Oh man, I really hope you don't hate me for keeping you waiting. But there was a ton to catch up on at work after a week away on vacay. To make it up to you though, there just might be some lemony goodness down there someplace…

Mucho thanks to Zeewriter and Pixiegiggles who helped whip this bad boy into shape!

FYI, "god morgan" means good morning in Swedish

I don't own them - I just wish I had Eric alone in a closet for an hour.

))((

Sookie POV

August 14, 2003

It was early and still dark. I had woken up from a dream but had forgotten it the second my eyes opened. Annoying, really; it may have been a continuation of a particularly hot dream I'd been having lately involving Eric, a bucket of ice, and not much else. I looked to my right to see Eric happily sleeping on his stomach. He was naked - his perfectly sculpted back, narrow waist and insanely perfect ass (jealousy-inducing, really), were a welcome sight at 5:56am. Eric slept like the dead; nothing short of a fire could wake the man up, so I wasn't too worried about making noise as I left for the kitchen.

I had been living with Eric for almost exactly two years. I had moved out of Amelia's apartment immediately after that fateful, sad day. I wanted to be close to the man I loved, I wanted his heat and his company. Eric lived in a huge loft off of Broadway near Spring Street. It was all birch wood, white and gray stone – very modern, very Architectural Digest Magazine. In fact, he had found his interior designer from the magazine's pages. He loved it, I … tolerated it. I didn't have much to bring with me except for Gran's quilt and few recent flea market finds, but they were vetoed and stored in a stainless steel chest in the back of the front hall closet.

Eric didn't know how to use the coffee machine, dishwasher, or even the washing machine and dryer. This shocked me, but what shocked me even more was Mrs. Bjurstrom. Mrs. Bjurstrom was Eric's maid, cook, and all around surrogate mom. I can remember the first time I even attempted to do laundry, she almost fainted. I broke a glass and asked her where the broom was so I could clean it up once, only once. I think I broke her heart a little that day. I'd gotten used to her after two years, though. To be perfectly honest, I had damn near forgotten how to iron, fold napkins, or set a table.

The only thing I was "allowed" to do for myself or Eric was cook. She was all for me cooking for my man – she was wonderfully old fashioned that way. However, God forbid I should try to clean up afterward. She wouldn't show up until 8am though, so I still had a few hours. I was tempted to be a rebel and wash my coffee cup, but I instinctively knew that she would figure it out somehow.

It was early, true, but it was never too early for cheese eggs. I started the coffee going and pulled out the eggs. A steaming plate of eggs and toast, a cup of coffee, and a brain full of early morning news and I felt right as rain. Eric didn't usually get up until after nine and I wasn't due at the store until ten. It was almost eight though, so I dropped my dishes in the sink and poured another cup just as I heard Mrs. Bjurstrom unlocking the front door.

A little shuffling, a door closing and opening, and a few minutes later, there she was in her crisp white dress, apron and shoes - her ever perfect bun intact, a smile on her face.

"God morgan, Sookie."

"God morgan, Mrs. Bjurstrom," it had taken months before she would call me by my first name, but I insisted.

"Someone was up early I see?"

"Mhmm, woke up before dawn for some reason, thought I'd have some eggs."

"When I was pregnant I always woke up early starving," she said lifting a brow my way.

Lately, she had been dropping some not-so-subtle hints about marriage and children. I won't lie, I had thought about those things too, but Eric wasn't ready and I knew that. Mrs. Bjurstrom, however, was more than ready to add nanny to her list of jobs.

I smiled at her sympathetically and went to the bathroom to jump in a shower. Now the shower, I loved. It was just this big tiled room, but it was a big tiled room with something like 50 shower head nozzles. Oh the things those nozzles could do! I turned on the myriad of shower heads, adjusted the water temperature, and made my way into the middle of the sprays. Only sex was better - speaking of which ….

I stepped to my right and angled myself toward the wall. My favorite nozzle, one of my best friends actually, hit me just right. I think the nozzle was meant for the lower back, but being short had its advantages sometimes. A rush of warm water hit me, making me moan. Just a little spread of the legs, an angling up of my hips and good lord that was the sweet spot. Something about the heat, the pressure, the constant wet rush, got me off in no time and over and over again - it was almost as good as Eric.

