Okay, so this chapter is a little citrusy in places, so those with a delicate sensibility may wish to turn away now. Still here …? Good, hope this is okay!

On a different note, I'm starting some studying which means that I annoyingly won't have so much time to update. I do still plan on updating once a week, and it will most likely be on a Sunday evening (BST/GMT).

Anyhoo, please enjoy…


Sookie

Almost as soon as I had finished speaking, Eric was on top of me and pinning me to the bed. I probably should have been scared considering the previous times he'd been pinning me down it was in anger, but I had to admit that I was hugely turned on by his display of dominance. The quilt was still between us, but I could feel his solid weight and hard body pushing me gloriously down into the mattress.

He placed a chaste kiss on my lips, which left me wanting so much more, then gently nuzzled into my neck, breathing in my scent. I couldn't resist plunging my hands into his mane of hair.

"Your heart is pounding," he commented, more to himself than to me. "Are you still cold?" he asked, moving to meet my eyes.

"I'm a fair bit warmer now." I gave him a nervous smile.

"I won't hurt you, Sookie," he promised. I believed him, as well.

He lifted his body off me for long enough to whip the quilt and blankets aside, and then placed his long, cool body back on top of me. His knees were either side of mine and he was leaning on his elbows, which were next to my shoulders. I was being completely dominated by him, and I absolutely wanted more.

His touch was much gentler than I had thought possible, and he tenderly started to kiss down my neck before he pulled me up and tore off the t-shirt of his I was wearing. As soon as I was bare-chested, his mouth went to my left nipple, while he palmed my right breast in his hand. His cool tongue was incredible, and I felt myself beginning to writhe beneath him, my legs rubbing together in search of friction.

I felt one of his fangs pierce my nipple and he sucked hard on the wound causing me to cry out in pleasure. After a few tortuous minutes, he repeated the process on my right nipple, my left breast in his hand as he massaged it gently. I was again crying out in pleasure as he pierced my nipple with his fang, and my hands clenched hard in his hair.

"Lover," he said, leaning up to face me. I wasn't too sure about his term of endearment, but at that time I was enjoying myself far too much to really care what he called me. "You have the most perfect breasts; they were made for my hands."

To prove his point he palmed both of my breasts to show that his hands did in fact fit them perfectly. I whimpered in pleasure as he captured my nipples between his fingers and squeezed gently.

"I could spend hours on your glorious body," he purred, "but we are running out of time."

I didn't know what to expect next, but Eric's hands seemed to be everywhere at once as his lips travelled further south. Before I knew it my panties had been ripped from my body and flung somewhere over his shoulder, and his cool breath was on my sex. He was seemingly almost purring between my legs, a low and sexy growl coming from deep within his chest.

When I felt his tongue flick my clit I almost catapulted off the bed. I was rewarded with a chuckle from Eric and he hand laid flat across my lower abdomen to effectively pin me to the bed. I let out a string of un-ladylike expletives, as Eric got to work, his lips working in perfect sync with his tongue and fingers as he brought me quicker than ever before to a catastrophic orgasm that almost knocked me out.

"You taste delicious," he said once I'd regained a degree of consciousness. I looked up to see his happily nuzzling my inner thigh, his eyes on mine as he placed a long lick along where I presumed my femoral artery was. "I look forward to biting you here," he said as he blew cool air onto where he'd licked. I shivered involuntarily, but it wasn't due to the temperature.

With his eyes fixed on mine he climbed off me and stood next to the bed. I could not stop my eyes from roaming over his gloriously hard and white body, and they were drawn to the very prominent bulge that the loose sleep pants were doing nothing to restrain. A thought crossed my mind as to whether he bought pants with an extra-large groin area, but I deemed it not hugely relevant.

He waited until I'd managed to draw my eyes back to his before he dropped his pants. There was a challenging smirk on his face as I desperately tried not to lower my eyes. But of course he knew I would, and I only lasted about five seconds before my eyes trailed back down his body to where his prominent erection stood to attention.

