Thank you, thank you, thank you to all you wonderful people who took the time to write such lovely reviews for this story. I love you all!
Just another couple of chapters to go until we reach the end! Happy reading, everyone!
As always, I own nothing.
Far from waking up alone, Sookie instead awoke to the smothering sensation of a mountainous Viking vampire wrapped tightly and securely around her. Eric lay on his side, with one arm stretched out under her pillow and the other draped around her waist while a muscular leg lay heavily across her thighs. Combined with the blankets he'd piled on top of her before he'd gone to his dayrest, it was all enough to make her feel slightly claustrophobic, but she fell in love with the feeling anyway.
Only her aching bladder convinced her to eventually begin the two minute wiggle and push process that detangled her from his grasp. After a quick trip to the bathroom to take care of business and wash her face and hands, Sookie returned to the bedroom. Unselfconscious in her nudity, she stood at the foot of the bed and simply stared at the vampire taking up so much real estate in the queen size bed. His magnificence was not lost on her; to the contrary, Sookie thought she was lucky indeed such a creature entered her life. Magnificent, splendid, glorious; whatever superlative you chose was not enough to adequately express how perfect she thought him to be.
Their first night together had been perfect, too. Eric had been the perfect lover for the inexperienced girl; leading her gently through the heights of ecstasy before showing her what else her body was capable of. A blush tinged her skin a soft pink as her thoughts turned to the things Eric had done. It had surpassed everything she'd ever thought of or dreamed about and Sookie was sure she was still in the pre-school phase of learning everything Eric could teach her.
Craving more skin on skin contact, Sookie gave up her post at the end of the bed and crawled over the covers until she could situate herself back into a close approximation of their positioning when she woke. Pulling Eric's heavy limbs back over her like a security blanket, the fairy princess sighed with happiness, feeling at peace with the world. Eric's big body had lost some of the residual warmth he'd held from Sookie's warm flesh pressed against him, but she didn't care about his rapidly cooling flesh. Cuddling into a vampire was like flipping your pillow over to the cool side only to have it warm up again.
Lazily drifting between wakefulness and napping, Sookie let her mind wander as she thought about Eric, and all she'd come to know about him. Nothing she'd learned before she met him had given any indication of the gentle, fun-loving vampire she'd seen in him. He was as brave, cunning and intelligent as she'd been informed, but there was a side to the legendary vampire that she alone had been allowed to see. The telepath didn't need to read his mind to understand he was only that way with her. Falling in love was uncharted territory for both of them and Sookie had no doubt that was what they were doing.
Her small body wiggled closer to the resting vampire, her hand coming to rest on his chest. Toying with the sparse blonde hairs she found there, she began to acknowledge the emotions in her heart. She knew she was falling in love, no matter how foreign the feelings were. The rush and swell of emotion she experienced when near him; the single-minded purpose of her thoughts when she was not in his company, it all went to prove the growing love her heart felt.
A faint blush rose along Sookie's high cheekbones as Claudine's words came back to her. Madly in love and fucking like bunnies, her fairy godmother had said. Well, imitating the bunnies had proven to be easy, and pleasurable, to accomplish, but still, Sookie wondered.
Did Eric feel as she did? Did his heart swell with emotion when he thought of her? The telepath couldn't read his mind, but she thought she could read his eyes. His incredible blue eyes, the ones that followed her every move: they looked like they were filled with love. Those eyes had held hers as his long, perfect body had shown her such pleasure; the inexperienced girl was nearly lost in his intense gaze. Could it be love in the vampire's heart?
Yes.
Yes, it could. Sookie's hand stroked the steely bicep draped across her ribs. He could love her, she thought. Vampires weren't known for their tender emotions, but Eric had been nothing less than tender with her. It might not be easy for him, and it's possible he may not even recognize the feelings for what they were, but the fairy knew her feelings were being reciprocated. Every touch, every look, every single whispered endearment confirmed her suspicions; the ancient vampire and the telepathic fairy princess were falling in love.
Everything was coming up roses for Sookie Stackhouse. The Queen had capitulated easily to the notice given, leaving Sookie feeling pleased with her first foray into vampire politics and protocol. Her biggest concern with facing down the Queen had been for Eric, not herself, and since he, too, walked away from their encounter unscathed, she was prone to consider the skirmish a victory. Her services would be willingly provided upon request, but the fairy princess would do so on her terms alone.
