The house was darkened when I pulled into the driveway. It was barely nine pm, but both my parents and brother had gone to bed. I locked the front door behind me and tiptoed to my bedroom. I left the lights off, tossing my purse, keys, and cellphone onto my night stand before setting my alarm clock for work the next morning.

A hot shower was calling to me and as much as I wanted to crawl into bed, I decided to take one first. I showered until the water ran cold, standing under the downpour after washing my hair and body and face. I turned off the water and dried off, brushing my teeth and combing through my hair before slipping on an oversized t-shirt.

I shut off the bathroom light and yawned sleepily, ready for bed when I heard a voice in the darkness.

"How was the shower?"

I startled, nearly jumping right out of my skin, letting out a strangled yelp that I quickly covered with my hand. I barely made out the shape of Eric standing by my now open window. Frowning I turned on the light, noticing his smirk right away as he slid the window shut.

"I guess I don't need to ask how you got in here," I said tossing my towel into the dirty clothes hamper and sitting on my bed.

"Would you rather I knock on the front door and meet your parents?" He countered, smirk widening.

"Absolutely not."

At the mention of my parents I went to the bedroom door and locked it. I was not ready for Eric to meet my parents, or for them to know I was involved with vampires. That was the last thing I needed.

Eric was still grinning when I turned around. "I thought not."

"What are you doing here?" I questioned sitting on my bed again.

"Visiting," he answered, grin widening.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. I didn't believe him. I suspected he was here to continue where we had left off in his office.

And it wasn't happening.

Not when my parents were asleep in the bedroom right next to mine.

"Sure you are," I taunted, turning to lie down on my stomach.

I sighed contentedly at the familiar feel of my bed. It felt good to be home and in my own bed, the motel bed, while nice, just wasnt mine. I felt the weight of the bed shift as he sat next to me, one cold hand reaching out to touch the bare skin of my thigh. My skin reacted immediately to his touch, tingles rushing up my skin aimed right at my core. I bit my lip to hold back the moan that welled up in my throat and looked at Eric, finding him staring at me with lust in his blue eyes.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to change the mood. "Did you take Jessica back to Bill?"

He scooted closer, leaning in to run his nose along the length of my ear. "Yes. She was far more trouble than she was worth to have around. I am no babysitter. She is his problem to deal with, not mine."

My breath caught in my throat when his lips descended lower, kissing my pulse. His hand moved in tandem, but upwards curving around my hip to slip under my shirt and caress my butt. I tried to ignore the sensations he was creating, knowing that while I wanted it, the idea of doing it with my parents in the house was still deterring me. I instead ignored it, trying to keep on the topic.

"W-why was she with you in the first place?"

His hand continued its exploration, kneading the flesh of my butt before ascending upward to trace circles up my back. "I had an arrangement with Bill," he answered absently, still kissing along my throat.

I unconsciously turned my head granting him more access, my legs starting to rub together in an attempt at starting much needed frictions against the mounting sensations.

"Eric... stop it," I groaned, coming to my senses. I couldn't let him continue, if I did I knew I'd be beneath him begging for him to screw my brains out in no time.

I tried to roll away from him and was stopped when his hand flattened against my back, holding me in place. "I haven't seen you for two weeks, Chase. Two very, very , long weeks."

"Is that your way of saying you missed me?" I questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Some parts of you more than others," he answered leaning in to brush his lips over mine.

"Which parts?" I asked coyly, unable to resist teasing him.

"Allow me to show you," he growled.

With a firm hold on my arm, he rolled me to my back, easily filling the space between my thighs. Hands sliding up the outside of my thighs, his lips were on my pulse again, breathing in deeply, taking in my scent and letting it out with a lusty sigh. I arched into his mouth, feeling his excitement at my core.

"Eric, I'm being...being serious. We can't do this here."

It didn't sound serious, not when my voice was filled with yearning and desire. He knew that I wanted him, and it was probably why he ignored my weak protests. His hand found my center, drawing his middle and ring finger between my folds, up and down. My hips bucked in response and my breath stopped right in my chest, the pleasure surge was instantaneous. Filling me up and taking over my senses until my will to protest died down.

The pleasure neared its max, my hips thrusting against his fingers in desperate search for release. I tried to keep my noises at a minimum, biting my lip so hard that it sparked pain. He focused his attentions on my clit, gathering the slick he found and circling it with increasing speed.

"That's it, Lover," he whispered between kisses. "Cum for me."

Like a slave to his command I did, feeling the orgasm bloom and burst, sending pleasure flooding through me. I shook with the force of it, gushing against his fingers, my fingers digging into the bedspread. Eric stifled my cry with a perfectly timed kiss, one that I couldn't find the brain power to return. He kissed me until I went limp, body burning and tingling with the aftershocks.

