A/N: So, I just want to say how much I appreciate every review and comment I get. I got behind in replying, and then got anxious because I was behind, and so I stopped replying all together. I am going to shake that off, and I am going to do my best to reply as much as I can going forward. And, review or not, thanks for reading. :D

Chapter 22

Their options were either back to the warehouse or to his condo in Bossier City. The warehouse was more convenient, but much less comfortable, so they packed up their things, including the blood, and headed across the Red River.

Eric had bought the largest of three top floor apartments in the nicest apartment complex in the city. It had been vacant and up for lease, but Eric hadn't wanted to rent. It hadn't been for sale, of course, but Eric had made the owner an offer he couldn't refuse. And a little glamour didn't hurt, either. It wasn't as luxurious as the New Orleans hotel penthouse, and was much more modest than his home or Pam's, but it was comfortable. And, because of its size and the relative privacy the top floor afforded, he'd made extensive changes, including having all of the windows replaced with uv-proof glass and fitted with electronic shutters. If they rose early, they would both be able to move about the living space.

They put their things away, and Eric set up Pam's laptop in the spare room that doubled as an office. He was still woefully behind on his work and started on it right away. First up was finishing Sookie's registration, followed by placing ads for a new day man. And finding one was going to be a chore he wasn't looking forward to.

Sookie wanted him again, but he was busy, so she tried to ignore it. She didn't feel weird about being nosy like she had at Pam's house, so she poked around the apartment, opening drawers and cupboards and closets and looking through his bookshelves. She wasn't really in the mood to read. She'd been able to since long before she'd started school, but she hadn't finished ninth grade before she'd run away, and everything on the shelves looked really intimidating. And a lot of them weren't even in English. She thought about turning the TV on, but there were four remotes, and she didn't know which one was for what. At home in Bon Temps, they'd only had four channels and no remotes at all. And, of course, she and the wolves hadn't had a TV.

She took a shower and washed her hair twice, just for something to do. She didn't have to shave any longer, so she couldn't even do that to pass the time. She got out and blow dried her hair and got dressed. She checked out all of the toiletries on the counter, opening up each one to see what it smelled like. She even snooped in the medicine cabinet, but it was empty. She thought about calling her wolves, but Alcide had told her that they had a gig that night. She wished that she could go.

She still wanted Eric. Needed him. Even though she'd tried taking care of things herself in the shower. Twice. She couldn't take it any longer.

She stood in the office doorway. He was hunched over his desk reading something. He looked frustrated and annoyed and not much at all like he wanted to be disturbed. But he was just so fucking hot, and she was so fucking horny.

Sookie almost turned around and went back out to try to find something to do to try to keep her mind off of sex. But, no. Fuck it. Literally. She walked around the desk and he sat back in his chair. She climbed on top of him and straddled his lap. She was biting her lip until she leaned forward and kissed him. She had her fingers buried in his hair, and he had his hands on her ass under her skirt. She wasn't wearing any panties. She took her time before she pulled away.

"I need you so bad, Eric. Fuck me. Please. Hard and dirty."

He grabbed her ass with both hands and stood up, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He carried her back to the bedroom and dropped her onto the bed.

"Take off your shirt. Leave your skirt on. Get on your hands and knees." His voice was rough and hard. And so fucking sexy. She pulled off her shirt and got on all fours in the middle of the bed.

He undressed while she was getting into position. He stepped up to the bed, grabbed her hips, and dragged her back until she was pressed up against him. He flipped up the very short skirt she was wearing and ran his hands up the backs of her thighs and over her ass. He lined himself up and pushed into her, grabbing her hips. He held on tight and used them for leverage. He didn't hold back. She moaned and started pushing back against him almost as hard as he was pounding into her.

His balls were slapping her clit over and over, and she arched her back so they would hit her at just the right angle. When she was close, he wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her upright without missing a stroke. He cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples hard enough to make her gasp, but not hard enough to hurt. Not much, anyway. Then he moved one hand down between her legs and stroked the other hand up her chest to her neck. He teased her clit with the fingers of his right hand and stroked her carotid with his left thumb, wrapping his hand around her throat. He squeezed a little, exerting the smallest amount of pressure. His voice was hoarse as he growled in her ear. "You're mine, Sookie. Mine." The, 'and nobody else's' was implied.

She knew that he would never hurt her. It wasn't a threat. She didn't even need to breathe. But it felt dangerous, and it was exactly what she'd needed. She came yelling yes. Because she was his.

After, she took off her skirt so she could be touching him all over, and snuggled down against his side with her leg thrown over his. He stroked her hip, the bruises he'd left there fading away to nothing.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you. I know how much you needed to work."

He kissed her head. "I'm not. Sookie, you are still very very young. It's been a thousand years, but I remember what it was like being brand new. Your need for sex almost rivals your need for blood. And it is very much my pleasure to help." He tilted her chin up and kissed her and tried not to think about his own newborn days.

She sighed contentedly and snuggled back down and kissed his chest. It felt almost natural to tell him that she loved him. He smiled and kissed her hair again and told her that he loved her, too.

...

They settled into life in Bossier City. Without all of the upheaval and stress of their first several days together, Sookie was finally starting to feel almost like her old self again. There was a new easiness to their relationship. The argument that they'd had the night Alcide had come to town had really cleared the air between them. They knew exactly where they stood with each other, which made them so much more relaxed and comfortable in their relationship. And especially more playful. And the joy she seemed to radiate was contagious.

