A/N: I am so glad you all are enjoying my little story here. I really like this chapter, I hope you do too. ;)

As always, just Sookie's kids are mine.

Chapter 14:

Before I knew it, I was checking the mirror one last time as the clock began to chime. It was time for Eric to be here. As I was going down the stairs I heard the doorbell ring and my stomach did a flip-flop. I took a deep, cleansing breath before I opened the door.

Eric was standing there, looking just as gorgeous as I remembered, holding a single pink rose. He smiled as I invited him in. He handed me the rose as he said, "You are stunning, Sookie." He bent and kissed my cheek. "It's been too long since I've seen you."

I looked into his eyes, "I know what you mean." I walked over to the table and added the rose to the lilies he'd sent me earlier. "Thank you so much for the flowers, Eric. They are beautiful."

He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned back into him as he whispered, "Not as beautiful as you, but you're welcome. I'm glad you like them."

I was surprised he couldn't hear my heart drumming away in my chest – it was going so fast. I wanted this man so badly, but I was sticking to my plan. With that in mind, I turned to face him.

"Should we be going?"

He sighed, "Yes, we should – but that's not what I really want to do." He gave me a smoldering look and I swear my knees almost buckled. It wouldn't have taken much effort on his part for me to change my mind about leaving.

Thankfully, he stepped away from me and held his hand out. I took it immediately and we made our way out to his car.

"Hey, where's the corvette?" This was a gorgeous, silver BMW. He just laughed.

"This is my other car. I thought you might be wearing a dress tonight – I've noticed you like them – and the corvette can be rough for a woman to 'negotiate gracefully'. Or so my sister tells me anyway."

I was going to have to hug Pam's neck the next time I saw her. I had been worried about the vette and my dress. I almost wore pants because of it. I was so happy that Eric was so understanding. "Remind me to thank her," I giggled as he held the door open for me to get in.

Once I was in and he was walking around to his side, I glanced over to Amelia and Quinn's house. I giggled when I saw three little faces plastered to a window, watching our every move. Eric heard me giggling and asked about it.

"We seem to have an audience." I nodded towards the window. He looked and chuckled.

He cranked the car and we were on our way. I was much more nervous on this date than I'd been with Alcide. I think I knew Alcide was just a good friend even before we kissed, so I just wasn't that nervous with him.

Eric on the other hand, had awakened feelings in me that had long been buried. I was at ease with him – I just wanted this night to be perfect.

He reached over and took my hand in his. "So, Ames and Quinn are watching the kids? Will we need to be back at a certain time so they can get to bed?"

Well, at least we'd left the house before it came up. I was so happy that he even asked about the kids getting to bed… he was so very sweet about my children. I had a feeling that we really may not have left the house if he'd known these details. "Uh… no – we're fine. The kids are actually spending the night with them tonight."

I glanced at him and saw a smirk growing on his face. "Does that mean we'll have the house to ourselves when we get back?"

I couldn't help but giggle, "Yes, as a matter of fact, it does." He groaned.

"Sookie, you have no idea how tempted I am to turn this car around and order a pizza." He was smoldering again and I knew my new undies were ruined.

"Well, I'm glad we'd already left the house before you found out then."

He looked a little disappointed and I acted quickly. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Not that I didn't have the same idea, but I've really been looking forward to seafood tonight."

He'd told me that he was taking me to a nice seafood place when we'd talked earlier in the week. I loved seafood and had gotten very excited. I did have an alternate plan though. I gave him what I hoped was a smoldering look of my own.

"However, I think it would be a shame to waste an empty house… don't you?"

I giggled again as I watched him swallow. "Home after dinner?"

"Absolutely." He smirked at my answer and placed a lingering kiss on my hand. Oh, I couldn't wait to get him home!

We got to the restaurant a few minutes later. I'd only been there once because it wasn't exactly the kind of place that was kid friendly. I remembered that I'd loved it though.

Now, normally I'm not the type of girl who expects to have her door opened for her all the time, but something told me to go with the flow tonight. So, I checked my makeup (just for something to do) while I waited for Eric to come around. I finally did open the door myself, but he was there waiting on me. He held his hand out and helped me out of the car.

We were seated quickly since Eric had made reservations. Everything looked amazing. He ordered one of the seafood platters, and I went for the grilled shrimp and deviled crab combo. I love deviled crab, but have never liked crab cakes. There was a difference and I guess it's just one quirk about me. I even got those little bitty salad shrimp added to my salad because I just love them!

