AN: I'm sorry for being such a FAIL WHALE. Seriously. WTF. I am so...ALMOST A MONTH? REALLY GREENLEMONS? REALLY! A MONTH!

Without saying any excuses, I am apologizing. I'm pretty sure there will be one chapter left. I think. Maybe. We'll see.

I want to thank all of the readers out there who are still lingering around and who MIGHT want to read this update. I can hardly believe why. I can't believe it had been almost a month. OMG.

Thanks so much. You guys are the WIN FIN this FAIL WHALE has.

Chapter 15: Oh God, I Think I'm Falling

Stupid phone. I tried to drag myself out of bed but struggled. I was sore – but in an amazing way. I hunched over as I made my way downstairs. Gran had always made the ringer really loud so she'd be able to hear it with her worsening ears. I picked it up and rasped a greeting.

"Damn, Sook, what was that Superman shit you pulled last night?" my brother sounded more amazed then pissed. Either way, I didn't want to talk with him right now. I just wanted to lie in bed and grin until sunset.

"What time is it?" I collapsed at the kitchen table and put my head on the wood, hoping to find energy. It felt like Eric had sucked it all out of me last night. Not that I would complain about that...

"I've been trying to call you all day. It's almost four in the afternoon! And no, don't even tell me what has you so tired. I don't want to know."

I yawned and thought about getting something to eat, which only lead into thoughts about last night with Eric and I couldn't help the blush on my cheeks. I shouldn't think about that stuff when talking to my brother.

How long until Eric wakes?

Wait a minute. Where did he stay through the day? Did he go back to Shreveport? I stood up with the phone still to my ear while I listened to Jason prattle about safety and how the vampires might come after me. I didn't worry about that, not when I was back with Eric. I looked around. Was there a note or something?

I wandered back into my room and found one on my side table. "Uh, I gotta go, Jason," I cut him off short.

"Wait, Sook." I pushed 'end' and tossed the phone onto my bed, reading the note like it was the only water I had in a vast, endless desert. Except all it said was: Soon. Well, alrighty then.

Still. That one word left me tingly. I collapsed on the bed and did exactly what I had intended to do. I had a big stupid grin on my face. I thought about what might happen next and decided I would wait for Eric to awaken and return to me when the sun was beyond the horizon.

I got out of bed and took a shower. Afterwards, I started to investigate my home and the damages that had been done and the repairs that had been made. Everything was nicer, spruced up – my Gran would never believe it. We had struggled with money for years and neither of us ever gave ourselves a moment to imagine everything updated.

There was a new TV. Annoyance flared up in me for a second. It was nice of him – and he knew he didn't have to do that. I looked around my house and it was nearly unrecognizable. Wow. To think how much had happened in the last nine weeks of my life was incredible. From the moment Bill walked into Merlotte's too...it also made me dizzy. I sat down in my newly restored living room, trying to absorb how much had happened.

I realized I didn't want to think about it.

I stood up, looking for something to clean, but the house was immaculate. So I sat in my living room and turned on the new television. It was bigger than any I ever had growing up and marvelled in it for a while as I tried to relax myself. As the clock ticked closer to nightfall, I grew more and more impatient and the television became more of a background noise to my fretting.

One hour until night. I left the television.

I was in the bathroom looking in the mirror at myself wondering if I was pretty enough. Funny. I never felt that way with Bill.

A knock on the door and a swift glance at the time told me that it was far too early for it to be Eric. Maybe it was Jason. Frowning I walked through the house, catching the light splayed through the windows on the new hardwood floors. This hardly felt like home. I peered through the window beside the door and saw Sam with his hands in his pockets smiling at my hesitancy. I opened the door to my old friend.

He whistled lowly. "Wow, when did this happen, Sook?" he looked around at my newly improved home.

"While I was in Jackson." I shrugged and ushered him inside. It was good to see him, it had been too long.

"Did you hire someone to do this?" Sam asked. We made our way to the kitchen. I offered to make coffee. Sam nodded and I brewed.

"Not exactly." I could almost hear his disapproving tone already and I hadn't even told him Eric was the one who paid for it. "Eric helped me."

"Northman?" Sam flummoxed.

"Yes," I drew out.

