A/N: Finally I have updated. Too much work in real life plus stress and other happy fun things kept me away LOL. But here is the next chapter.
Sookie's POV:
Beep, beep, beep, beep... I slowly stir to the sound of the alarm. It was dark in the room and the steel blinds were covering the large windows. I look around and find light peeking from the bathroom.
I turn my head around and look at the clock. It was almost 5:00 pm. I had slept most of the day away.
I look to my right at Marius who was still 'sleeping'. He told me before dawn that he wanted to spend the day with me. He activated a heavy steel sliding door that I didn't know was there. It was hidden in the wall. He gave me the access code for the door before he went to rest.
My bladder is full. I try to get up, but a heavy arm is weighing me down across my stomach. I lie my head back down on my pillow and look over at him and smile. I think back to last night. All the different positions, the caresses, the looks, the kisses...
I am so busy smiling to myself and thinking about it that I don't notice him wakening. He brushes his hand against my stomach.
"Good evening," he smiles.
"Hi," I whisper. I turn to lie on my side and face him. He leans in closer to kiss me. I part my lips and invite him in. Our kiss becomes more heated; soon our hands are all over each other again. My body is telling me to continue, but my bladder is screaming out for relief.
"Hold on," I say as I break away from him. I get up from under the covers and sprint to the bathroom naked. As soon as my needs are taken care of, I climb back into bed with him. We resume where we left off.
I don't know how long we stay locked together but soon I hear another beeping noise.
"Good evening, father, Sookie!" Marten's voice.
I tilt my head up and see him smiling at us from the television screen across the room. Immediately I am embarrassed and hide my head underneath the covers.
"Wow Sookie, you're still in bed? I thought you would have woken up hours ago. I guess my father..." he says but Marius cuts him off.
"Marten," he says sternly.
"Sorry father," he says apologetically. "Northman knows about the French vampire. He wants to meet you," he tells Marius in Old Norse.
"When?" Marius answers in English.
"Tonight at 8."
"Be up here at 7:30," Marius tells him.
I hear the television clicking off and feel the covers being drawn from my face. He turns on the lamp beside the bed and looks down at me.
"I have a couple good guesses as to why Eric wants to see you," I say forlornly.
He caresses my cheek. "You will not have to go back to him. There is nothing that he can say or do that will change that."
I sigh and kiss his finger. "I believe you. It doesn't matter to me anymore. I mean I do want to know how all this bad stuff happened, but in the end, I don't care anymore. It's over. Eric and I are done. Even if we were deceived, it still doesn't change the fact that he broke my trust and heart."
I had thought a lot about Etienne and how he tricked me. He tricked me into gaining my trust. He tricked me into believing that he was my friend. He tricked me for his maker. From the beginning I knew that Rosamund wanted Eric. I knew that she would probably do anything to get him despite what he told me. After all, this was Eric. I could relate. There was a time that I would have done anything to keep him with me. That's how hopelessly I was in love with him.
Still, why I wasn't smart enough to see that deception is beyond me. Maybe love made me blind as the cheesy saying goes.
"I am going to take a long shower," he says. "I need to wash your scent off as much as I can."
He didn't like the way I smelled? I look at him disappointed.
"Sookie, it's not like that. What I mean is, he will smell your intimate scent on my body. And if he does, his reaction will not be good and I may have to do something to him that would hurt you," he says gently.
Relieved, I say, "Oh. I guess I should take a long shower too."
I start to get up but he places his hand on my shoulder. "I don't think it's a good idea that you come."
I turn around to face him. "Why not?"
"Because... he will sense my... intimate scent within your body. And no amount of washing and scrubbing will purge you of that, at least not right away."
"Umm," I say flabbergasted, my face turning a little red. "Yeah perhaps you're right. I think Eric would freak out big time."
He comes over to me and kisses me on the lips. "I thought you would argue with me on this."
I smile, "Well the past version of me would have. I would have argued and fought with you to the very end."
He smiles back, "As much as I would have liked to see that, I am happy that you are agreeing with me on this."
