A/N: Um. Sorry it's been a few months?

Chapter 25

Eric supposed that he couldn't blame Sookie for being excited about their trip to New Orleans, but she had talked about little else since they'd gotten the invitation to the queen's ball nearly a month before. She missed her wolves, of course, and was anxious to see them. They'd had plans to visit her in Shreveport but they had fallen through when The Werewolves had booked a steady gig.

They were leaving later that night and Eric was busy taking care of last minute business. He was tied to his phone, so Sookie had tagged along with Tray as he ran his errands. They had become very good friends and it had helped shape the Were into an excellent dayman. He and Eric had come to respect each other; Tray saw that Eric treated Sookie well, and Eric knew that Tray would protect her with his life. Tray loved her. Not romantically, necessarily, but he did. Eric tried not to let it bother him. He couldn't really blame Tray. It seemed nearly impossible not to love her. Most supes he'd introduced her to had been charmed almost on sight. Even him, in spite of the circumstances. He had been an ass to her for those first few hours, but he had taken his first step towards loving her when she had pushed her way into his arms in her rest early that first morning.

There were vampires coming from all over the country and he would be tied up with business and diplomacy for most of the week leading up to the event. There would be a couple of functions that she would need to attend, but he wouldn't ask her to sit through hours of boring meetings when she was so anxious to see her friends. Sookie would have plenty of time to spend with them. He trusted her, and he would try very hard not to be jealous.

Plus he knew that the more time the other vampires spent with her, the more they would want her. He was already dreading the attention she would get. She would be with him, of course, and he would be able to track her blood if they were separated, but she was so gentle. So vulnerable. And she had been through so much. He didn't want anything to hurt her. Better she stay with her canine bodyguards as much as possible.

He hoped that she would hear something about Pam's final death on the occasions that she did accompany him, though. He knew that he would be doing some digging himself. It wouldn't bring Pam back to him, but he was dying to get his hands on who was responsible.

Sookie and Tray walked through the door just as Eric finished his last phone call and walked out of his office. Sookie ran to him and jumped. He caught her and spun her around and then kissed her. She deepened it and soon she had her legs wrapped around his middle and her hands were buried in his hair and things got pretty hot and heavy very fast. When he finally pulled away, they were both grinning. He wasn't looking forward to the upcoming week, but her happiness was contagious.

Tray had been about to clear his throat, but laughed instead. Eric raised an eyebrow at her. She laughed, too.

"I just told him to quit rolling his eyes and to hold his damn horses and stop being such a dick."

Eric snorted and kissed her hard again before he set her down and gave his dayman some last minute instructions. Tray was driving to New Orleans ahead of them in Eric's Cadillac with their luggage and blood and supplies. Eric and Sookie would follow along behind, but not until after a little alone time.

If anything, they wanted each other even more as time went on, and they were all over each other whenever they had a few spare minutes. Or hours. Or nights. She had left with Tray well before he rose — Eric had gotten her UV-proof sunglasses, and she wasn't too sleepy if she woke up after four or so — and they hadn't had sex since dawn. They were aching for each other.

After they made love, and then showered and made love again, they got in his brand new Corvette and headed for New Orleans. He would buy her something of her own when they got back to Shreveport. He thought that she would likely pick something cute and sporty, but he would get her whatever she liked.

On the way, they talked and held hands and she sang along with the radio. He cringed, even though he found it oddly endearing. She even fell asleep for a little while, which charmed him even more. She woke up and stretched as they were pulling into the garage of his safehouse. Normally, he would have stayed at the hotel, but there were too many bad memories there. For both of them. This was safer, even if it was less comfortable.

He parked next to the Cadillac and they went inside.

It was pretty late — or early for those who weren't nocturnal — and her wolves were probably sound asleep in the back of the van, or at least snuggled up there in a puppy pile. They were coming over just past sunset the next night, and she could hardly wait.

But, there were certainly things that she wouldn't mind doing to make the time go by faster. Especially when she found herself staring at Eric's ass while he was talking to Tray. She walked over and slid her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. She gave it a tug, pulling him away mid-sentence.

Night Tray!

She dragged Eric into the bedroom and closed the door. It didn't take her long to get him naked and on top of her.

She didn't care to think about how much practice he'd had over the centuries, but the way he kissed and the way he fucked… She didn't think that anyone in the world felt as good as she did right then, with him lying on her, pressing all of his weight against her and pushing her into the mattress. She was glad that she didn't have to breathe. He was kissing her and making love to her with slow, deep strokes, all while pushing love and need through the bond. She had her hands in his hair, and she pushed love back. She did love him, so much it scared her sometimes. But not right then. Right then she wasn't scared at all. He moved his mouth and tongue and teeth to her neck, and then her ear. And that was just as good. Even better because it gave her another sensation to feel. And she really loved it when he kissed her there. Then he changed up the depth and rhythm a little, and she started to fall apart.

"Oh my god, Eric. Right there!"

He hit her right there again and again until she came so hard that she couldn't help but scream his name. She dug deep crescent moons into his shoulders with her fingernails, and he liked it. He backed off and just kissed her gently while barely moving inside her. As she recovered, he gradually deepened both until he was kissing her hard and making love to her with long slow strokes again.

He did it over and over again, getting her close and then pushing her over the edge with some new trick. She must have cum a dozen times and, as far as she could tell, he hadn't yet cum once, or stopped fucking her. His hips were moving the whole time. She knew he had good control when he wanted to, but this was insane. They'd been at it for hours. And it wasn't that he wasn't feeling incredible, too; she felt exactly how turned on he was and how much he was enjoying himself. It made her feel even better, but she didn't know if she could take much more pleasure.

He pulled his mouth away and then leaned back down to kiss her softly one more time. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Eric." Her voice was soft and breathy.

"Bite me when I bite you."

She nodded. He kissed her again and started doing something else with his hips and she moaned into his mouth. Her climax started building, but much more slowly this time. She pulled her mouth away and cried out in a pleasure that was so intense that it was bordering on pain. But such a good pain. And it just kept building. She didn't think she could stand much more, but she didn't want it to end.

She was so close now. He moved his mouth to her neck again and then sucked and kissed across her throat to the other side. After giving her goosebumps, he sucked her skin hard into his mouth and then bit as she fell over the edge. She latched onto his shoulder with her fangs. Her orgasm felt like it lasted forever. His, too. She could feel it, both in the bond and inside her as he filled her with wave after wave of cum.

When they were both done, he gently pressed his forehead and nose against hers, supporting himself on his elbows and forearms. She smiled softly, enjoying the closeness. No matter what happened in the next week, good or bad, she had just spent almost four glorious hours thinking about nothing except how good they felt together and how much they loved each other. She took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. "You always know exactly what to do to make me feel good."

He laughed quietly and then kissed her forehead. He rolled off of her onto his side and gathered her into his arms, all in one motion. "Now, Sookie, we both know that that isn't true."

She snuggled into him and kissed the skin right in front of her mouth. It was in the middle of his chest, almost between his nipples, but just a little bit higher. She took a deep breath through her nose, enjoying his scent, and then sighed happily again. "Well, you haven't done anything really stupid in a long time."

He laughed quietly again and kissed her head, holding her a little tighter.