"Sookie." I heard him lay his hands on the table. I finally looked at him and he was staring at me in complete confusion. "How much time have you spent with him? How much do you know him? Did you find Bill?"

Great. This was just what I needed: Sam attacking me for hanging out with another vampire. I crossed my arms and gave him a severe look. "Now don't give me that attitude, Sam Merlotte."

"I just want to know what's happening with my friend. You've been gone for over a month, Sookie. I was worried about you."

I held my body tight as I quickly brushed off everything that had happened to me in the past weeks. "I was...Well, I have to go to Jackson tonight to settle the matter."

"Jackson?" Sam asked.

"I went there to find Bill."

"Okay."

"And, Bill's okay now. I think. He's...we're not together anymore." Sam's eyes widened and he shook his head a little shocked. Thankfully, he didn't ask why.

"Where were you these past six weeks, Sookie? With Eric?"

"Hardly. I was with...Bill. And my cousin Hadley." I felt my cheeks grow hot a bit as I tried not to get angry or frustrated when I thought about my time at the palace.

"Your cousin Hadley? Didn't she..."

"Run off with Gran's money when she tried to help her? Yeah," I snorted. I poured him and me a cup and sat down with him at the table. "Also, another thing. I'm sort of this – the King of Mississippi and the Queen of Louisiana are sort of fighting over me."

Sam slammed his cup down on the table, it sloshed out of the mug. "Dammit, Sook. I knew this would happen if you got involved with vampires! They would find out about you!"

I felt a flare of annoyance at his typical response. "Well, it's too late for that and I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to me that way, Sam." I glared at him, but he didn't ease up. "I don't regret ever going with Bill. I don't regret going to Mississippi and I certainly don't regret Eric."

Sam balked, froze and straightened up. "Eric? Are you – are you with him now, Sookie?"

"It's really none of your business, but as a matter of fact, I -," stopping myself, I wondered about what I was saying. I actually had no idea if Eric and I were together. We had sex a few times and he seemed...happy to see me, in so many words, but, what was I to a thousand year old Viking? With Bill it was sort of simple. He liked me and I knew it. I liked him and I knew it. But with Eric...I never understood him. What did he want from me? Once this deal with the King and Queen was settled...then what?

A thousand questions whirring in my head, I got lost in my own thoughts, forgetting about Sam's indignation. He waited for me to answer him, looking smug that I didn't have anything to say. I saw the sun disappear and the sky darken.

"I...I don't know. We hadn't really talked about it," I lowered my voice. My eyes found his and Sam gave me a sympathetic look which was irritating and welcome all at the same time. "I don't know. He's Eric Northman. I'm sure...He's not Bill. Nothing with him would ever be like it was with Bill." Would I be his girlfriend? Or one of many? Sure, he was interested in me now, maybe, but how long would that last? We had spent weeks apart and he hadn't given up on me.

But, really. What did I know about Eric?

Sam's hand found mine. "Sookie," he began. I stared at my friend, who I had one or two not so innocent thoughts about over the years. He had always been there for me, always understood, as much as he could, when I had to do things my way. "You're an amazing woman and if he can't see that, then, he's not worth it." It was a cliché thing to say, but it worked coming from Sam, his sincerity as bright as the sun.

"Thanks Sam. I know you're always there for me." I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I don't know what's going to happen next. But I know -"

"I'll be there. Anytime you need me, Sookie. I'll be there. I won't hesitate."

I smiled slightly. "I know."

Sam moved in closer, holding my hand tight. I felt better. "I wish...I wish I could have helped you. I can help you now. What's going to happen next?"

I felt a chill run down my spine. "First thing, you will let go of her hand." Sam pushed back from me and we both stared at the door where Eric filled up the frame. The dim lighting from outside shadowed his face and I felt my heart thump wildly in my chest and my lower region throb as I remembered last night. I forgot about Sam completely as I was absorbed in a fantasy of Eric taking me on the kitchen table right now.

"Eric," I breathed. His face turned slightly to me before returning to Sam. I wanted to see his eyes. I loved the way he looked at me – it was awe. Did he look at all the girls like that? Or just me? I wanted him so bad at the moment. I tried to think, in my cloud of lust, of a way to get Sam out of the house.

My boss got to his feet after his shock wore off. "Eric," he said stiffly.

