Without further adieu.
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Sookie POV
My eyes snapped open and I was keenly aware that Eric was no longer in the bed with me. For a split second only, I panicked and jumped out of the bed searching frantically since I knew that when dawn took me I had been in his arms.
My horror instantly waned when I noticed the pile of animal skins lying next to the closed bathroom door, steam billowing from underneath it.
Nothing bad could come from the idea of a naked Eric in a steaming shower.
I realized that I was still dressed in my costume from the previous night. The once pristine suit was now supremely ruined with blood, guts, and the other condiments of battle. It was disgusting.
The pieces were surprisingly easy to take off and within seconds I was turning the door on the bathroom.
The shower was encased in glass walls which offered absolutely no coverage. Eric was leaning heavily on the wall and allowing the hot water to rain over him. Through his curtain of soaking hair I could see his huge smile. He knew I was in here.
I walked over to the shower and pulled open the door, sliding in behind him as he reached for a bottle of body wash on the built in shelf of the shower.
"I'll do that for you," I said to him as I filled one of those little pouf thingies with the liquid soap and lathered it in my hands.
Eric stood to his full height and did his best to relax although the anticipation had to be killing him if my condition was any indication.
I placed the pouf against his left shoulder blade and began to scrub in slow and deep circles. He moaned as if I was touching him a much more attentive way. After washing every inch of his back twice, and really drinking in the muscles and the way they moved with my every touch, I moved to his arms.
First the left one, I washed slowly taking as long as I could to make sure that every inch of him was clean before I dropped his arm and started on the other one.
Pressing my own bare chest against his back I put my arms around him, which was almost too broad to allow me to get all the way around and began to work his chest and the wall of muscle that made up his abdomen.
I could sense his thoughts as he anticipated the touch to that one area that he so desperately wanted me to touch.
Before I reached that point, I stepped under his arms to face him.
"How long has it been since we last made love?" I asked him, pressing myself up against him and with the lightest touch stroked him where he wanted it the most.
He actually gasped at the touch and answered in an almost breathless way.
"Too long, my Lover."
"Well we must do something about that, and soon. Right now, I need you to kneel so that I can reach your hair."
Without a word he dropped to his knees in the tub. I filled my hand with the vanilla scented shampoo provided by the hotel and had begun to lather his hair when I realized that his new vantage point was going to make it hard to concentrate on washing hair.
I knew this because no sooner had he gotten all the way down, I felt his rough tongue slowly cost me the loss of my senses. I was determined to finish cleaning him but I was losing the battle as he kissed, sucked and teased me over that perfect edge.
I screamed and bucked against his talented tongue, as he brought me to at least three orgasms. He gave me no time to recover but I found that in my new form I didn't need recovery time. It was amazing.
When he was finally satisfied, he stood up towering over me. I was panting in pleasure and he was smiling that cocky freaking smile that I loved and abhorred. He was very proud of himself.
"I am still dirty, Mr. Northman. "
"Well we can't have you leaving the shower dirty now can we?"he replied against my ear.
There was nothing slow about the way he washed me as quickly as possible. As soon as the soap was rinsed from my skin and my body we were out of the shower only just remembering to turn the water off. There was no time for towels. He picked me up and tried to get me to the bed.
He wasn't fast enough, as I turned my body and impaled myself on him as we made our way to the room.
Not to be beaten he landed me against the wall which with the strength of my new body actually cracked the first level of drywall. I laughed wildly while turning my body to quickly assess the damage. Eric continued to pound into me, realizing that he could now use his vampire speed without hurting me.
"Forget that!"he demanded. "I will pay for it!"
And I did forget that darn wall as I dug my fingernails into his strong shoulders and I began to help him, I couldn't get close enough to him. Skin to skin contact was not enough after such a long absence.
"Oh God, how did I refuse you for so long?"I yelled out as we continued our overdue lovemaking.
"You," thrust, "are a very" thrust, "stubborn," thrust, "woman!"he roared.
Our climaxes hit at the same time and the sounds coming from our room were anything but human.
We stayed where we were against that wall, our foreheads touching allowing ourselves a moment to revel in the feelings and emotions in the room. When the last tremors of orgasm had rocked through us, he carried me to the bed.
At some point, while we were in the bathroom a maid had been in and changed the sheets and picked up our discarded laundry.
There was a red rose laid across the pillow. If I could have blushed I would have knowing what a maid must have heard from that bathroom.
Eric heard my thoughts and laughed deep and loud. And I realized I just didn't give a damn what they heard.
I lay on my back across the cool and clean sheets; Eric was on his side next to me. He held his weight on one elbow and hovered above me.
