When I started writing this, "Hero/Heroine" by one of my favorite bands was playing (Boys Like Girls). The lead singer, Martin Johnson is a hottie, just like our Northman. Yum. Anywhoo, the lyrics fit even though the music isn't dark. Later on in the chapter, during the phone call, I was listening to "New Divide" by LP and "Closer" by KOL. Thanks for reading and reviewing. You make me smile and giggle when I read the awesome sh*t you say. 

Chapter Thirty Six

EPOV

This is the soundtrack of my existence now; Sookie's laughter rippling across the crowded club, Pam's snarking at Sven, James' mellow and calming voice, Yrjan's deep booming laughter…every sound makes me extremely fucking happy lately. I'm so fucked. The word 'pussy whipped' is going to be busted out, sooner or later, and I'm gonna have to eat it.

The girls are on the floor dancing, and as promised, we're sitting here at our little fucking table gritting our teeth.

They truly don't need us to rescue them anymore, but it's fucking hard. I want to. When a fucking bloodbag is staring at my wife's tits, it's like the animal inside me hasn't died at all….he's just been sleeping.

And that moron in the skinny jeans with a pretty boy face is about to poke the sleeping giant. Fucker.

"Relax, man" James said quietly. "They'll take care of it if he crosses the line. She's not even dancing with him; she's dancing with the girls. He's a fungus," he snorted. "She'll step on him as she walks back over here to plant one on you, just relax."

I glared over at James, my anger subsiding the tiniest bit, as his mellow demeanor finally rubbed off.

I rubbed my face with my hands and growled quietly in frustration.

"How can you be so neutral when that fucker's inches away from our girls? Goddamnit, I just wanna…" I scooted my chair back, but James' hand pushed my shoulders down. I fell back down onto my stool, letting him corral me.

"Man, watch them. Don't watch him. Watch their beautiful movements, the way their bodies twist and sway. It's like art in motion. It's fascinating. They're totally oblivious to that loser."

I watched, and everything he said was true. They could give a shit less who was watching; it was their time.

"Seriously, Eric. I'm not saying you should go all fucking emo, or anything. Sookie's crazy about you the way you are, no use in doing some sort of zen makeover, or some shit. But try not to treat her like she can't handle herself, that's all I'm saying. Let her get good and worked up out there. Let her burn. Then, instead of throwing water on that shit, let it come to you still burning, man. She'll be over here pretty soon, then you're gonna be glad you sat your ass down."

Goddamnit, I hate that he's better at this shit than I am, but I'm not going to let my pride get in the way of that smoking hot blond laying it on me later. I happen to know for a fact she isn't wearing any panties.

My shoulders relaxed, my face broke into a smug grin, and damn if I didn't finally get it. She could throw him through the fucking wall if he so much as touched her, and she is most definitely not flirting. She can't help how fucking sexy she is.

I nudged James with my elbow and finally let myself go off "Sookie duty" for a while. I turned to the boys and talked shop for a while, ignoring the fuckery going on out on the floor.

I'd done such a good job of allowing myself to relax a bit, that I didn't know Sookie was at the table, until I felt her hands sliding around my waist. I jumped slightly, taking only a millisecond to process her scent.

"Did I sneak up on the big bad Eric Northman?" she breathed into my ear. I caught the scent of her arousal, inhaling deeply.

"Yes you did, Mrs. Northman. I'd be careful about that if I were you. I might just have to take you out back." She came around my body as I turned on my stool, opening my legs for her to press herself to me, like I knew she wanted to.

She didn't disappoint. I knew what she wanted. Everyone at this table knows what she wants; like it matters, it goes with the territory.

I wrapped my arms around her back, squeezing her ass and pulling her tighter against me, hoping that asshole was watching her now. Cock smoker.

"Get a fucking room" Pam teased across the table.

I didn't even give her the satisfaction of a response, but Sookie did.

She laid one on me fast, biting and gnawing at my bottom lip like I was dinner. My grip on her ass tightened as her hands threaded through my hair, pulling and fisting her way closer to me.

"Whoo-hooo!" Alrik yelled beside us. "Yeah, baby, yeah!!"

"Taraaaaa, yeah girl!!! Get that shit!!"

"Good grief, I'll be back" Pam snarked. "I'm gonna go grab me that fine piece of ass that's been sneaking peeks at me dancing all flipping night."

