Chapter Fourteen:

"Is there a reason you're actually being half decent to me tonight?" I mustered up enough courage to ask him the question I had been wondering all night.

Eric finished locking up the front door, which I hadn't realized until now held several different locks. I suppose a vampire could never be too careful. He sent me a glance before walking past me swiftly. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to follow him or not, but I did so anyways. He turned a couple of times before entering what appeared to be a study. I stood awkwardly in the doorway as he slid into a dark burgundy seat, moving up the top of his laptop. It really amazed me how well vampires adapted to the world changing around them. 1000 years ago they didn't even have electricity, and now Eric was fiddling around with a laptop. It was all so amazing.

"I find use in you." He answered finally, his eyes never leaving the computer screen.

"Well you found use for me since you found out I was a telekinetic, but that didn't stop you from treating me like trash." I tentatively took a step into the room. "What's with the change?"

Eric frowned as he gazed at me, his blue eyes boring right through me. "Godric."

From the tone of his voice, I didn't ask any further questions on the topic. I shouldn't have been complaining anyways. While Eric still had his temper, I'd rather this side of him than what I had seen for the past week or so. He was much more bearable to live with.

"Sit." He ordered after a moment.

I looked to where he was pointing, and walked over to the couch that sat opposite to his desk. I slowly sat down on it, noting how much more comfortable it was than the couch in his office at Fangtasia. I think it was his duty to make everyone uncomfortable at that place.

"We need to go over some rules." He pushed the top of the laptop down so he could see me clearly.

"Rules?" I raised an eyebrow, not sure I liked the sound of that.

"Yes rules." He stood, walked around the desk, and perched himself on the front of it, his long muscular arms crossing over his chest.

"What kind of rules?"

"You are in no shape or form allowed out of this house unaccompanied by someone I deem trustworthy." He peered at me with a frown. "While you are in this house, you are free to roam around this floor and upstairs. But you cannot, and I repeat, cannot, wander into the basement."

As if to add a little fear, his fangs popped out. To be completely honest, that just made me even more intrigued.

"What's in the basement?" I asked. Well of course I was going to ask.

"That's none of your concern." His voice was cold. "Is that understood?"

I wanted to ask him why I couldn't go into the basement, but by the look on his face, I decided against it. He was being gracious enough (or really Godric was making him) to let me stay in his personal home. I could at least give him his privacy and follow his rules. It was the least I could do.

"Understood." I nodded. "Anything else?"

"I want you to practice your powers every day. You need to strengthen them. It was clear last night that you exhaust quickly. We will need to work on that."

"Agreed." That wasn't much of a rule; I had already planned on doing so anyways. "Is that it?"

"For now." He cocked his head to the side. "You should rest. We'll leave to get you a new wardrobe at sunset. And then I have business to attend to at the club."

"Okay." I stood and began towards the door. I stopped in the doorway, turning slightly to stare at the vampire. "Thank you Eric."

"For?" He seemed confused.

"Not acting like the biggest asshole in the world tonight."

"Don't count on it lasting."

I snickered. "I wasn't."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Goodnight Ellie."

"Goodnight Eric."

I was lying on my stomach, my body completely naked as the bed sheet was pulled away from my body. My eyes didn't even open as I felt hands on my back, massaging away the tension. The hands didn't feel like the normal cool touch I was used to, but they were heaven nonetheless. I let out a moan as the hands dug into the muscles, relieving the tension and stress I had in my body. I felt utterly relaxed as the hands worked their way down from my shoulders, to the mid of my back, pass my ass cheeks, and to my calves. The hands felt like nothing I had ever felt before, the feelings surging through me more intense than ever before. I let myself completely go as the hands danced along my inner thighs, parting my legs further and further apart. I didn't object as I willingly pulled them apart.

"That feels nice." I voiced as the hands moved along my inner thigh before reaching the spot that had been aching to be touched.

"You'd like that, wouldn't your whore?"

The voice was hoarse, and familiar. But not the familiar voice that I had been expecting. Another set of hands were on my body as I was pulled onto my back roughly, my eyes meeting that of my would-be rapists and killers. The three stood above my naked form, hunger in their eyes. I let out an ear piercing scream as they lowered their pants and began touching me in places I never wanted to be touched.

I was pulled out of the nightmare by my own scream. I sat up, drenched in sweat and tears as I looked around the dark room in fear. I held the bed sheet up to my chin, scared what could be lurking in the shadows. I reached over and put the lamp on, letting out a sigh of relief when the room lit up, showing that I was indeed alone. It didn't ease much of my mind however, as I shuddered when I remembered their touches. A sob escaped my lips as I pulled my knees up to my chest. I had had a day without the memories of what had happened, and I should have known it was a day too long. They were back, and in full force.

