Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue. Most of the characters are Charlaine Harris's... but some are mine! All the mistakes are my own.

Chapter Three:

After some contemplation, I had decided to make my way to the Sheriff's place of business. I needed to check in with the local Sheriff, and thank him for use of his property. Sheriff William Compton owned a Supe only concert saloon in Shreveport. He had restored it and it was one of the only surviving civil-war time buildings left in Shreveport. He was not much for human companionship, other than the fang-bangers he feed from, and he did not keep them around for long. Bill was young, by vampire standards, and like a lot of young Vampires, did not like to be reminded of his lost humanity. I was not sure why Sophie-Anne would choose such a young Vampire as her Sheriff, but I would have to be mindful of my manners. He was my superior in this area none the less.

I arrived at bar, Lorena's, the Sheriff's place. It was not much too look at from the outside. It was stand alone, three story building made of red brick. The first floor had no windows but the second and third floors had tall french windows with thick drapes that covered them on the inside, not allowing anyone to see in from the street. I had heard of this place. It was known for its gambling and prostitution.

I walked to the front door, and two large burly vampires stood on either side of the door. I flashed my fangs at them and they nodded, letting me pass. The inside of the saloon was very well decorated. It looked like a concert hall. Its walls had a thick red wallpaper with gold floral designs. The all the chairs and booths had a red velvet fabric on their seats. The tables and floor were a dark cherry wood, and long bar that sat in the corner of the room, was ornately carved of the same wood. I was impressed. There was a stage in the back of the room which was occupied by a Vampire band that was playing soft jazz. I could see why he would own such a place. It looked like he was making plenty of money, there were a lot of different Supes drinking and enjoying the show. I was sure though, the bulk of the money he was making was happening upstairs. That is where I assumed the prostitution and gambling was taking place.

There was a booth in the far corner that was raised on a dais and it had a velvet red rope blocking it off. A small vampire with dark brown hair clipped close to his head was sitting there surrounded by several vampires and and a few human women. I figured this must be the Sheriff. His cold steely eyes scanned the room and when he saw me approaching he waved me on.

I approached the Sheriff's table cautiously, and gave him a bow of my head in respect before I spoke, "Sheriff, I am Eric Northman. I am here to pay my respects and check in."

"Mr. Northman, our Queen told me of your arrival. I take it you find your accommodations adequate?" He said with a sarcastic smile on his face. I disliked him instantly.

The fact was, the property I was currently residing, was a dilapidated old house that needed a lot of work. I was sure he knew this and was quite amused I was staying there. I was not so amused when I saw the place.

It was a good thing I moved my daytime guy, Bobby Burnham with me to Bon Temps. He had been my daytime help in Chicago and a loyal employee. Bobby had been arranging the renovation of the old property. I was sure that the Sheriff was happy to loan me the property, since I would be fixing it up and leaving it in a better state than I found it. This would cost him nothing and he would be gaining a renovated property. I could have left it untouched, but who would want to rest there for any length of time, and I have plenty of money.

"Yes Sheriff. It is...fine." I said keeping my tone even.

"Sit Northman and call me Bill. Would you like a true blood, or something more fresh?" He motioned for a waitress to come take our order.

"A true blood is fine." I said joining Bill at his table.

"True bloods for both of us, A positive." Bill said waving his hand in a dismissive motion and the girl scurried off. "So what do you plan to do in my area?"

"I am hoping to open a bar. I wish to see how my business will fare now that our existence is known to the humans." My club would cater to humans, letting them get a up close look at us. When I mentioned this to my child she was enthusiastic. All I had to do now was finish my task and I was good to go. I was not going to let the Sheriff in on that little fact, but I think I revealed enough to satisfy him.

"I see. Well when you find a location run it past me first. All business must be approved by me." The waitress returned and quickly set the drinks on the table and scampered off.

"I will." I said draining my bottle of true blood quickly. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Fine then." Bill said shortly. "I regret I must bid you farewell. It seems my next appointment has arrived." He said indicating a couple of Vampires that seemed to be discussing something intently at the bar.

"Sheriff." I said bowing my head and I took my leave. I left the saloon quickly and went back to Bon Temps. I was glad that went fairly well. I knew I would soon begin my seduction of a little blonde telepath and found myself getting a little excited at the prospect. If she tasted as good as she smelled, I was in for a treat.

****~~~***

It had been a week or so since I went to Merlotte's to identify my conquest. I was looking forward to seeing her tonight. I had watched her from the woods nearly every night since we met. She was staying in the house with her grandmother. They seemed to live alone together. There lives seemed quite simple and I had not seen anyone courting the blonde southern peach. In fact I had not seen any visitors at the house. Humans seemed to avoid her which was fine with me.

I planned on meeting her when she arrived home from work. A chance, well not so chance, encounter. I wanted to find out more about her. I told myself this was because I wanted to find the best way to seduce her, but I couldn't help being a bit curious as well. Her home was dark and her Grandmother must have been in bed. I knew she should be arriving anytime now, it was after 1:00 AM. I had been waiting in the woods for a half-hour or so when she pulled up.

I walked out of the woods slowly as not to scare her. It was late and the area around her home was fairly dark. Being a Vampire I could see clearly, but I knew she would not. When she had gotten out from her car, parking in the back, she started to walk to her back porch. I walked toward her as said, "Sookie?" just loud enough for her to catch it.

She turned around quickly, looking startled. "Oh!" She squeaked in surprise. "Mister...?" I realized I had not even given her my name.

"Eric Northman. Please, call me Eric." I said in a sexy tone that usually cause arousal in women. I moved in closer to her. "Are you just getting off of work?" I asked, knowing full well she was. She was wearing the uniform after all.

