Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball own most of these characters...I'm just playin' with 'em.
Chapter 13:
Sookie couldn't stop smiling in the limo on the way home and Eric finally asked, "What are you grinning about?" with an amused smirk of his own.
"That was so awesome!" she exclaimed, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement. "You don't understand how hard I tried to get tickets to this run of Phantom, but it sold out in less than a day and the scalpers' prices were outrageous."
"I'm glad I did it then," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "The look on your face right now is worth any price."
"This is the most perfect date I've ever had," Sookie sighed, wrapping her arm through his and laying her head against his shoulder. "No one has ever put so much effort into a date with me before."
He kissed the top of her head and laid his cheek against her hair. "Well they should have," he said scornfully. "What kind of men have you been going out with?"
"Losers, obviously," she said with a pained laugh.
Arriving back at the condo, Eric paid the driver and escorted Sookie inside where Tina greeted them excitedly. Sookie was impressed to see Eric drop to the floor and play with her, stroking her fur and talking to her in a silly voice. "Who's a cute ball of fluff?" he cooed, getting nose to nose with the grey rabbit. Sookie stood watching him with a look of complete amusement.
"What?" he asked, sniffing indignantly. "I miss my dog."
"Want something to drink? I have beer, wine, and several types of hard liquor, soft drinks and water."
"I'll take a beer," he said, standing up and shrugging out of his suit jacket.
Sookie returned momentarily with two open bottles of Killian's, kicking off her shoes and sinking down next to Eric on her plush leather sofa. He took a long drink from the beer and then placed it on the end table, turning to face her. "C'mere," he said softly, reaching out to pull her into his lap. "So tell me about these awful losers you've been dating who are making me look like prince charming."
"There's not much to tell," Sookie replied evasively. "I just seem to attract guys who turn out to be complete jackasses and my last relationship was a shining example."
"Jessica made a snarky comment about some guy named Bill…was that him?"
"Yeah," she sighed, turning up her beer and chugging half of it without stopping.
"Whoa," chuckled Eric. "Drove you to drink, did he?"
"I dated a lot in college," Sookie admitted, "but nothing really serious. In fact, my longest exclusive dating relationship was probably no more than two months. I had fun, though, and most of those relationships ended amicably. I met Bill about a year after I moved to Shreveport. He was a computer programmer for a company that one of my bridezillas worked for and I often met with her in her office. At first, I honestly didn't even look twice at him. I mean, he was attractive, but I had on my professional hat and wasn't looking for love at the time. But he was a smooth talker and he pursued me with a vengeance - flowers, emails, phone calls, showing up at my house unexpectedly with gifts – until I finally gave in and went out with him. For our first date, he took me to a NASCAR race, something I should have taken as an omen because I had already explained to him that I wasn't into racing. But he was intent on proving that I had the wrong idea about NASCAR and it could actually be loads of fun. He was right in a way – we sat in a luxury box with free booze, high-end catering and insulation from the noise and dirt – it was fun when you did it that way, but that's not realistic for most people.
"Bill had a dry sense of humor and could be very charming and before I knew it I was actually falling hard for the guy. Our relationship progressed and we were together – happily, I thought – for almost a year. We saw eachother or at least talked every day, and then suddenly one day we didn't. It was a Friday and I assumed we would be spending the weekend together like we always did, but when I tried calling him he didn't answer. On Saturday night I still hadn't heard from him and was starting to worry that something had happened to him, so I went to his apartment. He wasn't home, but I ran into his next door neighbor who was also one of his golf buddies. When I asked the neighbor if he'd seen Bill, he told me that he had gone home to New Orleans for the weekend to visit his family. Now him going home for the weekend wasn't out of the ordinary at all – he did it about once a month – but going without telling me was unheard of. I was his girlfriend, for Pete's sake!"
Eric kissed her forehead and stroked the back of her hand soothingly, sensing that she was becoming angry.
"I called and left him a scathing message saying that he'd better have a really good explanation for leaving town without even telling me. He finally called me four days later and broke up with me. His exact words were, 'I'm sorry, but I just don't feel the same way about you that you do about me.' What the fuck?" Sookie yelled, jumping up from Eric's lap in frustration and beginning to pace the room. "We were together for almost a year and he pursued me! And then he had the audacity to break up with me over the phone!"
"And his explanation was complete bullshit anyway," she said scornfully, draining her bottle of Killian's. "I found out later from a mutual friend that he had been sleeping with Lorena, an old college girlfriend, for months behind my back."
"Sookie, I'm sorry," Eric said with sincere concern. "I shouldn't have even asked you about him. It's obvious that he hurt you a lot and it's still a sore subject."
"No, I'm sorry,"Sookie relented, settling back on the sofa next to him. "I shouldn't let it get me so worked up and you have every right to know the story."
"Do you still love him?" Eric asked, barely masking the worry in his voice.
"Oh god, no!" Sookie exclaimed. "He literally turns my stomach. But I'm still angry that he used me, he broke my trust and my heart, and I wasted almost a year of my life on the creep!"
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, stroking her face gently. "You deserve so much better. Have I told you tonight how beautiful you are?" he asked, changing the subject.
"You might have mentioned it once," she teased, placing a kiss below his jaw.
