The poor guy brought my car around from the back and I got in. So much had transpired in the last 12 hours. In hindsight, no wonder Sookie was so exhausted. I was exhausted and I've centuries experience. I couldn't wait to come back at dusk.

SPOV

I woke up the next morning to the ever refreshing sound of the alarm on my phone. I grumbled as I stretched, feeling the morning had come too soon. It always does. Who wakes up excited that they don't get more time to sleep? I flopped my arms out from my side and heard the rumple. I looked down and found the note. Oh man, so that wasn't a bad dream. I giggled to myself, glad I hadn't peed the bed too. Talk about a rough night. Once I managed to extricate myself from the nest of pillows I'd been surrounded with, I picked up the note and couldn't hold back my smile.

"Sookie,

I look forward to the day when I can sleep beside you and wake to your beauty. We will finish ground rules later.

~Eric"

What the effing hell is that supposed to mean? We finally got to the point where we're not trying to one-up each other and now we'll be sleeping together? Wait. He sleeps during the day because he's a vampire. He doesn't mean that I'll... No way. And is this what he meant about ground rules? Is there some secret "if you date a blood sucker you have to be one as well" rule? Couldn't be. Maybe it is what it is. All he did was watch me sleep, and his veritable bunker of fluff around me was cute in it's own right. I wondered what Pam would think if she knew her big, blond master spent his night making fluffy nests for a human. I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her. I'd get to see her again, right? He's interested, I think. Oh hell.

I rolled off of the bed and started a pot of coffee before I brushed my teeth and hair. I'd wait until I got home to shower. I sipped the hot brew while I gathered my things and stuffed them into my suitcase. Once packed, I went downstairs to check out. I was happy to see a new valet was outside, however, a quick dip into his thoughts affirmed that I would need to address my victim from last night. Word spread quickly, I see. As I drove off in my car, I couldn't shake the ominous feeling that I was in way over my head, and I had the awful feeling that it really didn't have anything to do with beating up a hotel employee.

I took the scenic route home, allowing my thoughts to drift here and there while my eyes zoned out on the road. A few weeks ago I was as normal as a telepath can get. I'd worked hard on my shields and I lived relatively quietly. I got to travel, I was in high demand for what I enjoyed, my writing. I'd no indication that my most interesting subject would be the one I never wanted in the first place. My thoughts fell back to last night. I cringed for no one's benefit but my own when I thought back to slamming the door in Eric's face. The beauty of his performance, the grace in which he moved brought a smile back to my face. But let's be real. I was pretty close to death waiting in line and then I was close to ecstacy when I realized I wanted Eric Northman. When his lips touched mine and reciprocated those feelings, I felt things I'd not felt before with anyone, ever. But as my thoughts ran through the dream I'd had in the car on the way back to the hotel, my sense of rightness was thrown aside. So many ups and downs. I was moving to something I had not realized I wanted and then I dreamt of running from a monster. When I heard that poor kid's thoughts on the cause, I just lost it. Yea, not a shining moment. Now I just need to worry about some uniforms showing up with pretty bracelets for the lovely lady that committed battery in front of a popular hotel while on hidden camera no less. Mental note: Have money for bail ready.

I was greeted at the door by my cat, meowing and insolent because breakfast was late. I scratched her behind the ears in passing. You think you've had a rough time? Ha. Once that was done I sat down at my desk to churn through some work. The afternoon wore on and I couldn't shake my uneasy feelings. My feelings bounced between elation that Eric liked me, that I'd nearly became dinner to a vamp, that I had possible criminal charges in the process of being pressed and Eric's note. I felt certain it was harmless, but my nature drifted toward a more "blow things out of proportion" approach. Today, I would perform as expected. Today I would engage in the Sooke Stackhouse losing her mind ritual of obsessively cleaning. I glanced around at my surroundings. My office was tidy, as usual. I went out to the living room and found my mark.