"Shifter," my lover spoke. Lover. I was itching.

"Care to tell me what's going on with Sookie?" Sam had balls, I realized. Not many men would stand up to Eric like that.

"I don't owe you anything. I do, however, owe Sookie an explanation," his voice rumbled. I forgot to breathe for a minute.

"Didn't you get back last night?" Sam asked me. I took a second to process what he was asking. I nodded. "Why didn't you tell her last night?"

"We were indisposed."

The meaning behind his words struck a chord in Sam. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He looked at me, but not at me. "You okay?"

"Yes."

"Call me?" he asked.

"Of course." Sam moved his head vaguely and approached Eric, who moved out of the way for Sam to leave. "Bye," I called out. I didn't hear anything as he disappeared into the night.

I moved closer to Eric instinctively until I noticed I could touch him. I reached out, but he held me before I made contact with him first. He dipped me over and found my lips. A current of electricity went through my body and I hummed against his mouth, my arms locking around him. He moved me up and put me on the table. My legs manoeuvred behind his back.

"Sex or talk first?" he asked in the brief instant his tongue went from mine to my neck. I gasped, bucking up to him through our clothes.

"Sex, sex," I murmured.

I saw him wink at me. "Beautiful." I was feeling hot and sweaty as he peeled my clothes from my body and I hastily worked on his pants. I didn't want any foreplay, just him in me. The table didn't exactly bring me closer to his height, so he bent me back and his lean, hard body pushed into mine, his erection, free and pressing into me before I could get comfortable. I cried out as he stretched me in the only way he could – perfectly.

My nails dug into his back and his hiss resonated in my ear. "Make me bleed," he growled. I scratched at his shoulder blades. We both made animalistic noises as he thrust into me hard and deep, my head falling back, having no control of my muscles, instinct taking over completely. I felt the blood on his back as I clawed into him at such a depth that if I was in my right frame of mind, might have scared me. I ran my hands down to the small of his back, to his bottom, imagining the trail of blood down his backside. I pushed my chest up to his, his mouth moving over mine, our tongues tangled in a searing kiss.

I felt his hips move as he pushed in and pulled out of me in a delicious rhythm that had me close to an orgasm that was on the verge of shattering my human body. The needs and urges that coursed through me when I was with Eric could be intimidating but I found myself blindly welcoming them.

"Can I bite you?" I gasped. I heard him moan, whether from my words, or the fact that my hands danced scandalously over his delectable ass.

"Always, my lover. For you, always," he said through gritted teeth.

I had an idea that had me stop. I pushed at him and he looked at me curiously, his eyes blazing in a passion that I only saw from him. "Let me..." I stopped and he moved onto his back as I slid off the table. He looked at me trustingly as I got to my knees, between his legs. I was throbbing, on the edge of an orgasm, but I held off, feeling my blood-lust calling at me just as strongly as my desire for him to be deep inside.

I took his pulsing length into my mouth, scared and aching to do so. His back arched and his hands gripped the sides of the table, which creaked in defiance. I honestly didn't care if the whole house collapsed. My hands dragged along his hard thighs and he made a strangled noise as I pulled him roughly into my mouth.

"Fuck," he uttered. "Sookie." I used my teeth up his length as I removed my mouth. He eased up slightly, panting for breath he didn't need. I kissed the insides of his thighs. He shuddered. The table warned us, but we ignored it. My teeth moved from his most sensitive parts to the spot I found the perfect place to bite. He howled and I sucked down as much blood as I could. The table swayed and his feet planted on the ground as he moved as close to me as possible while I downed his blood into my system. The sounds he was making made me feel so...powerful, it might have been the blood, but the notion that I could do this to a thousand year old being was empowering. I licked at his wounds and he pulled me up onto his lap, sitting forward so that our chests were touching.

I moaned when he was back inside me. He pulled at my hair and we kissed desperately as we rocked against one another, working toward ecstasy. His fingers trailed lightly down my spine and I trembled in his arms. His large hand pushed at my clit and I finally unravelled, his release mere seconds behind mine. His lips went to my neck in our after bliss and before I could pull myself off him, his fangs punctured my skin. I held onto him tightly, letting him have full access to my essence. His hands held me close, and it felt right to be with him in his arms.

