Chapter Twelve

"What are you even doing here?" Sookie murmured as Eric cradled her against his chest, one hand idly stroking her back.

"The same thing as you." Eric replied.

He held her tenderly on the slim couch with his body on the outside and her back pressed against the couch. Sookie looked around and recognized Arlene's office. She remembered at one time that how things had been more organized with little more than a desk, a bookcase, a couch and a Safe. Arlene had made it more roomy, if not crowded with pictures and even a mini fridge.

What were they doing at Bellefleur's anyways, cuddling on the couch in Arlene's office? While Arlene was more friendly towards the undead, to say that she considered Eric a FRIEND was a long shot. Arlene didn't know Eric like she did. Eric wasn't the big, bad vampire that everyone thought he was.

They weren't doing anything, but she would hate to see the look on her bosses face if she caught her with her wayward and secret lover. Lover? Sookie gave a small laugh at the thought. They weren't lovers—yet.

"I work here, you don't." Sookie murmured in response and pressed her nose against his chest. He always smelled good and when Sookie really thought on it...she knew Eric couldn't be here. She'd only seen Eric here on one occasion. So she came to the conclusion that she was dreaming. One of those wet dreams that came from taking the vampires blood. He was only holding her though and the action was innocent. There was nothing sinful about the way he was holding her.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, hugging him against her. The man was beautiful. She sighed again and just held him, letting go of every restraint. She liked holding him. She liked him holding her. "This isn't real."

"What's not real?" Eric said and drew his leg up, curling it over her hip and pulling her against his hips, keeping her pinned between him and the couch. He kissed the curve of her chin.

Sookie gave a small smile and tilted her head back, giving him access to the slope of her shoulder. "This." His breath feathered against her pulse and she almost wanted him to bite her there, over the pulse beating. Had he ever done that? "So I can do what I want. I like holding you."

"What makes you think this isn't real?"

She could hear the tease in his voice but she knew better. Eric wouldn't be here. He sure as hell wouldn't come to her job to tease and torment her with lust. She tightened her arms around his broad shoulders. "Bite me."

Though she couldn't see his fangs, she heard the sound of them clicking down. She could almost picture the look in her mind, his fangs bared by his lips.

"Is that a rhetorical question or do you really want me to bite you?" He said the words against her neck and Sookie felt a shiver race down her spine. He bit down but he didn't break skin.

"The real Eric wouldn't hesitate." Sookie knew that. He wouldn't have hesitated on taking her up on the offer.

A sweet, piercing pain jolted through her neck and Sookie moaned, arching in his arms. Doubt filled her because Eric had just bit her and he was drinking, pulling hard at the the vein in her neck with his mouth and lips. Maybe this was real, maybe he really was here and maybe he really was sucking her blood.

The pain radiated from her neck, followed by a mild pleasurable sensation as his bite soothed the sting. She could feel him against her hip, a warm, throbbing sensation. He was hard.

He hadn't hesitated. Eric really was here and he was seducing her without even trying. Was she so far gone that she couldn't even put up any defense against him? She didn't care. He rolled his hips against her, grinding his erection and Sookie shifted her hands up from his shoulders, her fingers tangling in the short strands of blonde hair.

His fangs retracted and then she felt the lazy glide of his tongue moving over her pulse. "You're the sweetest thing I've ever tasted."

And that was possibly the hottest thing she'd ever heard. He still held her and he shifted their positions as he rose up over her, pressing her down into the couch. His eyes were intense and Sookie knew she was done fighting him. There was nothing left to fight and his eyes said that.

God, Eric was so beautiful and unerringly sexy at the same time. He was shirtless and when he moved over her on his forearms, she took the time to admire his body. Her fingers trailed over his abdomen before she lifted her head. He was staring down at her with the expression that said 'I want you. I'm going to take you' and her body melted then and there.

Crossing her fingers over the back of his neck, she pulled his head down to hers.

Sookie sighed with a slow and sudden awareness. She woke slowly but with the knowledge that she'd just had another wet dream about her domineering vampire. She grimaced. It had been a dream. She really, really hated the dreams that followed when you took a vampires blood. There was no way around it.

She opened her eyes and found herself slumped over Arlene's desk. She dropped her forehead against the oak surface and groaned. The work flow was slow but she took a break none the less and what did she get in return for it? She fell asleep and wet dreamed.

She really wanted to see Eric.

It wasn't just the throbbing need between her thighs. She wanted to see him. She wanted to be in his presence. There was something comforting about him. There always had been, even if he had a tendency to be an ass.

