Tyra's POV.
"What are you laughing at?" Eric asks me as we pull up at our destination for this evening (or rather morning since it just turned midnight), a place that is very familiar indeed. It's the Chateaux where a guy called Darren took me on a date months and months ago. A date Eric sabotaged.
"The fact that you've brought me here of all places" I reply, shaking my head gently as I compose myself and look over at him.
"Well, it does stock a number of very fine reds and I know how much you appreciate a good glass of wine" he replies just as we pull up.
"I didn't realize they stayed open so late" I comment as we get out of the car and Eric hands the valet guy his keys.
"They aren't, unless you pay them to be" he tells me as we walk in and are met by the same woman who called me a cab after I'd been stood up. Although of course she doesn't recognise me.
"Good evening Mr. Northman, you table is ready. Please follow me" she says, tucking a wine list efficiently under her arm and walking through the empty restaurant, over to the back where there a large set of double glass doors open. They lead out to a huge balcony, abandoned totally apart from the presence of a table and hundreds of little lights strewn around the railings and in the trees and shrubs all around it.
"I thought it was about time I took you somewhere nice. And when I was here before I noticed how beautiful this balcony is. Do you agree?" he asks me as we sit down and I'm passed the wine menu. I know what I want immediately, and check they still have the Beaujolais in the same year I enjoyed so much before. They do, and I order that before I reply.
"I do agree yes, it's very beautiful" I reply with a smile, looking between the lights and him. Everything here is beautiful, that's for sure. 'And I have to commend you, I did wonder when you were going to take me somewhere other than bed' I then add in joke, making him laugh quietly.
"You deserve some special treatment, so get used to it. It's about time I stopped being so antisocial and started taking you out more. If nothing else but to show my appreciation of you" he tells me, reaching for my hand and linking his fingers through mine. "And also, there is something I wish to discuss with you too" he then adds after a few minutes of silence apart from me thanking the waiter who arrives with my wine and a bottle of double O negative blood for Eric. He hates drinking synthetic blood, so I have a feeling this is purely to be sociable towards me.
"Sounds ominous" I reply with a smile after taking a sip of my wine.
"It's more of a truth that needs to be told more than anything, so I shall just come out and say it. Tyra, I absolutely adore you. I do not know if this ancient heart of mine is ever capable of loving someone, but with you it comes very close. Your loyalty to me has been so unwavering that at times I've been scarcely sure I deserve it, and for that I thank you. You're the most remarkable woman I have ever met, either as a human or as a vampire. And now is the time I want to confirm my devotion to you in what I have to say next" he replies, while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box that he lets go of my hand to press into my palm. No! He's not about to...is he? Looking at him in probably my most shocked face ever I take the box and open it to reveal perhaps the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen in my life. A thick platinum band covered in swirls of white and yellow diamonds.
"Before you look even more panicked than you already do, I'm not about to propose. It's for this finger, to replace the one I trod on and broke when your jewellery box's contents was scattered everywhere recently" he then tells me, taking the beautiful ring from its box and placing it on my middle finger of my right hand, where the butterfly shaped one he did indeed squash flat under his big feet previously lived. "Do you like it?" he then asks me.
"I'm not sure, I'm currently being blinded by all this sparkly" I reply, watching him smile. 'I love it, thank you' I then tell him, leaning across the table and giving him a kiss.
"Good, I'm very glad you do. Because whenever you look at that ring I want you to remember that you're the most important thing I have, and how much I'm devoted to you too" he replies. Jesus, there's a first for me. I actually feel I've had the wind knocked out of me by romance and coming from a 1,080 year old vampire that's pretty impressive. And is touching my heart so much I feel close to tears right now.
"And I'm equally as devoted and adoring of you too, I hope you know that" I tell him, reaching out to briefly stroke the side of his face. He covers my hand with his and then kisses my palm before letting it go again, his eyes never moving from mine.
