Hey! I owe you all an apology for making you wait this long for an update, if any of you are still reading that is… My real life is sometimes hectic although I'm working on changing that. I also have to confess that I was not 100% satisfied with chapter 10 and kind of lost my will to write because it didn't get many reviews…

I will not promise to update twice a week from now on because that is probably not going to happen…but I will do my best to update frequently…your reviews, even when they are short, fuel my creativity so even though I hate to ask…Please review :)

Even more than always I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful, amazingly supportive, lovable editor, My Secret O, you always know what to say…

Unexpected Chapter 11

When my magic finally stopped swirling around us I sat up suddenly, gasping at the realization of what I had done.

"Eric, I'm so sorry I bit you like that!" I buried my face in my hands, mortified.

"Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for Lover; I had already offered you my blood and I am beyond pleased that you accepted my offer. I hope it was as pleasurable for you as it was for me." I slowly lifted my head to look at him, and he sat up and kissed me softly, and I relaxed against him, feeling relieved and slightly silly for my dramatic reaction.

"I can feel your emotions now to some extent; I hope that does not make you regret biting me." He said after a few seconds of silence.

"I can't say that I'm totally comfortable with the idea, it will take some getting used to, but I don't regret it. I felt as if your blood was calling out to me driving me to bite you, but I knew what I was doing and I thoroughly enjoyed it." I lowered my eyes again, blushing slightly.

"That is exactly how I feel about your blood. Perhaps your magic picked up on that somehow, although I had never heard of anything similar."

"I don't feel completely comfortable asking Niall about it but I can ask Claudine, my cousin and fairy godmother."

"As you wish, Lover" There was nothing more we could learn about my behavior now and I was still feeling a little embarrassed so I changed the subject.

"I talked to Amelia when I was at my Gran's; she invited us over for dinner…" I paused, unsure how Eric would feel about her invitation. "Would you like to go?"

"I would be honored" he smiled and I kissed him, delighted with his answer.

"Did you think I would refuse?" he asked in amusement.

"I wasn't sure if you would be interested in doing something so…mundane"

"It had been over a century since I last visited a human home so this is hardly mundane for me." I laughed and shook my head at his statement.

"We have some time before we need to leave, what would you like to do? We can't just stay in bed" I said, pulling the duvet up to cover myself.

It turned out that we could. I discovered Eric really liked to cuddle, and since I had no objections, that's exactly what we did for the next few hours.

When we finally got out of bed we dressed casually; both of us opting for jeans and a sweater. Eric suggested we fly there and I gladly accepted, wrapping myself in my coat and adding a warm scarf for good measure. I packed up my things, including all of Eric's generous gifts and Eric insisted on carrying my bag for me. Since he was going to carry me with it, it didn't really matter and I actually appreciated the gesture. We went out and walked into a dark corner of the Place des Vosges. Eric lifted me in his arms and I held on tight, burying my face against his chest. We stopped at the Cave that Amelia and I visited regularly (French wine shop – pronounced similar to love) and bought a nice bottle of wine and a boutique brand of blood for Eric. I knocked on Amelia's door a few minutes after 20:30 feeling slightly anxious.

I really, really, wanted Amelia and Eric to get along.

"I will be on my best behavior" He whispered in my ear as we heard Amelia approaching the door.

"It's not you I'm worried about" I whispered back just as the door opened.

Amelia stared at Eric for a few seconds before shaking herself out of her trance and moving to the side to allow us in.

"Won't you please come in?" she asked and we both stepped into the apartment.

"Amelia Broadway, this is Eric Northman." I made the formal introductions and Amelia, who must have been reading up on vampire etiquette, nodded her head at Eric who nodded back, smiling.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Amelia. Thank you for inviting us."