I threw my head back as my body responded. My stomach clenched, my breaths were shallow, and when my body began to shake from its orgasm I let out delicious moan. No sooner had I come down from my high when a certain voice snapped me out of my fog.

"I'm having that jet removed. I shouldn't be jealous of a shower head."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," he said, his hand moving to his already proud cock. He pulled on his shaft as he stalked toward me.

There was nothing I could say. His hair was a mess from having just woken up, he was hard and jerking himself off, all the while looking at me, staring at me like I was the answer to every fantasy. When he got close enough, he let go of himself, kneeled on the floor, and placed my leg over his shoulder.

"It's my turn now."

I don't know how I kept standing. I came so hard I lost my breath. Everything got fuzzy. It wasn't until he had lifted me and then lowered me onto his rock hard length that things became clear.

))((

Eric hadn't wanted me to, insisting that he could take care of me, but I so wasn't that girl. So even though we were living with each other, I still worked. I found a job at this funky little boutique in the neighborhood almost by accident. I kept running into this woman at the coffee shop in the mornings. She always wore the most stellar outfits.

One day we struck up a conversation that started not surprisingly with me ogling her shoes. You would have too! They were navy blue and covered in matching sequins. There was a sequined bow right about the peep toe and they had to be at least four inch heels. They were killer. Just so happened that they were from Japan, some name I couldn't pronounce and like a mouse to cheese, I followed her to her store. That's all it took. I started the next day. Work was fun, after all, who wouldn't enjoy playing dress-up all day?

Eric was happy I was happy, although most of my salary went right back into the store. I have a weakness for shoes, always have, always will. It was just past four in the afternoon when the lights went out. Actually everything went out – the music, the clock, the register, everything. We thought it may have been our building. It was old and falling apart and we'd had problems with the electricity before.

Of course, one step out of the store and we knew it wasn't just us. There wasn't a light to be seen anywhere. Traffic lights, store fronts, nothing was on. That's when the fear started trickling down my spine. I hadn't been in New York on 9/11, but something felt off. Other people around me started pulling out their cells and furiously dialing.

I was only just nervous at first, but when I heard the ambulance siren followed by a fire truck and a police car? I started freaking out. Tara pulled me back inside the store, locked the door, and pulled me into the storage room. Neither of us knew what the hell was going on, but it seemed safest to get away from the windows. No sooner were we huddled amongst shoe boxes when the store phone rang and damn near scared me to death!

"Sookie!"

"Eric?"

I couldn't help it and let the tears fall. I was terrified.

"It's okay, I'm coming."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know yet, but don't open the door for anyone unless it's me okay?"

"Okay," I said, trying to get my wits back.

"Is Tara there with you?"

"Yes."

"Okay girls, I'm coming."

Lord help me I've never thought of myself as a damsel in distress who needed rescuing, but just then, I really was. Twenty two long minutes later and we heard loud banging on the door. I crawled out carefully and peered around the counter. There was Eric, dripping with sweat but smiling. I was at the door in flash and in his wet salty arms a moment later. I was panting and crying and a total mess by then.

"Shhh, its okay, its okay. It's not an attack - you're fine."

He held me and rocked me until I had stopped blubbering.

"Everything's okay? What the hell happened then?"

"Power outage across the entire Northeast and Canada."

"That's it!" Tara yelled from behind me. "Shit, that's a relief."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Tara and I closed up while Eric waited for us. No one knew when the power would be back on. Eric and I took our time walking back to the apartment. People were helping others, calming nerves and sweating the day through. It was miserably hot. Every fire hydrant was open and people were handing out free ice cream everywhere we looked. Better to have it eaten then a sticky puddle in the freezer.

We took our time walking back and were standing in front of our building a half hour later. We had to use the stairs of course, but seeing as how sweaty and gross we already were, it hardly mattered anymore. Eric and I had been hand in hand the entire time, only just letting go so I could find the keys and open the door. I had one foot over the threshold when he grabbed my arm to stop me.