"Every time you look at me in the way you're looking at me now I know, and I feel it in your energy too. I've never felt anything like it, that constant reassurance that I'm wanted and needed by you on totally unconditional terms and a whole host of other emotions. Ones I know you are not yet ready to voice, but know I feel them. Like I always say, I've simply never known anyone like you, and because of that I want you to know one thing. The blood bond that could happen between us, I only want it if you do.
For I want you to know, and never forget I am with you because I choose to be, I want to be. Not because I've been made to be by some magical bonding between your species and mine" he tells me, while I take two huge gulps of wine to try and calm the huge lump in my throat. It's scary how quickly he's become so important to me, my handsome man, my protector, and my distant blood. He really is everything to me, and it's only now that it really does hit me.
"Could you excuse me for a few moments?" I ask him, standing up from the table.
"Did I say something wrong to you?" He asks me, looking and sounding a little sour all of a sudden.
"No, you said everything right. Just give me a few minutes" I reassure him, kissing his cheek before I slowly walk away from the table and over to a set of steps that lead off the balcony. I noticed them when I arrived, and also noticed they lead down to a huge garden below. A garden I'm now walking across with tears streaming down my face, feeling like a bit of an idiot. I do hate for people to see me cry though, so hence why I ran off. I just feel a little overcome, he's never expressed himself like that before to me; I honestly thought he wasn't capable of it. But to tell me I'm the closest thing he's come to love in over a thousand years, well that speaks volumes so huge are you really that surprised I'm crying right now?
This just feels so...real. So much more real and meaningful than it ever was, and also it's all I've ever wanted too. Someone like him, someone who's also a little like me. Yet the differences between us are vast enough to make it work, and we work so well together. There's the fact that he's Swedish too, and I know my biological parents would really like that, that the man I'm in what feels like suddenly a much more serious relationship with is the same nationality.
Then last but not least, the fact that he's my family, although very, very distant. Distant enough for it not to feel wrong, since if you're going to label it then he's my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great cousin. That's a long, long way off it being hillbilly.
The hugest thing of all though boils down to one thing. The fact he's been willing to die for me. How many people can honestly say that the one they cherish most would give themselves like that without a second thought? It's not the kind of thing that happens every day, just like meeting someone like Eric is not something of a regular occurrence. He's unlike anyone I've ever known. He feels what I feel for him too, and voiced he knows I have feelings for him I'm not ready to voice. He's right too I suppose, I do. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I do love him.
I have a reluctance to ever voice it to him though, since I pretty much know I'll never hear it back. I accept it too; he is what he is after all. If he's not capable of love then that isn't his fault. It's just fact. He knows my feelings, and he's considerate enough of me not to voice it other than the fact that he likes what he feels when it's felt by him through my energy. It is with this in mind that I decide after such grand gestures on his part, I think it's time for me to do the same. And so I look down at the ring he gave me sparkling away on my finger, smile and then look back up at him as I turn around a large slated path that borders a cluster or white, pink and yellow rose bushes and head back up to him. I make sure I dry my eyes as I go, but still he doesn't fail to notice.
"If I'd have known all this was going to make you cry I'd have suggested we stayed at home" he tells me with his usual dryness as I sit down.
"You have no idea how much of a great time I'm having, despite that. Happy tears, as much as that embarrasses me" I reply, watching him frown slightly and shake his head.
"Don't hide your emotions from me again, you've no need to" he tells me, taking a sip from the bottle of OO negative and trying to disguise the fact he really isn't keen on it at all.
"And don't you do things for me that I know well you don't enjoy, like drinking this so I'm not sitting here drinking alone" I reply, flicking long silver painted nail off the side of his bottle. Pam's teaching herself how to airbrush and do nail art right now so I'm getting a fancy new paint job on them every day almost. Today they're a non brash shade of silver with little trails of gold glitter that remind me of fireworks exploding. They match my beautiful new ring very nicely.
"Is it really that obvious?" he asks me.
"Very much so, you can't hide your dislike of it from me. And you shouldn't have to either" I tell him with a wink.
"Now it's my turn to say that sounds ominous" he replies.