The unusual friendship blossoming between her and Eric's child was another pleasant surprise for the telepath. Sookie hadn't been blessed with many friends in her short lifetime; her telepathy, what was barely understood of it, that is, kept most people just out of reach. Most folks were willing to be polite and friendly when they bumped into her at the grocery store or the bar, but their thoughts gave them away every time. Their thoughts ranged from crazy, to touched, to downright cursed by the devil himself, but just about every one of them believed the lonely, misunderstood girl too strange to befriend.
It had been a painful lesson in the realities of life, but it had also taught Sookie to be all the more grateful for the friends she did have. As few and far between as they were, Sookie would fight tooth and nail for any of them. Lala was the best and dearest part of her life; he was the reason she understood the concepts of friendship at all. Lafayette she would protect with the fierceness of a mama bear protecting her cub.
Because she had witnessed so much two-faced behavior all her life, Sookie was naturally slow to open her heart and trust in another being. Accepting overtures of friendship at face value just wasn't something she did. Meeting Pam had been exciting and interesting for her, mostly because it gave her another glimpse into Eric's world. Pamela Ravenscroft was the one being he trusted implicitly; the child he'd kept at his side as a respected, worthy second. Sookie had been filled with curiosity about their relationship, but the actual dynamic between them was so much more than she expected.
It was the easy going, affectionate nature between the pair that undid any of the preconceptions she might have carried about vampires and their progeny. The mutual respect and loyalty to one another was obvious, despite the obvious imbalance inherent in a maker/child relationship. It was clear more than blood held these two together; the love they held for one another was obvious and Sookie found more than Eric creeping into her heart. Pam, with her wicked sense of humor and penchant for fun, was quickly worming her way in there, too.
Lost in her thoughts, Sookie failed to recognize the passage of time and was startled when Eric's head lifted from the pillow. Startled blue eyes met the vampire's questioning gaze.
"Sookie," he spoke quietly, his eyes searching her face; what he was looking for, she couldn't guess. "You're still here."
"Of course I am," she replied, surprised by his words. "Did you expect me to leave?" Her heart gave a thump in her chest as she considered his words.
"I thought you might," he admitted in a slightly gravelly tone. Sookie, with her fairy mojo, could have teleported herself back to Bon Temps the moment she woke. She placed a hand on his jaw, directing his face until she could look into his eyes.
"I thought I'd wait and go back with you," she told him honestly. It was her turn to search his face. "Is that okay?"
"I'm glad you waited," he told her, looking deeply into eyes so like his own. "Surprised, but happy."
"I didn't want to wake up alone," she said with a nonchalant shrug. "I thought maybe it would be the same for you."
"I've never actually done this before," the vampire admitted, nodding down at their entwined bodies. "But I find I quite like it." He bent his head just enough to place a soft kiss on the outer corner of Sookie's full lips. "Be careful. You're setting a precedent here. I could easily come to expect it."
Sookie laughed, marveling at how comfortable she felt with him, considering they were both naked as the day they were born. "I don't think I could stay in bed all day, every day," she told him with a smile. "Perhaps on special occasions, or if you've been a really good vampire."
Sookie's squeals echoed through the cavernous bedroom as Eric shifted his frame just enough to pin her beneath him, his fingers relentlessly tickling her sensitive rib cage. He laughed when she called uncle between gasped breaths but didn't move his imposing frame as he ceased his torture. Her residual body heat still warming his flesh was not responsible for the curious warmth he felt spreading through his chest as he gazed upon the magnificent woman beneath him. She was nothing short of glorious, he thought as he gazed into her hypnotic blue eyes.
The vampire knew every moment he spent with Sookie was irrevocably changing him, but no moment had been as important, as momentous as the one when he'd slid inside her welcoming heat and found Valhalla. She felt like home; being inside her felt better, more right than if he had indeed found Valhalla. Eric was sure nothing the gods could tempt him with could ever compare to the sensation he'd experienced as they joined as one.
It had taken every single ounce of self-control to not bite her as his hips drove home, over and over again. The vampire's fangs literally ached with need; but the need was secondary to the burning desire he felt to join with Sookie as he'd never done before. Every stroke inside her depths brought him deeper, closer to the very heart of her, but still, he pushed deeper still. As much as he wanted to consume her whole, he felt an equal desire to remain buried within her flesh forever.
