A/N: You guys are amazing – thank you so much for all your lovely reviews. They really do mean a lot to me and it's always great to hear your thoughts. Please keep it up!
Charlaine Harris owns the rights to these characters.
Alcide assured us that he was fine to drive, so Eric pulled up at the gas station where he had parked his car. As he slipped out of Eric's SUV, blanket tied around his waist, Pam grabbed his hand, thanking him, her voice as genuine as I'd ever heard it. Alcide smiled at her and gave her hand a light squeeze before shutting the car door.
I gently put a hand on Eric's arm and he nodded at me, understanding what I needed to do. I got out of the car and followed Alcide over to his, stretching my bruised limbs as I went. He'd found some clothes in the trunk of his car and put on some track pants under the blanket. He was slipping on a black t-shirt as I approached.
He turned slowly to face me and gave me a crooked half-smile.
"Sookie," he began with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. He looked tired. Well, we all were.
I put my hand up to stop him from continuing. "Please Alcide, I need to say this."
He nodded and I reached forward and took his hand in mine. "I just want to thank you so much for helping us tonight. You risked your life for Pam, for me, and I want you to know that I will always be grateful..."
"But grateful is not enough..." he interrupted. His voice was weary, resigned, but his eyes were still kind.
"I love him Alcide," I said quietly. "I think you're an amazing guy, amazing, and I have no idea what the future holds for Eric and I, but I know that I love him."
We stood in silence for a few seconds, with me still holding his hand, and then Alcide nodded. "Take care Sookie. I'll see you around okay?"
"Sure," I said. "You take care."
I reached up to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Goodbye Alcide."
I returned to the car and Eric smiled at me as I got in. I looked at him curiously, I had been expecting another reaction...
Ahh. "How much of that did you hear?" I asked coyly.
"Enough, Lover," he smiled. "Enough."
0-0-0-0-0
We dropped Pam off at her house which was a large ranch-style property in the same neighbourhood as Eric's house. Amelia decided that she would stay at Pam's too, ostensibly to be there if Pam needed anything but I knew from her thoughts that she was also trying to give Eric and I some privacy. We agreed that we would meet up tomorrow during the day and do some shopping. Amelia needed brand new everything and looking down at yet another blood-soaked dress, I knew that I could do with a few things myself.
Five minutes later Eric and I were finally at his house.
As we entered Eric's living room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror over his fireplace and my breath caught in my throat. My dress, previously white, was now a dark dirty brown, covered in dried blood and dirt. My hair was matted and caked in blood. I had huge bruises on the side of my face and down one arm, which, presumably due to Eric's blood, were already starting to yellow. I looked a total mess. I looked over at Eric who was faring slightly better than me but still covered in blood and dirt. He grinned widely, knowing exactly what I was thinking.
"I think we need to clean up," he said, eyebrow raised.
"You think?" I laughed in agreement.
Eric's smile took on a wicked glint and within seconds he had scooped me up over his shoulder and was zooming me, half-yelping, half-laughing, up the stairs. I had the briefest of glimpse of his bedroom, as he removed my shoes and his, chucking them carelessly onto the carpet, before he carried me into his huge bathroom. I may also have taken the opportunity to ogle Eric's perfect ass but, hey, who wouldn't?
Eric set me on my feet on the cool stone tiles and I looked around me in wonder; his bathroom was huge. There was an immense sunken tub in the middle of the room, double basins and a large walk-in shower towards the back.
"Bath or shower, Lover?" he murmured softly into my ear, cool breath making me shiver.
I bit my lip. Decisions, decisions...
"Um, I think the shower would be better..." I said quietly. I was trying to remain practical but it was difficult. Our bodies were so close, not quite touching, but I could feel something pulse between us as the lust radiated back and forth through the bond. I knew my breathing was suddenly more laboured and I could feel my heart quicken. God, he hadn't even kissed me yet.
Eric smiled and, gently taking my hand, led me over to the shower. I looked up at him then and, when his eyes met mine, his gaze made my stomach flip and I was suddenly nervous with anticipation. Eric ran his thumb along my jawline and I shuddered with want. I grabbed a handful of his shirt in my hand, pulling him closer towards me.
