From Chapter 13
"Eric, can I ask you something?" I asked when I came out of the bathroom.
"Anything."
"Will you stay here with me while you sleep? No sex, I just mean, will you hold me?"
"Of course. Anything for you."
I crawled into the bed and watched his pull his shirt and pants off, leaving him in only boxers, and then he climbed into bed with me, pulled my back to his chest, and wrapped his arm around me.
"G'night, Eric," I said sleepily.
"Goodnight, my Sookie. Rest well." And with that, I fell asleep in his arms, and had the most restful sleep I've had since before my Gran died.
Chapter 14
LPOV
I slowly opened my eyes and stretched my limbs as I woke, smiling to myself when I noticed a slight soreness in areas I'd never been sore before. I sat up, and took in my surroundings. I was still in Godric's room. In Godric's bed. In Godric's arms. Yup, my world was perfect! I leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, and crawled my way off the bed to use the bathroom. I was grateful that it actually had a toilet. Since vampires have no use for them, I wasn't expecting to see one in his personal bathroom.
I took a quick shower, and then walked back into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around me, and quickly gathered up my clothing. I leaned back in to give Godric another kiss, and let my lips linger on his for a moment. I then, very begrudgingly, let myself out into the hallway, and hit the engage button on the security panel for his room.
I went into my own room and took my time drying my hair, deciding what I wanted to do today. With everything that had happened over the last couple of days, I hadn't really stretched and rehearsed at all, so, I pulled my hair up, and put on my normal rehearsal clothes (simple cotton panties, barely-there running shorts, sports bra and toe shoes) and headed out to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and a quick snack.
Sookie was in the kitchen, sipping coffee from a mug and just staring out the window, although it looked like she wasn't actually seeing anything. When she heard me walk in, she turned to me and smiled, and I offered her a large smile in return.
"So, I take it Eric's whole 'seduce him' plan worked well for ya?" I blushed as she asked this.
"How did you know about that?"
"Oh, I was there in his office when he got your call."
"Oh. Well, yes, it did indeed do the trick," I felt slightly embarrassed and looked down at my feet. She seemed to find this funny and laughed quite heartily.
"Oh, Ana, don't be embarrassed. You've been in love with him for years, and you finally got him to admit he loves you, too. That's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should be damned proud of yourself!" I just smiled and shook my head.
"Well, what about you? Did Eric help ease your mind at all?"
"Yes, but, not in the way I was anticipating. I was hoping he'd have answers for me about how I can tell what was real and what wasn't. Instead, he more or less told me how to find the answers to those questions within myself."
"Oh, Sookie, I'm so sorry about all of this. I wish there was something I could do to help you find the truth." I hoped she could tell her sincere I was.
"Honestly, I'm thinking that I already know the truth, it's just going to take me a little while to readjust to it."
"Feel like elaborating on that issue?"
"Well, I've been sitting here thinking about it for a couple of hours now. I know that I never truly loved Bill. Yes, I definitely cared about him, but, love, no. That's why I'm just plain mad at what he did. If I were actually in love with him, I'd probably be so depressed I wouldn't be able to get out of bed."
"And what about Eric?"
"Well, I know that I'm very, extremely physically attracted to him."
"Well, no shit Sherlock."
Now it was my turn to give the Eric-smirk. "Hey now, none of that. You asked, I'm answering as honestly as I can."
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean anything by it. Go on."
"Well, I can tell that I have feelings for him, and that's the part that I'm having a rough time adjusting to. Not that I mind having feelings for someone like him. It's just so weird to think that you hate someone, and then, in the next moment, realize that you are well on your way to falling in love with them. I guess you could say I've got emotional whiplash."
"You know what; I think that even if Bill hadn't been pulling the strings, you would've gone through that anyway. There are definitely two sides to Eric. There's the side where he's the Area Sheriff, a ruthless killer, and a seducer of women... But that's just the façade. Most people don't make it past that. Once you get around that, you find that he is all of those things, but, there's much more as well. He's actually extremely selective with who he'll let see that other side of him."
She went back to staring out the window again, and I knew she was deep in thought, so I just took my time getting some fruit and yogurt to eat. After a few moments, she looked back at me again.
"So, what's on the schedule for today?"
"Well, I've got my interview for the instructor job tomorrow afternoon. They'll do like a normal sit-down interview, but then, I'm also supposed to have a performance piece prepared, so, I thought I might rehearse a little. Would you like to join me?"
"Sure, but, I hope we don't have to go anywhere, because, that could be a problem. My car wouldn't start last night, so Eric had to give me a ride home."
"Oh yeah, I thought I heard the corvette pull in. But um, I don't ever remember hearing it pull back out. Did he spend the night?"