Just thinking of her warm, welcoming flesh was Eric's undoing and his flesh predictably responded to the erotic imagery his brain produced. The laughter left Sookie's eyes as she registered the hardening flesh currently pressed against her thigh. Her full lips formed a surprised O, just as her eyes widened with appreciation and acknowledgment. Not bothering with any pretense, Eric gave into temptation and with a soft groan, captured those full, soft lips with his own.
Sookie met his lips with a fervency he didn't expect, but welcomed. The new lovers lost themselves to sensation, their lips and tongues dueling for supremacy in a dance as old as time itself. Guttural groans and soft, breathy moans were the only language used, but translation proved unnecessary. Eric rolled them over until Sookie lay across his hard chest, her hips straddling his lean waist. His large hands, the same hands that still bore the slight callouses of a lifetime spent gripping a sword, captured her breasts and reveled in their soft, silky texture while Sookie experienced the freedom being on top provided her.
The telepath had thought she knew what to expect when it came to sex; after all, she'd spent her lifetime trying to unsee the images she got from just about everyone's head. Folks thought about sex a whole heck of a lot; man or woman, it didn't matter. After just one night with Eric, she knew these images and thoughts had nowhere near prepared her for making love to a thousand year old vampire. Those things she'd seen now seemed clumsy and frantic, bearing little or no resemblance to the sensual exploration she'd experienced with Eric.
The idea that they were special and perhaps unique was pervasive, infusing the inexperienced Sookie with the confidence to explore his body as he did hers. The raw, naked need etched into his face conveyed his appreciation for her efforts, emboldening her further. Her body slid further down his, ostensibly to allow her hands greater access to his carved torso, but the end result was the same; Eric's turgid length pressed against her core, spasmodically jerking against her wet heat.
A moan escaped the telepath's throat as she pulled back further, her sensitive flesh scraping his hardness until the tip of his length could be seen between her thighs. Sookie's small hand reached to caress him, but Eric could only bear her innocent exploration for mere moments before flipping them once more until he was again in control of the situation. His large hands found her hips and pulled her tight to him as she got her bearings once more.
"You test me," he muttered before slanting his mouth across hers. His legendary control was nothing but a myth in her hands. His tongue slipped past her lips with a new urgency, invading her mouth to conquer her tongue. Sookie's muscles turned to jelly even as every nerve in her body woke and began standing at attention.
It didn't take his hands long to begin their exploration of her supple form and it took even less time for her luscious body to writhe beneath him. His name fell from her lips when long fingers slipped into her moist heat; her body instinctively tightening in an attempt to draw him closer. All sense of reason deserted her as Eric used every trick he knew to bring her tumbling over the edge, almost before she even realized she'd reached it.
The vampire pulled his face back from it's resting place at her throat and watched her face as the first waves of her orgasm hit her. Her eyes flew open and the ancient vampire was certain he'd never seen a more beautiful sight than the fairy princess in the throes of her unexpected orgasm. Her luminous eyes – they were oh, so wide - caught and held his as her skin flushed pink and tremors shook her tanned limbs. Her silken walls pulsed rhythmically against his fingers and his weeping cock twitched in perfect harmony with her quivering movements.
"That was -," Sookie panted out. "Wow. That was fast."
Eric grunted in agreement as he regretfully pulled his fingers from her silky heat, bringing them to his mouth to taste her honeyed sweetness. "This might be fast, too," he told her seriously, moaning at her incredible flavor. His fangs descended with a soft clicking sound and Sookie watched as he pierced first one fingertip, and then another.
"What do you mean?" she asked, struggling to understand him through her cloud of arousal. "And what are you doing?"
"I mean I might not be able to show you the same – patience that I did last night," he replied, looking her straight in the eye before holding up his bloody fingers. "And this is because I know you are sore from last night. I do not wish to harm you further, but I must have you, Sookie." Everything about him was raw and filled with brimming need; the naked, pleading desire in his eyes caused a lump in Sookie's throat as she nodded her acceptance of Eric's desire.