I cleaned mercilessly and methodically. I began along one wall, and removed all of my knick knacks from the shelving. I wiped down each shelf and then each item as I replaced them one by one. Once that wall was completed, I moved on to the pictures. One by one I removed the frames and dusted them before using glass cleaner to make them sparkle. When I finished that, I moved on to the furniture. I moved all of it to the center of the room while I scrubbed the floors and baseboards. I rearranged the furniture while I did this and ended with the center of the room. I was a sweaty mess and I didn't care.

When I was halfway through emptying all of the cupboards in the kitchen, I heard the knock on the door. A quick swipe with my lowered shields informed me of Amelia's arrival. I shouted for her to let herself in. "Holy crap, Sooks, what the hell happened to you?"

"What? Nothing, I'm cleaning. Duh."

She let out a low whistle. "You and I both know you don't pull this OCD shit unless you're upset. Judging by how sparkly the living room is, I'm going to assume you had one hell of a night." She walked to the counter, side stepping and damn near tripping over varioues tupper ware containers on the way, and made herself a cup of coffee.

"You have no idea." With that, I gave her the whole run down.

"So let me get this straight, you mouthed off to a pissed off vamp?" I cringed.

"Unfortunately."

"And this is after you left tall, blond and pillaging at the doorway?"

"Uhm, yea."

"And then you kissed him?"

"Well, he kind of kissed me."

"And then you went to bed with him?" I didn't even look up as I threw a pot holder at her.

"Amelia, I just told you that is not what happened."

She threw the pot holder back. "Well, you fell asleep in a bed with him." Without a response, I got up from the floor and went to my purse. I retrieved the note Eric had left and handed it to Amelia. As I finished putting away the last of the storage containers, Amelia gasped. "Oh my, how sweet. He wrote this? Well of course he wrote it. Look at his hand writing, it's so beautiful. You know how much I love nice hand writing." I had partially tuned out as Amelia continued her squeegasm over Eric's script. I made my own cup of coffee and damn near spit it out over my freshly cleaned counter tops, "....if he can master a pen like this, imagine what those fingers can do to your.."

"Amelia Broadway, Jesus!"

She looked shocked. "What? You want to pretend we don't talk about sex?"

I giggled. "You should see how long those fingers are too."

"You say he's around six, four, right? I wonder if he's proportional."

I blushed, "I think he is. When he kissed me, he kind of pushed up against me, and well. It's rather intimidating." Amelia's eyes sparkled. She loved talking peen.

"Yea, yea, yea. Bones break, skin rips, it all works out in the end." Nice, Amelia.

"I am so glad I am not in your head right now, Amelia Broadway. You are a dirty girl."

"Oh please. You act like I don't know all of your secrets. Maybe you'll be able to let go for once and enjoy yourself. Girls cannot survive on batteries alone."

"And they won't get far if they're hobbled from a romp in the sack either." We both enjoyed a laugh at that. "Seriously, though. I couldn't hear him. And it's not just him. When I went to the bar, I couldn't hear his friend or any other vampire. It was weird."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Oh I'm sure. It must have been really bizarre to talk to someone and not hear what they're thinking. I could only imagine. I mean, it's like normal or something. So what are you going to do about the criminal activity?"

"I don't know. Check public records, wait it out. Remind me later to transfer the bail money to our emergency account," I finished the discussion. I needed a break.

We chit chatted some more about my latest article and the hefty pay check it brought in. While we made dinner, we made tentative plans to celebrate the following weekend. After we finished cleaning up, we retreated to the living room with mugs of tea in hand while trying to figure out which movie to watch. Amelia's job as a security consultant afforded her the same flexibility mine had. I let Amelia surprise me with the choice of entertainment while I shut the blinds and turned on a side lamp. As the credits began to roll I heard my phone chirp from my purse in the kitchen.

"I'll grab it. Want some more tea while I'm up?"

"Sure."

I could hear Amelia giggling in the kitchen so I hit pause and waited it out. She had a huge grin on her face as she walked my phone to me. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"Oh, you're in trouble now."

Huh? I looked at the text on my phone.

"The new occupant in your room was more than pleased to accept my bouquet of flowers, but her husband did not look happy."