This one is a little longer than the others so I hope you like it.

Thanks to everyone for your lovely reviews, they truly inspire me to keep writing.

A huge Thank you to my magnificent Beta, Northwoman. I made a few changes after she did her magic so even more than usual any remaining mistakes are mine.

The great Charlaine Harris owns all of these wonderful playthings, I don't.

Unexpected – Chapter 4

I woke up suddenly to the grey morning light barely filtering through the trees outside my windows and the slightly surreal feeling of having just climaxed in my sleep. I struggled to hang on to the delicious dream I was having about a certain Viking but to no avail. After a few minutes of lingering in the warm covers, pleasantly reliving last night's incredible kiss I got out of bed and headed for the shower.

I always shower first thing in the morning since I simply can't seem to wake up fully otherwise. I didn't wash my hair as I intended to do it in the afternoon, before class, so I was out of the shower quite quickly. I dressed casually in dark jeans, black boots and a soft, black sweater. While I waited for the water in the kettle to boil I put my hair up in a ponytail and crossed the hall to knock on Amelia's door.

"Good morning! Sleep well?" Amelia opened her door with her usual morning cheer.

"Morning. Do you want to bring your coffee over?" I answered not quite as cheerfully since I'm hardly a morning person.

"Sure, I'll be right there."

I went back to my kitchen to finish making my tea. I only drink black tea with lots of milk and sugar. My great grandfather Niall taught me to drink it this way when I was younger and he almost always brings me an interesting new blend to try when he comes to visit.

When Amelia came in we both took our mugs and sat down at the little table next to the window.

"So, how was your seminar? What's it about? I hope it's more interesting than the last…how anyone can be interested in the history of rabbit migration is beyond me…"

"Well, you might find this one slightly more interesting Ames, it's given by a 1,000 year old vampire…"

Amelia cut me off before I could continue."Really? A vampire? Are you sure that's safe for you? Aren't fairies supposed to be vampire treats or something?"

"That's only true for full blooded fairies. My fairy scent is not strong enough to cause a vampire to lose control."

"Ok, so what is he like? Is he dark, dangerous and dead sexy?"

"More like a Viking sex god actually."

"Ooooh, sounds interesting. Did he ask you out yet?"

"What? Ames, sometimes it really isn't fun being your best friend, how do you know that?"

"Elementary Watson, you are stunning. Any man in his right mind would definitely be interested in dating you and a thousand year old vampire can't be stupid or he wouldn't have survived for so long, so it's just logical to assume that he would ask you sooner rather than later." Amelia has a thing for Sherlock Holmes and can get carried away sometimes.

"Let me see if I understand, Sherlock, according to your theory every single straight guy I meet should ask me out and we both know that, thankfully, isn't the case."

"Of course not, most of them are much too insecure to approach you, or they feel you are out of their league but the Viking, judging by your colorful description, obviously doesn't have that problem so he would ask an amazingly beautiful woman like you out."

"Fine, he asked me out, can we stop now? You're making me uncomfortable."

Amelia likes to say that I'm "impossibly beautiful" but I don't really see it. It's not that I consider myself ugly or anything, it's just that fairies maintain their ideal weight easily and tend to be pretty lucky in the hair/skin/teeth departments. I grew up surrounded by my very beautiful fairy relatives so I guess I never felt there is something out of the ordinary about the way I look. Most of the time when I look in the mirror I'm satisfied with what I see, but it's not like I'm perfect and I'm definitely not one of those people who obsess about being beautiful. I'm just me I guess.

"Sorry, I get carried away. I just think it's great that you're finally going out with someone new; it's about time you moved on from that snobbish douche bag. So, when are you seeing him?"

"He's taking me out tonight after class. I'm not sure I should have agreed but I feel drawn to him. We kissed when he brought me home last night and it was the most amazing kiss I have ever had. I wanted him so much I felt like I was on fire. And he is only here for two weeks so…"

"Sweetie, you should let go and listen to your instincts for once. You agreed because you want to go out with him and there is nothing wrong with that. It has been far too long since you last had sex and I think a "Viking sex god" might be just what you need."