She chuckled a little at my hopefulness. "Yes, he did. But it's not like we did anything. I asked him to stay and just hold me. And it was wonderful."
"Well, lucky for us we don't have to go anywhere for me to rehearse. Godric actually had a dance studio added to the plans when he had this house built, so, we can stay here!"
"Really? Wow. That's ultra convenient. Just let me change and I'll be ready to get going."
While she was changing, I went into my room and grabbed my ipod so I'd have the right music for my piece, and then the two of us made our way to the studio. It was a small room about the size of my bedroom. It had beautiful pine wood floors, and 3 of the walls were covered in mirrors.
"Wow. This is amazing," she said taking in the big picture.
"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but I'm totally spoiled! I swear Godric had me in mind when he designed 75% of this place, plus, he still went out and found an apartment for me and had some changes made to it as well. And all that before I was even sleeping with him!" I laughed when I said this last part, and she looked shocked at first, and then caught that I was simply joking.
I started my regular stretching routine, making sure to be aware of any lingering soreness from what happened with Mark the other night. I must have visibly shuddered while thinking this, because Sookie got a concerned look on her face.
"It's fine. I'm just making sure that Godric's blood healed all the injuries Mark gave me. I'd hate to not realize something was tender and make it worse."
She must've understood, because she just sort of nodded. "So, tell me about how you got so involved with dance."
"Well, at the school that Godric sent me to, every student has to choose one form of physical education and take a course in it every semester from the time they turn 10. They would give us a rundown of what they had available, and you could sample any of them you wanted to before choosing. I wasn't any good at any sports, so, dance seemed the best choice for me. By the end of the first semester, I knew I'd find my little niche. It's always just come so easy for me. I feel arrogant saying this, but, I never had to work as hard as everyone else in order to excel, but, the work ethic Godric instilled in me demanded that I put everything I've got into everything I do, so, it ended up pushing me even further than I'd ever imagined."
I finished my stretching and walked over the ipod dock, and began scrolling through my playlist to find the correct song. "Don't tell Eric or Godric this, because they'll probably lecture me for a month for turning it down, but, when my dance troupe went to Europe earlier this year, I was actually offered a position with the Moscow Ballet Company in Russia. Had I accepted, I would've been only the second American to dance with them. But, I couldn't stand to be that far away from my vampires."
I found the song I was looking for on my playlist, Gravity of Love by Enigma, hit start, and made my way to the center of the room to see discover if this routine still flowed freely from my body.
SPOV
I heard the music softly begin, and from the very first moment of her body, I was captivated by Ana. I'd seen her dance before, but, this was a completely different experience. Her body moved and flowed like it was liquid. I'd never seen anything like it before. It made her look almost non-human. My mind picked up the two distinctive holes which signaled vampire minds, and I turned slightly to see that Godric and Eric were standing just inside the doorway watching as well. Ana should've been able to see them in the mirrors, but she was so engrossed in what she was doing, that, she didn't even register that she was there. Godric and Eric slowly made their way to stand by me, and the three of us just stood there, completely entranced by the beauty before us. When the song came to an end, Ana looked up and suddenly her face lit up with a huge smile. She had finally registered that the vampires had joined us.
She didn't move a muscle, she just stared into Godric's eyes across the studio, and he did the same. After a moment of this, Eric broke the spell that had been weaved around us by walking up to Ana, putting his hand under her chin and lifting her face to him, and said, "Ana, you truly are unique," and then wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. When they finally broke their hug, Ana looked around him slightly at Godric, and as soon as he opened his arms in invitation, she ran to him, jumped into his arms, and wrapped her legs firmly around his waist. And they just stood there, embracing each other, not speaking any words. Eric walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my back into his chest, leaned into my ear and said, "They are beautiful."
"Yes, they are," I agreed.
"We will be that beautiful someday." And I knew he meant it.
A few moments later, we all walked back out of the dance studio together and went into the kitchen so Ana could get some more water, and Eric and Godric to each heat up a bottle of blood.
"Lilliana," Godric began, "I received a frantic phone call from Isabel about 20 minutes prior to sunset this evening." I saw her flinch slightly and giggle at this. "She said that she was terribly worried because you were supposed to call her last night and didn't. I explained to her that you were, otherwise engaged for the evening." He had a large amount of pride in his voice as he said this. It was so sweet to hear him speak of their relationship in this manner. Ana just giggled even more. "She said to tell you that she is ecstatic for the both of us. However, she also passed along a bit of disturbing information. We've had people keeping an eye on Steve Newlin since the bombing in Dallas so we would know when he began to make his next move. Isabel told me recently that he had been making inquiries as to rental property here in Shreveport. As it turns out, he arrived in town earlier today." As he continued, he shifted his gaze to take in both Ana and myself. "For the time being, I'm going to have to ask that the two of you stay inside this house unless accompanied by Eric or myself."
