Dark Desire – Chapter 6
New Orleans, present day
"Where is she! Are you all incompetent? How can you not find one damn human woman?" Eric Northman towered over Daniel Brady, his Second in Command, and roared at the top of his lungs. His voice was so loud the walls of his office reverberated with its force. He turned and swung his fist so hard, he punched a hole in the wall; he didn't feel a flicker of pain.
It was about 1:30am on a Saturday morning. The Vampire King of Louisiana was on a rampage. He had been on one for five nights now. He had most of his security team standing outside his office door. They were all vampires, and it was a good thing: if they had been human, they all would have been sweating bullets by now.
It had been seven nights since the charity function; seven long, agonizing nights since he held the redhead in his arms. She was gone; it was if she had never existed. At times, he tried to tell himself that it was only an illusion, he never met the strange human woman who bewitched him so. Even if he did, she wasn't so much, was she? Certainly not enough to get all worked up about. For a few seconds, he could actually make himself believe that, but then her face appeared strong in his memory. He knew it was no illusion. Everything that happened that night was real.
During the the first two nights, when his human and vamp underlings could not find any trace of her, he was merely annoyed. By the third night, he became furious. His fury was constant, and he took it out on the poor souls who had the misfortune of being anywhere near him.
Somewhere along the line the redhead went from the mysterious stranger he wanted to touch, to kiss, to caress, to be inside of, to fuck so hard, so deep and so long she would scream from wanting him, only him... to "that damn human woman!" For days, his subordinates looked at him as if he had gone stark raving mad. For days they tried to stay out of his way, but without success. Eric Northman was out of control; he knew it, and so did his people.
At first, finding her was merely desire, but as each night passed, desire for her became an obsession, growing stronger and stronger. Now finding her was a driving, pulsing need, almost like a living thing inside him. He ached for her. He was like a starving man who's hunger could only be satisfied with one thing: that damn human woman!
He didn't understand these feelings. He didn't want them. He cursed her for them! She was a witch, he thought. No, she was much worse than that. She was a devil sent from the bowels of hell to torture him! He must have pissed the gods off royally to deserve this torment!
He woke up at dusk dreaming about her. He went to bed at sunrise thinking about her. She consumed his thoughts all night, so much so, he couldn't get any work done. Her scent and the taste of her blood was indelibly imprinted on his brain. She smelled of orange blossoms, honey and heady spice. And by all the gods, her blood tasted, so good; if it was possible, her blood tasted even better than her smell.
He got hard as he remembered the feel of her soft, satiny skin and her small rosy nipple as it pebbled in his hand. He got harder yet as he remembered the taste of her mouth and feel of her silken thighs. He almost came in his pants when he remembered how instinctively and naturally she responded to him. Her touch was like no other.
He remembered her unusual gray eyes, flecked with lavender. He remembered the sound of her soft husky voice, and the way her eyes crinkled up in amusement as she laughed. He wanted to see those eyes again. He wanted to hear the sound of her voice and her laughter again.
He wanted her more than he ever wanted anything in his thousand years of undead life. The few minutes he had spent with her was like a tiny taste of heaven, and he wanted more, much more. But she had disappeared, and he couldn't find her. Now all he could do was think of her, and he was going crazy. The memory of her drove out thoughts of anything or anyone else; he was losing his mind.
Daniel Brady was not cowed by his superior's bellowing. The good looking, brown haired male vampire was at least six inches and fifty pounds lighter than the blonde viking who was his king. He was a hell of a lot younger and weaker, but he was not in the least bit afraid. Someone had to tell his boss to stop acting like an asshole. He was just the vamp to do it.
"Calm down, Boss! Losing control like this won't find her any faster. Just let us do our job and stop calling us in here every five minutes!" Brady challenged the King of Louisiana.
"She doesn't have practicing privileges in any hospital in New Orleans or the surrounding area. We have taken her picture to every hospital and every medical facility in and around the city. Only one ER in South New Orleans even recognized her. She came in with a patient and worked alongside them for hours that night. She told them her name, but no one seems to remember it. No one has ever seen her before or since." Daniel continued.
