A/N- I'm still in shock as to how many reviews I get for each chapter! Seriously, thank you everyone so much for your positive feedback. I appreciate it so much. This story just started out as a brain seed and I never knew so many people would like it. I know I said I was planning to update last Monday but this week at school was Spirit/Homecoming week and I was so busy! I decorated our commons until really late at night and then had to do my homework/study. Sorry, I'll stop being whiny. I actually just got back from the dance and am in such a great mood.

Enough of my rambling, I apologize again. Enjoy this chapter! I put in the requested EPOV!

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After opening up to Eric about my past I became…hardened. Usually when I thought about all the terrible things I'd been through I'd feel numb and depressed for the rest of the day. Now when I think about it I see it as a distant memory-almost like a dream. Now I don't even consider the torture I've been through real. It was just a nightmare.

I was with Eric now, one of the few people who had shown me anything close to kindness and compassion. It's sad, really, that the manipulative vampire Sheriff was the closest thing I had to family or friends. The weirdest part was-was that I have never felt so safe in my life. Every time he's near or wakes from his daytime rest I get little warm tingly feelings that make me smile. Some of the time I resent that the only time I feel protected is when he's around. I've been completely independent my whole life and now I'm reliant on somebody. It lifts some of the weight off my shoulders but damn I am so not used to it.

Eric's blood was beginning to really start to affect me. Recently my libido had become the most active it's been since I had a crush on the captain of the basketball team in high school.

A few times Eric caught me staring when he walked around the house shirtless. Usually he'd smirk and stretch upward for my viewing pleasure. Stretching? Vampires stretching? Seriously? Not to say I didn't enjoy it or anything.

Pam was constantly hinting that I should just get with Eric. She couldn't understand why I wasn't and I really didn't want to explain it to her. I would just blush profusely and quickly avoid the question. I think I was Pam's most amusing human acquaintance. Not that she had many.

So when Eric called me into his home study to tell me he was going away for a few days I guess I was pretty disappointed.

"Where are you going?"

"The new Sheriffs of Louisiana are having a meeting to discuss the rules of the king."

"Do you have to go?"

"Yes. I will probably be charged with treason if I do not attend."

"Oh. Where is it?"

Eric looked away briefly. "It is at Sophie-Ann's old mansion."

"Oh."

I was just full of intelligent responses.

"I am leaving tomorrow night and will return in two days at most. I'll arrange for Bobby to stay with you for the majority of the day and Pam will be with you at night."

I looked down at my shoes. I hadn't told Eric exactly what I thought of Bobby. I didn't want to sound like a whiny bitch. I had no right to complain.

"Okay."

"Does this displease you?"

I looked up at him, surprised. "What?"

"I felt disappointment from you."

"No…no I…"

"Will miss me?"

Eric gave me one of his genuine smiles and I felt like I could just melt.

"Probably not." I shrugged nonchalantly.

Eric chuckled. "I take offense to that."

I ruined the affect of my indifference by yawning.

"It is late and you are tired. You should sleep."

I wanted to, I really did. But I was scared I would have another nightmare and I didn't want to wake up to an empty house and spend a few nights without Eric. I reconsidered my last thought and realized I kind of sounded like a clingy girlfriend. Urgh.

I decided to just not say anything and deal with it.

"Okay, good night."

I climbed into bed and had been lying there for five minutes when the door opened and Eric came into the room. His lips pressed against my forehead and I felt warmth spread through me.

"You may not miss me, but I will miss you." He murmured into my hair. Then he was gone.

I snuggled down further into my covers and fell asleep.

EPOV

The girl was still a mystery. How she still had any fight left in her after all the torture she had been subjected to was a miracle. After spending over a month with the girl I still had not completed the puzzle that was Sookie Stackhouse.

When she told me her story I started to put the missing pieces together one by one. Her night terrors, her guarded personality, her fear of vampires, it all made sense. Of course, I had my suspicions when I witnessed the way Felipe treated her the first night she was brought to me. I wondered why she had never been glamoured either. I had found out why soon enough.

Perhaps it was her telepathy or willful personality but I could not discover why she was immune to glamoured. It was infuriating to now that she could defend her mind against me when every other human mind has been so helpless. It's infuriating yet oddly curious.

Like I've said-the girl was a mystery.