"Oh, no. That's terrible timing! I've got my interview for the instructor position tomorrow." I could hear the deep disappointment in Ana's voice.
"I'm sorry, my love, I truly am. But, there are no bodyguards available who would recognize any fellowship personnel, so, we have to be overly cautious."
"Wait! What about my brother Jason? He'd recognize anyone from the fellowship, and I already know that he's got tomorrow off of work. Maybe he could come with us to the audition?" I don't think that Eric and Godric were very supportive of this idea, however, they could see how important this interview was to Ana, and so Eric told me to make the call. I spoke to Jason, and told him the whole situation. He agreed to go with us to the audition, and we arranged to meet him just off of the property an hour before the interview.
Eric mentioned that he needed to go into Fangtasia tonight, and Ana wanted to go so she could visit for a while with Pam, so, after Ana and I got changed again, Eric and I climbed into his corvette, and Godric and Ana followed us in the Audi. On the drive to Fangtasia, Eric put his hand on my knee, and began lightly running his fingers over my leg. I smiled as I realized how comfortable I felt with his touch.
By the time we reached the club, it was in full swing. We all filed in through the employee entrance, and while Eric went to check for some faxes he'd been waiting for, Godric, Ana and I made our way into the bar, and were soon joined by Pam. She made a few snarky comments when she noticed Godric held Ana close to him the entire night. I saw her eyes light up with triumph when Eric joined us and pulled me to his side and rested his hand on my thigh. Just as she was opening her mouth to say something though, he leveled her with a look, and she promptly shut her mouth and said nothing.
Around 3am, Ana was starting to doze off on Godric's shoulder, so, he stood to take her home. He asked me if I was coming with them, or if I'd made 'alternative arrangements' for the evening, glancing at Eric when he said this.
Eric leaned in to whisper in my ear, "I have a few things to finish up here, Sookie. Why don't you join Godric and Ana, and I promise you that before the sun comes up I will be lying next to you in our bed." I felt lust pool in my stomach when he said our bed, so I just nodded, stood, and followed Godric and Ana out to the car.
By the time we got back to Godric's house, Ana was completely asleep, so Godric lifted her in his arms and carried her inside. He paused when he walked by the door to my room, turned and told me good night, and took Ana into his room with him. I couldn't help but smile. He seemed so happy to have her in his arms. I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face, slipped off my jeans, panties and bra, and slipped into bed wearing nothing but Eric's red Fangtasia t-shirt. I must've been more tired than I'd previously thought, because I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
I woke to the soft sensation of hands massaging my breasts, and lips on my neck. I smiled, opened my eyes, and stared in Eric's gorgeous face. He smiled back at me, and dipped my head to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back as passionately as I could while still trying to shake the cobwebs of sleep from my brain. His hand slowly made its way down my body, and I heard him groan his approval when he found that I wasn't wearing any panties. "Oh, Sookie, how marvelous of you to dress for the occasion," he said with a light chuckle. He slowly moved his body down the length of mine until his head was lying on my stomach. He moved his fingers lightly over my core, eliciting a moan of pure hunger from my lips.
"Let me taste you, dear one," he said. I was so entranced; all I could do was nod. He bent his head lower, and when I felt his tongue run along my slit, I arched my back and just about flew off the bed. It felt so good. He anchored my hips with one hand, and slowly used to tongue to push inside my folds and begin to stroke my nub. After a few moments of this sweet torture, he reached swiftly moved one hand, and slipped a finger inside of me.
He began to speed up the pace, and I felt that familiar tension begin to build in my abdomen. I screwed my eyes closed at the pure pleasure of it, and he must've noticed, because he said, "No, Sookie. Open your eyes. Look at me lover."
I opened my eyes and looked down the length of my body at him. He must've known I was close, because he suddenly added a second finger, and turned to place kisses on my thigh. I saw his fangs glistening against my skin. "Oh, God, Eric, please do it. Please bite me!"
He bit, and I swear I left my body for a moment. I had never felt anything so good in my entire life. He lazily licked the small puncture wounds on my thigh, and then slid up the length of my body and pulled me into his side, resting my head on his chest.
"Soon, my lover. Soon you will ask me, and I will give you the greatest pleasure of your life."
"I believe you," I said, and drifted off to sleep, sated and content.
A/N. For some reason I had a really rough time with this chapter. I had hoped to have it up several hours ago, but, I kept starting over. I've posted a link on my profile to the song Ana danced to. It's not the actual video by the artist, cause the video's pretty trippy. It's Gravity of Love, by Enigma. The short Latin parts are from Orff's Carmina Burana. Enjoy!!!