From Chapter 4

Cool, soft lips placed kisses along my shoulder blades, while I felt firm hands rubbing up and down my hip. Without even having to open my eyes, I knew it was Eric. I was lying in the guest bedroom of Lilliana's apartment, and Eric had taken it upon himself to join me. "Eric, what are you doing here?" "Mmmm…snuggling," he answered, his voice soft and husky. He must have sensed that I was about to protest, because he rolled me over onto my back, laid his finger across my lips and said, "Shhh, don't make a sound. Don't think about anything except for being right here, right now, in my arms." He dipped his head to mine and kissed me, lightly at first. After a moment as he felt me respond, he began to deepen the kiss. I heard a deep growl when his tongue entered my mouth, only barely registering that the growl had come from me. "I know you want me, lover. Don't fight it." He whispered as he moved his mouth to my neck. His palm came up and began to caress my breast through my shirt. God that felt good. "Sookie," he said, his voice full of desire. "Oh yes Eric, please," I found myself responding. "Sookie." I heard my name again, but, it wasn't his voice that said it. That was odd. I no longer felt his lips and hands on my body, and I moaned in protest. "Sookie. Sookie darling, wake up. It's time to get up." I opened my eyes to find myself still in the guest bedroom, only Eric wasn't lying next to me. Instead, Lilliana was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to wake me up. "Mmmm, I'm up, just give me a minute." She giggled a little, and said she would let me have a little privacy so that I could freshen up before dinner.

Chapter 5

SPOV

I sat up and tried to let myself get reoriented with my surroundings as I heard the door click shut behind Lilliana. Okay, so I'd had another sex dream about Eric. Fine. I'd gotten used to them by now. And, if I was being honest with myself, I was even looking forward to them. But I was sincerely hoping that I would be able to keep them all to myself. Just wondering if Lilliana had known what was going on in my head made me blush. Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. I stood and exited the room, making my way down the short hallway to the bathroom that Lilliana had shown me earlier. I looked into the living room and kitchen areas, but didn't see her, so I figured she was probably in the private bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. I took a moment to splash some cool water on my face, and tried to comb out the tangles in my hair with my fingers.

"Hey there sleepy," came a voice from behind me, completely surprising me, and I must've jumped 6 inches into the air with the startle of it. My shields were down because I'd just woken up, and I should've heard her thoughts as she approached. Even now as I specifically tried to probe her mind, it was blank. Odd. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just wondering if you might like to borrow a comb, or hairbrush, or anything of that sort." I turned to Lilliana, and was taken aback again at how stunningly beautiful she was. She was wearing a green sleeveless blouse and a black pencil skirt. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail, with a few loose strands falling onto her shoulders in ringlets. She wasn't wearing much makeup, but frankly, she didn't need it. It was at this point that I began to look at my own clothing, realizing that my own jeans and a t-shirt combo was obviously NOT as fancy as the occasion required. She must've followed my thoughts on the matter, because she gasped and said, "Oh my goodness, I almost completely forgot!" She dashed into her bedroom, and came back holding a garment bag.

"Godric bought this for you to thank you for picking me up this afternoon. You should wear it this evening!" She unzipped the bag to reveal a beautiful red silk dress. "Oh, it's so beautiful, but, I don't think I can accept it." I heard the sadness in my own voice. The dress looked as though it had cost what would take me 3 months to make.

"Well, I don't think you really have a choice. After all, you don't have anything else to wear to dinner, I know that Godric would refuse to take it back, and it simply wouldn't fit me, so, if you don't take it, it'll be a complete waste." Oh yeah, she was laying it on thick.

"Oh, fine. Let me have it." She smiled, and I recognized her grin of sweet triumph. Yeah, she had DEFINITELY spent a good amount of time with Eric during the past few years. "Strip," she told me as she began to unzip the dress and take it off the hangar. "Now, it has quite the plunging back, so, you won't be able to wear a bra with it, however, it's got a sort of built-in shelf in the front, so it shouldn't be too bad." I took my jeans and t-shirt off, but hesitated slightly at the thought of removing my bra. I wasn't the type of person who could readily disrobe in front of someone else, other than Bill. "Oh, there's no need to be modest, Sookie. I'm a dancer, remember. I'm used to running off stage, and having someone else rip my clothes off of me and put something new on me before running back on." She must have noticed that I still hesitated, so she said, "Fine. Here, I'll leave you the dress, slip your bra off and put it on, I'll go grab you some shoes, and I'll be back in a minute to help you with the zipper, alright?" Before waiting for a response, so handed me the dress and quickly went back down the hallway. I took my bra off and folded it up with my other clothes and pulled the dress on. Lilliana stepped back into the bathroom a moment later and zipped the dress for me. "Oh, it fits you perfectly! Eric most certainly has wonderful taste!"