I shook from head to toe as I curled up in a ball and sobbed. I felt their dirty hands still on me, and felt used. I needed to get the feel of them off of me. I shot up out of bed and raced into the bathroom. I threw my clothes off of me before hopping into the shower. I put the water on ice cold, hoping it would help numb the pain. I rubbed without mercy, scrubbing my skin raw. I needed to get the feel of their hands off of me, and scrubbed every inch of my body until I was red and sore. But I just didn't stop. Even when it began to hurt, I couldn't stop. Their hands were all over me. I felt dirty. I needed it to stop.

"Elizabeth." The cool voice startled me.

I yelped as I used my hands to cover myself, the glass door to the shower leaving nothing to the imagination. I tried my best to glare at Eric through my blurred vision, but it didn't last long. I just broke down, sliding down the wall of the shower and curled up on the floor. I was pathetic, that must have been what he was thinking. I was just some pathetic human he was forced to deal with.

"I think you're done." He was opening the door to the shower, shutting the stream of water off. I felt a warm towel wrap around me before I was lifted up into his arms. I didn't even care at that point if I was naked, though it just showed that Eric wasn't a complete heartless asshole at his action.

A moment later I felt Eric lay me down on the bed, using another towel to slowly dry me off, careful of my scrubbed raw skin. I noticed he deterred from my private areas as he slipped the towel that was around me away before pulling up the bed sheets and covering my naked form. I was still sobbing, though not as hard as before. I could see Eric sitting on the bed beside me, staring between the wall and me every so often. The fact that he was there, just made me want to sob even harder. But I tried to control myself; for him.

"I felt your fear, your pain." He spoke, his eyes finally resting on me. "I have never felt anything so...strong."

"S-Sorry." I managed to gasp out between my sobs.

His hand reached over to run over my tangled wet hair. "I've only given my blood to a handful of humans over my long life, but never have I had a deeper connection than I do with you. You are full of mystery, Elizabeth Cole."

The movement of his hand was calming, my shaking body slowly ceasing any movement. My breathing became more consistent, as did my racing heart. Soon, I was only sniffing and wishing I could just die now. I had just embarrassed myself in front of Eric Northman; I woke him up, and embarrassed myself.

"There's still a few hours before sunset, I'll leave you to rest." Eric stood suddenly, his eyes glued to the wall.

"P-Please don't go." I reached out and grasped his hand. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed him. He made me feel oddly calm, safe even. I shouldn't have, this was Eric. But I couldn't help it, I felt protected with him here. I feared that I would fall asleep and have another nightmare. But maybe if he was here, maybe his sheer presence would ward me against such dreams. "S-Stay. Please?"

Eric stared hard at the wall for a long while, and I was certain he would just leave. But he didn't. He surprised me by staying. He nodded, his eyes finding mine. I shoved over in the bed, giving him more room, and waited as he slid into the bed beside me. He kept on top of the bed sheets, and I wondered for a moment if that was because he was being respectful of my naked body, or if he simply didn't find a use for them. Either way, I didn't care. He was at least here.

Out of habit of having another body in the same bed, I found myself shifting towards him, turning onto my side and curling my body up against him. I could feel his body tense as I touched him. However, after a moment, he began to relax, even wrapping an arm around my back and clasping around my waist. I sighed heavily before letting my eyes drop back closed, praying that I wouldn't have another dream.

I woke up that evening to yelling. I couldn't understand what was being yelled, or who to, but Eric was most definitely yelling. I didn't want to leave my bed. In fact, I wanted to curl up and never leave again. Perhaps just die in this spot. I had a nice day or not reliving through the pain, but now it was back. Every ounce of pain and sadness I was able to control, was now surging through me even worse than before. I tried to keep myself calm, squeezing my eyes shut and thinking of the happiest memory possible. But it just wouldn't work. All I could see was that dream playing in my head, and I was startled all over again.

I sighed as I unwillingly opened my eyes, the sound of yelling growing louder. No doubt that had something to do with me. I glanced down at myself and remembered I was naked. And then remembered what had happened earlier. My face grew beat red as I remembered breaking down in the shower, Eric having to physically remove me. I was embarrassed at the spectacle I had caused. I wouldn't be surprised if Eric was trying to find a way out of having to deal with me any longer. I was a nuisance. An embarrassing nuisance.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the door to the bedroom being slammed open. I yelped and sat right up, pulling the bed sheet up to my chin.

