This chapter's shorter than the others because it's only one scene, but I don't think anyone will mind. ;-)
---
The following night he awoke to the sound of Sookie's voice calling his name. Once again taking care not to topple the items piled on top of the trapdoor, he climbed out of the hiding place. In the early hours of the morning, he had left Sookie's bed, watched some more of the show about the vampire killer, and brought his new clothes into the guest room where the trapdoor was hidden. Now he heard Sookie speaking to someone on the phone. He stepped out of his underwear since he didn't want to wear them another night without washing them, then reached for the jeans. Just as he pulled them up, he heard an audible gasp behind him.
After zipping and buttoning the jeans, he turned around to see Sookie standing by the door, her eyes squeezed shut. He stepped closer to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Sookie, are you all right?"
Yes, she was all right, he realized before she said anything in reply. His blood told him everything: she wanted him, and the desire was much more powerful than it had been the night before. It raced through his blood like lightning.
"Excuse me… I didn't mean to walk in on you." She swallowed and looked to the side. "I should have knocked."
This had not been her reaction the other night when she helped him. He had stood before her then in nothing but his underwear. "You have seen all of me before," he said.
"Yes, but intruding wasn't polite."
"I don't mind," he said honestly, studying her face. "You look upset."
"Well, I have had a very bad day. My brother is missing, and the Were witches in Shreveport killed t-the vice president of the Were pack there, and her hand was in the flowerbed. Well, someone's was. Belinda's in the hospital. Ginger is dead. I think I'll take a shower."
Though she didn't raise her voice, she said all this in a hysterical rush. Were witches, a hand in a flowerbed, two names he had never heard before. He didn't know which question to ask first, but she was already gone. A shower, she'd said.
He walked to her bedroom and removed his jeans, kicking them into a corner. Her lust for him was palpable, but just as obvious was her need for someone to comfort her and take care of her. She wanted to feel good, and he could certainly help with that.
He stepped into the bathroom and pulled back the shower curtain a little. Sookie stood under the spray while her hand fumbled around for the soap. His imagination hadn't done her justice. Perhaps he had seen more beautiful women in the life he'd forgotten, but he didn't think it was possible. His plan to begin this in a completely innocent way was now severely hampered by the fact that he was fully aroused, but there was no help for that now. She took a sharp, quick breath when he pulled the curtain back further and stepped in with her. The water was hot, rising in steam around them and thickening the air.
"I'll do that for you," he said before she could order him out.
Her lust was winning over her restraint. He took the soap from her and set about the task of washing her, though he carefully avoided touching her breasts. Despite his aching want, he would not make this more than it was unless she made that decision.
Her skin felt even softer as his soapy hands slid up and down her arms and over her stomach, caressing her. And her sides curved into her waist and flared out again into her hips with perfect symmetry. Being with her in this way was new to him, but somehow his hands knew the line of those graceful curves. He had to ask again.
"Have we ever made love?" She answered with a shake of her head as she stared up at him. "Then I was a fool. Turn around, lover." The word tasted sweet on his tongue, almost as sweet as he imagined her skin would taste.
She did as he said, and he took in the rest of her that he had never seen. He massaged the soap into her shoulders and back with gentle but firm pressure. He still felt the conflict between her lust and her indecision. No matter; he had time. He reached for the shampoo and poured some of it into his palm.
As he washed her long hair, he felt her shaking slightly. So many of her emotions were swirling through his blood that he couldn't tell which one he was dealing with. "Are you trembling because you are frightened of me?" Because you want me? Because you are frightened of wanting me?
She still hadn't replied when he finished rinsing out her hair. But suddenly there was only one emotion coming from her, and it was the one he had been hoping for. She turned around in his arms and took the soap. Neither of them had any doubts about what would happen now. He gasped when she touched his length and moved it so she could get closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and slid her hands over his bottom, and he gave her a deep, rumbling sound of appreciation. Eventually her warm, soapy hands found their way back to his front. With eager sounds of approval, he leaned into her touch.
She seemed to know just when she needed to stop, and she slid her hands up to his chest, latching her mouth onto one of his nipples. When she sucked, he could imagine that she was drinking from him, and he groaned, reaching up with both hands to hold her to him.
"Bite a little," he said, his voice raspy with want, and she did.
He couldn't stop touching her after that. He stroked and caressed and explored every inch of her within reach, and she responded with gasps and sighs of pleasure that only aroused him more. Wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her steady, he bent his mouth to the breasts he had been aching to touch and taste. He slid his free hand down between her legs and into her warmth. She cried out as he moved his fingers in her, and he smiled against her skin when she clenched the flimsy shower curtain in her fist and tore it off several of the rings.
