A/N: Have I ever told y'all that I have the most wonderful and smartest readers? I DO! You were so understanding and approving of the fact that Eric needed to feed… you even overlooked his groping and cut him some slack. Eric thanks you and sends you big Viking hugs and kisses!

TEMPTATION

They that have power to hurt and will do none… They rightly do inherit heaven's graces…
Sonnet XCIV
William Shakespeare

Just like Eric said, we spent the day at a hotel in a suburb to the east of Monroe. Amelia and I rested because sleeping in the truck hadn't given us any true rest, and I in particular felt drained, no pun intended. Pam seemed to be the first aid expert, and she did tell me that I would feel overly tired for the next few days as my body recovered from the blood loss. Eric's blood had healed me, but replenishing what I had lost would be my body's job.

As I drifted in and out of sleep all day I kept thinking about everything Eric had said. And also what he'd done. He'd let me cry and get things off my chest. He hadn't tried to make it better; he just listened. That's all I'd wanted all along. After that initial touch, my hands in his or his in mine, he'd kept his distance, and I wasn't sure why. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, either. I attributed my sudden attachment to him to the fact that he'd saved me twice. There was no other reason, not really. I barely knew him.

Yet, I found myself drifting off to sleep imagining different scenarios revolving around him: he and I dancing inside a crowded club, me serving him a True Blood at Merlotte's, him picking me at Fangtasia. That's usually when I stopped my own musings and refocused. I didn't need the complication of developing a sudden stupid crush on my savior. What was I? Thirteen?

I still needed his help, though, his and Pam's. Amelia and I figured it out during our most wakeful moments that day near Monroe. Eric was so old, that he got bored. He had picked a cause (me) and now he was making sure I would survive. I hated to call him a humanitarian, since he was a vampire, but the term fit. Amelia called him the same thing that Pam called him behind his back: SuperVamp.

"Instead of an 'S' on his chest he has 'SV.' And you know he can fly," Amelia said, and I was in stitches. It was a silly conversation, but Eric indeed could fly. And he was very strong. Imagining him wearing blue tights did nothing to help with my little daydreams.

Eric and Pam showed up right after sunset that night, showered at record speed, and we headed out to Bon Temps. Amelia's house was closest, so we stopped there first. She lived in a duplex on a busy neighborhood street, but every house seemed to be shut tight. I could feel humans behind every closed door and window. Pam and Amelia ran inside her house and packed, while I remained in the car with a silent Eric.

I fidgeted out of nerves, and didn't notice I was shaking my leg anxiously until Eric reached over and put his hand on my knee. I looked up, expecting him to be mad or something, but he just gave me an understanding smile.

"Pam is a great warrior. Amelia is safe," he said, withdrew his hand and looked forward.

"Can I ask you something…?" I leaned forward through the middle of the seats, too nervous to stay put. I immediately stopped my question. The sight of his fangs lengthening filled me with dread.

"Please, Sookie, sit back," he asked me in almost a whisper and lowered his window.

I did as he asked, not knowing whether he was getting ready for battle or ready to eat me. Within a minute Pam and Amelia were back, lugging three pieces of luggage and several bags full of groceries between the two. Since nothing else happened, I had to assume that Eric had been getting ready to eat me. The knowledge sent a chill down my spine.

The ride to my house was only a few minutes but it felt like much longer. I was nervous about the situation in general, and now I was scared of Eric. I heard some whispering in the front seat, but I couldn't make out the quiet conversation that Pam and Eric were having. However, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had to do with what had just happened. I stopped giving it any thought when we got to my house and the security lights didn't turn on as we approached. I said something about it.

"That's because someone broke the lights and they're on the ground," Eric said bringing the truck to a full stop. We all stayed in the car for a long moment before Eric opened his door and went for a walk, it seemed.

"You girls stay here," Pam said and left too. Immediately I cast out a mental net, trying to catch something, anything.

"What do you hear?" Amelia asked in a quiet voice.

I shook my head slowly. "There's nobody here except Eric and Pam," I said, feeling the two voids where two minds should be. They had separated and were searching the perimeter of the house near the tree line.

"What happened between you and Eric earlier?" Amelia asked.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. Too quickly. It wasn't necessary for Amelia to speak when her thoughts were as loud as usual, and she knew it. She wondered what was wrong, what Eric had done to me, why I'd stared at the back of his head the whole drive as if waiting for an attack from him. To be honest, I had been waiting for an attack.

