Author's notes: All the characters are the sole property of the wonderful Charlaine Harris.*****On with the honeymoon....from the trip and first night from Eric's view.

Chapter 51

When I rise this night, I find my lovely new bride asleep on the fold-out bed in the airplane's cabin. She is sleeping so peacefully, I just sit and watch her for a time. I marvel at the young woman before me, who swept into my life like a hurricane and turned everything completely upside down. Who ever could have predicted that a battle-hardened vampire Sheriff such as myself could learn to love so passionately at my advanced age?

Clearly, we are Fated. Robert believes it and now I am sure of it. I have never, not once in 1,000 years, heard of anyone being able to communicate mentally with a vampire during his daytime rest. That she of all people should have this unique ability cannot possibly be coincidence. To reassure myself that she is actually real, and not just a figment of my imagination, I reach out a finger and run it over her lovely skin. Her blue eyes fly open, and the feeling of love and welcome that immediately floods through her tells me how glad she is to see me. In greeting, I say to her, "Hello, my lovely wife. You look so beautiful when you sleep. Did you miss me?

Judging by the hundreds of little kisses she places all over my face, I can see that she did. However, she must take care of her human needs, and while she is away I call the crew and give them clear instructions to stay out of the cabin until we begin our approach. I have missed waking with her snuggled next to me the last two nights, and I have no intentions of forgoing our lovemaking right now. Knowing her rather delicate sensibilities, I expect that she may balk at having sex this close to the human crew, but she needs to just get past that...Vampires view sex much differently than humans, and it is sometimes hard for me to understand all of her inhibitions. Why should such a pleasurable thing be hidden? Vampires enjoy watching the sex act...well, of course, they enjoy performing it more...but still, why humans seem to see it as shameful is beyond me.

Sure enough, once she comes back and I make my intentions clear, she hesitates; but I reassure her and then kiss her until she quits objecting. Before long, I have her shucked out of her clothes and have her squirming against my hand. I intend to give her as many orgasms on this honeymoon as I can possibly fit in, and perhaps work on that shy streak while I am at it. I want to give her completion once or twice before taking her, but apparently she has other ideas. When she practically begs me to enter her, I cannot resist! I slide in, and almost instantly I can feel the waves of her first orgasm rolling through her; I can feel her muscles contracting along my length.

There is nothing that satisfies me more to watch her cum. Her eyes have remained open, but are glazed over in her passion. Her cheeks are rosy, and she is breathing in soft little pants. She is just so very beautiful, and at the peak of her pleasure, I know that she is completely mine! Her climax has just added fuel to my passion, but I want to give her time to build to another peak, so I go slowly at first.. Her small warm body feels so very good, and her hot little pussy is dripping wet and yet clenched so tightly around my swollen cock that I can hardly control myself, I begin to move a little faster...and then harder. I want to keep on fucking her; her body feels so perfect under mine, and yet the need to feed from her is nearly overwhelming. I scrape my fangs along her resilient skin, teasing myself with the promise of what lays just below the surface. I can smell her blood, feel it racing through her veins, and am barely able to hold back my bite.

My Bonded has been enjoying every thrust, but I have deliberately delayed her orgasm until until she literally begs me to finish her. I take one last look into her eyes before I give in to my instincts, and bite her. As soon as my fangs penetrate her skin, I can feel the ripple of her orgasm begin; and know I should stop feeding after just a sip, but find I cannot. Not only am I quite hungry, I also want her to feel the ecstasy that I know it will bring her. I drink deeply of her fairy-laced blood and of course it gives her one spectacular orgasm. I hold back my own completion as long as I can, but finally I start to shudder and I cum deeply inside of her.

Afterwards, I find am not ready to give up the feeling of her small body lying under mine. Supporting my weight with my arms, we remain joined as I continue to service her little wounds, which I always very satisfying. She strokes my back in a soothing way. Eventually, though, I roll to one side, and resume petting her. Playfully, I say to her, ""I hope you didn't mind, lover, I was just so hungry for you I couldn't help myself."

