Chapter 10
"Well, I think I'll leave you two alone and … go check the perimeter, or something." I assume Pam left at that point. I remember hearing the door close, but I never saw her leave. My eyes never left Eric's. After all of my planning and waiting, I didn't know what to say first. I started to say something a few times, but nothing seemed right, so I did the next best thing I could think of: I ran to him and embraced him. My arms went around his waist and I nuzzled my head into his chest, breathing in his masculine, musky scent. Eric was rigid at first, but after a moment or so, he softened his stance and wrapped his arms around me. I could feel him move his face to the top of my head and he inhaled me deeply, stroking my head with one hand. We stood there like that, in each other's arms, for a while without either of us saying a word. For that moment, all was right with the world. It was perfect.
Finally, Eric said "Oh Sookie. Why didn't you tell me about Hunter? If only I had known about his ability, I would have protected him. I would have made it so that no vampire could interfere in his life, like I did with you, in my agreement with Freyda and Felipe."
"I'm so sorry," I sobbed. And I meant it. "Oh Eric, I'm sorry for that, and for so much more," and here my tears began to flow in earnest. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Hunter, that I didn't trust you with his secret. I'm sorry I doubted your love… for ever doubting your love. Gosh, there's so much more that I'm sorry for, I'm not sure how to continue," and here I cried for a while, shaking with my sobs. "I know I don't deserve you, but I want to try, try to earn your love. Do you think that you could ever find it in your heart to love me again?"
"Sookie, I never stopped loving you. Everything I've done is because I love you," Eric said, and he put his finger under my chin and lifted my face to his. I tried to stop my tears and sniffled back my sobs. Using his thumbs, Eric brushed away my tears and said, "I hate to see you cry." He then leaned down and placed soft, cold kisses on each of my eyes.
"I'm such a fool," I said, and I squeezed my eyes shut, but the tears still managed to escape. Eric then leaned down and placed a soft, chaste kiss on my lips.
"Show me," he said, barely above a whisper. I could feel his breath on my face. "Show me where she stabbed you."
I reached behind my back and pulled the zipper down on my dress. I slid the thin spaghetti straps down my shoulders, and let the top of my dress fold down at the waist. I stood there exposed, my top half only covered by my bra, and Eric fell to his knees. He moved his hands over my stomach, which no longer bore Freyda's knife mark. Then Eric moved his face to my stomach and inhaled deeply. He began to kiss my stomach and I stood there enjoying the sensations. It was almost too much, having him so close after so long, that my knees started to feel weak and I wrapped my arms around his head, pulling him into my body to help hold myself in place.
With his face still level with my stomach, he looked up at me and met my eyes. His expression held so much love and emotion, so similar to the look I saw in his face when I died. I could tell he was asking me for permission and I nodded my head in assent. He lifted me up and carried me, bridal style, to my bedroom. He laid me out my bed and then laid over me, supporting his weight with his arms. Eric began to kiss me, softly at first, and then with growing passion and want. God, I missed this. After a while, he leaned back away from me and I whimpered at the loss of his body near mine. He pulled my dress completely off of my body, leaving me lying on my bed in nothing more than my underwear. Eric stood back and took me in. There was a time when I would have been embarrassed to have that much scrutiny from someone so entirely perfect, but I had outgrown that long ago. His gaze and touch and love were all that I craved, and I was happy to finally have it again.
He smirked at me and then began to undress himself. As he pulled his t-shirt off over his head, every muscle in his stomach, chest, and arms rippled with the effort. I was transfixed. Then he kicked off his boots and slid his jeans down his body, never breaking eye contact. He had gone sans underwear and when he stood up fully, I took him in. He hadn't changed a bit – which was to be expected considering he is a vampire. He was still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.
He returned to lie over me and we began to kiss again. Our hands re-familiarized ourselves with each other's bodies. It was like coming home. Eric's fangs had run full out and in a particularly passionate kiss, I nicked my tongue. Eric growled low and deep and I could feel the rumble throughout his body as he lay on me. "You taste just like I remember. Valhalla," he said and then he nicked his own tongue and healed me with his kiss.
Maybe it was because we had previously exchanged blood so much, or maybe it was because we had once shared a blood bond, but even that small blood exchange caused something between us to click. I could feel him, and I knew he could feel me. The place in my heart that he occupied that was so tender from his absence, was complete again. Instead of pain, it was full of love.
I broke off our kiss in order to breathe, and he began to kiss his way down my body, exposing each breast and showering them with attention. As he reached my stomach on his downward procession, I whispered to him, "I love you." He looked up from his ministrations and said, "I love you too, now let me show you." And boy did he ever. He showed me just how much he loved me … again, and again, and again.