"Eric, kiss me," I pleaded quietly.
In an instant had me pinned up against the shower wall, mouth on mine, kissing me with all he had. I reciprocated, arms clinging around his neck and he lifted me again, this time with my legs straddling his hips as he began to grind against me. He reached along the wall for the shower controls, mouth never leaving me, and I cried out with surprise as rivulets of warm water began to cascade over us from various angles.
After what seemed like an age of breathless kissing and frantic touching, Eric lowered my feet to the ground and began to unzip my now sodden, but slightly less bloody, dress. He let it fall to a heap on the floor and I stepped out of it, kicking it to the far side of the enormous shower. Eric took the moment to pull off what was left of his shirt and kicked it and his pants into the corner to join my dress. I smiled noting that Eric had, once again, gone commando.
He kissed me again, this time rubbing my breasts through the wet lace of my bra. The friction sent electricity pulsing straight to my core and I moaned loudly as he moved his mouth down and began to suck at my tender nipples through the drenched fabric.
Eric stopped for a second to remove my bra and I took the opportunity to grab the shower gel from the shelf. He knelt and began to kiss down my stomach as I massaged shower gel into his broad shoulders. He made his way lower and slowly removed my panties, chucking them casually away from us. I let out a small moan as he lifted my leg and placed it over his shoulder, burying himself between my legs. My head fell back, rapture coursing through my body, as he assaulting me with his tongue in unison with his expert fingers. I was undone in minutes, screaming his name as my orgasm tore through me.
Careful to keep me balanced, Eric released my leg, tenderly kissing the inside of my thigh and my knee as he did so, sending shivers to my core in the aftermath of my release. He stood up to kiss me and I could taste myself on his lips. With a smile, I began edging tiny kisses down his chest, sucking and rolling his nipples between my fingers, mimicking his earlier actions on me.
"Bite a little, Lover," he rasped, letting out a groan as I did as instructed. I made my way down to his erection and looked up at him, licking my lips.
"My turn," I purred, taking his shaft in my hand as I began to swirl my tongue around the head. Eric's groans became more audible as I took as much of him as I could into my mouth, sucking and licking for all I was worth, while my hand worked the rest of him. I used my nails to scrape his balls as he fisted his hands in my wet hair, bucking wantonly into my mouth and moaning my name again and again. Suddenly, I felt him stiffen and, knowing he was close, took him as deep as I could, continuing to pump him as he gushed down my throat.
Eric took a second to come back to earth and then pulled me to my feet, kissing me deeply. "Lover," he sighed contentedly, "that was... incredible."
"I'm glad you liked it," I smirked, beaming with pride at a job well done. "Now, Mr. Northman, I think it's time you and I got ourselves clean... after getting so dirty."
He laughed, grabbing the shower gel and squeezing some onto his palm. "Anything you wish, Ms Stackhouse," he drawled, eyebrow raised.
We managed to get clean, then dirty, then clean again over the course of the next hour or so. As it approached dawn, we climbed into bed, hair still damp and my fingers pruned. Eric, reaching across the huge bed, pulled me to him and I nestled into his embrace.
As exhaustion began to seep through me, I heard him whisper into my ear that he loved me and I fell asleep with a contented smile on my lips.
0-0-0-0-0
I picked Amelia up at two the next day in Eric's SUV. I had made myself a dress out of one of Eric's formal shirts, wrapping one of his belts around my waist. I'd managed to wash and dry my underwear for today's emergency wear but it, like my dress, was basically ruined. Amelia seemed to have faired much better, having borrowed a cute lilac jersey dress from Pam. Eric had initially been against us going out during the day without protection but I managed to convince him that Sophie-Anne was unlikely to come after us during the day, particularly not at the mall.
We had a late lunch and Amelia stopped by the bank and ordered new credit cards to Gran's address, pretending that her bag had been stolen. Eric had given me his Fangtasia credit card to go shopping with. I felt slightly uncomfortable using it, wondering if Gran would think I was acting like a kept woman. But Amelia persuaded me that we needed new things because of vampire business, so it was more like shopping with an expense account than charity. After a while I relaxed, enjoying our day out, buying various outfits that I hoped Eric would like.
I dropped Amelia back at Pam's around six, laden with shopping bags. The girl could certainly shop.