Hearing about her past I was a mixture of sympathetic and angry. The ladder emotion I was used to feeling.

I don't think I've felt sympathetic since the 1800's.

Her effect on me was remarkable. It had been over a month and I was not bored with her. I find that when you are over a thousand years old, you lose interest in things very quickly. The fact that she still had my attention surprised me.

I often wondered if it was her fairy blood that caused my attraction. I knew that was not the case because if I was not interested in her, I would have drained her by now. I wanted her to come to me willingly. I wanted her more than I had ever wanted a human, partly because of her disinterest in having sex with me. She had my blood running in her system and it should be driving her libido wild. I caught her staring at me a few times but that is all.

Now that I knew about her torture the reason behind her rejection of sex makes sense.

It didn't lessen my sexual frustration.

Every time I felt myself getting aroused because of her I would grab the nearest fangbanger for a quick feed and fuck.

Since I had Sookie's intoxicating scent fangbangers were of little interest to me. Their blood tasted bland. My libido was not satisfied and I was becoming impatient.

But I would wait for Sookie.

She would yield to me eventually. And when she did it would be incredible.

When I called her into my study and told her the news of my departure she was upset. This pleased me very much.

She brushed me off when I asked her if she would miss me. Never had I been so amused by a human girl. Only she would have the courage to say something like that to me. I loved it.

I told her I was going to a sheriff's meeting. This was true. However, I missed a very important detail-Victor was going to be there. I figured I should not reveal this to her because of the fear she held for Felipe. Victor was his second and I assumed that she would be frightened of him as well.

Seeing her terrified and vulnerable was not something I liked to see but had to witness it almost every night. She screamed and cried in her sleep from nightmares. I would comfort her until she fell back asleep in my arms.

I do not think I have ever comfortingly held a human in my arms. And I admit that being making her feel protected was a satisfying feeling- especially when it was Sookie who I made feel safe.

I told her that I would miss her and I was not lying. I would miss her addictive scent and sharp personality. I was not worried about her safety- she would have protection during the day and night. I could tell she was not fond of Bobby so I quickly changed her guard for the day to an indebted werewolf named Alcide.

I was concerned for her mental state during the night. She would no doubt have a night terror one of the nights I was gone and I wanted to be there to console her.

The night I returned from my trip I entered my house that was full of shrieks and sobbing. Pam immediately rushed to my side and actually looked stressed.

"She did this last night too. I don't know what to do, Eric! She cannot be wakened and I read that in Dear Abby that when humans suffer from severe stress they can experience heart attacks!"

I rolled my eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It is almost dawn. I will take care of this. Use the spare room downstairs."

"I can make it back to my house." Pam said, crossing her arms in a huff.

I rubbed my temple. I needed to get to Sookie.

"You will stay here and not argue about this further."

Pam gave an exasperated sigh and breezed past me to the basement that I kept as an extra light tight room.

I quickly made my way into Sookie's room. Her sheets were tangled in her sweating body and she writhed around uncontrollably. I felt another pang of sympathy for the girl and rushed to her side.

"Sookie! Sookie wake up!" I cupped one side of her wet face with my palm.

The sound of my voice made her stop screaming and thrashing about.

Her blue eyes snapped open and met my own. Her eyes took in my features with obvious relief and she flung herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her and she buried her face into my shoulder, gripping onto me like a leaf in a hurricane.

"Don't leave! Please don't leave!" She cried into my shirt.

I knew immediately that my absence had greatly upset her and for the first time in three hundred years I felt a tinge of guilt.

She seemed inconsolable. This was one of the worst of her nightmare. She would not recover in a few short minutes like she usually did. This one was different.

I picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. I sat her on the sink and dampened a washcloth. I wiped her cheeks clean and pressed the cool cloth to her forehead. This seemed to calm her down and her breathing slowed down considerably.

When her sobs turned to silent tears I discarded the wet cloth. She leaned into me and hid her face in my shirt. I smoothed down her hair and wiped up her tears with my thumbs.

"No more tears." I said. This was becoming something I said quite regularly. "I am here now. You are safe."

I scooped her up off her position on the sink. Carrying her into the bedroom I sat down in a chair beside her bed. I kept her in my arms and her tears were reduced to only a few droplets every now and then.