Sven, our other perpetual frat boy, hollered at her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Atta girl, tap that shit!"

Sookie's lips finally pulled away from mine, making me groan in protest. She giggled and turned around, leaning back into me, between my aching legs.

She ran her hands up and down the tops of my thighs, humming along to the song blasting.

"I didn't know you liked this song" I cooed in her ear, brushing her hair away so I could lick her. She shivered under my tongue, pleasing me immensely. My lover didn't get cold anymore. That shudder meant good things.

"Throw it away, forget yesterday, we'll make the great escape

We'll scream loud at the top of our lungs

And they'll think it's just cause we're young

And we'll feel so alive"

Her hips couldn't sit still, and I could tell she wanted to dance some more.

"Go dance, lover. I want to watch you."

She turned, surprised looking. "Really? You think I look sexy, Mr. Northman?"

Fuck, when she gave me that bullshit innocent face, I just wanted to eat her face.

"That would be an understatement of epic proportions." I shooed her away, and she grabbed Viktoria's hand to come with her. Tara was still attached to James' face.

He broke away reluctantly, shooing Tara out there as well.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one" I punched at James' arm. He just winked and went back to watching them do their thing.

I could see Sven and Alrik shaking their sorry asses as well, so I decided I couldn't let them have all the fun. I motioned towards the floor, and James laughed, following suit. We stayed with the boys, showing these losers how it's done.

You gotta be fucking smooth to pull off dancing to this shit. It wasn't my thing, but I could make it work. Sookie and the girls were sure as hell enjoying it, and the douche from earlier was nowhere to be found. Smart man.

Thankfully, they changed tempo, and switched to "Candy Shop". This club was definitely favoring the American music tonight, much to the girls' delight.

This was a 'me' song, that's for damn sure. Sookie kept eye fucking me a few feet away, grinding on the other two as she swayed and rotated her hips. Fuck, this shit was good.

James nudged me and nodded his head, putting some serious solo moves down. That vamp can move, even better than me, surprisingly. I let him do his thing, adding in my own slightly lesser but still pimp moves. We had that fucking floor all watching now, as they were starting to make some room a bit for the action going on.

Another couple of guys, looking to be Spaniards perhaps, started adding to the mix. It was a good time, until I saw a commotion where I knew Sookie was.

My entire body went rigid until I got a good look at the situation. Pam waved me off. Fucking hell. I relaxed a bit, and let myself slowly get back into a rhythm, keeping a close eye out for anymore shit. I'd find out in a minute what that was all about.

As the song faded and transitioned into another, I made my way back to the table, following after the girls.

We all met up back at the table, ready for a round of bloods. I just laid it out on the table.

"What the hell was that all about? Someone giving any of you trouble?" I looked at all of them as they fucking giggled.

"What?"

Pam leered at me from across the table. "Somebody thought that Sookie's ass belonged to them, but their broken finger says otherwise." She fist bumped Sookie, and I felt a knee nudging me under the table. James was looking at me, so I remembered what he'd said.

I extended my fist out over the table and offered my wife congratulations on her first vampire attack, of sorts. It counts as such in my fucking book.

She purposefully used her strength to defend herself; it was no accident as smug as she was looking.

She bumped me back, hard and confidently. I grinned at her to let her know in our unspoken ways that I was proud of her. She seemed very pleased that I wasn't reacting, or threatening to kill the guy. Score one for James.

I think I was going to have to get him to write a vampire "how to" guide about females, for those of us who've lost touch with how to relate to them. They are such a fucking enigma sometimes.

After a few more songs, we all headed back to Peter's place for the night. A few rounds of Metallica Guitar Hero were being battled out, drums and guitars switched out relentlessly.

I was shocked to discover Yrjan's hidden talent on the drums – too fucking funny.

We were enjoying a nice, no drama night until the fucking call came. It was coming up as a local number, one I'd never seen.

"Yeah?"

"Northman?" said the voice on the other end, his British accent prominent..

"Speaking." I was harsh, but it pissed me off to forfeit the song to Pam just to answer my goddamn phone.

"I hear you're home again. So nice to hear."

What the fuck?

I slid the stupid guitar over my head and laid it on the couch, and walked out onto the balcony, sliding the door closed behind me.

"Who is this?" I hissed, both growing pissed at the games and angry at the undertones to the pleasant, even voice.