Taking a look at the clock on the far wall, she heaved a relieved sigh that she hadn't over slept. Maybe after a long days work she could sleep regardless of Eric's insomniac hold on her. She was working purposefully for that reason alone. Her body was physically tired but the closer the sun sank, the more her mind reacted.

Did Eric think about her when he first woke? She gave another heaving sigh and dropped her forehead into her hands, staring with unseeing eyes at the cluttered desk. Did he wake up in a coffin or in a bed wearing nothing but a silk sheet?

"Sweet dreams, lover."

She snorted. She was going to have to face him again and he'd know and probably ask what those "sweet dreams" were.

Was he awake now? Her eyes shifted towards the window and the still setting sun. Probably not, but soon.

How would he react if she told him her suspicion on what the bond was doing mentally to her fairy bonds?

God, she missed Eric and she liked and hated it at the same time. She knew she missed him because she liked him. A little too much. And sooner or later, they were going to engage in some hot as hell familiar and unbridled sex. Eric was out to prove something more, though. She knew it with every fiber of her being. What was he out to prove?

That she wanted to be with him?

The sun was going to set soon and she didn't have long left on the clock, much less any tables to stay for. She leaned back and the leather chair squeaked beneath her. She pulled out her cell phone and her fingers moved over the dial pad but didn't touch, as if she couldn't decide what she wanted to do.

What would she say if she did text him? What would he say? Why did she want to text him? Yet another dilemma.

Another glance at the window saw the sun setting. Sometimes she hated how long the night could last, but how easy it was for day to turn to night.

Finally, her fingers moved and she sent "Are you awake?" and pressed Send under Eric's name. She immediately regretted it because her heart beat a little faster. She waited feebly because the thought of Eric responding excited her. She'd be getting off work soon and...she wanted to see him.

There was nothing sexual in the want. She wanted his company, plain and simple. She could go from hot to cold in a single day.

Her phone vibrated and she bit her lip. The small square message icon popped up beside Eric's name and she hesitated on opening it before she swept her thumb to the side.

'I am. Are you?'

What kind of response was that?

Looking at the clock again and fatigue pulling at her, she mentally ticked off the minutes until she could leave. She contemplated on a response before sending 'Not for long.'

Small and simple.

It was short and to the point and to let him know that they weren't playing any games tonight. She didn't have the energy to fight him tonight, should he decide to play those said games. She couldn't believe that she was texting Eric Northman. It had nothing to do with business. It was casual. Like they were friends. Possibly lovers. She heaved another sigh and stretched her arms out before dropping her forehead on them, cell phone still in her hand.

She actually wanted him to respond, to continue their textual bi-play. Her days were boring and her nights even more so when he wasn't around. When had that happened?

A blank spot filled her mind but she ignored it. Until she was swooped up into a pair of strong, pale arms. She squealed like a little girl.

Eric stared down at the small bundle in his arms and arched an eyebrow. He hid his smile, not showing his amusement at her reaction to his sudden presence. "I never did prefer the texting method." He murmured and started off towards the dining area. The modern technology was convenient, no doubt, but he preferred face to face interaction.

"What are you doing here?" Sookie squealed. He was tall and she saw the world from a whole different perspective in his arms. Not to mention a very uncomfortable looking Arlene as Eric passed her friend and boss. "Put me down." Sookie whispered suddenly, squirming in his arms. She didn't want him carrying her. She had two legs. And she didn't want him carrying her with everyone watching. This was Eric Northman. Rumors started when he walked into a room. And he had just zoomed into Arlene's and was sweeping her up into his arms like she was a damsel in distress.

Oh God.

"I could feel your fatigue all day, lover." Eric murmured, holding onto the squirming blonde ball in his arms with no difficulty. He wasn't lying. Even in his sleep he'd felt her unease and the fatigue that she forced aside to work this small job. He didn't understand why she didn't just take him up on his offer to live comfortably. He wasn't asking for anything in return.

Other than that she be his and his alone.

He never would understand her human mind and the lines she drew.

Sookie stilled in his arms suddenly as he passed the first set of booths and she could feel the stares. God, she'd never been so mortified. Eric didn't fit in here. This place was just too southern for him. He was too...gorgeously and sexily refined. And... "Wait, I'm dreaming again, aren't I? You're not really here, are you?"

Because Eric wouldn't be here. She'd somehow known she was dreaming earlier, even if she was slow to realize it. He didn't answer her, just arched an eyebrow that said how ridiculous the question was. But there was no disguising the satisfaction in his eyes and the silent inquiry about the dreaming again.