Amelia isn't the most subtle person in the world but she just wants me to be happy. I'm not a virgin but I'm not that experienced either. I just seem to have bad luck when it comes to relationships.

My first boyfriend, Jeff, was human. We started dating when I was 16 but after a while I realized I could never just relax and be myself with him. It was just too much pressure, having to both control my telepathy at all times and disguise who I really was. I tried going out with a few other guys but even the nice ones couldn't help thinking about my body or what they imagined I would look like naked and that was really unappealing to me so I simply gave up on dating and concentrated on my studies instead.

My less then stellar social calendar finally got me accepted to Harvard where I met Alcide Herveax. As a werewolf I couldn't read his mind as well or as easily as humans which made it much easier for me to relax around him. I also didn't need to hide my ability or my relatives from him. We spent a lot of time together, studying, hanging out and making love but we were never really serious. We were together for almost two years until we broke up when I left for Paris.

I wanted to see the world and he felt he needed to return home to take his place in his father's construction company and in the pack. We both realized I would never be OK with him sleeping with female pack members in the interest of enlarging the pack and that I would never fit in. Even though we did love each other I guess neither of us was willing to sacrifice their dreams for the other.

So far I tried, not very successfully, to date humans, weres and fairies. Perhaps a vampire was exactly what I needed.

"Maybe you're right, I should at least give this thing with Eric a chance."

"Great, now let's go, we don't have all day."

"Wow Ames, I've never seen you this excited about going to the museum before."

"The museum can wait. We have some shopping to do! There's nothing like a brand new pair of shoes to make a woman feel good about her self."

I laughed and grabbed my bag and coat knowing that it was useless to try and argue with Amelia about shopping. I had already decided on the dress I was going to wear but I did end up buying new shoes, a new coat and a few sets of sexy lingerie which Amelia claimed I desperately needed. Amelia of course managed to buy something in every store we visited and we were both famished by the time we finished.

We decided to have lunch at our favorite neighborhood Bistro on our way home. We sat down at an empty table by the window and the waitress came by to take our orders. Today's menu was written in chalk on a small blackboard. The selection was small but we knew from experience that whatever they served was excellent. We gave the waitress our orders and she immediately returned with our drinks.

"So, are you going to tell me what is it you're worried about?" Amelia asked once the waitress disappeared back into the kitchen.

"What if he simply wants to sleep with me?"

"Well, he would have to be insane not to want to sleep with you but that doesn't necessarily mean that's all he wants. You should stop thinking for once and just allow yourself to have some fun and if it turns out nothing serious comes out of it then at least you would have some really hot sex with a gorgeous man that has a 1000 years of experience and can presumably do it all night long without getting tired, if the rumors about vampires' sexual prowess are true."

I could feel the tips of my ears getting hot even though I usually didn't blush. We were speaking in English and I knew that if the people around us even heard what we have been talking about they didn't necessarily understand but I still felt embarrassed, especially since the mere mention of sex with Eric made a delicious shiver of anticipation run through me. Our waitress chose that moment to appear with our food effectively breaking the conversation and my growing embarrassment.

The salmon I ordered was amazing followed by a simple but delicious desert of Fromage Blanc with honey and by the time we finished and paid I felt a little tired and decided to take a nice long nap before my afternoon class.

"Ames, I think I will go home now and sleep for an hour or two so I wouldn't be too tired tonight."

"That's a good idea, Sook. Do you mind going home alone? I still want to go to the market."

"Sure, you go on to the market and I'll see you later."

"Fine, I'll come by at around 20:00 to wish you good luck."

I walked the short distance home, enjoying the coolness of the air. When I entered the building I found a beautiful box sitting on my doormat. On top of the box was an envelope with my name written on it in large beautiful print. I picked up the box and went inside. I opened the envelope rather curious as to its sender and content.

The note in the envelope read "Sookie, please try to get some rest during the day, since our destination tonight is outside Paris and I do not wish you to be tired by the time we arrive. I hope you will give me the great pleasure of wearing my gift when you rest as I hope it will make you think of me as I am thinking of you." It was signed with a large ornate "E".

