I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday running myself ragged. Between packing for the trip, training, and helping Eric with the bookkeeping for Fangtasia, I was getting worried nothing would get done.

My last two sessions with Eva went really well. I felt stronger and more focused than ever. I just hoped that I never had to use it like I had when it first manifested.

Thank goodness Emily and Julia were kind enough to pitch in. They came by on Wednesday afternoon and helped me pack most everything for Eric and myself. They also helped, along with Tony, in moving the furniture around in the sunroom to accommodate four traveling coffins. It was a tight fit, but Anubis Rental managed to get all four of them in there. I just hoped that it would be that easy getting them out of there on Thursday with passengers in them.

After Anubis Rental left, I showered and made an early dinner, waiting for Eric to rise. I was just about finished when I heard him stirring upstairs, so I heated up a glass of Essence for him and set it next to me.

"That was very thoughtful of you lover."

Eric's lanky but muscular frame filled the doorway as he ogled me. I had been sitting at the table in nothing but a flimsy nylon robe that was barely tied together. The only thing I had on underneath was my lacy panties, so it left nothing to the imagination. In Eric's case, he had a well developed imagination.

"I'm glad you're up. Did you see the travel coffins were delivered?"

He came over and sat down. "Yes, I did. I'm glad they all fit in there. I was not sure if we would have to use the living room as well. Who moved the furniture?"

"Emily and Julia came by at lunch to help me pack and then Tony helped them move the furniture."

I stifled a yawn as I got up and put my dishes in the dishwasher. When I walked back to the table, Eric pulled me onto his lap.

"You look tired Sookie. I would like you to stay home this evening and get some rest. We are going to be up late for the next few nights, and you should get as much sleep as you can now."

Considering where I was at the moment and what I was wearing, sleeping was the last thing on my mind. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. His arousal was straining against his jeans and I could feel it through the robe.

Eric slipped a hand inside the robe and rubbed and pinched my nipples as they hardened under his touch.

"Mmm, Eric. Why don't we go back upstairs? You don't have to leave right away do you?"

He pulled his hand out in dismay and stroked my hair. "I would like nothing better than to take you upstairs right now. Unfortunately, I have to get going. I am meeting Remy, Pam, and Bill at the bar early to finish our discussions from the other night. If you are awake when I get home tonight, we will spend some time together."

I frowned and sent him disappointment through the bond. "Yeah, but we won't be alone when you come home."

He kissed me again before sliding me off and standing up. "I think Pam and Remy will probably be otherwise occupied. Bill will just have to deal with it. He has already assured me he will be on his best behavior this weekend."

"You talked to him about me?"

"I wanted to make it clear where we all stood, given that you have not seen him since before you left."

That made me a little upset. "I wish you hadn't. If Bill has a problem with me, then it is his problem, not ours."

"That is good to hear, dear. But if Bill has a problem being around you this weekend then that may interfere with his ability to protect you. And that is not acceptable to me."

Whatever, I was not going to continue this conversation any longer with him. We will just have to agree to disagree where Bill is concerned. I just hated that Eric liked to antagonize him about me.

"You should probably get going if you need to meet them." I said in a sulky manner.

"I love you Sookie." He kissed my cheek and left.

***************************

ERIC

She was just going to have to understand that where Bill was concerned, I was not going to give him any latitude. She knew I liked to irritate him with the fact that she was mine now, and he would never stand a chance with her again. But that was his undoing, not mine.

I arrived at Fangtasia and saw three cars in the parking lot. Good, I did not want to have to wait for anyone to get here. As I entered into my office, they were sitting there patiently waiting for me.

"I am glad you all are here early. I assume you brought your bags with you." They all nodded.

"When we get back to my house, you will leave them in the foyer with Sookie's and my luggage. Anubis Air will be here around two o'clock to pick everyone and the luggage up."

Remy spoke up first. "Will Sookie be overseeing our safety during transport or are you hiring guards?"

"Good question Remy. I do not want Sookie to have to worry about anything tomorrow, or this weekend, especially in her condition. There will be a extra Anubis guards along tomorrow to guarantee our safety."

We then went back over the plan for Sookie's safety, as well as our own.

"Eric, I don't feel comfortable keeping your plan from Sookie. She should know what to expect."

Pam glowered at Bill for speaking out.

"Bill, I told you before. I do not want her to know for her own safety. If anything were to happen to any one of us, she will have no knowledge of what we are doing."