I swallowed audibly as I took him in. I should have expected it really considering his height and large build, but he was huge. I had to admit that I'd always thought of penises to be largely ugly yet practical, but his was somehow beautiful and inviting, and I was overwhelmed with an urge to touch him. I did just that, sitting up in the bed and gently running my hand along the length of him. He groaned at my touch, and, empowered by this, I pumped him a few times, my thumb trailing over his sensitive head and picking up some pre-cum that had leaked out. I had popped my thumb in my mouth before I knew I was doing it.

"Sookie," Eric moaned as he watched me, his gracious plenty twitching between us. His eyes were silently asking for permission, and I nodded to him, lying back onto the bed and watching him as he stalked towards me.

He pinned me once more to the bed, one large hand holding both of my wrists above my head as he kissed and nipped at my neck. "I want you," I moaned, meaning it, and Eric quickly released my wrists and rested his weight on me, his large phallus digging into my inner thigh. I had to admit to being apprehensive; he was much larger than I was used to, and I hadn't had sex in over a year.

"Do not worry, Sookie, I will not hurt you." He placed a soft kiss on my lips, which I met eagerly. "I know what I'm doing," he added with a wink before placing a hand between us to line himself up with me.

He pushed in slowly and considerately, giving me the time to get used to his size. It seemed to take forever until he was finally fully inside me, but I enjoyed every moment as he skilfully moved into me. All the while he was running his hands over any skin of mine he could reach and once fully sheathed inside me, he engaged me in a passionate kiss that easily shot to the top on my All Time Kisses list. The man was seriously talented in the kissing department, and it only made me more excited to know what he could do with other parts of his anatomy.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Eric began to move slowly inside me, managing to somehow hit my g-spot on every in-stroke, as well as rubbing my still engorged clit on each out-stoke. It didn't take long until I was clawing at his back on the verge of another orgasm, to which he pushed me over into with a smile on his face. I had to admit that he was a very giving lover, and despite the fact that he was this dominant, dark and highly sexed creature of the night, he made damn well sure that I was enjoying myself as well.

When I came down from my high, he stilled his movements, gathered me into his arms and flipped us so that I was lying on top of him. He arranged himself so that he was propped up against the headboard, and he bent his knees behind me. In that position I was able to take him much deeper, and I couldn't help but grind myself onto him, an act that earned a satisfying moan from my vampire.

"I intend for you to drink from me," he said as his hands moved to my hips to guide my movements as I rocked slowly on him. It was a different position from before, and I wondered where he wanted me to drink from him as in the position it could be a lot more intimate.

"Your wrist?" I queried, not able to say any more than that.

He chuckled. "No, you will drink from my neck."

I was a little started at the thought of having to bite him as I certainly lacked fangs, but he reached across to the bedside table and picked up an ornate golden dagger. He handed it carefully to me.

"You want me to cut you?" I really didn't want to hurt him.

"Yes, do not worry; you will not cause me any pain. You will need to drink immediately from me before the wound closes."

He smiled reassuringly at me, and I placed on hand on his muscled chest for support while I made a small incision on the left side of his neck. He seemed to moan with pleasure when I cut him, and I felt him thrust up into me. His blood flow was sluggish, and I watched as a thick drop of blood formed at the wound.

"Drink, Sookie," he commanded, gently pushing me into his chest. I obediently latched onto the open wound and began to suck strongly, taking his strong and ancient blood into me for a third time. On my second mouthful, I felt Eric's tongue at my neck as he placed a long lick along my throat before he bit painlessly into my neck and began to drink from me.

It would be hard to describe what happened next, and I was almost bowled over by the extreme pleasure I felt. Eric began thrusting up more forcefully into me, and I felt an orgasm growing inside me like no other. When it eventually hit I had to let go of Eric's wound, and I raised my head to scream with pleasure, every nerve ending in my body feeling like they were pushing me over the edge. At the same time Eric had released me and roared himself in a language I didn't understand.