The box was white with a large black ribbon with white polka dots. Inside was a light pink slip with tiny black dots. It was extremely soft and very slightly sheer and I was immediately in love with it. Normally I would think receiving a gift from a man after knowing him for less than 24 hours, and such a personal gift at that, is in poor taste and if Eric had been anyone else I would probably have returned it. But as an historian with many ancient relatives I knew that social interaction between men and women was quite different a thousand years ago so I gave Eric the benefit of the doubt by accepting his gift in the spirit I thought it was intended.

Sure, it was cocky and he was assuming much by sending me this gift but I didn't feel someone like Eric needed to buy his way into women's pants. Hell, he could probably melt a woman's panties just by looking at her so I had to assume the sentiment conveyed in the note was genuine and that he was simply very sure of himself. Confidence in a man is not a fault in my book. On the contrary, it can be very, very sexy when it's warranted.

I closed the curtains, took off my clothes, brushed my teeth and put on Eric's gift. It was soft and smooth against my skin and I fell asleep almost instantly. I apparently managed to turn off the alarm I set on my cell phone before going to sleep since I woke up at 17:15 very refreshed having slept almost three hours.

I decided to pop to class since I was running late. Since my powers were not fully developed yet I could only pop to places I've been before and I had to be really careful not to be seen by anyone so I didn't normally pop when there were other means of transportation available. Apparently, it's supposed to become much easier as I grow into my powers and learn to control them fully.

I washed my hair and used my favorite deep moisturizing mask, wrapping my head in a towel for 15 minutes while I had another cup of tea. After washing the mask off I washed my face, brushed my teeth again and pulled my hair into a high bun. This was not only a quick and easy style it would also allow my hair to fall in soft, beautiful waves when I'll let it down in the evening. I dressed quickly in a light pink sweater dress with black leggings and boots added a black belt and scarf and headed for the door. After grabbing my black bag and coat I popped myself into a deserted corridor on the 3rd floor and walked to the classroom.

I took my seat in the front row and looked around. Everyone seemed to be already there even though we still had 5 minutes before class started and I couldn't help but notice that more than a few people, female and male, looked more like they were going to a club than to class. If the slip he sent me was any indication I didn't think Eric was really into the black and gothic style but I guess most people just assumed that was appealing to vampires.

At exactly 17:45 Eric walked into the classroom looking incredible in a light blue sweater and black slacks. He looked straight at me and I immediately felt myself getting wet. I was hoping he couldn't sense it since I knew vampires have extremely keen senses but the smirk he flashed in my direction told me he probably could. I was so embarrassed I felt the tips of my ears getting warm again but I couldn't take my eyes away from Eric as he sat down in his chair right in front of me.

"Good evening. I would like to start tonight by telling you a little about my human life. As I already told you yesterday, I was born around the year 900 in a small village on the shores of the North Sea. My father was the chieftain and leader of our clan and as the eldest son I was destined to become chieftain myself after my father's death.

"As history students you probably already know that human life spans and consequently the length of the different stages in life were quite different than they are today. At the age of 12 I was considered a man and could hold my own in battle and at the age of 16 I was married to the daughter of the chieftain of a neighboring clan. She and our sixth child both died a few hours after he was born."

Eric's expression softened almost imperceptibly when he was talking of his family and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for his loss even though it happened so many centuries ago.

"Death of women in childbirth was a normal occurrence when I was human and so was the death of young children. Only three of my children were still living when I became Vampire."

A girl in the 3rd row raised her hand tentatively. I opened my mind to hers and found out her name was Michelle and she thought Eric was "super beau".

"Yes?" Eric asked, indicating with a hand gesture for the girl to go on.

"It must have been devastating for you to leave your family behind when you died, Eh, I mean when you became vampire, do you have any idea what happened to them?"

Eric seemed to consider his answer for a few seconds before he answered.

"I was of course very distraught at first to part with my family but I really did not have a choice in the matter, Fate had determined that my time as a human was over as I received fatal wounds in battle and would have died that night if I had not been turned. I was saddened that my children will be orphaned, as my wife had died only the year before, but I felt assured that they would be taken care of and loved by my parents and brothers. Our lives were very different than yours. Families lived in multi-generational households and it was very common for parents to die at a young age, leaving young children behind who were subsequently raised by their remaining relatives. I was very lucky to have two living parents at the time of my first death. I was the exception though, my children were the norm."

