AN: A little smut and a little plot.
The next day was a never-ending delivery of the business of death. I met with police officers alongside the condolences of neighbors. I met with the family lawyer and the local undertaker. I received a long line of vultures who helped themselves to my kitchen like it was an exhibit in a carnival. Come and See the scene of Murder! Horrors! Shivers! Shocks! I didn't have the time to worry about my life being on the line, not when I didn't even have a single moment to myself.
To entertain myself I imagined what the conversation would be like if I were Pam. Short, I suspected.
Luckily in the south, it's rude to visit at dinnertime without an invitation so I knew I'd be left alone at sunset since Jason wasn't talking to me enough to sit across from me at the table. I slipped out of my too hot trousers and buttoned blouse and then I slipped out of the rest and put on a white bikini. I spread myself out on a lawn chair and soaked up the last hour of daylight alone in my yard. I undid the top and turned to lie on my stomach. I closed my eyes as one empty spot blinked into existence not far into the cemetery.
I felt Eric approach and the clarity of it surprised me. I realized as I waited for him that I had held my mental blocks up for the day better than I ever remembering doing before then. Eric purred as he grew closer and he breathed out over the bare skin of my back, leaving goosebumps.
"Vampire bait," Eric accused, grazing his dull teeth over my shoulder. His tongue darted out and flicked against my skin making us both groan. "Lover, you give me a thirst I have never known before."
I rolled over in my seat and Eric ran his eyes over my skin like he hadn't seen me in weeks instead of a handful of dead hours. His hands reached under my neck and hips and I could feel him lifting me up.
"No," I said and he paused. "Here."
I returned the shocking sky blue stare of his with a faint smile. I felt deliciously peaceful outside, alone with him, knowing for certain that there was no one else miles around us.
"You are a revelation, Sookie," he said before meeting my demand.
Where the night before had felt like a thorough introduction for Eric Northman's Pleasure Seminar 101, this was gentle and intimate. I had taken him off guard, surprised him, and now he watched me with curious eyes. He studied my responses to every touch, experimented and adjusted until my fingers were in his hair and my legs were knotted around his waist. His eyes never strayed from my face so I held his in return and let the admiration shining there soak into me. We came together with a soft kiss and Eric shifted us so that I lay over him, his hands providing the bare necessity of modesty over my bottom.
I suppose the bubble had to burst.
"I need to see to my business," Eric said. I realized he was hesitating and it surprised me. It seemed out of character for him. He settled on the highhanded version of his worry. "You should not be alone here."
"You want me to call Lafayette?" I asked, hiding a growing smile against his cool chest.
"No, Lover," he said tersely. "I am not sure the Gumbo Queen will do the trick."
I laughed, high and happy from good sex. Eric held still. "Laf might actually like that name. What do you want me to do, Eric?"
He held his words in, surely trying to predict my response and if making a demand for my safety would be worth my reaction to being bossed.
I let him off the hook. "Because I was thinking about putting in a night at Fangtasia. A change of scenery could be good for me."
Eric leaned back and waited for me to catch his eyes. "You were teasing me?"
I tried not to grin too wide. "Yeah, Eric. I was teasing you."
He rolled his eyes. "You are getting cocky."
"Whose fault is that?" I rolled my hips against his and he laughed, lifting us out of the chair with an easy motion.
"We will bathe and I will dress you," he said, taking long steps to the farmhouse.
"Excuse you mister, but I am not a doll!"
"If this was the roaring twenties that is exactly what I would call you."
"Well it's the twenty-first century and you can call me Sookie."
"I will call you my lover."
"Maybe when we're alone," I grumbled as Eric came to a halt just inside the house. He set me carefully the floor, his eyes narrowing. I scanned the house and the property but we were every bit as alone as we had been at first dark. "What's up?"
"Stay here," he said, soft and sharp.
"Eric," I said as he began to zip through one room after the other. "We're alone."
In a blink he was gone from the kitchen and towering over me, his face thunderous as his hands gripped my upper arms. I felt so strange, the two of us naked, the glow of having just made love faded in the wake of his murderous anger. I knew it wasn't directed at me but it didn't make me feel any less vulnerable.
"He was here," Eric growled.