I decided to answer one of her mental questions. "Eric didn't do anything to me," I said and tried to say it as if she was the one who was nuts for thinking it.

Before Amelia had a chance to retort with what was swimming through her head, Pam opened my door with a tense look. "Do you feel any minds nearby?" she asked me.

"No, there's nobody here but us," I answered and she stepped aside so I could get out of the truck.

"Alright, you girls go and get your things. We'll stay out here and keep an eye out. We smelled humans and some kind of shifter, and they were here recently," Pam said in a low voice.

I nodded and moved quickly. Amelia stayed behind getting a suitcase from the trunk. One of the suitcases she had brought was a spare that she was going to lend me, knowing plenty well that the only piece of luggage my Gran and I had in the house was now somewhere in Alabama along with Sam.

As soon as I opened the unlocked door I knew something was wrong. The key had been where I had left it, so I wasn't sure why the door was unlocked. Maybe when Amelia had been here she'd forgotten to lock it, but I doubted it. Like lightning, someone's panicked thought entered my mind. It was there and gone so swiftly that I wasn't even sure where it had come from. It hadn't come from Amelia, whose mind was still behind me making a mental list of things I needed.

The living room was empty, I was sure there would be nobody upstairs, the first bathroom was fine… Another panicked thought flashed through my mind, a desperate plea, or excruciating pain, or horrifying fear… or a mixture. It was gone. There was somebody in the house, but where?

I didn't have to wonder anymore. In my bedroom. Man. Dead man. Guard from the prison. On the floor. It took me a while to realize that the primal scream I was hearing was coming from my mouth. I could hear growling from the front door, but nobody was coming.

"Eric! Eric!" I called his name, the first name that came to my mind.

"I got you, I got you," he said, finally pulling me away.

"He's from the prison! He beat me!" I repeated over and over. I could hear my desperate words, and I knew I was making no sense, but I couldn't stop the panic attack. Another flash from the man's mind told me he wasn't completely dead, so I changed my litany. "He's not dead! He's not dead!"

"Sookie!" Eric called my name to make me stop screaming. I whimpered and looked up, unable to catch my breath as fast as I was breathing. Eric held my gaze with his, trying to calm me. He put his huge hands on my cheeks to keep me from looking away. "Go to the front door and invite Pam inside," he said in a calm but commanding voice and waited until I nodded to release me.

I walked in a fog down the narrow hall. Pam was standing at the door in a semi-crouch, facing me but keeping Amelia back. "Pam, won't you come inside?" I said in a whisper, and she ran past me to my bedroom. I looked at Amelia who was also beside me in a flash. "He came to my house. He came to look for me. He came to kill me."

Finally my body decided that I didn't have enough oxygen in my brain to keep me lucid. Like one of those old television shows, everything started going black from the outside in, until there was nothing.

I'd never fainted before, not even in prison when I had a right to faint. The Stackhouses weren't fainters. How did I suddenly become one? I felt like I was inside a bad soap opera where all the women faint for no reason, usually from fright or pregnancy. The latter didn't apply to me, so that only left the fact that I'd been so afraid that I'd worked myself up into a state. It was odd that I was thinking this at the same time that I knew I was out.

"She's still weak," I heard Pam say. Hers was the first voice I heard when I started coming back from wherever I'd gone. That's right: Nurse Pam, who seemed to know more about human physiology than Amelia or me, the actual humans.

"Sookie? Sookie, sweetie the guard isn't here anymore," I heard Amelia say. I tried hard to come back, but I still found it impossible to open my eyes. It was like my body had hijacked itself.

"Give her a minute. Come, help me pack her things," Pam said, and I heard the faint rustle of fabric as they moved away.

I started taking stock of what I could feel and hear. I couldn't hear much except the murmured words that Pam and Amelia exchanged in my bedroom. I felt like I was lying on something soft, maybe the couch. I did make out the scent of fabric softener, and I was warm, too warm. Maybe somebody had put a blanket on me. I was thirsty too. I felt movement of air, as if somebody had passed by me.

First things first: I was too hot and too thirsty to stay under the blanket. I did my best to reach for it and move it off me, and I must have done a good job because suddenly it wasn't there anymore and the cooler air hit my sweaty skin. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I had to open my eyes because at some point I had to get up and get some water. When I was finally able to force my eyes to open, a pair of brilliant blue eyes were staring right back at me. I gasped.