I noticed he chose to leave the question of what happened to his family unanswered and wondered if it was too painful a memory or if he actually had living descendants that he knew of. I raised my hand slightly and he nodded for me to speak.

"Popular historical views have always maintained that the Vikings were brutal savages and that rape was a common practice in Viking raids. But just as medieval times were labeled the dark ages because the Renaissance people who labeled them so felt superior to their predecessors so the historical perception of the Vikings had been heavily influenced by their enemies' description of them, meaning Christian Europe. What would you say are the biggest misconceptions regarding Viking history and culture?"

Eric looked pleased by my question and his eyes never left mine as he answered.

"It is indeed true that the current view of Vikings was constructed mainly from the descriptions of strangers, travelers in our lands on the one hand and the Christian priests in the lands that we raided on the other. Vikings were fierce warriors but we were not barbarians. We pillaged but we did not murder the weak and innocent. Rape was definitely not an acceptable behavior, on the contrary, since part of the raid's success depended on the ransom paid for women, and a woman carrying a bastard child was not as valuable to her husband or family, it was certainly not encouraged or sanctioned. Rape existed, of course, since sadly all human societies have their share of bad people but it was a manifestation of some men's cruel nature and not a wide spread phenomenon. I personally have never taken a woman without her consent nor would I wish to ever do so."

I could not help but think that he probably never encountered an unwilling woman either and the thought made me feel slightly jealous.

A guy sitting all the way in the back of the classroom, whom I could tell was quite nervous even without reading the fear in his mind, raised his hand almost as if he was afraid Eric would bite it off.

"I mean no disrespect, but what about the slaves?" he asked in a slightly unstable voice.

"I am here in the interest of furthering understanding and knowledge; your questions are important and legitimate. I will hear them in the spirit of scientific exploration that they were meant and do my best to answer to the best of my experience and ability, no apologies are needed. To answer your question, slaves or thralls, as they were called in my language, were indeed part of the Viking way of life. They were not treated in an especially cruel manner but they were not free either and they did not have any legal rights. I will not try to excuse or defend this custom since that would be both foolish and wrong.

"At the time in question, slaves were common in many cultures around the world and the political climate that would someday facilitate notions such as "liberté, égalité, fraternité" or "all men are created equal" could not have been imagined or understood. Viking society did not view slavery as an immoral practice as it is viewed today and you as historians should try and examine it from a medieval point of view rather than a modern one."

I appreciated the fact that Eric was really trying to promote a truthful account of Viking culture and not a censored, cookie cutter version of it. The more I listened to him talk the more I was impressed with his intellect and the more aroused I became. I knew he could sense it but I couldn't help myself. I appreciated a good looking man as much as anyone but in many cases, just as is the case with women, the beautiful package turned out to be empty under close inspection. For me a brilliant intellect is extremely sexy and I could already tell Eric was no less smart than he was beautiful. Another girl raised her hand and Eric motioned for her to proceed.

"What is the invention, change or advancement in technology that you most appreciate?

"Indoor plumbing of course!" Eric's eyes lit up in amusement and an appreciative laughter erupted in class. Eric waited for it to subside before he continued.

"There were of course many other inventions that changed my existence profoundly, and perhaps you were expecting me to talk about the invention of synthetic blood, but this is by far my favorite. I understand that for you, having running water in your homes is as obvious as having a roof over your head, but just try to imagine your life without it.

"Another common misconception of Vikings is that they were dirty and rough looking. Actually Vikings were quite meticulous when it came to their personal hygiene. Perhaps they would not have been considered extremely clean and groomed by today's western world standards but in comparison to Christian Europeans at the time they were infinitely cleaner. Vikings did not have similar conceptions regarding nudity as the Christian world and they never believed that washing will lead to disease and inevitable death. Vikings took great care to wash, comb their hair and beard, if they had one, and change their undergarments frequently.

