Sookie's POV
The plane ride to Chicago was not something I was looking forward to, but since we were able to catch a flight right after we finished packing our bags, Eric was able to sit in the cabin with me and distract me from my fear of flying. Unfortunately for us, we weren't the only passengers on the plane. That didn't seem to discourage Eric though, and after he turned my peck on his lips into a full blown, minute long, face sucking kiss, I had to push him away. I looked at him sternly, trying to get across the idea that ladies, and certainly Sookie Stackhouse, do not make-out in public.
He just smirked in reply and it took all of my will power to not give in after I saw the curve of his sexy lips. But I was strong, and instead of ripping his pants open and jumping his bones while the little old lady and Dracula-looking vampire watched, I settled for just holding his hand.
Of course, hand-holding with Eric Northman is not an innocent pastime. As his fingertips grazed my palm and ran lightly over my wrist, I began to wonder if even the pilots in the cockpit could smell just how aroused I was. I shot Eric a dirty look. He was trying to make me join the Mile High Club, but with a woman on the plane who reminded me of my Gran, there was no way even Eric could convince me. I tried instead to distract him with conversation.
"So, what's the game plan? What are we going to do when we land in Chicago?" I asked. Eric subtly turned his eyes towards the vampire on the plane before he replied.
"Well, after we check into our hotel, we'll check in with the local sheriff and see if he has any recommendations on places to go, or sites to see."
There was the tiniest lilt in his voice as he said "recommendations" and if I hadn't known what he was talking about, I would have never noticed it. Eric was good, but so was I.
"Do you think he'd tell us about any local events?" Translation: Is he trustworthy? Would he tell us if he knew anything about New York?
Eric's forehead crinkled a little as his whole face smiled at my cleverness. It was almost as if he was surprised the little human could manage to reply so adeptly. I worked on keeping my temper in check.
"Oh yes. Brian and I go back many years," he paused and looked off into the distance, pulling up a memory from long ago. "Pam actually knows him; we lived in the same nest in England for a few years. You couldn't have asked for a better place to visit, lover." Translation: Darn skippy, we could trust him. It's a good thing New York's crew went missing here.
And then, of course, I noticed that Eric's eyes were hungrily roaming over my neck down to my cleavage. He paused for a moment on the now almost invisible puncture wounds from earlier this evening and I shivered a little. He noticed me watching him, and his eyes rose to meet mine. I swear that our souls were touching. His eyes were so penetrating, so raw and unguarded. I felt undone, but I couldn't bear to look away. I wanted to gaze into those pools of deep blue forever.
We must have stayed like that for quite some time because I didn't noticed there was a world outside of Eric Northman until we heard the "ding" and captain's announcement about our descent to O'Hare.
Eric smiled at me, and put his arm around my shoulder. I thought it was so sweet that he was trying to comfort me during the landing. Then I felt his fingertips grazing the side of my breasts. I guess he was still being sweet, in a way; he just had a different concept of sweet and a different idea of how to distract me. Since his hand was out of view of the other passengers on the plane, I decided it didn't count as PDA and I relaxed into his arm, enjoying the sensations of his hand caressing my side. He subtly slipped his hand down and underneath my shirt, and I tingled at the feel of his cool, marble-like hand against my skin.
The landing and deboarding were uneventful, but when we arrived at the terminal my eyes bugged out at just how huge and gorgeous the airport was. I didn't think I'd ever seen such a large building before in my life. It hit me at that moment that I wasn't "in Kansas" anymore, and that I was in my first really, really, big city-over twice as large as Dallas. Everything on this trip had happened so fast, and I was still on overload from processing how quickly my relationship with Eric had changed, it hadn't even occurred to me that Chicago would be stressful for me to visit.
It was two in the morning, but the airport was still full of people. I squeezed Eric's hand, hoping that between the recent infusion of his blood and touching his skin that I'd be able to block out the thoughts of all the people around me. Eric must have sensed my anxiety because he leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"Just focus on the feel of your hand in mine. I'll take care of the rest."
Again, Eric's fingers stroked my palm and wrist. I focused on the odd combination of bliss and lust which filled me.
Eric's POV
I cursed myself silently for forgetting how Sookie's telepathy would affect her in such a large city. I had hoped that after finding New York, the conference with Sophie-Anne would be cancelled and I could spend a few extra days vacationing with Sookie. Instead, this would have to be as short of a trip as possible.
The heat of determination filled my chest and I felt more resolved than ever to put this mystery to rest quickly, maybe even tonight.
Wanting to save as much time as possible, I directed our limo driver to take us directly to the John Hancock building, drop our luggage at the W hotel and then wait at the Hancock to pick us up. Once we were in the lobby of the Hancock building, I heard Sookie gasp. I couldn't help but smile at how excited she was upon seeing the beautiful room. It was a shame I wouldn't be able to show her around the city.
We took an elevator up to the 80th floor and the doors opened to a group of guards. Mentally, I commended Brian for his leadership style. He had picked a respectable location central to vampire interests, but he still didn't waste money on getting the top suite. Plus, his security was obviously on top of things. The vampire guards in the lobby needed to unlock the elevator to open at the floor and they video-conferenced with Brian's staff to confirm our identities before they did.