"It is not often that Sookie likes someone enough to go on a second date with them, I had to see what all the fuss was about…" Amelia was a very straightforward person, which was something I really liked about her, most of the time at least, so as embarrassing as it was I couldn't get mad at her since I knew she didn't mean to embarrass me. Eric flashed his dazzling smile at me. It was playful but not smug so I decided to get over my urge to hide under the sofa and just smile back.

"Dinner will be ready in two minutes; why don't you take a seat while I finish up in the kitchen"

"Can I help?" I asked.

"No need, I'm just about done. You can pour us all a drink if you like" Amelia said and went back to the stove where she was reducing her sauce by the look of things. Amelia's apartment was bigger than mine and included a separate bedroom and a large studio space that she used as her "lab". I opened the wine and Eric's blood filling the long stem glasses Amelia had set on the table.

"You are very talented" Eric said and I stared at him, truly baffled. I knew how to open a bottle of wine but that was hardly a rare talent. He laughed at my expression, gesturing around the apartment with his hands.

"This is your work isn't it?"

"Oh, you mean the décor…yes it is and thank you, but how did you know? It doesn't look anything like my place"

"You have a very unique style; while it is clearly a reflection of Amelia's tastes and personality, this place feels like you…"

I didn't know what to say to that, I wasn't used to receiving compliments on my designs, from someone outside my family that is, so I took his hand and led him to the table instead.

The food looked and smelled amazing and I discovered I was hungry in spite of the huge brunch I had at Gran's.

"Eric, I hope the food is not bothering you, I know that vampires are not fond of the smell of food" I was surprised at Amelia's comment since Eric didn't seem bothered at the least by my eating, in fact, I would say he enjoyed watching me eat (and feeding me…) if the past few days were any indication.

"Not at all Amelia, it is true that younger vampires often find it disturbing to watch humans eat but I am far from young…and though I cannot compliment you on its taste, dinner really does smell wonderful."

"I had no idea the Vikings had such good manners, you're not just a pretty face are you? I am beginning to see why Sookie likes you so much."

Ames totally ignored the murderous look I was giving her choosing that moment to take a large bite of chicken into her mouth.

"Why thank you Amelia, I am also pleasantly surprised, I usually find witches to be insufferable, but you are not so bad…for a witch that is."

"Careful Eric, you don't want to upset her or she might turn you into a cat." I smiled angelically at Ames, knowing how much she hated being reminded of Bob.

"Not fair Sook, I only did it once and you know it…"

"Now that sounds like an interesting story…" Eric smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Please Ames, it's a great story!" I smiled at her and she relented, smiling back at me.

"Ok, Ok. I was 17 and just beginning my training with my first mentor, Octavia. Bob was the nerdy boy next door and my boyfriend. I was thinking about 'doing it' and wanted it to be very special so I decided to spice things up with some magic."

Amelia stopped to take a sip from her wine and then continued.

"I searched the spell book for a spell I thought I could handle successfully, deciding on a transformation spell since it had a very visible effect."

"Just out of curiosity, where did you plan to 'do it'" Eric asked, amusement evident on his face.

"Bob's parents were leaving for a 3 day conference which meant we had the house to ourselves. I gathered the necessary ingredients and had everything ready.

"Without going into too much detail let's just say that instead of me turning into a cat for a few minutes I had turned Bob into one and couldn't undo what I had done." I was already laughing since I always found this story hilarious and Eric wasn't far behind me.

"I suppose that was not easy for you…" Eric said, trying to keep a straight face.

"It wasn't; I hardly ate nor slept during the next two days, trying to reverse the spell on my own, but I couldn't. Eventually I had no choice but to call Octavia and tell her what happened. She was furious with me for my irresponsible use of magic but luckily agreed to help me undo the spell before Bob's Parents returned. Octavia also made sure Bob will not remember his time as a cat."

"Since you became a witch I suppose she was still willing to teach you?" Eric asked Amelia, sounding genuinely interested.

"She said that the only reason she was still willing to be my mentor even though I had broken the rules was that the magic I performed was very strong and she couldn't allow my talent to go to waste. I think she thought I had learned my lesson."