She seems so content that it is an effort for her to speak. She is so completely relaxed that I think this might be the perfect time to bring up the subject which most bears discussing; the fact that I was able to feel her during the day. I presume it was her magic that allowed it to occur, what I do not know is why. I ask her the cause of her great distress, and she seems startled that I even brought it up. However, she replies rather vaguely, "I was just really missing you, and I was worried about the whole thing with Victor. I didn't know that you could feel me during your rest, anyway."

I reply quite truthfully that I didn't know it was possible, either. I am stunned when I realize that not only did I feel her emotions during the daytime, she actually heard what I thought back to her! Simply amazing! Although I am completely bowled over by this development, I try to appear calm. It will not do for her Bonded to appear rattled. She must be able to look to me for rationality and guidance, so much more calmly than I actually feel, I say, "Nonsense. I am in awe of your magic, and it comforts me to know that you can communicate with me even during my rest if you have to. I am quite certain that this is a completely unique ability, and one that might come in useful someday."

Still, I have a lot to think about. The implications of this event are broad and deep. However, I will have plenty of time while she is sleeping on this trip to think it over, so I decide to lighten our moods. I tease her a little about our secret destination by letting her open her gift bag. Pam had bought some of Sookie's wardrobe for this trip in New York, and then my child and I had spent an enjoyable hour at the club ordering the rest on the Internet. When my Bonded opens her bag and discovers her bright orange bikini, her face lights up like a candle! I just knew she would much prefer a beach trip, because she loves the sun so much; and by her reaction to the swimsuit I can tell I made the right choice.

After we both dress, we move to the front of the plane, and I finally allow her to see the map on the wall. I carefully watch her face as she finally realizes where we are headed. Her expression is completely priceless! She is so excited that she comes and sits in my lap, and covers my face with kisses. He little heart is pounding away in her chest, and I feel her exhilaration flowing through both of us. It pleases me very much to see her this happy, and I have to laugh out loud. Next she begs me to tell her about our accommodations, but it is such a treat to see her face at each revelation that I do not tell her just yet.

Before long, the plane lands, and the steward comes out to announce our arrival. He addresses us as Mrs. Northman. This is the first time I have heard anyone address Sookie by her new name, and unexpectedly I find that the sound of it pleases me. That she now bears my name makes it clear even to humans that she is mine. In no time our things are loaded into a taxi, and we are headed to the marina where we will board our yacht. We seem to be making good time, but for some reason Sookie seems to be somewhat disturbed by the ride. No matter though, since the drive is short; almost before I know it we have reached the marina and located our crew. Right now we are standing dockside staring at a gleaming white 50 foot sailboat rather romantically named the Starlight. I must admit it was tempting to try to impress my Bonded by getting a much larger ship with a full crew and a chef for her, but honestly, I did not want all those people constantly underfoot. For once, I am looking forward to having her all to myself.

I can tell that I have succeeded in completely surprising my Bonded. It is not often that I see her speechless, but this is surely one of those occasions. She justs stares at the sailboat as if she has never seen one before...come to think of it, perhaps she has not, at least one this size. I help her to board and listen carefully as the Were boat captain shows us around. Although I had seen a few photos of it on the Internet before I booked it, I am quite pleased with our vessel.

It has been many years since I have been on a boat, and never on anything near this modern. The exterior of this one is made of mostly fiberglass, which clearly holds up to sea and sun much better than the wooden ships of the past. I am completely fascinated as the Were Jack shows me all the navigational equipment. Compass, depth finder, GPS, radios...I learned to navigate by the stars, and still probably could, if necessary. I must admit all of these electronics are much more accurate, not to mention convenient. The interior of the yacht is well appointed and appears to be quite comfortable. I smile to think what my father would have made of that stateroom!

