Chapter 10
He decided to head to his safehouse rather than go back to the hotel. Sookie was sitting quietly beside him. She was still feeling angry. Still on edge. Still aroused. Normally he wouldn't be so forgiving, but she'd had a rough start, and had done very well at the palace. Well, mostly. He handed her his phone.
"Call your wolves. We will see them tomorrow night. As I told the Queen, I wish to return to Shreveport on Saturday."
She dialed the number and waited. After four rings, a sleepy voice said, "Hello?"
"Hey, Jakey. I'm sorry to call so late."
"Oh, hey Sunshine. No, it's cool. I miss the hell out of you."
"I miss you, too." She started to cry again a little. "Can I see you guys tomorrow?"
"We have a gig at The Wormwood. Can you come? We can hook up after."
She looked at Eric with big, wistful eyes. He wanted to roll his. "Yes, fine. We'll go."
He felt a surge of pure happiness through the bond, and she smiled at him and mouthed thank you. Apparently, he'd been forgiven as well.
She heard Alcide in the background say, "Is that Sunshine? Hand her over." And then he said in her ear, "Hey, beautiful. I miss the hell out of you."
"I miss you so much. But we're coming to see you guys tomorrow!"
"Nice! We even have something special ready for you."
"You're the sweetest, Alcide! I love you."
"Love you more."
"Tell Maria-Star hey for me. And I'll see you all soon!"
"Can't wait."
They said goodbye, and she gave the phone back to Eric.
They pulled into the garage of his house in New Aurora. He led Sookie inside through the kitchen and down the hall to the light tight guest bedroom.
"I have some work I need to catch up on. Dawn is soon. You can shower and rest here for the day. I will bring you one of my shirts to change into."
Sookie got a shower in the attached bath, and the shirt was waiting on the counter when she was through. She looked at herself in the mirror after she'd dried off. She still looked like herself, but she kind of didn't, too. Her eyes were a little bluer, her hair was a shade or two lighter and so much thicker. And, of course, she kind of glowed.
She tried to get comfortable in bed, but she hated sleeping alone. It reminded her of when she still lived at home. It had been awful. She had spent every night worried about her mother burning the house down with a lit cigarette or one of her middle of the night again, or one of the Parish cops showing up to haul her mother off to jail. When you grew up with a mother like hers, you came to expect chaos and upheaval. It was how they lived their lives.
She tossed and turned, and felt more lonely and unmoored the longer she did. Finally, she gave up. She searched for the void of his brain and sensed it nearby. She closed her eyes and really felt the bond. She followed it down the hall. She hesitated outside his room for a long time before she knocked on the door.
He opened it wearing nothing but a pair of red silk briefs. "Yes?" He looked kind of pissed off, kind of distracted and crazy sexy, and she shrank into herself a little bit. She bit her lip. She never felt shy and awkward like this. She was just so all over the place - cold and angry one minute and a nervous wreck the next. Maybe if she just said it really fast?
"CanIsleepinherewithyou?"
His face softened. "Of course. I just thought you'd be more comfortable… But please. Come in."
She curled up on the very edge of the bed again. He stretched out near the middle. Her emotions were a complete mess. She needed reassurance, but after the little dance they had shared at the palace, he was reluctant to touch her at all.
She was so uncomfortable that he couldn't settle down. Fuck it. He gathered her up in his arms and pulled her against him. She tensed for a moment, but then relaxed into him.
Being a newborn was extremely difficult. Between the new instincts, the overwhelming amount of sensory input, and coming to terms with one's own death and rebirth, Sookie's emotional dysregulation was hardly a surprise. Add to that the unfortunate events of her rising, it was no wonder she was having such a hard time. He would try to behave himself. Use restraint. She couldn't control herself yet (although she was really doing a remarkable job, considering). He could. And he was her maker now. She was his responsibility. Unfortunately, between losing one child and gaining another, his emotions were a complete mess, too.
She had only fed from two donors that night and three the night of her rising, despite losing a lot of blood. He probed the bond, and there was hunger there, but it was quite tame. He had no donor blood here, of course. He hadn't been planning on coming. They would feed before going to the bar the next night, to be sure. And then, he supposed, she would be feeding from her wolves. He tried not to think about it. Watching them slobber all over her once had been more than enough.
