Ch.14

I guess I hadn't thought about what I expected his reaction to be, just that I had dreaded telling him. Not that I was ashamed of it, but it was a bit of a hindrance. And I hated the term "virgin"-it was archaic and demeaning to me, for some reason, as if it were a label.

But his reaction surprised me: complete and utter joy. If I weren't so shocked, I would probably laugh at the site of a vampire in a full on beaming-ass grin, fangs down-he looked pretty ridiculous. He hugged me very tightly to him and laughed, pulled back to look at me again.

"What?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong at all, this is wonderful." His grin dialed down to a large, shit-eating smirk. "Sookie, you were made for me."

I pulled away from him, "See, this is what I mean-you hear I'm a virgin and you get all pompous male, chest-beating caveman on me. Suddenly I'm 'made for you'! News flash, fangy! I'm not 'made' for anyone, other than me. My...maidenhood (inward cringe as that word choice didn't help my case at all) is merely a matter of science. And a small piece of skin. (another poor word choice as that seemed to turn him on a little) And" I poked my finger into his chest "If you're getting all hot and bothered over that last part, don't. I've done a lot of horseback riding over the years and that's probably long gone by now." He was still grinning at me. What?!"

"Are you done with your tantrum?"

"Maybe!" I huffed. I was being a little bratty.

"Okay, well while you sit there and stew, maybe you can listen. What I meant was not that I was going to beat my chest and drag you by your hair into my cave. But that you have what I have been looking for, needing for a long time. You see the people that come in here night after night. People who do recreational drugs, fill themselves with alcohol, and toxins, slide on cheap pleather and latex and too much makeup and throw themselves at us, because it's what they think we want. They kiss our feet and call us Master and Mistress and we treat them like the trash they act like. Then there's you. A bratty, pain in the ass, who's smart, beautiful, honest, loyal, can swing a sword like a bad ass and most importantly, can give Pam shit. So, yes, you were made for me, I won't apologize for that. I didn't give it the chauvinistic connotations; you did."

I felt like an ass and was at a loss. That was quite a compliment. A bunch of them actually. "You said, smart before you said beautiful."

"Ha! Smart ass. Surely you know of your beauty." Grandfather had said that too. Guess I didn't see it. "But if you need to hear it again, in proper order-"

"No, thank you. I got it. Sorry I got a little bratty on you. Does it help if I tell you my cousin calls me Her Royal Brattiness?"

"Good to know. Yes, it soothes the sting a little. Do I want to know how you earned that title with him? Though I can probably imagine." He was playing with my hand, rubbing it up and down his cheek.

"He had the nerve to think my grandfather spoiled me."

"Nooo!" He rubbed his lips over the backs of my fingers. "So back to our original topic. I am happy with this news, to say the least. But not because I want you as a notch in my headboard, or to beat my primate chest. But because everything I do with you seems new and exciting. And knowing I will, hopefully, have the honor of being your first, makes me feel like it's my first time too." He pulled me to him again and sniffed my hair. "Gods, Sookie. You are the sun for a soul who hasn't seen it in a millenia." Gulp, what do I say to that?

I heard the door open and heard Pam stomp down the stairs, "Noise, noise, noise! Here I come, loudly making my presence known! Clomp clomp!"

I looked at him quizzically. What the hell was in to her? "I told her from now on if she interrupts us, she is to either knock or make a noise so you can hear her, and recover. Or whatever else you think is necessary, since you flush such a lovely shade of pink when she interrupts us."

"What-ohhh!"I laughed to tears at her ridiculosity.

She stopped halfway down the steps, "Did I do well Master?" She looked at me, then back at him. "Is she laughing or crying? I smell sex. I hope you brought a change of panties." I still couldn't speak, shaking with laughter. "What's wrong with her? Did you break my new toy?"

He shook his head, "You're both brats. What do you want Pam?"

Still eye-balling me like I was an alien, "They whipped up a few drinks to try out tonight. I wanted Sookie to try them."