"I will be back," he says. He kisses me on the forehead and heads to the bathroom. A few minutes later I hear the shower running.
I lie back on the bed and grab the phone. I call the Waldorf and Tara answers the phone. We talk for awhile and I tell her about what happened last night. I tell her about seeing Eric but I leave the part of sleeping with Marius out. I wasn't ready to share that with her. I talk to Jason for a bit too. An hour later I tell him to give my nephew a kiss for me and we both hang up.
I lie on the bed thinking about what to do tonight. Just then Marius emerges from the bathroom looking clean and gorgeous with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"So did you 'purge' yourself of my scent?" I tease.
He smiles at me. In his vampire speed he is on top of me, both of his elbows above my shoulders.
"Not quite," he says. "I love you." He leans down to kiss me.
"I love you too," I say. We kiss for several minutes until I break away.
"As much as I'd like to continue where this is leading, I am hungry and I need to shower too," I say breathlessly.
"Forgive me," he says getting up from above me. "I will call the chef to prepare you something."
"Thank you honey," I say as I saunter into the bathroom. I take my time cleaning myself.
After putting on a pair of jeans and a nice shirt, I go out into the living room area. I sniff the air and smell the food that the chef made for me. I walk to the dining room where Marten and Marius are sitting. They are communicating rapidly but stop once they see me.
"Hey," I smile and give a little wave. Marius holds his hand out for me to sit beside him.
"Mmmmmm this smells good," I say as I sniff the broccoli and steak.
"It sure does," Marius smirks at me, not looking at the food on my plate. I blush a little. "Sookie would you like some port wine? I bought a couple crates years ago which I can't seem to get rid of."
"Yes thank you," I say politely.
A minute later someone brings the bottle and a glass. I take a sip. "This is delicious."
He smiles at me. "I'm glad you approve."
I eat my food, taking sips of the wine as well. "So what are you two going to discuss when you meet Eric?"
Marten looks at Marius, then at me. "Father wants us to give Etienne back to them. If he asks for more, then... well I hope that he will not push us," he says hesitantly.
I stop eating.
"Do not worry Sookie. I do not think he will. He is much too wise to do something foolish like that," he says.
I take a moment to think. "Marten you have known Eric for centuries. Do you think... he will ever leave me alone?"
He ponders my question. "I have known him for centuries. Truthfully during that time I have never seen him become so attached to someone especially a woman. So I do not know."
I chew on my lower lip.
"Eric, like pretty much every vampire on the planet excluding my father, is selfish. But when I have seen him with you, he is different. He puts your needs and feelings first before his. So perhaps when he is ready, he will do this for you," he says reassuringly.
Marten was right. When it came to me, Eric was selfless and generous. He changed his entire lifestyle for me. He invited me into his home, shared everything with me, including his precious blood. As I look back, he did a lot of things to make me happy. Even things that he did not like. If ever he realized that I could not be happy with him, then maybe it was possible that he would let me go so I could be happy.
"We can hope," I smile at him and Marius.
I finish eating my dinner just as they are ready to leave.
"I will back in a few hours," Marius says holding me around my waist.
I nod my head and give him a kiss. I watch them leave feeling hopeful. I was hopeful that I could finally heal my heart. That I could move on to a new stage in my life. But still, I felt a tugging in my heart and soul for Eric which I could not shake.
Marius' POV:
I did not want to leave Sookie this evening. Especially since we had been together sexually for the first time. I professed my love to her and she did as well. Her blood and essence tasted heavenly. When I rose this evening and found her beside me, all I wanted to do was taste and experience that sweet nectar for the rest of the night. But I knew that would not happen.
Only a few short moments later Marten tells me that Northman wants to meet us regarding the young naive vampire. Rather than prolong the conflict that would keep me away from Sookie longer, I decided to give them back the vampire. Only if it was that simple. Northman was going to threaten me again into returning Sookie to him. This I was quite sure of. He did not want the French vampire, he could care less about his fate, he only wanted Sookie. But like I had promised Sookie, no matter what he said or did, I was not going to give her up. Not that I could. She had my heart in the clutch of her hands. She did not know that she had the capability of destroying it and me if she went back to Northman.