"Who was?" I asked, even as I realized I knew the answer.
"Sookie. The killer, he was here. Today. There was no trace of the scent after Pam finished cleaning and now it is back. Who was here?" He shook me a little and it was harder than I expected although I couldn't say the hurt was physical. I yanked myself away and stomped towards my room with as much dignity as a naked girl with big boobs and a bikini tan can.
"Who wasn't here? The whole damn town walked through the house today, Eric," I snapped. I slammed the door shut in his superhuman-fast face.
"Sookie," he growled.
"There's a shower upstairs," I yelled back.
There was a moment of quiet broken by me rustling through my drawers for a matching set of underwear.
"Lover," his growl softened, "I will not leave you alone now that we know that Adele's killer is someone you trust in your home."
The dresser drawer closed with a bang and I snapped the elastic of my underwear against my skin as I yanked it on. I huffed but I could tell that Eric was still just outside the door. It wasn't locked but he was waiting. Even if it had been locked, what would that have mattered to Eric's strength? I shrugged a robe on and tied it shut before opening the bedroom door.
"Don't ever touch me in anger, Eric Northman," I snarled.
He blinked and for the briefest moment there was a deeply stricken look on his face. It washed away into evenness but I understood.
"I apologize," he said. He was still boiling in the knowledge of the murderer in my house, and so was I and we were lashing out at each other because we were the only ones available. He cared about Gran too, I reminded myself. And then I thought, He cares about me, and that surprised me. Maybe it shouldn't have by then, but it did.
"You didn't hurt me," I said and he showed his relief. "But I didn't like it."
"I understand."
"Lord, Eric, just get in here and put your pants on."
"Lover, you must think about who was here today," Eric said, coming into the room and sitting down on the bed. He didn't bother with his pants. "Did you hear nothing?"
"I made sure I wasn't listening in," I said. "You have no idea how ugly people can be when they think they're being kind to you. I gave myself a headache not listening."
Eric frowned. "Information is so valuable," he said, obviously puzzled by the thought that someone would not want to know the secrets of others. I suppose he thought it would make me powerful, but I wasn't a vampire and I wasn't the kind of person who used personal weaknesses against others.
"Imagine knowing every tragedy, insult, and injury inflicted on someone as if it were your own," I said, sitting down and taking Eric's hands in mine. "And then imagine knowing all of those that they had inflicted on others. And then multiply that by every person you have ever met and all the different weights of life that can be carried by one body and one mind, but it's all in yours too."
"I see," he said gravely after a long pause and I believed that he really did. "After so many years, I would be insane."
I shrugged. "Yeah well, everyone calls me Crazy Sookie anyways."
Eric set his hand on my shoulder. "I don't. Can you make a list of everyone that entered your home today?"
The subject change made my head spin but I was glad for it. "Yeah. I can. You shower."
Eric nodded and left a kiss on my temple before heading into the bathroom. I found an old bill envelope, a nagging reminder that I now had this old house to keep up on full time pay as a bar maid and a bit on the side as telepath, and started my list. I was still working on it, in my robe, when Eric emerged clean and dressed – aside from his shirt – from the bathroom. He went directly to my closet.
"I don't think I have anything in your size."
"Ha ha," Eric said in a surprisingly good imitation of human sarcasm. He pulled out a bagged dress and lifted the plastic away to reveal a simple, high-collared, sleeveless black dress. "I would not have thought you owned a little black dress," he said absently, the words fitting oddly on his tongue. I wondered how much time Eric really spent thinking about my wardrobe.
"That's for… for funerals," I said. I had forgotten I owned that dress. "Gran bought me it for me a while back. She said the last thing you want to do after a loved one dies is go shopping for clothes."
I swallowed as Eric watched me and then I went back to my list and he put the dress away. For now. I would have to retrieve it again in a few days.
I looked up again as Eric started purring, or growling, something in between. In one hand hung the two hangers with the dresses I had already worn to Fangtasia, in the other was a tight, blood red dress, scandalously short, with the tag still on it.
"That was a gift."
"From who?" Eric growled.
"Lafayette."
The growl dissipated into chuckles. "I will give him a budget so he may buy all your clothes."
