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Chapter 24

It'd been a few months since Eric and Maria had first slept together. As far as she was concerned, nothing had truly changed. She still worked at Fangtasia. She was still at his side when he needed her there. Everything was still the same, and she appreciated that.

Maria felt better now, better than she had in a long time. She was free. The Albatross that had once been hanging around her neck was gone, permanently. She'd eaten his heart, felt it burst within her mouth like a cherry. Their kind might be able to heal from a lot of things, a lot of injuries and pains, but not that. Nothing could survive that, not even vampires.

Being so free now, Maria had embraced the world she found herself in. She even dressed the part of someone working in Fangtasia, though she didn't go to the same extent as Pam and Ginger. She still had standards and, genuinely, didn't think she would like being wrapped in faux, glistening fabric. Dresses like the one Pam had stuck her in the night she was forced to dance, however, those she liked, and she was wearing that same one that night.

Maria was heading to Eric's office with an envelope of money in her hand. The register was too full, so she had to take the large bills and surplus to his safe. Hopefully, no one would be stupid enough to attempt a robbery, but that wasn't entirely the issue. A register's drawer was only so big.

With practiced ease, Maria entered the empty office, and stepped behind the desk where his safe was firmly bolted to the floor. She didn't know the combination, but it wasn't needed. His safe, at least this one, was the type used in most businesses. It had a slot through which to feed bills, bills that were tabulated and stored within the safe's memory. Handy little thing. It made stealing after depositing the money much harder.

It was tedious, though, feeding in individual bills one after another –especially hen business was as good as it was in Fangtasia.

After a few minutes of depositing the money, Maria was given a flash of numbers across the small screen telling her how much she'd given the safe -1,832 dollars.

Maria rose to her feet, dusted off her knees out of habit, and headed for the door. She never sensed him enter the office behind her. She had no idea she was being stalked.

Without warning, Maria was shoved against the wall. She hit with a grunt, held in place by a very hard and very strong, unmovable thing. Eric's arm was across the back of her shoulders, forcing her chest against the wall so she couldn't move.

"Let go of me." She hissed, sure to add the feline crackle to her words.

"No," He growled back.

She felt Eric begin to shove her dress up until it was bunched above her hips. The sound of his belt barely met her ears before, suddenly, he thrust inside her. Maria instantly cried out a sound that held no pain what-so-ever. She pressed her forehead against the wall and wished she had something to grasp onto, if anything just to steady herself.

Eric held her just right for him, one arm around her waist, and proceeded to drive into her. His forehead was pressed to the crown of her head so she heard his heavy breathing. The way he grunted with each thrust and the way his fingers clenched into her body drove her crazy. He was acting almost manic and animalistic. He was acting possessed, as though he wanted her so badly he'd lost control over himself, and that was intoxicating to her. No one had ever wanted her like that, who she wanted, too.

Whimpering words flew from her lips as he continued to thrust into her. As she felt her orgasm near, Maria raked her fingernails down the wall, tearing through the drywall with ease.

Eric grasped her body almost cruelly, kneading into everything he could. It only fueled the moment. Everything was so primal and driven by lust that she was losing herself.

Maria reached behind her head, cradling him close. She was desperate to steady herself on anything, but it didn't matter in the least. Eric had learned how to touch her and did to her benefit. Within seconds, Maria's body exploded. She tried to keep herself quiet at first, but almost instantly decided she didn't care who heard her.

As she swam in euphoria, Maria felt Eric follow her into it, releasing himself shortly after.

He was breathing heavily in her ear, and while she knew it was likely for no reason, she appreciated the sentiment.

They remained still for a moment or two before Eric drew back. Maria lingered longer, grinning to herself over what had happened. As she finally turned, pushing her dress back into place, she noticed him smiling smugly as he buttoned his slacks again.

"You're starting to make working here very difficult." She told him.

Eric scoffed a small laugh. When he was presentable again, he approached Maria. He looked at her for only a second before he swept her up in a breath-stealing kiss. It was brief, but more than enough. He left her shortly after without a glance back.

Her heart raced when he'd gone, and she knew that was the point. She knew half of what he did was to get some sort of reaction from her. It'd been that way since they'd met, and it was only recently that she decided to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.

As she made her way to the bathroom to clean up, Maria thought about her and Eric's "relationship". Plainly put, they didn't have one, but it was something. Maria wasn't foolish enough to enough to assume he had any intentions of being exclusive with her. It wasn't in his nature, nor hers. But, for the moment, they were something.