"So, what happened to Bob?" Eric asked grinning again. I mentally added 'great sense of humor' to his list of qualities.

"We dated for a few more months. He was back to his old self except for a strange purr he sometimes made in his sleep and a new found fondness for canned tuna. Last I heard he was teaching high school physics in Baltimore."

"Ugh, I hate Baltimore" Eric said with disgust.

"Why?" I asked, curious to know what prompted that unexpected statement.

"It was there that I lost a bet I made with Pam, a very rare occasion, and had to agree to participate in her foray into 80's avant-garde fashion. Neon colors, spandex and shoulder pads featured prominently in my wardrobe that year."

Imagining Eric in bright spandex threw me into a fit of giggles.

"What was the bet about?" Amelia asked in amusement.

"'Dallas' actually. I was wrong about who shot J.R" Eric smiled sheepishly as we both burst out laughing.

"You wouldn't happen to have pictures would you?" I grinned at him.

"As a matter of fact I do, I think I even kept a pair of pink and turquoise shorts for special occasions. Perhaps you would like to see them sometime?"

He focused his gaze on me and the heat in his icy blue eyes melted something deep inside me. I never thought of myself as a highly sexual person, unlike some of my friends…but the way Eric made me feel just by looking at me, made me think that perhaps I simply hadn't met the right person until now.

As it turns out I was nervous for nothing. Amelia and Eric seemed to like each other and conversation flowed easily. By the time we were finishing up the delicious pot de Crème Amelia had made for desert it was getting late, in human standards at least. I helped Amelia clear the table, laughing when she deliberately urged me mentally to "go have some mind blowing sex".

Eric and I both thanked Amelia for the wonderful evening and I gave her a big hug promising to talk to her soon.

I unlocked the door to my apartment and Eric followed me inside closing the door behind him and capturing my lips with his in one smooth motion. His fingers caressed my neck, tangling in my hair.

"You are so beautiful Lover, so soft and alluring. Would you come home with me?" He whispered in my ear in a voice that went straight to my panties.

I was practically shaking with need and didn't understand why Eric wanted to wait until we reached his place to finish what we'd started.

Sensing my confusion he continued "I want to make love to you until dawn and then have you fall asleep in my arms. I can't do that here."

A lump formed in my throat and I nodded, struggling to regain control of my voice.

"Ok, let me just pack a few things for tomorrow." I said, making my way to the closet and stuffing a few items of clothes and a small toiletry bag into a large pink tote.

"My apartment is close to the university so we would have some time together before class tomorrow" he said, appealing to my logic as if I needed any more convincing…

I closed the distance between us and lifted my hand to caress his cheek.

"Do you always get what you want?" I asked softly.

He smirked, kissing the palm of my hand "More often than not…but I am rarely as happy about it as I am now."

We flew back to Place des Vosges landing just outside Eric's building. Once in the apartment Eric quickly discarded his sweater while I took off my coat and shoes.

"Would you like something to drink? Are you hungry?" He asked and smiled when I shook my head no.

Literally sweeping me off my feet he carried me to the bedroom where he gently set me down on the bed. Eric moved across the room to light the fire in the huge fireplace and I enjoyed watching him rearrange the logs and kindling. The warm scent of firewood filled the room as the fire sprang to life and Eric disappeared in the closet for a second, returning with a large soft blanket he spread on the carpet in front of the fire.

"Care to join me?" He asked, lying down on the blanket. The fire washed his pale skin in a golden light accentuating his lithe form. I felt breathless and nearly floated from the bed to the blanket.

I sat down next to him and he softly pulled me down to lie beside him. He moved my hair aside and kissed the spot behind my ear sending shivers down my spine. His fingers pulled on the v- neck of my sweater, leisurely revealing and caressing my shoulder and neck.