Eric sat down at his desk and with a frustrated sweep of his large hand; he knocked everything that was on top of his desk onto the floor. Everything went flying, including several photographs taken the night of the charity function and an expensive crystal paper weight he had for almost fifty years. The paperweight was a gift from Pam; it shattered into smithereens. The sound of breaking glass caught Eric up short and calmed him somehow.
"I've been acting like an idiot, haven't I?" he said quietly after a moment. Daniel nodded.
A familiar female voice said, "Sounds like you have been acting like a real asshole as usual, Eric." The voice was brimming with laughter; it belonged to Sookie Compton. She had a grin on her face.
Sookie, Bill and Judith Vardamon walked into his office. He had been expecting Bill and Judith, but not Sookie. He had asked them to come to New Orleans for their monthly meeting. He didn't want to leave the city before he found the redhead. Judith was due for one of her visits. He knew Bill wouldn't refuse his request; afterall, Bill had pledged fealty to him just a few short months ago.
Eric jumped up, walked over to Sookie and kissed her hand. "I didn't expect to see you, my l..." He started to say, "My lover," but she wasn't his lover, not anymore. She was Mrs. William Thomas Compton, now. Somehow that thought that Sookie was married to Bill didn't bother him anymore.
Sookie was as happy with Bill, much happier than she had ever been with him. It had not been easy, but he had learned to accept it and actually be happy for her. Perhaps Judith was right when she said Bill and Sookie were soul mates. He wondered if he would ever find a soul mate.
"It's good to see you anyway," he said. It was true that he wasn't in love with Sookie anymore, but he cared about her, and he always would. He liked the fact that she had come to visit him. He always liked seeing her; she cared about him too, and that knowledge made him feel better somehow. It made him feel worth loving.
With his excellent peripheral vision, Eric could see the muscles in Bill's jaw tighten and his fists clench. Judith artfully grabbed Bill's arm and gave a little pinch. Bill relaxed a little, but he definitely didn't like it whenever Eric touched Sookie. That is his problem, not mine. Eric thought and kissed Sookie on the cheek.
"I decided to spend a week with Amelia. We're going to do some shopping and just catch up on some girl talk. Bill has business in the area, so we came down last night." Sookie explained.
"Why are you terrorizing your staff, Northman?" Judith asked him curiously. She was looking hard at a photograph that she had picked up from the floor. It was a picture of the the eight humans who had been sitting at the table in front of Eric and his vamps at the charity dinner dance. One of the women in the picture was the redhead Eric had been searching for all week.
Daniel had gotten a photograph of all twenty tables and a roster of the pre-registered guests from the charity's fundraiser. He had to glamour the fool to get it. The woman's name didn't show up anywhere. The fundraiser told him that she was probably a guest of one of the attendees, or perhaps just showed up at last minute. In the case of same day arrivals, their practice was to just take the admittance fee and find the person an empty chair. It was a rather small event, and in any case, no one had been able to place her.
"Say, I think I know this woman," Judith said. All eyes in the room turned toward her. A huge sense of relief flooded through Eric.
Daniel started toward Judith."Which woman?" he asked as he rounded Eric's desk moving toward the small vamp. "There were at least four women at that table."
"The one with the short red hair. She used to be a brunette I think. Her hair was a little longer, down to her shoulders, but it's her all right."
Eric snatched the picture from her hand. "How do you know her? What's her name? Where does she live? " he asked sharply.
Judith looked startled at the vehemence of his questions. She thought for a minute. "She worked for Doc at his lab in Little Rock for a while. Yes, she was there for three months. She left right after Christmas two years ago; some family problem came up, or something. I don't quite remember. It was a few months before Doc died. We had a Christmas party early in December. She sat at the table with Doc and me and a few others. We had pictures taken; we always do. I have the picture of our table up on my wall. Don't you remember it, Eric?"
Eric wanted to hug Judith, "No. I don't. Tell me what her name is, Judith. I need to know."
"Wait a minute." Judith's brow furled. "I only spoke to her for a few minutes. Oh, yes. Doc introduced her as Emily Canton. She was a doctor he hired for the facility. He always kept a doctor and a nurse on staff for the employees."
"What happened to her?" the viking persisted.
"A couple of days after Christmas, Doc said she called in and said her mother died in Boston. You know, I thought at the time there was something strange about that. She told me the night of the party that both of her parents were dead, and that she was from Arizona. Anyway, she never came back to work; she emailed her resignation in a couple of days after she left."
