Disclaimer: The characters found herein are the property of Charlaine Harris, and I make no claim toward them.

A/N: This chapter is rated M.

Chapter 3

There was that smile, again, on the heels of his words that tingled along my spine: "You called and I came." This time, it was toothier, and I sensed the rise of the predator in him, and it excited me, rather than frightened or repelled me. I'd have to think about this later. But right now…The air practically crackled with energy between us! I stumbled slightly, as I stepped back to let him in. His hand shot out to grasp my waist, vampire fast, and steady me. Steady? He shook me up and damned if he didn't know it. Again, that rakish smile that bordered on a leer.

The door closed behind him and I don't know if I did it or he did. I struggled to gather my wits-they had to be around here somewhere-and act like I had the sense that God gave me, as Gran would say. Eric had a way of making that a difficult task.

He still held me, and I was all too aware of his thumb that had absently begun to stroke the bare skin above my hipbone, his long fingers that teased the skin above my behind, and just beneath my sweater. It felt so good, so incredibly good. The bond between us began to respond to our closeness, the flurry of emotions swirling between us, with pulses of heat, that seemed to keep time with my heart. I went to step away, and put some thinking distance between us, but Eric's grip tightened, pre-empting any movement on my part. His eyes practically danced with mischief as he raised an eyebrow, and slowly waggled the index finger of his free hand from right to left in front of me.

"No. There'll be none of that," he warned me. His big hand left my hip and slid up inside my coat, as he eased me closer to him, his eyes never leaving my face, his nostrils flaring, as he inhaled my scent. When I was a step away from him, both hands reached for the lapels of my coat, grasping it and lifting it free of me. He tossed it over the back of a chair, and with movements that I couldn't track, his leather coat joined it. His eyes flickered over me, lingering on the rise and fall of my breasts beneath the clingy sweater, I wore. He took a breath, before his gaze snared mine, his eyes smoky, his lids heavy with lust.

"Eric…I… I was just leaving--" I protested, as I bit nervously into the fullness of my bottom lip, tasting blood. Oh, no… His eyes followed the gesture, and he tensed, his nostrils flaring, once again.

"Not anymore."

"I was coming to see you." Pointless, but I said it anyway.

"I'm here." You think!

"We should talk," I insisted.

"Later," he promised, as he closed the gap between us, his body fitting into mine, with remembered ease, his fingers running along the backs of my hands. I should have been afraid. Crazy Sookie, here. Fear never entered my mind. There was only Eric and the things that I knew he could do to me…had done to me. His hands came up unhurriedly, sliding achingly slow along the outside of my arms. I trembled, my lips parting slightly, my nipples hardening. Mmmm. He leaned his forehead against mine, his silken hair brushing my cheeks. Cool hands slipped along the length of my throat, the nape of my neck, to dive into the thick sweep of hair at the back of my head. He tugged, bringing my head back slightly and I moaned. He leant down, swiftly, swallowing the sound with his kiss.

His tongue darted into my mouth, tasting, seeking, rediscovering, arousing. Ah, he could kiss!

Oh, Lord, he could kiss. He twirled his tongue with ease about mine, teasing, and tormenting for what seemed like sweet forever. I sighed against his lips, as something in my lower belly gave way, and I began to tremble in earnest. Yet the kiss went on, his lips slanting hungrily over mine, his tongue eliciting soft moans, from deep in my throat. My tongue rose to join his in its sensual play, darting and diving, against his until he groaned in response, the rumble moving through his chest into mine. I felt both powerful, and weak, as I melted against him, and my arms went about him, my nails digging into the thickness of the sweater at his back. He made an indiscernible noise and rocked his hips into me. There was no doubt that Eric was feeling what I was feeling, he was hard, and straining against the zipper of his jeans.

My heart pounded in my chest, and our bond was suffused with heat and lust- his, mine, ours-who knew! My one truth, was that I was on fire and he'd only kissed me. At this rate, I'd be ashes before we got to third base! His lips left mine to skim over my jaw, and blaze a hot trail down to the deep hollow of my throat, where my pulse throbbed wildly for him. I tilted my head to give him better access, and his tongue flicked out, licking tiny circles that burned along my sensitive skin. Burned?

My eyes flew open, and I called his name. I could feel him smiling, his beautiful lips curling against me, as he began to nip at my throat, his fangs lightly grazing my skin. I choked on his name as I called out to him again.

"Er-ic! Wait, wait…"

His head rose slowly, his nose nuzzling my hair, before his eyes, mere slits of dark blue in his white face, met mine. He was pure Sex; I could see it, I could taste it, and I was going to feel it! He shook his head slightly and his blond hair shimmered in the light. "No more waiting, my lover," he ground out hoarsely; his lips finding the shell of my ear, and making me shudder. He licked the lobe and blew gently on it, shooting lightening through me. I inhaled sharply, air backing up roughly in my lungs. He left my ear bereft, and covered my mouth once more with his, sucking my tongue into its hot depths. Eric was as warm as I was! Yet I couldn't dwell on this providence, because the erotic pull of his mouth, took every thought I'd had from my head, except the feel of him, the seductive taste of him. His hands left my hair, and were everywhere at once, stroking, teasing, squeezing, outrunning my senses, and leaving me achingly aroused, and dazed. I grabbed a ragged breath as my sweater zipped over my head, and was thrown-God knows where- while he walked us backward into the living room wall, stretching my arms out above my head, pinning my wrists to the wall with one hand. His free hand trailed over my breasts, tweaking the hardened peaks and traveling lower over my belly. My stomach muscles shivered beneath the warmth of his hand. It all just felt so good; I shut my eyes against the rising wave of pleasure in me.