The sensation of feeling Eric was strange, but not unpleasant. It was like there was a hum at the back of my mind, and I could feel his pleasure and contentment almost as keenly as I could feel my own. He was whispering to me in his own language, and despite my intrigue, I couldn't bring myself to ask him what he meant.

I relaxed myself onto his chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around me. It was a surprisingly intimate position, and I laid my head on his silent chest as I got my breath back. I tried to sort through my emotions to deduce what was my own, something I found quite difficult in that moment.

"Why are you confused?" he eventually asked, running his fingertips down my back as I leaned up to meet his eyes.

"I am finding it hard to deduce which are my emotions and which are yours."

He smiled. "That is because right now what we are feeling very similar. When we are at more opposing emotional states, you will find it easier to distinguish which are my emotions." He pulled me close to him again, and I couldn't help but giggle. I felt his curiosity, and I answered him without him needing to vocalise his thought.

"I'm just surprised that a thousand-year-old vampire king is so fond of snuggling."

He placed a kiss on my head. "Just don't tell anyone, you'll ruin my reputation!"

I sat up to meet his eyes, his length hardening again inside me at my sudden movement, and both of us groaning with pleasure.

"You don't normally snuggle?" I asked him once I was able to find coherent thought.

"No, Sookie. My previous partners have been for feeding and fucking," he said a little harshly." I have not allowed one of them to know where I sleep during the day and I do not spend any time with them after I have met my cravings. You … you are different."

I could feel a whole range of complex emotions roll off him, and I was fairly certain he clamped down on what I was feeling from him. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"You are taking a huge risk in having me here," I stated.

"I am. A vampire will never let any of his human pets be with him during the day," I bristled at the use of the term pet, but Eric placed a comforting hand on my cheek. "But you are different."

"You trust me." It was a statement of fact rather than a question.

"Yes."

I rolled my hips on his, and Eric's eyes shot back into the back of his head. "Woman! You are trying to kill me!"

I couldn't help but smile, and I did it once more. "You should not tease a horny vampire, Miss Stackhouse!" His eyes were intense, and he leaned up and placed a kiss on my lips. "But as much as I do wish to fuck you again, dawn is fast approaching and I wish to discuss tomorrow night with you."

I reluctantly rolled off him, and in a flash he had disappeared out of the room, but only to reappear a few moments later with a dampened washcloth and gently wiped me clean.

"Are you sore?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

"Not sore, a little stretched maybe." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Some find me too big …" he started before I slapped him on the shoulder. He gave me a grin before puncturing the tip of his finger and inserting it back inside me. I moaned at the sensation as I felt him spreading his blood inside me to heal any soreness.

"Thank you,"

"I do not wish you to be hurting. Although after you have had me a few times, you will not be sore anymore."

"You're assuming I will sleep with you again." I kept my face blank, but I was giggling inside. The expression on Eric's face told me that he felt it as well.

"Sookie, Sookie, Sookie!" he scolded, shaking his head. "I call bullshit. After having me once there is no way that you could not want me again." His arrogance was strangely attractive. "But this is what we need to speak about." His face was serious now, and he tucked the blankets around me once more to protect me from the chill in the room.

"The ceremony you mentioned?"

"Yes. It is a pledging ceremony and it will seal the bond that we have formed here. It is recognised within the vampire world as something akin to a marriage, and for all intents and purposes, you would be considered my wife."

I took a deep and calming breath. "This feels very much like an arranged marriage," I said quietly.

"You are right in your comparison. I understand what you have said about your ideals for romance, but you have said yourself that you would be unable to have a normal relationship. You have accepted this world much better than I would have imagined, but you must realise the danger you are in. You are part-fairy and the great-granddaughter of the ruling Prince. That alone is cause for enough trouble, but you are also a telepath and therefore highly prized within the vampire world."

I grumbled slightly at the thought of being highly prized.

"Sookie, I know that you do not like it, but if you weren't with me, Sophie-Anne or someone else would have taken you. Am I really that bad?" he fake pouted and I rolled my eyes.