"Master is right. Sookie is in no condition to know what we have planned. I know she can't be glamoured, but she should not be put in a position of having to admit to our plan if things go badly."

"Sookie can't be glamoured? I didn't know that." Remy looked amazed.

I gave Pam an admonishing look for revealing that fact. "No, she cannot. It is somewhat of a conundrum, but considering her stubborn streak and strong mind, it is no wonder. I am assuming it also has something to do with her telepathic ability."

"I still don't like it, Eric, but if it is what you want, then I will not say anything to her. Have you figured out how we are getting the items to Vegas without them being detected? King DeCastro usually has Weres and other shifters guarding his gates. They will search us before we go in."

I scowled at Bill for continuing to bring this subject up. "Yes, it is what I want, and yes, I have thought about how to get the weapons to Vegas. I am having them 'delivered' to us. Someone is driving to Vegas as we speak with what we need. Sookie and I have a meeting with Felipe before the cocktail party tomorrow evening. All three of you will take a little scenic tour of the city while we are in our meeting. Our contact will meet you and hand over the weapons. Since we will already have been searched on the way in, there will be no reason to search you again."

I handed them each a piece of paper with the address and time of the meeting. "Memorize the address and time, and destroy the paper. I do not want anyone to get their hands on that."

By this time, I heard the employee door opening and voices coming down the hall. "Pam and Remy, you two should go out there and get ready for opening. Bill, you are welcome to sit our front if you like. Please be at my house before dawn so everything is ready to go. I may not stay all evening. I would like to spend some time with Sookie before we leave."

After they left, I sat there working on Area business. I then went back over the work that Sookie did on Fangasia's books. She made a few minor errors which were easily fixable and the paperwork was finally done. It was so much easier with her helping me with the bookkeeping. I knew I could trust her to do a good job.

With time to kill, I decided to go out front and sit in my booth. Bill ended up joining me and having a TrueBlood with me. Wednesday nights were not usually crowded, but since we announced that Fangtasia would be closed until Tuesday, people were coming out of the woodwork to get their fix.

There were some new faces in the crowd, some looking more pathetic than the usual wretches that dared grace our establishment. There was one female that stood out, though. She had long brown hair that curled over her shoulders and an ample cleavage. Somehow she did not look like she belonged here. She looked more like she was lost.

I saw Pam talking to her and pointing over in our direction. Pam escorted her over to us. The closer she got, the more I realized she resembled a certain blond lover of mine. She looked like a brunette Sookie.

"Bill, I believe this is yours?" I could hear her laughing as she walked away.

Bill offered her the seat next to him.

"Eric, this is Tammy. She's from Monroe."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Tammy. Would you care for something to drink?" I motioned for the waitress.

"Bring us a couple of Royalty Blend and…?"

She looked at Bill first and he nodded. "I'll have a gin and tonic."

If this was Bill's idea of a joke, it was not a funny one. I wondered if Bill had gone off the deep end after Sookie left. He obviously had not gotten over his obsession with her. It is a shame this poor naïve girl did not realize this.

I did not have a chance to wonder long. I suddenly felt something coming through the bond. Usually when Sookie slept, the bond stayed in the back of my head like a gentle humming. But right now I was picking up on lust and want from her. These were feelings that stirred when we were intimate.

I excused myself and went back into my office to call her.

*****************************

SOOKIE

After Eric left, I puttered around making sure just about everything was ready to go for tomorrow. All I wanted to do in the morning is take a shower and pack the last bag. Eric's stuff was all ready to go and in the foyer.

I yawned again after I was finished and decided to take Eric up on his suggestion. I hightailed it up to the bedroom with one of my romance novels and my cell phone, covered the windows with the panels and lay down. It didn't take me long before I drifted off to sleep.

I must have been having one wicked dream because Eric was doing such wonderfully naughty things to me. He was rubbing my breasts and squeezing my nipples between his fingers.

I roused to where I was half way between asleep and awake and could actually feel a set of hands touching me. They were cool, but a little rough, and I kept my eyes shut just enjoying the sensations. Eric must have come home to surprise me. He knew I really wanted to be with him alone, before we had a house full of guests.

I felt a hand sliding down under the elastic of my panties and nimble fingers running up and down my folds. A finger parted them and dipped into my wetness, rubbing circles around my clit, then dipping into my core. My hips moved in rhythm with his probing fingers. I parted my lips and moans of bliss tumbled out along with Eric's name over and over.

The other hand came down from my breasts and over my tummy, feeling the baby.