"Wait, what did you say? Eric? I thought you said the dress was a gift from Godric?" I was not liking the sound of this. "Oh, it is from Godric. But, he said that he wasn't exactly sure what your tastes would be, so Eric picked it out. Here, put these on, and then we need to go or we'll be late," she said, handing me a pair of black pumps.

Once I had the shoes on, she grabbed her small purse and we went to my car. As we got closer and closer to Fangtasia, I could see her beginning to look more and more excited about getting there. "When's the last time you saw the two of them," I asked her, finding her excited endearing. "Oh, let's see. I last saw Godric in Dallas a few months ago for a visit. Normally, whenever I came for a visit, Eric would join us for at least a few days, but, he was unable to be there this time. He had some pressing business at the club. He said something about someone embezzling money. He was planning on coming down after he found the culprit, but called and said that although he knew who took the money, the situation came with a complication. So, it's been almost a full year since I've seen him." I wondered if she knew how big a part I played in that 'complication.'

I pulled the car into the parking lot at Fangtasia, and smiled as Lilliana pulled down the vanity mirror to check her hair and apply some lip gloss. She smiled brightly at her reflection, then turned the same smile on me and said, "well, here we go!" We got out of the car and walked to the front door of the club. Because the club was closed for the evening, the door was locked, so we knocked and waited for someone to admit us. The door was opened by a male vamp I don't recall ever having met before. He stepped aside to let us in, and I could see that Lilliana was practically pulsing with anticipation. We walked through the small entry way into the main area of the bar. The tables and chairs had mostly been cleared out, leaving one table in the middle of the room, set elegantly like you would find in an extremely expensive restaurant. I saw Lilliana's head whip around as she searched the room for her vamps. The door to Eric's office opened and Eric walked out, pausing in his tracks when he first laid eyes on the two of us. It was impossible not to grin and laugh when I heard Lillian squeal, run, and jump into Eric's waiting arms. She wrapped her arms around him in a fierce embrace, and he put his arms around her waist and straightened up, pulling her a few feet off the floor. His eyes were closed, and he had truly genuine smile on his face. It was rather sweet to see him this way, it was definitely not a side of Eric I had been expecting.

"Oh Ana, how I have missed you," he said as he set her back on her feet, but leaving his hands resting on her hips. She moved her hand to his cheek and answered, "the feeling is DEFINITELY mutual my darling." Well, now this was an interesting development. I didn't have much time to process what this exchange could possibly mean before Godric came out of Eric's office, and stopped in his track as his eyes took the pair in. "Lilliana," he breathed, his voice weighted with affection. In a split second she removed herself from Eric's side and slowly walked to stand in front of Godric. When she got to within a few inches of him, he reached out and took her hands in his, and they simply leaned towards each other until their foreheads met. They were standing at a small angle, and I could see that both had closed their eyes.

The small whoosh of air being displaced was the only warning I had before Eric was standing directly in front of me, as close to me as Godric and Lilliana were to each other. "My, my, my Sookie, don't you look absolutely ravishing this evening." My eyes refocused on his face, and dropped to his mouth, and it was all I could do to not press my lips to his. I felt arm reach out as he took my hand in his. His thumb rubbed circles into my palm, and almost as if he had pressed a button, my heart rate sped up. Turning, he kept my hand in his and led me to the table. By this time, Godric and Lillian had broken out of their "embrace," and had moved to the table as well. It was just large enough for four, and was rectangular in shape, with two chairs on either side. Eric pulled a chair out for me, and after I sat, he pulled out the chair next to me and sat, all without moving his eyes from me. Almost as if I were in a trance, I found it impossible to take my gaze off of him. He was wearing pale gray slacks with a matching suit coat, and a light blue dress shirt that matched the shade of his eyes perfectly. The top few buttons of the shirt remained opened, and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to brush my fingers along his neck and check there. The sound of Godric clearing his throat from the seat across from me finally brought me to my senses.

"Sookie, I'm pleased to see you didn't give Lilliana a hard time about accepting my gift. I hope it pleases you." A slight sideways glance at Eric's eyes feasting on the ample amount of cleavage the dress provided showed me that HE was pleased with it. "It's beautiful, Godric, thank you. I didn't want to accept it because it must've cost a fortune, but, Lilliana didn't really leave me a way out of it." At this, Eric shifted his gaze back to Lilliana, and both Vampires chuckled at her. She shrugged her shoulders as if saying "what?"

A man came into the room a moment later with wine glasses of synthetic blood for the vampires, and plates of succulent looking food for Lilliana and I. After he put the food in front of us, he went to the bar and brought back a gin and tonic for me, and ice water for Lilliana. We moved into comfortable conversation as we enjoyed dinner. It seemed that shortly after her graduation ceremony, the dance group that Lilliana had been part of had toured Europe, performing in Paris, London, and Venice. She spoke animatedly about the trip, and both Godric and Eric seemed completely absorbed in her. She had a sort of charming innocence about her, and I could easily see why everyone who knew her seemed to be so taken with her. She seemed wise beyond her age.

