Well, there went the panties.

I fought the urge to run; his eyes remained on me as he stepped up slowly, gracefully, with all of the gentleness of a lion on the hunt.

He reached around me to put a hand on the doorknob; the other, he braced by my head. "Did you intend to send me away so quickly, lover?" My lower belly did happy things at his promising tone. "It's a long drive back…."

I muttered his name in automatic protest, managing to turn my lips away before he kissed me. He seemed not to be concerned about the implied rejection, placing little kisses along my jaw line. "Mmmmm, this is fun."

"Eric, I really have to go." I squirmed away. "I don't think this is a good idea." He lifted his eyebrow and he didn't even need to speak his objection to that. "Okay, right, it'd be good,"--and here his smile widened--"really good, yes, ahh, stop that!" He snickered by my ear. "But I don't think we should just hop into the sack."

"But I do. You have been my woman. You should be my woman." He seemed to breathe right into my ear. "You are my woman." I moaned--pitifully, I'm sure.

I was a good modern woman and that kind of possessive bullshit really shouldn't do it for me. Emphasis on "shouldn't." I clutched into his shoulder and pushed back forcefully, leaving my body crying out. Eric allowed himself to be pushed back, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Eric--no, please--I want to wait."

"As you wish, my hard-hearted lover." He didn't seem offended, though--probably because he was aware he'd made me a quivering pile of hormonal goo. Nothing cheered Eric like a tribute to his ego, and my knock-kneed state was certainly that. He stepped forward and brushed his lips to my forehead. "You will call me."

It wasn't a question, but then, that's Eric for you. He turned away and strolled down the steps as if he had all the time in the world. (And given the whole undead thing, I guess he did.) Maybe he was just chipper from having left yet another panting woman in his wake, or maybe he wanted to show off a bit, I don't know, but he stretched as he walked, letting the moonlight dance again on his muscles. Now I was treated to the rear view, and what a treat it was. I'm sure my drool was making splashes on the porch when he folded his hands behind his head as he sauntered to the car. That made all kinds of interesting things happen across his back, and that's not to mention what those jeans did for my favorite part of him. It got worse when he "dropped" the keys of the Corvette and had to retrieve them.

Damn him. Oh, damn him.

"Eric."

"Yes?" He looked innocently over his shoulder at me, his major asset still aimed my way.

"Damn it, get your ass here."

He stretched his body out to its full height, blinking with all of the innocence of a fallen angel. "Oh? I thought you wanted my ass on its way home?"

"Damn it, Eric! Do I have to spell it out!"

"You can spell," he purred, advancing on the house again. "But I prefer a scream." Okay, maybe this was a bad idea. I caught the look in his eye. Okay, maybe this was a really bad idea.

I was a little too flustered to say anything--I'm not used to propositioning men, since I've only been with three, and they were all take-charge kinds of guys--and so I just held my hand out to the vampire coming my way. "Come in?"

"Oh, I do intend to. Multiple times." His teeth were a dazzling white. At my mortified face, he laughed triumphantly and picked me up beneath my butt. "I knew you'd come to your senses, lover."

"Well, maybe I'm just crazy," I grumbled, clutching him around the neck, allowing my legs to hug his waist. "You tend to do that to me." The last thing I heard before he closed the door behind us was his delighted laughter rumbling through his chest.