Sorry for the delay, life has once again intruded into my writing, so here is a little 'kiss and make-up' interlude for everyone.
Part 33
She looked at me, her face falling into something serious, which I did not like, but I let her speak because she needed to, and because I am a generally patient man. Or I would like to believe that I am generally a patient man; though Sookie Stackhouse, and the position I now found myself in were certainly testing me. I began to wonder if I should not have just taken out my frustration on the witch to make myself feel better.
"I was afraid. I am afraid. Sometimes I just act without thinking."
I so wanted to agree with her then, but I refrained.
"I packed up everything to race out here to be with you Eric. Without even asking myself what you might have wanted."
"I have already told you what I want Sookie."
"But I make these decisions Eric, without all the facts. That trait has gotten me into so much trouble." Again I agreed with her, but kept it to myself.
"What are you trying to say to me Sookie?" She was afraid to answer me, I could see that in her, and I could feel it. I was afraid to hear her answer.
"Do you want me here because I have finally yielded to you Eric?"
"What!" I let my voice climb, more than I should have, but I was shaken by what she had said. "Do you think that all I want from you is sex Sookie? Do you think that is the only thing I value you for? Honestly, after everything we have shared?"
Tears began to roll down her face, and I admit that I was not feeling quite so charitable as to wipe them away just then. I felt the sting of an icy cloak wrap itself around me, hardening in my frustration and my ire. I hated that feeling when I was looking at her, it was not how I wanted it to be.
"Eric I'm sorry, I'm just so mixed up. I don't know which feelings came first. Everything's just muddled when it comes to you."
"Think with your heart Sookie!" My tone was commanding, but I do not regret it. She looked at me with such misery, and it flooded through our bond, finally tearing at my dead heart. Things remained quiet between us for a moment, a too-long moment.
"I love you Eric." She whispered.
"Finally." And I began to laugh. "Finally." I repeated. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
"Do you understand what I am going through here Eric?" I loved that defensive tone that was creeping in through the tears and the way her little fists curled up in frustration.
"I have an excellent idea what you are going through my Beauty." And I crushed her to my chest, perhaps a little forcefully in my zeal. My laughter continued.
"What am I supposed to do Eric?"
"You are supposed to trust me, and trust what we both remember and feel."
"We have a blood bond?"
"We do. Does that upset you?"
"No, it doesn't, I guess."
"Good, I am too old to regret things I cannot change."
"You are quite a constant in the universe aren't you Eric?" She sniffled and dabbed away the last of the tears on her face, finally smiling at me.
"As long as I am a constant in yours Sookie Stackhouse."
"And you are apparently very self confidant as well."
"I believe they call it cocksure." At that she finally joined me in laughter and collapsed against my chest at her own volition. It was wonderful to feel her warmth against me again.
"I thought you said that this wasn't just about sex?"
"You have a dirty mind young lady, and besides, I never said that the sex with you was not magical."
"Please don't say anything about magic Eric. I have had quite enough of spells and potions to last a lifetime."
"Agreed. Allow me to rephrase that. Making love to you Sookie is one of the most joyous things I have ever done."
"One of?" She raised her eyebrows as she stared at me.
"I also really enjoy tasting you." And I left it at that as she blushed, tried to respond, and then gave up stuttering.
"Let me take you home." I offered, standing up and holding out my hand. I could hear Pam in the club speaking with the repairman, obviously they had moved from the door to the bar with the fist sized piece missing. She was perfectly capable of overseeing the correct replacement of the top, more capable than I. Sookie, however, suddenly seemed slightly less than capable.
"You want to take me back to Bon Temps tonight?" Her voice was obviously disappointed.
"Of course not Sookie. We do not have enough time for me to take you there, see you settled, and then for me to return here at this late hour."
"You could just stay?"
"Even with your lovely crawl space, your house is not yet safe enough for me Sookie. Besides, though I know you have happy memories there, there is also a great deal of sadness wound up in that place."
She nodded, thinking over, no doubt, the death of her grandmother, the were attacks on her person, her own abduction, and likely a few other things I had never heard tell of; possibly linked to Bill Compton. And of course, keeping her far away from him, for even one day longer was a fervent desire of mine as well.
"No Sookie, when I said take you home, I meant back to my house, the place we shared as home these past days. I am not ready to let you go from me just yet."