Every few moments I felt Eric touch me in some way. His leg would rub against mine underneath the table, or he would move his arm against mine, or simply stroke the side of my hand with his pinky finger. I was trying not to read too much into the little electric currents I felt running over my skin whenever he touched me, when Lilliana said, "so, Sookie, where's your boyfriend this evening?" I saw Eric tense slightly, a fact that did not escape Lilliana. "Oh, well, Bill left for New Orleans a few days ago on business. He said he wasn't sure how long he'd be there, but, that it would be at least a few weeks, and he took Jessica with him." At the slightly puzzled look on Lilliana's face, Godric leaned to her and simply said, "Jessica is Bill's very young child." She shook her head, as if this explained everything. "Well," she said, "I'm glad to see that you came to join us despite his absence. I must say it has been a real treat getting to know you," her smile was so genuine when she said this, there was no doubt in my mind that she was completely honest.

After feasting on a wonderful dessert of chocolate drizzled berries, Lilliana laid her napkin on the table in front of her and stood to excuse herself to the restroom. She got just a few steps from the table when I saw her body tense up, and then her body started to tremble and crumple towards the floor, Eric and Godric were both out of their chairs before I knew what was happening. Godric crouched on the floor and cradled her head in his chest while Eric grabbed her purse. I could see a look of pure terror and pain in his eyes are Lilliana's body began to shake uncontrollably. Eric pulled a syringe and a tiny bottle from her purse, filled the syringe with whatever was in the bottle, and stuck it quickly into Lilliana's upper arm, and then threw the syringe aside while holding her legs and feet to keep her from kicking out and hurting herself. Godric stroked her face and tried to hum reassuringly to her. I sat at the table, hands gripped together, not knowing what was going on, or what I could do to help. After another minute or so, the tremors in her body began to subside, and she slowly went still. I saw a single tear fall from the corner of her eye and roll down her cheek into her hairline, before her eyes fluttered closed and she rested in Godric's lap. Eric stood and walked over to me. "Sookie, we need to get her home and into bed. Do you have to be at work tomorrow?" Hmm, what did my work schedule have to do with anything? "Yes, but not until 7pm." He turned his head slightly to gaze at the two figures on the floor and said, "Good. Would you mind terribly staying at Ana's place tonight to make sure that she is fine in the morning?"

"Eric, of course I'll stay with her. But, please tell me, what just happened here?" I was confused, and more than just a little frightened. Eric's eyes immediately went to Godric, who looked up at us, and gave Eric a short nod. Obviously, Eric needed permission to tell me. "When Lilliana was 10, she was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. It's completely benign, and would not cause any problems, other than the fact that it has very slowly been growing, pushing against other parts of her brain, which sometimes can lead to seizures, and you've just seen. One of the main reasons that Lilliana decided to come to school here in Shreveport is because one of the nation's leading neurosurgeons has an office here, and she's been trying to get an appointment to see him for quite some time now." I sat there, my mouth slightly opened in surprise for what felt like many minutes. Without realizing I was speaking the words out I simply said, "I wonder if that's why I can't get a read on her." Eric looked shocked. "You can't hear her thoughts?" "No, not at all. The tumor would be the logical reason as to why, but I wonder what causes it."

Godric stood and lifted Lilliana in his arms and said, "Well, we can explore that theory at another time. She needs rest. Sookie, I will ride with you to Lilliana's apartment, Eric, you will follow us in your car. We will help get her upstairs and into bed, and then, Eric, you and I have some things to take care of." He looked at Eric and his eyes darkened, and I realized that I didn't want to know what THINGS it was they had to take care of.

The two vampires walked out of the bar with me, and Godric got into the backseat of my car with Lilliana still asleep in his lap. I climbed into the drivers seat, and pulled out of the lot, Eric following closely behind me in his corvette. Once we reached Lilliana's apartment, Godric took her upstairs, removed her blouse, skirt and shoes, put a very loose fitting t-shirt on her, and set her in bed and smoothed the covers over her. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead and muttered something. I was too far away to know for sure, but, it almost sounded as if he said, "Rest now my beloved." Eric and Godric told me that because they had given her an injection already, she should be fine for at least 12 or so hours, but, if something should happen, to call Eric's cell phone, and they left the number for me. Godric walked out of the apartment first, and Eric made to follow, but stopped at the last moment and turned around and walked up to me. He lifted his hands to hold my face, leaned in, and pressed a very soft kiss to my lips. "Thank you," he simply said. And with that, he was gone.