I was so lost in the moment that I didn't hear my cell phone go off. I slowly opened my eyes and no one was in the room but me, yet the sensation of a cool touch lingered against the heat of my body. It was very evident by my panting and wetness that I had been touched, and it wasn't by me. I reached over and looked at the caller ID: ERIC.

"Eric, why are you calling me from your cell phone?" I was a little groggy and confused.

"How else would I be able to check on you?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "But you were just here. Why would you leave and call me on the phone. Are you trying to joke with me?"

"Lover, I have been at the club for a few hours now. I called because I could feel you were very aroused. Either you were dreaming or you were doing something naughty and I am not there to watch you. Hmm?"

I could hear and feel the hunger in him, but I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Sookie, are you still there?"

"Eric. I wasn't dreaming, and I wasn't doing anything else. I felt hands on me, which kind of woke me up. I didn't open my eyes because it felt so good, what they were doing. I thought maybe you came home to surprise me. When my phone went off, I opened my eyes and no one was here but me. It definitely feels like someone had their hands all over me…someone with cool hands."

He sounded apprehensive, which matched what I was feeling from him. "Sookie, did you set the alarm after I left?"

"Um, I think so. I don't remember." I could hear him moving around on the other side of the phone.

"What should I do?"

"Go into my office and lock the door behind you. I am coming home now."

I hung up the phone and did exactly what he said.

***************************

ERIC

I went out to the bar and told Pam to close up tonight. "Something is wrong at the house, and I need to leave."

"Do you wish for one of us to come with you?" She was about to summon over Remy and Bill.

"No. I will handle this for now." I offered no further explanation and left quickly out the back door.

I raced home as fast as I could and when I entered into the kitchen I saw the alarm had not been set. I could also sense another presence had been here. I flew up to the bedroom and stood near the bed.

Leaning over the bed, I inhaled. I could smell Sookie easily. When she was in a state of arousal her scent was very powerful. It was doubly so with the heightened hormones. But I also smelled something else. Someone had definitely been here, a vampire someone.

I close my eyes and inhaled deeply again and paused. I opened my eyes with a look of anger and bloodlust…Victor. Victor had been in this room. Anger was welling up inside me and my fingers clenched into fists.

Not only did he now know Sookie was pregnant, but to touch her in that way that was forbidden to anyone but me, was heinous. It was a blatant offense that made me want to hunt him down and flay every inch of skin from his undead body with a silver knife and then leave him out in the sun to burn away, writhing in pain.

I picked up the nearest object, which was the lamp and hurled it across the room, a howl emanating from deep within the pit of my being. The lamp smashed into the full length mirror and shattered pieces of glass went flying everywhere.

I stood at the top of the stairs and inhaled once more, running down and out the back door. I was trying to pick up on any remaining trail that he would have left. I picked up a faint trace of him heading down the path, but when I reached the lake, I lost the scent. Such rage and hatred flowed through me, that I could barely contain myself.

Suddenly a wave of fear swept over me and I dropped to my knees at the end of the dock, clutching my distaff. The emotion was not coming from me. I would never let myself feel that kind of helpless emotion. No, it must have been coming from Sookie.

The distaff glowed beneath my fingers and I closed my eyes, still seething. A gentle wind flitted through my hair. It tickled my ears as I heard a faint whisper of a female voice, "Let go. You have other, more important matters to attend to."

The voice was calming and familiar. She had spoken to me once again, this time in my waking state. Her words were just and I found the inner strength to calm my temper and pull out my cell phone to call Pam.

"Close the bar and come to my house now." It was nearly closing time anyway and this was more important.

I regained much of my composure and walked back into the house, at a slower pace. I needed to get to Sookie. I took my time going back upstairs and knocked on the office door.

"Sookie? Sookie, open the door. It's me."

There was no answer. I knocked again, not wanting to barge in, and raised my voice.

"Sookie, are you in there? It's me, Eric. I am coming in."

I turned the knob but it was bolted. "Lover, can you open the door? It is still locked."

I stepped back and heard faint footsteps coming from the other side. In the quiet of the house, the click of the lock made a frightfully loud noise. I heard the footsteps again, but the door did not open.

"I am coming in," I said, announcing my presence to not startle her.

I slowly opened the door and stood in the doorway. The room was devoid of light, but with my keen sight, I could see her huddled in the corner behind the far side of the couch. I tried moving forward, but her hand was outstretched in a stopping motion.