"I'm glad." She rose and took my hand. "Do you want to talk to Pam first?"
"No, she will manage better without me here anyways. It has been a very long night for us all, and I would very much like to relax and get some rest."
I let Sookie make herself ready for bed first, giving up the first few gallons of hot water to her, in favor of answering a number of outstanding emails that I had been ignoring, and preparing a bowl of fruit for her to eat. I have found that my skills in cooking have declined appreciably since I stopped eating, it is hard to correctly season a stew when it all just tastes like cardboard anyways. If Sookie was going to stay with me I was going to have to employ a cook part time. I knew Pam certainly would have nothing to do with the sterile kitchen on the main floor. And I would never have asked her to. That was if Sookie was going to stay, and seeing as I had not asked her that question yet, I was perhaps putting the horse ahead of the cart.
I was waiting at my desk when she emerged, and I could not help but smile at her, wrapped in some of my towels, glowing and looking calm and relaxed finally.
"Are you working?" She asked me in a casual manner I loved to hear from her, it was so benign, something a couple would ask one another after years of being together. It was comfortable.
"Just a few things I need to finish. I have made up the bed for you, and left you something to eat on the bedside table." One of the many perks of my preternatural speed was being able to accomplish such tasks very rapidly.
"Are you going to come to bed soon?" She cocked her head, and smiled with a corner of her mouth at me. It was coquettish, and I am certain she knew it.
"I thought I would simply sleep out here today, you have been through a terrible event, and I thought you might want your peace."
"Oh." She sounded fairly disappointed.
"Did you want me to join you?" I asked, tried to sound sincere and not gleeful. I think I managed it.
"Well, yes, I'd like that."
"Then if it is what you would like, I will do just that." I rose from the desk and closed the laptop that I had already shut down, to follow her to the bedroom. As I peeled off my shirt to toss it in the hamper, I watched as she first sat, and then lay down on the bed, still concealed in her towel. I kept my jeans on and lay beside her.
I reached across her to shut off the bedside light, brushing across her chest lightly, yet on purpose. You might wish to believe that I was being cruel, by teasing her thusly, but it was as much for her comfort as my own arousal. I offered her every chance to stop me and curb my affections should she still be unsure. Really I was being quite sensitive to her desires. Really.
Her warm fingertips brushing over my own chest followed her indrawn breath. I shuddered involuntarily for her.
"Do you want me to touch you Sookie?"
"Yes." I heard her answer as much as felt it, and I indulged her, pushing the towel away from her. The room was dark but I could see the beautiful glow of her skin. I let my hands dance over her breasts and felt her tremble underneath me. She reached for my neck and twined her hands around it, pulling my face down to hers. Her lips were parted when I met them, and strong. She wanted me, and I wanted her. I let my hands continue to run along her body even as I pushed my tongue into her mouth. Her arms pulled my body to hers even as she raised her hips to meet mine. I could not doubt that she felt my growing desires for her. I pulled my mouth away from hers and let it trail down her throat. I did not wish to bite her, at least not yet and so I only teased, drawing the points of my now exposed fangs along the fragile flesh, feeling her tense and quiver in anticipation of my sting.
"Do you want me to make love to you?" I asked as my lips lit on her nipple, swirling my tongue over its smooth brown center, feeling it rise to my touch, much as I had risen to hers.
"Yes." She breathed to me, her hands now tugging at the waist of my jeans.
"I need to taste you first." I paused between each word I spoke to her as I continued my ministrations to her skin. She turned her head to expose her neck to me, but as loud as the blood in her veins sang to me, and as much as its sweetness called, it was another sweetness I desired and I let my kisses follow down her belly even as my hands parted her thighs. She moaned before I even gave her my first kiss, and cried out after I did.
Her body was like honey, like rich butter, like all the proper sweetness in the world that I remembered from my mortal being, and all the immortal glory of the blood, her blood that pulsed so close to the surface of her skin, so close that its pleasure mingled with us both.
"I need you Eric."
"And you shall have me, my lover." My skin might have been cold, but she gave me warmth, and I returned it to her as I plunged myself into her and pulled her body to mine, intent that I would never let her go. Her actions seemed to indicate a mutual desire. It pleased me greatly and I made every effort in my not inconsiderable arsenal to show her.
More plot next time, promise,
Reviews are love.