"Look at me, Sookie," he rasped. My eyelids were heavy in desire, but I did as he commanded-I was his and he knew it- he lowered his head to a lace covered breast, his tongue darting out to trace the skin just beneath the fabric's edge, then lower still, where he twirled his heated tongue around my eager nipple. I hummed in pleasure and squirmed against him, my hips grinding along his gracious plenty, which leapt in fervent response. He growled, his fangs running out as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment in pure delight, then smiling wickedly up at me through his lashes, he subjected the other breast to the same treatment, again, and again. I moaned and I moaned, and it only fed his lust.

My bra fell away. It was there and then it wasn't, yet I never felt the chill, because his lips covered my left breast and his huge hand palmed the other. He rolled a bud between his thumb and forefinger, and used his teeth to edge the other, followed by his tongue. Closing his lips upon my breast, he sucked powerfully, pulling my entire nipple into his mouth. My body shook as I came apart in his arms, his name, heavy on my lips, pleasure rippling out from my womb in little waves, my toes curling in my boots. My legs gave way, and my body threatened to slide into a heated puddle on the floor, but he held me up, bracing his body against mine, readying me for more.

The bond leapt and sparkled like a live thing, drawing out the pleasure that rushed through me.

Eric let my hands slide free, and I grasped his shoulders roughly, when I felt his fangs pierce my breast. A noise caught in my throat as his lips tugged in earnest at my tender flesh and my blood swirled warmly into his mouth, down his throat. He groaned in ecstasy as if it was the best thing he'd ever tasted, and the bond exploded with a heat which rushed through me again, flooding my senses, making my body spasm with pleasure in time to Eric's. By the dazed look in his eyes I knew he felt it, too.

"Oh, God!" I cried and held on.

He lifted me then, unsteadily, his hands coming up to cup my bottom while I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms rushing to circle his neck. "Where-" he rumbled. His control slipping, and the beast that lay beneath the surface, rising…I was okay with that.

"The bed…" I told him.

"Too far," he declared. There was a sensation of movement, and then he set me down and quickly stripped me-it always amazed me how he could do that-and I found myself being lowered onto the rug before the fireplace. He towered, like a vengeful god above me, for a few moments, and I promised myself that I'd do whatever penance he wanted, if I could just feel him inside me. Now! He shrugged off his sweater in a blur, and held my gaze as he toed off his boots, shoved his jeans down and kicked them aside, leaving himself naked and beautiful before me. He gave me a moment to look, and I couldn't close my eyes if I wanted to. I think I gulped… audibly, because he smiled and angled that lovely butt of his into my view. Did I say he was beautiful? He was magnificent! And he was mine.

He fell to his knees beside me, one muscular arm on either side of me. I came up to meet him, slipping a hand to the back of his head, threading my fingers through his silky hair, and seeking out his lips with mine. I ran my tongue the length of his lips, pointedly stroking his fangs, and letting my free hand pinch his male nipples in the way I knew he liked. He hissed against my open mouth, and his hand swept the length of me from breast to thigh, stroking and teasing until reaching my center, now slick with need. His thumb stroked my nub before his fingers glided into me; I raised my hips to meet the swift rhythm that they set. His lips found my ear, his hot tongue sliding inward, his breath caressing the lobe. He was driving me crazy, pushing me to the edge. It wasn't enough, I needed him. I wanted him. I reached down between us, finding and stroking the heavy length of him into greater hardness, making him gasp, and buck against my hand. His fingers slipped out of me, as he drew me onto his lap, up against his erection, my legs circling him. His tongue ran out to meet mine, before he caught me up in another mind blowing kiss.

Our lips parted a breath, and his desperately whispered, "Sookie!" shook me as he lifted me and brought me down on him in a slow rush. I realized that I had waited months for this, and I threw my head back, biting back the scream that longed to burst free. I felt him pause, and shift me upwards, before inching me back down, and filling me entirely. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We sat there for a moment, our eyes meeting in the lull before the storm, the bond expanding, straining to contain everything that we pumped into it; it fairly sang.

He shifted me backwards onto the rug, one arm beneath my shoulders, one large hand supporting my butt, his body still buried deep within mine. He smiled, as I dug my nails into his awesome behind, knowing how much I loved it. I smiled back at him, my heart expanding with feelings for him.

And then he moved. My God, how he moved.

Non compos mentis Eric had filled me with wonder, but compos mentis Eric, with the assistance of the blood-bond, took me to another state entirely. He held my gaze, as he latched onto my breast, not biting, but suckling deeply and rocking his hips slowly into mine while his hot length slid purposefully within me, each glide sweeter than the last. He treated the other breast to the same attention as he searched for his remembered niche within me, purring deeply as he found it. I used my muscles, clinching tightly about him, and moaning with every stroke, rising to meet him, though it drove him deeper within me, stretching me to my limits. He grunted in echoing satisfaction, his arm trembling beneath my shoulders, as he swelled within me, dragging me closer and closer to the edge. Pleasure shimmered through me, and into him, and his deep shiver was evidence that he'd felt it. His eyes grew wilder, the blue obscured by his dilated pupils, the whites so bright they shone. He freed my breast in the next instant, then he reached for my leg in the other and lifted it over his forearm, driving into me faster and deeper, each stroke increasing the sweet build-up inside me, inside us. When he shifted his hips, mid-stroke, the amazing friction took my breath away, my eyes lost focus, and I succumbed, slipping over the edge, the incredibly delicious feeling bursting within me as I screamed his name for all I was worth. Lights blazed all about me, blinding me as he plunged into me once more, bucking roughly and sliding over the edge after me; my voice was lost in his roar, and my body shot through with the strength of his orgasm, the feel of his fangs sinking into my breast. I held onto him, the room falling away, just as he clung to me and let himself go…