Dead Broke

Chapter 5

I woke up from a sex dream as we touched down in Vegas. I couldn't believe it, but my stomach was gurgling. Was I really hungry again? All that sex in my dream had worked up an appetite. I ached to call Eric and relive the entire lurid fantasy. It was just past sunset in Shreveport. But I couldn't call. My vampire would know I was in Vegas, and then he'd be all pouty. I looked down at my phone. Well, maybe I could send him a text message. At least I wouldn't have to hear him gripe through the phone.

Eric. I dreamed you raped and pillaged me in a fantasy hotel room draped with animal fur. You were wearing that braid in your hair and nothing else. I had some kind of linen shrift on. And then off. Wish you were here. Sookie.

I hit send before I could think twice about it. I bit my lip. Wow, I really did wish he was with me. I walked down the steps and a new driver put my bags in a new limousine trunk. I waved goodbye to James and closed the car door. I rolled down the window to look at the sparkling Las Vegas skyline. It wasn't that impressive looking in the daytime. In fact, it looked sort of cluttered and off putting. The driver pulled up a long curved driveway in front of an enormous hotel. I stared in awe. I wondered if we were picking someone else up.

After a minute, the door opened. A valet in black tails was standing with his arm out for me. I stared for a second before I got out of the car. I took the proffered arm. I was at the Bellagio. I was staying at the Bellagio hotel. Wow. Oh wow. I said I was impressed before, but now I was pretty much breathless. The valet led me inside to the concierge while my driver (MY driver!) took care of the bags.

Talk about rags to riches Sookie! I felt like Malibu Barbie.

"Ms. Stackhouse," the woman at the desk greeted me. She was wearing a beautiful black jacket over a silk cream sweater. I felt underdressed. Heck, I felt downright naked. "Mr. de Castro has reserved one of our 8,000 square foot villas for your private use. Mr. de Castro is staying in the Chairman's Suite, which has been remodeled to suit his special needs." That meant blacked out windows and heavy curtains. "Mr. Loomis, our executive director, will escort you to your villa and make sure you have everything you need."

A sharply dressed older man appeared at her side. He walked around the desk to shake my hand, and he walked beside me, followed by a bell hop, to a private elevator. I thought I might faint. My phone buzzed but I ignored it. On the other hand, nothing Eric could say could ruin my mood. Even if he told me the King was trying to kill me, I couldn't have cared less. Wow.

"Have you stayed with us before, Ms. Stackhouse?" Mr. Loomis asked me.

"No. This is my first time in Las Vegas," I said quietly. I was taking it all in. He led me out of the elevator and opened a car door waiting by the curb.

"Excellent. I'm glad that the Bellagio can complete your impression of the desert. Our villas are available by invitation only. Mr. de Castro has stayed with us several times, and we value his patronage. We extended our villa to him when he mentioned that he would be bringing an exclusive guest." That meant that the King was loaded, and that he had a human with him. "The villa cannot, unfortunately, accommodate some of our more exclusive guests," Vampires. "But we are already in the process of constructing special villas that will."

I nodded.

"The villa you will be staying in is one of our exclusive 8,000 square foot properties. This building has three bedrooms and seven bathrooms." I blinked. Even if I went to the bathroom in a different room every time, I couldn't use every one! "There is also an in-suite gymnasium, a massage room, a dry sauna, a hair salon, a private kitchen with your own cook, a formal dining room, a full bar which we will stock to your liking, a fireplace, and a private terrace with a pool and spa."

The car stopped and Mr. Loomis took my hand while I got out. I almost ate it on the curb.

Mr. Loomis swiped the keycard again on a gate that surrounded the entire building. He ushered me inside and pointed the bell hop/driver around the back. When we were both inside, he handed me the card. I tucked it into my purse.

"In addition to these amenities, you will have twenty-four hour butler service. If you need anything, George will be available to assist you." Just then, we walked by an older man with graying sideburns. He nodded his head to me and the director, then left the room. I wondered what he did when he wasn't bending to my every whim.

"This is the living room," Mr. Loomis said as we walked through a gigantic foyer with marble floors into a living room the size of my kitchen and living room put together. The walls were papered in an elegant magenta stripe, and two comfy looking sofas sat in front of a gigantic television and huge speakers. He led me back into the room. There was a long shiny bar top with a fountain on top. I tried not to giggle.

"I will have George fill this up immediately to your specifications, Ms. Stackhouse. What is your pleasure?" I was pretty sure he was asking me what I liked to drink. I wasn't really used to a lot of variety.

"Um, Coke, orange juice, gin and tonics if I'm really feeling fancy. Oh, it might be a good idea to put some Tru Blood in there too, just in case."

"Certainly." He sneered a bit. I wondered if there was something fancier than Tru Blood. Was Tru Blood low class? I wasn't sure. It was always on sale at the market, but that didn't mean it was cheap, did it?

"Through these doors, you have a formal dining room, and over here is the kitchen. Your cook will arrive shortly should you like a late lunch." I would like, I thought. My stomach was really roaring now. He was still walking. This place was gigantic.