"Yes. I had to work the late shift." She said moving away from the door and sitting on the stairs to her back porch. I joined her. Sitting close, discreetly inhaling her scent. Her scent was mixed with the smell of beer and human food, but sitting this close I could also smell she was a virgin. I was shocked but did not let it register on my face. 'Oh this will be a treat. It has been a long time since I had a virgin.'

"I was out for a walk when I saw you pull up." It was the truth mostly. I was out and I did see her pull up. She didn't need to know I was waiting for her.

"Oh, you live close to here?" She asked looking into my eyes. I leaned a little closer to her before I answered. Still she showed no fear of me.

"Yes I am living at the house across the cemetery from here."

"The old Compton house? Wow, you must have a lot of work ahead of you. Old Mr. Compton didn't do much maintenance on it as he got older." Sookie said looking off toward the woods.

"Yes, but I am making much progress. You should stop by and see it." I offered neutrally. The house was looking much better, Bobby was good at his job and he had people working on it non-stop all week, another week or so and it should be more than livable.

"I would like that. I am curious to see what you have done to the place."

"When do you have a day off?" I hoped it was soon. I wanted to taste her, in more ways than one, and I inched closer.

"Oh, I am off tomorrow and the day after. I could stop by tomorrow after dark." She said with a huge smile on her face, a genuine smile, not the one she had wore at the bar. I couldn't help but smile back.

Her smile faded a little after a moment as she got a thoughtful look on her face. "I haven't seen the Rattrays at work since our little...incident." She said carefully. I knew what she was asking, without really asking it.

"I glamored them to believe that the police was after them, for vampire draining, and sent them on their way. They are probably on their way to Mexico." I said grinning at her. 'When was the last time I smiled so much?' I thought. I left out the fact that I had nearly drained them both and glamored them into believing that vampire blood would kill them if ingested. Normally I would have killed the two pieces of human trash, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself since I had been seen in the bar with them.

Sookie looked at me questioningly. "What's glamoring?"

She obviously didn't know much about Vampires. I guessed most humans didn't. "It is a kind of hypnotizing. It used to be used to keep our identities safe when we feed from humans. Now that we are out in the open we have little need for it."

"Can you glamor me?" She asked surprising me all over again. She was quite entertaining. 'Was she going to willingly allow me to glamor her?'

"Of course." I said mater-of-factly.

"Do it. I want to see if you can glamor me." She said then hesitated for a moment, "Nothing dirty...OK? I am a lady you know." I laughed since what I wanted to do to her was rather "dirty."

I looked her in the eyes, pushing my will on her to lean in and kiss me, but she didn't move. I tried again pushing my will on her with all my might, but nothing. 'Is it the telepathy?'

"Are you doing it yet?" She asked breaking the silence.

"Yes. It seems, it does not work on you." I paused choosing my words carefully. I wanted her to admit to her little gift so I could find out more about what she could do. "Your different than most humans." I stated.

"Why do you think that?" She asked a little stiffly.

"Well my dear, you knew what the drainers were doing to me, you said you couldn't hear me, and now I find I can not glamor you."

"I'm...well...I am a telepath. I can read people's minds." She looked at me cautiously.

"Have you always been able to read people's minds." I asked trying to keep her talking. I found I really wanted to hear what she had to say. 'Why is that?'

"Yes, as long as I can remember." Sookie said sullenly.

"Has it been hard for you? Do you hear them all the time?"

"Yes, its been very hard. It was worse when I was younger. I didn't know how to put my guard up. Plus, I didn't know that people didn't hear things like I did, and until I was old enough to realize...I scared everyone. My parents, the people of Bon Temps, even the doctors my parents took me to. I learned that it was better to keep what I heard to myself. Sometimes when I am tired I have a hard time separating what they say in the head and what they say with their voice. It's why most people think I am crazy." The look on her face was pained. I couldn't help myself and I reached out to her, taking her hand in mine. She looked taken surprised at first but did not attempt to remove it.

"Humans can be so ignorant. They fear what they don't understand." I said shaking my head. "So, you do not have a boyfriend?" I wasn't sure if I was asking to get more information on her telepathy or for myself.

"No. I don't. It's hard to get up a head of steam with someone when you can hear their every thought about you. I don't have much luck with guys." I kept myself impassive, even thought I was secretly thanking the gods that I had met this woman. This interesting woman who was so beautiful, yet pure and untouched.

"Well then I guess I am lucky you can't hear my thoughts." I said with a smirk and that got a smile out of her. I really was beginning to want to see that smile. 'What is it about her?'

"Well...we will just have to see about that." She was feisty. I liked that. "It's late I really should go to bed." She yawned.

"Yes, you need your sleep." We both stood then looking into each others eyes for a moment. I leaned down and touched my lips to hers lightly. I pulled back and inch or so, I wanted to see if she would reject my advance, but she didn't. I kissed her again this time running my tongue over her lips seeking entrance. She allowed it by parting her sweet lips and we kissed more deeply. I couldn't barely stop my fangs from running out as her hands went around my neck. I could feel her warm body so close to mine and I wanted to get closer. I knew if I let this continue I could take it further, I wanted that more now than ever. But now that I knew I couldn't glamor her, I had to be more careful in my pursuit. I reluctantly pulled away. She stood there for a moment with her eyes still closed, before she gathered herself and looked at me.

"Tomorrow?" She asked a little breathlessly.

"Yes, tomorrow, after dark." I said huskily. "Until then, sweet Sookie." I said, and as I walked back into the woods towards my current resting place, I heard her say, "Goodnight Eric."