A/N – I know – it's been a while. I'm sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. Thanks to all of you lovely Bill-shippers who've R&Red, especially those who PMed and inspired me to get off my butt and post another chapter.

My excuse – I've been working on original material, and am VERY pleased to report that I've made my first sale! I have a contemporary romance novella under contract, tentative release date May 2013. No supernatural critters in this one, but I've got a few other projects with ghosts and mermaids on board and looking for a home.

If anyone is interested in details, PM me and I'll tell y'all all about it.

In the meantime, enjoy this chapter. I'll try to post the next (and probably final) soon!

Chapter 9 –

"Bill, can't you, um, you know . . .?"

"Can't I what, Sookie?"

"Can't you just pick me up and carry me all fast and furious Vampire style?"

"A little anxious, sweetheart?"

Ohhhh you're gonna get it, mister! I swear he loved seeing me mad as much as he loved seeing me all hot and bothered. Why else would he insist on packing up all of the shit he'd dragged out to the creek and carrying it back to his place.

Human speed.

At least he didn't ask me to carry anything. He just walked. Real, real, slow.

"Bill, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm teaching you patience, Sweetheart. Next, I'll teach you how to speak like a lady. Swearing has it's place, namely the bedroom, but it won't do out in public."

"We're. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Fucking. Woods."

"No, Sookie, we are in the middle of the woods. Woods don't fuck, just the creatures within it."

"Bill."

"Yes?"

"I love you. I love you more than life itself. But you are working my last good nerve and that is a very dangerous thing to do to a horny Fae-human hybrid with a short temper and a scorching case of Tourette Syndrome."

"Point taken. Hold on tight."

Next thing I knew, my Vampire picked me up and carried me Vamp speed times one thousand back to his place. He plopped me on his sofa, knowing I'd need a moment to get over feeling disoriented. Then, he zipped through the house putting his stuff away and presumably making his preparations. It was always fascinating to watch Vampires in action that way. I wondered why I hadn't asked him to do more around the house back when we were dating.

Jackass stubborn pride, that's why.

"Sookie?"

"Hey, where are you?" I asked. I'd lost track of him somewhere between the living room and kitchen. Of course, after he'd stopped zipping around and whipping up mini gale force winds, I had the chance to hear the water running. In the bathroom . . .

He walked out human speed clad in a thick robe. Handing me one, he said, "Maybe we could bathe together."

Oh, God. I couldn't breathe.

"Maybe now?"

"Okay," I whispered, mostly because my mouth was busy watering at the sight of Bill in his robe.

"Sookie, I won't make you wait any longer, but I'm going to take my time with you tonight. It's been so long and I'm starving for you, but I need to make love to you slowly. Will you let me?"

"No."

"No, you won't let me make love to you, or no you won't let me go slowly?"

"I'm not that naïve little virgin anymore, Bill. I've grown a lot since then."

"I know, Sookie, though I wish . . . no, that's past. I'm glad you've grown and I love the woman you've become as much as I loved the girl you were. And I did love you then, as I love you now."

"That's good, because I want to make love with you, Bill, any which way and every which way we like. Sound good?"

"It does, indeed. Shall we?"

I accepted his proffered hand and let him lead me to his ginormous bathroom with the Jacuzzi tub I'd missed almost as much as I'd missed my Vampire. We undressed and climbed in, me on one side and him on the other. I wanted to launch myself at him, but reminded myself that he wanted to take things slowly and that I'd agreed. Also, since I maintained that I'd grown, I decided to prove it to him and to myself by savoring the evening.

He held out his hand, bidding me come over to his side. I took it, tickled pink when I felt the slight tremor running through it upon contact. He put me against his back, enfolding me in his gentle embrace and held me for a while. Then, he let his hands trail over my skin, his feather light touches leaving a trail of fire in their wake. God, I'd missed this. Missed him.

I wanted to turn around, fingers aching to touch him, but then he brought those clever fingers up to trace my nipples. I watched in fascination while the pleasure surged through my body and pooled low in my belly, between my thighs, through every pore. Watching him as he touched me heightened the sensation, making me moan in appreciation.

"That good?"

"Oh yeah," I replied between pants.

Bill continued stroking me with slow, loving strokes that were oh-so-delicious but not nearly enough. I'd never come just from having my breasts stroked before, but maybe if he used his tongue . . .

"Bill, please . . . more," I whispered, trying to turn around so I could bring his mouth to me.

"Slow, Sookie. Slow."

"I know, but I need more now."

"I'll take care of you. Turn back around. I need you to . . ."

Something in his voice gave me pause. This wasn't just about savoring the moment with me or being in control, at least not totally. He needed something else, his desperation of the quiet sort.

"What do you need, Bill?"

"I need you to be able to trust me again, Sookie."

"Oh Bill," I whispered, fighting back tears. I should have guessed. Rather than answer him, lest I spook him or throw us both out of the moment, I turned back around and molded my body against his.

He brought his hands back to my breasts, bringing me back to the edge of sanity, and then he moved his hands lower over my belly and down. I felt his arousal pressing against my back as I slid my body against his, moving higher to grant him better access. He ran light fingers over my inner thighs and then slowly over the flesh between my legs, tickling the soft hair there and making me gasp with pleasure and frustration.

I tried to be still for him, but my body pushed against his hands of its own volition, seeking the friction I so desperately needed. And, God bless him, Bill finally brought his fingers where I needed them, flicking them over that sweet spot at the top of my sex as he slid two fingers into my core, his hips pushing against me and urging me to ride his hands. It didn't take long, and my release was ferocious. Holding nothing back, I screamed his name as I came hard.