Most of the water from his long hair had air dried during our wall escapades, but one drop trickled down his cheek and I reached up and caught it on my finger tip. I watched it trail down my finger before it disappeared.
"I honestly thought I would never see you again, you know. I should have known better than to tell you not to come. What was I thinking?"
"Well, sometimes the mind is not as sharp in old age. And- I'm hard headed, don't forget that." I giggled.
He reached behind him towards the pillow and grabbed the rose. All of the thorns had been removed from its long stem. He held the rose petals to my head and began to slowly dance them across my skin.
"I always knew that you would make a fantastic vampire. I am not disappointed. You are stunning."
I did not answer him, the rose was just trailing over my left nipple and the sensation of the satiny cold petal was divine. I purred and then gasped as his warm mouth closed over my right nipple.
He pulled it into a hard little peak.
"You have the most beautiful breasts I have ever seen," he told me and I turned my head- embarrassed.
"Do not turn away from me, Lover. I have had to spend so many nights without seeing your beautiful face; you will not deny me now. Watch," he commanded.
I turned back to him and watched as he swirled the rose petals over the pert nipple. After a few slow strokes he raised it only slightly and began a swift sweeping motion.
I began to breathe faster, although I didn't need to. The attention to my nipples was sending a message straight to my vagina and it was begging for his attention.
"Oh, God, Eric please," I moaned.
"All in good time, my Sookie. You are greedy," and there was that beautiful smile again.
The rose left my breast as he worked it across my abdomen and down between my legs. A large hand parted them as his long body slid down mine.
He ghosted the rose over my labia and I shivered violently. I could take the tease no longer.
Sitting up I pulled him by the shoulders over me and attacked his perfect lips with my own. There was no part of this man that didn't excite me to my core. I held him to me and kissed him until my lips were swollen and hurt.
"Eric, don't make me wait any more, please," I begged.
I hate begging.
He did not disappoint as he pushed into me again. This time we made love. No supernatural speed, no desperate urgency. Just sweet, slow love.
Eric looked into my eyes the whole time, and I did my best to not look away from his. When my eyes did close he brought me back by placing kisses on the closed lids.
This time as we came together it was like a reunion.
We lay in each other's arms for I don't know how long just looking into each other's eyes.
"I want the bond back, Eric," I said in a moment of silence.
"It will be stronger now that you are vampire. You fought our bond when you were human, will you fight me now," he teased.
"I'm not fighting now. You better take advantage of it, as you know I tend to be crazy."
"This is true. You are certifiable," he picked right back.
I punched him lightly in the shoulder; well I thought it was lightly.
"Ow," he laughed.
He still hadn't answered my request and I was getting perturbed and cleared my throat to get him back on topic.
"I love you, Sookie. I thought I would die when our bond broke before, I want it back too."
He sat up and offered me his neck, but I stopped him once again.
"Hold on there big boy, that's not all I want."
He smiled again.
"My apologies, Ms. Stackhouse, your terms?"
"We were married, or whatever. But I died, we are not married anymore."
"You are my wife in the only way that matters to me…"he began.
"Let me finish. I want to be married to you again, officially. There are no legal blocks on us anymore since I am not human. I want to make it official and I want to be Mrs. Northman now."
Finally at a loss for words, Eric Northman sat up in the bed all the way.
"And you will no longer deny being my wife?"
"I have been actively claiming our marriage since the night they took you. It took thinking I had lost you to make me realize how much I needed you."
He leaned over me again and placed his hand on my cheek.
"And will you love, honor and cherish me until final death do we part?"
I laughed and wiggled underneath him.
"I will."
"And I believe the humans put obey in these vows. Will you obey me?"
"Probably not, but do you want a wife or a puppy?"
"Definitely no puppy, I do not like dogs."
And just like that I was engaged to a thousand year old Viking in a five thousand dollar a night hotel suite in Las Vegas.
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Within two hours we were standing at the altar of a supe wedding chapel appropriately named BelleWynn Castle. The building was made to look like an old castle. We would have been there sooner but Pam insisted on making a shopping trip.
I tried to make it stop but she put a kink in that hose.
"As your maker," she stopped for a moment for dramatic effect, "I command you to go shopping with me."
The smile played across her lips was downright evil and I adored her for it. In my own defense, we spent longer looking for Pam's dress than my own and that was justification enough.
Eric had been "ordered" by his child to put things together and meet us there. He was happy just making her—and me—happy.
It was a small affair as Jason was presumably at home with Serafina and Bill was tending to Emily. I did call on Niall who made it there just before the beginning of the ceremony. He was about to give me away when the doors opened and Sam hobbled in on a cane, supported by Cecilia and dressed neatly in dark black pants and a white button down shirt.
