A/N- Please don't start an angry mob around my house! I'm so sorry, I've been such a terrible updater lately! I actually went to California last week for my birthday (and saw Snooki on my plane! I kid you not.) so I've been super busy catching up on sleep and schoolwork. Anyway, enough of my lame excuses and on with the chapter!

Ps: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I'll never get tired of them!

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The feeling of Eric's cool lips pressed to my own warm ones was nothing like my fantasies- it was better. The tingling I usually felt whenever Eric took my hand or let me snuggle into his side when we watched TV increased by about a million. I felt like all my nerves were about to explode.

After being around for a thousand years, Eric really learned all the tricks of the kissing trade. He probably wrote the book on how to kiss a woman and got it inducted into Oprah's Book Club or something. Anyway, his world champion kissing skills made me feel horribly callow and inexperienced. I'd never really kissed a guy. Felipe would just mash his mouth onto mine and a guy or two in high school shoved their tongues down my throat during a game of Spin the Bottle.

But this was nothing like what I had experienced before. When his lips first came into contact with mine I was positively ecstatic. He started very softly with a closed mouthed kiss. When I regained control of my nerves he had tenderly ran his tongue over my lips, asking for permission. I was hesitant but I didn't want to disappoint him.

Eric slowly pulled back from my mouth and softly planted light kissed down my jawbone and throat. He buried his face into my neck and inhaled deeply. I froze and mentally begged him not to bite. Instead, he kissed the spot on my neck I knew he wanted to sink his fangs into and I literally let out a sigh of relief. He kissed his way back up to my face and found my lips again.

I tentatively ran my hands up his sides and rested them on his shoulders. He groaned in my mouth and the noise practically made me melt.

I yelped a little when he flipped us over so he was on his back and this time I was on top. He cupped the side of my face with one of his big hands and ran his other through my hair. He didn't make a move to kiss me and I realized he wanted to see if I was comfortable initiating it myself. I slowly leaned down and pressed my lips to his. Even though I was on top, he was obviously still in control. He directed the rhythm and tempo of our kiss and I had no problem with that.

"Sookie." He breathed into my ear. "Perfect."

He again flipped me over again, preferring to be on top. One of his hands raised mine above my head and his fingers intertwined with mine while his other hand supported his weight over me.

We remained that way on the floor for a while. He only stopped when I accidentally let out a tired yawn as he was kissing my earlobe. I blushed a lovely shade of pink. He stopped mid-kiss and stared up at me with amusement.

"Bored of me already?"

I turned my face away from him embarrassment. I couldn't even bring myself to form a coherent statement.

"Or have I tired you out?"

I could practically see his trademark smirk.

"No," I mumbled. "I'm just…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Exhausted?" He filled in for me. This time he tilted my face so I could really see his stupid smirk.

"You're an ass."

"I know." He said smugly.

He rose off of me and offered me a hand. He helped me off the floor and I was a little disappointed that the moment was over.

Before I could blink I was under the covers in my bed. I glared up at Eric.

"Show off."

"Only for you." He winked and I think my insides turned a bit gooey.

I didn't want him to leave. I enjoyed our intimate moment and didn't want it to end. I also didn't want to have nightmares. When Eric was with me I either had a dreamless sleep or mindless, trivial dreams.

I looked at the clock and realized that it was three in the morning. Eric and I had been kissing like a couple of teenagers for over an hour. I was sure my lips were all pink and puffy now. How attractive.

Eric slid into bed behind me and pulled me closer against his chest. He brushed my hair away from my neck and kissed the vein. His hand lightly stroked my stomach as he continued to worship my neck. He whispered phrases and words in an ancient language I rarely ever heard him speak. I let my eyes flutter shut and enjoyed the feeling of Eric's skillful lips.

I turned around so we were face to face. He seized the opportunity to lightly kiss me all over my face. I giggled when he kissed my nose and he gave a small smile, putting his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and gave a contented sigh when his fingers gently drew circles all over my back.

I let sleep pull me under and was ready for a dreamless sleep.

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Before I could blink I was under the covers in my bed. I glared up at Eric.

"Show off."

"Only for you."

The scene played out into my head, and although the dream was a happy one, something didn't seem quite right. Eric's smirk wasn't his usual playful, smug smirk, it was something entirely different. It reminded me of his smirk. His smirk was malevolent and never failed to make me shiver.