He straightened, turned off the water, and reached for one of the towels on the nearby rack. She took another one, and they set about drying each other in desperate haste. Eventually he dropped his towel carelessly to the floor and pulled her close for a kiss, his hands combing her wet hair back from her face and neck. He had never kissed her before… or had he? Just this, he thought, he could never tire of. Fuck whatever businesses he had left behind, fuck everything else.
"The bed," he gasped. He picked her up and was about to lay her on the bed when she reached one arm down to pull back the covers. "Sookie…" he said impatiently.
"Cold."
They fell into the bed, and he pulled the covers over them before he continued kissing her as he had before. She murmured his name a lot, which only made him more hungry for her. As he trailed his lips and tongue down her throat, his hands wandered over the rest of her. He jerked with a shock of pleasure when he felt her hand wrapped around his length. Resting on one elbow, he positioned himself over her, looking down at her face as she touched him again to guide him home.
Nothing of his former life was clear to him, but he didn't see how he could have cared about or wanted anything more than this woman. It couldn't have been chance that compelled him to run to her that night. Heart's desire… dear one…
"My lover…"
She gave a loud gasp when he pushed into her, and though her face was flushed with pleasure, he sensed that she wasn't quite ready for him yet. Her eyes were shut when he leaned down to kiss her.
"Don't close your eyes," he whispered. "Look at me, lover."
When she opened her eyes to meet his, they were hungry, and she returned his kiss eagerly, tracing his fangs with her tongue. But her body was still too tense. He could fix that.
He nipped her earlobe with his teeth and whispered, "Watch me."
Ignoring her protests, not to mention those of his own body, he pulled out of her. He kissed the soft skin just under her ear and continued down. The hollow of her collarbone was something he had wanted to taste, and he did. And her breasts… he would never, never tire of those. He lavished his attention on them as she arched herself into his palms and his lips. He could smell her blood through the thin veins under his tongue, and he heard her heart thumping madly under his lips.
"Eric," she breathed, "please…"
He kissed his way down to where she most wanted him, inhaling the heady scent of her arousal. The taste of her was even better than he'd imagined. He used his fingers and tongue to bring her to the edge, then raised his head to meet her eyes. They were still on his. He pressed his lips to the pulsing artery in her thigh, darting out his tongue to taste the skin there. She cried out his name when he bit, and she climaxed as he drank her blood and resealed the wound with his tongue.
Her chest was still heaving and her mouth still slack when he slid back up her body to kiss her hungrily. When he pushed into her this time, her gasp was from pure pleasure. She wrapped her legs around him, and they moved together only a minute or two before she came again, taking him with her. Whatever bond they had, it intensified his pleasure because he felt both his and hers.
"Min älskade!" he cried out, falling over her heavily. Her heart pounded through both of their chests, and he stayed very still for a moment as he enjoyed the sensation. He lifted his head and stared down at her face as she ran her fingers through his hair and brushed it back. Though he wanted to say something, nothing seemed adequate.
She smiled up at him. "I wish I could save orgasms in a jar for when I need them, because I think I had a few extra."
His intense happiness fed the laugh he gave her, and he rolled them over so that she straddled him. Looking up at her this way, he found her even more beautiful. Her hair, still damp from the shower, hung around her shoulders in messy strands. He slid his hands over her hips, up her sides, and around to her back.
"If I had known you would be this gorgeous with your clothes off," he told her, "I would have tried to do this sooner."
When she smiled, it lit up her whole face. He loved that. "You did try to do this sooner." She reached down to touch his jaw with her fingertips. "About twenty times."
"Then I have good taste." If he really had tried to make love to her before – and so many times – and if they never had, there must be more to their relationship than she had told him. "Tell me about us," he said softly, stroking her back. "How long have I known you?"
She studied his face for a moment, then shivered. "I'm cold." They arranged themselves until they lay side by side under the blanket. His head rested on the pillow, and she propped herself on her elbow to look down at him. "Let me think," she said when they were settled comfortably. "I met you last year at Fangtasia, the vampire bar you own in Shreveport. And by the way, the bar got attacked today. Last night." She winced. "I'm sorry, I should have told you that first, but I've been so worried about my brother."
That bar – Fangtasia – was an abstract that had no meaning for him. He knew he should care that it was attacked, but he didn't. If he had his way, he would never need to care about it again. "I want to hear about today, but give me our background first. I find myself mightily interested."
"You are the sheriff of Area 5," she said, and he remembered her saying something to that effect before. "And my former boyfriend, Bill, is your subordinate. He's gone out of the country. I think I told you about Bill."
