He had waited long enough. He hadn't questioned her about the raid yet because she needed time to come to terms with her situation and he hadn't wanted to upset her more while she was still so scared and skittish. But last night had softened her up a bit and even if she still feared him she also understood that his intentions weren't all bad.
Pam had been by with a meal for Sookie from a nearby restaurant as well as some more clothes for her. She would need it, if he kept ripping them off of her. Which he intended to, as often as possible.
He knocked loudly on her door and unlocked it from the outside.
"Sookie, meet me downstairs in five minutes. We need to talk."
It was the first time that her bedroom door had been unlocked and the first time she had been able to leave her room and see other parts of the house.
He wasn't surprised when less than four minutes later she came down the stairs into the living room. Whether it was curiosity or an emerging need to please him, he was satisfied that she followed his instructions so easily. He didn't want to start this conversation with a punishment.
"Sit."
He pointed to the chair at the head of the dinner table and sat down next to her. He'd bought it for her two days earlier, never having needed one before.
"Eat." He motioned to the plate in front of her.
"I'm not a dog, you know. You could ask nicely."
"Oh beautiful Sookie, virtuous maiden of Bon Temps. Would you please feast upon my humble offering so that I can watch the movement of your glorious lips?"
"That's better." She hid the grin that threatened to envelop her face and took a bite.
He let her enjoy her food for a few minutes, before finally confronting her. He regretted turning the playful mood tense, but he had waited long enough.
"How did you know about the raid?" He had never been one for mincing words.
She stopped eating and stared down at her plate. Her heart rate and breathing both picked up, and the scent of her fear was intoxicating. The predator in him wanted to grab her and violently force the truth out of her, but he held back knowing that it would instantly tear down the trust he had tried to establish the past few days.
"I heard it. The cops, when they.." He got up suddenly, the chair scraping loudly on the flood. He moved to her side and trailed his hand softly down her arm.
"Don't lie to me, Sookie."
"I'm not lying. I heard it." She paused and took a deep breath, still avoiding eye contact. He would have none of that. He grabbed her chin and made her face him.
"Look at me. I will not tolerate any more lies. Do you understand?"
Her breathing sped up even more and if he didn't stop her she would pass out.
"Sookie, don't you dare. Look at me. Take a deep breath." He held her hands gently and looked into her eyes.
"Good girl, don't stop. Stay with me." He guided her through a few more breaths and when he was satisfied that she wouldn't pass out he continued his questioning.
"Now tell me how you knew."
"I heard them." He was losing his patience. He was about to grab her and shake her to get her to realize the gravity of her situation when he heard her barely audible voice.
"In their heads." She slumped forward slightly, as if getting the words out had taken a physical toll on her.
"You heard their thoughts?"
She nodded.
"Does this happen to you a lot?"
"All the time."
Shit. The one time he lets his defenses down he ends up with a woman who could easily get him killed, first with her immunity to being glamoured and now this. A human who can read vampire minds? Who can read his mind? Maybe Pam was right after all.
His fangs snapped down and a deep growl built in him. "What am I thinking right now, Sookie?"
She started to tremble, tears running down her cheeks.
"I can't hear you," she choked out.
He was silent for a moment, thinking about draining her dry and leaving her for dead, then doing the same to her brother. When neither her heart rate nor her breathing changed and she gave no other indication that she had picked up his disturbing thoughts he was satisfied that she was telling the truth.
"Has this happened to you before? Not being able to hear someone?"
"Yes, my neighbor across the cemetery. I don't see him much, he's pretty much a recluse. He never comes to the bar where I work."
She wiped away her tears and gave him a pointed look. "Where I used to work."
He didn't change his stern expression, but he wanted to smile at her gutsy defiance. A moment ago she had been scared for her life and now she was talking back to him.
"Everyone in town eats there, but he never does. The few times I've run into him, his mind was silent."
"Is his name Bill Compton?"
"Yes! How do you know?"
"He's a vampire."
"Bill? Really? But he's so boring."
He laughed out loud at that. She was nothing if not perceptive.
"Yes. Compton is not the best nor the brightest of our species. Anyone else whose mind you can't read?"
"My boss Sam. But it's not the same. I can't read his mind, but I can read his emotions, if that makes sense. He's not a vampire too is he?"
He shook his head, cringing at the thought of the shifter being one of his kind.
"Oh, and your girlfriend. I can't hear her either."
"My girlfriend?"
"The one who came by the night of the accident. The one you were fighting with the other night. The one who's been buying me stuff."
Yes, she was definitely perceptive. Their argument – over whether Sookie was worth risking their lives over – had been brief and muted and far from her room, but she had picked up on it nonetheless. His blood in her must have improved her hearing considerably.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Really? You seem very close." She paused for a second and he could hear her heart rate pick up again. "She wants me dead."
"Pam is no danger to you, Sookie. Trust me on that."
"Are you?"
He sighed. He'd spent the past few days trying to prove to her that she could trust him, only to ruin it within minutes with his misguided outburst.
"No. But I cannot say the same for others of my kind."