"Do it and it's the last you'll see of me," I snapped.
He raised one eyebrow and seemed to be considering whether or not I was over exaggerating. I was not. He put the other dresses away and prowled slowly in my direction. He nuzzled my face and I noticed that he smelled like my shampoo. I was instantly softened.
"Wear this for me tonight, Lover," he hummed against my ear, running tingles and sparks right down my neck and straight to my gut.
"I don't even know if it fits." My voice was gasping.
"You only have to wear it once," Eric purred. "I will tear it off you tonight."
"You'd better not." My protest was weak.
"I will. And then I will put you in another of my shirts. I enjoy that sight very much."
Eric lay on the bed while I squeezed myself into the red dress. I didn't feel very sexy as I shimmied my hips into the skirt and held my breath as I did up the zipper, my breasts only just fitting into the bodice. But when I finally looked at his face, mine flushed with effort and embarrassment, he was practically salivating. His fangs were definitely down. A wicked thought entered my head and I knelt on the bed and then bent over. It must have been a miracle that kept me in that dress at that moment. Or spandex.
Eric's blue eyes went dark as they dilated.
"You look hungry," I said, trying to sound casual. "You should feed before we go."
His eyes narrowed. "Lover, I have just enough self restraint to keep you in that dress for the majority of the evening. Do not test me. Besides, we do not have the time for sex, as much as I hate to admit it."
"Who said anything about sex, Eric? I'm you're human. You should feed."
Eric slid down the length of my bed as fast as a snake, his nose hovering just an inch away from mine. "You are more than blood, Sookie."
Which was really sweet actually. I wondered if he'd said that to anyone else. I kissed his cheek, lingering there.
"I know that. But tell me, would it be better if others knew that? Specifically the vampires who report to you at Fangtasia?" Eric's eyes narrowed but he listened. "It's one thing for you to call Pam to help clean up, but should everyone know I'm your telepathic lover? Or would it be better if they just thought I was the dumb blonde with sweet smelling blood who belonged to the Sheriff of Area Five?"
"You are as a shrewd as you are beautiful, Sookie Stackhouse," Eric said with genuine admiration.
I maneuvered myself over his lap and leaned my head back to present my neck. He licked at my pulse and his hand slid up the short skirt of my dress, his fingers pushing aside the flimsy fabric of my underwear.
"They will smell your satisfaction as they look at my mark," Eric murmured against my neck before gently piercing my skin.
"You weren't kidding," Eric said dryly. He was studying the list I had written on the electric bill envelope. "How could you possibly have spoken to so many in one day?"
"You should have charged admittance," Pam said and I snorted.
"Wait for the funeral," I said. "It just gets worse."
We sat alone in Eric's office just as Fangtasia opened. Pam explained that she and Eric never went out at the opening, but built up the anticipation of their reveal. I told her I liked her style and she hid a smile. She had also looked at my neck with approval when Eric and I arrived through the back together. I wasn't sure what to think of her dreamy expression after sniffing me, but I appreciated the way Eric growled a little at her in warning.
Eric passed her the list and she tucked it away.
"What are you going to do with that?" I asked glancing between the two of them.
"Question the suspects," Pam said. I got the feeling she was looking forward to this. I wondered if she'd ever gotten a detective's license.
I looked to Eric. "You understand that there's only one killer on that list right?"
Eric smirked and Pam rolled her eyes. "I will not bruise or bite them," she said. "Unless they ask me to."
"Stay away from Jason," I said. "I already know it wasn't him."
Pam narrowed her eyes and her lips twitched, I thought she was resisting a pout. She glanced at Eric whose face was tense with the effort of not smiling. He nodded once.
"You are a spoil sport," Pam said as she left the room and I laughed, a little nervously.
Eric was studying me as I turned back. I tried to mimic his motion of raising one brow.
"I am glad Pam knows your worth," he said. "Your interactions would be much less amusing if you were trying to behave."
"So how will this work?" I asked, changing the subject. "Do I come whisper to you every time I catch some thought to worry about?"
Eric sat up a little straighter and we were on the same business-like page. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a shiny new smart phone. I grimaced.
"Sookie," he purred. "This is the best way. Consider it part of your contract."