Eric climbed into the bed with me and suddenly I didn't feel warm and safe anymore. I struggled to sit up but his strong hands pushed me back down onto the bed. When I looked up at Eric's usually handsome face it had morphed into something else entirely. It was still Eric's face, but his expression was one of pure evil. I began to tremble violently.

"No." I cried.

"Oh yes." Eric said, his voice sounded exactly like his.

"Eric!" I mentally begged him to save me from the imposter.

"This is Eric."

"No, no, where's the real Eric? He would never do this to me!"

The imposter chuckled and raised both my hands above my head, pinning my wrists down firmly with one hand.

"I am a vampire, you foolish girl. I get what I want and that is you. You have finally submitted to me willingly and now I will have you."

"I never submitted to you!" I sobbed. "I just kissed you!"

He gave a wicked grin. "In my eyes you have yielded and now your fate is sealed."

And before I could say another word he crashed his mouth onto mine. This was nothing like the gentle kisses he had given me before. This was rough and cruel. Like the kinds of kisses he used to give me.

I scratched and clawed at him, trying to get away, but like usual, I was no match for the vampire. His hand grabbed the front of my shirt and ripped. I tried to scream but it was muffled by his bruising kiss.

"Shut up." Eric hissed. "You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into."

"Please." I begged. "Why are you being like this?"

"Like I said, you submitted to me and now I will collect my prize." He tore off my pants. "Oh and by the way." He continued, ripping off my panties in the process. "I do not like repeating myself."

His sharp fangs sank into my neck and I screamed so loud the dead could hear me.

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Unsurprisingly, I woke up sobbing my eyes out. I was so shaken by the nightmare I was literally trembling all over. I sat up and realized I was in bed alone. It was ten in the morning and every vampire was dead for the day. I have a huge sigh of relief, all the while attempting to control my sobs.

Not wanting to stay in bed a moment longer I scurried around the room, throwing on a fresh pair of jeans and shirt. I raced into the kitchen and poured myself a tall glass of water. Greedily, I imbibed the whole cup and poured myself another. The water cooled my scratchy throat and also helped calm my nerves.

I sat down at the kitchen table and buried my face in my hands. I tried to get the nightmare out of my head but I just couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the sadistic smirk on Eric's face that reminded me so much of Felipe's. After all the kindness Eric had shown me how could I possibly have a dream like that? He would never hurt me. He cared for me and he obviously had feelings for me. So why would I have such a terrible nightmare?

I replayed his words in my mind over and over again.

"I am a vampire, you foolish girl. I get what I want and that is you. You have finally submitted to me willingly and now I will have you."

I didn't understand. How could Dream Eric be so cruel?

"Like I said, you submitted to me and now I will collect my prize."

My breath caught in my throat. I suddenly understood. I was on my feet in half a second. Dream Eric was right. He was a vampire and vampires always get what they want, when they want. Eric was just playing with my emotions. They all just wanted the same thing from me in the end. Eric was just biding his time, playing mind games. He gave me his blood to make me more attracted to him, not save me from Longshadow. And I had a feeling that he gave me his blood once without my knowledge. My throat clamped shut. Now that Eric thought I had submitted to him he wanted to "collect his prize." When would he do that? Tonight? Tomorrow night? The anticipation of all of it made my head spin. Would he savagely force himself on me? Would he hit me? Would he make me be his forever? Would he turn me?

"Oh God!" I cried out loud.

Something awful rose up in the back of my throat and before I knew it, I was slumped over the toilet, vomiting my guts out. I was so scared of what I had gotten myself into that I didn't even register how disgusting throwing up was.

When I was finally finished I laid my head against the cool porcelain, closing my eyes. All vampires were the same. They may look different and approach things differently, but they were all the same. Dream Eric's face stayed the same but his voice had changed into Felipe's. He had the same intention as Felipe. They were pretty much the same person.

I tried to argue with myself. It was just a dream. It was just an awful dream that wasn't real. How could I ever think that Eric would do something like that to me? After everything he's done for me, after all the compassion he's shown me? How could I let a little dream affect the way I look at him?

I tried to berate myself, I really did. But I just couldn't convince myself that Eric was a good guy. Every vampire I've met was a bad guy. Why would Eric be any different? All he wanted to do was have sex with me. Maybe he was playing nice guy because he wanted me to willingly use my telepathy to help him out at the bar.