Eric was close, very close. Inches away. He seemed to be studying me with open curiosity. Bill had done something similar to me, but never this close. I knew vampires had no qualms about staring openly at somebody, but Eric's staring was getting to me in more ways than one. I was afraid, and I was hot and bothered, all at the same time. He seemed to read my sudden inner turmoil and backed away slightly.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked, reaching behind him for a glass of water on the coffee table. He was kneeling on the floor beside the couch.

"Yes," I managed to say in a raspy voice.

Eric held out the glass and then saw me having trouble sitting up. He put the glass back down, snuck an arm under my back, took my hand, and lifted me slowly. Good thing, too, because I became instantly dizzy the moment I was upright. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths through my nose and out through my mouth. I didn't want the dizziness to turn into all out nausea.

"Here's your water," Eric said in a quiet voice.

I opened my eyes and took it, looking at nothing but the glass. Eric was still on his knees beside me. "You are scared of me," he said. It wasn't a question.

I looked at him finally. When he was being like this it was impossible to be scared of him. He saved my life, he was gentle, he smiled and laughed with me… and he told me the truth. I decided to use that to my advantage. "What happened in the truck? Did you want to eat me?" I asked. My voice had come out small and shy, but I refused to look away.

His expression didn't change. He was serious as he answered. "I closed your wounds as you drank blood from me. I tasted your blood. It is unusual and delicious, better than anybody else's. After giving you my blood I have been thirstier than usual, and it is your blood that I crave."

Well! I wanted the truth, I sure got it. I could have behaved like a foolish child and balked at everything he'd just said, but his very first statement stopped me. He closed my wounds as I drank blood from him, as he healed me. All of it had been an act of healing and caring, albeit a strange one. Now he was uncomfortable because of it. My southern hospitality must have kicked in for what I was about to do next. Hoping that he wouldn't do more than take my blood to quench his thirst, I tilted my head and leaned forward.

"Sookie, what are you doing?" he asked. I looked at him. He was trying to suppress a smile.

"It's obvious, Eric. You saved my life and now you're thirsty. Take my blood," I said, almost rolling my eyes. Almost.

"That is very generous of you, Sookie, but I can't take your blood. You are still weak and I need more than your body can handle at this time. But perhaps you will allow me one indulgence?" he said, asking the question with his eyes too. I nodded. I'd been about to give him my blood, and I was sure he wouldn't try to do anything too risqué with Pam and Amelia still in the house.

He leaned forward, pressing his body against my legs, and putting a huge hand on one side of my neck. I tilted my head into it reflexively. Eric's cool breath tickled my neck as he got closer. He took breath after greedy breath at the spot where my carotid should be. My skin erupted in goose bumps, and I had to keep telling myself that he was simply doing something I myself had done often: smell the decadence of a treat so I could fool my body and say no to the treat. I usually did it with cookies. Eric considered me the treat. The low rumble in his chest told me he was appreciative, and I felt a little dirty and a lot flattered.

"Ahem!" Amelia's thoughts hadn't intruded into mine until she actually said that damning word. She was picturing Eric and me in a much steamier embrace than the one she had found us in. I jumped but not very far, since Eric had snaked a hand behind my back as well. I just hadn't noticed it.

"Let's put these things in the truck," Pam said and they were gone out the front door.

Eric pulled away slowly. His fangs were out, but now that I knew why they didn't scare me. I almost wanted to touch them. Almost. He held me with his gaze stroking my jaw with his thumb. "Are you still scared of me?" he asked. He didn't lisp with his fangs out. I smiled at my errant thought and shook my head to answer him.

Then an awful thought struck me again, the reason I had fainted to begin with. "What was that man doing here? How did he die?"

"I don't know what he was doing here, but he wasn't dead. He'd suffered a hard blow to the head, but was still alive."

"Was?"

"He is no more."

"No more?"

Eric studied me for a moment and I knew why the man was no more. And a good thing too because that guard had been an abusive son of a bitch. He'd delighted in hitting me, and would laugh when I would cry. He'd been the one who had touched me and threatened to fuck me into submission if I didn't do as I was told. Giordano had been his name. Now I'd be able to forget it.

"Good," I said finally, feeling my nostrils flare in disgust. "So, who hit him over the head?"