"We are almost there father," Marten says as we drive to his downtown office.
We reach the building and take the elevator up to the floor where his offices were located.
"Mr. Northman is waiting in your office," one of Marten's assistants says.
We reach the office and walk into the room. Northman is looking out the window.
"Hi Eric," Marten says cheerfully. "Have a good night?"
He stares at me then growls at Marten.
"I will speak to you alone," he snarls.
I nod my head to Marten to leave. He closes the door behind him.
"I am truly sorry that my son aggravates you," I say after Marten leaves. "But he has a natural vivacity that I can only yearn to possess."
"I do not wish to talk about him. You know why I am here," he says.
I try to stay as far from him as I could as I walk towards Marten's sofa.
"You wish to discuss Sookie," I say as I sit down. "She will not be going back to you. This is not her wish and I seem to have the favour of your vampire council."
"Not for long," he says. He tosses a piece of paper of the coffee table in front of me.
I pick it up and examine it. "It seems that tomorrow night at the summit, the fate of my bonded is on the agenda tomorrow evening," he says in a neutral tone.
I briefly go over it. Indeed that is what it says. The first topic and case was the 'ownership' of the telepathic human Sookie Stackhouse. I raise my eyebrow as I look up at him.
"You want to bring this personal matter before the council?" I state.
"I know what my strengths are. You are much older than me and you possess an unearthly power, I confess that I cannot compete with that. But I am stronger in other areas. Such as dealing with the politics of our world," he says.
"You must know that vampire politics is not important with what I want," I tell him.
Northman smirks at me. "I know, believe me I have heard the stories. But even if you destroy the council, you can't destroy everyone. Times have changed. Technology has changed. These are factors that even you cannot compete with. You will be destroyed if you act against the council, I am sure of this. You can throw as much fire at vampires you want; in the end you will be destroyed."
"How much do you know about bonds between humans and vampires?" he says as he leans on Marten's desk.
"That they are forever," I respond.
He smirks at me again. "Yes they are forever. My bond with Sookie is forever. It cannot be destroyed. She will forever be connected to me as long as she lives. She can shut it down, but eventually those walls will wear thin and our bond will be open again. Once it is, she will feel our strong connection and it will urge her to return to me."
"You would force her to return to you," I say, my eyes narrowed.
He is still smirking. "No, I would not do that to her. But the bond we share will compel her to come back to me."
He stands up and walks toward the door. "I will see you tomorrow night at the summit. You can drop that worthless vampire off at the hotel I am staying at. I would like a few words with him before deciding his fate."
He leaves the room and I sit there and stare out the window.
I contemplate for a moment what he says. He was right. Technology had changed drastically this past century. Even if I escaped with her, technology would find us. He was a persuasive vampire amongst our kind. He could turn all vampires against me and even the humans. I knew that he did not ultimately want to do this but his love and desire for Sookie was immense. In a vampire world where honour was a trait that was rare, he was one of the few who possessed it. He had honour but when it came to Sookie, she hindered it. He would do anything to keep her just like I would. He would even start a vampire war.
He mentioned his bond with her. I wasn't entirely familiar with bonds between humans and vampires, but I knew that they were permanent. I considered my own bond with my son and maker. When we left one another we always had a desire to return to one another. I had made Marten my son centuries ago and I had always left him so that he could make his way in this world on his own. But still, we both felt the urge to be in each other's presence. It was our bond that required us to be near one another. I suspected this same urge was in the bond between humans and vampires.
I am so deep in my thoughts that I do not notice someone in the room.
"Penny for your thoughts?" a female voice says.
I look up right away and see Northman's vampire wife standing near the secret entrance of Marten's room.
"What are you doing in here?" I ask her as I stand.
She walks forward at me and smile seductively.
"You must know the answer to that question," she responds.
"You have only a few seconds to tell me what you want before I obliterate you," I tell her sternly.
She looks nervous but smiles at me. "I want the same thing you want. You want Sookie and I want Eric."
I stare at her.