We were guided to large oak double doors on the east side of the floor. After a moment, the doors swung in, revealing Brian holding them while standing there with a ridiculous grin on his face. I had to shake my head in amusement. He and Pam were complete opposites. Brian was gregarious and boisterous-extremely unusual traits for a vampire-whereas Pam chose to wear a mask of utter boredom at the tedium of life. Living with the two of them together never had a dull moment.
"Eric Northman! It's been too long!" he took in Sookie and winked at me before continuing. "And I see that, as always, wherever you are, there are beautiful women." Brian then took Sookie's hand into his and kissed the back of it, "Enchanté, I am Brian. And if I daresay, you are one of the most gorgeous women I've seen in my long life. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"
I raised my eyebrows at Brian's boldness. If it had been anyone else, I might not have let it stand, but Brian had this innocent charm about him which made me want to excuse his roguish actions.
How is it that he's managed to live this long? He must be as good with his charm as I am with my sword.
Sookie blushed at Brian's compliments; I felt my fangs begin to descend as I saw her face redden with blood. I forced them back up. To have such a strong reaction to a mere blush was unusual for me.
What is it about this woman?
"This is Sookie Stackhouse, and she is mine," I declared with authority.
I felt a rush of venomous anger, but it wasn't coming from me. I glanced down to find Sookie's face in the menacing look she gets when she's about to passionately argue. I loved it when she got angry. Brian must have noticed her body language and facial expression too, because he spoke up then.
"Come, Eric! We have much catching up to do! And Sookie, I think you'd enjoy the conversations we'll have. I'm also very much looking forward to hearing what you have to add to them!"
As we entered Brian's office, Brian signaled for his guards to leave. Once the doors were shut and we were the only ones in the room, Brian laid on the floor beneath his desk. I heard beeping, scanning, and a whirl of noises that always seem to accompany top of the line technology. Most humans might not even be able to pick up the noises nowadays, but vampire hearing is far superior.
Sookie was distracted from her fury by Brian's apparently strange behavior. I guess she couldn't hear the beeps and other noises. I shook my head silently and held one finger to my lips. After a few more moments, Brian rolled out from under his desk, his face flushed from the activity.
"Now we can talk freely. All the monitoring technology to this room is completely off," he winked at me, "I don't think either of us can afford some of the stories of the old days to get out. Don't you agree?" I shook my head and chuckled.
"Brian, my friend, you are still far too entertaining. But I applaud you on your level of security and your choice of headquarters. I see your intelligence and strength in strategy has not diminished in the least."
"I wish I could say the same for you, old chap," Brian smiled as he said that but I grimaced a little, Brian's nicknames for me always bothered me.
"What do you mean, Brian?"
"I heard that you were nearly captured by a couple of Mississippi werewolves when you were on the streets of New Orleans. These are dangerous times we live in, don't let the AVL and the money you make off of tourists and fangbangers cover your eyes to that fact."
I bristled at this, but I had no comeback. Brian was completely correct. I had made a huge tactical error in not keeping guard of our surroundings. Brian took my silence as an invitation to change subjects. He knew he had made his point.
"Miss Stackhouse, before I show you the phenomenal view, it seemed that you had something to say, and I don't want to stop you from speaking your piece. We're all friends here, no need for pretenses."
Really, Brian? He knew what was coming and he wanted to watch. I would have to think of a creative way to pay him back for this.
Sookie seemed a bit overwhelmed by everything and she paused for a moment before she began speaking in a subdued voice.
"I just wanted to say that I'm not Eric's."
Frustration washed over me as I heard her declaration, but pride kept me from arguing with her in front of Brian. In the vampire world, my claim was sufficient to keep her to myself and that was all I cared about. Brian's eyebrows lifted and his eyes smiled upon hearing her words.
"Understood," he paused to give me a huge grin then went to sit behind his desk. "Please have a seat. What brings you into town, old chap? As soon as you texted me that you would be in town, I cleared my schedule for tonight. I'm all yours this evening."
"New York and his party have gone missing." That caught Brian's attention.
"Here?"
"Yes. They were to make a connection from Chicago to New Orleans for a conference with Sophie-Anne, but they didn't make their flight."
Brian nodded and twisted up his facial features looking thoughtful.
"Nothing unusual has happened recently, to the best of my knowledge. Let's head to Spectrum and do some footwork, shall we?"
Sookie's POV
Before we left his office, Brian insisted that I enjoy the view from his windows. He showed me four views of the city and the lake by taking me to windows on each side of the floor. What I saw was mesmerizing. I began to understand why some people liked living in a place like Chicago.
Eric called off our limo, while he was doing that I noticed that Brian turned his security system back on and had a quick conversation with one of his employees. We took the elevator down and got into one of Brian's fancy cars. I held Eric's hand the whole time, which really helped as we passed the crowds of people on the sidewalks of Michigan Avenue and State Street. Brian drove around a little bit to point out some of the sights to me. It was a bit surreal to see in person the lit Chicago Theater sign and other things I'd seen on television.