He withdrew then, leaving me blushing and recovering, rolling to lay beside me. I pulled my shirt down, surprised that he was stopping when he hadn't been satisfied.

"Better?" He asked, a smug smirk on his face.

I frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I sensed the tension in you and aimed to relieve it. I know you don't want to have actual sex with your parents present in the house, but it doesn't mean I can't pleasure you in other ways."

"What about you?"

"I get pleasure from giving you pleasure," he answered simply. "I will have you soon."

I felt my cheeks flame. "If the blood bond isn't working, then how did you know that I was tense?"

"I don't need to have ingested your blood to know what you're feeling. I can read your body very well," he answered, reaching out to absently trace his fingers down my shoulder to my hand.

I huffed a laugh, a few weeks ago I didn't know that he existed, and now here I was lying in bed with him, still coming down from a post orgasm high and all his attention focused on me. He could have anyone that he wanted, and yet he wanted me, a part of me hoped that it wasn't just due to my abilities and the taste of my blood. I shook my head, choosing to ignore those negative thoughts and just enjoy the moment.

"What is it?" Eric asked, catching me shaking my head.

"Nothing," I lied quickly.

He looked skeptical, but ignored it. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"You do?"

"Yes," he sat up, leaning on one elbow. "I want you to stay away from Fangtasia until I tell you otherwise."

I matched his movements. "Why?"

"The bar will be closed for the next few days and I am not allowing anyone inside. That is why. Do not take offense to it."

I hesitated feeling unease sit in my stomach. I wanted to question him further, wondering what could be serious enough to shut Fangatasia down for a few days. I could easily touch him, invade his thoughts and find out why, my hands tingling at the thought. But I didn't want to. I wanted to trust him. If we were going to continue this relationship, or however he wanted to define it, I would have to learn to trust him.

"I said do not take offense to it," he repeated with a hint of sternness at my silence, touching my cheek.

"I'm not. I don't," I answered, smiling weakly.

"You being unable to come to Fangtasia won't prevent you from seeing me," he assured. "I will come to you nightly."

"I'm not worried about that," I chuckled. "But, what if I'm not home?"

"And that reminds me…"

With vampire speed he took hold of my hips, pulling me close until I was straddling his lap. Sitting up he cradled my face, allowing me to see his fangs unsheathe before his lips were on mine in a passionate kiss. I kissed back hungrily, my own tongue darting in his mouth between his fangs when it could. His arms came around me tight, crushing me against his chest, hips rolling up to meet mine.

And then I tasted blood.

My lips parted from his in a gasp for a fraction of a second before his hand was on the back of my neck, pulling me back into his kiss. His tongue slid back into my mouth and with it came the taste of blood again, coppery and sweet and stronger than before, electrifying my taste buds. It didn't take long to realize what he was doing, I could feel the cut on his tongue when it danced with mine. My mouth searched his tongue out, sucking on it greedily as I moaned against him and felt him harden beneath me.

He pulled away from me with an animalistic growl, flipping me onto my back, taking his place between my thighs again. Any apprehensions were suddenly gone, my focus only on keeping his mouth on me and getting his clothes off. My heart pounded against my rib cage, my desires sending every nerve inside of me tingling with impatience.

I squirmed beneath him, trying to get my shirt off as he multi-tasked between kissing me and unbuttoning his pants. I wasn't having too much luck and once he was finally freed from his pants he pulled away from my kiss to push my shirt over my head. His mouth was back on mine, his hands at my hips as he positioned himself at my entrance.

There was little time to prepare, no warning save for the feel of his thick head rubbing at my entrance before breaching me in full. Eric kissed me harder, no doubt to muffle the sharp cry I let out, the borderline painful stretch nearly enough to leave me breathless. He found his rhythm quickly, thrusting all the way into me before withdrawing almost completely and repeating.

And all I could do was hold on for dear life.

My nails dug into his flesh, my back arching causing me to break our kiss and a cry to escape my mouth. His hand came up with vampire speed, clamping over my mouth, effectively silencing me.

"Quiet now, Lover," he shushed me, his voice sounding far too calm for the pace at which he filled me. "We don't want to wake your parents do we?"

I froze at that, the reminder shattering the pleasure for a moment with rationale. Eric sensed the sudden change in my mood and decided to bring me back by changing tempo, abandoning the steady snap of his hips for deep rolling thrusts, effectively dragging me back to pleasure being my center focus. He growled against my throat, teeth scraping and his hands digging into my flesh. He continued relentlessly taking me higher and higher until I was bursting around him, trembling and groaning against his hand as my brain and body exploded in orgasm.

He didn't stop, spurred on by my orgasm, one hand still covering my mouth while the other held my hip down to prevent me from moving. His pace bordered on vampire speed, the bed moving with each thrust until the headboard thudded against the wall in a matching melody. I was too lost in him to protest, the next orgasm already coming.