Dinner was fantastic. Eric and I chatted about the bar and how things were going. I'd given him my finished sketches on Tuesday and he said Alcide thought it would be no problem turning them into reality. I was feeling guilty, but relieved at the same time when he didn't ask me about my job. I knew I needed to tell him, but I really wanted him to hire me based on my abilities, and not out of pity.

I ended up being stuffed beyond belief, and still had a lot of food left, so I got a take out box and packed my food while Eric took care of the bill. As we were getting ready to leave, I saw Eric's face fall a little. I turned and saw a scrawny little man coming towards us.

I turned back to Eric as the man reached our table. "Well, well, good evening Eric. Who is your little friend?" Whoever this guy was, he was creeping me out in a major way. I moved closer to Eric, thankful that we'd already stood just before this guy made it to us. He put his arm around my waist.

"Bill Compton, this is Sookie. Bill is the one I bought the bar from." So this was the geeky man who gave Eric such a difficult time buying the bar. I didn't like him immediately.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sookie." Bill stuck his hand out to shake mine and for some reason, the absolute last thing I wanted was to have him touch me in any way, but I didn't want to embarrass Eric by being rude. So, I shook his hand – or I tried to. He began pulling my hand towards his lips and I couldn't stop myself from jerking my hand away from him before he could kiss it. I leaned closer to Eric as Bill just smirked.

"Looks like you're getting everything you wanted once again, Northman. Aren't you the lucky one?"

With that, he turned and walked away. I felt… dirty… after the way he'd looked me up and down while he talked to Eric. I turned to him. "Who is that, Eric, and what on earth was he talking about?"

Eric did NOT look happy. He was angry. "I bought the bar from him. I've been thinking there's something going on with him that I need to know about. After tonight, I know there is. I will definitely be getting to the bottom of this."

"He creeped me out. I didn't want to embarrass you, but every cell in my body was screaming for him to not touch me. I'm sorry." I looked at my feet.

"Sookie, please look at me." I looked up and saw nothing but concern on Eric's face. "You could never embarrass me. Honestly, I'm glad you pulled away. I didn't want him touching you either."

I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him very tightly. "He scared me, Eric. I can't explain it but I don't want to be around him if I can avoid it."

He hugged me to him and I felt so safe. "You won't have any reason to be around Bill Compton, baby."

We left the restaurant and decided that we did just want to go back to my house. I'd been afraid that the run in with Bill was going to put a damper on the rest of the evening, but after the kiss Eric laid on me right before I got in his car, I'd forgotten all about Bill Compton.

When we got to my house, I told Eric to just park in the garage. I knew my kids and knew they would peek out the window every chance they got to see if we were back yet. I also knew that as crazy as they were about Eric that they would beg to come home if they saw we were there. I'd left lights on when we left, as I always do when I leave, so they wouldn't know we were there because of them. I knew my kids well and I didn't want any "blocks" tonight. When Eric gave me a funny glance, and I explained my reasoning, he called me "sneaky".

I asked him if he wanted anything to drink as we walked through the kitchen and he declined. When he sat down on the couch, I was suddenly very aware of the fact that we really were alone in the house and I became… panicked. I excused myself and ran up to my room.

I just needed a minute to collect myself. I'd was trying to figure out where this 'panic attack' was coming from. Then I saw a picture of Sam on my dresser and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd never been with anyone other than Sam and now it seemed like that was going to change. I realized I was scared to death about it now that I was faced with it. I really wanted to be with Eric… really wanted to, but what if he didn't like it… what if I was horrible at it and ran him off. I mean I knew I wasn't a virgin, but it had been a very long time. I picked up the picture of Sam and sat on the edge of my bed. I felt a tear slide down my face as I looked at him. I still missed him very much and knew he would always own a piece of my heart. But, I also knew that I was falling hard for Eric. I thought back to the dream I had when Sam told me it was time for me to move on with my true soulmate. I wiped the tear from my face and put the picture in the drawer of my bedside table. I whispered "Goodbye Sam… I love you."

I decided that I couldn't ignore Eric anymore. We finally had some alone time and I was wasting it being scared. I was still extremely nervous, but I got up to get something more comfortable on. I figured I could use that as the excuse for running to my room the way I did. I knew he probably wouldn't buy it, but I could try. When I moved towards the closet, something caught my eye and I looked over at my bedroom door. I gasped as I saw Eric there, leaning against the door frame.

I froze… I didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Eric did.

"I was worried when you took off, so I followed. I hope you don't mind."