The buildings grew shorter and the sidewalks more vacant as we went south and west. We arrived at an area of the city that had Greek flags and restaurants named "Parthenon" and "Athena." Brian pulled up to a very non-descript bar. There didn't seem to be a valet's stand outside like I'd seen at some of the other restaurants in the area, but as soon as we pulled up someone from inside the bar ran outside to valet Brian's car.
We went into the bar and I was hit by the familiar scent that all bars seem to have. I reached out into the room with my brain and I couldn't sense any blank spots that indicated a vampire. Everyone in the room seemed to be human. Brian led us back to a set of stairs where there was a velvet rope and a man standing guard. He nodded at Brian and the three of us walked up a flight of stairs. At the top there was a velvet curtain hanging across the doorway entrance to the floor, but instead of going through the curtain, Brian pressed against a spot on a wall and a hidden door slid open.
There were two other guards just inside the door and a staircase down. The place was poorly lit and fear rushed through my blood as I looked down. Eric squeezed my hand and gave me a reassuring nod. We walked down the two flights of stairs and I found myself in a surreal place.
The hidden floor was huge and filled. It was a very fancy looking bar and restaurant. There were people with the red snarled thought pattern that I had learned from last night meant they were werewolves. There were a handful of people who had brain patterns similar to Sam's-shifters, I guessed. There were a lot of vampires and a smattering of humans.
I didn't think that I'd be able to get much information out of reading the brains of the few humans who were there-most of them seemed to be heavily glamoured. But it turns out that Brian had a different approach in mind. As we walked into the room, silence gradually spread across the crowd. Brian threw his hands up and open in a warm greeting and began speaking in a loud, jovial voice.
"Good evening, friends! How is everyone?"
Murmurs of positive replies came from the crowd.
"Excellent! It has been a bountiful year for us, has it not? I'm so thankful to each and every one of you for all of your help in making our city such a success in the Supe world!"
The audience began clapping along with Brian in congratulations of themselves. When they quieted down, Brian continued his enthusiastic announcements.
"I'm planning to have some leaders from other states visit us in the coming year. If anyone has any suggestions on states they'd like me to invite, please let me know. I've been thinking that we should invite Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and Ohio."
A few voices rang out in the crowd, naming a few other states and some major cities. Brian nodded at the addition of each one. Once the assembly was out of ideas, Brian began making his farewells, walking around shaking a few hands.
Finally he rejoined us and smiled broadly.
"Shall we go?" Brian asked in a grand voice.
I had no clue what was going on; I gave Eric a look that said just as much and he shook his head with a small smile on his face.
Once we were back in his car, Eric finally explained what was going on.
"My gift as a vampire is flying. Brian's gift is very acute empathy. He's able to detect if someone is anxious or angry, or any other emotions."
"It's really a wonderful gift. And it works on both Supes and humans," Brian said, nodding with excitement. "So, I can tell you with great confidence that not a single being in that room knew anything about New York. I've also heard back from my people, and everything confirms my suspicion that there isn't a trace of foul play. I hate to break it to you, old chap, but I believe you've come to a dead end."
Eric nodded gravely.
"I had my suspicions we were being led in the wrong direction," he said with the strain of frustration in his voice.
"Well, the night is approaching its end. Where are the two of you spending the day? I'll drop you off so you can have some time to yourselves to work things out," Brian said the last part with a merry lilt to his voice and I didn't think he was talking about working out the mystery of New York's missing party.
The short ride to our hotel was amusing for me because Brian and Eric kept ribbing each other about various things. I'd never seen this side of Eric before and I was really enjoying it. The hotel lobby was amazing, but I was thankful that Eric was still holding my hand because it was filled with people milling about and wearing matching nametags.
Once we stepped into the elevator, Eric slammed me against the wall and began kissing me. No one else was in the elevator as we went up to our floor, and we groped each other shamelessly. I couldn't wait to get to our hotel room. It had only been a few hours since we'd made love, but I wanted him again. The airplane ride and holding his hand had been more than enough foreplay for me, and I wanted to show him just how fierce Sookie Stackhouse could be in the sack.
Eric walked backwards down the hallway to our room, not letting me escape his lips or his roaming hands. I hurried him along, eager to get him into our room, and out of his clothes.
After what seemed to be ages, we got to our room and Eric slid in the key card. He opened the door, pressing his back into it and began pulling me inside with him.
Eric's POV
If it weren't for Brian's warning, I may have been too distracted to notice it. But as soon as I began walking into the room, I heard the telltale sound of an explosive's timer ticking. Thankfully, the door was still open, our sides pressed against it, so I was able to quickly get us out of the room. I swept Sookie into my arms and began flying her down the hallway. I had turned us so that we were flying on our sides, and my back was towards the side of the hallway that our room was on. As I felt the force of the explosion pushing against our back, I prayed that I had completely shielded Sookie's body from the flying shrapnel.