"And my turn to tell you all will be revealed, but not now" I say to him, watching his face become more curious looking by the second. He stares at me for what feels like a very long time before he picks up the wine bottle and refills my glass, and then finishes his bottle and pulls another slight disapproving face.
"Whatever it is I can hardly wait" he eventually says, sounding like he has a faint idea of what I'm not currently disclosing to him. He's probably picking up in it through my energy after all. After this we go on to more normal conversation, talking about work more than anything before the subject winds around to my encounter with Sookie earlier.
"I do not believe she was intentionally meddling. She isn't like that, she's not devious. But she is jealous, I could feel that coming off her in the meeting, and see it whenever she looked at you. And to be modest for once it probably isn't about any desires she might have toward me either; you're in a relationship with a vampire and she just had one end. She isn't trusting of my species right now, and for that she doesn't think anyone else should be either. Like you said though, she doesn't know me like you do so she's only judging on what she knows of me. My devious side that would bend people's emotions for my own personal gain, which is what I did with her" he says as we speak of the event.
"I think she's under the assumption that you do that with everyone. I mean you did do it to me to a degree for a while..." I reply before he cuts in.
"You were a much tougher nut to crack though my darling; this is why I respect you a thousand times more than I do that girl. I'm actually regretting calling her to the meeting in a way now. I know she can be trusted and her telepathy skills could prove useful to us, but I will not allow her to do anything to come between us either" he replies while taking my hand again. "I have to ask, you went to the same school as her, correct?" he then asks.
"Yes that's right, I was in the year above her" I confirm.
"So is it true that you once threw a fellow pupil down a flight of stairs?" he asks me with a raised eyebrow, looking humoured.
"No, that's not true at all. I kicked him down them" I reply with a smile before sipping my wine.
"Yes, I remember Sookie saying as much now. Over your lunch money too wasn't it?" he then asks.
"It was, and he wasn't getting a dime of it. I still remember it as clear as yesterday, how shocked he looked when I put my foot in his chest and sent him flying on his merry descent down the stairs. Four broken ribs, a broken wrist and a concussion; and he never bullied anyone again. But damn I was in trouble, the only reason I got away with not being expelled was because my father talked the principal around. Even though he had to appear angry and disappointed at me in front of her as soon as we got out of the office he told me he thought I'd done the right thing" I reply, watching Eric smile a little.
"Another thing I like a lot about you, you do not and will not let anyone try to walk all over you. If you'd have been alive in my time you wouldn't have been content to have been a wife and mother, you'd have been out on the battlefields with us" he replies knowingly while I nod.
"Yeah, I probably would have been. But I'm glad I wasn't, I'm glad my time with you is here, and now" I reply, leaning over the table to kiss his cheek and receiving his lips when he turns his head at the last minute. We decide not to stay for too much longer, and since the very sudden shift to autumn means the early morning air carries a chill to it I begin to feel a little cold, so hurriedly finish my last glass of wine before we leave.
Arriving back at the club little over half an hour later we head in through the front, and I receive all the usual glares for being the woman to walk at Eric Northman's side, his arm around my waist and not theirs. Not stopping to socialize we go straight down to the apartment and resume the position we were in before we left, him sitting in the big armchair he moved to face the fire with me on his lap.
We share content silence while watching the flames in front of us, with me undoing a button of the black shirt he wears to slip a hand inside and stroke his chest idly. Sitting there with him feeling the fire warm my left arm in particular and gently stroking the light smattering of blonde hairs across his chest is the last thing I remember, before the feeling of being placed down wakes me up.
"How long ago did I fall asleep?" I ask Eric as he sits down on the edge of the bed after putting me there.
"Only about half an hour ago, but go back to sleep and I'll be with you in a few hours. Fabien just called me, turns out he went to Jackson with Cassius instead of Stanley so I want to go and call him back to attain what is happening, and then I'll be as quiet as I can until I feel like turning in. Goodnight beautiful" he replies, while I nod sleepily and reach underneath myself to undo my dress zip while he helps me remove it.