I was a little wobbly on my feet as I got dressed for our ride to Jackson. Eric stood in the doorway to my room watching me. It struck up insecurities, but also made me smile.

"So," I said. What was the situation now? I should probably have put my life first than having mind-blowing sex, but I seemed to have a one-track mind when I was with Eric.

Eric walked further into my room and sat at the end of my bed. I thought that was just asking for trouble. I was already envisioning our tangled bodies, naked flesh rubbing, his hands on me, touching me in ways I never...I sensed his lust. Or at least, I thought I did.

"You forget, I can sense you."

"Everything?" I asked, feeling suspicious.

Eric hesitated. "We...may have just formed a blood bond. I wasn`t sure those were real...I thought it was just a warning to vampires, but..." It was moments like these when I saw his vulnerability and I almost had to remind myself that this was Eric Northman. He put a hand to his chest. "I feel you here."

I absently touched my own. "Are you...horny?" I asked him.

He smiled giving me a flash of his fangs had me buzzing. "You can feel me too."

I thought about that. "I've been feeling you since Dallas." He looked startled. "I mean – I've been feeling for you since then." I blushed, wondering how he would take that. We hadn't exactly spilled our guts out to one another and I fretted over his possible rejection.

He stood up and walked toward me, slowly, registering my response to his closeness. His hand was heavy on my shoulder, while his thumb tilted up my neck, which strained to stare up at his height.

His voice lowered, and deepened. A tingle reached my toes when he said: "Does 'feel for you', translate to love?" I looked at him in wonderment and he leaned forward to kiss me as the air around us crackled and – then we were interrupted by the sound of his cell ringing.

He pulled away and was across the room from me talking into his phone.

"We'll fly," he said in response to a question I had no way of hearing. I felt a mixture of emotions tumbling around in confusion and excitement pouring out of the vampire before me. "Yes. I understand. I'll be seeing you soon, your majesty."

For a second, I thought he was referring to the Queen, but the image of Russell toppled into my head.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Eric turned to me and I saw him stiffen. "I made a deal to save your life."

I processed his words. "What does that mean?"

"It means I couldn't have gone to the palace in New Orleans without the help of Russell." I didn't say anything. I waited for him to continue. "I was dying of silver poisoning from my punishment from the Queen. I needed the blood of someone older in my bloodline to survive. Russell is Godric's maker. It was...difficult to approach him since I killed Talbot."

"Complicated," I muttered.

"Yes. But, I made a negotiation. The future of Louisiana will soon be in the grasp of Russell Edgington. And so will I."

I absorbed all of that and found myself needing to sit. "What does that mean?" I asked the question for the second time. I couldn't define everything he was saying, it was all a swimming clutter in my brain.

"It means that I owe my fealty to Russell. I will betray my Queen. And with me...comes you."

I looked up at him slowly, hardly believing his words. "Excuse you," my voice came out in a whisper as I took in his expression. He was serious, his eyes betraying no hint of guilt or anything. I sifted through his emotions and sensed his shame, his worry. Oh, this feelings thing was gonna cause some problems.

"With me you get to live your life here in Bon Temps. You will not have to go to Jackson, you will not be imprisoned. However, when the king requires your services you will respond to it immediately and he will pay you for the inconvenience of your everyday life."

"What?" I muttered.

"As long as I live, your freedom will be respected. I can't guarantee what would happen given an accident..."

"What makes you think I'll outlive you?" I snapped.

"I am prepared for everything, Sookie."

I believed that. He was very forward thinking. "So, basically, I'm in the same situation as I was with Sophie-Anne."

"Hardly," Eric scoffed. "You can still work at that bar for the shifter. You can still be with your friends. You can do everything as normal." He watched my look of horror. "Honestly, when you got involved with Bill and saw the interest that was sparked from other supernaturals for you, did you really think you could just walk away from this world? From me?"

I suddenly felt cold as I stared into Eric's intensity. Goosebumps broke out across my skin and I shivered. "I didn't think about it."

"You were mine from the moment I saw you Sookie."

I cleared my throat. "Shut the fuck up," I whispered in disbelief. "You're turning creepy stalker on me now?"

"I'm a vampire."

"Oh, that's all right then. You're allowed to be creepy now."

He smiled briefly. "It comes with the territory. To humans I am a danger. To vampires, I am –"

"An asshole?" I burst out.