In the gentlest voice I could manage at the time, I called out to her. "Sookie, it is me, Eric. Please come out from there."

I reached over and flipped on the lights. Not only did she have her hand extended, stopping me, but she had a knife in the other hand. Her eyes were glowing somewhat white, but I knew she could still hear me.

"Lover, everything is okay now. Whoever it was is gone and they are not coming back." I did not want to alarm her as to who was really in her room.

That seemed to bring her out of whatever trance she was in, and she lowered her hand. I quickly walked over to her and took the knife and laid it on the desk. Gathering her up in my arms, we sat down on the leather couch, and she clung to me like a frightened little girl.

This was not something I was used to seeing. Sookie was a strong individual, but something like this I was not prepared for, and could not begin to know how this would affect her. I cradled her head on my shoulder and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

I am not sure how long we stayed like that, but a rush of air coming from the hallway told me that company had arrived. Bill was the first one to come into the office, followed by Remy and Pam.

"What the hell happened?" Bill looked down at Sookie, his eyes dilated with anger.

"Pam, please take her into the other room." I lifted her off my lap and shifted her over to Pam's arms, motioning toward one of the spare rooms.

Bill sat on the vacated couch and Remy propped himself on the edge of my desk. "Victor was here tonight. When I called to check on Sookie earlier, she thought I had already come home and was…touching her intimately."

Bill jumped to his feet. "What? Why the hell are we sitting here? Why aren't we going after him now?"

"It will not do any good. I already tried following his trail. It led down to the lake behind the house and then disappeared."

"I guess the real question is what do we do now that Victor knows? If he touched her like you say he did, then he knows she's pregnant." Remy was sitting on the edge of the desk twirling the knife in his hands.

"That is the proverbial million dollar question, is it not? This changes things tremendously. For now, though, I want everyone to sit tight. He will not make any more moves tonight and tomorrow we will be in Vegas. I need to find out if he was acting alone or on behalf of someone else."

We all agreed to sit on it until Vegas, but there was an underlying current of anger flowing through everyone. Victor had made some powerful enemies in his lifetime, and he kept adding to the list.

I went down the hall to be with Sookie and the others went out to get their luggage and put it in the foyer.

I lay down on the bed next to her and pulled her against me. I tried to get a sense of how she was feeling, but her emotions were so jumbled I could not pick out any one in particular.

"Sookie, you are going to be okay. The baby is going to be okay. No one is ever going to hurt you."

She stirred in my arms, turned and looked up into my eyes.

"How can you be sure Victor won't come back?"

I was taken aback. "How did you know it was Victor?" I reached over and handed her a tissue from the nightstand.

"I don't know how, but I know it was him. Why would he do that to me? Why would he risk everything and violate me like that?"

I held her tighter to me. "I am not sure, lover. Who knows what goes on in Victor's twisted mind? I do know he has been fascinated with you ever since the takeover. Perhaps he saw this as his last opportunity to know you more, ah, thoroughly."

She sat up against the headboard. "Eric, I don't want you to be mad at me, but there's something I have to tell you."

"Darling, there is nothing you could tell me that would make me mad at you." I kissed her cheek.

"I…I think someone has been following me."

I sat up straight and my back stiffened. "Explain what you mean by that?"

"Well, for several days now I've had this nagging feeling that someone was watching me or following me. At first I thought it was just me and I was just being crazy Sookie."

I frowned with the though that she should have trusted me enough to tell me when it first happened. "So what changed?"

"Monday, on my way home, a car pulled up next to me at a red light. I couldn't see inside the windows, because they were tinted, you know with that plastic stuff. I could tell it was a Were because I tried to listen to their thoughts. The car kept following me until I got home, and then it just sat at the end of the block like it was watching me."

I attempted not to be angry with her, after what she had just been through. "You should have told me when this first happened, Sookie. How can I protect you, if you do not tell me things like this? You have very good instincts, and if you felt you were being followed, then you probably were."

"You're mad, aren't you?" She started crawling off the bed and stood up.

"I'm not mad, Sookie, but I am disappointed. I just wish you would have come to me sooner. Are you sure it was a Were that was in the car?"

"Yes. Its thoughts were tangled with red and anger. I knew it was a werewolf. Other shifters give off the same type of thought pattern, but it's a little different. It's hard to explain. It's like seeing the color red. You see subtle shades of it, but it's still red."

The only Weres I knew around Shreveport that would consider doing something like that were a part of a gang of thugs who hired themselves out for jobs like that.