I slid off the box I had been propped on, much to Eric's dismay. "Sounds fun, let's do it."

He sighed. "I will go finish some things I need to get done before we leave for the evening, while you try the drinks."

That made me realize, "Pam! We'll be leaving you here on a Saturday night, alone!" I turned to look at Eric.

"She will be fine, Sookie. She's a big girl and it won't be the first time she's been here on a busy night."

I turned back to look at Pam, still on the stairs and walked toward her, "We can always postpone-"

She shook her head at me, then started walking up ahead of me. "We did exist before you came along Suzie-Sookie, and we got by just fine."

"Although it was a lot more boring." Eric said from behind me, then grabbed my bottom and squeezed. When I turned to swat at him, he was already too far away, down the hall to the office. "One hour, Sookie. Be ready." He gave me an eye fuck before he closed the door. As we neared the bar, I saw the drinks lined up.

"Uh-Oh, is this a ploy to get me drunk before the date?" Pam rolled her eyes at me.

"Yes, that would endear my Master to me. Get you tanked before your first date." She motioned impatiently to start the taste test.

I took a sip of each one. "Wow, these are all really good. Who made them?"

"Thalia." She appeared in front of me, the exotic vampire from the night before, though I never formally got to meet her.

She smiled shyly. I instantly liked her. "Thanks. You like them?"

"Yes. These three are the best. These two are still really good, just a little strong for me. But I don't drink much."

"Yes, those two have three different types of alcohol in them."

Pam gestured to one of the waitresses putting chairs from the tables. "Belinda." She jogged over. I liked her, too. She was one of the nice ones I had read at the meeting last night.

She smiled at us, "Yes Mistress?"

"Try all of these and tell us what you think." I warned her about the two I had separated being stronger, so she would take a smaller sip of those. She agreed with me-all of them were good, just the last two had a bigger bite (ha) to them. "Maybe we could charge more for those two, and put a little warning on them. Ooh-add some food coloring red or black to make them more ominous. Add one of those light-up ice cubes for effect. Give them a scary name. Like...The Nosferatu and Vlad the Impaler." I laughed at my own joke, but the vamps seemed to like the idea. What was with them and liking the cheesy cliches? Oh well.

"Suzie-Sookie, I think you have missed your calling. You do very well at thinking outside the box on business matters."

"Thank you." We made decisions on them-the other three were called The Fangbanger, The Blood Bag (Pam's idea) and The VILF-and decided prices. I was going to go to the party store tomorrow for accessories to jazz them up, but they would try them out tonight to get feedback. Crap. I looked at the time, I didn't have long to get ready. "Pam, can I use your office?"

"Of course. Do you want me to do your hair again?"

"Uhm...I'm not sure. Let me go put it all on and we can see how I should have it." I dashed into the office, sans Pam's reflection peeking eyes this time and slipped it on. She came in just as I was slipping the last strap over my arm.

"Darn, I missed the show."

"Hush, what do you think?" I was starting to get nervous.

"You look" she let her fangs run down "amazing."

"Really, or are you just being skeevy?"

She looked insulted and narrowed her eyes at me, "I am very serious. You look lovely. And delicious. Eric will be very pleased. That is a beautiful dress, casual material, yet dressy and demure style." She suddenly went into fashion critique mode. "The color and fit are perfect for you." She walked around me and looked me up and down, then stopped and seemed to sniff the air a bit. "Why are you scared? I can smell your fear. Surely you know you are in for a most delightful time." She waggled her eyebrows and leered at me.

"I just-I don't have much experience with dating or anything else and he's, well, him!" She put her hands on my shoulders.

"Suzie-Sookie, he can be a cocky, Viking sex god, yes, but he can also be very gentle and patient, when it's worth it for him. I know he finds you very worth it. Sit. Where's your bag of tricks?" I gestured to the chair.

"Why do you keep calling me by both names?"