Five minutes later she had just fallen asleep in my arms when Pam came in.

"Eric, I-"

She stopped dead when she saw the position Sookie and I were in.

"Eric?" She asked; her voice full of questioning.

"Quiet. She just fell asleep."

I had never seen Pam's eyes so wide.

"You care for her!"

"I told you to keep your voice down."

"I thought all you wanted to do was fuck her. But you actually care for her. A human, no less!"

"Pam," I said warningly. "We will talk tomorrow night."

She huffed for the second time tonight. "Fine. But you better explain to me what the fuck is going on.

I impatiently waved my hand, dismissing her. Not one for being dismissed she did a little foot-stamp and stalked out of the room.

I looked down at the sleeping girl in my arms. It must have been quite a sight: me, Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area Five, consoling a twenty four year old human who was a whore to a vampire king.

I wanted her. I wanted every inch of her. And I wanted her to be mine.

Sookie's POV

The nights without Eric were hell. I had the worst nightmares of my life when he was away and I'm pretty sure it was because of his absence. No matter how much Pam shook me I couldn't be wakened. It wasn't until I heard Eric's voice that my eyes snapped open. I clung to him like a child; sobbing into his shirt.

The fact that he took all of my shit was unbelievable. You'd think he would be a cold-hearted, arrogant bastard. Well he was arrogant, that's for sure. But he was also extremely considerate and patient. I guess when you've been around for over a thousand years; you develop a lot of tolerance toward things.

During the day I was fine. I was used to Eric not being awake during the morning and afternoon. What really surprised me, though, was that it wasn't Bobby who was my chaperone. It was a were named Alcide. Alcide was super good-looking in a scruffy kind of a way. Not as attractive as Eric but pretty close. He was pleasant and charming. I briefly mused that he was the kind of guy every girl wanted to marry and have kids with. I'm ashamed to say I imagined mini Sookie's running around with my blond hair and his green eyes.

His thoughts were all jumbled but I picked up that he thought I was a very sweet and pretty girl who shouldn't be messing around with vampires.

Oh believe me buddy, I know I shouldn't be messing around with vamps, but they just won't leave me alone!

I was shy around him. I'm very skeptical when it comes to strangers-especially men. He did most of the talking and I stayed quiet. I cooked him breakfast which he wolfed (no pun intended) down. We went for long walks and he'd tell me about his family, life, and psycho ex girlfriend. His stories made me laugh and I really appreciated his kindness.

But when the sun went down it was a whole different story. Alcide would leave and Pam would take his place. Then the nightmares would begin.

When Eric returned home I was relieved. It felt like he had been gone forever instead of a few days. Hearing the blank void that was his mind was comforting, even when he was sleeping. I felt so pathetic but it felt so good to have him back.

"I think you missed me." Eric said, smirking at me as I popped a grape into my mouth.

"Nope."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nah."

"Tough audience." He muttered.

I giggled. "Crowd, Eric. Tough crowd."

His English was very good, but every now and again modern day slang and idioms would confuse him. But you had to give the guy some credit- I think English was his twenty fifth language or something.

"Yes, that." It was his turn to roll his eyes. I popped another grape in my mouth.

He watched me chew for a moment and I felt a little self conscious. I decided to change the subject.

"So did Pam get a present for babysitting me? Those new pumps she wanted?"

"No," Eric responded.

"Poor Pam." I said, shaking my head.

"She didn't get the shoes, she got the car."

"You got her a what?" I asked dumbfounded.

"A car," He repeated calmly. "She has been dying to get the new smart car." He rolled his eyes.

I choked on laughter. "A smart car? I would have thought you'd get her a mini van or something."

This time Eric laughed. "She looks absolutely ridiculous driving it but she's positively ecstatic."

"That was nice of you-to get her a new car."

Eric shrugged. "It was no problem. I made sure I got her the best insurance possible. Who knows what might happen to your car?"

I froze and Eric smiled toothily at me. He was obviously referring to the time I had totaled his precious Corvette. He was mad for about two seconds and then he replaced it with an exact copy. I think he was angrier about the fact that I tried to escape.

"You know, you never did pay me back." He smirked and stood up from his seat at the kitchen table.

I stood as well, starting to feel a bit nervous.

"I think it's time you reimburse me."