"You didn't mention anything about a phone in the contract," I said.
"You did not stipulate that you would prefer the guilty humans to be subjected to human law. Obviously, we both have some editing to consider on the contract," Eric said. "If you text me your findings then no human or vampire will know that the information comes from you. Also, I will find it reassuring to know that I may reach you even when you are not at work or home. Remember the current situation."
It was immature of me, but his reasoning got on my nerves. I didn't like the feeling of being backed into accepting a gift.
"I want to pay the bill," I said. Eric opened his mouth to argue and I continued, "If you're calling me for personal reasons on that phone then it's not a business phone. And while I understand the necessity of my acting like a piece of property in front of other vampires, will any one else really know who is paying for the phone?"
Eric ground his teeth. "If there is any issue, you will tell me."
I bristled but took a deep breath. Anyone could see by the farmhouse that Gran and I managed finances by the skin of our teeth. And he was right. I had several different kinds of danger headed in my direction and it would be good to have a way of reaching Eric regardless of where I was.
"Okay."
We both lowered our shoulders at the resolution.
"I will be in and out of the bar with meetings," Eric continued. "There is a booth reserved for you. I'd prefer it if you kept no company."
"So would I," I said and I could see a little more tension leak out of him.
"There is the matter of any vampire who might try to glamour you," Eric said, and his voice had an angry bite.
"Even with your bite and blood and everything?" I asked. For all his talk about being his meaning I would be safe, it seemed like there was still plenty of chance that vampires would ignore it.
He lifted a shoulder. "I suppose it is like an engagement ring. It is a sign of being spoken for but there are those who would ignore it, even ones who wear the ring."
I wondered if he was as insecure about me straying as I was about him.
"I don't need to make eye contact to read minds," I said. "It'll be hard enough sifting through everything. I'll keep my eyes to myself and if I feel anyone glamouring me-"
"You can feel it?"
"Yes. It's just pressure. I won't know what they expect me to do."
"Most vampires will need to hold eye contact. If you feel anything, text me immediately."
I nodded.
Eric rose and I followed, tugging my skirt down as I stood. When I finished he was standing over me.
"It would be out of character for me to touch and treat you as I would like to when we step into the bar," Eric said and I tried to convince myself that I was imagining the hint of disappointment in his gaze.
"I understand," I said gently. And I did. I didn't like it, and I didn't always know how to navigate it, but I understood.
Eric's arm twined around my waist and then he was kissing me senseless. It was romantic and urgent, as if he were never going to see me again, not sit across a crowded bar from me. I kissed him back with everything I had, every little nibble I had learned made him hungry for me. Just in case. In case he went out there and some fangbanger looked more tempting than usual, I suppose. We released each other and stepped apart, me breathing deeply and him standing straight, his eyes hot with lust.
"I look forward to the end of this night," he said.
Then he turned and headed to the door and I followed him a few paces behind. I waited in the hall and watched as he strode out onto the floor and every face turned in his direction. He settled himself into his regal table, perched higher than the others, and I slipped discreetly into the crowd. Everyone was too busy staring at my beautiful vampire to notice me emerge after him from the hall. It was difficult to resist the urge to put my blocks up when I was suddenly inundated with images of Eric fucking almost everyone in the room. Some of the fantasies were more accurate than others, they came from those women he'd actually entertained in his office. I felt sick and I found the small booth – small enough that it would be hard to fit anyone else in – that faced Eric's seat. I sank into it and kept my eyes on my hands and the new phone. Eric's picture, decadent and barely covered by a white sheet, smiled faintly up at me from the screen but it provided little humor or relief in the face of the surge of thought around me.
Part of me was offended for my own status as Eric's… well maybe not his girlfriend but his human, his lover. Another part of me was offended for Eric's own sake. People wanted horrible things from him, thought him capable of disgusting and cruel acts and did so with longing. I realized that as much as I hated knowing these things, I was glad it was me and not Eric hearing them.
The phone buzzed in my hand.
They will never know my touch again, my lover.
A knot in my chest eased. The sentiment was kind but the choice to deliver it meant more to me. I nodded at my phone; sure that Eric was watching me.
AN: BOO I am late. Sorry darlings. Please review! It fuels my fire.