"Your unfaithful former boyfriend, whose maker was the vampire Lorena." The vampire ho.
"That's the one. Anyway, when I met you at Fangtasia, you learned about my… my gift." A realization seemed to strike her. "You don't remember my gift, do you?" He shook his head. "I can read minds. Human minds," she added quickly.
He raised his eyebrows. "That is quite a gift."
"Well, you learned about it. And you started making me do jobs for you. Find a thief at Fangtasia, go to Dallas and find a kidnapped vamp."
"I made you do these things against your will?"
"Yes." She looked off over his shoulder, then at his face again. "Sort of. And the whole while, you flirted with me and tried to convince me to go to bed with you. Even when I was with Bill."
"I have not treated you as you deserve," he said grimly. "It's no wonder that we weren't lovers until tonight."
"You aren't that bad. Maybe I made you sound worse than you really were. You've also protected me and helped me. You were always there when I needed you." She smiled and leaned into him, slipping her arm around his waist to stroke his back with her fingertips. "And after tonight, I'm starting to think maybe I should have given in to your seductions."
Their laughter faded fast as their mouths and hands found more urgent occupations. "Your body is…" He kissed her as he thought. "…Glorious."
She blushed a mouth-watering shade of pink, then gasped and moaned as he closed one of her nipples in his mouth. One of his fangs must have pricked the delicate skin because he tasted her blood on his tongue. With a low growl, he sucked on the small wound.
"Eric," she gasped again, her body jolting under his hands.
He lifted her leg, laid it over his hip, and pushed into her. They were in no hurry this time, moving their hips together in an easy rhythm as they kissed.
"I love your mouth," he said. "I love the way you taste." Her head fell back, and she shut her eyes when he slipped one hand between them to help her along. "Look at me, Sookie. I like to see the pleasure in your eyes."
He brought her to completion twice before he allowed his own pleasure to overwhelm him. When they finished, he laid her head on his shoulder and closed his eyes, listening to her heart and her breath.
She turned to press her lips to his throat. "You are so beautiful," she murmured.
Her voice in the silence startled him. "What?"
She tightened the arm she had wrapped around his waist and draped one of her legs over his, nestling closer to him. "You've told me you thought my body was nice," she said. "I just wanted you to know I think the same about you."
"What part do you like best?" he asked her with a small laugh.
There was no hesitation. "Oh, your butt."
Now he was surprised. "My… bottom?"
"Yep." She burrowed her nose into his neck.
He smiled up at the ceiling. "I would have thought of another part."
"Well, that's certainly… adequate."
After letting the silence hang for a moment, he repeated, "Adequate?" He unclasped his fingers from the hand he held and guided it down to touch him. With her hand under his, he stroked up and down a few times until her fingers wrapped around him. For a moment he closed his eyes and absorbed the feeling, then said, "This is adequate?"
Still stroking him, she lifted her head and smiled down at his face. "Maybe I should have said it's a gracious plenty."
"A gracious plenty," he echoed shakily. "I like that."
He was already desperate for her, and he lifted her over him again. But she leaned down to him, kissed him fully on the mouth, and began to slide down the length of his body, trailing kisses along the way. She reached her destination and took him into her mouth, and he clenched her sheets in his fists, repeating her name in a ragged moan. He tore his eyes off her face and squeezed them shut as he braced his body for release.
When she had him on the edge, she lifted her head and said softly, "Eric…" He responded with an incoherent sound that he hoped conveyed his need for her to finish. "Eric, watch me."
Her use of his own words only magnified his pleasure when she lowered her mouth back to him, her eyes on his, and it wasn't long before the orgasm shuddered through him. She crawled back up to kiss him, letting out a little squeak of surprise when he rolled her over, still kissing her, and slid his hand down to return the favor.
She was truly exhausted after that – exhausted and sated – her body a warm, langorous weight in his arms.
"You are the best lover I've ever had," he said quietly.
Her body shook as she laughed a little. "How do you know?"
"Because I would remember something that good if I had ever felt it."
"Oh, Eric," she sighed, but her voice was sad. She propped up on her elbow and gave him a brief, soft kiss. "You're the best lover I've ever had, too. I wish…" She blushed and let her gaze fall from his eyes to his lips. "I wish you knew how good that felt. How much I needed it."
But he did know because he had felt her pleasure as vividly as his own. "I am happy," he said. "You make me happy."
She laid her head down on his shoulder again. "You have lots of other things that make you happy. You'll see."
They lay in silence for a long time before he answered. "Even if there are such things, I was running away from them. I was running to you."
But she was already asleep.