0-0-0-0-0
I crawled back into bed with Eric when I returned from the mall. It was slightly unnerving seeing him so utterly, well, dead, but I was rewarded for my efforts when he woke by a vampire who was very, very happy to see me. We showered and got ready together and I kept grinning to myself at the intimacy of it all.
Pam and Amelia came to Eric's house for around eight. Pam outwardly looked as good as new as she entered, fangs aside. She gave me a brief hug before nodding to Eric and taking a seat on the couch.
I went to the kitchen to warm Pam and Eric a TruBlood and fixed Amelia and myself a gin and tonic, smiling at the fact that Eric had paid enough attention to keep my favourite drink in his house just in case. When I returned Pam and Eric were talking heatedly about Sophie-Anne. I noted Pam was speaking with a slight lisp and kept putting her hand to her mouth self-consciously. Amelia was watching silently, taking it all in, and took a big swig of her drink as I passed it to her.
"But Pam," Eric's voice was kind but firm, "we need to get our own house in order first. Sophie-Anne can wait, she is weak without the Berts and Andre. Best case scenario, Russell or someone picks her off before we even have to do anything."
Pam was listening, head cocked to one side, but I could tell she wasn't happy about not getting her pound of flesh and, after last night, I didn't blame her.
"She can't get away with it though, surely Eric? The woman's insane. What if she comes after one of us again?" I interrupted.
He turned to me, eyebrows furrowed. "Oh we will kill her and soon... and of course she cannot be allowed to remain as queen. But if we attack now, she will be expecting it. Sophie-Anne still has her supporters; she is weak but by no means defenceless. And we do not know which of our people can be relied on. Pam is not yet at full strength..." He looked at Pam and she subconsciously touched her mouth again. "If I phone her and call truce, we will have time to smoke out our traitor and then plan a surprise attack."
He looked at me as if expecting me to argue back but I lifted my hands in acceptance; he was the expert after all. I looked over at Pam and she shrugged.
"You are right Master," she nodded, resigned.
"When the time comes Pamela, you shall have the kill," he smiled. Pam perked up at that, an evil glint in her eye, and for the first time since her abduction, she looked like her old self.
Nothing like contemplating the murder of a psychopathic despot to put a smile on Pam's face, I guess.
"So what is our plan for tonight?" I asked.
"First I need to call the Queen," he said grimly, getting up off the couch. "And then we go to Fangtasia to find our spy."
0-0-0-0-0
Eric came back from his study about twenty minutes later with an impassive look on his face.
"The Queen has accepted my offer of truce," he announced calmly. "She acknowledged that by going after my child, I had the right to go after hers. I have agreed to make substantial financial reparations for their deaths. I have also apologised for my behaviour in relation to Sookie and pledged her services in the coming weeks..."
I opened my mouth to say something but Eric beat me to it.
"Relax, Lover. You won't really be working for Sophie-Anne but agreeing that you'll work for her gives us a pretence to go to New Orleans when the time is right. It also means that she won't come after you in the meantime."
"So how long till we do this?" Amelia piped up from across the room.
"It takes approximately three weeks for fangs to grow back..." Eric suggested, with a small smile to Pam. "We can have things in place by then."
"And then we stake the bitch," Pam concluded.
"And then we stake the bitch," Eric agreed.
0-0-0-0-0
Fangtasia was already rammed and there was a huge line of fangbangers queueing around the block. I had to put up my shields to block out all the hostile thoughts being bombarded at me as Eric took my hand and led me in through the employee entrance.
I got a glimpse of Clancy at the main door and frowned. If there was a traitor, my money was definitely on him.
Pam and Amelia we're already waiting in Eric's office. Pam was trawling through one of the large filing cabinets and finally retrieved a large bundle of paper. She gestured for Amelia and me to sit down on Eric's couch.
A shiver ran through me as I remembered the last time I'd been on the couch and out of the corner of my eye I caught Eric stifling a grin. I poked my tongue out at him, childishly, while Pam and Amelia weren't looking.