The minute I smell the salt air, I feel...young, and strong, and quite aroused. I grab my new wife, and whisper in her ear my plans to fuck her on every surface in this boat by the end of the week. She blushes, but I can tell the idea makes her hot. It is not the time for me to follow up on that promise just yet. It is time for our departure, and I can hear a large diesel engine fire up. Before going topside for the voyage, my bride and I unpack and then change into casual clothes. For some reason she seems amused to see my legs! Has the woman never seen a vampire in a pair of shorts before? I suppose that Compton was far too stuffy to even own a pair. In any event, we go up top, just in time to see the marina disappearing behind us. We sit down on the cushioned seat, and Sookie snuggles up under my arm and watches in fascination as we head out to sea. The crew brings us refreshments, which I do not really need since I am happily full of Sookie's special vintage (as she calls it); but I take some just to keep her company. I can see everything perfectly well, and since it is nearly a full moon, I think Sookie can see fairly well, too.

We sit back and enjoy the passing scenery for a time, and then the Captain offers me the wheel. I take the helm, and a wave of pure pleasure pours through me. The salt breeze is blowing through my hair, and that combined with the feel and sound of the hull slipping through the water, reminds me of my youth. By that, I mean my actual, human youth. For many years after becoming a vampire, the memories of my human life and all that I had lost were too painful to contemplate, and after that I shoved them to the darkest recesses of my mind. Now that I have the comfort of my Bonded, I am no longer reluctant to allow them to surface as they will. I knew when I booked this trip it was inevitable, but I felt that it was finally time.

As I stand at the wheel of the sailboat, and I am elated to discover that I have not lost my feel for the sea. I glance over at Sookie, and she is watching me with a rapt expression. I know she can feel how much I am enjoying this so far. From the minute we stepped off the jet, I felt the most amazing sense of calm and relaxation settle over me. Robert had told me what to expect, but I had not really believed him. It seems these magical Isles have the same effect on vampires as it does other races. Through our Bond, I can tell that Sookie feels exactly the same.

In due course, we make our way to our anchorage, and settle in for the night. The beauty of this cove is stunning, and I can see why people come here year after year. The Were offers to take us to shore, and I can see that my Bonded is absolutely burning to go. We all three get in the small rubber raft with a motor, amusingly called a dinghy, and scoot in towards a little wooden dock. Once the boat is tied up securely, Sookie and I check out the local bar, which is hosting a reggae band for the evening. It is after midnight and I know that my Bonded needs to eat, so I take her over and let her order something at the restaurant. She has some dinner, and then we go back to the bar to listen to some music.. I have never been a huge fan of reggae, but somehow tonight it seems to suit my mellow mood and before I know it she has pulled me out onto the dance floor. My Bonded is grinning and swaying easily to the island beat, and looks completely adorable. She is just so full of life!

However, all too soon she begins to realize it is very late for her, and so she asks if we can return to the boat. We do so; and as soon as the Were has dropped us off and is motoring back towards the crew boat, I look at my lover speculatively. I wonder if it is possible for both of us to fit into that perfectly tiny shower, and have any room left over for the water! She seems to think so, so we give it a try. Our shower turns into a comedy skit, featuring lots of misplaced knees and elbows, but finally we work it all out and get clean. Afterwards, I lie in bed with her, and kiss her softly. I can tell she is tired, but apparently she still wants to be loved. This time, I try to show her how much I cherish her by making love to her very gently. Afterwards, we talk a little of our plans for the week. She is yawning and fighting hard to stay awake, so I tuck her in to her accustomed place at my side. We listen to the soothing sounds of the sea, and before I know it, she is asleep in my arms.

Being careful not to disturb her, I slip out of bed, and take my cell phone and backpack into the main cabin. It is still a couple of hours until sun-up, and Robert is scheduled to call each night at a pre-arranged time. Until then, I amuse myself by doing some reading, and some deep thinking about the situation back home. I go outside, and sit under the stars for a time, and try to imagine what the future is going to bring. My cell phone rings, and after a short conversation with Robert and then Pam, I leave Sookie's envelope for tomorrow on the table where I know she will find it. I go down and slip back into bed with her. It is very nearly sunrise, and I can think about all our problems just as easily while laying here with her; however, the rocking of the boat is so soothing, that for the first time in many, many years, I actually fall asleep before dawn.