"Oh, I'm truly sad you don't recognize me, Northman. Seriously, that hurts my feelings."

My mind was racing, trying to match that voice up to a face in my head. I never forget someone, but the crappy connection was making it difficult to recognize him.

"So stop playing games and just introduce yourself, problem solved."

Quiet laughter. "Northman, Northman. Introduce myself? Really, why would I be calling if we hadn't already met? You're not making any sense, old chap."

As soon as I heard the words 'old chap', I knew exactly who I was talking to.

"To what do I owe this pleasure," I said menacingly, "…William."

Hearty laughter again, sickening me.

"Eric, I was beginning to get my feelings hurt that you didn't remember my voice."

I turned and looked towards the living room, making sure no one was coming out to check on me.

"What do you want, and make it quick. I seriously doubt you're calling to welcome me home."

"Mmmm, I would have, if I'd have known you were here."

I looked down below at the traffic, scanning the crowd, the buildings, the windows.

"Now why would I have to find you and tell you I'm here? You released me. You're nothing to me."

"Now that is definitely not a nice thing to say to me. You didn't even invite me to your wedding, although the little glowbugs were a very sweet gesture to your bride."

My fucking hands broke a piece of the iron balcony off, and I scanned intently, looking around for anything unusual in the dark.

"You really shouldn't have said that" I growled into the phone, trying to maintain my composure.

"Oh, Eric. I simply had to see what all the fuss was about. A little birdie told me tonight that she's one of us, now. I distinctly remember her smelling completely human the last time I saw her."

I wanted to scream into the night air, to destroy something, but remained cold on the outside. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. My fucking fictional hero said those words.

"Why don't you tell me why you're lurking in the shadows, surely you have better things to do than to creep around, William."

I stood in one place, staring into the dark, seething.

"Another time, Eric. Listen, the reason I called was to ask you if you've been by your little cottage recently. Really, letting your wife's pretty blue underthings lie on the floor for just anyone to pick up and put in their pocket."

That did it.

"I'm going to kill you. You know this, right? You cannot say the words you just verbally shit from your lips and not know this. What is the reason for provoking me? Things are peaceful here. No one pulls any melodramatic shit unless they're in the fucking States. You want power struggles and takeovers? That's your place, take your ass over there. You know here it won't be tolerated. There is no hierarchy here. I have nothing you want."

He laughed, chilling me to the core despite my anger. Something about that cackle was no good.

"I beg to differ."

"I'm going to ask you this once. .?"

The patio door slid open, and slid shut. I could sense it was Pam, so I didn't even turn around.

She leaned over the railing beside me, staring out into the night.

"Will you remain on the phone when I tell you, or are you just going to lose that temper of yours and hang up? Because if you hang up on me, I will not be calling back…and that would be a very bad thing."

I bristled, knowing a threat when I heard one.

"You listen to me, you have made a serious mistake, but I will walk away if you cut and run. Right now. Either cut and run, or know that I am going to kill you. Plain and simple, no discussion."

"Well, I'm not walking away without what I want."
Pam ran her hand along the missing chunk of iron, but said nothing, staring ahead.

"I already asked you once what you wanted. If you're not going to tell me, I'm not asking you a second time. Fuck your games, William."

I said his name for Pam's benefit, taking in her reaction as she straightened beside me. She hissed quietly, balling her fists at her thighs.

"Alright, fair enough, we can't very well play the game unless you know what it is we're playing for."

Pam started pacing, making it hard to control my rage. I put my hand on her arm and shook my head, as she stilled, leaning over the balcony again.

When he said the words I wanted him with every fiber of my being NOT to say, I lept up on the railing and jumped.

A/N: A big thank you to Charlaine Harris for letting us play with Eric in between books. A big middle finger goes to Alan Ball, mixed with a smile. We hate some of your choices, but you did give us Alexander Skarsgard. This makes almost anything forgivable. (Unless he gets killed off. Then we have a serious problem, lol.)

Also, I have no idea what the hell is up with this William guy. I have NO clue what is happening, honestly. Remember what I told you? I'm just typing what's going on. So you'll know when I know! But I will be updating more often. I still like the low drama, but come on, I missed my badass pissed off Eric. Yeah!! Come on, who's with me on that? Who wants to see Eric take out this guy?

*Raises hand*