"I've already said that I do feel something for you, Eric, and I know I could be in a much worse place. I guess I'm just wary of where this will lead. I don't know you, I don't know the world you live in, and I can only assume that that world has just become infinitely more complicated by you being King."

"You are right in saying that." I moved to snuggle into him, and he lifted an arm to draw me into his broad and firm chest. "But I am committing myself to you both by blood and vampire lore. We will find a way to make this work, Sookie. This is new for both of us, and maybe we have been forced together by the circumstances." He ran his hand down my arm. "But then, I don't doubt you would have caved into to me eventually. I can be quite persistent."

"You have a truly massive ego," I stated.

He looked down at his groin and pumped his hips off the bed. "Too true." I slapped him on the chest while stifling a yawn. "You are tired, and you seem to be pulling vampire hours. It is an only half an hour until dawn, get some sleep. I will explain the ceremony and procedure to you tomorrow evening."

I leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He responded to my kiss, placing a hand around my face and kissing me tenderly. I smiled at him once our lips parted and then turned away from him, curling up on my favoured right side to sleep. I felt Eric tuck the covers tightly around me, and I was sure that he was watching me as I dropped off to sleep, but I was too tired to really be bothered by it.

.

Eric

I could feel that dawn was approaching, but I laid awake as long as possible watching Sookie in my bed. I knew that Pam thought I was crazy to even consider allowing her to sleep with me, but I did trust her. In all honesty, I was confused by what I felt for this human. She had stirred up something within me that I had not felt in a very long time and I did not truly understand it. And what's more, she seemed intent on me analysing exactly what that was.

The problem was that if I did show any kind of emotional attachment to her, I knew that it would only complicate both our lives further. It was one thing bonding her to me as a telepath, any monarch would have done the same, but to form an emotional attachment to her was dangerous for both of us.

After the dawn had taken me, I woke at my usual time to find that Sookie was tightly in my arms. I buried my head into her hair, and I could tell that she had showered while I had been out for the day; the smell of soap fresh on her skin. She fidgeted in my arms, and I pulled her closer to me, my left arm trailing down her bare body. I was painfully hard when I realised that she had climbed back into bed with me while naked.

"Mmmm, evening. Did you sleep well?"

I felt her humour. "I'd say like the dead, but you were definitely much stiller than me."

"You have showered. Have you eaten as well?"

"I have, thank you." She moved in my arms, and I gave her enough room to turn to face me. "Are you hungry?" her expression was decidedly challenging, but I could feel her lust.

"Are you offering?"

"Yes. I'm sure I know how to work a microwave."

I growled playfully and moved on top of her, my erection sandwiched between us. "That is not my only hunger, lover." I nipped at her neck. "And I seem to remember you promising to satisfy me."

She got serious for a moment. "This does seem crazy considering that I know you so little, but I don't want you going elsewhere. I want you, and god strike me down, but I want to be the one you feed from and fuck." She laughed sardonically to herself. "I guess I'm putting the feminist movement back by a few decades!"

I could feel the turmoil within her. She was a strong and confident woman, who was used to the ways of her modern life, so I didn't doubt that this was difficult for her to get used to. But in complete honesty, after spending a few hours with her the night before, the thought of fucking anyone else was almost repulsive. And her blood, too, was infinitely better than any of the women I'd had of late, and there were probably only a few that even compared to her that I could remember.

I quickly cast that thought aside and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "This will be hard for you, and I will be a very different vampire when I am being the King to how I am with you now. But I do wish to be with you."

She seemed happy enough with my response, and I rubbed myself against her. It didn't take too long before we were both in the throes of passion and I was happily buried inside of her. I hadn't planned to feed from her considering I had taken a fair bit the night before, but I was unable to deny her when she was begging me to bit her. As soon as I did, we were both sent gloriously over the edge and I relished at the way her muscles clamped down on me.

Once I had showered and changed, I showed Sookie the clothes I had provided for her. I was aware that many vampires liked their pets to live up to the stereotype, and tended to dress them in barely-there black and red numbers in leather or lace, but I wanted Sookie to look classier than that. The dress I had chosen for her was black, but it was full length and flowing with a short train and a fitted strapless bodice. In short, it was fit for a Queen.