Eric was finally making a dent in all of the paperwork he had to do, as well as everything else that had gotten neglected over the previous few weeks. And he was also trying to find some leads to follow. He needed to know who was behind Pam's final death, and almost his and Sookie's. He was making many phone calls and ducking those from nosy vampires interested in his new child, the telepath.

While Eric was busy, Sookie entertained herself. She called her wolves a lot; Eric had arranged for them to get a cell phone on his plan so Sookie could talk to them whenever she wanted. They even had plans to come and visit her soon. She'd also discovered Eric's movie collection, and had started reading a book that he had recommended. And she made sure that he took lots of breaks to fuck.

Going for several days without a day person was proving extremely inconvenient. After he'd placed the ads for a new one, he'd chosen the most likely applicants and arranged a set of interviews at the office he rented in a strip mall in downtown Shreveport. There was a reception desk and a couple of chairs in the lobby, and two offices and a small kitchenette in back. It was where he conducted his sheriff business when it needed to be done in person.

They arrived early so that Eric would have time to prepare. He was sitting in his chair looking through the resumes one last time before the first applicant was due to arrive. Sookie boosted herself up onto the side of the desk and sighed. "I just don't know what I was thinking. I somehow forgot to put on any panties tonight."

Eric looked up at her, a half smile on his face. "Oh?"

She sighed again. "Yup. And here I am wearing one of the shortest skirts I own."

He leaned back in his chair. "Well, then, that is a problem."

"I know! It's a very good thing that you're a gentleman, Eric."

He grinned, and his fangs implied the opposite. "Are you sure about that?"

Her eyes widened in feigned innocence and fear, and she jumped down and ran. She was hoping to get a good head start with the desk between them, but he flew right over it. He caught her around the middle in the lobby before she could take more than a dozen steps. She squealed when he grabbed her and then giggled when he whispered, "Boo!" in her ear. She turned around in his arms. He'd even somehow managed to take his clothes off.

"Show off. Just wait until I'm a thousand years old. Then you'll be sorry."

He kissed her nose. "And then I will be two thousand and even stronger."

"Hmpf."

He picked her up and carried her back to the office, closing the door behind him. He set her back on the edge of the desk and kissed her. He ran his hands up her thighs until they mostly disappeared under her skirt. "Tsk tsk tsk. I see what you mean."

"What are you gonna do about it?" His fingers were doing some very nice things between her legs and she widened them to give him more access. He stepped between them and she wrapped them around his hips.

"I am going to give you an incredible orgasm."

"Oh. Good. Those are my favourite."

He was fucking her on the desk when the bell over the outside door chimed and someone walked into the reception area. Sookie giggled in his ear and whispered, "I hope that door is locked."

"Hold on tight, lover."

He carried her over to the office door and pushed her against it while he checked the doorknob and locked it. He sucked on her neck and kept fucking her. He sure as hell wasn't going to stop.

"Hello…?"

Sookie giggled into his ear again, and it went straight to his dick. He started fucking her even harder. Sookie called out, "Someone will be right with you," and Eric laughed into her neck when the last vowel stretched into a moan when he bit her. And then she bit him, too.

A few minutes later, he was pulling his jeans back on and grinning. She'd only had to let her skirt fall back into place and pop her boobs back into her top. He leaned down and kissed her before he went out to the lobby to introduce himself to the first prospective dayperson of the night. He was still pulling on his shirt as he walked through the door, and Sookie caught a flash of lust from the human they'd kept waiting. She smiled. She didn't have to worry. Eric was hers.

He had set a chair next to his behind the desk for her, and she sat down and picked up the resume that was on the top of the pile. First up was Shelly Norris of Shreveport. Sookie started reading it through to see what was in there that she should ask about.

Eric walked back into the office and sat down next to Sookie. He gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk. "Please. Have a seat."

Sookie finished reading through the resume and glanced up at the woman sitting across from her. Staring at her. The tension in the room was suddenly stifling. Sookie's fangs snicked down and the woman gasped, and then they froze, neither able to look away. Through the bond, Eric felt a confused jumble of contradictions — love and hate and guilt and pride and shame and pity and sorrow and fear and disgust and panic and anger and grief.

The woman, who looked like she could have been quite pretty before a rough life had left its marks, stood up, turned around, and walked out, closing the door behind her. They heard the outer door chime a moment later.

Sookie took a shaky breath and blew it out. She thought that she was going to be able to hold it together, but when she tried to smile up at Eric, she burst into tears anyway. He gathered her up in his lap and let her cry. It was the first time that she had gotten upset in days. He needed to know what in the fuck happened, but he made himself be patient. She would tell him in her own time. And he had the woman's address if he needed to pay her a visit later. When the outer door chimed again, he yelled out for the next applicant to wait in the lobby.

Eventually she took another shaky breath and was able to keep herself under control. She looked up at Eric and managed to smile apologetically. "It's a good thing you wore black."

He chuckled and kissed her head. "You really are hell on my shirts."

"I guess it's a good thing you don't give a fuck."

He smiled. He could feel her getting a firm handle on her emotions. She took some tissues from the box on his desk, muttering about the mess that crying inevitably made, and scrubbed her face clean. She took another deep breath she didn't need, and it was hardly shaky at all. She blew it out, sat down in her chair, looked up at him, and nodded. She was ready to go. She picked up the next resume on the stack.

"Well, we sure as fuck aren't hiring my mother. Who's next?"