Then again, it was probably all bullshit and she was deluding herself to somehow protect herself from the truth.

After making herself more presentable, Maria left the bathroom and headed for the club once more. As she rounded the corner, she was confronted with Pam. The towering blond was, tonight, made up of one-third makeup, one-third hairspray, and one-third latex. She was an S&M dream, really.

Pam stood in the center of the stark hall, clearly waiting for Maria with her hip popped out and her arms crossed in front of her. A knowing smirk twisted her flamingo-pink lips.

"Breaks over." She said. "I need you behind the bar."

"Fine," Maria replied.

She approached the blonde and then walked past her.

Maria and Eric weren't exactly quiet whenever they had sex at Fangtasia, and given how close he and Pam were, it'd be foolish to assume his progeny wasn't entirely aware of what was going on. As a result, Pam liked to tease Maria about it. Actually, she'd always tease the brunette, but this simply gave her even more ammunition.

More than once Pam had even asked when she'd get a turn. Maria considered her attractive, but women didn't do it for her. Maria had no doubt Pam was skilled, though.

It was nearing five-thirty in the morning. Fangtasia had been closed for an hour, the protestors were finally gone, the rest of the employees had gone home, and it was now Eric's turn to do the same. After saying farewell to Pam, he sped away from the nightclub and sailed across Shreveport to the older side of town where houses still had land.

The freshly-painted house, gleaming white with black shudders and jasmine growing up trellises that had been affixed to the wrap-around porch, stood on a sloping hill. The porch light was on just for him, and it made him grin.

Eric sauntered up to the house, beyond the motorcycle, and through the front door with a key of his own. He slid it back into his pocket as he jogged lazily up the stairs and diverted his path to Maria's room without a misstep.

She was lying in bed, presumably asleep, when his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He was determined to ignore it until she spoke.

"Answer that, please." She told him plainly.

Smirking to himself, he did.

"Northman," He said.

The man on the other end of the line, his lawyer, had some very interesting information for him. Eric was about to leave, to step away so he was far enough Maria wouldn't be able to hear the conversation, but he didn't have the chance. She heard everything already, and sat up. She arched an annoyed brow at him.

Eric gave her an innocent expression and shrugged his shoulders. It didn't have the desired effect, so he wasn't entirely surprised to see her eyes narrow.

"Get me the paperwork." He finally said. "And I'll talk to you tomorrow."

With a farewell, Eric hung up the phone. He slid it back into his leather jacket pocket before sliding the garment off his shoulders.

"What?" He asked casually.

"Are you honestly planning to buy that fucking house?"

Eric's brows rose at the surprising level of animosity in Maria's voice, but as before, he kind of expected it. Months ago, something told him to keep an eye on Sookie's house. Her brother didn't strike Eric as the sort of person who'd be able to hold onto it for the long-term, so Eric acted accordingly. At the time, he didn't have plans, at least nothing solid. Now, however, hearing that it's on the market, his plans might change.

"Maybe." He said as he undid his belt and slid it off.

Maria rolled her eyes and fell back onto her bed. "Why bother?"

He began to kick off his shoes and unbutton his jeans. "I don't think she's dead."

"She'd better be."

Eric chuckled to himself. He continued to strip out of his clothing until there was none left, and then approached the bed.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" He openly teased her while he slid into the bed behind Maria.

"Don't flatter yourself, Viking." She replied a bit tersely. He grinned wider as he got comfortable. "Every time that blonde gash makes an appearance, shit goes wrong in a big way." She rolled onto her back to look at him. Eric met her stare. "Why do you want to buy her house?"

She asked the question without any true tone, but he could tell she didn't like the idea. He couldn't say if it was jealousy or not, but she seemed very unhappy with it.

Her reaction surprised him just a bit, but he couldn't pinpoint why. He'd have thought she had nothing to worry about in any regard when it came to Sookie Stackhouse. Maria was attractive, smart, talented, strong, and inhuman. All of them were points toward the positive in his opinion. Then again, he'd seen how she reacted to the fairy. That level of fear and hatred were too deep to ever dissipate.

As he laid there staring at her, Eric's first instinct was to simply lie to her, to tell her what he knew she wanted to hear like he would with anyone else, but somehow managed to stop himself. For months, Eric had been suppressing his instincts and simply told her the truth when she asked.

"Because I want to feed off her." He said simply.

He saw her flinch slightly, but she didn't immediately offer a response, and when she did speak, he could tell she had chosen something other than her first thought.