"Wow!" was Sookie's comment when she saw the dress. "It's gorgeous! I have to admit I imagined you were going to dress me in black leather!"

"Not that I wouldn't love to see you in black leather, I would prefer you in this."

"Well thank you."

As she was changing I explained what would happen during the night's festivities. I was going to be formally announced as King of Louisiana, and I had left instructions for Pam and Thalia (who I had named as my other lieutenant) to notify the other Louisiana Sheriffs that they were expected at Fangtasia tonight. Those who did not attend would be told to leave the state or forfeit their existence. I explained the ceremony itself, which was in itself decidedly simple, and I handed her the ceremonial knife that had used the night before to cut me before taking my blood.

"Why do I get the feeling this dagger is quite valuable?" she asked with a knowing smile as she wrapped it up in its velvet pouch and placed it in the black purse I had provided for her.

"You are remarkably perceptive, Sookie!" I got up and placed my hands on her shoulders. I was dressed in my normal attire of black jeans, heavy boots and a black vest top. "It is something I acquired many centuries ago, and there are not too many others in known existence. This one has been 'missing' for some time."

"Ever the opportunist," she said under her breath.

"I do not deny that. Now come, let us leave. This is likely to be an eventful night."

I held out a hand to her. "As long as it's less eventful than last night, I'm okay."

"I can't promise that."

I led her back up to the surface level garage and helped her into the Corvette. "Um, how did Pam get back if she left you your car?" she asked. "I didn't see any other cars when we came in here last night."

"She would have ran back. I cannot say that I was too pleased with my progeny yesterday."

"She's allowed to not like me," she argued.

I sighed. "I cannot work out why you feel the need to feel the need to defend her. She has been nothing but rude to you, and she will learn not to displease me."

"I guess she's quite stubborn then!"

"She is. Probably even more so than you are!"

"Well, she has had decades of practice," she said in an even tone before smiling at me. I could feel her nerves, however.

"I will keep you safe, Sookie."

We arrived at Fangtasia at ten in the evening, and I was pleased to see that all my Area vampires were already at the club and setting up the club. Pam was barking out orders and she had done a good job in arranging the club as I had desired. The human revellers would be told that the club was closed for the night for a private party, and any of them who hung around too long were likely to find themselves on the menu.

I sensed Sookie's nervousness when it came to Pam, and I called her over to us and went into my office.

"You know that I have bonded with Sookie," I stated. She would have felt the change in the bond she shared with me at the inclusion of Sookie. She nodded her affirmation. "You will respect her, and you will protect her." I had made it in an order, and she bowed to me.

"Of course, Eric."

I let Sookie sit down on the sofa while I went through arrangements with Pam for the evening. After a while, Sookie's phone went, and I looked up at her.

"It's Amelia. Do you mind if I answer this?"

I appreciated her asking, although I wasn't too sure if she realised that I would hear both sides of the conversation. The gist of the call was that Amelia had heard via her wolf boyfriend that I was now king, and she had been concerned about her friend when she went by her house to find that she was not home. I didn't know how much the witch knew of my relationship with Sookie, but my part-fairy skilfully appeased her friend without giving too much information away.

I ploughed through some work that needed to be attended to while Pam and Thalia were greeting the guests. Pam had successfully got hold of a large stock of donor blood from a local hospital, which had been decanted into glasses as well as some well-glamoured humans on tap for those that did not wish to drink from the champagne flutes. Sookie was replying to some of her own emails on her phone, and I did feel momentarily guilty that she would be missing her own work because of this.

We were certainly going to have to sort out some kind of living arrangements, and it was something I needed to discuss with her sooner rather than later. As my bonded and soon-to-be pledged, it would be expected that she would live with me. But I also was aware of her own independence and wish to work, and if she planned on doing that, she was going to have werewolf guards whether she liked it or not. During the sunlight hours she would be in too much danger of being kidnapped for me to not have her guarded.