I was surprised when he suddenly withdrew, leaving me feeling empty as he slid from the bed, pulling me and my comforter along with him. In a matter of seconds the comforter was on the ground and I soon followed landing on my knees with Eric taking his place behind me.

"The bed was making too much noise," he answered my question before I could ask, using one hand to push me face down by my shoulder blades.

I didn't get the chance to respond, though I appreciate that he cared, his hand was between my shoulder blades, forcing me face first to the comforter, putting my ass in the air like an offering. I gasped loudly when he plunged into me without warning, biting down on my tongue to keep from making noise, and sparking pain. I caught the faint taste of blood, metallic and oddly sweet, realizing that I must have hurt myself.

Sensing what I had done, Eric's hand came forward, taking hold of my chin and turning my head to the side so he could capture my mouth. He sucked on my bitten tongue greedily, moaning into my mouth, never ceasing the quick snaps of his hips. I was right back on that edge, inches away from orgasm. I gripped the comforter hard, unable to move as Eric held my firmly by the hips, his mouth moving from mine to my shoulder. The scrape of his teeth sent sparks shooting down my back, aimed right at my core.

I heard something then, from the hallway, the heavy shuffle of footsteps coming right toward my door. My brain snapped right out of arousal and I froze. The hallway light flicked on, the beam easily visible through the edges of the door and panic seized me.

"Shit! Eric, stop!" I whispered causing the Viking to freeze behind me.

I tried to sit up, but Eric's hand was between my shoulder blades again, holding me in place. I looked at him over my shoulder, angrily glaring, and saw him hold a finger to his lips. I rolled my eyes, trying to sit up again, but was stopped once more. It was like having a two ton boulder sitting on my back.

"Don't move," he whispered to me, rolling his hips and sending shockwaves through me.

There were three quick knocks on my bedroom door, then my mother's voice, sleepy and concerned. "Chase, are you home? Are you okay? I thought I heard banging from your room."

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Eric was still rolling his hips, creating that blissful friction I had aching for moments ago. I trembled with the effort to keep the impending orgasm at bay, catching the devilish smirk on his face. He was enjoying himself immensely.

I steeled myself and looked back to the door. Maybe if I was real quiet she would go away-.

The door knob rattled as Mary attempted to open it and I groaned in annoyance. "Chase," she repeated, sounding more alert and concerned now.

I opened my mouth, prepared to call out to her, and let her know I was alright and just sleeping when Eric's hand left my shoulder and found my mouth silencing me. He held me still with his free hand, increasing his speed and rhythm again, thrusting harder and faster. My brain fogged with pleasure, threatening to take me over, pushing me right back to where I'd been. He leaned back over me, his face right beside mine, his cold tongue licking up the side of my ear.

"Cum for me," he whispered huskily.

I heard the click of his fangs unsheathing.

His fangs sunk into my neck and I went rocketing over the edge, crying out against his palm as my hips bucked. The orgasm hit me like a wave crashing on the rocks, soaring over me and amplifying with each pull of his mouth. He drank me in, groaning against my throat as he finally came at his next deep thrust and I collapsed to the ground, with his weight over me.

I could do nothing at first, crushed beneath the weight of him, my mind swimming with pleasure until I heard my mother's continued insistent knocking. I squirmed beneath Eric until he rolled off me, landing at my side, lying on his back with a satisfied grin on his face. I jumped to my feet, blindly searching for my shirt in the darkness until I found it and pulled it on.

I reached the door just as she was calling my name again, making sure to only open it enough for her to see my face and not the vampire lying half naked on my bedroom floor or my bleeding neck.

"Hi mom, it's late. What's up?" I asked hurriedly, trying not to sound out of breath.

My mother blinked in surprise, her eyes searching my face. I could see the worry written all over hers, she rose on tip toe, trying to peer into my darkened room.

"I heard strange noises. Are you alright? It took you a long time to answer."

"Didn't hear you at first, had my headphones in, sorry," I lied quickly, my hand clutching the door frame to keep me standing. "I am fine though. Just tired."

She hesitated, still looking skeptical. "Are you...do you have company?"

I frowned. "No, mom. Who would be here?"

She hesitated, still seeming unconvinced, but nodded. "I'm sorry. I was just checking on you, sweetie. Good night."

"Okgoodnightmomloveyou!" I shut the door quickly and turned the lock back into place, leaning against the door with a sigh.

Eric had risen from the floor and was back on my bed, hands tucked beneath his head, the satisfied grin still in place. He had removed his shirt and put the comforter back on the bed, which covered his lower half.

"That was not cool," I growled, pushing off the door and moving to the bed. "My mother could have heard us. Thank god the door was locked, what if she had just walked in?"