"This is the women's master bath, complete with Swiss steam shower, whirlpool bath, cedar closet, and a small LCD television." I stammered. This was bathroom number one of seven. I wondered if they were all the size of my bedroom.

"Through this door, you have your private salon, and massage room. Simply tell George you are in need of these services, or any other and he will order them for you. They are included in the cost of the room."

There was more touring, through the sauna and the pool and spa in the garden behind the villa. By the time Mr. Loomis left me to my own devices, I was tired and beyond hungry. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to take a bath or a nap or make a sandwich. I walked into the bedroom. My clothes had been hung up in the closet, and there was a slip of paper on my bed. I crawled up on top of the monstrous king sized floral sheets. The note was from Victor, the King's right-hand man.

"Dear Miss Stackhouse," I read out loud. "Please take the time to enjoy all the amenities of your room. The King requests your presence at nine o'clock for a cocktail party at the Le Cirque restaurant. I will arrive to escort you at eight-thirty. Enjoy your stay. Victor."

I wondered what kind of a place the restaurant was, and more importantly, what I should wear. As if he were reading my mind, George poked his head around the French doors that closed off the bedroom. He smiled at me.

"Ms. Stackhouse," he said. He reminded me of somebody's grandpa, though not mine.

"Please call me Sookie," I giggled. I'd had enough of the formalities.

"Very well. What can I get for you?"

"Well, you know, I'm just starving. And I think I need a fancier dress than any of the ones I brought."

"I can take care of both of those problems!" He beamed at me and I wiggled down from the bed. "First, what can I get you to eat?"

"How about a turkey sandwich?" I said thoughtfully. I didn't want anything too fancy. George smiled and nodded to the chef. I hadn't even noticed him standing in the kitchen. He was an older gentleman as well, with rich chocolate skin and a little white in his black mustache.

"As for the dress, where is it you are heading this evening?"

"A cocktail party at the Le Cirque," I parroted, right from the letter.

"Ah. Well, I did see this beautiful gown in the hall closet. It was delivered the other night, along with a few other things." Wow, I thought. He'd even shopped for me.

George led me down the hall to this mysterious closet. He opened the double doors and inside, on a lonely hanger, was a beautiful white floor-length gown. It had an A line skirt and a fitted empire bodice. It was also strapless. I wasn't sure I could pull off strapless. I looked at George nervously. He looked back at me and smiled.

"Best get into the bath, Sookie. I'll bring you your lunch."

I spent an hour in the whirlpool bath, eating my sandwich and watching old episodes of Friends on the LCD television. I remembered that Eric had sent a message and I got out of the tub to grab my phone, and got back in before I flipped it open. The message was brief, and it made me ache to hear his deep voice, to feel his soft cool skin, to run my fingers through his hair.

Lover, come home safe to me. E.

Oh yeah, I wanted him. I dialed his number. I couldn't even stop myself.

"Fangtasia," Pam.

"It's Sookie,"

"Just a sec. I'll get him." So apparently he had calmed down a little. Maybe.

"Go ahead." It was like dry ice, his cold, stony voice. I had goose bumps, even in the hot bath water.

"I miss you." I said into the phone. It wasn't enough. I ached to be with him. Hell, if I was aching, what I really wanted was him with me.

"Sookie," he was cold at first, but he finished off the notes of my name with a touch of warmth. "How's the desert?"

"The King must be very rich," I said without answering him.

"Yes,"

"I'm sitting in a whirlpool tub in a villa the size of my house, and all I can think about is you." I was laying it on thick, but he couldn't see me blushing. Somehow that made it okay.

"Promise me you'll stay on your guard, my lover. The King…"

"I know, I know. You don't trust him. I got that. A-okay. Loud and clear."

"Sookie," he was irritated. But darnit, I was irritated first. I had called to hear his voice, but I didn't want The Talk again. I'd heard it already. Heck, I'd heard it a lot!

"He bought me a dress. I wish you could see it."

"I will when you bring it home."

"I couldn't!" I thought about the dress in the closet. It probably cost more than my car!

"It's a gift from the King. Be sure to pack it, along with whatever jewels he adorns you with. Think of it as payback for driving your lover…what's the expression… 'up the wall'." He was serious. I was giggling.

"Sookie," he was still Mr. Serious.

"I know. I know. Extended disco version. I have to get dressed. Good night, Eric."

At eight, I was in the dress. Barely. The King had sent along a pair of diamond studs in a gold setting to match, but no other jewelry. The personal hair dresser had tied my wavy blond hair up in a chignon behind my head, and a few shorter wisps fell around my cheeks to frame my face. I stared at myself in the mirror, but I didn't look like myself. I had a tiny scar on my neck from where Eric had bitten me, bonded with me. It was still fading. I twirled in front of the full length mirror in the bedroom. Then I had George take a picture of me with my phone. I sent the photo to Pam.

At eight-thirty, there was a knock on the outside door. George opened it. Victor looked at me with steely eyes. Well, I was on the clock.