I stood and walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her deeply and passionately. I wanted her to know it was all right.

I sat on the edge of the bed with her standing between my legs and held her hands. I was trying to find the right words to comfort her. To remove any pain that she may be experiencing. This was one of those times I wish I could have glamoured her into not remembering.

"Sookie, I am truly sorry Victor hurt you. I…"

She stilled my voice with a kiss of her lips. "I don't want to think about it right now okay. Anyone else might have crumbled already, and believe me, it's taking everything I have to not crawl into a ball on the floor and cry myself unconscious. But I'm stronger than that. You've made me stronger than that. Victor will get what's coming to him."

She looked a little intimidating as she said that last part, but I was impressed by her words. She was right. She could have fallen to pieces, but instead, she turned her feelings around and found strength and courage.

"Can we just go to bed? I'm so tired now and all I want to do is fall asleep."

I smiled. I was so proud of her. "Of course, but we should use this room tonight."

"Why? What's wrong with our room? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know." She shook her head.

"Let's just say the lamp had an accident and the mirror is in pieces on the floor and leave it at that. If you need anything, let me know and I will get it. You do not have any shoes on."

She gave me a list of things she needed and I went across the hall to collect them. On my way back, I caught her coming up the stairs.

"What were you doing down there?"

"I left a note for the housekeepers, asking them to clean up the glass in the bedroom. Then I set the alarm."

We went into the spare room and I lay down with her until she fell asleep. Once I thought she was deep enough into her dreams, I went downstairs with the others and we discussed changes to our plan…one that involved Victor's possible demise.

***********************************

SOOKIE

I'm glad one of the things I asked Eric to bring in was the alarm clock. Otherwise, I never would have woken up. Last night had been emotionally exhausting for me.

What Victor did to me was evil. It was worse than what Bill had done to me in that locked trunk. At least I could forgive Bill for that. He was not in his right mind. But this… this was monstrous.

I wasn't even that upset that he found out I was pregnant. We were going to tell Felipe tonight anyway, and I'm sure he would inform Victor. I would need to discuss with Eric ahead of time what, if anything, we were going to tell him about Victor's little visit. Mostly, I was planning on letting Eric do all the talking at that meeting.

I slipped on a pair of sandals that Eric brought me and padded down the hall to our room. As luck would have it, Emily and Julia were already there cleaning up the glass. Wow, Eric must have been extremely furious to shatter the mirror like that. He was lucky he didn't get cut to ribbons.

"Be careful where you step Miss Sookie. We got all the big pieces, but we haven't cleaned up all the little slivers and such."

I moved cautiously through the room and into the bathroom. I jumped in and out of the shower quickly and threw on my travel clothes. I was going casual with a nice pair of slacks and a cute three quarter sleeve white maternity top with pink and green swirls of color.

I pulled out my small travel case and packed the remaining items from the bathroom and took it downstairs with me. I'd been in a room before with a vampire in their coffin, but it was weird with there being four of them.

I made myself a big breakfast and then set about making sure everyone's stuff was ready to go. When lunchtime rolled around, I wasn't hungry, but I still had something to nibble on. I also packed crackers and a few items to nosh on, since I didn't know when my next meal would be tonight. Besides, I didn't care for flying that much and didn't want to be throwing up all over the place.

At two o'clock on the dot the doorbell rang and Anubis Air was standing at the door. I noticed that most of them were either werewolves or shapeshifters. They worked quickly and quietly, but somehow managed to get the luggage and all four coffins into the waiting cars. Have I told you how weird it is to be taking 4 hearses to the airport? People must have thought I lost my entire family or something.

I had just enough time to stop in one of the little shops and buy a pack of gum and a bottle of water. I also saw a mystery novel I had wanted to read for some time now, so I bought it.

I must not have looked at the tickets very carefully, as I found out, the flight was going to have a stop over in Dallas, but we were not allowed to get off the plane. The book would come in very handy indeed.

I made my way over to the private waiting area for Anubis Air, but I didn't have long to wait before they started boarding the plane. The plane would take off just before four o'clock, but it would take five hours with the layover. By the time we reached Las Vegas it would be about seven o'clock.

It wasn't the flying that made my knuckles turn white, but more the take off and landing. Once we were in the air I was able to relax. I set about reading my book and was so engrossed in it, that I didn't notice our descent until we were practically on the ground.