At midnight I went out into the main room of Fangtasia and greeted with the guests who had made the trip. All of my former fellow sheriffs had made the trip to show their fealty to me, along with the recently promoted Rasul. The kings of the three neighbouring states had also made the journey into Louisiana for the evening's festivities, although it was only Stan Davis of Texas that I was pleased to see, and I certainly did not trust Arkansas King Peter Threadgill. It had been no secret that he wanted Louisiana for himself and he had been in discussions with Sophie-Anne for talks of a marriage. I was sure that they were both secretly plotting to kill each other once the ceremony had gone ahead.

It was Stan Davis who would be presiding over the ceremony, and after I had announced to all the vampires in the bar that I was now King of Louisiana, Sookie took her cue and came into the room.

All the vampire's eyes were on her as she made her entrance, and many of their fangs ran down as they took her in. She not only looked beautiful, but she smelt delicious as well; the searing kiss I had given her before leaving my office enough to make sure my scent was all over her and combined with the faint smell of her arousal. I knew she'd probably be traumatised if she realised that, but she didn't need to know all my tricks.

Her eyes were on mine as she walked confidently up to the dais where I was stood, the train of her dress filling the path around her. She did exactly as I had asked her to, nodding her head to me and kneeling on one knee. Her eyes met mine as she pulled the ceremonial knife out of its velvet case and presented it to me with another nod of her head. "My King," she said graciously.

"I accept this," I said to her, and she rose to stand next to me.

"We are all witness to this pledging; are there any that dispute this claim?" Stan Davis asked of the vampires in the room. My right hand was almost itching for my sword to decapitate any vampire that dared to stake a claim on her, but unfortunately for my blood lust, none did. When no vampire spoke up, the Texan King continued. "No? Well I announce that for the next one hundred years, Eric Northman, King of Louisiana, and Sookie Stackhouse are both bonded and pledged."

A loud cheer went up around the room, and the human waitresses came out wearing very little and carrying more trays of blood for my guests. I could see that Sookie was not entirely comfortable with what was about to happen, and I escorted her and Stan to my office to complete the paperwork.

"Are you okay?" I asked once Stan had left and the necessary papers had been submitted to the council.

"This is just all … it's all very strange for me. Those waitresses … they're glamoured, but they are completely up for sex, and the more dangerous the better."

I could feel a surge of jealousy from her. On the one hand I was quite pleased that she did feel possessive of me, but on the other I didn't want her to be offended by those women, or think that I had any interest in feeding from them or fucking them.

I drained the glass of blood I had brought into my office with me, and pulled her onto my lap. "I am not interested in those women," I could feel her surprise. "Sookie, in some senses that shocks me even more than it does you. Before I met you I would not have thought twice about having any, if not all of them," she raised an eyebrow. "But now, I do not wish to."

She sighed. "You were right in saying this is going to be strange for both of us. I was never really the jealous sort when I was with Alcide. Well, until he upped and ran off with Debbie, anyway." I felt myself bristle with anger at the naming of both of them. "But I do feel very possessive of you. I don't know, is it your blood in me that makes me feel that way?"

"No. My blood would only enhance what you feel. If you weren't attracted to me, you would not feel that strongly towards me." I shot her a charming grin before changing the subject. "But I was hoping to talk to you about your family."

She looked a little surprised. "You know, I haven't really thought about them at all in all this. If it wasn't for Amelia calling me earlier, I probably wouldn't have told her either. Do you think my great-grandfather will be okay with this? Aren't vampires and the Fae some kind of enemies?"

"Trust me, Sookie, if Niall did not wish this to go ahead he would have made himself known by now." It was something that had concerned me, as he no doubt was the one who could stop Sookie from bonding with me. "But that is not the family I wished to talk to you about."

"Okay … who then?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Hadley."


So, what do you think? What will Sookie think about Hadley? What will Jason think of all this? Does Niall have an ulterior motive?

As I said above, updating will not be as often as it has been, but if I can write more, I will do.

;)