"Well that's not nearly enough. You…are…incredibly…beautiful…" he said, punctuating each word with a kiss. With the final kiss, his tongue teased her lips apart and slipped inside, dueling passionately with hers. He kissed her until she was light-headed and breathless, finally breaking away so they both could breathe. Sookie turned around until she was straddling his lap, burying her fingers in his hair. She moaned softly as his lips moved to her neck and down to her collarbone, stopping briefly to taste the pulse in the hollow of her throat. Her hands located the buttons of his shirt, releasing them one at a time and kissing each area of newly exposed skin, before finally pushing the fabric away entirely. Eric gasped aloud as her mouth found one of his nipples and her tongue flicked against it. Sliding his arms around her waist, he shifted forward until she was lying on her back looking up at him. His eyes were dark with desire and his breathing labored. Grasping the sash tied at her hip, he pulled gently, opening the front of her dress and exposing her to his heated gaze. He bent down to place a kiss on her left breast, just above the black satin cup of her bra. His thumbs teased her nipples through the smooth fabric, stroking back and forth over and over until they formed tight buds and she moaned aloud. His mouth replaced his thumb, teasing one of her nipples through the thin fabric of her bra and her back arched involuntarily. He took advantage of the movement and reached behind her to unfasten the hooks of her bra and toss it away, her full breasts spilling into his eager hands. His mouth returned to its earlier ministrations, now without the fabric barrier, and she writhed beneath him.
"God, you have beautiful breasts," he whispered reverently against her skin.
Sookie's fingers trailed over the muscles of his back and shoulders, lightly grazing with her nails and raising gooseflesh on his arms. His mouth finally abandoned her breasts and blazed a trail upward and back to her lips. He broke the kiss after several seconds and looked down at her with apprehension in his dark eyes.
"If you don't want this to happen, please stop me now," he said thickly, caressing her face with his fingertips. "I'm perfectly fine with it if you aren't ready, but you're about to push me beyond the limits of my self-control. Do you want me to stop?"
"Don't you dare stop," Sookie said adamantly, wrapping her legs around his waist, desire burning in her gaze. Eric smiled seductively and leaned down to kiss her, his hands gliding down her sides, over her hips and underneath to her buttocks. "I think the bed would be a bit more comfortable," she gasped as she felt the evidence of his arousal pressing against her. Eric chuckled and stood up, scooping Sookie into his arms as her dress slid to the floor.
He carried her to the guest bedroom and deposited her gently on the bed, stepping aside to kick off his shoes. Sookie sat up and reached out for him as he returned to the bed. She unbuckled his belt and unfastened his pants, leaning forward to place feathery kisses over the rippling muscles of his stomach, which trembled beneath her touch. She eased the pants over his hips, letting them fall to the floor where he kicked them away. Reaching for him once again, she slid her fingers beneath the waistband of his boxer briefs and pulled them down until they also fell to the floor, releasing his manhood which stood fully at attention. Wow! She had suspected that he wasn't lacking in any aspect physically, but she had no idea just how not lacking he was. It's always the tall ones, she thought wryly, looking up to see him looking down at her with a knowing smirk. She took him in both of her hands, gently caressing him with her fingertips.
"God, Sookie…" he groaned, dropping his chin to his chest, eyes closed. She smiled in satisfaction at his response and leaned forward to take him in her mouth, stroking him repeatedly with her tongue. His breath hissed in sharply through clenched teeth and he buried one hand in her hair while the other braced against her shoulder. "Sweetheart, you have to stop," he gasped after a few moments, pulling away slowly and bending down to kiss her. "As heavenly as that feels," he said, pushing her gently backward onto the mattress, "if you keep it up this will be over before we even get to the main event."
Placing his hands on the mattress on either side of her waist, Eric leaned down and pressed a line of kisses across her stomach, stopping to dip his tongue into her navel. Sookie's breathing became labored as his lips trailed lower and he hooked his thumbs under the waistband of her panties, sliding them down her legs and tossing them aside. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the tiny treble clef tattoo next to the nest of blonde curls between her legs and he bent to touch it with his lips.
"You'll have to tell me the story of this later," he murmured against her skin and she gasped at the feel of his hot breath over her most sensitive area. He spread her legs with gentle hands and his tongue flicked over her clit, sending an electrical shock through her entire body. She whimpered and writhed beneath him as his tongue continued its torture and he slipped his index finger into her core, finding her wet and ready.
"Errriiiic," she moaned loudly as a second finger joined his first, stroking her rhythmically.
"Tell me what you want," he urged, lifting his head to look up at her, but continuing to tease with his fingers.
"You," she panted, her hips bucking against his hand. "I want you inside me now!"
He stood up, taking his hand away suddenly and crossing the room in two long strides. Sookie looked up in surprise at his departure, but lay back again when he immediately returned to her, tearing open a condom packet that he had retrieved from his suitcase. After sheathing himself quickly with the latex, he knelt over her, locking his gaze with hers before slipping into her depths. They both moaned in unison as he filled her and she wrapped her legs firmly around his waist. His strokes were initially slow and deep, but as she urged him on with her own motions and outcries, he increased the pace to meet her needs. She could feel her climax building and she bit her lip, digging her nails into his shoulders. He reached between their bodies and stroked her clit with his thumb, bringing her quickly to release and reveling in the sound of her crying out his name. The sensation of her convulsing repeatedly around him sent him over the edge within a matter of seconds and he groaned loudly, his breath coming in harsh gasps. He collapsed on top of her, his breathing slowly returning to normal as she absently stroked his sweat-slicked back and pressed kisses against his bare shoulder.
"That was amazing," Eric sighed, rolling his weight off of Sookie and kissing her firmly. He retired momentarily to the bathroom to discard the condom before joining her again in bed and pulling her against him. "Are you okay?" he asked, kissing her temple.
"I'm better than okay," she sighed with a smile, laying her head on his chest and drifting off to the soothing sound of his heartbeat.
A/N: How 'bout them lemons? ;)