AN: I'm thrilled of your reviews, love'em all! I haven't been able to answer them though… But know that I read them all, over and over!
So, here's chapter three, Eric's POV, and do not despair; smut is coming!
Eric was in his bed, but not alone. Accompanying him was the thoughts and fantasies of the beautiful American woman he knew was under the same roof as him. Sookie Stackhouse. Had she gone to bed yet? Was she lying under the covers in the big bed in her room? Eric couldn't help but wonder what a woman like her was wearing in bed this very first of her nights in Sweden. Was she cold? He'd made sure the heater was turned on before she had arrived, but maybe the cold Swedish autumn left her southern-belle body chill? Suddenly he found himself staring at the mental picture of her luscious breasts and the disturbing image of her nipples, hard from the cold… He could feel himself harden at the image, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of bed and silently move through the house, up the stairs and to slip into bed next to her, making those appetizing nipples harden from his touch instead. He wanted to taste her, too. Taste her all over that gorgeous body, feel her writhe under his fingers as he pleasured her over and over. He wanted to look into her blue eyes and watch her come at his will. Somehow he knew that their bodies would fit perfectly together. He groaned into his pillow. Boss, remember that, Northman? You are her boss!
Eric's thoughts turned swiftly to Pam, his best friend and the one that had recommended hiring Sookie in the first place. What was she thinking? Had she known he would instantly crave Sookie, want her like no one before? Of course she had. It was Pam, for gods' sakes. But what was her motive? He had always trusted Pam's judgment, she was above average intelligent, and she was ruthless in business and loyal to the bone. But then, she also had a mischievous streak to her, and this time… He just didn't know. What was she after, throwing this tantalizing woman at him?
He was restless and sleep avoided him. Tossing and turning in bed didn't do any good, because all he could think about was that amazing body, the warm heart beating only a few rooms away. Maybe she was in the tub, or the shower. Maybe she was soaping that hot body up, warming herself under the spray of water. Eric's thoughts wandered to what it would feel like to step in the shower with her, lather his hands up and softly stroke the glowing, tanned skin of hers. Maybe run his thumbs teasingly over her breasts and feel her nipples harden…
"Uh, Northman, get a grip! This is NOT helping your ability to sleep. "Eric got up of the bed and started to pace back and forth, running his hand impatiently through his hair. His hard-on strained inside his boxers and restless excitement ran through his body. "A cold shower. Good idea, Northman. Submit yourself to a very long, very cold shower and remove that woman from your mind!" He had always been proud of his self-control and his ability to compartmentalize his life, and he called upon that ability now. He would not let her, his employee; enter his mind like this again. She was far away from home, in a foreign country, in a house in the middle of nowhere, and if she had the slightest idea of what was going through his mind, he knew she would turn and run. As much as he wanted her, physically, he needed her professionally even more and he had to cut the craving for her out of his body and out of his mind. Whit a new resolve, he got into bed again, ignoring the heat surging through his manhood. Sleep finally took him, but his dreams were all about a certain blonde, kissing his body and rubbing herself all over him.
Eric woke early and got dressed for his morning run. It was late autumn, and the woods around his house were still dark but he knew them like the back of his hand. Running had always helped to clear his mind, and he was in desperate need of clearing. He felt like he had not slept at all. His vivid dreams of Sookie had kept his mind on its edge all night, not getting the rest he needed. If he was supposed to work next to her today without drooling all over her and painfully admit to her that he wanted her ferociously, he needed to stay on his game, and running the woods in the early morning hours would get him there.
The crisp morning air and the complete silence filled him as he ran, and he could feel himself relax. Every fast step and every fastened heartbeat brought him closer to his normal self, and after an hour, as he opened the front door to the house and made his way to the kitchen, he felt optimistic and sure that the Stackhouse-woman would not have the same pull on him today. Eric Northman, in control. He was her boss, and she was…
What she was, was sitting at the kitchen table wrapped in a fluffy pink robe with her bare feet tucked under her and a steaming mug in her hands. He came to a sudden stop in the doorway. Well shit, was all he could think. He could feel sweat trickling down his back, and it had nothing to do with the morning run. His cock immediately began to stir, as he watched the side of the robe slip and reveal the most perfect thigh he had ever seen. Her skin looked so soft and he was taken by his impulse to stroke his hand gently up said thigh to find out if it was as peachy to the touch as it appeared. What was it about this woman that turned his insides into jelly, and his man parts rock-hard without doing anything else but innocently sit in a kitchen? He tore his eyes from her thigh and found that she was staring at him. She looked almost panicky and his heart sank. He was scaring her. He wanted that least of all. Eric carefully rearranged his face from horny, near openmouthed admiration to a polite and somewhat distant smile.
"Good morning, Sookie." He walked towards the coffeepot and poured himself a cup, carefully turning his back on her to hide the obvious evidence of his interest. "Did you have a good night? I hope you found everything to your satisfaction? In your quarters, I mean." Oh god, he was rambling like a high school boy with a crush on his teacher! In an effort to save whatever face he had left, he added briskly "I need a shower." He felt as if he was fleeing the room, and he realized he had given her no chance to respond. He stopped and halfway turned in the door. "I'll see you in my office in an hour and we'll get it on… I mean, we'll get started." Great. Just great, Northman.
Sookie just sat there staring at the door her boss had just vacated. She was embarrassed to her core that she had let him see her like this, but in all honesty she had not figured he would be up at this early hour. She had had not much sleep, and getting dressed before getting coffee had seemed inconvenient. Then, Eric had appeared, clad in only shorts and a sweaty t-shirt with his enchanting eyes locked on her appearance, and she couldn't help but feel panic set in. What if he fired her? Surely he was displeased by seeing his employee and recent acquaintance sit at his breakfast-table in only a pink robe and with what she knew was a serious case of bedhead. And, in the middle of all that, she had not been able to stop staring at him. This man was absolutely dangerous. Oh no, she didn't fear him, she feared herself. She craved him with every nerve and cell of her body, and she knew she hadn't been able to hide it. It must have been written all over her face. She could just as well print a sign saying "wanton woman" and pin it to her forehead. Get a grip, Sookie, get a grip. You need this job and can't risk it by wanting to fuck your boss! She sighed. She would go upstairs and into the spray of a cold shower, NOT thinking of him as she did, and then dress herself in her most strict and professional clothes and be all business with him from now on.
Sookie felt almost calm when she entered his office after one hour. She had showered, dressed and put on some light makeup and she had promised herself to be all polite and assistant like, in a non-gender specific way, the next time she met her boss. That was the only way this was going to work, she had realized. She could not let him see what wrecking effect he had on her body, and she could not stare at him like a schoolgirl in love every time he opened his mouth. That sexy, promising, simply gorgeous mouth… Aw, fuck!
Eric was already in his office as she entered, and he took her in as she approached him. She didn't look scared anymore, he noticed. She looked almost grim. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt tucked in darkgrey slacks with a belt around her slim waist. Her hips swayed tauntingly as she walked towards him, but he made himself not notice.
"Now, what can I do for you today, Mr. Northman?" Her voice was professional and to the point, but he was lost. He could think of so many things she could do for him, and none of them had anything to do with work. What the hell was wrong with him?