I slowly ran my fingers down his chest and abdomen, kissing and nibbling at his neck. Eric pushed my sweater up brushing my nipples with his fingers and I lifted my hands to allow him to remove it completely. Eric pushed my bra straps down, kissing my shoulder, my arm, the soft skin on the inside of my elbow, my wrist and my fingers. His fingers painted burning trails down my stomach peeling my jeans off and throwing them to the side. Eric kissed his way up my legs somehow managing to remove his jeans at the same time. He moved further up my body sending my bra flying to join the rest of our clothes. I arched my back when his tongue touched my nipple trailing around it before he covered it with his mouth. His hand slid between my legs, brushing ever so softly against my clit through the thin layer of fabric. I moaned and Eric moved to lick and tease my other nipple while his fingers drew slow, small circles around my clit, rubbing it gently. I barely registered his movement before I felt his cool breath against my soaking wet panties.

I have no idea what happened to them but the next second they were gone and I felt Eric's tongue where I needed it most. I was mewling and writhing under his mouth, the deep rumble in his chest driving me wild with need. With just a few strokes of his long fingers inside me I was coming, sighing his name as I did. The flames in the fireplace erupted into yellow and pink flares and the carpet around us bloomed into a field of sweet scented, colorful tiny flowers. Once the waves of my pleasure had subsided, Eric pulled his fingers out of me licking them with an appreciative groan. When he moved to position himself between my thighs a shiver of anticipation ran through me and I pulled him down kissing him deeply. He entered me slowly, reverently, his eyes never leaving mine and I felt lightheaded with pleasure and emotion that I was barely able to contain. I reveled in the feeling of his cock inside me, filling me completely.

Eric started moving in and out and I pushed my thighs against his body, welcoming the jolts of delight that passed through me with every stroke. I closed my eyes and completely surrendered myself to our joint rhythmic motion. After a while Eric's motions became faster and harder and I suddenly became aware that the loud cries of pleasure filling the room were emanating from me. The feeling of the entire length of Eric's cock sliding in and out of me and his body rubbing against my nipples drove me over the edge again and I screamed his name as I felt another orgasm erupt from within me. My pussy closed tightly around him and I heard a low primal grunt coming from Eric. He picked up the pace and started to pound into me almost violently. I ran my nails down his back which seemed to encourage him further. He sank his fangs into my breast as he came and I felt myself falling apart as I came again. When I opened my eyes the room was transformed. A soft pink light flooded the room causing the tiny flowers surrounding us to spring into full bloom opening their petals to reveal a delicate tear drop pearl nestled within each flower. The ceiling was covered with a thick layer of soft, fluffy looking purple clouds and the air was fresh and fragrant as if we were outside in the woods. I couldn't resist the urge to touch the flowers and was slightly startled to discover they were real, as in corporeal. I plucked a soft pink pearl out of one of the flowers staring at it in amazement. Eric appeared to be just as surprised as I was, plucking a deep blue pearl out of its petals and carefully examining it.

"This is incredible; I have never seen nor heard of anything like it."

Little by little my magic seemed to dissipate and the room returned to its normal configuration. The two pearls however did not disappear with the rest and remained nestled on top of the blanket.

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked, the question escaping me before I could censure myself.

"In my human life I grew to love my wife but I was not in love with her. After I became vampire I learned to suppress and control my emotions. Love is a very dangerous emotion for a vampire."

We were both silent for a moment until Eric asked "What about you?"

"I used to think I wasn't capable of falling in love. Everyone around me seemed to but I never managed to lose my heart to anyone."

I was aware that Eric's answer was a little vague but then so was mine. I wanted to tell him how I felt but I was afraid. It was possible that he felt the same way but if he didn't I wasn't prepared to deal with it yet. So I kissed him instead and we made love, since that's what it was for me even if the words hadn't been said, until the approaching dawn drove us both to exhaustion and I fell asleep with my head on Eric's beautiful marble chest.

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