Pam pulled something off of the printer and handed a piece of paper each to Amelia and me. "Here's a list of Fangtasia/Area 5 employee cell phone numbers," she said, suddenly all authority. She divided the large bundle into two piles, again handing us one each. "And here are the last three months' itemised bills for each number. I want you to go through each bill and highlight any unrecognised cell phone numbers and any number with a New Orleans area code..."
Amelia and I both frowned at her. This was going to take all night.
"And what are you going to do boss?" Amelia asked, snarkily.
"I am going to search through the employee email accounts," Pam replied matter-of-factly.
"And Eric?" I asked with slightly more attitude than I'd been going for.
Pam sighed.
"I will do what I do best and go enthral the vermin. After all we must maintain an air of business as usual," Eric replied arrogantly.
Amelia and I rolled our eyes in unison.
"Fine," I said, resigned, slumping down on the couch. Pam chucked a pink highlighter pen at me and I immediately thought of at least two places I would like to shove it.
After what seemed like hours of fishing through cellphone records, I set my highlighter to one side with a sulky sigh. Pam looked up from her screen, expressionless.
"If I'm going to spend my evening doing this," I whined, stretching out my body, which had begun to seize up, "I, at least, deserve a drink doing it." I looked at Amelia who was also flexing her joints. "Amelia?"
"I'll have a beer I guess?" she suggested.
"TruBlood Pam?" I asked, trying to be polite.
"Why, sure," she purred, picking up the phone. "I'll call for one of the waitresses."
"No, it's fine, I need to stretch my legs anyway, so I'll go out to the bar."
"And that way you can keep an eye on Eric," Amelia teased.
I shot her a look.
"What?" she laughed. "It's true."
I looked at Pam and she gave me a shrug like she didn't care what I did, as long as I let her go back to work, so I slipped out of the office, along the corridor and into the main bar.
Eric was, of course, sitting on his throne. He felt me as I approached and whipped his head around to look in my direction. After a second he descended from the stage and came and stood by me next to the bar. He didn't say anything as he stood beside me but ran a finger lightly down my arm giving me goosebumps.
The bartender, a vampire of, I guessed, Native American origin, looked over at us both and indicated that he would be over in a second. I smiled, nervously. The guy was kind of scary looking but I knew I was fine with Eric next to me. He approached and Eric made the introductions.
"Sookie Stackhouse, this is Longshadow."
"Pleased to meet you," I said, uneasily.
Longshadow leered rather than smiled, fangs out, and I looked down at my hands to avoid eye contact. "What can I get you, Sookie?" he asked, voice gruff.
"Um, could I have a gin and tonic, a beer, and a TruBlood for Pam please?"
He nodded and went to get the drinks. At that moment Clancy sidled up behind Eric, talking to him in a low voice and effectively blocking me out of the conversation with his body. If Eric considered it to be rude, he didn't say anything.
Eric nodded at Clancy and then turned to me. "I must deal with something out front Lover."
I smiled. "Fine, I'll see you later?"
"Yes," he replied simply and was suddenly gone. Clancy took a second to give me a passing scowl and then he followed Eric.
Seconds later Longshadow was back with the drinks, on a black Fangtasia tray, and I carried it, expertly, back to the office.
I backed into the office door, pushing it open with my bottom, tray held out in front of me. As I turned into the room I noticed Pam was stood up from her desk and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room, like they both knew something that I didn't.
Amelia broke the silence. "Hey Sookie, you're back," she beamed, a little too enthusiastically.
I looked at them both questioningly and when they both looked away, I dropped my shields and listened in on Amelia.
Oh.
I quickly put them back up again. Amelia and Pam? That I did not need to see!
I plastered on my nervous grin and placed the drinks tray down on Eric's desk.
"I, um, I'm just going to go to the bathroom," I said, glancing at them both, a blush spreading across my cheeks. I edged out of the office, giving Pam a little wink as I left.
0-0-0-0-0
I made my way to the employee bathroom and two of the waitresses were touching up their make-up in the mirror. I recognised April Kelly from the first set of interviews I'd screened weeks ago. She'd turned out to be a great employee just as I'd expected. The second girl, Ginger, I think her name was, I didn't know much about. She'd come to Fangtasia for a job after the Great Revelation and you could see from all the bite marks proudly displayed over her scrawny body, that she wasn't in it for the tips.