"You okay?"

"No, not really."

He looked okay, dripping with sweat and a little worst for wear, but okay. Before I could say anything though, he started talking.

"Sookie, I thought we were being attacked again. I was terrified, but not for myself. Last time this happened you weren't here. I'll be forever grateful that you were in Texas, that you didn't have to see what I saw, that you were safe and away from here. It somehow made it bearable. This time, though, you were here, just blocks away—and it wasn't close enough. What if I had lost you, Sookie?" He paused, dropping his head. I stayed silent. He looked into my eyes, a look of determination that pierced through me. "I never thought I'd do this."

Do what, I thought. But when he dropped to one knee, I knew.

"Marry me."

Not a question or a request, a statement. He knew I loved him, he knew I'd say yes. I dropped to my knees too, pulled his head to mine and kissed him. We must have looked very odd there. The two of us kneeling in the hallway, kissing. I never said the word yes, but I didn't have to. We stood up and walked to the bedroom, opening every window on our way there.

The curtains and blinds were drawn, it was still somewhat cool. As Eric opened the windows, I slipped off my clothes, letting them stay a soggy pile on the floor. I didn't care how sweaty or smelly we were. I needed him inside me. I needed it so badly, I would have begged.

He took me in and started throwing his own clothes off. We met in the middle by the bed. I lay down, and he lay beside me. He took my hand and dragged it down my body until it rested between my legs. Manipulating my pointer finger with his own, he pushed past my lips and started rubbing that spot that most needed rubbing.

"Don't stop," he said as he removed his hand.

I kept touching myself, closing my eyes and taking in the feeling when I felt his tongue lick the crease under my left breast. I arched my back at the unexpected sensation. A moment later, his hot mouth was on my nipple, sucking. His hands wiggled their way past and around my hips until they rested on my ass and grabbed, not letting go.

"Don't stop!"

"Not until you come for me."

Ung! It was times like those that I actually contemplated thanking God and Lucifer for Eric Northman. He didn't stop his sucking or his grabbing until I had come, shaking and whimpering out his name. I was spread eagle on the bed, when I felt his warm hand over my sex.

"You get so wet for me, Sookie." He dipped his finger into me and groaned loudly. I watched, mouth open, as he put his finger to his mouth and sucked it dry. I was panting and so desperately wanted him to fuck me senseless by then. Instead, he dipped the same finger in me and pulled it back out.

"Eric … I need you inside me badly."

"But you taste so good," he paused. "Don't believe me?" He traced my lips with his moist finger; a finger that only seconds ago was buried inside of me.

"Lick," he demanded.

I couldn't resist it when he got forceful and dark on me. I stuck out my tongue and licked my lips, not at all caring what I tasted like. What I cared about was his reaction. He bared his teeth, he growled, and not quietly. He growled like an animal. Before I could even finish my top lip, he slammed into me. I bit down on my lip, actually tasting blood. When he bent over my body and licked it up between a particularly long thrust, I thought I might faint. I had never felt so consumed and in lust before.

He pulled my legs up and onto his shoulders. At that angle, Eric was able to glide in and out of me smoothly, and more deeply. I could feel him in my stomach, I could feel him everywhere. With every forward slam I moaned, every time he pulled away I took a breath.

"Touch yourself, I want to feel you clench around me."

Dark and forceful Eric, a lethal combination. I touched my aching nub and rubbed, whimpering. It was swollen and still recovering from its first orgasm. I was hovering in the place between pain and pleasure. Eric was relentless with his hips; I, in turn, was relentless with my fingers. I could feel the stings inside my body tightening. He could feel it too and growled out yes, yes, yes.

When I came, I actually saw stars. Things went black, then a burst of light shot in my vision. It was terrifying and spectacular at the same time. Eric wasn't finished though. He pulled out, said "over" and when I was on my knees, he pushed his way back in. This was dangerous territory. He knew how to hit my G spot from this angle, and once had me so lost in an orgasm-induced coma that left me unable to move or speak for a half hour, he lifted me into the shower and helped me wash.

