"Have I done everything you have asked of me so far lover?" he whispered as she got comfortable in his arms.
"Hmm, absolutely...just please, stay with me and hold me for as long as possible. Don't leave me until you have to." She tugged his arms to hold her more tightly.
"I am a man of my word. I will stay here until I can stay no longer." He kissed her head and he smoothed her hair with his hands.
She thought about those words, I will stay until I can stay no longer, she let them echo in her mind. She wondered about their future together. What if he decided next week that he could stay no longer? What if he decided in a year that he could stay no longer? She was getting worked up, but felt it quick enough to cool herself down. She had managed not to alarm him with her worrying. She would handle this later, when she was alone and she could have one of her famous pro's and con's talks all by herself. She sank into the bed, the linens, the comfort of everything.
He held her all night long, not once did he let her go. Just as he said, he was a man of his word. He listened to her breath and he watched her eyes as they fluttered under her lids every now and then. He kissed her hair and he silently willed her to wake up and talk to him. He knew she was exhausted, so he wasn't too upset when she remained blissfully unaware. He thought about what had happened at Merlotte's that night and what steps he was going to take to make sure those assholes went missing, never to be found. He thought about how he was going to handle that Arlene whore. All he knew was that she was never going to be in danger from those people again, he would see to it.
He felt the pull of sleep and the feeling of the sun. He knew it was time to leave her, and as he promised, he had to force himself to do so. He covered her with the soft blankets and kissed her head. He left another note for her.
Lover,
Please make yourself at home, there is food and coffee for you. I must insist that you stay with me. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up. I will be dreaming of you, I love you.
Love,
E
He placed the note on the nigh stand and he kissed her again. He was heavy with exhaustion and pulled himself into the smaller room off of the bedroom. He shut the door behind him but did not lock it. He flopped into the bed and covered himself. She did not wake up for another six hours, she was so comfortable that she just slept and slept.
When she finally did wake she rolled over and touched his side of the bed. She smelled the pillow where his head had rested. She spied the note and read it, she again held it to her heart.
"Food and coffee" She said out loud. She was hungry at this point. She threw on one of his Fangtasia T-shirts and some socks and went to the kitchen. She put on a small pot of coffee and took stock of the items in the fridge. He had even remembered to buy some cream to go in her coffee. She quickly had all the fixings for a ham and cheese omelet with some toast to boot. She found the pans and was amazed how fast she was able to learn the layout of his kitchen.
She had eaten and cleaned up her mess in less than half an hour. Next she needed a shower and she really couldn't wait to feel how his shower was. She started the water and let the bathroom fill with steam. She undressed and quickly got into the massive shower stall. It had one of those energizing, massaging, spa type shower heads. It felt incredible, she could have spent all day in here. But, she was a guest and she was not going to be using an entire days worth of hot water. She saw the shampoo and conditioner and flipped the caps open to smell. It was exotic, it was sweet and had something that smelled like vanilla in it. She liked it and used it to wash her hair. She only imagined that it was some fancy salon brand that you could only get in a place like Paris.
She got out of the shower, forty-five minutes later, and towel dried her body off. She wrapped her hair in one of his towels and put the Fangtasia T-shirt back on. She was comfortable here. She really did feel like she was home. She was not afraid to be alone in his house, she was not nervous. She remembered that her lover was just on the other side of the door she was looking at. She wondered what he looked like as he slept so peacefully. The last time she had interrupted his day time sleep was to save his life in Rhodes. It wouldn't hurt to just peak in, to go in and give him a little kiss goodnight. She unwrapped her hair and tossed the towel into the bathroom.
She silently twisted the knob on the door, it wasn't locked. She pushed it open, just barely enough so that she could see in through the crack. She opened it wider and walked through the door. She looked at her love, she felt her eyes well up with tears. She pushed the door shut behind her. She walked over to him and she touched his hair, he barely moved. There, laying on the bed was Eric. He was wrapped up in a blanket. He was wrapped up in a truly hideous afghan. She crawled into bed with him and wrapped her arms around him. He woke for just a moment.
"Lover, is there something wrong?" His voice was quiet with sleep.
"No, I just needed to be near you. Eric, this blanket, it's"
"Shh, it is my memento. I will keep it always." He wrapped the blanket around the both of them and she rested her head against his body.
"I love you, Eric"
"I love you too".