Again, thank you all so much for the reviews, and for your alerts on this story. It sincerely made my day! :-) I loved reading your thoughts, I was so excited. I'm hoping this chapter isn't horribly written, I'm so nervous about posting on here! I know I'm not a good writer in any sense of the word, so I really hope it isn't a disappointment!

Hope you enjoy. If not, feel free to let me know!

What Lurks Beneath

Chapter Three

I didn't know how I had gotten into the bathtub, or how he had somehow ended up in here with me... But I wasn't exactly complaining.

Never had I felt such a pulsing need before. I longed to reach out over Gran's old rusting bathtub to run my thumbs over his hard, flattened, hairless nipples. Oh Lord, I desired nothing more than to reach right over and run my hands over his rib cage, his firm taut stomach, his thighs, his-

"Please," I gasped, my voice crackling. "Please, just stop teasing me and get on with it all ready!"

He stared deeply into my eyes as a jubilant smile seeped slowly across his face. "With pleasure, my tiny human," he said, dangerously low-pitched and raspy.

His hands cupped at the sides at my face, long fingers trembling. At first, I couldn't understand all the trembling, but then I suddenly realized what he was showing me. He was trying his mighty hardest to keep in control. To keep those strong hands and flutteringly gentle fingers from crushing my face in. I wanted to cry with joy at the sweet knowledge of it.

He moved in, about to go for the kill and crush his lips into mine but then, suddenly... he stopped.

He paused, his mouth about an inch away from mine, and his eyes widened in fear.

Just as quickly, I realized.

The fangs were out on show. Glistening. White. Dauntingly beautiful.

I didn't want him to feel insecure and I knew he did, the second he tried to shrink away. Like I gave a rat's ass about all of that. But I wasn't going to have that, darn it.

"Don't you dare," I warned firmly. Then, I burst out giggling. Must have been from all the nerves. I felt like a giddy schoolgirl. "I don't care about the fangs!" Only it came out more like a desperate squeak, to my embarrassment.

I leaned up in the tub, slipping and sliding onto my knees. Water sloshed up over the edge of the bathtub.

Making a point of staring into those haunted shining eyes, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his fangs. Sharp like a razor's edge and hard. I didn't even know where such bravery had come from, such courage. He flinched away, just the slightest tad, still keeping those lips so close I could feel his breath on my face. Then, at long last, he leaned in and kissed me, a gentle kiss, tentative but lingering.

I felt as if I were floating on cloud nine, and I didn't even know this vamps name. Let alone, when I thought about it... how he'd managed to get into Gran's house while I was lying completely wet and naked in the tub!

"Sookie," he moaned roughly. "Give yourself to me completely!"

His hands clutched at my face, and before I knew it, he was full-on knocking the wind out of me, this kiss growing the strongest of all. A pain so excruciating seared through my lips and I cried out.

My hands tugging fistfuls of his short, silky hair in protest. My body squirming in desperation for him to stop...

No...

No!

It was going all... wrong!

"Stop!" I cried, wriggling. Splashing soapy water all over. Thrashing around. "Not like this!"

He threw his head back, away from me and the look in his blue eyes frightened the life out of me. Crazed. Darkened. Aroused.

His mouth was smeared with a shiny wet patch of blood. Hell, his fangs were even stained with it.

My blood.

I jolted awake at once, mid-scream.

My nightlamp was switched on, blinding me. It took my eyes several minutes to adjust. Eventually, I noticed Gran was crouching over me, worried and upset.

"Sookie," she cried, her hands flying up to cradle my head, her tiny fingers smoothing down my hair gently. "It was just a nightmare, dear."

My heart was pounding in my ears. I felt my pulse racing with adrenaline over the dream. And what a dream it was. It was nice but... weird, all at the same time. I couldn't seem to wrap my head around it.

I looked up and met Gran's frightened eyes. She was staring at me as if I had turned crazy.

I put on a smile, just for her. "Gran, I'm fine," I laughed out a little weakly. For a moment, she gave me a look, as though she didn't believe what I was telling her one bit. "Gran," I repeated, a little quivery this time around. "I swear, I'll be fine."

She left my room soon after, to return to her bed, shivering away in her thin nightgown.

I sat up, ever so slowly to rest my head against the headboard, trying to regulate my breathing. Warily, I lifted a hand to touch my lips, then brought it back down to inspect it closely. Nope. No blood in sight, thank goodness.

Just a dream. And a god-awful crazy one, at that.