With a faery on one arm and a shifter on the other, this vampire walked down the aisle and became Mrs. Eric Northman officially.
There was a very short reception, short for Eric and I anyway. We were eager to get back to our hotel room. The room bill was going to be enormous.
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That night we lay in the bed, legally married. Eric's long, lean bodied molded behind my own as he caressed every inch of my body. As he bit down on the tender flesh of my neck to renew our bond, his fingers danced across my core as first one, then another and another of his long fingers entered me.
He drank deeply as he rocked in and out in tortuous speed. My body shook with convulsions as my orgasm overtook me. When he had finished drinking, I pushed him gently onto his back and straddled him.
Placing kisses along his neck, collarbone and broad chest I eased myself onto him. He began gently thrusting into me as I bit right under his nipple in the same area the original bond had been made so long ago at Rhodes.
The harder I pulled on his flesh the harder he pounded into me. The small wound made by my fangs closed a few times and I would carefully reopen it not wishing to cause him pain.
I stopped when I felt the bond swell up with intensity. I knew that in order for it to be complete we had to exchange blood three times, but this opening up after so long without a connection was euphoric. I imagine this is what an addict feels when finally getting what they need after so long.
All of his feelings burst inside of me. I literally felt like an opening flower as I arched my back fruitlessly willing myself back into reality.
Apparently, Eric was experiencing the same nirvana as he flipped us over and moved above me faster and faster until our voices could not be separated we yelled out and reached bliss together.
"Oh…my… Did you feel that?" I asked him as he hovered over me, still inside of me unwilling to break our jointure.
"I did min alskare. I have never felt anything like that before with anyone. How did you do that?"he asked.
I knew that I hadn't done anything. As a matter of fact, I was about to give him credit for it. But I didn't.
"Oh, I have skills you can't even imagine, cowboy," I teased back at him.
He smirked at me, "Well, then by all means, continue your lesson. "
We made love over and over again until the dawn pulled us under once again.
"There are not enough hours in the night to be with you, Eric," I whined as I felt the sun's pull zap me of my strength.
"You will get used to it, lover. The dread will pass with time," he declared.
"You know, I am not sure that it will. Or that I want it to," I replied my voice thick with exhaustion.
Right before I closed my eyes, Eric tenderly kissed my lips.
"You have made me the happiest I have ever been today, Sookie. I am honored to be your husband once again," he whispered.
"You never stopped being my husband, we only made it a little more offic—"
And I was gone as the sun taunted me and the moon and stars waited to bring me back to life.
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Eric POV
I knew that I had a little more time before I would need to go to rest than Sookie, so I took the opportunity to gather our belongings and schedule our departure. I missed Louisiana, I missed my bar and my filthy fangbangers. I simply missed being home and I was ready to get out of here as soon as possible.
As I packed the luggage and clothes that Pam had delivered to the suite, I stopped to look at the band of platinum on my left hand. When I was human there had been no material symbol of a marriage. I briefly thought of Aude and our children and the life I had once had.
I remembered the time shortly after Appius had brought me over and how I longed to be finally dead rather than face an eternity without my children. I tried time and time again to end Appius and myself and it wasn't until years later that I finally excepted my destiny.
I found that I was good at living and that I enjoyed being alive and I was able to live for the moment and put painful human memories behind me. But still I wondered what the point of my existence was.
And now I knew. I was still here because a stubborn, Southern, telepathic faery/human hybrid was waiting for me. It had all happened for a reason.
When I had finished my packing and was satisfied with the arrangements, I lay down next to Sookie's still form. My arm went of its own accord across her and I thanked the gods silently for the gifts of the day and the battle of the day before.
"Mine," I said quietly, I couldn't resist.
With only a minute amount of consciousness that was impressive for one so young, Sookie opened one eye partially and looked at me.
"Mine," she grumbled back before sinking completely.
I closed my eyes in the last moment before the sun had completed its ascent from the horizon, eagerly awaiting its departure from the sky again.
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A/N: So it was supposed to be the end here. And it is the end of the story, just not officially. There will be a wrap up chapter hopefully tomorrow.
How did I do with the ESN? Do you want some more or are you good?
I need to say now to all of my readers that you have been the biggest confidence boosters anyone could ask for. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support from the beginning. This is the longest thing I have ever written, and you all have given me what I need to go ahead and finish my original novel. As of March 25th, I have one year to accomplish my goal of getting published by the time I am thirty. Your amazing response has let me know that it is a goal I will meet. Thank you. You all rock!
Watch for chapter 26, which will be titled… And Then What Happened?