He took a step forward and I took a step back. I was getting a little scared but when I looked at him his eyes were full of mirth and laughter. I immediately felt better. He was only joking… Right?

"Come here." He said, beckoning.

I kept moving backward. "No."

"Come here."

"No."

He sighed. "Then I guess I will come to you."

He began sauntering toward me and I bolted.

Yes, you'd think I would have learned my lesson-never run from a vampire. But my instincts were telling me to scram.

I shot up the stairs using my old softball speed. I could hear Eric's laughter in the background.

"Oh, Sookie, you have just made a very bad mistake. You know I love a hunt."

I gulped and ran into my room, locking the door behind me. I heard his daunting footsteps ascending the staircase and I looked around the room frantically. My first look was toward the bathroom but I disregarded the idea. He'd eventually get in and I'd be trapped.

Suddenly, I had a stroke of genius. I sprinted toward the bathroom, opened the door, locked it, and closed it without stepping foot into the room. I heard his footsteps stop at my bedroom door and I crawled under the bed.

I heard the doorknob jingle and I heard him curse when he discovered it was locked.

"Very clever, Sookie. I would not want to break down your door now would I?"

I couldn't help but smile.

I heard a little more rattling from the knob and then the door opened.

I peeked from under the bed and saw his feet enter the room. I held my breath and covered my mouth with my hand, trying to slow my racing heart.

His shoes approached the bathroom door and he tried that door which was also locked. I suppressed another giggle. My plan was working! I felt so clever.

"Come out, Sookie," He called. "I know you're in there."

There was more jingling and suddenly the bathroom door opened. I saw his feet disappear inside the bathroom and I felt my heart stop. This was my chance to haul ass for the door while he was occupied in the bathroom. I shifted slightly from under the bed to get a better view. The house was dead silent; I couldn't even hear the sound of his feet.

What was going on? It was like he had just flown away.

Then two things happened at once. I had a mini breakthrough and realized that he was floating around the room and was probably near my bed. At the same time I had that thought I felt two hands grab my ankles and drag me out from under my hiding place. I shrieked in surprise and Eric's laughter rang through my room. He sat back on my legs and I buried my face into the carpet and groaned.

"If it wasn't for your irregular heartbeat I would have never known you were under here." Eric confessed.

"You suck." I muttered.

He chuckled and gave my ass a slap.

I yelped in surprise and twisted around to look at him.

"You did not just do that."

"I believe I just did. Do I need to prove it to you?"

He landed another playful slap on my backside and I struggled under him.

"That's not fair!" I exclaimed. "Let me go."

"Life isn't fair." Eric grinned. "Now it's time for payback."

I gulped and wondered what his "punishment" would be.

Before I could think about it any longer I felt his hands begin to mercilessly tickle my sides.

I screamed and laughed all at the same time. Did I ever mention I'm extremely ticklish? Jason would always get me into tickle fights when I was younger and leave me begging for mercy.

"Eric!" I yelled. "Stop! It tickles!"

He laughed loudly and continued to squeeze and poke my sides.

"I know. That is the point, Sookie."

I groaned in frustration and tried to wiggle away, but it was no use. I still was no match for the thousand year old vampire.

He continued ruthlessly tickling me for a few minutes while I shrieked with laughter.

Without warning he flipped me over on my back and I giggled loudly when he tickled an extra sensitive spot on my stomach.

His eyes were shining with amusement and a genuine smile played across his lips, making him look really gorgeous.

We continued laughing like loons for a few minutes but eventually simmered down until we were just grinning and giving the occasional chuckle.

I stared up into his blue eyes, barely noticing the risqué position we were currently in. In that exact moment I wanted him to kiss me. I really really really wanted him to. He tucked a strand of stray hair behind my ear and caressed my face with his big hand. His smile was replaced with a serious yet thoughtful expression. He ran a thumb over my lips and I swear I shivered.

Then, finally, he leaned down, and softly brushed his lips against my own.

A/N- Can somebody say cliffy? Mwuahaha. Finally! Eric and Sookie kiss! I was thinking about not including that part because I wasn't sure if I had built up their relationship enough. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, tell me what you think!

PS: I won't be able to update for a while. I'm not going to give you any excuses because you're probably sick and tired of them. I'm so sorry! But I promise that the next chapter will be super long and great!