"Oh don't be modest; I saw enough of you earlier." His face was blank as he walked in, seeming to calm down once his phone was slipped into his pocket. "We're already an hour behind schedule."

"Sorry." I mumbled, staring down at my lap.

I watched as he walked over to me out the corner of my eye. He stopped just beside the bed, a hand reaching out, his fingers trailing down my cheek. It felt like electricity was surging through his fingers and into my cheek, shocking me. I snapped back away, looking at his hands in surprise. Eric frowned as he lifted his hand, looking at them as if they were just burned.

"W-What was that?" I asked, wondering why I hadn't felt the same shock when he had held me earlier.

"I don't know." He admitted, his eyes gazing down at me. "Get dressed. We need to get going."

I wanted to question what had just happened, but he was gone before I could. I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair, though was stopped by the tangles. I frowned and tried to tug my hand through my still damp hair, but to no avail. Knowing Eric would be back if I didn't hurry it up, I stood, keeping the sheet wrapped around me as I tugged it off the bed and walked over to the closet I had put my clothes in last night. If I was going to be here for a couple more weeks, I may as well be comfortable. I pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, not caring how I looked. If Eric was going to keep his word, we would be shopping for better attire for me to wear to the bar, so who really cared?

After I was dressed, I slowly left the room with my arms around myself. I had managed to pull a hairbrush through my tangled hair, having it fall down my back limply.

"No need to get dressed up at all." Eric commented, a smirk on his face as I met him at the front door.

I merely shrugged, having no desire, or the strength, to argue with him. When he realized this, the smirk was wiped from his face, replaced with a frown.

"Pam will be meeting us at the store." Eric unlocked the door, motioning me through.

I simply nodded and walked out of the house, walking straight to his car. Eric was there in a flash, opening the passenger side door for me. I didn't give him a glance as I slid in soundlessly. I heard a sigh emit from the vampire as he slid in beside me quickly before taking off out of the driveway.

"How did you get a store to stay open this late?" I voice after a few moments of silence.

"How do you think?"

"Did you...did you eat the owner?" My eyes widened.

Eric laughed. He actually laughed. It was the first laugh I had heard out of the vampire, and I had to admit, I did like the sound of it.

"Money, Ellie. Short, bald little things aren't my desired meal." There was an amused look on his face as he smirked at me. "I quite enjoy mysterious brunettes."

I ignored his last comment. "Were you arguing with Godric?"

"Yes."

"Because of me?"

"He didn't think I was capable of keeping you safe." Eric frowned, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "I don't appreciate being insulted, even by my maker."

"I-I don't think you're doing a terrible job." I fidgeted with my hands, keeping my gaze on my lap as Eric shot me a look.

"Are you sure about that?"

"No one can help what I dream." I replied softly. "Not even Godric can protect me from what happens when I fall asleep."

"If he could, Godric would find a way." Eric mused. "I don't understand it, but he's taken with you. Never in all my life have I seen Godric take an interest in a human."

"Never?"

"He had little compassion when he first turned me. He taught me there was only survival or death. Vampires are ruthless monsters, you should remember that."

"He's not like that with me."

"No, he's not." Eric pulled to a stop, causing me to look out the window to see we were stopped outside of a boutique that looked closed to the public, even though there were still lights on. "But you're not exactly human, now are you?"

"I suppose not." I let my gaze fall on him.

He stared at me for the longest time, scrutinizing everything about me, before his hand reached up to my cheek. The moment his hand touched my skin, that electric type shock occurred once again. He didn't pull the hand away this time however, and kept it there, caressing my cheek with his cold fingers. I shuddered, but didn't move away, enjoying the feel of his hands on my body. I didn't feel dirty; I didn't feel used when he touched me. His simple touch made those hands on my body disappear without a thought. If I had my way, I wouldn't let Eric stop touching me.

"You're late." Pam's voice sliced through the moment, pulling open Eric's door. She sent us each pointed, yet knowing looks as she smirked and tapped her foot impatiently.

I reluctantly left the car, though all I really wanted was to jump into that man's arms. He may have hated me, wanted to use me, hell he may have even wanted to kill me. But the fact remains that something clicked when he touched me. Literally, a shock ran through me when his hands were on me. I didn't know what that meant, but I did know that it felt right. I felt safe, protected. And right about now, that's all I wanted to feel.