I remembered how Felipe was very caring to me the first few weeks of my captivity, trying to make me as comfortable as possible. He eventually snapped at my stubbornness and put me through hell for the next four years of my life. Was this what Eric was doing? Making me feel wanted and cared for so he could use me? Would he finally crack tonight like Felipe had and stop with the pleasantries and just get down to business? Now that I had "submitted" to him like Dream Eric said was he expecting me to have sex with him? If I refused would he force me?

I was so confused and dizzy I could hardly stand up. I flushed the toilet and brushed my teeth for twenty minutes until I couldn't taste the burning acid of vomit that lined my throat and mouth.

I walked back into the kitchen and just sat at the table. I briefly thought about running away again. Bobby or maybe Alcide would stop by today and take me around town or wherever I wanted to go. I could ditch the bodyguard and get lost in the crowd. I could hitchhike to a different state. I could change my name, get a job and start fresh. I'd always wanted to see New York.

As soon as the idea had come it passed. Eric would find me, without a doubt. I could run but I couldn't hide. He would catch up and be absolutely livid. He would surely make my life hellish. I had never felt so trapped in my entire life.

I contemplated the suicide route again but then realized that I had failed three times. It obviously wasn't working out for me. I had no options but to wait for Eric to rise and see what he chose to do.

When Bobby stopped by to "walk the Sookie" as I like to put it he was even more grumpy than usual. I missed Alcide, he really was a good guy and definitely a better conversation maker than Bobby. Bobby was also a real projector. I could hear his thoughts from a mile away.

He took me to the local library and I grabbed some books and magazines off the shelves without even looking at the covers. The librarian gave me a kind smile. I came in here a few times a week and she would always make small talk and recommend books that I should read. She reminded me of the librarian back home.

I guess she could tell I wasn't in the chatty mood so she just checked out my things and told me to have a nice day. Oh yeah. I was going to have a great day, wasn't I?

When I climbed back into the car with Bobby he was thinking about how much being my chauffer was a pain in the ass. He hated me with a passion and I've barely even spoken to him. He thought I was just another fangbanging whore who Eric was just using to get his fill. He had a little bit of an obsession with Eric. Bobby idled him like he was some sort of celebrity. I guess in the vampire world, he was.

"Where else?" Bobby grunted.

"CVS." I said evenly.

He muttered something incoherent under his breath and pulled out of the parking lot so sharply that a couple other cars honked at us. And people say women can't drive.

I bought some iron supplement pills and a whole bunch of tissues and chocolate. I figured I would be using all of these things soon now that Eric expected me to yield. Bobby rolled his eyes as I bought the pills.

I guess she can never have enough of those. Probably begs him to drain her half to death every night the stupid slut.

I ignored his insult and pushed past him back to the car. Not wanting to be with him any longer I asked him to take me back to the house. He was relieved that he was done with babysitting duty and now he could go eat lunch and watch the basketball game.

He made sure I was inside before he sped off down the road, going at least forty miles per hour in a residential area.

I forced myself to have a late lunch later and checked the clock every five minutes, terrified for when Eric would rise.

As I rinsed my dishes in the sink I felt strong arms wrap around me from behind. My heart skipped a few beats and I instantly went still. I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

"Sookie." Eric breathed into my ear. "Why are you nervous?"

He kissed my earlobe affectionately.

I just stood stock still and held my breath

Please I mentally begged, please don't hurt me.

"Why are you scared, my dear?"

His pet name brought tears to my eyes. That's what Felipe used to call me. I could practically feel my nightmare start to come true.

"D-Don't call me that." I stuttered out weakly.

"Alright," He said, kissing my neck. "What should I call you?"

"Sookie. Just Sookie."

"Look at me." He said quietly.

I slowly turned around, all the while keeping my eyes glued to the floor. This is it. This is when he's going to rape and hurt you. Terror coursed through my veins and I cursed myself for it- vampires loved it when you were scared.

"Why are you frightened?"

I shook my head and refused to meet his gaze. He sighed and gently leaned in and kissed my lips. I didn't react at all. I just stood there, still as a tree. The kiss only lasted a second or two. I think my lips started trembling.

"Sookie." He said again. "Look at me."