She snuggled in closer and he tightened his arms around her and kissed her temple. His dick was getting hard, but he could only tilt his hips back so far. She was just going to have to pull away a little, or deal with it. He felt her hesitation at first, but then she snugged her bottom more firmly against him, sighed, and slipped into her daytime rest. He willed his hips to remain still, and allowed himself to drift off into downtime until the sun took him, too.
The next evening, just before sunset, he had hit dial on his cell phone before remembering that Pam was gone. He had thought one hundred times in the past few days little things he wanted to tell her before remembering that he couldn't. This was the first time he had actually picked up his phone. But he was… distracted. About the coming night. And about his feelings - about Pam and about Sookie. And he hated having feelings. He went to end the call, and then hesitated. It rang three times. Four. Then Pam's voice.
Blah blah message. Blah blah beep. Blah.
He hated that voicemail greeting. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to pull himself together. By the time he did, there were several blood drops on the floor between his feet. He felt Sookie rise behind him.
The thirst, which had been dormant, roared to life at the smell of his blood. She was up and standing in front of him, licking his face, in an instant. She froze, and he felt her embarrassment and shame.
"Sshhh, Sookie. It is instinct. It's fine. There's no need to be embarrassed. You are hungry. I should have gotten you more blood."
He put his hand to the back of her head and guided it to his throat. "You can drink more. It will strengthen our bond. And it will tide you over."
She licked his neck, which wasn't necessary, but she was just following his steps. He stifled a groan.
Sookie scraped her fangs along his neck and then bit. He tasted so good. And he smelled so good and felt so good. And she was so hungry. For blood, but for other things, too. She was just wearing a shirt and he was just in his underwear, and she felt herself starting to lose control. She pulled away after only two mouthfuls, and took a big step back. It was that or climb into his lap and start riding his dick.
"Sookie, if you need sex, we can have sex. It is natural for a maker and child. It too will strengthen the bond."
And he wanted her very badly, too. Especially right then. He hoped he wasn't letting his desire for her - and his need for comfort and escape - influence him. But by the third evening, he and Pam had fucked at least a half a dozen times. It would bring them closer. And hopefully eliminate all of this awkwardness and hesitation. She needed to trust him.
"Just sex?"
He sighed. "No, Sookie. You are my child now. That is much more than just sex. But sex is very much a part of the maker-child relationship. Especially in the beginning."
"I don't do monogamy."
He laughed. "You are Vampire. That is to be expected."
He reached out his hand. Eventually, she took it, and he pulled her back between his legs. "We don't need to do anything you don't want to do."
She wanted to do everything, pretty much. But, at the same time, she was kind of terrified. Sex never felt like this. Ever since she'd run away, either she wanted to have it and she did, or she didn't want to and didn't. Which was a damn sight better than before, when she never wanted to have sex but did anyway, either to get out of trouble, to get something she really needed, like food or a ride or a place to stay, or because she wasn't really given a choice. It had been empowering to have the wolves as backup. To be able to decide for herself. But she had never wanted to have it so much and been so conflicted. And she didn't even understand why. Sex was easy, or sex was hard, but it was never complicated.
She looked into his eyes and then looked away. "I… I don't think I'm ready for that."
He tilted her head up until she was looking in his eyes again and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Ok. But when you are, I'll be here. As your maker, it is my responsibility to see that your needs are met."
Her stomach clenched and she took a step back and swallowed. He didn't want her. It was just something he had to do. Because it was his responsibility. "Ok."
"Come. We will go back to the hotel and get your things. You can feed and change there, and then we'll go to the bar. Ok?"
She nodded. Ten minutes later, they were back in the Corvette. She tried to just think about seeing her wolves. She missed them so much. And she missed the uncomplicated life she had
with them. She glanced over at Eric and her stomach clenched again. No. She would dance, and have a good time, and then would fuck her guys. And then, when she wasn't so fucking horny, she wouldn't feel like this any more.