Bill took the picture from Eric. He examined it carefully; he had a strange look on his face. "She goes by the name of Dr. Katy Jones now." he said.
"How do you know that, Bill?" Eric asked as he came over and stood in front of Bill, waiting for the answer. If he had been human, he would have been holding his breath.
Most humans or vamps would have stepped back a little, but Bill was not fazed by Eric at all. He held his ground; Bill did not fear the big, blonde vampire king.
"I saw her not less than two hours ago. She practices at the Gonzales Clinic off of Highway 23 in Oakville. Jose and Ileana Gonzales are clients of the detective agency. They were one of our first customers, and we've done a few security jobs for them, investigating new employees and such. The clinic is open all night, but I don't know if she is still there." Bill replied.
Oakville was a small town about 15 or so miles south of New Orleans on the Belle Chasse Highway. It was about a half an hour away by car. Eric flew off like a shot. Daniel Brady was right after him. The four vamps outside took off too.
"What was that all about?" Bill asked. His question was directed at no one in particular. The three of them were alone in Eric's office now. He was intrigued by the viking's reaction, but he didn't think the woman in question was in any danger. He could read the vibes; Eric wanted her, but he wouldn't force himself on her.
Sookie and Judith looked at each other and smiled. "Eric's in love, Bill." Sookie said. "Apparently, he's fallen in love with a human woman. You know what is so funny is that he doesn't want to love her, but he does. She's disappeared, and he can't find her. Life is not so easy for the poor guy. This is just too, too rich." She started laughing until tears fell down her face.
Hmmmpf. Poor guy, my ass. Bill thought.
Sookie had heard her former lover's thoughts loud and clear. Hell, she had seen a vision of Eric with the redheaded woman several times before. An unintended consequence of Eric's sire, Appius' attempts to destroy her gift gave her the ability to read vampire minds. Another unintended consequence had given her the ability to occasionally see the future. Appius was dead now, killed by Nyall Brigant. Sookie gave thanks everyday for that.
Since the night Eric attended her and Bill's wedding, she had seen visions of Eric and the redhead together on several occasions; usually when Eric visited them in Bon Ton. Sookie knew he was going to love that woman to distraction. The woman didn't know it yet, but she would love Eric just as much. She was going to be a handful for the vampire king. She wasn't a just a weak human female, she wasn't going to be a pushover, and she wasn't going to make his life easy. She would be a challenge for her former lover. For some reason, that just tickled the hell out of Sookie. She just knew whatever the woman's name was, they were going to be real good friends. She never told Eric any of this; she and Bill did not want him to know that her gift had returned.
Judith looked at Sookie again and laughed just as hard. "Yes, he sure is in love, and he's got it bad. Serves the horny asshole right, too. You know he actually made a pass at me when I was here last. Can you imagine that?" she said.
She had felt Eric's emotions tonight too. The thought of Eric in love with the human doctor was funny because the viking was so sure that humans were inferior. He was also sure that he would never love again after Sookie. Judith felt more than humor, she felt relief. She knew that loving the redhead meant the viking would leave Bill and Sookie alone, and that was all she really cared about.
Now, Bill looked at Sookie and Judith as if they had gone crazy. "She's human, Bill. That asshole loves a human!" Judith gasped, then it sank in. Bill knew exactly what Eric thought about humans. Eric would be totally flabbergasted by the thought that he could actually love a human woman. Sookie was part fairy, so in a way, she didn't count. Bill laughed too. God is playing a big cosmic joke on Eric Northman. Maybe it will make the bastard a little more humble. It does serve him right, he thought.
Five minuted later, Eric Northman landed outside the Gonzalez Clinic. He didn't need an address, once he knew the general location, he honed in on the woman's scent without any problem. It led him right to her.
Katy was standing in the parking lot near an old Honda Civic arguing with the man who sat down next to her at the charity dinner dance.
"Ralph, how many times do I have to tell you that I am not interested. I don't want to go out with you tonight, or ever. Just leave me alone." Katy's was furious. Ralph Thompson had come into the clinic an hour earlier and was making a nuisance of himself. He was a pig. She had gone out with him once and that had been a big mistake; one that she wasn't about to repeat.