Not wanting to anger him I forced myself to look into his sky blue eyes. He looked confused and I wanted to slap the expression off his face. He knew what he was doing. I knew what he was doing.

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing." I said; my voice oddly detached.

"You're lying. Tell me what's wrong."

I wanted him to stop playing with me. I wanted to call him out. I wanted to tell him to just get on with it. I wanted to have sex with him to just get it over with. Maybe if I'm unresponsive, he won't enjoy it.

"Please."

It was when he said please that I snapped.

"Just stop, okay? We both know what you're trying to do. Stop pretending to care about me because we both know you really don't. You just want to fuck me. So stop with the fake act you have going on. Now that I've kissed you I know you think you can do whatever you want with me. So just get on with it already."

His eyes flashed dangerously.

"Sookie what are you saying? What do you mean I'm pretending to care about you? What has come over you?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Eric! I'm not as stupid as I look. Just get your fill and leave me alone."

He narrowed his eyes at me and I gulped. This was it. This was the moment I had been dreading all day. I knew his inner vampire was about to come out.

"You are obviously not well. You will go back to bed."

I couldn't believe my ears. I was so full of anticipation and dread and here he was, still playing the mind games.

"Stop playing with me already! Just… ugh!"

I just wanted to be over with it. I just wanted him to screw me and be done with all of it. I was sick of living with his lie.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I crashed my lips onto his, ignoring the tears that spilled down my face as I did so. He was stunned for half a second and then returned my kiss with passion. He was getting into it and I knew the time was coming. I bared my neck to him, wanting to get the whole biting thing out of the way first.

"Do it!" I said. "Just do it already!"

I reached for his pants and fumbled with the button. I could feel his fangs scrape against my neck and I waited for the inevitable pain.

But he didn't do it.

He gently took my hands in his and guided them away from his zipper.

"What are you doing?" I asked, scared by his actions.

"I'm not going to take you if you're not willing." He said it like it was the most simple thing in the world.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"I told you I do not force myself upon women. You are no exception."

"But, but I want you to do it! I know you want to, so just do it already!"

"I may want to but you don't."

"I just said I did."

"You forget, I know when you're lying. And right now you are."

I sagged against the counter, confused as hell.

"But… but last night… you…I kissed you and… I thought… you would want to…you know."

He looked at me sympathetically.

"You…really don't want to?" I asked tentatively.

"Not if you don't."

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"This is not a trick?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Eric gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sookie, if I really wanted to fuck you I would have by now. But you are not ready. I thought you would know this."

I stared down at the floor, mortified.

Everything had just been in my head. My nightmare meant nothing. My mind had just been playing evil tricks on me, making me even more paranoid than I usually was. Well, shit. What was I supposed to do now?

"Are you quite done forcing yourself on me?" Eric teased.

I nodded, still embarrassed.

"Alright. Now are you going to tell me why you are behaving this way?"

"It's not important."

"From the way you are acting it is obviously important."

"It… it was just another dream. That's it."

"Tell me about it."

I shook my head.

"Will you ever tell me?"

I shook my head again. I felt so guilty for even thinking that Eric would hurt me on purpose. I couldn't bring myself to explain the dream to him.

"Tell me." He insisted.

"No." I said stubbornly.

"You know I don't like it when you fear me."

"Why?" I asked suddenly.

He paused for a moment, obviously a little surprised by my question.

"Because there is no need." He said simply.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would I want somebody I care for afraid of me?

So he really does care about me! I thought gleefully. He wasn't just using me like I thought he was. He was nothing like Dream Eric. He really did care. I wrapped my arms around him and he tentatively returned my embrace.

"What has made you so happy?"

I smiled. "It's just that I realized you aren't like other vampires."

I knew he was confused but he dropped the subject. He gave the top of my head a lingering kiss.

"There are a few moments before we have to go to Fangtasia. What do you suggest we do?" He said, smiling as he pulled away from our embrace.

I don't think I'll ever get tired feeling his lips on mine.

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I apologize for any spelling/ grammar mistakes. I wrote this chapter as fast as possible and didn't want to wait another day to post it. I hope you liked/understood the way Sookie acted this chapter. I didn't think it would be realistic if she suddenly realized her undying love for Eric and had sex with him. I hoped Sookie's dream helped clear up any questions about why she acted the way she did. Anyway, please tell me your thoughts, feedback, and questions! Love you all!