"Then why buy the house?"

He was slightly confused. "Buy the house, buy the human."

She gave him an odd stare. "That's not how it works." She told him. And then her expression softened and she rolled her eyes. "Then again, flirt with her." Maria turned onto her side again, showing him her back once more. "She'll probably let you feed off her and open her legs, too."

Eric smiled softly to himself as he looked at her. Maria truly didn't like Sookie, but he understood why. Yet, it was that very thing that Eric desired so much. He wondered, albeit briefly, if his intense need to feed from Sookie was the exact sensation, although on the other end of the spectrum, Maria felt when she saw the blonde. On a very basic level, it would make sense. They were just animals, after all.

Eric turned onto his side and inched closer to the young woman beside him. The heat poured off her body and seeped into him. He found that he enjoyed the sensation more and more each time he was near her.

The scent of her hair filled his nose as he buried it within her black locks. Eric snaked his hand under the blanket and then her shirt, resting it in the crook of her waist.

"Tell me you don't want me to buy the house, and I won't." he whispered into her hair.

Maria didn't immediately speak. The longer she remained silent, in fact, the less Eric liked it. He wanted her to tell him not to buy the house. He'd still attempt to convince her that he should because he had every intention of doing it, but he wanted her to tell him no. It might have been the childish part of him, but Eric wanted Maria to be jealous. Something so simple meant she was possessive of him, and he liked the idea of it. He wanted her to be greedy for him because it stroked his pride and fed his ego.

That wasn't what happened, however.

"Do what you like." She told him.

He felt himself scowl his disappointment. Anticlimactic.

Eric had written a blank check for the people renovating Sookie's house. Whatever needed to be done, from electrical to plumbing, was taken care of. They were trivial things, really. The only real expense was the hideout he had built into the house. It was light-tight and secure. Even if Sookie didn't come back at any point, he could put the house in Maria's name and have somewhere else for him and Pam to be safe.

Still, for some reason, he knew Sookie was alive. Perhaps there was a practical reason. Even though Eric hadn't sensed her in just over a year, Sookie Stackhouse had a surprising ability to keep living despite the odds. He doubted she was dead because no one had been able to kill her yet.

As Eric sat on his throne and let his eyes dance around Fangtasia, they –like most nights- drifted to Maria. She was tending bar with Pam standing not too far behind supervising. There was no need for the blonde to be there, but it amused her to hang over Maria, to antagonize her. Maria never showed whether she was bothered or not.

As he watched the dark-haired young woman, Eric wondered how things would change when Sookie inevitably returned. With her gone, he was able to ignore the fact that he was truly obsessed with Sookie's blood. When he smelled it, he had to call on every bit of the self-control he'd gained through a thousand years of living, and that wasn't insubstantial. But, no matter how stoic he was on the outside, the desire was very real and very strong.

Because he was at least that self-aware, Eric genuinely thought about how things would change because they definitely would, at least to a minor degree. He liked how his life currently was, though. He enjoyed his work and the people who surrounded him. He enjoyed being able to "hunt" Maria and claim her in the end. Theirs was a strange connection, but entirely worth preserving. And Maria wasn't wrong. Things tended to go very badly when Sookie was around.

With that realization came another. Maybe it would be best if Sookie never showed up again?

It was the middle of the day when she was brought out of her sleep. Eric was awake, sat upright and staring into the distance of her bedroom. Maria opened an eye to look at the odd expression on his face.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice muffled by her pillow.

"Sookie's back."

Maria ground her teeth and growled as she rolled over in bed. She doubted she'd be able to go back to sleep. She felt the fires of anger flash through her body at the mere mention of the blonde's return.

"I give it a week before things get bad." She said.

As she lay there, staring at the double doors that led to her balcony, currently covered by thick curtains, Maria scowled. Fucking Sookie Stackhouse…

Season 4, Episode 2

You Smell Like Dinner

Sookie was furious, so furious that she was shaking as she stormed through the doors of Fangtasia. Portia just called her and told her the person behind the purchase of her house. Eric-fucking-Northman!

God damn it!

Sookie pushed through the protestors and threw open the door. She pushed through the people dancing –both vampire and human alike- and headed immediately for the throne where she knew Eric would be sitting. What she hadn't expected however, was what awaited her.

When Sookie stood only a few feet from the dais, she instantly paused. Eric's throne was always in the middle and most nights that was where he could be found. On either side always sat two more smaller, yet equally imposing chairs. They were supposed to be empty. They were always empty, but not tonight.