When the plane came to a stop at the gate, we waited for about a half hour and a few more passengers boarded. I looked out the window and I could see the ground crew milling around the plane, making sure everything was ready to go for our last leg of the journey.

Once we were up in the air, this time I took the opportunity close my eyes and catch a few winks. The only reason I woke up was because I felt a hand gently stroking my face. My first thought was Victor, and I pulled back. My eyes flashed open and I stared up into the face of a tall blond man sitting next to me.

I stretched and yawned. "Excuse me sir, but this seat is already taken."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh? My apologies Miss. I saw you sitting here by yourself and thought you could use the company."

"Hmm, I guess it would be all right, but if my companion comes back, you'll have to leave."

"Well, your companion does not seem to be here right now. Perhaps I will do as a suitable replacement."

I sized him up and down and turned my hand side to side. "Eh, I guess you'll do. I could do worse."

He laughed and as he put his arm around me, he whispered, "You already have."

Choosing to ignore that cheap shot, I glanced around the cabin and noticed that the others had risen as well and were taking their seats among the scattered passengers.

I felt the plane descending again and this time, Eric was there to hold my hand. At least he didn't mind me gripping it tightly.

I leaned over to him and whispered so no one around us could hear, "Eric, are you planning on telling Felipe what Victor did last night? Cause if you aren't, I think you should."

"I have not decided, but I am curious as to why you think I should." He gave me an inquiring look.

"If you and I are blood-bonded, doesn't that mean he broke some kind of vampire law when he touched me?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment and scratched his chin. "I had thought about that, and I was not going to use it as an excuse for Victor's undoing. But now that you have mentioned it, I think it may be wise to tell Felipe. I cannot be certain Victor was acting alone. In exposing Victor's indiscretions, the King would have no choice but to punish Victor for what he did. If he didn't, then we would know that Victor was not alone."

Eric kept talking to me, trying to distract me, until I felt a thud as we touched down. I loosened my grip on his hand, which I am sure he was thankful for, and relaxed as we approached the gate.

Once we were inside the airport, we made our way to the transportation area. Our luggage was being brought to us by the Anubis attendants. Felipe had arranged for us to be driven to the mansion by limo, so once our luggage caught up to us, we piled in and took off toward the city.

-----------------------------

Vegas sure lived up to its name…Sin City, or was that Bright lights, Big city? I was never sure which one it was.

The limo rolled past the city and headed toward the outskirts of town. We pulled up to a big iron gate with a couple of guards standing nearby. I knew instantly that they were Weres. I guess if you were going to have guards, they might as well be Weres, but these were not typical werewolves. Their thought patterns were much different.

"Eric, what are they?" I whispered low.

They asked us to step out of the limo while they inspected us and our luggage. I quashed the urge to giggle when I wanted to tell one of them to keep their filthy paws off my dresses.

Once we were cleared, we hopped back in and drove down a long, winding driveway.

Eric finally answered me. "They are two-natured. One of them was a bear and the other was a lynx. Both are equally as deadly if they had to defend themselves."

As we rounded the corner, I let out a small gasp at the building before us. It was it was at least twice the size of what a normal antebellum mansion would be. It was completely white and the front was lined with white Doric columns laced with gold trim. The limo drove around the side of the mansion, and if I thought it was huge from the front, it was even bigger from the side view.

The depth of this mansion knew no bounds. It seemed to go on forever. We stopped close to a side entrance and exited the limo, as a few workers came out with carts for our luggage. Sandy was the last to appear in the doorway.

She greeted the vampires first with a pleasant but hurried look about her. No doubt, she had a lot to do this weekend.

She turned to me, finally acknowledging my presence. "Sookie, I am so glad you were able to…make it." She stared at the apparent small volleyball where my tummy had been. The baby seemed to have taken on a life of its own since my visit with the doctor.

"Well, now this is interesting. I assume this was why you wanted a private meeting with the King beforehand?"

She couldn't take her eyes of my baby bulge. There was no denying it anymore. Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic part-fairy barmaid to the supernatural community, was definitely pregnant, and definitely showing.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to your rooms. Sookie, I know you must be hungry, so if you would like to eat before your meeting, please feel free to call down to the kitchen for anything you'd like. For the rest of you, there are small refrigerators and microwaves in each of your rooms with different blood available."

At least she was being hospitable. Most vampires could care less when or if humans ate.

The room she picked out for Eric and I was magnificent. The bed was a four poster California King with burgundy sheets and matching comforter. The room was decorated in dark wood furniture with gothic paintings. Of course there were no windows, but it didn't matter.