"Are you turning out to be difficult on me now, Sookie?"

I jumped to my feet, feeling anger crush his guilt and be my own. "Damn right I am!"

He laughed at my feisty change in personality. He loved it. I hated him for loving it. "This won't be easy for you and I Sookie."

"You and I? What you and I? You think because you came to 'rescue' me I'm just going to submit into being one of your whores? You think I'll dance at Fangtasia?" He let out a bark of a laugh. "Oh, you got the wrong image there, buddy."

"I'm a selfish creature, Sookie. No one will be staring at you but me."

"Oh? And what if I don't want you staring at me ever again? What if I date someone else?"

Eric still looked amused. "Like who? The shifter? Bill? Please."

I closed my mouth tight at his brush off of my anger. "I am not some stupid, glamoured girl who you can just convince into loving you, Eric. I'm not that way. I won't ever be that way."

"It's too late for that. You already love me."

"Yeah, right," I spit. I turned from him, wondering if I could run. I wasn't sure I could do that when we were expected in Jackson.

I worked for Russell now. Eric was my boss of sorts. I felt so hopeless. So trapped. As if I were back in Sophie-Anne's castle.

"Stop being so dramatic. You are in the best deal a human in your situation could possibly be in."

"Oh because you're such a deal," I grumbled.

"I am."

"I don't like arrogance, Eric." I moved farther away from him. My back still facing him.

"Oh, my lover, you do. I will make you a promise." I felt his hand on my arm as he whirled me around to face him, and he immediately dropped to his one knee.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I rushed out, trying to pull away from him. He held onto me tighter, his fangs gleaming in the moonlight that seeped into my bedroom. "Eric. Let me go."

"I promise that no other woman's," his hand reached forward and cupped me between my legs. I jerked and he pulled his hand away, the wickedness in his eye almost had me yielding to his teasing. "Bodily fluid will be in me. Her come or her blood. It will only be you."

"You are disgusting."

His hand tightened and he pulled me down closer to his level. "I promise that I will kill anyone who so much as threatens to hurt you."

I huffed. "That's just stupid."

"You liked Bill for doing that."

"You're not Bill," I said without thinking. "I don't want the same thing with Bill, with you."

"With me. I promise to be with you in any inane human way you want."

"I have no idea what that means."

"I'll be your boyfriend. I'll be your bonded. I'll be your mate. I'll be your vampire. I'll be your husband."

"Husband?" my voice heightened to something close to hysteria. He brought me down to my knees before I knew it. His hand let go of mine and he was cradling my face. His blue eyes bored into mine and I felt, for a second, like I imagined someone glamoured would feel. I was into his head and I saw everything he thought or felt for me. I was overwhelmed and short of breath.

I whispered, "You don't want me."

"I do," he said; no hesitating, no regret.

"You don't."

"I want you."

I licked my lips, feeling dry. I needed water. I was flopping on dry land like the helpless fish I was. I had seen the sea. I had passed by the shark and now I was on land and Eric, a lion in so many ways, was circling me wondering if he should have me for dinner or a pet.

There I went again with my stupid fish analogy.

And that's how I saw it. Bill was like me. At least we were the same underwater species. Eric was in a whole other category that involved four limbs and a roar that scared the jungle into his will.

"What are you thinking?" he looked as if he knew exactly how idiotic my mind was. I caught his amusement.

"I think you will get bored of me."

"If you were that disposable to me then I would have gotten bored in the first thirty seconds of our meeting. But I haven't. I've fucked you. I've drank from you. I've devoted myself to you and I won't turn away. I love very few things, Sookie, but what I do care for, I hold close to me resolutely."

"Oh," I said.

"Oh," he murmured and kissed me lightly, gauging my reaction.

"Okay," I said as soon as our lips parted.

"Okay," he repeated. "I don't like that human word. Can you say, 'yes, Eric, my lover'? For that is what I am."

I was dizzy staring into his face. I wasn't sure if I had just been manipulated or just fallen in love. "You're mine," I tested.

"Ah," his eyes gleamed and his emotions of respect, desire and liberty were now mine. "I am."

MY WIN FIN, would it be too much trouble to help this FAIL WHALE swim by giving a review?

Hmm?