"To annoy you. Don't change the subject." She had pulled a large curling iron from thin air, plugged it in and set to work on my hair. "You've never been with a man?" I turned to look at her. How the hell? She gestured for me to turn back. "I'm a woman. And I was a virgin right before he turned me-I see the signs. I can tell how you react when we both make advances, that charming blush. This is good. You are what he needs. He has been...bored for many decades now, uninterested in a way I have never known him to be. When you floated your fairy ass in here the other night, there was the spark I hadn't seen in him in a long time. When you told me who you were and why you were sent, and yet, you were still alive, after having told him first, I knew you were different. I looked at him and saw a tinge of excitement and happiness when he looked at you." I put my hand on top of hers. I thought I might get misty. "I tell you this not to have an Oprah moment but to allay some of your fear. That and I am hoping to soften you up into having a threesome."

I laughed. Ass. "Ah, Pam, just when I thought you were going sappy on me." She held up the mirror for me to check out the new 'do. The hair was down, just some light curls, but she had put a small braid along the top of my head and continued it down the side of my head. Old-fashioned, but simple and pretty and it matched my dress. "Pretty. Thank you."

"Can I do your makeup now?" I sighed. Every time I needed makeup, someone was doing it for me lately. "Pleeeeease..." Oh well, she did a nice job last night.

"Sure, but between you and my cousin, I'm starting to feel like a doll."

"It's fun to put makeup on you. And you don't require much. Tell me, this cousin, is she into women? Or open to a little persuasion?"

"Pam! Eww. I don't want to think about my cousins being 'persuaded' with anyone-male or female."

"Hmm, prude. Well, give her my number. If she looks anything like you and she's a fairy..." Her fangs snicked down.

"Okay, okay, I get the point." She and I chatted a little more. I asked about the repercussions for last night.

"Eric contacted his maker, Hot Rain. He explained the circumstances and there will be no penalty owed." At my inquisitive look. "If a maker's child is killed by another vampire, they will usually have to pay a fine as well as a formal complaint being lodged to the monarch of the offender's state."

"Ah. Oops. I would have felt bad if Eric had to pay for someone I killed."

"Nonsense. The theft from us alone justified his final death."

"You know there was a time when ladies were fragile, petty creatures who talked of nothing but court, clothes and gossip." Eric's low, sexy voice sent a shiver through me.

"Ha!" Both Pam and I said at the same time his intrusion.

"As if you ever had patience for that nonsense. I can think of a few courtesans who got their necks snapped-"

"Pamela!" He warned.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Pam, not in front of the fragile flower over here."

"No, my Æthelflæd, rest assured, I do not think you too fragile. Merely that this isn't the type of conversation to get you geared up for the best night of your life."

I snorted. "Though I'll give you points for honoring me-Hey, wait! Did you know her? Were you around then?"

He smiled sweetly at me, "She was a few years before my time, but a legend by then, nonetheless." He could turn me on just by talking about history and the things he'd seen all night long. Pam looked back and forth between us, confused. "Lover, Pam doesn't share our love of history. Should we give her a lesson?"

"You know what- I was going to ask who or what the hell you are talking about, but honestly, I don't care. Maybe you guys can rub each other with books later." She strode out of the room, miffed.

"Oooh-she seems mad."

"She'll get over it." I looked in the mirror to check over my makeup. Great job, Pammy. I could get used to having a hand maiden. I always poo-pooed them when my grandfather wanted me to have one, but now I could see their draw. "You look stunning." I blushed and took him in. How had I just noticed for the first time what he was wearing? Black, well, very well-fitted pants and a grey button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up a bit to show his delicious forearms. I found myself staring at them for some reason, maybe because it was the most bare part of him. They were sculpted and had a layer of medium blonde hair on them, not enough to be beastly hairy, but just enough to be masculine and yummy. He broke me from my reverie, "Hungry?" To eat you?

"Yes." He smirked at me, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"Shall we? I know of a perfect spot."

We took off in his delicious red Corvette, which I spared him the Prince reference. He had quite a lead foot, but who wouldn't in a car like this? Once we arrived at the restaurant, we were immediately seated, so I assumed his badassness preceded him everywhere. I sat down very unladylike, with a big whoosh of air. He smiled at me, "What was that about?"