Remy and Pam were staying a few doors down to the right, and Bill was in a room a few doors down to the left. At least we were all on the same wing. At the end of the hall was a small lounge area with a winding staircase. The lounge overlooked a grand foyer with a crystalline chandelier hanging precariously from the ceiling. The crystals looked sharp enough to be knife points.

Once we were alone, Eric suggested I call the kitchen and order dinner, since there wasn't going to be a lot to eat at the reception tonight. I called down and ordered a medium well steak, a baked sweet potato and mixed vegetables.

Eric had been filling the bathtub while I ordered dinner, and I made the mistake of walking in on him while he was soaking in the tub. He beckoned me to join him, so closed the door, peeled off my travel clothes and stepped into the tub and took my usual place between his legs.

Eric's hair was wet, so I knew he had already washed. He picked up the soap from its niche and created a nice lather, then proceeded to wash me and my hair. He couldn't reach my legs, so he had me turn around so I was facing him, with my legs stretched out on either side of his hips.

His hands were so delicate, caressing the tops of my thighs that I leaned back against the tub and relaxed. He took the opportunity to scoot forward and his long fingers found their way to my folds. I reached for either side of the tub to brace myself.

He guided two of his fingers into me slowly and as far as he could go. My hips responded by jerking upwards. He made short hard thrusts all the while keeping them completely inside me.

Moans escaped my lips and I reached up with one hand and kneaded the flesh around my one breast.

My hips continued to pulsate into his thrusts. "Uhhh, Eric…more, please."

I looked him right in the eyes, begging him, as he inserted a third finger into me, stretching me to my limit. He moved even closer and with his free hand, he reached down under the water and began rubbing my clit in agonizingly slow circles. If he was trying to torture me, it was definitely working.

He increased the pressure of the short thrusts with his one hand, as he pinched and pulled on my clit.

"Ahhh, yessss."

I was never one to like it rough, but Eric was very skilled and my body wanted what it wanted. He leaned forward and his lips closed around my free nipple, licking and sucking it until it hardened. My other nipple was hardening under my own touch, trying to match the roughness that Eric was exhibiting on the other one.

I felt a fang scrape over the hardened bud and I screamed with pleasure.

"God Eric… bite me!"

He looked up at me, his eyes dark and dilated, and I knew he was in bloodlust mode. He pulled his fingers out of me and lifted my bottom up, so that when he set me down, I was on his top of his thighs and he was right at my entrance.

He jerked me toward him fast and impaled me on his length. I had no choice but to lie back further so he would avoid my belly. Eric was definitely much bigger than I could get inside me, but darn it all, I was going to try. I grabbed the sides of the tub again and arched my back. He grabbed my hips and forced himself forward as much as he could. Even that merited a grunt out of him.

He began making short thrusts into me, like his fingers were, and I could feel him pushing through that tight place deep within me every time.

"Oh God, yeah…yeah, don't stop!" My hips were rocking toward him furiously.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me up to kiss me. I ran my tongue over his fangs and let it pierce my tongue. His tongue melded with mine as he sucked on my tongue to taste the blood pooling there. My climax was building at an alarming rate and if I wasn't careful, it and I were going to go through the roof.

"Now, Eric. Please… do it now!" I said between heaving breaths.

He left a trail of cool kisses along my neck and reached my nipple again. He grabbed my hand and put it on the other one, intending for me to resume my playing.

I pinched and pulled on it as he licked and sucked on the one in his mouth.

"Mmmm, Eric."

He pulled back far enough and looked up at me. "Tell me, lover. I want to hear you say it."

He was drawing this out, prolonging it until I told him what he needed to hear.

"I'm yours, Eric. I'll always be yours. Please…make me cum. I can't take it."

I cupped my free hand to the back of his head and pressed his mouth into my breast. His free hand reached down and roughly rubbed my clit.

After a long hard suck, he sank his fangs into either side of my nipple, and I tightened around him and threw back my head. I had no coherent thoughts as my climax exploded, except for a loud "Ahhhh" that escaped my lips over and over again.

He was still drawing on the wound when I heard a deep moan coming from him, and felt him release into me. The contrast of his coolness spilling into me and the heat of my core, forced another orgasm to the surface and I clung to him, rocking against him and on him like there was no tomorrow.

He lifted his head and licked the little wounds he made so they would heal. I whimpered at the loss as he withdrew his body from mine and set my bottom back down onto the tub.