Without embarrassment or shame, she opened her legs wider and allowed Eric the access he needed, a soft hiss escaping her lips as his talented fingers tended to her admittedly sore tissues. It was a heady feeling just knowing she had brought the ancient vampire to this point and her arousal rapidly built once more. By the time Eric withdrew his fingers and Sookie instead felt his thick, bulbous tip pressing against the soft flesh of her core, she was more than ready to take him.
"I can't wait any longer, Sookie," he gritted out between his distended fangs as his eyes devoured her sprawled form, her golden, silken skin yet another torment to his enflamed senses.
"Take me," she offered freely, pressing her hips forward to better accommodate his size. "I'm yours."
The vampire groaned at the surge of primal possessiveness her words provoked, driving forward at the same time until he was deeply, fully seated in Sookie's welcoming core. Willing away the urge to come right away, he instead began a steady, sure rhythm, one designed to show her she was indeed his. Sookie was sure his fingers would leave bruises on her hips, but she didn't care. As the vampire claimed her, pushing hard and fast into her core, she could only hang on for the ride. Panting his name between long, keening moans, Sookie reached for him, her hands stroking up and down his back.
Eric threw back his head and growled when Sookie raised her legs up around his hips and over his back, changing the angle of penetration, and every nerve ending responded accordingly to the increase in friction and pleasure. His hips pulled back, his throbbing cock eager to begin its return journey into her hot, tight channel and Sookie screamed as he slammed back into her. A light sheen of sweat shimmered on her golden skin as she struggled to keep up with Eric's powerful thrusts, her body tightening with every stroke of his flesh through hers. The tension coiled into a ball at the very base of her belly before snapping without warning.
Eric's name tumbled over the telepath's lips as the orgasm ripped through her body, every quake and tremor prolonged by his continued thrusting. Her tight muscles gripped him fiercely and Eric could feel his balls tightening. He tried to hold on, to keep pleasuring her until she could take no more, but the next words to spill from her lips hit him like an electric current and he exploded into her milking grasp.
"Oh, my God, Eric! Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God," Sookie moaned as sensation overwhelmed her. "Oh, my God, I love you!"
The vampire succumbed to the force of the orgasm wracking his body, but her words echoed loudly in his head. His hips gave a final push, anchoring him as deep as he could be, before he stilled, his forehead coming to rest against Sookie's. Two sets of blue eyes, so incredibly similar to one another, met and held as the vampire and the fairy princess connected through their respective highs. Sookie's breathing began to slowly even out when Eric turned them so she was again on top. He was still buried deep within her walls as she lay across his chest, sated and replete with pleasure.
Eric's hand came up to slide into her hair, his fingers gently soothing against her scalp before smoothing through the long strands, and up again. He couldn't actually recall a moment he'd ever felt as satisfied and relaxed; then again, he couldn't quite recall a time when he'd held a woman who loved him, either.
Love.
She loved him.
The telepathic spitfire Southern belle from Bon Temps loved him. The beautiful, powerful, deadly fairy princess loved him. Her words echoed in his head until he was unsure if it were her words he was hearing, or if perhaps the words were his, too.
At that moment, he didn't see any reason to differentiate. The way he felt in that moment, the words very well could have been his.
Sorry to leave it all there, but these two need some time alone, too! Hope you enjoyed it.
This story was never meant to be any sort of epic, but the more time I spend with these two, the more I like them. It's going to be very hard to say goodbye, so much so that I've toyed with the idea of expanding this story, or creating a sequel of probably approximately the same length. I've even entertained ideas of making this a trilogy, as crazy as it sounds.
I kind of feel like carrying on with this one will feel forced, trying to carry it beyond its natural end. This was always intended to be a sweet, sappy and happy story, a getaway for me from the angst of Just in Time. To take it further would mean altering the overall feel of this story and I find that's not very appealing to me. A sequel, on the other hand, could go where it needs to. I do have a good idea for what has to happen next for these two.
The problem with both scenarios is that I have myself stretched pretty thin with writing. I still have a dozen or so chapters to write for the end of Just in Time, as well as two more chapters for this one. There's a one-shot True Blood fixer-upper that I need to spend today finishing, and then comes the other two multi-chapter fics I've been working on, including an all human story. I think it would be fairer to you guys to finish this one and then work on a sequel when I've caught up on some other stuff. I wouldn't feel good about making you all wait this long or longer every time for a new chapter.
What do you all think?