I just shook my head and watched him walk to me. When he stopped in front of me, I just looked at his chest. I felt him cup my face in his hands and gently tilt it up until I was looking at him.

"What's wrong, Sookie? Have I done something?"

I shook my head again and managed to mumble, "No."

"Then what is it?" He looked so confused, yet concerned for me at the same time. I just knew that he would understand, so I took a deep breath.

"It's just… I realized we... were finally alone… I… uh… I got nervous. I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize to me, Sookie. I was just worried I'd done something."

"No, you've been wonderful."

"Sookie, I saw you looking at the picture of Sam. We don't have to… I'm more than willing to wait 'till you're ready."

"No! I mean, I am ready – you have no idea how ready. I just got nervous…I've only… Sam's the only man I've ever been with."

Understanding washed over Eric's face. "Are you sure, Sookie? I really don't mind waiting if…"

I cut him off by pulling him down and kissing him. I tried to pour every ounce of passion, lust, desire, and love (yes – love) that I felt for Eric in that moment into my kiss. It must've worked because before I knew it, I had been lifted, giving Eric better access to my mouth, my arms and legs were wrapped tightly around him, and my back was pushed against the wall as he practically attacked my mouth.

I felt his tongue slip confidently into my mouth and start rubbing against mine in a perfect rhythm. I didn't even try to stop the moan that escaped my body.

He got a better grip on me and moved us to my bed – kissing, sucking, and nibbling my neck the whole time. I groaned his name as I felt him lay me on the bed, staying on top of me – causing his erection to rub against my center. We were still fully clothed and I was on fire for this man.

Eric had moved back to kissing me while I began to unbutton his shirt. He pulled back a little, then when he realized what I was doing, he stood up. I quickly got to my knees on the edge of the bed and finished undoing the buttons. I separated his shirt, revealing a very chiseled, hard chest. I took one of his nipples in my mouth and swirled my tongue around it. He hissed when I gave the other the same attention.

While I was busy with that, my hands slid down, stopping at the band of his pants. I began unbuckling his belt when he stopped me.

"Not yet – my turn." I'd never heard a voice as sexy and full of desire as his in that moment. He worked on my neck again while his large hands roamed my body. I sighed his name when he caressed the sides of my breasts. My entire body was tingling in the best way possible.

He reached around to my zipper and slowly lowered it. Then he slid the straps off my shoulders and down my arms, pulling my dress down with them. I watched his eyes become hooded with so much desire I thought I might drown in it when he took in my breasts.

He loomed over me, cupping my breasts, rubbing his thumbs over my hardened nipples, and gently pushed me back until I was on my back again. He finished removing my dress quickly and was back at my breasts before I knew it.

He growled, "Perfect," as he took one nipple in his mouth, still working the other in his hand. We'd barely begun and he was already driving me insane with need.

He switched to the other side as I felt his hand moving lower. I was ready to attack him when his fingers moved over my center.

"Fuck, Sookie… you're so wet." He slipped one finger, then two inside me while his thumb was rubbing circles over my clit and my first orgasm crept up and took me over before I knew what was happening. I moaned loudly and bucked against his hand as I rode it out.

While I was trying to catch my breath, I watched Eric stand and remove his pants. He had the largest, most stunning erection I'd ever seen and I stopped him as he began kissing down my abdomen.

He growled, "I want to taste you, Sookie."

"Later – I need you, Eric. I need to feel you inside me."

He moved his body on top of mine, slipping between my legs. I wrapped them around his hips and felt him at my entrance. He looked at me and I could see the love he felt for me – we hadn't said it, but it was there.

"Are you sure, Sookie?"

"Yes, Eric…please…"

With that, he pushed into me slowly, stretching me to fit him, and it felt amazing. Once he was fully in me, we stilled for a few moments to kiss and enjoy the pleasure. When Eric began to move again, we both quickly found a perfect rhythm and I knew neither of us was going to last long.

"Fuck, Sookie…"

"Ung – oh Eric…harder…" I wasn't sure I'd be coherent much longer as I grabbed his perfect, firm ass, trying to pull him into me deeper.

I felt my orgasm building as Eric began to swell inside me.

"Come with me, Sookie." He was pounding into me and I couldn't hold off my orgasm. I clenched around him and screamed his name as I felt him explode inside me and heard him roar mine.

Once we'd ridden out the aftershocks, he collapsed beside me, pulling me to him. We held each other while our breathing returned to normal.

He kissed my head and whispered, "I love you, Sookie."

I looked up at him and with a single tear on my cheek and a big grin on my face, I said, "I love you too, Eric."