She looks at me and continues, "You can't have Sookie completely because of her bond with him," she says. "I know a great deal about the bond between humans and vampires. My maker's maker was a powerful witch who possessed much knowledge about the mystics of bonds. She told me much. Even if you fed her your blood daily from now on, she will never be bonded to you because she is already bonded to Eric."
"What every vampire knows is that the only way to break a bond is to kill one of them permanently," she says. "But this does not help either of us. You don't want Sookie killed and I don't want Eric killed."
She looks at me trying to decipher if I wanted her to continue. "If in the event that either of them was killed, then the other would die. That is also another huge problem."
I continue to stare at her.
"There is more," she says. "She has probably told you that she does not to go back to Eric but I am afraid she will have no choice. You know this. Even between a maker and their child, there comes a time when they must be together. But this is a bond between a maker and a child. A stronger bond like the one between Eric and Sookie is much greater."
I try to maintain an appearance of being unaffected by her words. But I know what she is saying is true.
"If this is true, then why do you want him?" I say.
"Because I love him," she says defiantly. "I know that he loves me. Deep down he does. But it is his bond with her that stops him from reciprocating those feelings."
"Leave," I say. I nod my head to the door.
"You haven't heard everything. I know how to break their bond," she says.
I stare deeply into her eyes. Her pupils are not affected.
"Like I said, my maker's maker was a witch. She not only held knowledge about bonds but she also knew how to break them," she says. "I can break their bond that will free both of them but I need your help."
I stare into her eyes deliberating my next words. "You need my help," I say.
"Yes, I wish to make a deal with you," she says. "I can only find a way to break their bond with your help. It will take powerful spells that will require things from her and him."
"What is it that you want from me?" I ask.
"Well things from Sookie and also... your power. I have heard that you possess a certain power than can make you glamour other vampires."
I raise my eyebrow.
"You can glamour vampires into doing things," she says. "I want you to glamour Eric into forgetting Sookie and loving me."
She is humourous and I smile at her. "That is preposterous. Even if I did possess such a power, why would I need to glamour him into loving you when you claim that he does already?"
"Like I said, it is the bond. They will still be drawn to each other because of that. When it is broken, he will only desire me. If you glamour him, it will only draw out what he already feels for me."
Clearly this vampiress is delusional about her and Eric.
"My son is returning," I tell her as I check my bond with Marten.
"Please consider my request," she says. She leaves in vampire speed through the secret entrance.
My son arrives and sniffs the air.
"Rosamund and Eric were in here," his fangs come out.
"Marten," I say sternly. "This will no longer be your business office. She knows your secret entrances."
"Of course father," he says. "I will kill her."
"No," I respond. "Let her be for now. Send the French vampire to Eric. I am going back to the penthouse to Sookie. I wish to not be disturbed for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow night, as you probably already are aware of, we will go before the council for Sookie. Prepare yourself."
"Yes father," he bows.
"I will see you tomorrow evening," I tell him.
I open the window and fly out into the night. I think about what the vampiress has said. Even if she did have a way to destroy bonds, there was no guarantee that bother parties would survive. I couldn't risk Sookie's well-being, but if this was the only way, could I do it? I reach the penthouse and make my way down to the floor where Sookie is.
I find her in the entertainment room watching the television screen and she smiles at me. She gets up from the couch and runs into my arms.
"I missed you," she says before putting her lips against mine.
This was a wonderful feeling.
I carry her back to our room and lay her down on the bed. I look at her briefly before removing her clothes and mine.
Soon we are both bare and I reach between us to test her readiness. She was so divinely wet.
I push in and she gasps. She was so tight, hot, and slick.
"I love you Sookie," I tell her as I thrust into her.
"I love you," she whispers.
I continue to thrust into her. I can feel that she is reaching her orgasm as I move in and out of her.
She cries out as her orgasm overtakes her. I click my fangs and penetrate her breast, taking some blood. I thrust a few more times before I reach my orgasm as well.
I look down at her. She is panting and she is beautiful. I think for a few seconds about what to do. I wanted her, but how much was I willing to risk?