"Goodnight" I reply once I've wiggled my way out of it, giving him a kiss before he exits, taking my dress with him to throw into the laundry on his way. He and Pam employ someone to do this for them, and it's a luxury he allows me to use too whenever I want. Getting under the covers I settle down, and feel very happy. I have to say, it's been an unforgettable evening. Well, morning.
Eric's POV.
"So tell me what's going on. Why are you there and Stanley absent?" I ask Fabien as soon as he answers his cell.
"His carelessness in a situation lead to him being exposed to a hunter, and he's had to go to ground to recover from the attack since he was exposed to sunlight for a time. I heard this third party from someone who resides in his nest" he replies as I sit down behind the desk in the office, pulling the chair away and resting my feet up on the top of it to the side of the computer. "Said hunter has been dealt with, and she was from the same resistance team we've dealt with before" he then continues.
Since vampires have walked the earth to the knowledge of humans, of course there have been a lot of them to take a dislike to us. Then there are the ones who just want us dead no matter what, including a whole group of hunters from Baton Rouge that mine and surrounding areas have under our radar almost constantly. Stanley, old but not wise. He is however very trustworthy, but not as sharp as the likes of Fabien, despite being almost twice his age. Fabien is only 328 years old; but he's sharp and keen, a vampire who gets a job done in a discreet and efficient manner. I should have sent him and Cassius originally. Stanley can consider himself struck off.
"Good, I appreciate your efficiency as ever. So now I know why you are there and Stanley is not, do you have anything to report?" I ask him after thoroughly digesting what I've been told.
"We just drove past Edgington's mansion, and then parked up a few streets away and did a quick 360 degree tour of the perimeters. It's on complete lock down, windows are boarded up and all the points of entrance are heavily chained. And there's armed AVL henchmen on the gates, so they aren't letting anyone in there. Whoever is doing the fallen kings' dirty work on his behalf; they aren't using the mansion as a meeting place. We'll have to look into this further Eric, it could mean we're here for longer than what was first expected" he replies, as I hear the vehicle he and Cassius are travelling in come to a stop, the latter muttering something about a room key that tells me they've probably just pulled up at their hotel.
"That's fine; stay for as long as you need to. I need information, I need to plan some sort of counter attack and finish this. Tyra cannot live in constant danger, I won't have it" I reply firmly.
"I understand that. I'll call you as soon as I have any news. My regards to your beautiful lady" he replies before hanging up and leaving me free to get back to the aforementioned beautiful lady. Or rather just to the same room as she, since I do not want to wake her. She's very tired these days, still exhausted from looking after me I feel. And because she's hit her workload hard over the last seventy two hours since I came around again. Well, there'll be a nice break for her soon enough, because little does she know I called Agnes yesterday afternoon as soon as I woke up and rescheduled our visit.
We'll be leaving five days from now (this coming Friday evening) and to be honest I am actually looking forward to it. Agnes and I discussed the need for Tyra to learn more of her species and with Agnes' mentoring learn how to correctly harness her powers. We jointly felt that now is the time for her to really come into what she is and be able to use her power since danger swirls all around us presently. Also I must admit I can be very selfish with Tyra, and I like to spend time with her so this will be a perfect way to satisfy my own selfishness and have her all to myself away from the worlds of work and the like.
All to myself is how I choose to have her now too, turning in a few hours early and gently wrapping an arm around her sleeping form, enjoying the warmth of her body against my own cold flesh, and breathing in her lovely scent as I rest my head behind hers and feel her stir.
"Hmmmm, back where I like him most" she mumbles in her half asleep daze, her fingers linking through my hand that rests on her stomach.
"Back where he likes to be most" I reply, kissing her shoulder and shutting my eyes. If you'd have told me a year ago I would be content with a woman like this I'd have laughed at you and labelled you utterly insane for thinking a vampire like myself could be capable of such emotional investment. Right now I'm just glad that for the first time ever, my opinion over something was totally wrong. I'm very, very glad of it in fact.
Authors note - I'm absolutely overwhelmed at how well received this story has been! Honestly, I am! And I thank you ALL so much for your reads, reviews and advice! You're all too kind :) xx