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"So what does Eric think you should do?" I asked Godric.
He leaned back on the bed and pulled me into his arms.
"It doesn't matter, Sookie. I'm not going to do it," he whispered and kissed my head.
"Ok, but tell me anyway."
Godric sighed in response. For a being who didn't breathe and barely changed facial expressions, this was a pretty big show of emotion.
"He thinks I should bond with you."
I didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound so bad to me.
"How would we do that?" I asked. Being around vampires sure raised a lot of questions.
"We would exchange blood a number of times. After that our lives would be irrevocably tied together forever. It's the strongest bond a vampire can form apart from the one between a maker and a child. Nothing can break it except death. If we were bonded my claim on you would be undisputable. Neither the Queen nor anyone else would be able to take you from me."
I felt like someone had just stabbed me. Godric didn't want to bond with me.
He didn't want to be tied to me for the rest of my life. Of course he didn't; I would age and die and he would remain exactly as he was today. I understood why he would feel that way, but it still hurt me to my core.
I'd been so happy in the present that I hadn't thought about the future at all. I had just assumed that we would stay together, but now I realized it wasn't as simple as that. We weren't going to grow old together. While I became sickly and frail and old, he would remain looking like a teenager, in perfect health and nearly invincible.
I hid my face against Godric's chest so he wouldn't see me cry, but he must have felt my hurt and disappointment, because he carefully turned my face towards him.
"Oh, Sookie," he said and gently brushed the tears away.
"No, it's ok." I said. "I understand. I just hadn't thought it through, that's all. I thought we might stay together for a long time, but I realize now that's not possible. You will always stay like this and I will grow old. It doesn't make sense for you to want a long-term relationship with me, I just hadn't really thought about it, I'm sorry."
"Sookie, I would love nothing more than to bond with you."
Oh.
"If it were up to me we would do it tonight, but I cannot do that to you. It would change your life in ways you cannot imagine. Nothing would make me happier than you deciding to bond with me. But I want to make sure you fully understand what it means before we do it. I don't want you to make a rushed decision now that you might regret for the rest of your life. I can keep you safe without the bond. It's much too soon for you to make a commitment like this, Sookie."
I knew he was right. And I knew that I shouldn't take it as rejection, but a part of couldn't help to feel that way anyway.
"Sookie, look at me," Godric whispered and held my face in his hands.
"You are the most amazing thing to happen to me in a thousand years. I thought there were no reasons left to live and you changed that by your mere presence. You have made me excited about life again in a way I haven't been for many centuries. Because of you I look forward to every new night; the first thing I think of when I wake is that I will get to see you, talk to you, be close to you. Sookie, I love you."
Godric looked into my eyes and I smiled. I knew he meant every word. We would take things slowly and if it came to that, we would bond. But for now I would love Godric the way he deserved to be.
"I love you too," I whispered into his ear. "I just want to be with you."
"That's all that matters, Sookie. Everything else we can figure out as it comes."
He pulled me closer to him and kissed me. I closed my eyes and try to savour every second. His lips on mine, insistent yet so gentle. His hands started stroking me, gently at first but growing more insistent as my body started responding to his touch.
I couldn't help but join in, letting my hands explore Godric's body, stroking his chest, his nipples and down to his stomach.
When I reached the top of his boxers, Godric hand moved over mine and stopped me.
"Sookie, I need to tell you something." He looked like he was about to tell me a big secret. This couldn't be good.
I looked at him expectantly and he continued. "You know how I told you that when a human takes a vampire's blood, it does things to them."
"I know. It saved my life."
"Yes. But there is one thing I haven't mentioned yet." If I didn't know better I'd say that Godric looked downright nervous.
"Taking our blood makes the human attracted to the vampire. Sexually." Godric paused for a moment, looking at me intently.
"So you might only want to make love to me now because you've had my blood. I don't want you to do something you'll regret later just because you're under the influence of my blood."
I know it wasn't polite, but I burst out laughing.
"Godric, I've wanted to make love to you since the first time we kissed. It has nothing to do with your blood. I'm crazy in love with you and I can't wait to make love to you," I giggled. It wasn't like me to be so direct, but why not for once? I'd waited 25 years to do this, so I might as well be honest about what I wanted. And I wanted Godric.
Godric just smiled that beautiful smile of his and we continued where we'd left off, kissing and touching for a long while. Finally I stopped.
"Godric, I have to tell you something too." Now it was my turn to look nervous.
"I've never done this before."
"I know, Sookie. Don't worry. It won't hurt, I promise," he said and continued trailing kisses down my neck. His fingers followed as he slowly traced them down my body, from my neck and down my chest until he finally reached my breast. He touched my nipple and my breath caught.
"Is this ok, Sookie?"
Oh yes, more than ok thank you very much. I nodded, hoping he would continue. He did.
His hands found their way behind my back and a moment later my bra was gone.
"So beautiful," I heard Godric say, but then his thumb started stroking my nipple and all coherent thought left me. Every now and then his fingers would join in, pinching slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough for me to really feel it lower down.
His other hand started doing the same to my left nipple, while his right hand trailed down from my breast, over my ribs and down to my stomach. Godric leaned over and kissed me while his hands continued the wonderful things they were doing.
"Sookie, you know that you can tell me to stop any time, right?" Godric asked me.
Uh-huh, so not going to happen.
"This feels wonderful, please don't stop," I murmured and was pleased with my ability to string those words together. A few more minutes of this and I wouldn't be able to, I was sure of it.
Godric smiled and kissed me again and then I felt his hand slipping under my panties.
"Sookie, look at me," Godric commanded. I did and in the same moment I felt a finger slip in. Oh god, that felt wonderful.
My breathing was getting heavier and I felt like I was going to melt into the sheets.
"Do you like this, Sookie?" Godric whispered into my ear.
"Yes, yes, yes. Oh god, please don't stop. Yes. I do. Please." Maybe not my most eloquent moment, but at least I got my point across. Godric just chuckled. God I loved when he did that.
He tugged my panties off while my hips continued to grind against his hand. I felt a third finger inside me, widening me, making me ready for him. I couldn't wait another second or I was going to explode.
"Please Godric, I want you. Inside of me. Please," I begged him.
"So impatient, little one" he smiled and kissed me again. I reached out for him, pulling him towards me.
A second later, his boxers were off and he was on top of me. One moment my body ached at the loss of him and the next I felt him sliding inside me. I was so wet already that he entered me easily and then he was past my barrier. He lived up to his promise, it didn't hurt at all. I was so lost in the moment, all I could feel was the intense pleasure that was building in me with every move of his body in mine.
Suddenly his fangs slid out and seeing them excited me even more. They sometimes came out when we kissed and I'd grown to love the sight of them. Godric had never bitten me though. Maybe this was the night to change that. I brushed my hair away and turned my neck slightly.
"Sookie, are you sure?"
"Yes, I want you to."
Godric bent down and kissed my neck softly. I closed my eyes and braced for the pain, but it never came.
Instead the moment Godric's fangs pierced my skin wave after wave of the most intense sensation I've ever felt washed over me. My body arched off the bed and I openend my eyes just as Godric had his own moment.
I collapsed on the bed, a big grin on my face. Now I got what all the fuss was about, this was absolutely amazing!
"That was wonderful! Can we do it again?" I grinned and snuggled up to Godric.
Hey, I'd waited 25 years for this, I had some catching up to do.
And for the next hour, that's exactly what I did.