He let me turn around after that and kiss him. Mindful of his fangs, which had extended longer than I ever remembered seeing them, I worshiped his mouth with mine, breathing words of thanks and devotion. I could tell he was hungry, and I'd been waiting for him to feed, expecting he'd nip my neck while I came.

I pulled his face to my neck and said, "Go on. Feed on me."

He pulled away from my neck. A flash of shock and pain shot across his features before, typical of Bill, he went back to stone-faced mode, dropping his eyes. So very Bill. Normally, this would be right about when I'd get my feelings hurt or get good and pissed off at him, and then walk away.

Not again. Never, ever, again.

"Bill, look at me."

I waited, then he looked up. I waited some more. He sighed, then relaxed his features as much as I figured he was capable. Hell, give the almost 200 years he'd spent squeezing diamonds with his ass cheeks, fine as they might be, this was tantamount (another word of the day) to transparency. He was hungry, and he let it show.

He also gave me his jackass stubborn 'I'm not gonna do what you want and you can't make me' face. I understood why. Last time he'd fed on me . . . Nope. Not going back there. But, in order to heal the both of us and to build a new foundation for where our relationship might go next, he needed to do this. I needed him to do this, too.

"You remember what you asked me when we found Uncle Dermot?"

"Yes."

"Later tonight, when you're ready and it feels right, I want you to say that to me again. But first, I'm going to have a taste of you, Bill."

I had a nanosecond to revel in the sight of his arched brows shooting up to his hairline before I took him in hand, so to speak, and urged him to sit up high on the Jacuzzi seat – hey, I had my talents, but holding my breath long enough to do what I had in mind properly wasn't one of them. Keeping my eyes on his, I took just the tip of him into my mouth, his hiss of pleasure almost as rewarding as surprising him.

"Sookie, you don't have to -"

"I want to, and trust is a two-way street."

To his credit, and my surprise, he shut his mouth (well, as much as he could with the ginormous fang-boner he had going on), leaned back, and let me work my magic. Also, to his absolute credit, he didn't grab my head or thrust into my mouth. He seemed to be working on the whole trust and control thing, which I appreciated. And I showed him by taking him deep in my throat, using his grunts and groans as a guide, bringing him to the edge and back over and over until his hands gripped the edge of the seat so tight, I worried he might break the fiberglass.

That would be a shame – plus, he'd probably get his boxers in a wad about having to fix it, which would put a big damper on this perfectly wonderful evening we'd started.

So I finished him, swallowed what he offered, and boy howdy did I feel like Sookie Stackhouse, goddess of sex.

"You are an amazing woman, Sookie Stackhouse."

"Uh huh. I'll just bet you don't say 'you don't have to' next time I offer a blow-job."

He gave me the wide smile of a man well-satisfied and said, "I do hope there will be a next time. But for now, how about we dry off and take this to the bedroom?"

"Sounds like a fine idea to me. But I do have one request."

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"I think we've covered the making love slowly pretty well, and I'm all kinds of ready for the main event. What do you say we shift gears into reunion sex mode? Kinda like after Dallas?"

I didn't have to ask twice. Vampire speed does have its advantages, like lightening fast dry offs and transportation to the bedroom. Bill didn't rush the entry, and I adored him for it. He spent his time exploring me again with fingers, fangs, and tongue. Then, he bent me over the bed, and I felt him inside of me.

"I love you," he whispered.

He didn't speak after that, and I adored him for that as well. I thought back to our first time, remembering how I'd marveled at his silence. He bathed me in the comfort of his silence as he worshipped my body with his. I returned the favor by keeping silent. I didn't ask him to feed each time I came, and I didn't when he came.

I didn't after we made love again, me on top of him reveling in the sensation and the control. We took a break at some point, and naturally he insisted on brushing my hair. Keeping my voice low, so as not to disturb the peace of the moment, I said, "I went by the office today. Alcide says it should be ready for me in a couple of weeks."

"Good. Have you decided what you want to do with the space?"

"Yes."

Three, two, one.

"May I ask what you plan to do?"

"How about you come by tomorrow night and see it? Maybe you can guess."

He chuckled, the sound less rusty, but it still enchanted me as much as it had that first night. "I'd like that."

Bill put the hairbrush aside on the nightstand and reclined against a pillow. I ran my fingers through my hair, pleased with the job he'd done on it, and then leaned back against him. We enjoyed cuddle time until I rolled over and looked up into his face.

"There's something you need to say to me, Bill."

He looked at me a long, long time. Damn it, being patient with him was tough, but I managed to give him the time he needed. Finally, he leaned over, his face filled with hunger, longing, and a trace of sorrow I'd have given anything to erase, he said, "I'm so hungry. Feed me, Sookie."

"Come here."

I urged him to roll on top of me. It was surprising, given what we are about to do, but I didn't feel any anxiety or fear. I trusted him. Now, he needed to trust himself.

He kissed me, and, as I'd hoped, entered me again and began to gently move within me. When I felt the delicious pressure building, I pulled him to my neck and he bit as I came, the small pain exciting me enough to come again. While he fed, I stroked his hair and his back, whispering that I loved him, reassuring him that I was okay with him feeding.

He didn't take very much, and I didn't push the issue. I was just glad we'd gotten through this first time. Neither of us felt much like talking, so we just wrapped our arms around one another and enjoyed the closeness. The last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep was Bill's whisper.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I love you."