My breathing returned to normal, just in time to hear a knock at the door. Eric grinned and got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around him. When I came out of the bathroom, wrapped in my own big fluffy towel, I was hit by a wonderful aroma emanating from my dinner.

"You should eat now. We do not have much time before our meeting with Felipe."

I'll say one thing for King deCastro. He may not need to eat food, but wow, can his staff cook. It was one of the most delicious meals I had ever eaten.

While I ate, Eric dried his hair and started getting ready. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he slipped into one of the suits he brought. He looked very handsome in his black pants, burgundy shirt and black blazer. The added touch was a belt with an ornate platinum buckle.

I finished my dinner and gave him the once over, ending with a cat call. He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked. "Like what you see?"

"Oh yes, very much. I might like it even better if you were out of it." I wiggled my eyebrows back at him.

He leaned over to kiss me and whispered into my ear, "Careful what you wish for. It may just come true." He straightened up. "I am going to check on the others, while you get dressed.

I grabbed the pink and grey snakeskin print dress, along with some undergarments, and headed into the bathroom. Luckily there was a changing area in there.

I guess I was taking too long, because I heard a soft rapping on the door. "Sookie, did you fall into the tub or something? We need to get moving."

"I'll be right out, geesh." He was so impatient sometimes. I took one last look in the mirror and felt as presentable as I could be. I wanted to be fully dressed when I came out, especially because I heard other voices in the room.

I opened the door and walked into the bedroom, and the buzzing voices I had heard went completely silent.

"Sookie, you look ravishing." Remy was the first to speak.

Pam and Bill both agreed and Eric just stared at me.

Eric came over to me and held my hands. "Sookie, I knew you would look beautiful in that dress. But aren't you are missing something?"

I looked over my ensemble. Other than maybe a necklace, I had everything I needed.

"What could I be missing?" I held out my arms and twirled around.

Then Eric did something I never expected him to do. Judging by the reaction of everyone else in the room, no one was expecting it either. My eyes widened with surprise when Eric got down on one knee in front of me and pulled out a small Tiffany box.

"Sookie, from the moment I saw you I knew there was something different about you. I had no doubt that you would one day be mine. Now here you are my lover. We have been bonded together by blood, and now, my love, we will truly be bonded together for life."

He opened the box and I just about fainted.

"Miss Stackhouse, would you do me the honor of being my bonded….my wife?"

Eric picked up the most gorgeous ring I ever saw and slipped it on my left hand ring finger. It was a platinum engagement ring with a beautiful round diamond centered between two pear shaped side stones.

I reached for the nearest chair and stumbled backwards into the seat. Eric had already asked me to marry him, but this was the stuff that dreams were made of. Every woman, I don't care who she is, wants to be proposed to like this.

I didn't care that my makeup was getting ruined as tears ran down my cheeks. Eric crouched in front of me and rested his hands on my knees.

"You haven't answered me, lover."

I was just so stunned by everything, I couldn't speak. Somehow I managed to look into his eyes and murmur, "Yes, of course I will marry you."

He leaned up and kissed me passionately on the lips. For the briefest of minutes, I could have sworn we were alone, until someone's voice interrupted my moment of pure unadulterated happiness.

"Congratulations to the both of you."

I looked around for the familiar, but cool voice, and surprisingly the well wishes came from the one source I was not expecting…Bill.

He looked downtrodden, but held himself together enough to extend his hand to Eric and shake it. Vampires did not shake hands that I knew of, so this was an extremely rare moment.

"Thank you, Bill."

Pam and Remy both offered their congratulations as well, with Pam offering to throw me a double baby/wedding shower.

"Now if you will excuse us, I would like a moment alone with Sookie before our meeting with Felipe." One by one, they filed out of the room.

He embraced me tightly. "Sookie, I cannot tell you how much it pleases me that you have accepted my ring."

"Oh Eric, of course I would. I mean, you already asked me to marry you, remember?"

He smiled down at me. "I remember clearly. I also remember that I did not do it properly, nor did I have a ring to give you, as is customary."

"It is the most incredible ring I have ever seen, but Eric…all I need, all I want is you. That's enough for me."

We held each other and kissed for what seemed like an eternity, but were probably only a few minutes.

"We have to get going, but you may want to go fix your face first."

I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My mascara had run some and I looked a mess. I washed and dried my face and reapplied my makeup. I took one last look at the ring on my finger before rejoining him, and together we went to Felipe's office.