"That was some ride in your car. Do you always drive like you're qualifying for the Grand Prix?"

"Too fast for you?"

"Not at all."

"Yet another reason I like you." The waitress came and took our drink order. While my nerves were on hold for the moment, I thought I glass of wine couldn't hurt. While she took Eric's order for some different type of blood, I could barely fend off her lustful thoughts. She might straddle him at any moment. Smelly were-something. Back off. Sliding closer to him, "Honey, don't get too full. Save some room for...later." I grabbed his head and nipped at his lips, then looked at her through heavy lidded eyes. "Are you still here?" She disappeared, looking properly put in her place, I thought. I turned back to Eric.

"Wow. Very nice. I like being claimed by you. But don't make promises you don't intend to keep."

I looked him square in the eye. "I won't. And I didn't." I think I saw him gulp.

"That hardly makes me want the blood they serve here. It will be dreck, compared to yours."

I lay a gentle kiss on his neck, "Then think of me as dessert."

His fangs slid down. "I already do. In more ways than one." I looked at them closely. Sharp, white, pointy; they were such a part of him. He always seemed in control of them. Sometimes, like now, they slowly slid down, sometimes they slammed down, others they snicked down lightly, barely audible. And while they should have made me frightened, they didn't. Their attachment to him made them sexy.

"May I?" He nodded. I touched them lightly and he closed his eyes. It looked like he enjoyed the sensation, so I continued. I ran my fingertips along the very tip and he shivered. I pushed one fingertip into his fangs and pierced it, to see how sharp they were. I was giving him a little offering but also I was curious to know what they would feel like in my neck. They were so sharp, it was barely a pinch. His eyes popped open wide at the feeling of my skin and taste of my blood. and immediately closed around my finger. His hand locked around my wrist, not that I was pulling away. It was my turn to close my eyes. I felt the sucking sensation all the way to my hootchie.

"Open your eyes, Sookie." I did. Oh. His eyes were burning into me. They were half open, he looked drugged, but in a good way. I considered myself thoroughly undressed by them. At least we knew he could handle my blood. Watching him watch me while he sucked on my finger, I wanted to wrap myself around him, on him like a skin. The tiny wound on my finger must have closed because he stopped sucking. Just as I was about to prick my finger on his fang again, to get that delicious feeling back, he released it before I could. He kissed the inside of my wrist then laced his fingers with mine and lay them on the table. "If we keep that up, we won't make it through this dinner. In fact I might make you my dinner on this table." I tried but couldn't find much wrong with that idea right now. "I want you to eat to keep up your strength." Ah. Gotcha. Fuel for fucking.

The waitress, who I now mentally dubbed Skank, slunk over and deposited our drinks. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad, no garlic or anchovies. Strangely, Eric ordered stuffed mushrooms. When I looked at him in shock, he shrugged. "I heard they are very good here." Okay, weirdo. "So, earlier you wanted me to remind you to update me on fairy politics." I filled him in as best I could, not that it was much. "I agree."

"Agree with what?"

"Your grandfather and cousin. You need to stay here."

"But can you see how frustrating it is to want to defend your family but be left in limbo, helpless to help?" The words left my mouth before I thought about them. Insert foot in mouth. His look said it all.

"Yes, I do know that feeling."

"Eric, shit. I'm so sorry. I-"

"I know, Sookie. It's okay." The stuffed mushrooms arrived, so we paused. Once Skank was gone, I watched him to see what he was going to do with them. He ignored them. Hm. "So we wait for your grandfather." He sighed, a worried furrow in his brow. I know waiting was killing him.

"Honestly, I think he will want to talk with you ASAP. He was worried about Breandan consorting with you, and now he knows the only reason for that is because he's blackmailing you. I didn't tell her about Alberik, by the way, just that he was threatening someone you care for. It wasn't my place. But, the sooner he meets with you, the sooner he can put an end to this Water Fae nonsense once and for all. Especially now that there have been more attempts at violence, in my absence. Claudine didn't say it, but I got the definite feeling The Council has given their go ahead."