"Did I not satisfy you?" he asked, one eyebrow arching.

"That is NOT the point, Eric."

"It was mine."

I frowned.

"You are bleeding, lover."

I blinked.

I was?

Wait, did he just call me 'lover'?

I sat up and brought my hand to my neck, feeling warm liquid still trickling from his fang marks. He hadn't healed them, and when I looked at my palm it was smeared red. I frowned at him as he sat up and drew me in closer to his bare chest. I couldn't help, but fall into him, my head resting against his shoulder as he buried his faced into my neck. His mouth closed over the wounds, his tongue was sweeping over the wound slowly. After his taste he withdrew, fangs unsheathing to prick his pointer finger allowing him to spread his blood over the wounds. The mild discomfort was gone almost instantly.

"Since when am I your lover?" I questioned when he pulled away from me, making him smirk.

"Since I have bedded you twice and intend to keep doing so."

I huffed.

At least he was honest.

My cell phone began to buzz on the bedside table. I rolled away from Eric and retrieved it, checking the caller id to see that it was Sookie.

"Hello?"

"Chase, its Sookie. Did I wake you?"

"No. I'm up. Is everything alright?"

"Did you know about Jessica?"

I froze, glancing at Eric, who was watching me curiously. It was suddenly apparent that Sookie didn't know about Eric's arrangement with Bill and I had never had a reason to bring it up to Sookie. I had assumed she'd known.

"Um yeah, she was staying with Eric and Pam," I answered finally. "I found out when I got back into town."

I heard Sookie sigh. "Bill has been keeping this from me for over two weeks. I didn't know that she even existed. And Eric was in on it?"

"I'm sorry, Sookie, I thought you knew."

"It's not your fault. It wasn't up to you to tell me. Bill should have. Between this and the dead body we found, my night is just going great."

My brow furrowed. "Wait…did you say there was a dead body in the parking lot? What parking lot?"

Sookie hesitated on the other line. "Some poor woman got her heart cut out and she was put in the back of Andy's car. We found her earlier after you left, when we went to stop him from leaving…it was horrible…I have never seen that much fear on someone's face."

Another murder in Bon Temps? This town was way too small to have people dying left and right. I felt a tingle of fear rush up my back and almost immediately Eric had his arm around me, bringing his body closer as if to make me feel secure.

"Who was the woman?" I asked hesitantly. It had to be someone we knew. This town was small. Everyone knew everyone in this town.

"I don't really know. Someone that Tara knew."

My face fell. "Oh my god…is Tara alright?"

"I think so," Sookie answered. "I don't know. I am just going to go home and get some rest. It has been an unbelievably long night. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Okay, Sookie."

"Goodnight, Chase."

The line went dead and I hung up my cell, rolling back over to face Eric. He had relaxed back into my bed, head cradled on one arm and his blue eyes closed. I sat up and looked down at him as he remained motionless.

"You are angry, lover."

"What kind of arrangement did you and Bill have regarding Jessica and why didn't Sookie know about it?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I will not discuss my business arrangements with you," he answered calmly. "They are none of your concern. What goes on between Sookie and Bill need not affect our involvement. He should have been the one to tell her, not you or myself."

"So Bill is keeping stuff from Sookie and you are keeping stuff from me?"

He looked at me then. "I tell you what you need to know."

I knew what that meant. He told me what was convenient for me to know. There was probably a world of things that he was keeping from me that I had no idea about. And I didn't like it.

"Eric, if we are going to do this then I need to know everything," I starte, shaking my head. "I know you don't 'meddle in the idea of human relationships', but sleeping together and spending time together is a relationship in my book. You can't just show up here when you want, have sex with me, drink my blood, and think that I am not going to want to know things about you and be a part of your life. So either you agree to include me and acknowledge that this is some sort of relationship, as well as stop keeping things from me or you can leave and not come back."

Eric blinked at my ultimatum, sitting up and gazing down at me. I was being bold and demanding, but I refused to be in a relationship with someone I couldn't trust and wouldn't reciprocate my feelings. I half expected him to get up and dressed and go storming out of the window that he had come in from, but he remained sitting.

"Fine," he said after a moment's pause, lying back on the bed. His eyes shut once more and he adjusted himself until he found a comfortable position.

It was my turn to blink now. "Fine?"

"Yes, fine. I will tell you about things that happen in my life. And I acknowledge that we have some sort of a relationship."

I felt incredulous. "Just like that?"

"If those are your demands, Lover, then I will adhere to them."

"And you won't keep things from me?"

"I won't keep things from you," he repeated. "Now lie down and go to sleep."

He took me by the hand, pulling me down beside him. I snuggled in closer, lying my head on his chest and feeling a new sense of confidence in our relationship and my decision to trust him.

I just hoped that for once Eric was telling the truth.