Eventually, I clicked off my nightlamp and curled back into bed. It took me a while longer to sleep. All I could think of, was how pitiful that big vampire looked, soaked and shivering in the rain outside. When I thought back to it, I realized I hadn't exactly reacted in the most polite way possible. I really ought to have given him a blanket, or something.

I resolved that tomorrow evening, I would put one of Gran's old afghan blankets out on the porch for him, just in case.

Still... even with the idea in mind, I still found myself unable to sleep. But, somehow, I had managed to because the last thing I saw, was those haunting pitiful eyes of his, before a deep slumber had taken over.

-0000-

I had managed to get up earlier than usual the next morning, despite my eyes feeling permanently heavy-lidded due to lack of sleep. Not surprising in the least, Gran was all ready awake and working over the stove, making Jason and I an early morning breakfast before we started our daily walk to school. She was halfway through flipping eggs over in the hissing frying pan, when the phone rang.

I got up from the table to answer it, but she gave me a funny look. Gran absolutely hated Jason and I answering the phone. She felt funny about it, maybe because she assumed she was the lady of the house, or something.

"Hello, this is Adele Stackhouse answering," she intoned gently, with the same reply she always did whenever answering calls. "Oh, really?" She laughed, sounding a little more chirpy and excited than usual. Hmmm. That was a little strange. "We have nextdoor neighbours? Oh my. Why hadn't I noticed the Compton residence is now occupied? Oh! A man and his lovely young daughter! How exciting! Oh, you met him last evening? What was he like? Was he kind?"

I listened to Gran's conversation half-heartedly in disbelief. Someone had actually bothered moving into that creepy, large house a few metres across our yard? I was surprised. I'd bet the new owners would have had a lot of work to do on their hands.

Gran had told me the house had been empty for over twenty-five years, and that the last owner had died in there of a heart attack at eighty-five years old. Rumour had it, he had been dead in there for over two weeks, until someone finally came along and knocked on the door before noticing and calling 9-11 to investigate. Even simply looking at the large, looming weatherboard house next door to Gran's gave me the most creepiest feeling inside.

While Gran was distracted, hovering over the stove and chatting away animatedly about our new neighbours, I hopped up from my seat to steal a look or two into the yard across from us. A badly painted, white removalists van was parked in the cracked ashphalt driveway.

"Oh my!" Gran continued to her friend on the other line, "Who would have thought? I did realize it was quiet over there. They mustn't have arrived until after dark. Of course, Evelyn! Of course, Sookie and I would just love to pop over and say hello!"

Taking another quick peek while I had the chance, I lifted up on my tippytoes to inspect their clothesline. Funny, there was all ready clothes draped over on the line. A boring set of plaid dress shirts and several long pairs of black cotton socks.

Before I had realized I'd been caught out snooping, Gran sent me a dissaproving nudge with her elbow. She hung up a moment later. "Sookie, stop being childish. Will you?"

I felt a little guilty, but I was only curious. No harm done in peeking out the window into their yard, was there?

"Sookie, stop prying into other people's business," she snapped, a little louder this time around.

I spun around and gave her an innocent look. "What, Gran?" I batted my eyelashes at her, then burst out laughing over the annoyed look she shot right back at me. "Now isn't that a little hypocritical of you, since you were just clearly talking on the phone gossiping and prying for information yourself?"

She waved her hand in the air, dismissively. "Now Sookie, that's different..."

"Different?" I scoffed, in playful outrage. "Oh, Gran. Get off your high horse!"

"Sookie!" she hissed in a final tone that put no room up for anymore silliness this early in the morning. "Now, I told Evelyn that tonight we would be heading over and introducing ourselves to Mr. Compton and his daughter, Miss. Jessica. And you will act like the polite young lady that you are."

"But Gran," I started to whisper in protest. I really was not in the mood to play friendly with our new nextdoor neighbour's right now.

She gave me a look that told me it was not up for discussion, so I relented with a defeated nod.

"Fine," I sighed, "But just so you know, Gran, I can't be forced into liking them. And if the clothes hanging on their clothesline are anything to go by... I'd say they have terrible taste!"

Predictably, just like always whenever Gran managed to get her own way, she floated around the kitchen humming to herself blissfully as if she hadn't heard me speak, acting like we were planning on meeting the ever-wonderful Prince Charming and his loyal Steed tonight. I hadn't seen Gran acting so happy in what felt like forever.

Little did I realize then, just how crazy things were about to get...