"Jessica." Eric said in passing to the red headed vampire with a slight nod of his head.

The red head gave a return nod in passing but her eyes were on Sookie.

Sookie could feel her cheeks heating at the sudden knowledge that Jessica had caught onto her last sentence and the vampire knew exactly what kind of dreams she was talking about. What was she thinking, knowing Sookie had taken Eric Northmans blood and now he was carrying her out in his arms?

"I'd suggest closing your eyes." Eric didn't release her despite her protests.

Sookie heard the warning in his voice and squeezed her eyes shut against her own protests. She lifted her arms and wrapped them tightly around his neck and then hid her face against his chest much to Eric's delight. "Get it over with."

Eric gave a small laugh and launched them skyward. He could already hear the whispers in the small restaurant. He knew Sookie could hear the thoughts directed her way, unless she was blocking him. It didn't matter how much she fought him, he was fitting into her life style and bringing her back into his world. Where she belonged—with him.

"Just you being in my arms gives me a hard on." Eric whispered in her ear as the wind rushed, rustling in their ears. Her fingers tightened behind his neck and Eric gave a small laugh at her response. She could have just said no instead of "Shut up, Eric" in that breathless tone of hers.

She hated and loved flying at the same time. She preferred it be done in a plane. Though, she knew Eric was much safer than any plane.

They hit her bed hard enough to shake the frame with her body cushioned beneath his. It knocked the breath out of her and her thighs convulsed around his hips, holding him against her from the sudden impact. Good Lord, what the hell was that for? He could have just walked her inside.

And then Eric kissed her, his hands cupping her face. She didn't even bother putting up a fight. If this was how he was going to greet her nightly, she was suddenly all too glad to welcome him. Her lips opened to the pressure of his tongue and the thrust that followed. She could feel the dangerous prick of his fangs through every kiss.

There was something sexy in that knowledge.

She hooked her heels around the back of his thighs and arched her back, feeling him grind his dick against her. God, he was all hard. His whole body was, there was nothing soft about what she was feeling.

"What's this all about?" Sookie gasped out finally, tearing her lips from him. Her tongue slid over the coppery taste on her lips where his fangs had pricked her bottom lip.

Eric leaned down but instead of taking her lips again, he kissed her collarbone. "I missed you. Isn't that reason enough?" Silly human. He didn't need a reason to touch her. His tongue snaked out and one of his hands drifted over her abdomen. His fingers nudged the hem of her shirt before sliding beneath, touching soft, firm skin.

She hated it when he did that. When he was logical. It made it even harder to realize what was reality and what wasn't...because she was suddenly afraid that she was dreaming again. She'd been waiting for the clock to wind down one moment and then Eric was sweeping her away like her valiant hero.

She groaned softly and Eric gave a chuckle at the sound.

"What were you dreaming about?" Eric murmured, efficiently slowing each kiss until his breath was caressing her skin. She wanted to groan because he was stopping. How could he do that to her? He had this amazing ability to go from hot to cold in sixty seconds or less.

"All you have to do is tell the truth, lover." Eric said against the skin of her throat.

Dammit. The harsh reality of what they were doing came crashing back and realizing exactly what he was doing. He hadn't forgotten. And she really didn't care. She tightened her thighs around his hips, refusing to release him.

He chuckled, as if knowing what was on her mind. He changed tactics. "What were you dreaming about?" Eric asked again. There was no denying she had been dreaming about him. He'd seen to it that she would. The look on her face said all too clearly what she had been dreaming about.

How many days had he lain awake, dreaming of the expression on her face staring up at him? Lust, desperation.

"I'm not going to answer that." Sookie lifted her hands. His hair teased her knuckles before she was tugging at the blonde strands. "Stop teasing me."

Such an omission. Eric gave a fanged grin, his mind racing through all kinds of scenarios with her words. Stop teasing her? "I will when you give me what I want."

They always came back to this. Except this time had started off a little more decadent with him on top of her. She squirmed beneath him. "I'm trying to."

The blonde viking leaned down, staring into his lovers eyes. "Perhaps another time, lover." He murmured haughtily. She was tired with dark circles beneath her eyes, even if her intoxicating scent was alluringly seductive. Eric cupped her chin in one hand, his eyes meeting hers. "Close your eyes, lover. You're fatigued and I won't have it. Sleep."

For once, she didn't fight him. Her body went limp beneath his and her eyelids slid down obediently. Eric frowned before placing a cool kiss on her forehead.