"I don't know, Sookie. We can smell shifter inside the house, not Were, and not Merlotte. It reminds me of werepanther, but I cannot be sure since whoever it was had been in human form," he answered, helping me up. I stumbled into him and he righted me. "Do you see now why I cannot take your blood?"

"Yeah… I'm not all there yet. I guess I can't go dancing yet. My equilibrium is all out of whack," I said, walking but finding it difficult. My legs weren't wobbly exactly; it was more like the room wouldn't stay still.

"That's too bad. There's a room in my house that Pam likes to call the ballroom. I suppose you have to wait a bit longer to make use of it," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I stiffened. "You have a ballroom?"

"It's not really a ballroom. It's a large living room that doesn't have many furnishings. I didn't see the need for a living room, a den, and a library. Seems to me that the den and the library fill all the purposes for sitting down," he said. He sounded like a snob all of a sudden.

"Why did you get such a huge house, then?" I asked turning to look at him.

He shrugged. "It came furnished and had a sauna."

"You don't sweat."

"I know that, Sookie, but I like the feel and smell of a sauna."

It was time for me to remain quiet. Apparently we were moving into a mansion. Forty five minutes later I was proven right as we waited for a pair of gates to allow us entry into what looked like a Tudor mansion. It was surrounded by lush hedges and trees, sort of hidden from the street. The driveway was large and it led to a garage. We didn't park there, but in front of the main door. I thought I might faint again.

We started taking things out of the truck, with me stealing glances at the house. Since nobody let me carry much of anything, I was able to appreciate everything fully. We entered through the heavy wooden door that matched the façade perfectly, into a large luxurious foyer. I was scared of stepping on the very large, very expensive looking rug on top of the stone floor, but nobody else seemed to care. We walked through one of two doors that fed off the foyer on our left. That led to the stairs going up, to yet another as-yet-unidentified room, and to the kitchen. I knew I would get lost at some point.

The kitchen had tiled walls and granite countertops in pink, not at all what I pictured for Eric, the large vampire warrior. The stainless steel appliances sparkled and I was afraid to touch anything.

"You girls go ahead and pick how you want things arranged in your kitchen," Pam said and opened the fridge, "But keep these where we can reach them," she said, pointing at the many bottles of True Blood inside the shelves.

"We can share," Amelia piped up and set down the bags of groceries in her hands. There was nothing perishable so we continued with the tour.

Off the kitchen was the den, with a breakfast nook set into a circular turret or something. I would have to admire it later because we moved to a second set of stairs that we took to go upstairs. We reached a landing where Eric kept a large desk with a computer.

"You are both welcome to use this computer whenever you like," Eric said and then walked to one of the bedrooms.

It looked like it belonged to a princess. It was so beautiful… The bed was full of thick fluffy pillows on top of a dark pink comforter, and it had a pink canopy. Even though it was romantic, it still looked grown up. The best part was the window seat overlooking some lush part of the outside. I walked across the warm-colored wood floor, admiring the plush chairs and settee, the small private bathroom, and then looked out the window. It must have been the backyard of the house. I could see small lights winding through what must have been a path.

"You will like the backyard," Eric said at my elbow.

I turned around, getting ready to beg Amelia for this room, but I was alone with Eric. He read my confused expression as he set my suitcase on the bed. "Pam was going to show Amelia to a bedroom that she's sure to like as much as you like this one."

"Where do you sleep?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. Again.

"I sleep in the room across yours. Pam's and my rooms face the front of the house, which gets the least amount of sun," he answered. I knew he was watching my still-curious expression. "Come on," he said and held out his hand. I took it without thinking it too long and he pulled me to the room across. It wasn't what I expected at all. He had a large bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a chair by the closet. The room was so cavernous that it needed more furniture than what it had… maybe another bed, another dresser or five… It was painted a light blue, and had one thing that my own room didn't have: a fireplace.

"Very nice," I said, because it was.

"Come look at the bathroom," he said, almost giddy. When I saw the bathroom I understood why. It screamed MAN. Black marble or black tile covered every surface except the walls, which were covered in mirrors. The bathtub was raised slightly and looked like it could fit a couple of people. But what made me start laughing like a crazy person were the two rubber duckies sitting pretty on a shelf next to the soaps.

"I thought you might like that. They were gifts from Pam," he said chuckling with me. "And here's the sauna," he said, pointing to a door. I opened the door and, sure enough, a small sauna. I'd only seen them in pictures, never in person. It did have a distinct smell, not unpleasant.