It seemed my G spot was his goal. He fucked me until I screamed his name. His energy was boundless, and while I was screaming his name for the second time, he slammed into my body and froze as he went over the edge and filled me with his hot release.

))((

He was gone before I woke up the next morning. Happily, the electricity was on though. The fact that he was up and out of the apartment spoke volumes as to how tired I had been after our private engagement party. I slipped on a robe and made my way to the kitchen. A vase bursting at the seams with yellow roses was waiting for me, a small envelope resting against it. I tore it open.

Dearest Fiance,

Be ready by 8pm.

I had no idea what to be ready for, though. No sooner had I begun to ask myself what for, when Mrs. Bjurstrom came in followed by Pam, followed by a woman carting a very large garment bag on a rolling rack.

"Pam, what's going on?"

"I'd tell you, but then I'd get fired. Needless to say it would be in your best interest if you just went with it, okay Scarlet?"

"Umm …."

"Grrrreat. First things first. Gretchen here is going to make sure the dress fits; I can only assume you have shoes for a black dress? Of course you do. Once she's done, we scrub and moisturize you, then we'll tackle hair and make-up and hopefully by eight you'll be ready."

The dress was stunning. Nothing I would have picked out, but I was sure it was couture, cost a fortune, and it happened to look amazing on too. I had black satin shoes on my feet, my hair was up in a twist, blood red lips and enough eyeliner and mascara to put Tammy Fay Baker to shame. I was even ready with two minutes to spare.

The bell rang, and I made my way downstairs and into an awaiting limo. We drove uptown until we got to Central Park. A few more blocks, a right turn, and the driver stopped in front of Tavern on The Green. My door opened, and I was helped out on to the red carpet. Eric had obviously done something very Eric. I still had no idea what it was, but I knew it was going to be extravagant – he'd have it no other way.

I was escorted through the empty restaurant, which he must have rented out, and gasped when I saw the garden. It was lit up in its usual millions of twinkling lights, but tonight, vases upon vases of yellow roses covered every possible surface. The ground, all the tables, they were stuck in the bushes, and even in the hands of Eric. He was in the midst of the spectacle, all decked out in a tuxedo and smiling.

I was pretty much frozen where I stood until he beckoned me to go to him with his finger. I made my way over, taking in the aroma of that many roses. When I was only inches from him, he leaned down to kiss me gently.

"You look perfect."

"So do you. Eric, how did you do all this? Only yesterday the entire north east was …."

"Shhh. No one can say no to me, you should know that by now."

"Yes but–" I couldn't continue, I was pulled into another kiss.

"Sookie, I couldn't do this properly yesterday. I wanted to remedy that."

In an all too familiar move, he dropped to his knee, held my hand and said "Sookie, I love you. I never thought I'd marry, never thought I'd find someone who could keep my attention long enough. But like some magical fairy, you've spellbound me. I love you, always will. Marry me, Sookie Stackhouse."

What was there to say but, "Yes."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. When he opened it, I gasped. I had never in my life seen a ring like it. It was covered in diamonds, it was massive, and it was so very Eric Northman. He slipped it on my finger, and despite the fact that I thought it was too much, once on, it felt perfect. I looked at my hand; Sookie Stackhouse, fiancé. Sookie Stackhouse dressed in diamonds and couture. Sookie Stackhouse, soon to be Sookie Northman.

))((

A/N

I think I'm forgiven, yes? Please tell me kittens. Outfit on Polyvore here and also on my profile.

www (dot) polyvore (dot) com (backslash) til_now_chpt_august_14th (backslash) set ? id = 22365366

As always the 25th review will get their suggestion posted here. The first 25th review was none other than Zeewriter. She would like to suggest her two stories, both of which she promises to have updated before the end of the world in 2012.

Two Hearts Beat as One: After being left at the altar by Edward, Bella begins a new life, but is always left wondering what could have been. Will true love prevail years later? AH, Very OOC, M for language and future lemons. Bella & Edward with some Bella & Zafrina femslash.

Due To a Stalled Train Ahead: Is it possible that true love can be found on the trains of New York City? Law School student, Bella meets Edward on the D train. This can only go one way. AH, rated M for lemons and language. First Fan Fic.