Sookie was frozen in place when her eyes fell to Eric. On his right, the King's Right Hand, was Pam. To his left sat Maria. The three of them were disarmingly beautiful and statuesque. Eric was a vision in dark fabrics, from his jeans to his shirt, and even his jacket and shoes. His ashen hair was slicked back as per his usual and his jaw was strong. Sitting with his back straight like he was made Sookie's insides quiver. He looked so strong.

Pam was dressed in glittering burgundy. Her makeup was impeccable, her hair ironed straight, and her dress something that only she could pull off. It was sharp, like her. A line cut straight across the chest leaving one side completely bare, but the other shoulder and arm wrapped in fabric. It hugged her curves and looked painted on. Her hosiery, shoes, and even her lipstick matched the vibrant color, and the intense look of uncaring on her face sent waves of cold into the room.

Maria was no less intimidating. Unlike Pam, she was clad in black leather. Her legs were wrapped in the subtly-shining fabric. The boots on her feet matched. Her torso was encircled with a black corset that pushed her bust up, synched her waist to make the angle even more exaggerated. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her makeup was dusky which made her green eyes glow. She still wore the gloves she always had on, and a silver trinket around her wrist, but Sookie thought the cross that rested between her breasts was in poor tastes. She was surrounded by vampires, after all.

All three of them were pale and perfect and genuinely disturbed Sookie a little bit. The feeling was made all the more prominent when their collective gazes drifted to her. Sookie actually jumped.

An almost sinister smile twisted Eric's lips while Pam arched a brow and Maria glared.

"Well, well, well," Eric practically cooed the words. "Look who's back."

It took her a moment, but Sookie soon found footing. She straightened herself and approached the trio of unnatural creatures. She kept her gaze on Eric.

"You bought my house."

"I did." He grinned wider.

Sookie crossed her arms over her chest. "I want it back."

Eric chuckled. When he spoke again, it wasn't in English. It was in that language she didn't understand, but apparently Pam and Maria did because Pam grinned wickedly while Maria rolled her eyes. Sookie's gaze danced between the three. Pam said something back, and then Maria added to it, but Sookie didn't know what the hell they were saying and it made her angry.

"English, please!" She snapped.

None of them seemed the slightest bit put out by her response, but Eric stood. He motioned toward the back room, walked past her, and soon vanished through the door. Sookie looked over her shoulder at the two women left behind. Pam met her stare head on, still grinning that damn smirk. Sookie reluctantly looked at Maria. She was still glaring and, without warning, hissed hatefully at the blonde.

Sookie jumped and quickly darted off after Eric. She couldn't be sure, but part of her thought she could hear Pam and Maria laughing at her as she ran off.

When she finally found Eric again, he was in his office sitting behind his desk waiting for her. He looked up at her casually, which instantly annoyed her.

"What can I do for you, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Give me back my house."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I bought it. It's mine."

"Why would you even want it?"

What he said sent a chill of excitement down her spine.

"Because I want you to let me claim you."

Sookie felt her insides tremble, fueled by an odd sense of desire she was surprised she felt.

"Why would I do that?" She asked, trying to remain cold and angry. "So you can drink my blood?"

Her mind flashed with images of his lips on her skin, of his teeth piercing it, and him sucking on her blood. Her body instantly flushed. She had to force herself to remain calm while her heart thundered.

"Yes," He told her simply. "Your blood makes you very desirable. Whether vampires know it or not, you smell incredible. It's the fairy in you that they want. You need protection, which I can give you."

"If?" She knew there had to be a catch.

"I get to feed off you." He said.

She clenched her jaw while her pulse continued to race. "And that's it? You just want my blood? Nothing else?"

"I don't need you for anything else."

Sookie flinched. She hadn't expected him to sound so casual and, honestly, a little mean when he answered her. It was cold, which she was shocked to realize hurt her feelings.

"No," She said. "It's my house."

"Not according to the paperwork."

She glared hatefully which he seemed to find amusing. Grinning again, Eric rose fluidly to his feet, stepped around his desk, and soon stood over her. He bent over, ensuring that his eyes were level with hers.

"You'll come around." He told her confidently.

Flustered and filled with more than simple anger, Sookie did her best to sound brave. "Don't count on it."

And with that, she spun on her heel and charged out of the club entirely. If Eric wouldn't give her the house back, she'd go to Bill. Surely he would be able to convince Eric.