"This is very nice, Eric. I'm going to feel spoiled living here," I said, and I knew my voice was giving away many emotions. I'd become a weeper, and I felt my throat closing up with a lump I had to swallow.

"You're welcome to explore the house at your leisure, but please don't leave the grounds during the day, not until we know more about what's been happening in this neighborhood. You will also find that Pam's and my bedrooms are locked during the day. The locks set automatically as soon as the sun rises, and do not release until one of us opens them from the inside. The alarms on the house set as well, but I'll give you the codes in case you want to go to the yard," he explained as we walked back to my room.

I noticed that the door to Amelia's new room was closed and I stopped in my tracks. "Um… I think I'll go put the groceries away," I said moving to the stairs, and since Eric still held my hand, he came along too. I was not about to listen with either my ears or my mind to my best friend getting hot and heavy with her girlfriend.

The kitchen had an island that served as a breakfast counter, and Eric sat at one of the chairs while I put things away and rearranged how I wanted everything. They had flatware, glassware and dinnerware so fancy that I was scared to touch it. But I had to because it was all scattered here and there. I moved those things to cupboards closer to the sink and the dishwasher. A dishwasher! I was in heaven.

When I was done I grabbed some ice and water from the door of the fridge, happy that it worked because the vampires wouldn't have any need for such things. I hadn't checked if there was toilet paper yet. I leaned against the counter and drank my water leisurely, enjoying the air conditioning that had just turned on.

"Would you like the temperature of the house lower?" Eric asked, the first words he said since coming into the kitchen.

"What is it now?" I asked, because I was actually very comfortable.

"I set it at seventy two, but Pam sometimes complains."

"What does she have to complain about? Y'all don't sweat," I said, confused.

Eric smiled. "She likes it cold."

"No, Eric, I'm very comfortable at seventy two. I was just enjoying the fact that you have central air, is all."

"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" he asked, getting up.

"Yes, that would be great," I said, jumping from my spot and setting my cold glass back inside the fridge for later.

The rest of the house was full of antique furniture, more expensive rugs, and what he'd called his ballroom was pretty accurate, except that he did have another living room off the ballroom. We went downstairs to the basement. It had a table with an iron chandelier above it that sort of reminded me of a medieval setting. It also had a pool table and another bedroom that was light tight, for guests. We took a set of stairs from the basement that led to the backyard.

I was enchanted. "Eric, this is beautiful." The main part of the house had a stone deck. Then there was a wide expanse of grass and the walk I'd seen from my bedroom. Eric took my hand and led me that way. The path wound here and there, around trees and behind bushes, until we came upon the farthest part of the backyard, a gazebo, and a pond with a fountain. "So pretty."

"You don't have to remain inside all day. You can come out here and spend the day as you wish. I only ask that you use your gift to scan for anyone getting too close to the house so you can go back inside. But this whole neighborhood should be safe, as close as it is to the city," Eric said leading me to the gazebo. It had flowers using its walls as a trellis. It must have been old.

Eric turned around to face me and held his arms out in a dance stance. I shook my head but smiled. He smiled too and reached for me, making me stand within his stance. I put one hand on his shoulder and the other on his hand, while he put his free hand on my upper back, keeping his distance. He began humming a soft waltz and we danced to it. I'd never danced a waltz, but he led me easily through the steps. Once in a while he would make a face to make me smile or laugh. When we were done he bowed to me, which looked odd because he was wearing a T-shirt and cargo pants. I curtsied in my jeans and cap sleeve shirt. We should have both been wearing costumes from the eighteenth century.

Later that night I went to bed thinking about our impromptu dance. Eric seemed to be doing better with our proximity, for which I was very glad. I liked him as a person, and I didn't have many friends to begin with. I wasn't sure how wise it was to consider a vampire my friend, but Bill had been that to me before. Eric, however, was in another league in my mind. He was my savior, and he kept doing things that made me wonder whether he liked me as more than just someone to save who had nice-smelling blood. I could pretend I didn't like him, but I knew me better. He was a beautiful man, handsome in the extreme, and he'd been nice to me. What was there not to like? The fangs? The fact that he craved my blood? At least he had been honest. With one last sigh I drifted off to sleep, but the last thought I had was of Eric, caressing my neck, getting ready to bite.

TBC

A/N: So… another slow chapter, with a little hoopla in the middle. The hoopla will start picking up soon.