"How so-'the feeling', I mean?"

"Well, I can read most Supes to varying degrees, with the exception of Vampires. With fairies, it's more like vague, stray thoughts."

"Imagine that." He snarked.

"So, sometimes I can sense or get an overall feeling if they are thinking something, especially when they are trying not to tell me."

"Interesting. Do they know that?" I shook my head. He pulled the mushrooms closer and examined them. Taking a fork from my place setting, he cut one in half, poked a portion with the fork and held it to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that why you ordered them, so you could feed me? You could have just told me to order them myself."

"Take it easy, Gloria Steinem. Me feeding you was supposed to be sexy."

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'. Now sshh and open." I did and he slowly placed the mushroom in my mouth and ohmigod it was heaven.

"Wow! You weren't joking."

"See?" He smirked at me. I took another sip of my wine and chewed. And thought over this whole situation. I was here, with this gorgeous hunk of a man. Now what? I had been prepared to have this big talk with him about what happened after tonight and what we would be to each other, but decided against it. Here he was, this sex on a stick, Viking sex god, taking ME on a date. When all he had to do was snap to have women, and men fall at his feet. But he chose to take me out, to woo me. He said I made him excited, like old was new again. I think that said it all. Those weren't words he used to get into my pants. I wasn't going to be a fangbanger to him. I had to just close my eyes and enjoy the outcome. Then I got the tinglies in my stomach again, thinking of the outcome. "Looks like you're doing a lot of thinking over something so small as a stuffed mushroom. Are they that good?"

I smiled at him, "Yes."

"Don't laugh at the cliche, but I have to tell you-men have fought wars over smiles like that. I feel privileged that I am the receiver." We smiled at each other, like a couple of mooning kids for a second. "More?" I nodded.

This time there was more of a romantic air. He took the other half and speared it, brought it to my lips where he paused. I opened and gave him a come hither look. He placed it on my tongue and I sealed my lips around the fork, making him tug a little to get it back. He watched my mouth the whole time. I moaned in pleasure as it melted in my mouth, but also to egg him on a little. His pupils dilated and he scooted a little bit closer. I made sure to run my tongue across my lips slowly to pick up an imaginary crumb. I dotted my napkin to my mouth, then lay it back on my lap, "accidentally" brushing my hand against his thigh. I leaned in to get my wine glass and took an exaggerated sip, making sure my lips were nice and shiny afterward. Maybe the red wine on my lips looked a little like blood, and the visual did him in, because he was on me in two seconds. He was sucking at my lips, until I opened them and he slipped his tongue in. His hands were on my hips kneading them and he unlocked our lips to put his on my ear, my weak spot. "You, my little fairy, are a tease."

"You said it was supposed to be sexy." I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his arms to his forearms and squeezed them, pulling them into my hips, that he was already squeezing. He groaned in my ear, which sent shivers through me and pulled away. "Come, you need to eat more." We pretty much repeated the process several more times, until the salad arrived. By then I was getting full. And ready to rip his clothes off. I didn't want to be full and...doing whatever it was we were going to be doing after dinner. Butterflies again. I picked at the food, mostly eating the chicken. The whole time we chatted about everything and nothing. Books, history, Pam, movies, my family. I had never had the ease with anyone that I had with him.

"Are you full?" I nodded."Would you like to take that with us, for later?" He gave me a meaningful look.

Oh. Later. "Sure." Skank disappeared and came back with my leftovers all boxed up. I read her quickly to make sure she didn't spit in it. "Well, if you're ready." He laid a chunk of cash in the black billfold she left, slid out and offered his hand to help me up. He made sure he caressed the small of my back the whole way out. While we waited for his car to be brought around, I was dying to know-"Now what?"

He leaned in close, so his lips would brush my earlobe, "Wouldn't you like to know."