"I guess you prefer dead men to live ones, huh? I saw you and that blonde vamp. You practically had sex with him right there on the floor." The man snarled at the redhead.
Katy slapped his face hard. Ralph was angry; he didn't like being turned down, and he didn't like being slapped by a woman. A red haze of fury bloomed in front of his eyes. He was going to teach this bitch a lesson she'd never forget. He drew his fist back. Katy flinched; her eyes widened in fear and she backed up against the car. Eric saw the look of panic in her eyes and it made him feel both sick and furious.
Before he could move, Ralph Thompson found himself on the ground rubbing his own broken jaw. The tall blonde vampire he had just spoken about was standing over him with his fangs fully extended and both fists clenched. Suddenly, Ralph was jerked up by his shirt front until his face was only inches away from the vampire's long scary fangs. His legs were flailing helplessly off the ground. Primal fear made the human male wet his pants and loosened his bowels.
Eric shook him back and forth like a rag doll then dropped him. "If you ever come near my woman again, I'll kill you!" A guttural snarl accompanied the threat. Ralph Thompson couldn't stop himself from shaking, but he managed to get up and stagger to his car. He didn't even turn his lights on, he just gunned the motor and sped away, scraping against the curb as he did so.
A second later, the redhead was pressed up against Eric's chest so tightly if was as if she were trying to climb inside him. Her arms were wrapped around around him tight. She was crying and shaking like a leaf. A part of his mind acknowledged that her reaction to the threat from the human male was much stronger than normal, but he pushed that thought aside. He just liked the feel of this woman in his arms.
He lowered his head and inhaled deeply, once, twice, three times. "Ahhh!" he sighed. She smelled even better than he remembered. His arms tightened around her drawing her in closer. After a minute or so, Katy's body stopped trembling. He kept sniffing and smelling her.
For a week, Eric had been coiled as tightly as a drum, but as soon as he inhaled her unique scent, the tension left his body. All the anger and fury and confusion he had felt all week was gone; he felt at peace.
With a gentle hand, he turned her face up and licked the tears from her face; she tasted better than he remembered, too. Katy put her arms around his neck and kissed him as if she had done it all her life. Her kiss was as soft as a butterfly wing against his mouth. Then she opened her mouth, her tongue gently touched his lips, seeking entry. His mouth opened tentatively and let her inside. His fangs were extended, and her tongue ran over the tips cautiously.
Katy didn't know why she did it, but she instinctively turned her head to the side and offered her throat to him. To a vampire, that particular movement is so erotic and enticing. Eric groaned, he couldn't refuse her offer; it was so innocently made. He bit down into the pulsing artery and lapped. He drank deeply of her sweet heady blood. It tasted like orange blossoms, honey and spice. It was better than the sweetest ambrosia he had ever tasted.
He felt her blood infuse him with an emotion so strong that he felt weak from its power. She could feel him trembling as he held her. He was aroused and she could feel manhood as it lengthened and pulsed against her stomach. It was wonderful.
As Eric sucked lightly against the small wounds in her neck, Katy felt a stab of white heat rush from her throat to her groin. At the same time, her blood seem to rush toward his lips as if it had a mind of its own. It was if her blood was a living thing that wanted to be inside him. Everything inside her rippled and moved; she almost feinted with pleasure and collapsed against him.
Eric didn't want to stop drinking from her, but he lifted his fangs from her neck; he had to. She moaned, she didn't want him to stop, but he did. He sealed the wounds with his tongue and saliva.
"Ahhh," he sighed again as his tongue laved the spot where he bit her. The six foot six, huge blonde viking, the one thousand year old vampire, was lost in the storm of strange emotions that overwhelmed him. His knees turned to jelly. He had to lean back against her car for support.
He looked deep into Katy's eyes; he was almost afraid of what he would see there, but he was thrilled when she stared back at him wide eyed and unafraid. Her beautiful, unusual gray eyes were filled with wonder and awe. He could tell that she was overwhelmed with the same strange emotions. He knew whatever these feelings were, they were right.
He knew something else. Whatever her name was, it didn't matter. This woman was his human. She was his, and he never wanted to let her go.
A few feet away, Daniel Brady and four other vamps looked on in amusement.
"Finally, he's found what he's been looking for. Let's go." he said. The five vamps jumped into the air and flew off, leaving the two lovers behind them.