"Another reason I appreciated this particular invention has to do with the immense improvement it had on overall human hygiene and urban environments. Your modern senses would be appalled at the way large human settlements used to smell and for a Vampire's keen senses the problem was much more acute. Now, if there are no other questions I think that will be all for tonight. I hope you enjoy your weekend and we will meet again on Monday at 17:45."

I lingered behind as everybody left the classroom while Eric collected his laptop. As soon as we were alone Eric closed the gap between us, wrapping me in his strong arms. He lowered his lips to mine slowly, his eyes never leaving mine as if asking my permission, leaving me the option to object if I so wished. It was sweet and sexy as hell and when our lips met I wasn't sure if it was me or him that moved. He kissed me softly at first, brushing his soft lips against mine and then, when I parted my lips to allow him entrance, the kiss became more intense and his mouth became more demanding as I felt the simmer in my lower abdomen suddenly erupting into flame. When he finally pulled back a moment later I felt light headed and not quite steady on my own two feet.

"I have wanted to do that since the moment I arrived tonight. I hope you found time to rest today and that you are not too tired?"

He was not only an amazing kisser he also had a way with words and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I actually had a rather long nap before coming here tonight. Your gift was a lovely incentive. Thank you, it's beautiful even if it is a little presumptuous."

"Presumptuous? How so?" he raised an eyebrow and his smile let me know he knew exactly how presumptuous his gift was but I decided to play along.

"You assume much by sending me such a personal gift when we barely know each other, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm willing to admit to being confident about the chances of us becoming much more familiar with each other, but it is simply due to the intense attraction existing between us which I hope you will not deny. I honestly did not mean to make you uncomfortable with my gift. I was merely expressing my appreciation of your beauty and allure and my only defense if I offended you would be that I have not "dated", I believe that is the correct term now, in a very, very long time so I might not be completely up to date when it comes to acceptable Etiquette."

I was relieved to discover it was not only me that felt the attraction between us was unusual and very curious about his claim to be unfamiliar with dating. What did he mean by that? Surely someone this gorgeous would not be alone for long. Did he recently come out of a relationship? Or maybe he didn't need to date since women were throwing themselves at him wherever he went? So why bother now? I definitely needed to get some answers but I didn't feel now was the right time. I actually found the gift rather romantic so I decided to let Eric off the hook.

"Oh, I wasn't offended by your gift. It's beautiful and I really liked it. I also accept that given the intense attraction we seem to have between us, assuming that we will become more familiar with each other, as you so aptly put it, is not so presumptuous. It might be quite forward but that is not necessarily bad."

"I am glad you enjoyed it, I was not quite sure what gift would be appropriate for a Princess of the Fae."

I was silent for a moment as I was not expecting that one, although perhaps I should have been. My Fairy heritage and title were not something I tended to advertise. I assume that Eric could hear the surprise and slight defiance in my voice when I answered.

"You appear to have me at a disadvantage, as you seem to know much more about me than I do about you."

"You should not be surprised that I know who you are Sookie. I did not survive this long by going into situations unprepared or unaware. I received the list of students participating in the seminar in advance and ran a few background checks. I have had some dealings with your great grandfather in the past so I recognized your name immediately. I did not however know who you were until you introduced yourself after our accidental meeting. I am more than willing to rectify the disparity in our knowledge regarding each other but this is perhaps not the perfect setting for that purpose. I would like to take you somewhere special tonight where I would gladly tell you more about myself if you so wish."

I could hear the honesty in his voice and I relaxed, grinning at the unexplained joy I felt bubbling inside me.

"I would like that very much." Eric grinned back apparently satisfied with my reaction. I looked at my phone and said "It's 19:15 now, so I think I can be ready by 20:30, is that OK?"

"Of course, I thought I could fly you home and return to collect you when you have had sufficient time to prepare."

"That's very sweet of you but quite unnecessary. In the interest of time I think it would be better if I take myself home and you can come pick me up later."

"I will be at your house at 20:30 but how are you planning to get home?"

I felt happy and playful and I suspected Eric could handle a bit of mischief so I gathered up my things and took out the note with the code to the front gate that I planned on giving him.

"The fairy way, of course." I said with a slightly wicked smile and popped away.