I briefly wondered if Eric had ever fed from her and then pushed that thought to the back of my mind.
The waitresses were gossiping about one of the vampires, Maxwell Lee, having a gambling problem but clammed up immediately when they realised I was there. It suddenly occurred to me that of all the people that might know what was going on behind the scenes at Fangtasia, it might be the waitresses, the fangbangers.
"Hey girls," I said, giving them both my warmest Southern smile.
April's thoughts were automatically friendly but Ginger was jealous of my connection to Eric and her thoughts were far less cordial. They said hello back, April's smile distinctly more genuine than Ginger's, and I tried to think of a way that I could engage them in a conversation that might give me some answers.
"So, um, Pam has asked me to talk to you and the other girls about how you are enjoying the job. How you are being treated by the vampires, that sort of thing?" I lied.
Ginger frowned, thoughts instantly suspicious but April nodded warmly, happy to help.
"You want us to just go through them?" Ginger asked.
"Well, er, what about Clancy for example?" I asked, tentatively. He was my chief suspect so might as well start with him. Both girls' thoughts immediately flashed to the red-headed vampire. I could see that he had fucked and fed from Ginger a couple of times but had also ignored her quite hurtfully afterwards. April thought he was a bit snooty but hadn't really had much contact with him.
"Oh he's fine," April said out loud. "A little quiet, I guess, but that's it." Ginger just nodded, agreeing with her assessment, still wary of divulging to much to me.
I scrolled through the list of vampire names that I knew. "Felicia?" I asked, hopefully.
"Oh, she's real nice," April said straight away. I realised that Felicia was much more April's type than Clancy would ever be. All April's thoughts about her were filled with friendly moments.
Unsurprisingly, Ginger was also envious of Felicia but she didn't have any genuinely bad thoughts about her either. Nothing useful. "She's real fair to us," Ginger agreed. "She'll even help out occasionally when we get too busy."
Damn. This wasn't getting me anywhere. I gave it one last try. "What about Longshadow, is he real nice too?" I quizzed.
"Um, I guess Longshadow is a bit more of a vampire from the old school..." April replied, diplomatically. Her mind however was contemplating several situations where Longshadow had made advances. April had been scared. She didn't strike me as the type of girl who spooked easily.
Ginger shot her a look to shut up. I prompted Ginger again. "And you? What are your thoughts on Longshadow?" I could tell that Ginger was trying to focus on Longshadow, to form a coherent thought about him. But her mind was foggy. It was like she was clutching at memories but there were only fragments and they kept slipping through her fingers like sand.
Glamour. Ginger had been glamoured. Glamoured of thoughts that related to Longshadow.
"Ginger?" I coaxed. "Tell me about Longshadow?"
Her thoughts flashed again, trying to hold on. "What about New Orleans, Ginger? Have you ever been to New Orleans?"
April and Ginger both looked at me with surprise, wondering where I was going with this. Ginger's mind suddenly glazed over a meeting with someone in New Orleans. I grabbed Ginger's arm trying to increase my telepathy by making contact.
"Who did you met in New Orleans, Ginger?" I asked, voice firmer now as she began to struggle against me. I tightened my grip.
April came over as if to intervene. "Sookie, please..." she began.
"Fuck you!" Ginger sneered at me, wrenching her arm away from me, but not before I saw it. A flash of who she met in New Orleans.
It was Marietta. Marietta, human paramour of Sophie-Anne.
Christ. I needed to tell Eric. "I'm sorry," I said, hands up in a conciliatory gesture as I made to leave. "I'm sorry," I whispered again.
I ran out of the bathroom into the corridor in the direction of the bar, breathing shallow with nervous excitement. I'd figured it out. I knew Eric would be proud.
I didn't notice him behind me until it was too late. I felt his hand grab my shoulder roughly, his nails breaking the skin and drawing blood. He spun me around and pushed me up against the wall, fangs bared. I went to scream but he covered my mouth with his hand. I could smell stale alcohol on his fingers and I was finding it difficult to breathe.
I looked around wildly, as I struggled, hoping that someone would see us out here. But the passageway was dark, empty.
No-one here but me and Longshadow.
A/N: So please review. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And don't worry, Sophie-Anne is coming up...